Land take in the Italian Alps

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Salata

Purpose – Land use change in the Alpine Regions is dominated by two main factors: a process of re-naturalization and a process of expansion for settlements with the relevant occupation of low-valley areas. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of land take measures in the Lombardy Alpine context and the recent proposals of spatial planning instruments for land resource management. New solutions to limit soil sealing have to be confronted with qualitative proposals at local scale. Design/methodology/approach – The paper collects different research outputs regarding land take in the Italian Alpine context and carried out by GIS software and tries to show the new methodologies available for limiting and mitigating soil sealing, in accordance with DIAMONT aims. Findings – The paper argues that the data are now available to analyze the problem and new operative methods have to be settled in the recent context of European Union (Soil Sealing Guidelines) to support decision making in planning, suggesting land use allocation and possible ecological compensation. Research limitations/implications – The new qualitative decision models have to be assessed for a better ecological integration in supporting land use decisions. Practical implications – An evaluation of land take at local scale caused by land use changes is a good support in the decision-making process of planning. Originality/value – In this paper a method based on a local scale is reported, which can be used for the specific assessment of land take in order to support land-use decisions.

2014 ◽  
Vol 687-691 ◽  
pp. 3078-3082
Author(s):  
Ning Pan ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Jing Jing Tan

Frequent land-use changes might produce a large amount of historical data which are valuable for data mining and decision-making. Based on the traditional Whole-state-recording Mode, the Special-state-recording Mode was proposed, focusing on the temporal aspect. This mode could optimize the land use database and reduce redundant change record. It could also improve data rollback and historical backtracking functions. The mode was successfully applied to land use planning in Zhejiang Province.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 506-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munavar Zhumanova ◽  
Nicole Wrage-Mönnig ◽  
Dietrich Darr

1973 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce O. Burnham

The simulation model discussed in this paper evolved from problems encountered in estimating future United States cropland availability as part of the OBERS agricultural projection system. Available literature describing land use changes indicate that land resource economists have not been concerned with projecting future patterns of land use implied by historic observations.Some research has involved selection of optimum cropping patterns for agricultural cropland subject to alternative flood plain management policies. However, the broader application of such models between sectors (agriculture, industrial, urban, etc.), in the main, has been ignored. Because of “historical bias” there has not been a concerted effort to develop analytical capabilities for use in evaluating the future implications of alternative regional and/or national policies designed to alter trends in land use shifts.


1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 987-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
I C Goulter ◽  
H G Wenzel ◽  
L D Hopkins

A model of watershed land-use planning is formulated that improves on existing models by recognizing that land-use decisions have uncertain outcomes and that land uses change over time. Implications of recognizing the distinction between land-use decisions and their uncertain outcomes are discussed. The land-use changes are modelled using a Markov process. Because of the computational difficulties in determining the return associated with the complete range of possible decision sets, a heuristic technique is required. A heuristic search procedure based on stochastic dynamic programming is described.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nicola Scott

<p>Increasing global populations are placing increasing pressure on our natural systems, reducing their capacity to produce the ecosystem services that we rely upon for human wellbeing (World Bank, 2004).   Clarifying the implications of land-use decisions across the range of ecosystem services is fundamental to understanding the trade-offs inherent in land-use options. LUCI (the Land Utilization and Capability Indicator) is an emergent Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based framework developed to enable the mapping of several ecosystem services in a spatially explicit manner. This process enables a clearer understanding of the inter-dependencies between ecosystems and potential implications and trade-offs of management interventions across a range of services.   There is however, limited understanding of the impact, utility and credibility of such tools for land-use decision-makers, or of how they perceive the information conveyed. This Thesis considered the impact that presenting information on land-use trade-offs through LUCI had on land-owners at the farm scale.   This research supports previous findings that information alone does not drive behaviour (or decision-making) (Kollmuss, 2002, Fisk, 2011; Kennedy, 2010; Mackenzie-Mohr, 2000; Stern, 2000). Similarly, perceived credibility was not the main driver of decision-making nor is it necessarily rationally based. However without it, voluntary adoption of a new technology or tool is unlikely. Therefore, in seeking to diffuse tools, such as LUCI within a community, process design should take into account the social structures and the characteristics of targeted individuals within that community. The influence of temporal and context specific factors on decision-making provides both barriers and opportunities for technology diffusion.  The research findings propose that when integrating new tools and technologies within communities, consideration is given to using a suite of tools, mechanisms and theories in concert such as Community-Based Social Marketing (Mackenzie-Mohr, 2011) and Diffusion Theory (Rogers, 2003) to facilitate improved diffusion and uptake by communities.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiping Shen ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Bo-sin Tang

Purpose – Urban renewal projects provide an effective channel for adjusting land-use allocation and improving land-use efficiency, which effectively increases land supply. The purpose of this paper is to support the decision-making process of sustainable land use in urban renewal projects. A GIS-based framework, consisting of a planning support model and a land information database, has been developed in a typical high-density city – Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative and quantitative combined methodology is designed for this research. Several research methods such as expert interviews, focus group meetings, and case studies and technical approaches such as GIS, MCA, and AHP are adopted in this research. Findings – General and sustainability criteria for land-use decision making in urban renewal along with associated data are identified, and an integrated approach to quantitatively assessing land-use suitability is developed. Research limitations/implications – The framework was developed in a loosely coupled form rather than a software package installed on a computer, and the development of the land information database was a time-consuming process as a large amount of data were collected, processed, and analyzed. Originality/value – Application of the proposed framework is reported by showing analyzed results of land-use suitability. The framework proves a useful tool for both practitioners and researchers involved in sustainable land use for urban renewal.


1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Fedick

In this study I examine local-scale associations between land resources and the density distribution of Maya residential sites for the prehistoric population maxima of the Late Classic period (ca. A. D. 600-900). Methods involve agricultural land evaluation following USDA guidelines, under assumptions of hand-cultivation technology. I give specific attention to the issue of concordance between the geographic scale of household agricultural production and the scale at which agricultural land evaluation is conducted. The focus is the upper Belize River area of Belize, Central America, where intensive archaeological survey and local-scale land-resource mapping provide the data necessary for a detailed analysis of ancient land-use patterns. The analysis reveals a strong and consistent relationship between prehistoric Maya settlement density and the agricultural productive capability of local soil types. For each land type, I discuss the amount of land available for each residential locus and probable cultivation methods used. I argue that the ability to identify clearly and quantitatively the association (or lack of association) between household settlement pattern and agricultural land capability is a necessary component of regional studies that seek to test models of Maya political economy and social change.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wahyunto Wahyunto ◽  
Wahyu Supriatna ◽  
Fahmuddin Agus

Peatland is an increasingly important land resource for livelihood,<br />economic development, and terrestrial carbon storage. Kubu Raya and Pontianak Districts of West Kalimantan rely their future agricultural development on this environmentally fragile peatland because of the dominance (58% and 16% area, respectively) of this land in the two districts. A study aimed to evaluate land use changes on peatland and to develop strategies for sustainable peatland use and management for agriculture. Time series satellite imageries of land use and land cover,<br />ground truthing, and statistical data of land use change were analyzed for generating the dynamics of land use changes in the period of 1986-2008. Field observation, peat sampling, and peat analyses of representative land use types were undertaken to assess peat characteristics and its agricultural suitability. The study showed that within 22 years (1986-2008), the area of peat forests in Kubu Raya and Pontianak Districts decreased as much as 13.6% from 391,902 ha to 328,078 ha. The current uses of the peatland in the two districts include oil palm plantation (8704 ha), smallholder rubber plantation (13,186 ha), annual crops (15,035 ha), mixed cropping of trees and annual crops (22,328 ha), and pineapple farming (11,744 ha). Our evaluation<br />showed unconformity of the current uses of peatland with regulations and crops agronomic requirements such as peat thickness and maturity, rendering unsustainability. This study recommends that expansion of agriculture and plantation on peatland areas be limited over idle land within the agricultural production and conversion production forest areas. About 34,362 ha (9.7%) of uncultivated log-over forest and shrubs<br />can potentially be developed for agriculture. Peat soils with the thickness of &gt;3 m should be allocated for conservation or forest protection due to low inherent soil fertility and high potential greenhouse gas emissions if converted for agriculture. <br />


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Sharma ◽  
Divya Pandey ◽  
Madhoolika Agrawal

Purpose – Varanasi, an ancient city has witnessed the conversion of forest into agricultural lands. The high urbanization rate along with affluent lifestyle is adding another category of land use, i.e. landfill. Such land use changes significantly affect the fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from soil thus contributing to global warming. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the global warming potential (GWP) of the three land uses in Varanasi city taking into consideration CH4 and CO2.The paper also highlights the land use pattern of Varanasi. Design/methodology/approach – Sites representing land uses under forest, agriculture and landfill were identified in and around the city and measurements of GHG fluxes were conducted periodically using closed static chambers. The GWP from each land use was calculated using the standard formula of IPCC (2007). Findings – Landfill was found to be the land use with the highest GWP followed by agriculture. GWP from forest was negative. The study indicated that conversion of natural ecosystems into man made ecosystems contributed significantly to GHGs emissions. Research limitations/implications – The present research is a seasonal study with inherent uncertainties. To reduce the uncertainties long-term monitoring covering wider spatial area is required. Practical implications – The sustainable use of land along with the increment of forest cover will not only reduce the contribution in GHGs emission, but will also increase the carbon sequestrations thus limiting the implication of climate change. Originality/value – This study is the first of its kind comparing the soil borne emissions from three different land uses in a rapidly urbanizing ancient city, suggesting if there is rapid conversion of forested land into other two land uses there will be considerable increase in global warming. No similar studies could be found in the literature.


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Habib ◽  
Scott Heckbert ◽  
Jeffrey J. Wilson ◽  
Andrew J. K. Vandenbroeck ◽  
Jerome Cranston ◽  
...  

The science of ecosystem service (ES) mapping has become increasingly sophisticated over the past 20 years, and examples of successfully integrating ES into management decisions at national and sub-national scales have begun to emerge. However, increasing model sophistication and accuracy—and therefore complexity—may trade-off with ease of use and applicability to real-world decision-making contexts, so it is vital to incorporate the lessons learned from implementation efforts into new model development. Using successful implementation efforts for guidance, we developed an integrated ES modelling system to quantify several ecosystem services: forest timber production and carbon storage, water purification, pollination, and biodiversity. The system is designed to facilitate uptake of ES information into land-use decisions through three principal considerations: (1) using relatively straightforward models that can be readily deployed and interpreted without specialized expertise; (2) using an agent-based modelling framework to enable the incorporation of human decision-making directly within the model; and (3) integration among all ES models to simultaneously demonstrate the effects of a single land-use decision on multiple ES. We present an implementation of the model for a major watershed in Alberta, Canada, and highlight the system’s capabilities to assess a suite of ES under future management decisions, including forestry activities under two alternative timber harvest strategies, and through a scenario modelling analysis exploring different intensities of hypothetical agricultural expansion. By using a modular approach, the modelling system can be readily expanded to evaluate additional ecosystem services or management questions of interest in order to guide land-use decisions to achieve socioeconomic and environmental objectives.


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