Impact of adjacent land use on the ecological condition of riparian habitats: The relation between condition and vegetation properties

Studies on land use structural optimization can support the sustainability of land resources. The Taipusi Banner lies in the arid and semiarid area of northern China, with rapid economic development and a vulnerable ecological condition. Taking the Taipusi Banner as a research case, we adopted a land use map and statistical data, and employed the ecosystem process model to establish five scenarios, including an economically optimal scenario, an ecologically optimal scenario, a comprehensively optimal scenario, a status quo, and a projected scenario. Based on multi-objective linear programming, the land use demand was optimized; then, the CLUE-S model and adaptability evaluation were adopted to establish spatial patterns. The ecological and economic benefits were then analyzed and policy suggestions are provided. The main results include the following: (1) The optimization outputs of various scenarios show that under optimization, cropland and forestland increased by 9.13% and 18.9%, respectively, and grassland decreased by 9.81%. (2) The land use optimization shows that comprehensive optimization aimed at achieving comprehensive benefits, ecological benefits, and economic benefits increased these benefits by 3.89%, 2.1%, and 6.2%, respectively. Compared with other scenarios, focusing on the comprehensive benefits of land use can result in the greatest increase in benefits to improve sustainability land resources. Land use optimization must consider not only the optimization of both the quantity and configuration but also the dimensions of both ecology and the economy. Land use should be based on a land suitability evaluation and optimization of the land use spatial configuration to update ineffective land uses and should gradually adjust both the ecological and engineering measures.

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Current and Future Ecological Status Assessment: A New Holistic Approach for Watershed Management

Water ◽

10.3390/w12102839 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 2839

Author(s):

André R. Fonseca ◽

João A. Santos ◽

Simone G.P. Varandas ◽

Sandra M. Monteiro ◽

José L. Martinho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Hydrological Cycle ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Integrated Analysis ◽

Distributed Hydrological Model ◽

Nature Protection ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Hydrological Simulation

The Paiva River catchment, located in Portugal, integrates the Natura 2000 network of European Union nature protection areas. Resorting to topography, climate and land-use data, a semi-distributed hydrological model (Hydrological Simulation Program–FORTRAN) was run in order to simulate the hydrological cycle of the river and its tributaries. The model was calibrated over a 25-year period and validated within a 31-year period. Its performance was verified by comparing the recorded and simulated daily flows. The values of the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency of 0.95 and 0.76, and coefficient of determination of 0.95 and 0.82, were achieved for calibration and validation, respectively, thus showing a quite satisfactory model performance. Subsequently, the climate change impacts on temperature and precipitation, as well as their extremes, and on the flowrates were also assessed for a future period (2041–2070) under two anthropogenic forcing scenarios (representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5). A procedure for selecting the most relevant metrics for assessing the ecological condition of the Paiva River was developed based upon a set of 52 invertebrate families sampled. Correspondence analyses were carried out for biological datasets (traits/metrics) with physicochemical and land use/land cover matrices separately. Out of all variables, water quality and flow and agriculture land use explained most of the variance observed. The integrated analysis undertaken in the present study is an important advance when compared to previous studies and it provides key information to stakeholders and decision-makers, particularly when planning suitable adaptation measures to cope with changing climates in the forthcoming decades.

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The continental shelf benthic ecosystem: current status, agents for change and future prospects

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892902000243 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 350-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Stephen J. Hall

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Waste Disposal ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Well Being ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

Current Status

Continental shelf benthic ecosystems play an important role in the economy of many coastal states through the provision of food, non-living resources and through control of climate. Changes in the status of these ecosystems, through either natural or human-induced environmental drivers can be expected to have important economic and social consequences. Agents that could induce change include climate and oceanography, hydrology (river discharge), land-use and waste disposal practices, fishing, aquaculture and extraction of non-living resources. Trends in all of these drivers, particularly those under human influence, suggest that shelf systems will come under increasing pressure. Attempts to predict the future state of any ecological system are fraught with difficulty, particularly over decadal time-frames. This is, perhaps, especially true for continental shelf ecosystems where data on current status are poor and our understanding of many of the drivers of change somewhat rudimentary. What can be said for certain, however, is that change will occur and, in the short term, many of the signs point towards deterioration in the ecological condition of many shelf systems, but particularly those of developing countries. Trends in land-use practices, with consequences for nutrient, sediment and freshwater input to coastal seas appear to be particularly worrying, but the poor state of many demersal fisheries systems must also be acknowledged. In contrast to the developing world, although challenges undoubtedly remain, particularly with respect to atmospheric inputs resulting from energy production, current trends in environmental management suggest that pressures imposed by land use, waste disposal and fishing will probably decline over the coming decades on the shelves of many developed countries. At the global scale, therefore, the key driver for sustainable use of our continental shelf ecosystems would appear to be intimately linked to the social and economic well-being of poorer nations.

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Ethanol eDNA Reveals Unique Community Composition of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Compared to Bulk Tissue Metabarcoding in a Biomonitoring Sampling Scheme

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13010034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 34

Author(s):

Sadhna Fiona Persaud ◽

Karl Cottenie ◽

Jennifer Erin Gleason

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Community Composition ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates ◽

Biological Communities ◽

Non Destructive ◽

Bulk Tissue

Freshwater ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services and support biodiversity; however, their water quality and biological communities are influenced by adjacent agricultural land use. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as bioindicators of stream conditions in freshwater biomonitoring programs. Sorting benthic samples for molecular identification is a time-consuming process, and this study investigates the potential of ethanol-collected environmental DNA (eDNA) for metabarcoding macroinvertebrates, especially for common bioindicator groups. The objective of this study was to compare macroinvertebrate composition between paired bulk tissue and ethanol eDNA samples, as eDNA could provide a less time-consuming and non-destructive method of sampling macroinvertebrates. We collected benthic samples from streams in Ontario, Canada, and found that community composition varied greatly between sampling methods and that few taxa were shared between paired tissue and ethanol samples, suggesting that ethanol eDNA is not an acceptable substitute. It is unclear why we did not detect all the organisms that were preserved in the ethanol, or the origin of the DNA we did detect. Furthermore, we also detected no difference in community composition for bioindicator taxa due to surrounding land use or water chemistry, suggesting sites were similar in ecological condition.

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APPLICATION OF LANDSCAPE-GEOCHEMICAL APPROACH IN THE STUDY OF THE TERRITORY OF THE NORTH KAZAKHSTAN REGION

Bulletin of Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Construction ◽

10.51488/1680-080x/2021.4-02 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 131-141

Author(s):

N.T. Shogelova ◽

◽

S.A. Sartin ◽

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Agricultural Lands ◽

Border Area ◽

The North ◽

Dry Steppe ◽

Existing Structure ◽

Geochemical Approach

The article discusses the issues of assessing the ecological condition of agricultural lands in the border territory of the North Kazakhstan region and identifying the necessary measures to optimize the existing structure of land use. The border area under study is located in the zone of dry-steppe and steppe landscapes, among which dry-steppe landscapes of relatively elevated plains predominate.

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Changes in floristic richness and diversity of phytocoenoses on riparian habitats affected by diverse land-use forms

Ecological Questions ◽

10.12775/eq.2016.001 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 9

Author(s):

Adam Barcikowski ◽

Wiesław Cyzman ◽

Marcin Marchwiński ◽

Anna Wojciechowska

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Floristic Richness ◽

Riparian Habitats

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Invertebrate responses to land use in tropical streams: discrimination of impacts enhanced by analysis of discrete areas

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf18177 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 563

Author(s):

Richard G. Pearson ◽

Niall Connolly ◽

Lee J. Benson ◽

Andi Cairns ◽

Paul Clayton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Detailed Comparison ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Sensitivity Index ◽

Riparian Management ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

Taxa Richness ◽

Tropical Australia ◽

Local Impacts

We identified influences of land-use disturbances on invertebrate assemblages in streams draining eight areas of the Great Barrier Reef catchment in tropical Australia (~15.7–22°S), a region of high biodiversity. We used distance-based linear modelling (DistLM) to analyse assemblage data (103 taxa), richness and the SIGNAL2 taxon sensitivity index. DistLM of assemblages explained ~40% of variation across all samples and 7–54% of variation in individual areas. DistLM of richness and SIGNAL2 explained respectively 19–81 and 26–95% of variation. Explanatory variables were land use (especially cropping and grazing v. forest), riparian width, instream habitat, climate (drier south) and water quality (conductivity greater in south). Local impacts of activities such as mining were evident in models of individual areas. A detailed comparison of streams with contrasting riparian management demonstrated a 25% loss of richness, but no change in SIGNAL2 score. Accounting for local environmental gradients and using measures appropriate to the type of disturbance improved identification of impacts, and could form a framework for future regional monitoring of stream ecological condition. The impacts identified may be mitigated by remediation such as riparian rehabilitation, although management at catchment scales is required to be effective.

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La descomposición de la hojarasca como herramienta para evaluar la integridad funcional de ríos altoandinos del sur del Ecuador

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v65i1.23233 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 321 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jose Rincon ◽

Diana Merchán ◽

Agustín Sparer ◽

Damodara Rojas ◽

Edwin Zárate

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Leaf Litter ◽

Functional Condition ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Litter Breakdown ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Leaf Litter Breakdown ◽

Fine Mesh ◽

Breakdown Rates ◽

Land Use And Cover

The ecological condition of tropical Andean rivers are threatened by many human activities including changes in land use and cover in watersheds. Current protocols diagnose the structural condition of streams but not their function. In this study we proposed an assessment tool using the leaf-litter breakdown as a measure of the functional condition and health of high Andean streams in Southern Ecuador, including methodology and threshold values adapted to local conditions. We selected 15 streams in three micro-basins (Mazán, Llaviuco and Matadero) within or in the vicinity of Cajas National Park where we deployed litterbags for 15, 28 and 64 days. We used two types of mesh (coarse and fine) for the litterbags in order to separate the contribution of macro-invertebrates and microorganisms in the decomposition process and also tested two different leaf substrates: Alder (Alnus acuminata) and Miconia (Miconia bracteolata). In each collection period we determined physical and chemical parameters, applied the riparian quality index (QBR-And) and river habitat index (IHF). Decomposition rates (-k) were determined from the time period at which approximately 50 % ash-free mass would have been lost. We used Ktotal and the ratio of the rate of decomposition between coarse and fine mesh (Kg/Kf) to define the functional condition thresholds. To test the metrics sensitivity we used graphical methods, one-way ANOVA and discriminative efficiency (ED). The analysis of watershed land-use and cover showed a gradient of intervention: Matadero ≥ Llaviuco > Mazán. The composition of the environmental variables of Mazán streams were different with respect to Llaviuco and Matadero, whose values were similar to each other. The QBR-And index showed a significant gradient from very low levels in Matadero (27.5), moderately high values in Llaviuco (66.5) to high values in Mazán (87). Alder leaf-litter breakdown rates were significantly faster in Mazán than in Matadero and Llaviuco streams, while breakdown rates of Miconia were not significantly different among watersheds. The Kg/Kf ratio was significantly higher in Mazán compared to Llaviuco and Matadero, which did not differ. We consider the Kg/Kf metric sensitive enough to discriminate impacts in the studied areas. Our results support the use of the leaf-litter breakdown as an appropriate tool to assess functional ecological condition, complementing the structural assessments of these Andean rivers.

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Assessment of urban heat island in Kathmandu valley (1999-2017)

Geographical Journal of Nepal ◽

10.3126/gjn.v14i0.35544 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Chhabi Lal Chidi ◽

Ramesh Kumar Salami Magar ◽

Dipendra Salami Magar

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Land Surface Temperature ◽

Land Surface ◽

Ecological Condition ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Heat Island ◽

Urban Heat ◽

Increasing Temperature ◽

The City

Growing urbanization results built up surfaces converting from agriculture land, forest and other natural land cover surfaces. Increasing built up surfaces, means of transport and industrial activities are major results for increasing temperature in the city area as compared to other areas. Increasing heat is a concern to human health of the people living in urban areas. Increasing temperature in the city area in developing countries is being a growing concern. Kathmandu valley is one of the most rapidly growing urbanization in Nepal. The present study aims to assess the changing Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Kathmandu valley using LANDSAT 7 images. Similarly, Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect was evaluated in land use categories which were derived from Google Earth images. Study revealed that built up area contributed highly to increase land surface temperature. New built up with compact settlement area has higher land surface temperature as compare to other land use/land cover surfaces. City core has higher LST as compared to less urbanized and surrounding parts. The LST has highly increased during 1999 to 2017 with increasing urbanization. However, the ecological condition of UHI effect is not so bad till date but the study result indicated the continuous increasing urbanization may result worse ecological condition in Kathmandu Valley in the future.

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