Tools for prioritizing Ecosystem Services provided by fragments forest in the context of cities

Abstract Forest remnants are essential in the provision of ecosystem services in cities. However, adequate ecological parameters are still needed to assess them. Because of this, the present work proposes a methodology for assessing the potential of providing ecosystem services by forest remnants in urban watershed based on the application and interpretation of landscape spatial metrics used in Landscape Ecology studies. For that, the environmental indicators (area, central area, circularity index, distance from the nearest neighbor, water springs, land use, and occupation in the surroundings) were evaluated in GIS software and to them, the Hierarchical Process Analysis Method (AHP) was applied to identify the importance of each parameter in the provision of ecosystem services and the priority in each remainder. The study was carried out in a watershed in Campinas/ SP, in which it was found that forest remnants develop, primarily, ecosystem support or habitat services, regulation services, and cultural services.

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Serviços ecossistêmicos prestados por recifes de coral nas ilhas de Tinharé e Boipeba, Baixo Sul da Bahia, Brasil

10.31237/osf.io/za7c9 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Carla Isobel Elliff

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Current Model ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Management Actions ◽

Shoreline Protection ◽

Fringing Reefs ◽

Integrated Valuation ◽

Reef Decline

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities. The Archipelago of Tinhar?e andBoipeba, Bahia, Brazil, are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs, which have undergone several chronichuman impacts. The objective of the present study was to apply an ecosystem-based approach byanalyzing the ecosystem services provided by the coral reefs of the Archipelago of Tinhar?e and Boipeba inorder to support management actions and serve as a tool for coastal management. Ecosystem serviceswere assessed through the observation of environmental indicators of their occurrence and by using asuite of models from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) softwarecombined with data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol database. Theservices of greatest occurrence were food provision, habitat maintenance, shoreline protection andrecreation. While the main stressful factors were tourism activities, the absence of a sewage system andfisheries. The coral reefs presented potential for shoreline protection along 50.5% of the islands. Moreover,46.8% of the shoreline would present moderate to high vulnerability in case of coral reef disappearance.The coincidence of areas with high risk of loss in the capacity to provide services and highvulnerability in the scenario of absence of reefs is concerning. Thus, the current model for tourism usedin the area should be altered, as should new management strategies be implemented, which can bringbenefits and avoid reef decline.

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The context of the size and distance of Atlantic Forest fragments in a small city in Southern Brazil

Acta Scientiarum Biological Sciences ◽

10.4025/actascibiolsci.v41i1.46936 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. e46936

Author(s):

Matheus Bueno Patrício ◽

José Hilário Delconte Ferreira ◽

Edivando Vitor do Couto

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Nearest Neighbor ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Area Ratio ◽

Native Vegetation ◽

Small City ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Forest Remnants ◽

Significant Area ◽

The Mean

The Atlantic Forest is highly anthropized, this reduce the areas of native vegetation and impacts the biodiversity of the biome. The objective of this study is to analyze forest remnants with native vegetation characteristics using a free GIS. This analysis takes place using landscape metrics and was based on the supervised vectorization of land use in the municipality of California, PR. The area of the vectored polygons was obtained and a classified, and then the calculation was made with the nearest neighbor index, mean distance observed, Patton diversity index and the perimeter/area ratio of forest fragments. The results show that most of the fragments have an area smaller than 1 ha, the fragments with more significant area (<50 ha) represent more than 16% of the native vegetation area. The small fragments are important to maintain the connectivity, since the withdrawal of these increases the mean distance observed and nearest neighbor index. Most of the fragments are elongated and amorphous in accordance with the perimeter/area ratio and the Patton diversity index respectively, this may demonstrate the fragments may be subject to edge effects. Even with these characteristics, these fragments may be part of what is planned in public policy for preservation in the Atlantic Forest in the state of Paraná. Therefore, even small fragments with little core area are important for maintaining biodiversity, especially in a highly anthropogenic landscape

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Optimization of Green Space Planning to Improve Ecosystem Services Efficiency: The Case of Chongqing Urban Areas

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18168441 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 8441

Author(s):

Shuiyu Yan ◽

Jun Tang

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Green Space ◽

High Capacity ◽

Careful Consideration ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Space Planning ◽

Buffer Analysis ◽

Gis Software

This paper applied landscape indexes to evaluate the size, form, and structure of green spaces in the mountainous city of Chongqing and found that green spaces benefit from certain advantages in size, but the network suffered from low heterogeneity and limited interconnectivity. To ensure the integrity and continuity of ecological processes and improve the efficiency of ecosystem services (ES), the authors used Geographic Information System (GIS) software to conduct adaptability evaluation and adjacent buffer analysis for the existing green spaces, wetlands, rivers, and other landscapes with relatively high capacity for ES. We designed a comprehensive map of potential areas for UGS expansion by superimposing the maps obtained from adaptability evaluation and buffer analysis. We also proposed some strategies that respect, consider, and evaluate aspects and special features of urban environment to optimize green space planning and improve ES efficiency, such as protection of important areas, development of green corridors, and careful consideration of ecological processes and complex functions in urban areas. Based on these strategies, the paper put forth suggestions for green space planning to improve ES efficiency that can function as foundation for subsequent green space planning.

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Identifying Urban Flood Regulation Priority Areas in Beijing Based on an Ecosystem Services Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12062297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2297

Author(s):

Xiaoyong Li ◽

Wenhui Kuang ◽

Fengyun Sun

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Return Period ◽

Central Area ◽

Reduction Ratio ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Urban Flood ◽

Priority Index ◽

Priority Areas ◽

Runoff Reduction ◽

Flood Regulation

Climate change and rapid urbanization have severe impacts on urban flood regulation ecosystem services (UFRES). Quantifying the UFRES has attracted increasing attention for urban sustainable development. However, few studies have focused on how to identify urban flood regulation priority areas. In this study, we simulated urban surface runoff by using the soil conservation services-curve number model, and quantified UFRES supply and demand by using relative indicators (i.e., runoff reduction ratio and urban vulnerability) at the subdistrict scale in Beijing, China. Then, an urban flood regulation priority index was developed by integrating UFRES demand and supply, and further used to identify priority areas. The results show that the mean runoff reduction ratio in Beijing decreased from 38.70% (for a 1-year rainfall return period) to 24.74% (for a 100-year rainfall return period). Subdistricts with low UFRES supply were mainly located in the urban central area and the southeastern zone, while subdistricts with high UFRES demand were mainly located in the urban central region. Meanwhile, places with high priority for flood regulation were mainly located in the inner city, and low priority areas were mainly located in northwestern, southwestern, and northeastern Beijing. Our results also imply that the urban flood regulation priority index is an effective indicator to identify urban flood regulation priority areas. These findings could provide urban planners with a comprehensive understanding of UFRES and scientific guidance to improve them.

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Integrating Environmental Impact and Ecosystem Services in the Process of Land Resource Capitalization—A Case Study of Land Transfer in Fuping, Hebei

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052837 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2837

Author(s):

Weiguo Fan ◽

Nan Chen ◽

Wei Yao ◽

Mengmeng Meng ◽

Xuechao Wang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Land Resource ◽

Value Evaluation ◽

Whole Process ◽

Land Transfer ◽

Management Concept

The contradiction between human and land has always been a problem in the process of development and utilization of land resources. Under such circumstances, relevant government agencies put forward the management concept of land resource capitalization. As an effective policy to implement the conception of land resource capitalization, land transfer is of great significance to reforming rural land systems and liberating productivity in poor areas of Tai-hang Mountain in Hebei. However, how to integrate environmental impact and value evaluation of ecosystem services of land transfer in the process of resource capitalization deserves our attention. This paper takes the land transfer of Fuping, Hebei in Tai-hang Mountain as an example, combined with life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost assessment (LCC), and the methods of value evaluation of ecosystem services to quantify the changes of environmental loads, economic costs, and ecosystem services in the whole process and different stages of land resource capitalization. Moreover, through the sensitivity analysis of key environmental indicators, the possibility of restricting environmental costs is explored. This paper studies land transfer from the direction of the cross-discipline and provides a new idea for land resource management.

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INDICADORES QUALITATIVOS DO AMBIENTE EDÁFICO E SERVIÇOS ECOSSISTÊMICOS EM DIFERENTES SISTEMAS DE OCUPAÇÃO DA TERRA

Nativa ◽

10.31413/nativa.v9i5.13079 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 519-527

Author(s):

João Henrique Constantino Sales Silva ◽

Alex da Silva Barbosa ◽

Moisés Bittar de Araújo ◽

Daniel da Silva Gomes ◽

Alexandre Amadeu Cerqueira de Miranda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Agroforestry System ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Native Forest ◽

Land Occupation ◽

Data Set ◽

Starting Point

O conceito de sustentabilidade tem levado a pesquisa agropecuária a uma crescente busca de modelos alternativos e sustentáveis para a agricultura, sendo as formas de uso e manejo do solo o ponto de partida determinante para a compreensão da dinâmica do ambiente edáfico e serviços ambientais dos agroecossistemas. Sendo assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a qualidade do ambiente edáfico e serviços ecossitêmicos em diferentes sistemas de ocupação da terra, através de indicadores ambientais qualitativos. Foram selecionados indicadores sustentáveis de diagnóstico participativo para avaliar quatro sistemas de ocupação da terra: pastagem, mandala agrícola, sistema agroflorestal (SAF) e mata nativa. O conjunto de dados dos indicadores do solo foi analisado por meio de uma Análise dos Componentes Principais (ACP). O sistema agroflorestal apresenta semelhanças na qualidade do ambiente edáfico e serviços ecossistêmicos quando comparado à área de mata nativa. Recomenda-se que práticas de manejo de conservação do solo sejam adotadas nos sistemas com maior intervenção antrópica, a exemplo da pastagem e mandala agrícola. Palavras-chave: indicadores ambientais; qualidade do solo; manejo; agroecossistemas. Qualitative indicators of the edaphic environment and ecosystem services in different land occupation systems ABSTRACT: The concept of sustainability has led agricultural research to a growing search for alternative and sustainable models for agriculture, with the forms of land use and management being the determining starting point for understanding the dynamics of the edaphic environment and environmental services of agroecosystems. Therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the quality of the edaphic environment and ecosystem services in different land occupation systems, through qualitative environmental indicators. Sustainable indicators of participatory diagnosis were selected to assess four land occupation systems: pasture, agricultural mandala, agroforestry system and native forest. The data set of the soil indicators was analyzed using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The agroforestry system has similarities in the quality of the edaphic environment and ecosystem services when compared to the native forest area. It is recommended that soil conservation management practices be adopted in systems with greater anthropic intervention, such as pasture and agricultural mandala. Keywords: environmental indicators; soil quality; management; agroecosystems.

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APLICAÇÃO DO MÉTODO DE ANÁLISE HIERÁRQUICA DE PROCESSOS (AHP) COMO MODELO PREDITIVO PARA MAPEAMENTO DOS SÍTIOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS NA ILHA DE SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO

GEOgraphia ◽

10.22409/geographia2021.v23i51.a27944 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (51) ◽

Author(s):

Waldir José Lustosa de Alencar Neto ◽

Leonardo Silva Soares ◽

Arkley Marques Bandeira

Keyword(s):

Predictive Model ◽

Process Analysis ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Archaeological Research ◽

Ahp Method ◽

San Luis ◽

Palabras Clave ◽

Model Mapping

O artigo aborda a aplicação da Análise Hierárquica de Processos (AHP) como uma proposta de modelo preditivo para identificação de sítios arqueológicos na Ilha de São Luís – Maranhão, por meio da construção e avaliação de parâmetros hipotéticos com base em sete atributos e suas classes, comumente utilizados nas pesquisas arqueológicas: os indicadores fisiográficos e ambientais. A pesquisa considerou o conhecimento arqueológico já existente para a região, que contabiliza a existência de 105 sítios arqueológicos. As duas fontes de dados foram correlacionadas com os atributos selecionados. Após o modelamento pelo método do AHP foi possível gerar mapas com diferentes graus de potencialidades, que permitiram averiguar e validar a eficácia da proposta por meio de prospecção de superfície in situ, indicando ou não os compartimentos com a maior probabilidade para ocorrência de bens arqueológicos, auxiliando na sua proteção e preservação. Palavras-chave: Análise Hierárquica de Processos (AHP). Modelo preditivo. Mapeamento. Sítios arqueológicos. Ilha de São Luís. APPLICATION OF THE HIERARCHICAL PROCESS ANALYSIS (HPA) METHOD AS A PREDICTIVE MODEL FOR MAPPING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE ISLAND OF SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO Abstract: The article discusses the application of Hierarchical Process Analysis (AHP) as a predictive model for the identification of archaeological sites in the island of São Luís - Maranhão, through the construction and evaluation of hypothetical parameters based on seven attributes and their classes, commonly used in archaeological research: the physiographic and environmental indicators. The research considered the existing archaeological knowledge for the region, which counts the existence of 105 archaeological sites. The two data sources were correlated with the selected attributes. After the modeling by the AHP method it was possible to generate maps with different degrees of potentialities, which allowed to verify and validate the effectiveness of the proposal by means of surface prospecting in situ, indicating or not the compartments with the highest probability for occurrence of archaeological, assisting in its protection and preservation. Keywords: Hierarchical Process Analysis (HPA). Predictive model. Mapping. Archaeological sites. Island of São Luís. APLICACIÓN DEL MÉTODO DE ANÁLISIS JERÁRQUICO DE PROCESOS (AHP) COMO MODELO PREDICTIVO PARA MAPEAMIENTO DE LOS SITIOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS EN LA ISLA DE SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO Resumen: El artículo aborda la aplicación del análisis jerárquico de procesos (AHP) como una propuesta de modelo predictivo para la identificación de sitios arqueológicos en la Isla de São Luís - Maranhão, por medio de la construcción y evaluación de parámetros hipotéticos basados en siete atributos y sus clases, comúnmente utilizados en las investigaciones arqueológicas: los indicadores fisiográficos y ambientales. La investigación consideró el conocimiento arqueológico ya existente para la región, que contabiliza la existencia de 105 sitios arqueológicos. Las dos fuentes de datos se correlacionaron con los atributos seleccionados. Después del modelado por el método del AHP fue posible generar mapas con diferentes grados de potencialidades que permitieron averiguar y validar la eficacia de la propuesta por medio de prospección de superficie in situ, indicando o no los compartimentos con la mayor probabilidad para ocurrencia de bienes arqueológicos, ayudando en su protección y preservación. Palabras clave: Análisis jerárquico de procesos (AHP). Modelo predictivo. Mapeo. Sitios arqueológicos. Isla de San Luis.

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MORPHOMETRY OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC BASINS INSERTED IN THE URBAN AREA OF DOURADOS – MS – BRAZIL

Raega - O Espaço Geográfico em Análise ◽

10.5380/raega.v46i3.67039 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 75

Author(s):

Leonardo Lima dos Santos ◽

Vinícius De Oliveira Ribeiro ◽

Jonailce Oliveira Diodato

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Drainage Density ◽

Water Quantity ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Circularity Index ◽

Physical Variables ◽

Elevation Model ◽

Gis Software ◽

Morphometric Characterization

The morphometric characterization of watersheds has great importance and appliance for the prediction of phenomena such as floods. The objective of this study was to delimitate and characterize morphometrically the hydrographic basins that encompass the urban area of the Municipality of Dourados / MS – Brazil, which derived from estimated physical variables obtained by applying a license-free GIS software. Based on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), the following microcatchment characteristics were determined: area, perimeter, slope, altitude, and watercourse orders. Four morphometric parameters that express a direct or inverse relationship with the water quantity factors of a hydrographic source were calculated and analyzed, being them: compactness coefficient, shape factor, circularity index, and drainage density. By comparing the studied basin results, it was observed that Água Limpa, Água Boa, and Laranja Azeda basin streams are more susceptible to flooding, especially considering the measurement factor and drainage density.

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Empirical Research on the Process of Land Resource-Asset-Capitalization—A Case Study of Yanba, Jiangjin District, Chongqing

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12031236 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 1236

Author(s):

Weiguo Fan ◽

Nan Chen ◽

Ximeng Li ◽

Hejie Wei ◽

Xuechao Wang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Land Policy ◽

Land Resource ◽

Economic Costs ◽

Whole Process

As an effective land policy that can invigorate rural construction areas and balance urban and rural development, land tickets not only concretely embody the land resource-asset-capitalization process, but also bring economic benefits to the farmers concerned. However, from the perspective of resource-asset-capitalization, the specific environmental impacts and economic costs of the process in land tickets and the changes in the values of ecosystem services need to be considered. This paper uses land tickets in Yanba, Jiangjin, Chongqing as an example, combined with life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost assessment (LCC), and methods for the evaluation of ecosystem services to quantify the environmental load, economic costs, and changes in the value of ecosystem services in the process of land resource-asset-capitalization. Moreover, through this analysis, we attempted to determine the contributions of different environmental indicators and the key links restricting the whole process of land resource-asset-capitalization. On this basis, through a sensitivity analysis, we explored the possibility of reducing environmental impact during the whole process of land resource-asset-capitalization. Through this research, we sought to explore the realization process of land tickets and to enrich the empirical research on land resource-asset-capitalization.

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Object-Based Image Analysis of Ground-Penetrating Radar Data for Archaic Hearths

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12162539 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 2539 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Reagan L. Cornett ◽

Eileen G. Ernenwein

Keyword(s):

Image Analysis ◽

Ground Penetrating Radar ◽

Spatial Clustering ◽

Radar Data ◽

Width Ratio ◽

Object Based Image Analysis ◽

Object Based ◽

Circularity Index ◽

Ground Penetrating ◽

Gis Software

Object-based image analysis (OBIA) has been increasingly used to identify terrain features of archaeological sites, but only recently to extract subsurface archaeological features from geophysical data. In this study, we use a semi-automated OBIA to identify Archaic (8000–1000 BC) hearths from Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) data collected at David Crockett Birthplace State Park in eastern Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The data were preprocessed using GPR-SLICE, Surfer, and Archaeofusion software, and amplitude depth slices were selected that contained anomalies ranging from 0.80 to 1.20 m below surface (BS). Next, the data were segmented within ESRI ArcMap GIS software using a global threshold and, after vectorization, classified using four attributes: area, perimeter, length-to-width ratio, and Circularity Index. The user-defined parameters were based on an excavated Archaic circular hearth found at a depth greater than one meter, which consisted of fire-cracked rock and had a diameter greater than one meter. These observations were in agreement with previous excavations of hearths at the site. Features that had a high probability of being Archaic hearths were further delineated by human interpretation from radargrams and then ground-truthed by auger testing. The semi-automated OBIA successfully predicted 15 probable Archaic hearths at depths ranging from 0.85 to 1.20 m BS. Observable spatial clustering of hearths may indicate episodes of seasonal occupation by small mobile groups during the Archaic Period.

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