Linking Tree Cover Change to Historical Management Practices in Urban Parks

Abstract ContextUrban parks provide critical ecological, health, and social benefits, constituting a substantial proportion of urban tree canopy (UTC) within a given city. As cities set ambitious UTC targets, it is critical to understand the social drivers of UTC changes in parks. ObjectivesWe sought to uncover the feedbacks between social processes, including historical events, and park UTC in a post-industrial city that experienced substantial population loss and urban park disinvestment. Methods Our mixed-methods approach involved quantifying spatiotemporal UTC changes and connecting those changes to historical management practices for three parks in Philadelphia, PA (US). We delineated UTC using aerial imagery between 1959 and 2018, and synthesized information from archival records and semi-structured interviews about historical management practices. ResultsWe found substantial UTC gains between 1959 and 1980, due to both: (a) budget cuts, mowing cessation, and associated unintended forest emergence; and (b) purposeful tree planting and reforestation activities. While some UTC gains were purposeful, others were unintentional and reflect successional processes on unmaintained lands. Contrary to literature suggesting that financial investment would lead to UTC gain, we saw declining UTC following an influx of new funding post-2000 due to construction and ecological restoration. ConclusionsWe found differing pathways leading to convergent outcomes of UTC gains. Across the three parks, differing historical processes and management goals for park landscapes had important ramifications for UTC. Our work suggests that landscape management could benefit from an improved understanding of how historical processes impact land cover.

Download Full-text

Assessing Context-Specific Factors to Increase Tree Survival for Scaling Ecosystem Restoration Efforts in East Africa

Land ◽

10.3390/land9120494 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 494

Author(s):

Christine Magaju ◽

Leigh Ann Winowiecki ◽

Mary Crossland ◽

Aymen Frija ◽

Hassen Ouerghemmi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Tenure ◽

Management Practices ◽

Seedling Survival ◽

Household Head ◽

Education Level ◽

Tree Planting ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Farm Size ◽

Tree Survival ◽

Context Specific

Increasing tree cover in agricultural lands can contribute to achieving global and national restoration goals, more so in the drylands where trees play a key role in enhancing both ecosystem and livelihood resilience of the communities that depend on them. Despite this, drylands are characterized by low tree survival especially for tree species preferred by local communities. We conducted a study in arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya and Ethiopia with 1773 households to assess how different tree planting and management practices influence seedling survival. Using on-farm planned comparisons, farmers experimented and compared tree survival under different planting and management practices as well as under varying socioeconomic and biophysical contexts in the two countries. Seedling survival was monitored at least six months after planting. Results show that watering, manure application, seedling protection by fencing and planting in a small hole (30 cm diameter and 45 cm depth) had a significant effect on tree seedling survival in Kenya, while in Ethiopia, mulching, watering and planting niche were significant to tree survival. Household socioeconomics and farms’ biophysical characteristics such as farm size, education level of the household head, land tenure, age of the household head had significant effects on seedling survival in both Ethiopia and Kenya while presence of soil erosion on the farm had a significant effect in Kenya. Soil quality ranking was positively correlated with tree survival in Ethiopia, regardless of species assessed. Current findings have confirmed effects of context specific variables some involving intrahousehold socioeconomic status such education level of the household head, and farm size that influence survival.

Download Full-text

TREE CANOPY COVER MAPPING USING LiDAR IN URBAN BARANGAYS OF CEBU CITY, CENTRAL PHILIPPINES

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xli-b8-611-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B8 ◽

pp. 611-615

Author(s):

J. A. Ejares ◽

R. R. Violanda ◽

A. G. Diola ◽

D. T. Dy ◽

J. B. Otadoy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Canopy Cover ◽

The Philippines ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Tree Planting ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Kappa Index ◽

Slope Length ◽

Object Based ◽

Tree Canopy Cover ◽

Length Width

This paper investigates tree canopy cover mapping of urban barangays (smallest administrative division in the Philippines) in Cebu City using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) was used to extract tree canopy cover. Multi-resolution segmentation and a series of assign-class algorithm in eCognition software was also performed to extract different land features. Contextual features of tree canopies such as height, area, roundness, slope, length-width and elliptic fit were also evaluated. The results showed that at the time the LiDAR data was collected (June 24, 2014), the tree cover was around 25.11 % (or 15,674,341.8 m<sup>2</sup>) of the city’s urban barangays (or 62,426,064.6 m<sup>2</sup>). Among all urban barangays in Cebu City, Barangay Busay had the highest cover (55.79 %) while barangay Suba had the lowest (0.8 %). The 16 barangays with less than 10 % tree cover were generally located in the coastal area, presumably due to accelerated urbanization. Thirty-one barangays have tree cover ranging from 10.59–-27.3 %. Only 3 barangays (i.e., Lahug, Talamban, and Busay) have tree cover greater than 30 %. The overall accuracy of the analysis was 96.6 % with the Kappa Index of Agreement or KIA of 0.9. From the study, a grouping can be made of the city’s urban barangays with regards to tree cover. The grouping will be useful to urban planners not only in allocating budget to the tree planting program of the city but also in planning and creation of urban parks and playgrounds.

Download Full-text

TREE CANOPY COVER MAPPING USING LiDAR IN URBAN BARANGAYS OF CEBU CITY, CENTRAL PHILIPPINES

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xli-b8-611-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B8 ◽

pp. 611-615 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. A. Ejares ◽

R. R. Violanda ◽

A. G. Diola ◽

D. T. Dy ◽

J. B. Otadoy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Canopy Cover ◽

The Philippines ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Tree Planting ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Kappa Index ◽

Slope Length ◽

Object Based ◽

Tree Canopy Cover ◽

Length Width

Download Full-text

Financial Management of Tires Retail and Restaurant Business in Greater Jakarta

ICONIET PROCEEDING ◽

10.33555/iconiet.v2i4.45 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 267-275

Author(s):

Sung Suk Kim ◽

Jacob Donald Tan ◽

Rita Juliana ◽

John Tampil Purba

Keyword(s):

Financial Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Working Capital ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Short Term ◽

Direct Observations ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Cash Reserves ◽

Retained Earnings ◽

Computerized System

This study aims to explore the financial management practices ofsmall-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs) in the Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek). We investigate into 3 SME cases by conducting the semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers and using direct observations to know the practices of financial management of SMEs. Through the research, we have found six propositions related to the practice of short-term financial management. They apply bootstraps to ensure availability of working capital. They set aside cash reserves from retained earnings and minimize loans from financial institutions. They have the computerized system to track receivables facilitating working capital needs. They keep theirinventory control efficient to manage working capital. They screen customers using transactional records and reputations to minimize the risk of bad debts.

Download Full-text

Data on how tree planting and management practices influence tree seedling survival in Kenya and Ethiopia

Data in Brief ◽

10.1016/j.dib.2021.107073 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107073

Author(s):

Christine Magaju ◽

Leigh Ann Winowiecki ◽

Pietro Bartolini ◽

Asma Jeitani ◽

Ibrahim Ochenje ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Seedling Survival ◽

Tree Planting ◽

Tree Seedling

Download Full-text

Diversity of Medicinal Plants among Different Tree Canopies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052640 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2640

Author(s):

Muhammad Zubair ◽

Akash Jamil ◽

Syed Bilal Hussain ◽

Ahsan Ul Haq ◽

Ahmad Hussain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Coniferous Forest ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Local Communities ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Open Spaces ◽

Floral Diversity ◽

Tree Canopy Cover ◽

Closed Canopy

The moist temperate forests in Northern Pakistan are home to a variety of flora and fauna that are pivotal in sustaining the livelihoods of the local communities. In these forests, distribution and richness of vegetation, especially that of medicinal plants, is rarely reported. In this study, we carried out a vegetation survey in District Balakot, located in Northeastern Pakistan, to characterize the diversity of medicinal plants under different canopies of coniferous forest. The experimental site was divided into three major categories (viz., closed canopy, open spaces, and partial tree cover). A sampling plot of 100 m2 was established on each site to measure species diversity, dominance, and evenness. To observe richness and abundance, the rarefaction and rank abundance curves were plotted. Results revealed that a total of 45 species representing 34 families were available in the study site. Medicinal plants were the most abundant (45%) followed by edible plants (26%). Tree canopy cover affected the overall growth of medicinal plants on the basis of abundance and richness. The site with partial canopy exhibited the highest diversity, dominance, and abundance compared to open spaces and closed canopy. These findings are instrumental in identifying the wealth of the medicinal floral diversity in the northeastern temperate forest of Balakot and the opportunity to sustain the livelihoods of local communities with the help of public/private partnership.

Download Full-text

Linking Urban Tree Cover Change and Local History in a Post-Industrial City

Land ◽

10.3390/land10040403 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 403

Author(s):

Lara A. Roman ◽

Indigo J. Catton ◽

Eric J. Greenfield ◽

Hamil Pearsall ◽

Theodore S. Eisenman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Low Income ◽

Historical Context ◽

Local History ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Open Spaces ◽

Urban Tree ◽

Suburban Areas ◽

Post Industrial

Municipal leaders are pursuing ambitious goals to increase urban tree canopy (UTC), but there is little understanding of the pace and socioecological drivers of UTC change. We analyzed land cover change in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States) from 1970–2010 to examine the impacts of post-industrial processes on UTC. We interpreted land cover classes using aerial imagery and assessed historical context using archival newspapers, agency reports, and local historical scholarship. There was a citywide UTC increase of +4.3 percentage points. Substantial UTC gains occurred in protected open spaces related to both purposeful planting and unintentional forest emergence due to lack of maintenance, with the latter phenomenon well-documented in other cities located in forested biomes. Compared to developed lands, UTC was more persistent in protected open spaces. Some neighborhoods experienced substantial UTC gains, including quasi-suburban areas and depopulated low-income communities; the latter also experienced decreasing building cover. We identified key processes that drove UTC increases, and which imposed legacies on current UTC patterns: urban renewal, urban greening initiatives, quasi-suburban developments, and (dis)investments in parks. Our study demonstrates the socioecological dynamism of intra-city land cover changes at multi-decadal time scales and the crucial role of local historical context in the interpretation of UTC change.

Download Full-text

Riparian forestry management and adult stream insects

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-8-545-2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 545-549 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

R. A. Briers ◽

J. H. R. Gee

Keyword(s):

Riparian Vegetation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Food Sources ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Riparian Management ◽

Stream Insects ◽

Larval Stages ◽

Forestry Management ◽

Coniferous Plantation

Abstract. The impacts of coniferous plantation forestry on the biology of upland streams in the UK are firmly established. Whilst benthic communities have been well studied, very little research has considered the impacts of riparian forestry management on adult stream insects, yet the essentially terrestrial adult (reproductive) phase may be important in determining the abundance and distribution of larval stages. Riparian vegetation has a potentially strong impact on survival and success of adult stages through alteration of microclimate, habitat structure and potential food sources, in addition to effects carried over from larval stages. Here, current riparian management strategies are analysed in the light of available information on the ecology of adult stream insects. On the whole, management practices appear to favour adult stream insects, although an increase in tree cover in riparian areas could be beneficial, by providing more favourable microclimatic conditions for adults. This conclusion is drawn based on rather limited information, and the need for further research into the effects of riparian forestry management on adult stream insects is highlighted. Keywords: microclimate, plantation, life history, riparian vegetation

Download Full-text

Why do Irish pig farmers use medications? Barriers for effective reduction of antimicrobials in Irish pig production

Irish Veterinary Journal ◽

10.1186/s13620-021-00193-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alessia Diana ◽

Sylvia Snijders ◽

Alison Rieple ◽

Laura Ann Boyle

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Pig Production ◽

Face To Face ◽

Potential Barriers ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Personal Action ◽

Barriers And Challenges ◽

Attitudinal Changes

Abstract Background In addressing the threat of antimicrobial resistance, it is critical to understand the barriers to the uptake of strategies for the reduction of antimicrobial use (AMU) in the pig industry. In several EU countries, factors such as education level, habits and social pressures are recognised as affecting farmers’ decision-making process in relation to AMU. However, there is a lack of information on the Irish scenario. The aim of this study was to investigate pig farmers’ perspectives and their behaviour towards AMU to identify potential barriers to effectively reduce AMU in Irish pig production. We conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 30 pig farmers, 5 pig veterinarians and 4 focus groups of pig farm personnel. We employed qualitative analyses to explore the objective of the study. Results Qualitative analysis revealed six convergent themes as potential barriers: perceptions about the need for AMU on farm, concept of animal welfare and associated management practices, legislation, culture, economics and standards of communication/type of advice-network. Overall, pig farmers believed that there is poor communication between stakeholders (i.e. farmers, vets and advisors) and a lack of reliable people to approach for advice. They considered themselves as operating responsibly in terms of AMU compared to their national and international colleagues and expressed the importance of a so-called ‘Irish solution’ to the problem of AMU because it was associated with what ‘has always been done’ and was therefore considered reliable and safe. Conclusions Barriers and challenges were in line with those identified in other EU countries highlighting similarities in behavioural and attitudinal patterns among pig farmers. Overall, farmers appeared to be more likely to rely on previous experiences or to wait for an imposed change (e.g. legislation) instead of taking personal action. Thus, considerable behavioural and attitudinal changes are needed to adopt a more responsible AMU in Irish pig production and to develop effective intervention strategies.

Download Full-text

Improving Equine Welfare through Human Habit Formation

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11082156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2156

Author(s):

Jo White ◽

Ruth Sims

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Habit Formation ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Mutual Benefit ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Behavioural Research ◽

Equine Welfare ◽

Lasting Change

This paper explores the potential for interventions to develop pro-animal welfare habitual behaviours (PAWHBs) in people to improve the lives of animals. Human behavioural research indicates that opportunities exist to deliver lasting change through developing positive habitual behaviours. The routine nature of many equine care and management practices lends itself to habit formation and maintenance. This proof-of-concept paper aims to evaluate a theory-based intervention of developing and maintaining a PAWHB in people caring for equines. Qualitative research methods were used. A 30 day PAWHB intervention (PAWHBInt) of providing enrichment to an equine by scratching them in a consistent context linked to an existing routine behaviour was undertaken. Participants (n = 9) then engaged in semi-structured interviews that were analysed using thematic analysis, where the participants self-reported the outcomes they observed during the intervention. The study findings suggest that the PAWHBInt had a positive impact on human behaviour and habit formation. The research helps to address the dearth of evidence regarding the application of habit theory to equine welfare interventions and emphasised linking a desired new behaviour to an existing routine behaviour when developing PAWHBs. The research also highlights the role of mutual benefit for human and equine, and emotion in providing feedback and potential reward, supporting the link to the cue-routine-reward principle of habit theory.

Download Full-text