scholarly journals State of Amphibia 2020: Five years of amphibian research, diversity and resources

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly C. Womack ◽  
Emma Steigerwald ◽  
David Blackburn ◽  
David C. Cannatella ◽  
Alessandro Catenazzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Database Integration ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Geographic Regions

Amphibians are a clade of over 8,400 species that provide unique research opportunities and challenges. With amphibians undergoing severe global declines, taking stock of our current understanding of amphibians is imperative. Focusing on 2016–2020, we assessed trends in amphibian publishing, conservation research, systematics, and community resources. We show that while research and data availability are increasing rapidly, information is not evenly distributed across research fields, clades, or geographic regions, leading to substantial knowledge gaps. A complete review of amphibian NCBI resources indicates that genomic data are poised for rapid expansion, but amphibian genomes pose significant challenges. A review of recent conservation literature and cataloged threats on 1,261 species highlight the need to address land use change and disease using adaptive management strategies. We underscore the importance of database integration for advancing amphibian research and conservation and suggest other understudied or imperiled clades would benefit from similar assessments.

scholarly journals An Elevation-Based Stratification Model for Simulating Land Use Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erqi Xu ◽  
Hongqi Zhang ◽  
Lina Yao
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Simulation Performance

Land use significantly influences the planet’s land surface and associated biogeochemical processes. With fierce conflict between various land uses, it is important to project the land system process to support decision-making. Lack of insight into scale differences of land use change (LUC) increased uncertainties in previous studies. To quantify the differences in LUCs within an elevation gradient, in this study, a novel model, the stratified land use change simulation model (SLUCS), was developed by using an elevation-based stratification strategy. This model consists of four modules. First, an elevation-based stratification module to develop a quantitative method for generating stratifications using elevation and land-use characteristics. Second, a non-spatial land-use demand module to forecast the overall land use area and make zoning constraints to simulate LUCs. Third, a stratified suitability estimation module that uses the stratified logistic regression method to reveal the regional relationship of the driving factors with LUCs at different stratifications. Finally, a spatial allocation of the land-use module, which projects a spatially explicit LUC. The SLUCS model was applied and tested in the Guizhou and Guangxi Karst Mountainous Region. Results validated the effectiveness of the model, and further demonstrated an improved spatial consistency with the reference, a higher accuracy assessment, and a better simulation performance in conversion areas than the traditional method. Three scenarios from 2015 to 2030 with different land-use priorities were designed and projected. Each scenario presented the same LUC trends, but with different magnitudes, including the rapid expansion of built-up land, the restoration of forest and water, and the loss of farmland and grassland. Priority of the socioeconomic development and ecological protection of the scenarios forecasted a sharper increase in the built-up land and in forests than the historical extrapolation scenario. The SLUCS model visually projected the LUC trajectory and competition between land uses, which suggests specific tradeoffs among management strategies to support sustainable land uses.

scholarly journals Regional Variations of Land-Use Development and Land-Use/Cover Change Dynamics: A Case Study of Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ustaoglu ◽  
Aydınoglu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Spatio Temporal

. Population growth, economic development and rural-urban migration have caused rapid expansion of urban areas and metropolitan regions in Turkey. The structure of urban administration and planning has faced different socio-economic and political challenges, which have hindered the structured and planned development of cities and regions, resulting in an irregular and uneven development of these regions. We conducted detailed comparative analysis on spatio-temporal changes of the identified seven land-use/cover classes across different regions in Turkey with the use of Corine Land Cover (CLC) data of circa 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2012, integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Here we compared spatio-temporal changes of urban and non-urban land uses, which differ across regions and across different hierarchical levels of urban areas. Our findings have shown that peri-urban areas are growing more than rural areas, and even growing more than urban areas in some regions. A deeper look at regions located in different geographical zones pointed to substantial development disparities across western and eastern regions of Turkey. We also employed multiple regression models to explain any possible drivers of land-use change, regarding both urban and non-urban land uses. The results reveal that the three influencing factors-socio-economic characteristics, regional characteristics and location, and development constraints, facilitate land-use change. However, their impacts differ in different geographical locations, as well as with different hierarchical levels.

scholarly journals Land Use Change in Coastal Cities during the Rapid Urbanization Period from 1990 to 2016: A Case Study in Ningbo City, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Shuai Zhong ◽  
Xue Wang ◽  
Lei Shen ◽  
Litao Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
City Center ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Construction Land ◽  
Coastal Cities

Coastal cities have been experiencing tremendous land use changes worldwide. Studies on the consequences of land use change in coastal cities have provided helpful information for spatial regulations and have attracted increased attention. Changes in forests and water bodies, however, have rarely been investigated, challenging the formation of a holistic pattern of land use change. In this study, we selected Ningbo, China, as a case study area and analyzed its land use change from 1990 to 2016. Random forest (RF) classification was employed to derive land use information from Landsat images. Transition matrices and a distribution index (DI) were applied to identify the major types of land use transitions and their spatial variations by site-specific attributes. The results showed that the entire time period could be divided into two stages, based on the manifestations of land use change in Ningbo: 1990–2005 and 2005–2016. During 1990–2005, construction land expanded rapidly, mainly through the occupation of agricultural land and forest, while during 2005–2016, the main change trajectory turned out to be a small net change in construction land and a net increase in agricultural land sourced from construction land, forests, and water bodies. In terms of land use change by site-specific attributes, the rapid expansion of construction land around the municipal city center during 1990–2005 was restrained, and similar amounts of land conversion between construction and agricultural use occurred during 2005–2016. During the study period, areas undergoing land use change also showed trends of moving outward from the municipal city center and the county centers located adjacent to roads and the coastline and of moving up to hilly areas with steeper slopes and higher elevations. Protecting reclaimed agricultural land, improving the efficiency of construction land, and controlling forest conversion in hilly areas are suggested as spatial regulations in Ningbo city.

Land-use change and floods: what do we need most, research or management?

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Tollan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Damage ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Infiltration Capacity

Land-cover change (urbanisation, deforestation, and cultivation) results in increased flood frequency and severity. Mechanisms include reduced infiltration capacity, lower soil porosity, loss of vegetation, and forest clearing, meaning lower evapotranspiration. Major research challenges lie in quantification of effects in terms of flood characteristics under various conditions, ascertaining the combined effects of gradual changes over long time periods, and developing model tools suitable for land-use management. Large floods during the 1990s gave a new focus on these problems. Reference is made to the Norwegian HYDRA research programme on human impacts on floods and flood damage. The paper concludes that land-use change effects on floods are most pronounced at small scale and for frequent flood magnitudes. Model simulations of effects of land-use change can now be used to reduce flood risk. Modern flood management strategies have abandoned the position that dams and dikes are the only answers to mitigating flood disasters. Today, the strategic approach is more often: do not keep the water away from the people, keep people away from the water. Flood management strategies should include flood warnings, efficient communication, risk awareness, civil protection and flood preparedness routines, effective land-use policies, flood risk mapping, … as well as structural measures.

Impact of Land-Use Change on Grassland Carbon Stocks: An Overview of the Literature

2013 ◽  
Vol 448-453 ◽  
pp. 948-951
Author(s):  
Lian Kuan Wang ◽  
Pei Yong Lian ◽  
Yun Jiang Fu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Terrestrial Vegetation ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Terrestrial Biosphere ◽  
C Storage ◽  
C Stocks

Terrestrial vegetation and soils in the terrestrial biosphere play an active role in shaping the environmental systems of the Earth. An improved understanding of changes in carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems is very important for assessing the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2concentration and climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accurately predicting terrestrial carbon (C) storage requires understanding the stock and storage potential of C, because it helps us understand how ecosystems would respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances under different management strategies. Grasslands are important for global carbon balance both for their large area and significant sink or source capacities, depending on the factors of climatic and land-use. Land-use change is often associated with changes in land cover and carbon (C) stocks. Land-use and land cover strongly influence carbon (C) storage and distribution within the grassland ecosystems.

scholarly journals Ecology, economy and management of an agroindustrial frontier landscape in the southeast Amazon

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1619) ◽  
pp. 20120152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo M. Brando ◽  
Michael T. Coe ◽  
Ruth DeFries ◽  
Andrea A. Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Deforestation Rate

The papers in this special issue address a major challenge facing our society: feeding a population that is simultaneously growing and increasing its per capita food consumption, while preventing widespread ecological and social impoverishment in the tropics. By focusing mostly on the Amazon's most dynamic agricultural frontier, Mato Grosso, they collectively clarify some key elements of achieving more sustainable agriculture. First, stakeholders in commodity-driven agricultural Amazonian frontiers respond rapidly to multiple forces, including global markets, international pressures for sustainably produced commodities and national-, state- and municipality-level policies. These forces can encourage or discourage deforestation rate changes within a short time-period. Second, agricultural frontiers are linked systems, land-use change is linked with regional climate, forest fires, water quality and stream discharge, which in turn are linked with the well-being of human populations. Thus, land-use practices at the farm level have ecological and social repercussions far removed from it. Third, policies need to consider the full socio-economic system to identify the efficacy and consequences of possible land management strategies. Monitoring to devise suitable management approaches depends not only on tracking land-use change, but also on monitoring the regional ecological and social consequences. Mato Grosso's achievements in reducing deforestation are impressive, yet they are also fragile. The ecological and social consequences and the successes and failures of management in this region can serve as an example of possible trajectories for other commodity-driven tropical agricultural frontiers.

Illegal land use change assessment using GIS and remote sensing to support sustainable land management strategies in Taiwan

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Valdez ◽  
Chi-Farn Chen ◽  
Shou-Hao Chiang ◽  
Kang-Tsung Chang ◽  
Ya-Wen Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Change Assessment

scholarly journals A new European land systems representation accounting for landscape characteristics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Dou ◽  
Francesca Cosentino ◽  
Ziga Malek ◽  
Luigi Maiorano ◽  
Wilfried Thuiller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Land Systems ◽  
Land Cover Maps

Abstract Context While land use change is the main driver of biodiversity loss, most biodiversity assessments either ignore it or use a simple land cover representation. Land cover representations lack the representation of land use and landscape characteristics relevant to biodiversity modeling. Objectives We developed a comprehensive and high-resolution representation of European land systems on a 1-km2 grid integrating important land use and landscape characteristics. Methods Combining the recent data on land cover and land use intensities, we applied an expert-based hierarchical classification approach and identified land systems that are common in Europe and meaningful for studying biodiversity. We tested the benefits of using this map as compared to land cover information to predict the distribution of bird species having different vulnerability to landscape and land use change. Results Next to landscapes dominated by one land cover, mosaic landscapes cover 14.5% of European terrestrial surface. When using the land system map, species distribution models demonstrate substantially higher predictive ability (up to 19% higher) as compared to models based on land cover maps. Our map consistently contributes more to the spatial distribution of the tested species than the use of land cover data (3.9 to 39.1% higher). Conclusions A land systems classification including essential aspects of landscape and land management into a consistent classification can improve upon traditional land cover maps in large-scale biodiversity assessment. The classification balances data availability at continental scale with vital information needs for various ecological studies.

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