scholarly journals Defining Deforestation Patterns Using Satellite Images from 2000 and 2017: Assessment of Forest Management in Miombo Forests—A Case Study of Huambo Province in Angola

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasco Chiteculo ◽  
Azadeh Abdollahnejad ◽  
Dimitrios Panagiotidis ◽  
Peter Surový ◽  
Ram Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Management Zone ◽  
The Impact

A few studies have recently been published on changes in land use/land cover (LU/LC) of Angolan Miombo forests, however, none have attempted to offer forest management solutions for degraded Miombo forests. Landscapes are witness to past and present natural and social processes influencing the environment, where each period in the past leaves footprints on the landscape’s development, which can be described by a continual decrease in forest area over time. The expansion of degraded areas from 2000 to 20017 began near urban areas where many Miombo forests have been eliminated or highly degraded, particularly in the southwest and northeast of the Huambo province. Large areas of degraded forests were observed along the Benguela railway (Caminho de ferro de Benguela). Our detailed analysis of the landcover map suggests that the impact has been devastating and there is no form of forest protection, which leads to unregulated exploitation. Descriptions of the Miombo forest dynamics are explained using height–diameter curves developed for different vegetation types that provide important insights about forest structures in the management zones. The height–diameter models differed for all vegetation types, and four management zones (MZ) were created based on a set of particular attributes. The vegetation types differed in each management zone, which included agricultural land and bare soil (MZ–E), grassland or savanna (MZ–C), open Miombo forests (MZ–B), and closed Miombo forests (Miombo forests). The four management zones were easily identified on the available maps and the height–diameter models developed represent a fundamental tool for future studies on forest planning.

scholarly journals Evaluating Landscape Attractiveness with Geospatial Data, a Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Astrid Vannoppen ◽  
Jeroen Degerickx ◽  
Anne Gobin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Landscape Indicators ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Landscape Quality

Attractive landscapes are diverse and resilient landscapes that provide a multitude of essential ecosystem services. The development of landscape policy to protect and improve landscape attractiveness, thereby ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, is ideally adapted to region specific landscape characteristics. In addition, trends in landscape attractiveness may be linked to certain policies, or the absence of policies over time. A spatial and temporal evaluation of landscape attractiveness is thus desirable for landscape policy development. In this paper, landscape attractiveness was spatially evaluated for Flanders (Belgium) using landscape indicators derived from geospatial data as a case study. Large local differences in landscape quality in (i) rural versus urban areas and (ii) between the seven agricultural regions in Flanders were found. This observed spatial variability in landscape attractiveness demonstrated that a localized approach, considering the geophysical characteristics of each individual region, would be required in the development of landscape policy to improve landscape quality in Flanders. Some trends in landscape attractiveness were related to agriculture in Flanders, e.g., a slight decrease in total agricultural area, decrease in dominance of grassland, maize and cereals, a decrease in crop diversity, sharp increase in the adoption of agri-environmental agreements (AEA) and a decrease in bare soil conditions in winter. The observed trends and spatial variation in landscape attractiveness can be used as a tool to support policy analysis, assess the potential effects of future policy plans, identify policy gaps and evaluate past landscape policy.

scholarly journals Tendencies of Fire Development in the Forests of Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Yevhen Melnyk ◽  
Vladimir Voron
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Wildfire Occurrence ◽  
Management Zone

Preservation and increase of forest area are necessary conditions for the biosphere functioning. Forest ecosystems in most parts of the world are affected by fires. According to the latest data, the forest fire situation has become complicated in Ukraine, and this issue requires ongoing investigation. The aim of the study was to analyse the dynamics of wildfires in Ukrainian forests over recent decades and to assess the complex indicator of wildfire occurrence in various forest management zones and administrative regions. The average annual complex indicator of fire occurrence, in terms of wildfire number and burned area, was studied in detail in the forests of various administrative regions and forest management zones in Ukraine from 1998 to 2017. The results show that fire occurrence in both the number and area of fires can vary significantly in various forest management zones. There is a very noticeable difference in these indicators in some administrative regions within a particular forest management zone. The data show that the number of forest fires depends not only on the natural and climatic conditions of such regions, but also on anthropogenic factors.

scholarly journals Equitable Allocation of Blue and Green Water Footprints Based on Land-Use Types: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Liu ◽  
Lu Shi ◽  
Kevin Li
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Lexicographic Optimization ◽  
The Impact

This paper develops a lexicographic optimization model to allocate agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints by using the land area as the influencing factor. An index known as the water-footprint-land density (WFLD) index is then put forward to assess the impact and equity of the resulting allocation scheme. Subsequently, the proposed model is applied to a case study allocating water resources for the 11 provinces and municipalities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). The objective is to achieve equitable spatial allocation of water resources from a water footprint perspective. Based on the statistical data in 2013, this approach starts with a proper accounting for water footprints in the 11 YREB provinces. We then determined an optimal allocation of water footprints by using the proposed lexicographic optimization approach from a land area angle. Lastly, we analyzed how different types of land uses contribute to allocation equity and we discuss policy changes to implement the optimal allocation schemes in the YREB. Analytical results show that: (1) the optimized agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints decrease from the current levels for each province across the YREB, but this decrease shows a heterogeneous pattern; (2) the WFLD of 11 YREB provinces all decline after optimization with the largest decline in Shanghai and the smallest decline in Sichuan; and (3) the impact of agricultural land on the allocation of agricultural water footprints is mainly reflected in the land use structure of three land types including arable land, forest land, and grassland. The different land use structures in the upstream, midstream, and downstream regions lead to the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized agricultural water footprints in the three YREB segments; (4) In addition to the non-agricultural land area, different regional industrial structures are the main reason for the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized non-agricultural water footprints. Our water-footprint-based optimal water resources allocation scheme helps alleviate the water resources shortage pressure and achieve coordinated and balanced development in the YREB.

scholarly journals The impact of urbanization expansion on agricultural land in Ethiopia: A review

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-80
Author(s):  
Assefa Ayele ◽  
Kassa Tarekegn
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Economic Resource ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Impact Of Urbanization ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn a country like Ethiopia where the vast majority of the populations are employed in agriculture, land is an important economic resource for the development of rural livelihoods. Agricultural land in peri-urban areas is, however, transformed into built-up regions through horizontal urban expansion that has an effect on land use value. In recent years Ethiopia has been experiencing rapid urbanization, which has led to an ever-increasing demand for land in peri-urban areas for housing and other nonagricultural activities that pervades agricultural land. There is a high demand for informal and illegal peri-urban land which has been held by peri-urban farmers, and this plays a vital role in the unauthorized and sub-standard house construction on agricultural land. This urbanization has not been extensively reviewed and documented. In this review an attempt has been made to assess the impacts of rapid urbanization on agricultural activities. Urban expansion has reduced the areas available for agriculture, which has seriously impacted upon peri-urban farmers that are often left with little or no land to cultivate and which has increased their vulnerability. Housing encroachments have been observed to be uncontrolled due to a weak government response to the trend of unplanned city expansion. This has left peri-urban farmers exposed to the negative shocks of urbanization because significant urbanization-related agricultural land loss has a positive correlation with grain production decrease. Appropriate governing bodies should control urban development in order to control the illegal and informal spread of urbanization on agricultural land that threatens food production.

scholarly journals Google Traffic sebagai Masukan Kebijakan Transportasi Perkotaan (Studi Kasus: Kota Bandar Lampung)

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-417
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zainal Ibad ◽  
Rahayu Sulistyorini ◽  
Chania Rahmah
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Transportation ◽  
Transportation Policy ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Transportation Policies ◽  
Movement System ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Congestion in urban areas is vulnerable because of the impact of the growth of activities and an increasingly specialized and complex economy. For this reason, it is necessary to formulate a good urban transportation policy to accommodate increased urban transportation needs. Google Traffic is a feature found on Google Maps to see the level of congestion in an area. Google Traffic can detect an area with red, yellow or green indications through the principle of Real Time Data using data from the Global Positioning System (GPS). This study wanted to see how the use of the Google Traffic Feature as input to urban transportation policies by looking at existing urban transportation policies, analyzing the movement system model on Google Traffic, and analyzing the development of Google Traffic model policies, which would be useful for the development of Urban Transportation Policies, especially Bandar Lampung City as a case study.

scholarly journals Understanding self-organization and formal institutions in peri-urban transformations: A case study from Beijing

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-303
Author(s):  
Shuhai Zhang ◽  
Gert de Roo ◽  
Ward Rauws
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Rural Village ◽  
Urban Transformations ◽  
The Impact

This article explores the mechanisms of urban self-organization and the role of formal institutions in shaping peri-urban areas. A case study of Gaobeidian, a former rural village that is now part of Beijing, examines the mechanisms of change and the interdependent relations between institutions and bottom-up initiatives that drive peri-urban transformations. The paper presents two main contributions: (1) it identifies the differences between government-controlled planning, shared governance, self-governance and self-organization and how these intertwine in urban transformations; (2) it proposes three distinct roles played by institutions in relation to self-organization: triggering, constraining and enabling. The empirical study of this Chinese case will enrich the current debate on planning for self-organizing cities by revealing the impact of, and the various responses to, self-organization dynamics in a hierarchical institutional environment.

scholarly journals Need for sustainability policy – a case study of the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) in the western region of Tianshan Mountain, China

2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Xiao Ruan ◽  
Cun-De Pan ◽  
Ning-Yi Xu ◽  
Xia Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Conservation ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Tianshan Mountain ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Conservation Program ◽  
Logging Ban ◽  
The Western Region ◽  
The Impact

A case study of the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) in the western region of Tianshan Mountain was undertaken between 2001 and 2003. Data on the geographic, climatic, ecological, and social economy background of the study area were collected. The impact of the NFCP on the forest, soil, water, and biodiversity in the study area were analyzed and evaluated. The results show that a complete logging ban in the study area cannot replace sustainable forest management; a more flexible policy should be adopted to resolve technical, social and economic problems associated with the complete and suddenly implemented logging ban. In order to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the NFCP, public awareness and funding support China should be increased. Key words: sustainability, Natural Forest Conservation Program, NFCP, forest management, Tianshan Mountain

Building Reconstruction After Large-Scale Disasters A Case Study of Ishinomaki City After the Great East Japan Earthquake

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (sp) ◽  
pp. 780-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michio Ubaura ◽  
◽  
Junpei Nieda ◽  
Masashi Miyakawa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Compact City ◽  
Building Reconstruction

In large-scale disasters and the subsequent recovery process, land usage and urban spatial forms change. It is therefore important to use this process as an opportunity to create a more sustainable spatial structure. This study considers the urban spatial transformations that took place after the Great East Japan Earthquake, their causes, and accompanying issues by investigating building construction in the recovery process. The authors discovered that individual rebuilding is primarily concentrated in vacant lots within the city’s existing urbanized areas. This is likely due to the spatial impact of the urban planning and agricultural land use planning system, the area division of urbanization promotion areas, and the urbanization restricted areas, all of which were in place prior to the disaster and which have guided development. On the other hand, there are areas severely damaged by tsunami in which there has been little reconstruction of housing that was completely destroyed. The authors concluded that building reconstruction in Ishinomaki City resulted in both the formation of a high-density compact city and also very low-density urban areas.

scholarly journals Temporal changes in greenspace in a highly urbanized region

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 763-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dallimer ◽  
Zhiyao Tang ◽  
Peter R. Bibby ◽  
Paul Brindley ◽  
Kevin J. Gaston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
National Level ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Dramatic Shift ◽  
Urbanized Region ◽  
The Impact

The majority of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and urban areas are expanding faster than any other land-use type. In response to this phenomenon, two opposing arguments have emerged: whether cities should ‘sprawl’ into the wider countryside, or ‘densify’ through the development of existing urban greenspace. However, these greenspaces are increasingly recognized as being central to the amelioration of urban living conditions, supporting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. Taking the highly urbanized region of England as a case study, we use data from a variety of sources to investigate the impact of national-level planning policy on temporal patterns in the extent of greenspace in cities. Between 1991 and 2006, greenspace showed a net increase in all but one of 13 cities. However, the majority of this gain occurred prior to 2001, and greenspace has subsequently declined in nine cities. Such a dramatic shift in land use coincides with policy reforms in 2000, which favoured densification. Here, we illustrate the dynamic and policy-responsive nature of urban land use, thereby highlighting the need for a detailed investigation of the trade-offs associated with different mechanisms of urban densification to optimize and secure the diverse benefits associated with greenspaces.

scholarly journals Germany’s Agricultural Land Footprint and the Impact of Import Pattern Allocation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Josef Hennenberg ◽  
Swantje Gebhardt ◽  
Florian Wimmer ◽  
Martin Distelkamp ◽  
Christian Lutz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Land Conversion ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
Global Average ◽  
The Impact

Footprints are powerful indicators for evaluating the impact of the bioeconomy of a country on environmental goods, domestically and abroad. In this study, we apply a hybrid approach combining a Multi-Regional Input-Output model and land use modelling to compute the agricultural land footprint (aLF). Furthermore, we added information on land-use change to the analysis and allocated land conversion to specific commodities. The German case study shows that the aLF abroad is larger by a factor of 2.5 to 3 than the aLF in Germany. In 2005 and 2010, conversion of natural and semi-natural land-cover types abroad allocated to Germany due to import increases was 2.5 times higher than the global average. Import increases to Germany slowed down in 2015 and 2020, reducing land conversion attributed to the German bioeconomy to the global average. The case study shows that the applied land footprint provides clear and meaningful information for policymakers and other stakeholders. The presented methodological approach can be applied to other countries and regions covered in the underlying database EXIOBASE. It can be adapted, also for an assessment of other ecosystem functions, such as water or soil fertility.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document