scholarly journals The impact of land-use change on floristic diversity at regional scale in southern Sweden 600 BC–AD 2008

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 19085-19120
Author(s):  
D. Fredh ◽  
A. Broström ◽  
M. Rundgren ◽  
P. Lagerås ◽  
F. Mazier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Floristic Diversity ◽  
Vegetation Response ◽  
Southern Sweden ◽  
Equal Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Palynological Richness

Abstract. This study explores the relationship between land-use and floristic diversity between 600 BC and AD 2008 in the uplands of southern Sweden. We use fossil pollen assemblages and the Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model to quantitatively reconstruct land-cover at a regional scale. Floristic richness and evenness are estimated using palynological richness and REVEALS-based evenness, respectively. We focus on the period AD 350 to 750 to investigate the impact of an inferred, short-lived (< 200 yr) period of land-use expansion and subsequent land abandonment on vegetation composition and floristic diversity. The observed vegetation response is compared to that recorded during the transition from traditional to modern land-use management at the end of the 19th century. Our results suggest that agricultural land-use was most widespread between AD 350 and 1850, which correlates broadly with high values of palynological richness. REVEALS-based evenness was highest between AD 500 and 1600 which indicates a more equal distribution among taxa during this time interval. Palynological richness increased during the inferred land-use expansion after AD 350 and decreased during the subsequent regression AD 550–750, while REVEALS-based increased throughout this period. The values of palynological richness during the last few decades are within the range observed during the last 1650 yr. However, REVEALS-based evenness shows much lower values during the last century compared to the previous ca. 2600 yr, which indicates that the distribution of present day vegetation is unusual in a millennial perspective. Our results show that regional scale changes in land-use have had clear impacts on floristic diversity in southern Sweden, with a vegetation response time of less than 20 to 50 yr. We show the importance of traditional land-use to attain high biodiversity and suggest that ecosystem management should include a regional landscape perspective.

scholarly journals The impact of land-use change on floristic diversity at regional scale in southern Sweden 600 BC–AD 2008

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 3159-3173 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Fredh ◽  
A. Broström ◽  
M. Rundgren ◽  
P. Lagerås ◽  
F. Mazier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Floristic Diversity ◽  
Vegetation Response ◽  
Southern Sweden ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Palynological Richness

Abstract. This study explores the relationship between land-use and floristic diversity between 600 BC and AD 2008 in the uplands of southern Sweden. We use fossil pollen assemblages and the Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model to quantitatively reconstruct land cover at a regional scale. Floristic richness and evenness are estimated using palynological richness and REVEALS-based evenness, respectively. We focus on the period AD 350 to 750 to investigate the impact of an inferred, short-lived (< 200 yr) period of land-use expansion and subsequent land abandonment on vegetation composition and floristic diversity. The observed vegetation response is compared to that recorded during the transition from traditional to modern land-use management at the end of the 19th century. Our results suggest that agricultural land use was most widespread between AD 350 and 1850, which correlates broadly with high values of palynological richness. REVEALS-based evenness was highest between AD 500 and 1600 which indicates a more equal cover among taxa during this time interval. Palynological richness increased during the inferred land-use expansion after AD 350 and decreased during the subsequent regression AD 550–750, while REVEALS-based evenness increased throughout this period. The values of palynological richness during the last few decades are within the range observed during the last 1650 yr. However, REVEALS-based evenness shows much lower values during the last century compared to the previous ca. 2600 yr, which indicates that the composition of present-day vegetation is unusual in a millennial perspective. Our results show that regional scale changes in land use have had clear impacts on floristic diversity in southern Sweden, with a vegetation response time of less than 20 to 50 yr. We show the importance of traditional land use to attain high biodiversity and suggest that ecosystem management should include a regional landscape perspective.

scholarly journals Impact of coastal inundation on ecology and agricultural land use case study in central Java, Indonesia

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muh Marfai
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Coastal Inundation ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Dry Farming ◽  
The Impact

Impact of coastal inundation on ecology and agricultural land use case study in central Java, Indonesia Focusing on the regional scale, this study provides information concerning the existing ecological problems associated with coastal inundation in the northern part of coastal area in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The objectives of this paper are to map the coastal inundation, to investigate the impact of coastal inundation on coastal environment and ecology, and to assess the impact of inundation on agricultural land use. An integration of techniques, namely neighborhood analysis, iteration operation, and superimposed analysis method has been applied to generate the digital map and to analyze the impact of inundation. Fieldwork measurement has been done using cross-profiling in order to observe the impact of inundation on the coastal ecosystem. Based on the scenario of 100 cm and 150 cm of inundation, the affected area is about 15 207.6 Ha and 16 687.31 Ha, respectively. Fishpond, dry farming and paddy field are the most affected agricultural areas due to coastal inundation.

scholarly journals Soil classification predicts differences in prokaryotic communities across a range of geographically distant soils once pH is accounted for

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Kaminsky ◽  
Blandine Trouche ◽  
Sergio E. Morales
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Soil Classification ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Community Patterns ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAgricultural land is typically managed based on visible plant life at the expense of the belowground majority. However, microorganisms mediate processes sustaining plant life and the soil environment. To understand the role of microbes we first must understand what controls soil microbial community assembly. We assessed the distribution and composition of prokaryotic communities from soils representing four geographic regions on the South Island of New Zealand. These soils are under three different uses (dairy, sheep and beef, and high country farming) and are representative of major soil classification groups (brown, pallic, gley and recent). We hypothesized that pH would account for major community patterns based on 16S profiles, but that land use and location would be secondary modifiers. Community diversity and structure was linked to pH, coinciding with land use. Soil classification correlated with microbial community structure and evenness, but not richness in high country and sheep and beef communities. The impact of land use and pH remained significant at the regional scale, but soil classification provided support for community variability not explained by either of those factors. These results suggest that several edaphic properties must be examined at multiple spatial scales to robustly examine soil prokaryotic communities.

scholarly journals Biodiversity in intensive and extensive grasslands in Finland: the impacts of spatial and temporal changes of agricultural land use

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Tiainen ◽  
Terho Hyvönen ◽  
Marleena Hagner ◽  
Erja Huusela-Veistola ◽  
Pauliina Louhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Vegetation Diversity ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
Small Fields ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
The Impact

Biodiversity degradation is a national and global problem which is interconnected with land use and climate change. All these are major unsolved questions and their interactions are only partly understood. Agriculture and especially cattle farming is under keen societal focus because of its significant role in soil carbon losses, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity preservation. We reviewed the Finnish scientific literature to assess the impact of intensive contra extensive grass production on biodiversity using vascular plants, vertebrates, invertebrates and soil biota. Still a few decades ago, mixed farming was prevailing almost everywhere in Finland, but nowadays cereal production is essentially clustered in the southwest and milk and beef production in the northeast. This is reflected in the distribution of intensive (connected with cattle) and extensive grasslands (both types of farming). The bird community was most abundant and species rich in farmland which provides small fields in large blocks of farmland and many kinds of crops, including both intensive and extensive grasslands. Overall permanent grasslands with rather simply vegetation diversity can maintain a diverse community of spiders and leafhoppers, and act as overwintering habitat for polyphagous predators in field ecosystems. The ecological requirement of all species and species groups are probably never met at one site and consequently target should be in having differently managed areas at regional scale. For some of the taxa, ecosystem services could be indicated, but a research-based quantitative assessment is available only for carbon sequestration and weak impact of dung-beetles in diminishing GHG emissions from cow pats. Our review demonstrated that quite much is known about biodiversity in extensively managed grasslands, but very little in intensively managed grasslands. An important question is whether there is some threshold for the proportion of grasslands under which regional biodiversity will be reduced. Intensive production offers limited value to replace the high biodiversity value of semi-natural pastures.

Vegetation Effects on Soil Properties in the Monteagle Sandy Loam Series: Implications for Land‐use Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Neil
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
The Impact

Soil properties are strongly influenced by the composition of the surrounding vegetation. We investigated soil properties of three ecosystems; a coniferous forest, a deciduous forest and an agricultural grassland, to determine the impact of land use change on soil properties. Disturbances such as deforestation followed by cultivation can severely alter soil properties, including losses of soil carbon. We collected nine 40 cm cores from three ecosystem types on the Roebuck Farm, north of Perth Village, Ontario, Canada. Dominant species in each ecosystem included hemlock and white pine in the coniferous forest; sugar maple, birch and beech in the deciduous forest; grasses, legumes and herbs in the grassland. Soil pH varied little between the three ecosystems and over depth. Soils under grassland vegetation had the highest bulk density, especially near the surface. The forest sites showed higher cation exchange capacity and soil moisture than the grassland; these differences largely resulted from higher organic matter levels in the surface forest soils. Vertical distribution of organic matter varied greatly amongst the three ecosystems. In the forest, more of the organic matter was located near the surface, while in the grassland organic matter concentrations varied little with depth. The results suggest that changes in land cover and land use alters litter inputs and nutrient cycling rates, modifying soil physical and chemical properties. Our results further suggest that conversion of forest into agricultural land in this area can lead to a decline in soil carbon storage.

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 Impacts of Urbanization on Land Use Pattern and Environment: A Case Study of Ajmer City, Rajasthan

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Bhanu Priya Chouhan ◽  
Monika Kannan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
The Impact

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. More than half of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion. ‘Urbanization has the potential to usher in a new era of wellbeing, resource efficiency and economic growth. But due to increased population the pressure of demand also increases in urban areas’ (Drakakis-Smith, David, 1996). The loss of agricultural land to other land uses occasioned by urban growth is an issue of growing concern worldwide, particularly in the developing countries like India. This paper is an attempt to assess the impact of urbanization on land use and land cover patterns in Ajmer city. Recent trends indicate that the rural urban migration and religious significance of the place attracting thousands of tourists every year, have immensely contributed in the increasing population of city and is causing change in land use patterns. This accelerating urban sprawl has led to shrinking of the agricultural land and land holdings. Due to increased rate of urbanization, the agricultural areas have been transformed into residential and industrial areas (Retnaraj D,1994). There are several key factors which cause increase in population here such as Smart City Projects, potential for employment, higher education, more comfortable and quality housing, better health facilities, high living standard etc. Population pressure not only directly increases the demand for food, but also indirectly reduces its supply through building development, environmental degradation and marginalization of food production (Aldington T, 1997). Also, there are several issues which are associated with continuous increase in population i.e. land degradation, pollution, poverty, slums, unaffordable housing etc. Pollution, formulation of slums, transportation congestion, environmental hazards, land degradation and crime are some of the major impacts of urbanization on Ajmer city. This study involves mapping of land use patterns by analyzing data and satellite imagery taken at different time periods. The satellite images of year 2000 and 2017 are used. The change detection techniques are used with the help of Geographical Information System software like ERDAS and ArcGIS. The supervised classification of all the three satellite images is done by ERDAS software to demarcate and analyze land use change.

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