scholarly journals Determination of Alterations in Forest Condition Using Various Measures of Land Use Change along an Urban-Rural Gradient in the West Georgia Piedmont, USA

ISRN Ecology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane M. Styers ◽  
Arthur H. Chappelka ◽  
Greg L. Somers
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Forest Condition ◽  
Hardwood Species ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Georgia Piedmont

Our overall goal was to examine forest condition across different land use types through measurement of various biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic variables. Thirty-six permanent 0.05-ha circular plots were established along an urban-rural gradient near Columbus, Ga, USA. In general, forest structure did not differ by land use type for the majority of variables measured. However, urban forests contained less total tree and hardwood species than developing or rural areas. Regarding forest condition, no differences were observed for pest or disease incidence by land use, but more mechanical injury (broken branches, wounds, etc.) was found in urban locales. Lichens were the most sensitive indicator of possible changes in forest condition. Lichen incidence, abundance, and species richness were the greatest in rural forests and the least in urban locations. These factors were related to several indicators of urbanization such as housing density and distance from roads. In this case study subtle, but significant changes in forest structure and condition may have resulted from alterations in land use patterns.

scholarly journals Straddling the Fence: Land Use Patterns in and around Ports as Hidden Designers

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-151
Author(s):  
Lucija Ažman Momirski ◽  
Yvonne Van Mil ◽  
Carola Hein
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Port City ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Transition Strategies ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
And Function ◽  
Port Areas ◽  
Over Time

Ports are clearly demarcated structures on land and water. They are fenced in, easily recognizable on satellite and orthophoto images, and they have specific functions. This apparent clarity of ports, their function and outline, in relation to nearby urban and rural areas, becomes more complex when explored through the lens of land use, that is the existing and planned future functional dimension or socio-economic purpose of the land. In contrast to urban and rural areas, where land use has been mapped and defined for centuries, the use and function of land and water in port areas has long been multifunctional and not defined on land use maps. This raises questions about the role and understanding of port territory in relation to neighboring spaces, past, and present. This article first defines land use and describes its historical development. Scholars from various disciplines, including geographers, planners, and economists, have addressed the issue of land use in port areas. Land use patterns have emerged over time and are based on earlier demarcations of port areas and distinctions between port and city. As shown by the historical port city borders in Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Koper, these delimitations can change over time, by location and by function. The land use register has only recently been harmonized at the European level. European and national registers distinguish existing and planned land use in port areas differently. Mixed uses prevail in new port interventions, creating a new kind of permeability or porosity; that is, areas where port, urban and rural functions merge. New land use porosity is a particular state of land use (on both sides of the boundaries of port areas) that goes beyond the physical boundaries marked by fences. Land use porosity effectively creates land use continuity, a functional porosity that serves as a hidden blueprint for future planning. Understanding land use porosity can provide a foundation for novel approaches to the development of transition strategies that are needed to address contemporary challenges, including climate change and sea level rise, digitization, and new work and life practices in port city regions. In conclusion, we note that due to the porosity of land use patterns, the separation between the present port and the city is beginning to crumble. However, this process has yet to be made fully visible and used as a basis for design.

Conducting “Siteless Survey”: Results from Coastal New England

1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan E. Kerber
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New England ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Statistical Validity ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Survey Strategy

Selecting an effective archaeological survey takes careful consideration given the interaction of several variables, such as the survey's goals, nature of the data base, and budget constraints. This article provides justification for a “siteless survey” using evidence from a project on Potowomut Neck in Rhode Island whose objective was not to locate sites but to examine the distribution and density of prehistoric remains to test an hypothesis related to land use patterns. The survey strategy, random walk, was chosen because it possessed the advantages of probabilistic testing, as well as the ease of locating sample units. The results were within the limits of statistical validity and were found unable to reject the hypothesis. “Siteless survey” may be successfully applied in similar contexts where the distribution and density of materials, as opposed to ambiguously defined sites, are sought as evidence of land use patterns, in particular, and human adaptation, in general.

scholarly journals Modeling Community-Scale Natural Resource Use in a Transboundary Southern African Landscape: Integrating Remote Sensing and Participatory Mapping

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 631
Author(s):  
Kyle D. Woodward ◽  
Narcisa G. Pricope ◽  
Forrest R. Stevens ◽  
Andrea E. Gaughan ◽  
Nicholas E. Kolarik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Participatory Mapping ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Human Habitation

Remote sensing analyses focused on non-timber forest product (NTFP) collection and grazing are current research priorities of land systems science. However, mapping these particular land use patterns in rural heterogeneous landscapes is challenging because their potential signatures on the landscape cannot be positively identified without fine-scale land use data for validation. Using field-mapped resource areas and household survey data from participatory mapping research, we combined various Landsat-derived indices with ancillary data associated with human habitation to model the intensity of grazing and NTFP collection activities at 100-m spatial resolution. The study area is situated centrally within a transboundary southern African landscape that encompasses community-based organization (CBO) areas across three countries. We conducted four iterations of pixel-based random forest models, modifying the variable set to determine which of the covariates are most informative, using the best fit predictions to summarize and compare resource use intensity by resource type and across communities. Pixels within georeferenced, field-mapped resource areas were used as training data. All models had overall accuracies above 60% but those using proxies for human habitation were more robust, with overall accuracies above 90%. The contribution of Landsat data as utilized in our modeling framework was negligible, and further research must be conducted to extract greater value from Landsat or other optical remote sensing platforms to map these land use patterns at moderate resolution. We conclude that similar population proxy covariates should be included in future studies attempting to characterize communal resource use when traditional spectral signatures do not adequately capture resource use intensity alone. This study provides insights into modeling resource use activity when leveraging both remotely sensed data and proxies for human habitation in heterogeneous, spectrally mixed rural land areas.

Typologies of sprawl: investigating United States metropolitan land use patterns

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sarzynski ◽  
George Galster ◽  
Lisa Stack
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns
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