scholarly journals A Technique to Evaluate Agricultural Landscape Changes on the Basis of GIS-Processed 1861 Demarcation Plans and Current Description of Kenozero National Park

Author(s):  
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Kozykin

In many Russian nature reserves traditional landscapes are objects of important historical and cultural heritage. To preserve and restore them one needs to deeply understand their development, formation and degradation processes. In the north of European Russia agricultural landscapes are often covered with forests and lose their features when agricultural activity decreases. However, structural characteristics of these forests as a rule tell us about their development and peculiarities of successions. The study aims at creating a technique to estimate the scope of former agricultural land development, model historical transformation of agricultural landscapes and identify plots of slash and burn, shifting, two and three field agriculture judging by structural characteristics of post-agrarian forests. Aided by GIS the study compares raster analogs of land demarcation plans of the second half of the 19th century and vector layers of present day forests with attributive data on the forest structure. The use of cartographic forest data and inventory forest characteristics to compare with former land management documents related to the plot named have not been found in studies before. High precision of present day land management provides for permitted comparability with old demarcation plans and allows one to use inventory data for inter-landscape differentiation of agricultural landscapes in the 19th century. The study covers a model plot within Kenozero National Park (Arkhangelsk Region) addressing 1861 demarcation plans and 2014 forests GIS developed by Arkhangelsk branch of Roslesinforg. GIS processing of 19th century and present day demarcation plans provides for modeling agricultural landscape changes in relation to separate plots, trace the influence of soil conditions and elements of agrarian use on topological and inventory changes of emerging forests and reconstruct the biodiversity of ecosystems in the past.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Wilkie

People have been visiting and living in the Victorian Grampians, also known as Gariwerd, for thousands of generations. They have both witnessed and caused vast environmental transformations in and around the ranges. Gariwerd: An Environmental History of the Grampians explores the geological and ecological significance of the mountains and combines research from across disciplines to tell the story of how humans and the environment have interacted, and how the ways people have thought about the environments of the ranges have changed through time. In this new account, historian Benjamin Wilkie examines how Djab wurrung and Jardwadjali people and their ancestors lived in and around the mountains, how they managed the land and natural resources, and what kinds of archaeological evidence they have left behind over the past 20 000 years. He explores the history of European colonisation in the area from the middle of the 19th century and considers the effects of this on both the first people of Gariwerd and the environments of the ranges and their surrounding plains in western Victoria. The book covers the rise of science, industry and tourism in the mountains, and traces the eventual declaration of the Grampians National Park in 1984. Finally, it examines more recent debates about the past, present and future of the park, including over its significant Indigenous history and heritage.


2019 ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Dian Kartika Santoso ◽  
Antariksa Antariksa ◽  
Sri Utami

A review of cultivation changes in agricultural landscapes in the enclave village of Bromo TenggerSemeru National Park, Ngadas, Malang Regency Ngadas village is one example of an agricultural villagelocated in the mountains. Ngadas village is located in the enclave of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park(TNBTS) in the Malang Regency, East Java. The dependence of the community on agricultural land makesNgadas have a strong agrarian image. Ngadas people do more activities in the fields than in the house. Asbasic landscape units in the form of mountains, they have a vulnerability if not used wisely. The problem ofvulnerability to erosion in the agricultural landscape, makes Ngadas Village interesting to study. Primarily,regarding the relationship of landscapes and land conservation efforts that must be made to a complexagricultural landscape. Therefore, there is a need for research that focuses on efforts to conserve land, especially in an agricultural landscape. Research is conducted through qualitative methods with spatial andqualitative descriptive comparative analysis. The results of the study show that changes in farming methodshave several disadvantages that can cause land degradation and reduced productivity in each period, includingthe shifting cultivation system to reduce nutrients, upper slopes planted with tubers and monoculture agriculture.Therefore, it is necessary to have the right recommendations, namely planting upper slopes with hard woodplants, planting with polyculture systems, and agroforestry systems applied on the upper slopes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham H Pyke ◽  
Paul R Ehrlich

The Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis, known from just two specimens and with no confirmed sightings for just over 100 years, and having declined from being one of the most widespread of Australian birds, has surely been amongst the most enigmatic birds of the world and deservedly the ʻholy grailʼ for many birders. Amazingly, a population of this species has recently been re-discovered by John Young and the ʻquestʼ is over, but swift action is now required lest the ʻgrailʼ slip from our grasp. Steps must be taken to protect and manage the newly-located population, and to better understand the biology of the species and the reasons for its widespread decline. Much of this decline occurred before the end of the 19th century and must therefore have resulted from broad factors associated with earlier landscape changes, such as cat predation and altered fire regimes. Searches for additional Night Parrot populations also seem warranted. Progress toward these goals would benefit from acceptance of the reasonable accumulation of ʻunconfirmedʼ observations of the species and further utilizing the large numbers of ʻamateurʼ birders who would doubtless be keen to be involved. We suggest that the Night Parrot should now be viewed as an ʻiconʼ for conservation, possibly even an ʻindicatorʼ for how successful we are in terms of conservation in general. With his discovery of the Night Parrot, John Young has thus made a significant contribution to conservation, opening a new realm of necessities and possibilities.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Lucie Kupková ◽  
Ivan Bičík ◽  
Leoš Jeleček

Changes in the cultural landscape provide essential evidence about the manner and intensity of the interactions between humans and nature. Czechia has a specific location in Central Europe. It is positioned at the crossroads of European landscape changes. These changes can be documented based on a unique database that shows the development of land use since the middle of the 19th century. In this study, we aimed to address the major processes of landscape change that occurred during four periods over the past 165 years, at the cadastral level on the territory of present-day Czechia. Further we identify and discuss proximate and underlying driving forces of the landscape changes. We used land use data from the year 1845, 1896, 1948, 1990, and 2010 that correspond to key events in Czech history. The major processes and intensity of landscape change were evaluated based on calculations of increases and decreases in land use classes between the first and last year of each examined period. The period 1845–1896 was the only period in which arable land increased, and the most recent period, 1990–2010, was the only period during which a grassing over process was recorded. Afforestation was recorded in all periods. The communist period was characterized by unified changes—urbanization, afforestation, arable land decrease, and landscape devastation. The post-communist period was, in some respects, beneficial to the landscape (e.g., grassing over and afforestation, particularly in mountain areas), but it also led to negative processes, such as strong urbanization and land abandonment. Such changes lead to landscape polarization. The landscape changes in Czechia during the period 1845–2010 reflect many important historical events in Europe. In our analysis, we demonstrate the essential impact of underlying drivers and also identify driving forces specific to the development of the Czech territory.


Author(s):  
A.Kh. Masharipova

The article discusses the issues associated with the settlement of emigrants from Vologda in a new place in the 19th century drawing on the analysis of archival sources, primarily paperwork materials. An extensive group of sources allowed us to trace and analyse the activities of government bodies, as well as identify the causes of emigration and main problems associated with the settlement in a new place. The analysis of archival materials was supplemented by field studies conducted by the Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS in 2005–2008 in the south of the Tyumen Region, where the descendants of the Komi settlers live (Zavodoukovsk, Yurga, Yalutorovsk and Yarkovo Districts). The settlement of Komi family groups from the Vologda Governorate is dated at the first third of the 19th century and is primarily related to the economic situation of the peasants (shortage of land, poor harvest, growing tax arrears). Most of the immigrants from Vologda settled in the Yalutorovsk District of the Tobolsk Governorate, having established compact settlements in Zavodoukovsk, Ivanovo and Pletnevo volosts. Due to a long period of land management works, the first settlers could not get a job for a long time. With the permission given by the Tobolsk State Chamber in 1841, the Komi-Zyryans settled in the lands of the non-indigenous Tatars (Aslaninskaya Volost), who traditionally used these lands in accordance with the cadastres, annually paying yasak (tribute) to the treasury. The culture, everyday life and the lifestyle of the indigenous population and immigrants differed significantly. Land management works caused great discontent among the indigenous population, which led to numerous land disputes. Difficulties and hardships of immigrants were reflected in the archival documents on the allocation of land and forest allotments, their use, as well as appeals to official authorities (complaints, petitions and legal disputes). When resolving the land dispute, local authorities tried to find a compromise and resolve the conflict through the allotment of vacant state lands. However, the Tatars demanded the return of the land given to the Komi settlers. As a result, the land was allocated to the settlers. As the proper conditions for the settlement were not created, in the following years they had to develop new lands, as well as to establish relations with the surrounding population. Later immigrants were settled on the excess land taken from long-term residents, who did not give it to the settlers and oppressed them. A lot of immigrants due to their plight made a decision to move to other governorates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47
Author(s):  
Janusz Nowacki ◽  
Roman Wąsala

Faunistic analysis of records of noctuid moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae, Noctuidae) from the Karkonosze National Park (Karkonosze Mts., southern Poland) obtained at the turn of the 19th century, in the late 20th century and the last two years has revealed changes in this assemblage: 18 species were never recorded before in this national park, and 9 of them were new to the Polish Karkonosze Mts. as a whole. A further 11 species were found that had been recorded at the turn of the 19th century but not confirmed in the late 20th century.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 1367-1374
Author(s):  
Ye. V. Shein ◽  
A. G. Bolotov ◽  
A. V. Dembovetskii

Abstract Soil hydrology has deep Russian roots, which are primarily related to the theory of soil hydrological constants and their practical application. These constants have been used to assess the hydrological soil conditions in stationary observations, for which attempts to arrange regular hydrological observations in the landscape faced impracticable complexity of work and calculations and provided unreliable quantitative predictions. At present, there are new opportunities for experimental research, digital analysis, and prediction of hydrological indicators of soils in the landscape. A new quantitative approach to the use of digital technologies for monitoring soil water and temperature in the soils of agricultural landscapes, their dynamics, and their probabilistic calculations has been developed. Based on the soil map, it is proposed to create an information and measurement system with the studied thermal and hydrophysical characteristics of soils using mathematical models to calculate the dynamics of moisture and temperature for given periods and conditions of different availability of heat and precipitation, which allows us to quantify the availability of moisture reserves in the soils of the agricultural landscape. This system of observations, assessment, and forecast includes the use of modern technologies for determining soil water content and temperature, the adaptation of predictive physically based models for calculating the dynamics of moisture reserves depending on the availability of precipitation and conditions at the lower boundary of soil profiles. The paper deals with the hydrological analysis of soils by the example of the agricultural landscape of the Zelenograd station of the Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute in the village of El’digino, Pushkino district, Moscow oblast.


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