Landscape Characteristics Affecting Small Mammal Occurrence in Heterogeneous Olive Grove Agro-Ecosystems

Understanding how small mammals (SM) are associated with environmental characteristics in olive groves is important to identify potential threats to agriculture and assess the overall conservation value and functioning of agro-ecosystems. Here, we provide first insights on this topic applied to traditional olive groves in northeast (NE) Portugal by assessing the landscape attributes that determine SM occurrence, focusing on one species of conservation concern (Microtus cabrerae Thomas 1906) and one species often perceived as a potential pest of olives (Microtus lusitanicus Gerbe 1879). Based on SM genetic non-invasive sampling in 51 olive groves and surrounding habitats, we identified seven rodent species and one insectivore. Occupancy modelling indicated that SM were generally less detected within olive groves than in surrounding habitats. The vulnerable M. cabrerae reached a mean occupancy (95% CI) of 0.77 (0.61–0.87), while M. lusitanicus stood at 0.37 (0.24–0.52). M. cabrerae was more likely to occur in land mosaics with high density of agricultural field edges, while M. lusitanicus was more associated with high density of pastureland patches. Overall, our study suggests that the complex structure and spatial heterogeneity of traditionally managed olive grove agro-ecosystems may favor the occurrence of species-rich SM communities, possibly including well-established populations of species of conservation importance, while keeping potential pest species at relatively low occupancy rates.

Why Geographical Indications Can Support Sustainable Development in European Agri-Food Landscapes

Implementing the European Green Deal and transforming agricultural practices requires a wider and amplified policy toolbox. As many sustainability considerations are context-dependent, there is a need for instruments, which take individual characteristics of production landscapes into account. Food products with a particularly strong relationship to their landscape of origin can be marketed under the “Protected Designation of Origin” label (PDO). In this article, we analyze synergies between PDO production and regional sustainable development by assessing to what extent social-ecological landscape characteristics appear in landscapes with PDO-labeled food production systems. Building upon 12 social-ecological variables we defined three landscape characteristics influential for the presence of PDOs by using a principal component analysis. By running regression models combining those characteristic landscapes with the spatial distribution of PDO certification we were able to explore linkages between landscapes and products. Additionally, a geographically weighted regression delivered insights into the regional differences and product-specific relationships throughout the EU countries. Overall, we could prove the assumed positive correlation between PDO production and ecologically valuable landscapes. Further, we showed that mostly meat PDOs coincide with landscapes influenced by structural change, while cheese PDOs are not well captured by our models despite their large number. We can conclude that PDOs have the potential to jointly support conservation and rural development, especially when they would be tied to sustainable management standards in the future.

Główne kierunki oraz historyczne i krajobrazowe uwarunkowania przemian pokrycia terenu okolic Pińczowa w latach 1839–2000

The transformations of cultural landscapes are related to and result from environmental conditions and human impacts. The article describes the main directions of land cover changes in the vicinity of Pińczów in the years 1839–2000. The identified land use patterns were shown and discussed against the background of natural landscape characteristics, and anthropogenic influences associated with socio-political and economic situation of the region in the analyzed period.

Spatial Distribution and Landscape Characteristics of Flores Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus Floris) Habitat in Flores Island

Flores Hawk-Eagle (FHE, Nisaetus floris) is one of the endemic and keystone species that was rarely studied among other eagles. The study on the FHE is currently experiencing limited information for estimating their distribution area. Therefore, the FHE habitat distribution is required as the essential information for developing the strategies and conservation action. The objectives of this study were to identify the spatial habitat distribution and analyze the characteristics of the habitat. Minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel-density estimation (KDE) 95% was combined with the land cover map for delineating the patch habitat of FHE. Slope, elevation, and land cover were used as environmental variables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combine with GIS were used for characterizing the landscape habitat. The results showed that there were eight habitat patches with a total area of 1.132 km2. Six principal components were retained from PCA analysis which explained 71.96% of data variance. Habitat characteristics of FHE describe its requirement for nesting and hunting activities for principal components 1 to 4, while for flight activity related to principal components 5 and 6. Forests and savannahs become the main habitat preference for both nesting and hunting activities. Results of this study will be supported as baseline information for developing conservation strategies and action for FHE.

Exploring the Characteristics of Urban Streets that Influence People’s Restorative Experience

Research about restorative quality of landscape can help to mitigate possible negative effects of urban densification on people. Previous studies discussed the restorative experience on natural environments or urban open space. However, further research is needed on the application of restorative experience in specific scenarios, for example streetscapes. There are a few studies that have explored the relationship between restorative quality and the landscape characteristics on streets context. However, there is little research on the practice of these theories. This article delves into the study of its predecessors and summarizes the primary factors that influence the restorative ability of streets. Then, using these data in a case study, consider if streets that provide a positive experience for people have these restorative street qualities in common. In addition, this article investigates the potential street characteristics that influence street restorative value and identifies areas for development in these situations. The findings could lead to a more commonly applied method for creating a psychologically sustainable streetscape.

THE MALAY CULTURAL LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE ISLAMIC ARISTOCRAT TOWN IN KELANTAN, MALAYSIA

The Malay cultural landscape has become an integral part of examining the cultural significance in Malaysia. Thus, the main objective of the study is to determine the impact of the visual characteristics of the built cultural landscape in conserving and preserving Kota Bharu as an aristocratic area in this modern era. Kota Bharu is one of the Islamic cities in Malaysia. This study embarks into a quantitative study using a mixed-method. A significant implication is to propose a significant model to value the Malay cultural heritage and preserve the culture and spirit among the Kelantanese Malay population who live in the modern era.

Online Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) as a landscape and public use management tool: a case study from the Ebro Delta Natural Park (Spain)

This paper presents a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) application conducted in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, Spain. It aims to support decision-making and management activities. The application is based on an online PPGIS questionnaire using Google Maps API. Participants were asked about the spatial and temporal usage while visiting the Natural Park, about their landscape preferences, and appreciations. A set of eight pairs of bipolar adjectives related to landscape characteristics and experience, four items related to public use, and nine to leisure activities were used. In total, 204 valid answers and 3,969 georeferenced opinions were mapped by this case study. The results of this mapping give insights in the use, perception and appreciation of landscape naturalness and aesthetic beauty, accessibility, facilities, services, and signposting. Furthermore, this study discuss the outcomes of mapping the results and how they support the park management with regard to the identification of conflicts, and the need for action. Finally, this study discuss potentials and limitations of PPGIS as a tool for public participation to capture visitors' experiential knowledge in order to optimize and enhance the management of protected areas.

Conditional prediction of consecutive tumor evolution using cancer progression models: What genotype comes next?

Accurate prediction of tumor progression is key for adaptive therapy and precision medicine. Cancer progression models (CPMs) can be used to infer dependencies in mutation accumulation from cross-sectional data and provide predictions of tumor progression paths. However, their performance when predicting complete evolutionary trajectories is limited by violations of assumptions and the size of available data sets. Instead of predicting full tumor progression paths, here we focus on short-term predictions, more relevant for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. We examine whether five distinct CPMs can be used to answer the question “Given that a genotype with n mutations has been observed, what genotype with n + 1 mutations is next in the path of tumor progression?” or, shortly, “What genotype comes next?”. Using simulated data we find that under specific combinations of genotype and fitness landscape characteristics CPMs can provide predictions of short-term evolution that closely match the true probabilities, and that some genotype characteristics can be much more relevant than global features. Application of these methods to 25 cancer data sets shows that their use is hampered by a lack of information needed to make principled decisions about method choice. Fruitful use of these methods for short-term predictions requires adapting method’s use to local genotype characteristics and obtaining reliable indicators of performance; it will also be necessary to clarify the interpretation of the method’s results when key assumptions do not hold.