Geoprocessing and Landscape Ecology for Assessment Fragmentation and Connectivity of the Habitats of the Microregion of Ceres, Goiás (Brazil)

This study aimed to map and evaluate the evolution of habitat fragmentation between 2009 and 2018, using the Microregion of Ceres (Goiás) as a sample reference, using principles of Landscape Ecology. The methodology comprised the mapping of the fragments in the two years analyzed, using the OLI/Landsat 8 sensor, using scenes 222/70 and 222/71. The SPRING 5.2 software was used, where the supervised classification was performed, applying the semi-automatic process. The computational algorithm applied to classify the scenes was Maxver, which classifies pixel by pixel and groups the information of each one into homogeneous regions. After extracting the fragments of native vegetation, the methodology proposed by Juvanhol et al. (2011), in which the fragments were grouped into classes: Very Small (MP) ≤5 hectares; Small (P) ≥5.01 and ≤10 hectares; Medium (M) ≥10.01 and ≤100 hectares and Large (G) ≥100.01 hectares. For the analysis based on metrics in Landscape Ecology, the ArcGis 9.2 Patch Analyst extension was used. The results showed the expansion of vegetation cover areas in the study area, concentrated on tops of hills, APP and legal reserves. However, they pointed out intense fragmentation of native vegetation, which hinders the performance of fragments as habitats. It is considered that, from the contemporary problem of degradation of natural environments to the detriment of economic development, studies like this are necessary in order to identify existing environmental problems and propose strategies to minimize and mitigate ecological imbalances.

Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology

Urbanization has become a dominant driver of landscape transformation across the world, with cities representing centers of economic and socio-cultural development [...]

Groundcover: Investigating an ecological field-architecture

<p>With many traditional conservation approaches becoming outdated and inefficient this project looks at the role of architecture in facilitating forward thinking, system based conservation aimed at high levels of self-organization. Through the consolidation of architecture, with concerns relating to ecological conservation, landscape ecology and landscape architecture new approaches to the development of New Zealand’s conservation estate are explored. Adopting the backcountry (DoC) hut as an anti-precident, the existing apathetic approach to the development and care of New Zealand’s conservation estate is critiqued through design research. This thesis looks at the possibility of integrating a system of structures into the landscape at Nga Potiki reserve (South Wairarapa, New Zealand) which, through both their architecture, and programme, actively advance the restoration and invigoration of the site’s ecologies. With the aim of expanding public ecological literacy the structures provide habitation, and importantly, the opportunity for visitors to engage with and understand the significance of the forces that drive natural ecologies. In doing so it aims to investigate the possibility of assimilating ecological conservation into architectural built form.</p>

Groundcover: Investigating an ecological field-architecture

<p>With many traditional conservation approaches becoming outdated and inefficient this project looks at the role of architecture in facilitating forward thinking, system based conservation aimed at high levels of self-organization. Through the consolidation of architecture, with concerns relating to ecological conservation, landscape ecology and landscape architecture new approaches to the development of New Zealand’s conservation estate are explored. Adopting the backcountry (DoC) hut as an anti-precident, the existing apathetic approach to the development and care of New Zealand’s conservation estate is critiqued through design research. This thesis looks at the possibility of integrating a system of structures into the landscape at Nga Potiki reserve (South Wairarapa, New Zealand) which, through both their architecture, and programme, actively advance the restoration and invigoration of the site’s ecologies. With the aim of expanding public ecological literacy the structures provide habitation, and importantly, the opportunity for visitors to engage with and understand the significance of the forces that drive natural ecologies. In doing so it aims to investigate the possibility of assimilating ecological conservation into architectural built form.</p>

Traveling between worlds: repositioning methods and theory for research into coupled socio-ecological systems

Context This paper engages with the question of how one can arrive at more coherent explanations of social behavior in coupled socio-ecological systems. Objectives The paper aims to give a counterargument to the assumption that social theory in coupled socio-ecological systems can only be developed in one way, as such showing that the premise of the special issue deserves further scrutiny. Methods Current issues are identified and categorized based on a literature survey; likewise, the solutions derive from methodological literature, in particular from the realm of critical realism. Results The paper shows how a set of assumptions about the nature of socio-ecological systems and about the nature of theory derived from observations prohibit a deeper understanding of how social theory may be developed at the nexus of coupled socio-ecological systems. Researchers should engage more clearly with movements between theories, models and data, and movements between ontology, epistemology and data. Conclusions Landscape ecology can—and should—accommodate social theory in its analysis but from a different premise than is currently often the case. The proposed operations will contribute to a complexity-informed understanding of human behavior in coupled socio-ecological systems.

Research on the Cultural Landscape of Xinjiang Section of the Silk Road

Overlooking the section of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, as the largest span of linear, multi-dimensional cultural landscape, historical heritage and ecological corridor in Xinjiang, it is a huge heritage complex of human culture influencing on the natural landscape. This paper introduces the concept of cultural landscape corridor, taking into account the organic connection between landscape ecology and heritage protection, strengthens the understanding of local social structure and regional culture in Xinjiang, spatially integrates cultural landscape and linear historical relics.