Land Use Influences Niche Size and the Assimilation of Resources by Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Tropical Headwater Streams

It is well recognized that assemblage structure of stream macroinvertebrates changes with alterations in catchment or local land use. Our objective was to understand how the trophic ecology of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages responds to land use changes in tropical streams. We used the isotope methodology to assess how energy flow and trophic relations among macroinvertebrates were affected in environments affected by different land uses (natural cover, pasture, sugar cane plantation). Macroinvertebrates were sampled and categorized into functional feeding groups, and available trophic resources were sampled and evaluated for the isotopic composition of ¹³C and ¹⁵N along streams located in the Cerrado (neotropical savanna). Streams altered by pasture or sugar cane had wider and more overlapped trophic niches, which corresponded to more generalist feeding habits. In contrast, trophic groups in streams with native vegetation had narrower trophic niches with smaller overlaps, suggesting greater specialization. Pasture sites had greater ranges of resources exploited, indicating higher trophic diversity than sites with natural cover and sugar cane plantation. We conclude that agricultural land uses appears to alter the food base and shift macroinvertebrate assemblages towards more generalist feeding behaviors and greater overlap of the trophic niches.     

Response of soil microbial biomass and activity in early restored lands in the northeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Intensive land use of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest accelerated with the rise of sugar cane plantations in the northeastern part of Brazil. Consequently, many ecosystems were destroyed, including riparian forests. The number of studies of riparian restoration has increased but comparative studies on the belowground effects of common reforestation strategies are rare. Here, we compared soil microbial properties among four different land use types: native rainforest, sugar cane plantation, single species reforestation, and mixed species reforestation, each replicated at two spatially independent sites. Soil samples were taken in 2013 and 2014, that is 2 and 3 years after reforestation, respectively. In both years, land use types had a significant effect on basal respiration, microbial biomass, and specific respiration (whereas specific respiration was marginally affected in 2014). In 2013, basal respiration in sugar cane plantations was significantly lower (?65%) when compared to native forests. In 2014, basal respiration (+60%) and soil microbial biomass (+90%) were significantly higher in mixed species reforestation compared to sugar cane, whereas single species reforestation had comparable values as in sugar cane plantations. Our results indicate that soil microbial biomass and activity respond rapidly to land use change when mixed species reforestation is used. Thus, using mixed species reforestation may enhance the provisioning of ecosystem services already in the short term.     

Long-term land-cover changes in the Belgian Ardennes (1775–1929): model-based reconstruction vs. historical maps

Understanding long‐term human‐environment interactions requires historical reconstruction of past land‐cover changes. The objective of this study is to reconstruct past land‐use and land‐cover changes in a rural municipality of the Belgian Ardennes over the last 250 years. Two approaches were compared. The first approach produced backward projections based on a mechanistic model which computes the demand for different land uses under the assumption of an equilibrium between the production and consumption of resources. The second approach involved using a series of historical maps to extract directly land‐use areas. A stochastic Markov chain model was also used to project backward missing land‐cover data in the time series. The consistency between the results obtained with the different approaches suggests that land‐use area can be successfully reconstructed on the basis of the mechanistic model, under conditions of a subsistence farming system and a closed economy. Land‐use/cover changes in the Belgian Ardennes from 1775 to 1929 were more driven by the interventionist measures of the Belgian government and by technological progress than by the ‘pressure’ of the growing population and livestock. Thanks to agricultural intensification, a decrease in land under human use was supporting increasing human and livestock populations from 1846 to 1880. Reforestation has accelerated since the mid‐19th century. This case study illustrates the highly dynamic and non‐linear character of land‐use change trajectories over long time periods and their strong interactions with the history of societies.     

Isotopic variation in five species of stream fishes under the influence of different land uses

The aim of this study was to test if changes in land use alter the isotopic signature of fish species, promoting changes in the trophic position and food resource partitioning between these consumers. Three different systems were investigated: pasture streams (n = 3), streams in sugar cane plantations (n = 3) and reference streams (n = 3). Fish species Aspidoras fuscoguttatus, Astyanax altiparanae, Characidium zebra, Hisonotus piracanjuba and Knodus moenkhausii were selected, and their nitrogen and carbon isotopic compositions were estimated to assess changes in the trophic level and partitioning of food items consumed. The composition of δ¹³C (‰) only differed among the land use categories for A. altiparanae, H. piracanjuba and K. moenkhausii. Resource partitioning was different for all species, with changes in the sources or proportions they consumed in each land use category, but only A. altiparanae introduced new food sources in large quantity in altered land uses. It is important to note, however, that the results from the resource partitioning analysis are limited due to large overlapping of isotopic signatures between the analysed food resources. All fish species exhibited variation in δ¹⁵N (‰), with the highest values found in streams under sugar cane or pasture influence. Despite the variation in nitrogen isotopic values, only C. zebra and H. piracanjuba displayed changes in trophic level. Therefore, it is believed that the increase in the δ¹⁵N (‰) value of the individuals collected in streams under the influence of sugar cane or pasture was due to the greater influence of livestock dung and chemical and organic fertilizers. The results also highlight the importance of studying consumer species along with all forms of resources available at each location separately, because the signatures of these resources also vary within different land uses.     

Combining land cover mapping of coastal dunes with vegetation analysis

Question: Coastal dune systems are characterized by a natural mosaic that promotes species diversity. This heterogeneity often represents a severe problem for traditional mapping or ground survey techniques. The work presented here proposes to apply a very detailed CORINE land cover map as baseline information for plant community sampling and analysis in a coastal dune landscape. Location: Molise coast, Central Italy. Method: We analysed through an error matrix the coherence between land cover classes and vegetation types identified through a field survey. The CORINE land cover map (scale 1: 5000) of the Molise coast was used with the CORINE legend expanded to a fourth level of detail for natural and semi‐natural areas. Vegetation data were collected following a random stratified sampling design using the CORINE land cover classes as strata. An error matrix was used to compare, on a category‐by‐category basis, the relationship between vegetation types (obtained by cluster analyses of sampling plots) and land cover classes of the same area. Results: The coincidence between both classification approaches is quite good. Only one land cover class shows a very weak agreement with its corresponding vegetation type; this result was interpreted as being related to human disturbance. Conclusions: Since it is based on a standard land cover classification, the proposal has a potential for application to most European coastal systems. This method could represent a first step in the environmental planning of coastal systems.     

Development and Applications of a Comprehensive Land Use Classification and Map for the US

Land cover maps reasonably depict areas that are strongly converted by human activities, but typically are unable to resolve low-density but widespread development patterns. Data products specifically designed to resolve land uses complement land cover datasets and likely improve our ability to understand the extent and complexity of human modification. Methods for developing a comprehensive land use classification system are described, and a map of land use for the conterminous United States is presented to reveal what we are doing on the land. The comprehensive, detailed and high-resolution dataset was developed through spatial analysis of nearly two-dozen publicly-available, national spatial datasets – predominately based on census housing, employment, and infrastructure, as well as land cover from satellite imagery. This effort resulted in 79 land use classes that fit within five main land use groups: built-up, production, recreation, conservation, and water. Key findings from this study are that built-up areas occupy 13.6% of mainland US, but that the majority of this occurs as low-density exurban/rural residential (9.1% of the US), while more intensive built-up land uses occupy 4.5%. For every acre of urban and suburban residential land, there are 0.13 commercial, 0.07 industrial, 0.48 institutional, and 0.29 acres of interstates/highways. This database can be used to address a variety of natural resource applications, and I provide three examples here: an entropy index of the diversity of land uses for smart-growth planning, a power-law scaling of metropolitan area population to developed footprint, and identifying potential conflict areas by delineating the urban interface.     

岷江上游土地利用/覆被变化及其驱动力

岷江上游具有自然环境的复杂性、生态系统的脆弱性、经济发展的边缘性、社会文化的过渡性等特性,其土地利用/土地覆盖变化的特点可以代表我国西南山地土地资源及利用中所存在的普遍问题.林地和草地是岷江上游地区的主要土地利用类型.从1974～2000年间各个土地利用类型均发生了不同程度的变化,林地面积持续减少,其它类型面积均有不同程度的增加.类型间的面积变化均为双向,主要发生在有林地、灌木林地、经济林地、草地、居民用地和耕地之间,且主要在林地和草地两个类型之间.其中1974～1986年的变化大于1986~2000年.人口和经济是该区土地利用变化的主要驱动因素.自实施天然林保护工程和退耕还林还草工程以来,该区土地利用状况有所好转,正在向好的方向发展.     

基于Kappa系数的景观变化测度——以辽宁省中部城市群为例

分析了辽宁省中部城市群1988～1998年间的景观变化,结果表明沼泽地从景观中完全消失,沙地的变化弹性最大,耕地的变化最小。优势景观类型(耕地)的转化方向较多,非优势景观类型(沙地)转化的方向少。某些景观类型之间较稳定地相互转化(林地和耕地) ,但某些景观类型之间转化极不稳定(耕地和沼泽地)。总体上,景观的变化趋势是:居住用地面积增加,占居了周围的耕地,促进了耕地向菜地的转化。面积大的景观类型变化小(林地和耕地) ,相反,面积小的类型变化大。Kappa系数分析结果表明,位置、数量、随机和标准Kappa系数都降低,即景观在数量上丢失3.86 %的信息,位置上丢失5 .95 %的信息,丢失的综合信息为6 .89%。而且建议进行综合信息评价时用随机Kappa系数,因为它既不考虑数量,又不考虑位置的影响。虽然Kappa系数从位置、数量和综合信息方面揭示了景观变化,但是这些分析是单方面的,而且没有说明在整个图的一致率中由于空间位置、数量和偶然因子所引起的一致率和变化率。景观变化过程中,不考虑空间位置和数量的情况下,景观在空间上随机分布,某个象元属于某个类型的概率等于1/ J(J=类型总数) (8% )。随景观中类型数量的减少,偶然一致率所占的比重增加,因此建议对单个类型不要进行一致性分析。位置一致率在整个一致率中     

A retrospective analysis of land cover change using a polygon shape index

Aim This study tests the hypothesis that the propensity of land cover patches to change is related to their shape and geometric complexity. Location The analysis is based on a 1000‐km² area of the Cairngorms in Scotland, incorporating part of Speyside and the high plateau area within the Grampian Mountains. Methods A combined dataset was created by intersecting 1964 land cover data (derived from archive aerial photography) and 1988 land cover data (from the Land Cover of Scotland dataset). A shape index was calculated for each land cover polygon inside a GIS. Information on land cover change was analysed with reference to land cover class and the polygon shape index using a regression analysis. Results For upland seminatural land cover classes, subject to low levels of management, change is related to polygon shape, such that the more complex patches were found to be more susceptible to change. This relationship breaks down where classes are more intensively managed or have been aggregated into mosaic classes. Conclusions Propensity to change was related to shape index for seminatural land cover classes. This implies that at least some landscape processes, such as anthropogenic disturbance of seminatural land covers, can be linked to ecological theory via measurements of spatial pattern. The study also highlighted some of the cartographic issues involved in estimating changes between land cover classes: there are advantages in replacing the ‘cartographic paradigm’ of comparing two derived datasets (in this case land cover maps) with direct comparison of the digital data — air photographs or satellite imagery. Such a direct approach avoids the compounding of errors introduced by the approximation of each successive air photo as a thematic map.     

Bush encroachment under three contrasting land-use practices in a mesic South African savanna

This study determined the effects of land-use practice had on the rate and extent of bush encroachment in a mesic savanna in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Changes in woody cover were measured for 1 km² sites in areas under communal, commercial and conservation land-use systems for the period between 1937 and 2000. Land users from each area were interviewed to gain the histories of each area and to determine how the changes in woody cover had impacted them and whether anything was being done to counteract the spread of trees and shrubs on their land. Bush encroachment occurred across all three of the land-use types in the 67-year period between 1937 and 2000. The results showed that land-use practice had enormous impacts on the process of bush encroachment. The communal site showed a decrease in grass (21%) and tree (5%) cover and an increase in shrub cover (13%). At the commercial site, there was a considerable decrease in grass cover (46%) and moderate increase in shrub cover (10%) and a massive increase in tree cover (36%). The area under conservation showed a substantial decrease in grass cover (47%), a slight decrease in shrub cover (19%) and a massive increase in tree cover (66%). The perceived causes of these changes were fairly similar amongst the different land users. The changes were mostly not perceived to be a problem for the communal land users. The main advantages mentioned were increased woody resources for building and firewood and increased browse availability. The commercial and conservation land users perceived the changes to have significant negative connotations including the loss of grazing land and biodiversity and secondary invasion of encroached areas by alien plant species. Despite these perceptions, very little has been done to combat bush encroachment in the commercial and conservation land use systems.     

High‐resolution spatial modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from land‐use change to energy crops in the United Kingdom

We implemented a spatial application of a previously evaluated model of soil GHG emissions, ECOSSE, in the United Kingdom to examine the impacts to 2050 of land‐use transitions from existing land use, rotational cropland, permanent grassland or woodland, to six bioenergy crops; three ‘first‐generation’ energy crops: oilseed rape, wheat and sugar beet, and three ‘second‐generation’ energy crops: Miscanthus, short rotation coppice willow (SRC) and short rotation forestry poplar (SRF). Conversion of rotational crops to Miscanthus, SRC and SRF and conversion of permanent grass to SRF show beneficial changes in soil GHG balance over a significant area. Conversion of permanent grass to Miscanthus, permanent grass to SRF and forest to SRF shows detrimental changes in soil GHG balance over a significant area. Conversion of permanent grass to wheat, oilseed rape, sugar beet and SRC and all conversions from forest show large detrimental changes in soil GHG balance over most of the United Kingdom, largely due to moving from uncultivated soil to regular cultivation. Differences in net GHG emissions between climate scenarios to 2050 were not significant. Overall, SRF offers the greatest beneficial impact on soil GHG balance. These results provide one criterion for selection of bioenergy crops and do not consider GHG emission increases/decreases resulting from displaced food production, bio‐physical factors (e.g. the energy density of the crop) and socio‐economic factors (e.g. expenditure on harvesting equipment). Given that the soil GHG balance is dominated by change in soil organic carbon (SOC) with the difference among Miscanthus, SRC and SRF largely determined by yield, a target for management of perennial energy crops is to achieve the best possible yield using the most appropriate energy crop and cultivar for the local situation.     

中国天然林保护工程区森林覆盖遥感监测

天然林资源保护工程（天保工程）自1998年开始实施至2020年底结束,标志着我国林业由以木材生产为主向以生态建设为主进行转变,对天然林资源开展定量监测与评估,有助于全面、及时、科学地评价天保工程对森林资源的保护成效。基于公开发布的土地覆盖产品,利用新的遥感数据合成算法构建了森林类型综合提升方法,生产了一套我国天保工程区的森林覆盖产品,对天保工程区1997年至2020年间的森林覆盖情况开展监测与评估。利用中国森林生态系统定位研究网络数据（CFERN）、森林资源规划设计调查数据和地面调查数据进行精度检验,森林类型的分类精度优于90%。分析结果显示,自天保工程实施以来,工程区的森林覆盖度总体呈恢复性增长趋势,森林覆盖从1997年的30.15%增长到2020年的31.74%,净增长1.59%,其中,长江上游地区森林增长量最高,占全工程区森林增长面积的50.97%。研究结果表明我国天保工程区内森林资源得到有效保护和恢复,天保工程实施效果显著。     

Land‐cover/use transitions in the binational Tijuana River watershed during a period of rapid industrialization

Question: How do differing social and economic systems affect the dynamics and trajectory of land cover / land use change on similar, neighbouring ecosystems in a time span when an economic industrialization program was enforced? Location: Tijuana River watershed, located on the border between Baja California, Mexico and California, United States. Methods: We quantified land use changes between 1970 and 1994 in the Tijuana River watershed. Using aerial photographs and geographic information systems, we elaborated land‐cover/use maps and calculated transition probability matrices to describe natural land‐cover changes at the landscape level on both sides of the border. Results: Land cover / land use transitions are mainly driven by urban development on both sides of the border, but exhibit different patterns in each country. The processes seem to be more complex in the Mexican part of the basin, where itinerant land use may revert induced grasslands and rain‐fed agriculture into natural communities, than on the US side, where the transition pathways are few and unidirectional. Conclusions: Despite the need for an integrated planning and management of binational basins and shared water resources, in practice, these goals may be hampered by different economic and social factors triggering land use change within each country.     

基于MODIS数据的中国三种主要土地类型变化的空间特征分析

人类活动使得土地利用和植被覆盖发生了巨大变化,直接影响着全球气候。本研究通过从2000—2013年对中国三种主要土地利用类型的NDVI变化特征进行了分析,结果表明:(1)14年来,中国三种主要土地利用类型NDVI平均值均有增强的趋势。(2)三种主要土地利用类型中除耕地中的水田,林地中的有林地和草地中的高覆盖草地增长速率不显著外,其他土地类型增长速率均显著。(3)三种土地利用类型均以改善面积大于退化面积,耕地中改善面积占总耕地的64.21%,退化的区域占18.50%;林地改善的区域占总林地的54.21%,退化的区域占20.13%;草地改善的区域占55.53%,退化的区域占18.23%。三种土地类型均有所改善且改善明显的区域主要集中在甘肃以南,陕西以北和东北部分地区。     

National inventories of land occupation and transformation flows in the world for land use impact assessment

Purpose

Land use can cause significant impacts on ecosystems and natural resources. To assess these impacts using life cycle assessment (LCA) and ensure adequate decision-making, comprehensive national inventories of land occupation and transformation flows are required. Here, we aim at developing globally differentiated inventories of land use flows that can be used for primary use in life cycle impact assessment or national land planning.

Methods

Using publicly available data and inventory techniques, national inventories for several land use classes were developed. All land use classes were covered with the highest retrievable level of disaggregation within urban, forestry, agriculture and other land use classes, thus differentiating 21 land use classes. For illustrating the application of this newly developed inventory, two different application settings relevant to life cycle impact assessment were considered: the calculation of global normalisation references for 11 land use impact indicators related to soil quality assessment (adopting the methods recommended by the EU Commission) and the determination of generic globally applicable characterisation factors (CFs) resulting from aggregation of country-level CFs for situations for use when land use location is unknown.

Results and discussion

We built national inventories of 21 land occupation and 17 land transformation flows for 225 countries in the world for the reference year 2010. Cross-comparisons with existing inventories of narrower scopes attested its consistency. Detailed analyses of the calculated global normalisation references for the 11 land use impact categories showed different patterns across the land use impact indicators for each country, thus raising attention on key land use impacts specific to each country. Furthermore, the upscaling of country-level CFs to global generic CFs using the land use inventory revealed discrepancies with other alternative approaches using land use data at different resolutions.

Conclusions

In this study, we made a first attempt at developing national inventories of land use flows with sufficient disaggregation level to enable the calculation of normalisation references and differentiated impacts. However, the findings also demonstrated the need to refine the consistency of the inventory, particularly in the combination of land cover and land use data, which should be harmonised in future studies, and to expand it with differentiated coverage of more land use flows relevant to impact assessment.

     

Selection of land cover by the Tibetan foxVulpes ferrilata on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, western Sichuan Province, China

Habitat loss is one of the main factors impacting endangered wildlife in China. The Tibetan foxVulpes ferrilata Hodgson, 1842 is a characteristic species of the Tibetan Plateau. However, its habitat use is poorly known. We conducted a project (2001–2003) to better understand habitat use by the Tibetan fox in Shiqu County, Sichuan Province, China. The research site was classified into four land cover categories: grassland, grassland and shrubs, shrubs, and disturbed area (more than half of the area in a plot covered by bare soil and gravel). Their proportional share in land cover categories was estimated by line transects and used as expected land cover. Plots were also located at fox locations, fox dens, and fox feces (hereafter “fox plots”). Using Bonferroniz-statistics, land cover proportions in fox plots were compared with the expected land cover proportions. Tibetan foxes were found primarily in grassland habitat and there was evidence of use of grassland/shrub habitat and disturbed area. However, the fox were rarely observed in shrubs. Two reasons for this are: (1) the need of prey, pika, which mainly lives in open areas; (2) the requirement of security from natural enemies.     

Terrestrial carbon stocks across a gradient of urbanization: a study of the Seattle,WA region

Most of our global population and its CO₂ emissions can be attributed to urban areas. The process of urbanization changes terrestrial carbon stocks and fluxes, which, in turn, impact ecosystem functions and atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Using the Seattle, WA, region as a case study, this paper explores the relationships between aboveground carbon stocks and land cover within an urbanizing area. The major objectives were to estimate aboveground live and dead terrestrial carbon stocks across multiple land cover classes and quantify the relationships between urban cover and vegetation across a gradient of urbanization. We established 154 sample plots in the Seattle region to assess carbon stocks as a function of distance from the urban core and land cover [urban (heavy, medium, and low), mixed forest, and conifer forest land covers]. The mean (and 95% CI) aboveground live biomass for the region was 89±22 Mg C ha^?1 with an additional 11.8±4 Mg C ha^?1 of coarse woody debris biomass. The average live biomass stored within forested and urban land covers was 140±40 and 18±14 Mg C ha^?1, respectively, with a 57% mean vegetated canopy cover regionally. Both the total carbon stocks and mean vegetated canopy cover were surprisingly high, even within the heavily urbanized areas, well exceeding observations within other urbanizing areas and the average US forested carbon stocks. As urban land covers and populations continue to rapidly increase across the globe, these results highlight the importance of considering vegetation in urbanizing areas within the terrestrial carbon cycle.     

Hydrological Response to Land Cover Changes and Human Activities in Arid Regions Using a Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing

The hydrological response to land cover changes induced by human activities in arid regions has attracted increased research interest in recent decades. The study reported herein assessed the spatial and quantitative changes in surface runoff resulting from land cover change in the Al-Baha region of Saudi Arabia between 1990 and 2000 using an ArcGIS-surface runoff model and predicted land cover and surface runoff depth in 2030 using Markov chain analysis. Land cover maps for 1990 and 2000 were derived from satellite images using ArcGIS 10.1. The findings reveal a 26% decrease in forest and shrubland area, 28% increase in irrigated cropland, 1.5% increase in sparsely vegetated land and 0.5% increase in bare soil between 1990 and 2000. Overall, land cover changes resulted in a significant decrease in runoff depth values in most of the region. The decrease in surface runoff depth ranged from 25-106 mm/year in a 7020-km² area, whereas the increase in such depth reached only 10 mm/year in a 243-km² area. A maximum increase of 73 mm/year was seen in a limited area. The surface runoff depth decreased to the greatest extent in the central region of the study area due to the huge transition in land cover classes associated with the construction of 25 rainwater harvesting dams. The land cover prediction revealed a greater than twofold increase in irrigated cropland during the 2000-2030 period, whereas forest and shrubland are anticipated to occupy just 225 km² of land area by 2030, a significant decrease from the 747 km² they occupied in 2000. Overall, changes in land cover are predicted to result in an annual increase in irrigated cropland and dramatic decline in forest area in the study area over the next few decades. The increase in surface runoff depth is likely to have significant implications for irrigation activities.     

Effect of land use conversion on soil organic carbon sequestration in the loess hilly area, loess plateau of China

Changes in land use may alter land cover, which results in carbon stock changes in biomass as well as in the soil. In China’s loess plateau, vegetation restoration has been conducted since 1950s to control soil erosion and improve the ecosystem, with significant investment of money and manpower. Despite these efforts, soil erosion has still been severe. To reduce soil erosion and improve land quality, China initiated another state-funded project, Grain-for-Green, in 1999 in the loess plateau. However, it is not clear how effective this newly initiated project will be. In this study, we evaluated the effect of land-use conversion on soil organic carbon (SOC) and the potential effect of the current project on SOC sequestration in the Anjiapo catchment area of the loess hilly area of the loess plateau in China. This evaluation is based on SOC measurements in cropland versus in other converted land use types. We found that SOC sequestration mainly occurred in the surface soil after land use conversion took place. Land use conversion from cropland to shrubland or wild grassland (i.e. undisturbed land) was better for SOC sequestration than tree plantation in the semi-arid loess hilly area. By using the land use change in the study area as a scenario, the potential contribution of land use change on SOC sequestration due to the Grain-for-Green project was estimated. It was found that this project in the loess plateau of China would be helpful for SOC sequestration if successfully implemented.