The Push and Pull of Land Use Policy: Reconstructing 150 Years of Development and Conservation Land Acquisition

The growth of human populations and their resource needs have stressed the conservation of natural land resources. Many policies and programs have been implemented to address the pressures on land resources and notwithstanding this pressure, significant acquisition of land for conservation has occurred throughout history in the U.S., and internationally. Here we assess the on-the-ground result of the evolution of land use policies in California as a pioneer forerunner, in the form of acquisition of land for conservation (i.e. Open Space), and its impact on the rest of the U.S. and beyond. To this end we describe the timeline and spatial representation of the growth of California’s conservation network over the last 150 years, and link it to the history of land use policies. We then assess whether conservation land acquisition has consistently grown through time or occurred in specific decades. About ¼ of the state is now designated Open Space. Fewer and larger areas conserved and acquired at the beginning of the 20^th century; the conservation network was complemented with a larger number of smaller sized properties. Despite acquisition of land in every decade, the process was uneven (E = 0.3 for California, E = 0.14±0.08 average for the state’s counties), mostly due to the large acquisitions and land set asides in the 1900s, followed by 1930s and 1940s. This process was a result of a comprehensive set of legislation that evolved through time, and resulted from the competing needs for development and conservation. Even with the impressive 174,000 km² of public lands in California, the future of California’s natural infrastructure and natural heritage cannot rely solely on these public lands, nor public agencies and their resources. Critically a future course of land preservation relying on the purchase of new lands – in California and beyond – for conservation is tremendously expensive.     

Land Use/Land Cover Planning Nexus: a Space-Time Multi-Scalar Assessment of Urban Growth in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area

This study employs remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and spatial statistical modeling to structurally characterize urban growth and spatially understand its drivers in an effort to assess the outcome of the 1974 Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (TMSA) comprehensive land use plan. Results demonstrate that the TMSA witnessed significant alterations in land use/land cover (LULC) spatial extent and structure over the assessment period and further illustrate that median household income, population density, sales, and construction cost are key drivers that influenced the structural character of LULC between 1990 and 2011. The assessment shows that the spatial and temporal patterns within development districts deviated from that prescribed in the comprehensive plan while spatial development within intensity corridors mirrors the goals and objectives set in the plan. Aberrations between plan objectives and outcomes can be attributed to upward mobility in financial status, growth in markets, and political climate.     

Spatial Representation of Land Use and Population Density: Integrated Layers of Data Contribute to Environmental Planning in Vanuatu

We propose the integration of six data layers (topography, isohyets, soil potential, household localization, vegetation types and land lease titles) to assess the constraints facing food production in Vanuatu, Melanesia. All layers are digitalized allowing area computations of polygons associated with the various data sets. For each island, the following are computed: total area, good arable land area, coconut plantations, pastures/grasslands, area under land lease titles and average accessible good land per household. Although Vanuatu is often considered as not densely populated (19?hab/km²), results indicate great variation among islands. The average area of good land per household varies from 530?ha on the island of Tegua (North) to 0.5?ha on Futuna (South). Shifting cultivation does not appear to be a serious threat to the environment. The establishment of coconut plantations and permanent pastures represents the main cause of deforestation and contributes to increased pressure on land used for food production. The integration of layers of data is a powerful tool for improving environmental planning in an archipelago under growing human pressure and natural changes.     

高黎贡山不同土地利用方式对土壤 微生物数量和多样性的影响

测定了高黎贡山不同利用方式土壤中微生物的数量、小型真菌的多样性和属的分布,分析了上述指标在不同利用方式土壤中的分布与人为干扰和环境因素之间的相互关系。结果表明微生物数量和真菌的多样性在不同利用方式土壤中的分布是,原生林(次生林(幼杉木纯林;耕作通常使条件更有利于土壤微生物生长繁殖,成熟人工纯林和旱地的土壤微生物数量及真菌多样性均较高;在五类利用方式中,土壤微生物数量及真菌多样性以原生林最高,荒地最低。     

Potential Impacts of Future Warming and Land Use Changes on Intra-Urban Heat Exposure in Houston,Texas

Extreme heat events in the United States are projected to become more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. We investigated the individual and combined effects of land use and warming on the spatial and temporal distribution of daily minimum temperature (T_min) and daily maximum heat index (HI_max) during summer in Houston, Texas. Present-day (2010) and near-future (2040) parcel-level land use scenarios were embedded within 1-km resolution land surface model (LSM) simulations. For each land use scenario, LSM simulations were conducted for climatic scenarios representative of both the present-day and near-future periods. LSM simulations assuming present-day climate but 2040 land use patterns led to spatially heterogeneous temperature changes characterized by warmer conditions over most areas, with summer average increases of up to 1.5°C (T_min) and 7.3°C (HI_max) in some newly developed suburban areas compared to simulations using 2010 land use patterns. LSM simulations assuming present-day land use but a 1°C temperature increase above the urban canopy (consistent with warming projections for 2040) yielded more spatially homogeneous metropolitan-wide average increases of about 1°C (T_min) and 2.5°C (HI_max), respectively. LSM simulations assuming both land use and warming for 2040 led to summer average increases of up to 2.5°C (T_min) and 8.3°C (HI_max), with the largest increases in areas projected to be converted to residential, industrial and mixed-use types. Our results suggest that urbanization and climate change may significantly increase the average number of summer days that exceed current threshold temperatures for initiating a heat advisory for metropolitan Houston, potentially increasing population exposure to extreme heat.     

Haa Aani, Our Land: Tlingit and Haida Land Rights and Use.

Haa Aani, Our Land: Tlingit and Haida Land Rights and Use. Walter R. Goldschmidt and Theodore H. Haas. edited with an introduction by Thomas F. Thornton. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998. 219 pp.     

The Influence of Land Use on Lake Nutrients Varies with Watershed Transport Capacity

Nutrient loading to lakes depends on both the availability of nutrients in a watershed and their potential for movement to a lake. Many studies have demonstrated that variation in watershed land use can translate to differences in lake water quality by affecting nutrient availability. There have been few attempts, however, to understand how loading to surface waters is affected by land use when there are differences in watershed transport capacity. We compared the relationship between land use/cover and lake nutrients in lakes draining watersheds that exhibited high and low transport capacity using a 5 year (2001–2005) dataset describing the chemistry of 101 lakes and reservoirs in a region of intensive agriculture. We measured watershed transport capacity by compositing the hydrologic, geologic, and topographic variables correlated with interannual variability in lake total nitrogen (TN) or phosphorus (TP) because the hydrologic permeability of watersheds amplifies downstream responses to rainfall events. Factors describing watershed transport capacity differed for TN and TP, consistent with differences in nutrient mobility and biogeochemistry. Partial least squares regression revealed that watershed transport capacity influenced the nature of the association between land use/cover and lake chemistry. In watersheds with low transport capacity, in-lake processes and near-shore land use/cover tended to be more influential, whereas, in watersheds with high transport capacity, land use/cover across the entire watershed was important for explaining lake chemistry. Thus, although land use is a key driver of nutrient loading to lakes, the extent to which it influences water quality can vary with watershed transport capacity. JMF conceived the study and analyzed the data. JAD collected the data. JMF and JAD wrote the paper.     

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.     

Hospital Family Planning: Termination of Pregnancy and Contraceptive Use

A review of termination of pregnancy in a district hospital catchment area for 1970 to 1972 shows how a decrease in total numbers of terminations and repeat terminations may be effected by the use of intensive family planning. In 1972 over 80% had first trimester abortions, but most of the second trimester abortions came from the manual skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled occupational groups. Over half those attending for termination had never used any method of contraception. Acceptance of family planning after termination was high but motivation poor, emphasizing the suitability of intrauterine devices inserted at the time of termination. The complication rate after termination was low.     

Clinical Use of Aromatase Inhibitors: Current Data and Future Perspectives

Abstract

A systematic procedure for the kinetic study of irreversible inhibition when the enzyme is consumed in the reaction which it catalyses, has been developed and analysed. Whereas in most reactions the enzymes are regenerated after each catalytic event and serve as reusable transacting effectors, in the consumed enzymes each catalytic center participates only once and there is no enzyme turnover. A systematic kinetic analysis of irreversible inhibition of these enzyme reactions is presented. Based on the algebraic criteria proposed in this work, it should be possible to evaluate either the mechanism of inhibition (complexing or non-complexing), or the type of inhibition (competitive, non-competitive, uncompetitive, mixed non-competitive). In addition, all kinetic constants involved in each case could be calculated. An experimental application of this analysis is also presented, concerning peptide bond formation in vitro. Using the puromycin reaction, which is a model reaction for the study of peptide bond formation in vitro and which follows the same kinetic law as the enzymes under study, we have found that: (i) the antibiotic spiramycin inhibits the puromycin reaction as a competitive irreversible inhibitor in a one step mechanism with an association rate constant equal to 1.3 × 10⁴M^-1s^-1 and, (ii) hydroxylamine inhibits the same reaction as an irreversible non-competitive inhibitor also in a one step mechanism with a rate constant equal to 1.6 × 10^-3 M^-1s^-1.     

云南澜沧江流域土地利用和覆盖变化

由人类活动引起的土地利用和地被覆盖的变化是地球上环境变化的主要原因。上世纪90年代是云南省经济发展和环境变化的活跃时期。本文通过现代卫星遥感技术、地理信息系统和其它多学科手段相结合 ,系统调查评估了云南澜沧江流域 1990年至 1998年间土地利用和地被覆盖的变化 ,结果显示流域中林业用地面积从 1990年的 6 4 9%增长到 1998年的6 6 4 % ,但是森林有林地 (郁闭度 >30 %的天然林和人工林 )从 1990年的 5 2 6 %减少到 1998年的 35 3%。并且分析大规模商业性森林砍伐、基础建设、经济作物的种植、刀耕火种、薪材过度采集和砍伐建筑用材等引起了森林的结构的显著变化和退化 ,从而导致了生物多样性的下降。     

Influences of Different Land Use Spatial Control Schemes on Farmland Conversion and Urban Development

Land use planning is always officially implemented as an effective tool to control urban development and protect farmland. However, its impact on land use change remains untested in China. Using a case study of Hang-Jia-Hu region, the main objective of this paper was to investigate the influence of different land use spatial control schemes on farmland conversion and urban development. Comparisons of farmland conversion and urban development patterns between the urban planning area and the non-urban planning area were characterized by using remote sensing, geographical information systems, and landscape metrics. Results indicated that farmland conversion in the non-urban planning area was more intensive than that in the urban planning area, and that farmland patterns was more fragmented in the non-urban planning area. Built-up land patterns in the non-urban planning area showed a trend of aggregation, while those in the urban planning area had a dual trend of fragmentation and aggregation. Existing built-up areas had less influence on built-up land sprawl in the non-urban planning area than that in the urban planning area. Built-up land sprawl in the form of continuous development in the urban planning area led to farmland conversion; and in the non-urban planning area, built-up land sprawl in the form of leapfrogging development resulted in farmland areal declines and fragmentation. We argued that it is a basic requirement to integrate land use plans in urban and non-urban planning areas for land use planning and management.     

Effects of Historical and Likely Future Scenarios of Land Use on Above- and Belowground Vegetation Carbon Stocks of an Alpine Valley

Long-term trends including depopulation and shifts in agricultural policies and management have led to large-scale land-use changes throughout the European Alps which are likely to affect the size of carbon (C) stocks of the respective land-use types. This article analyzes landscape-scale changes of C-stocks present in the vegetation in relation to historical land use (1865), current land use (2003), and three contrasting scenarios of future land use (2020) in the Stubai Valley, Austria. Results show that more than 47% of the total valley area and more than 90% of the usable agricultural area have undergone a change in land use during the last approximately 140 years. Changes of land use were seen to peak between 1954 and 1973 and slow down there after. Phytomass and C-stocks in 1865 amounted to 63.1 Mg ha⁻¹ and 30.8 Mg C ha⁻¹, and increased until 2003 to 75.8 Mg ha⁻¹ and 37.2 Mg C ha⁻¹, respectively. Evaluations along an altitudinal gradient indicate the highest C gain to be in the sub-Alpine belt (more than doubling of the C-stock) due to the abandonment of pastures and hay meadows. All future scenarios project only a minor increase in phytomass (0.3–2.8 Mg ha⁻¹) and C-stocks (0.2–1.4 Mg C ha⁻¹) because major elements of the landscape (forests, rocks, screes) will be either largely unaffected or are unimportant in their spatial extent (built environment). Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Coastal Exploitation, Land Loss, and Hurricanes: A Recipe for Disaster

Southern Louisiana occupies a dynamic landscape, marked by coastal wetlands interrupted by both natural and human-made levees, and vulnerable to both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers and major storms coming off the Gulf of Mexico. It is also a region into which, for centuries, exiled and threatened populations have moved and found refuge. Systematic and dramatic changes along the entire reach of the Mississippi River coupled with activities within the region's wetlands such as levee construction, canal dredging, and petroleum extraction have contributed to both pollution and extensive coastal land loss. In this article, I discuss the recent hurricanes in light of the relationship between Louisiana and the rest of the United States and the environmental and community degradation that has occurred along the coast. I focus on petroleum development, the most recent and extensive natural resource to shape southern Louisiana's wealth and economy.     

Land Use Changes Assessment using a triangulated framework: Perception Interviews,Land-Use/Land Cover Observation,and Spatial Planning Analysis in Tanjung Batu and Derawan Island,Indonesia

Human Ecology - Understanding land-use change is imperative in the management of Indonesian coastal ecosystems with numerous environmental impacts generated from land-use conversion. To assess...     

Stand Age Influence on Potential Wildfire Ignition and Spread in the Boreal Forest of Northeastern Canada

Although it has long been assumed that wildfire occurrence is independent of stand age in the North American boreal forest, recent studies indicate that young forests may influence burn rates by limiting the ignition and spread of fires for several years. Wildfires not only structure the stand-age mosaic of boreal landscapes, but also alter the likelihood and behavior of subsequent fires. Using a fire simulation model, we evaluated the effect of stand age on the magnitude and spatial patterns of burn probability (BP) in the boreal forest of northeastern Canada. Specifically, we assessed the stand age effect on the two processes driving fire likelihood, ignition and spread, by simulating tens of thousands of fires under three fire regime scenarios that vary in terms of mean fire size and number of burned patches. Assuming minimal resistance to fire ignition and spread, where only the youngest stands (≤ 10 years) are resistant to burning, mean BP is reduced by 10%; in contrast, assuming maximum resistance, where stands up to 90 years old impede wildfires, mean BP can be reduced up to 85%. Although the resistance to ignition on BP is almost identical in magnitude to that of spread, it yields substantially different spatial arrangements of BP. Furthermore, stand age resistance reduces subsequent fire activity not only within but also outside the perimeter of burned patches through a shadow effect. Our results help to untangle the role of factors contributing to stand age resistance on wildfires and offer new insights for improving the spatial mapping of fire likelihood.