Land use change in the municipality of Chudenice

Aim Pollinators play an important role in ecosystem functioning, affecting also crop production. Their decline may hence lead to serious ecological and economic impacts, making it essential to understand the processes that drive pollinator shifts in space and time. Land-use changes are thought to be one of the most important drivers of pollinators’ loss, and there is increasing investment on pollinator-friendly landscape management. However, it is still unclear whether landscape history of a given region determines how pollinator communities respond to further landscape modification. Location The Netherlands. Methods Using geographically explicit historical landscape and pollinator data from the Netherlands, we evaluated how species richness changes of three important pollinator groups (bees, hoverflies and butterflies) are affected by landscape changes related to habitat composition, fragmentation and species spillover potential and whether such effects depend on the historical characteristics of the landscape. Results The effect of landscape changes varied between different pollinator groups. While bumblebee richness benefited from increases in edges between managed and natural systems, other bees benefited from increases in landscape heterogeneity and hoverfly richness was fairly resistant to land-use changes. We found that for the majority of the pollinators past landscape characteristics conditioned, the more recent pollinator richness changes. Landscapes that historically had more suitable habitat were more susceptible to display hoverfly declines (caused by drivers not considered in this study). Landscapes that historically had greater spillover potential were more likely to suffer butterfly richness declines and the bumblebee assemblages were more susceptible to the effects of fragmentation. Main conclusions The diversity of responses of the pollinator groups suggest that multispecies approaches that take group-specific responses to land-use change into account are highly valuable. These findings emphasize the limited value of a one-size-fits-all biodiversity conservation measure and highlight the importance of considering landscape history when planning biodiversity conservation actions.

Landscape modification is an important driver of biodiversity declines, yet we lack insight into how ongoing landscape change and legacies of historical land use together shape biodiversity. We examined how a history of agricultural land use and current forest fragmentation influence the abundance of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). We hypothesized that historical agriculture and fragmentation cause changes in habitat quality and landscape structure that limit abundance. We measured salamander abundance at 95 forested sites in New York, USA, and we determined whether sites were agricultural fields within the last five decades. We used a structural equation model to estimate relationships between historical agriculture and salamander abundance mediated by changes in forest vegetation, microclimate, and landscape structure. Historical agriculture affected salamander abundance by altering forest vegetation at a local scale and forest cover at a landscape scale. Abundance was lowest at post-agricultural sites with low woody vegetation, leaf litter depth, and canopy cover. Post-agricultural sites had limited forest cover in the surrounding landscape historically, and salamander abundance was positively related to historical forest cover, suggesting that connectivity to source populations affects colonization of regenerating forests. Abundance was also negatively related to current forest fragmentation. Historical land use can have legacy effects on animal abundance on par with effects of ongoing landscape change. We showed that associations between animal abundance and historical land use can be driven by altered site conditions and surrounding habitat area, indicating that restoration efforts should consider local site conditions and landscape context.

The objective of this paper is to translate land use changes (EU 25) into landscape changes. In contrast to land use maps the proposed landscape maps take the neighbourhood of a location into account additionally to solely the land use in a particular cell. Land use categories are reclassified into three main land use types and the dominant land use in a circle around the location is calculated. In addition, land use structure in the surroundings of a location is taken into account by calculating Shannon?s diversity index and reclassifying this into two categories. By combining these two dataset six landscape types are identified. By comparing the landscape maps for 2000 and 2030 we constructed a landscape change map. The results show a great spatial variety in landscape change within Europe. The relation between land use change and landscape change is non-linear depending on the nature and structure of the initial landscape and land use changes.

Scientific activities of the World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction at Charles University in Prague (2011–2014) combine field research using several techniques, capacity building, and international collaboration. Through our landslide research in Peru, Ethiopia, and at several localities inside the Czech Republic, we consider the landslide phenomena as being a part of the physical-geographical sphere where all of the interactions between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere must be evaluated with respect to specific on-site conditions. Slope deformations are also considered as ongoing landscape changes in time and space. In some regions (e.g., in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru), landslides were studied as they occurred. In addition to progress in research methodologies, we have created a new glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) database. Doctoral candidates were involved in field research and student exchanges. Field studies also involve foreign students. Aspects of our landslide research are a matter of international collaboration in the framework of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL).

Biodiversity loss is one of the great challenges of our times, and it is primarily driven by losses of natural and semi-natural areas. To avoid further biodiversity losses, landscape planning and ecosystem management could benefit from a condensed measure that tracks regional and cumulative ecological degradation from past and ongoing landscape changes. The affected species communities can be described spatially explicit by biotopes. A vulnerability map of biotopes will identify areas with a high potential to be adversely affected and a low capacity to recover. These vulnerability hot spots may require specific protection and maintenance interventions to be sustained.Following the interdisciplinary vulnerability concept, an indicator set related to landscape change was developed for the biotopes of the biosphere reserve Schorfheide-Chorin (Germany), which have been mapped as vector data according to the Brandenburg mapping key. The indicator set was structured into indicators of biotope exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. It covered patch metrics, like the size, the fractal dimension, and the amount of similar patches in the surrounding of each patch, as well as class metrics, like the mesh size, the state of endangerment and the average dispersal range of each biotope type.The resulting vulnerability index covered a biotope area of around 130,000 ha, and the study area could be extended readily. European biotopes are already mapped and monitored across large areas, primarily for nature conservation purposes. The biotope vulnerability index developed within this study is intended for application at large spatial scales and has the potential for a straightforward transfer to biotope maps from other German federal states and European regions.

Pangolins are globally threatened by unsustainable hunting for local use and illegal international trade, plus habitat loss. In Benin (West Africa), white‐bellied and giant pangolins have experienced a contraction in their distribution areas and population decline during the last two decades. To better understand the factors underlying declines in these species, we investigated extirpation rates of populations over the last 20 years. Because pangolins are elusive species difficult to monitor by standard methods, the status of populations has been assessed through a local ecological knowledge (LEK) approach. We collected information on persistence or extirpation status of pangolins from 156 localities. A binomial model was built to predict population persistence probability as a function of past and ongoing landscape changes, initial abundance (1998), human pressures, and density of the protected area network. The LEK‐based model was highly accurate (97% correct classification rate) in predicting the presence of white‐bellied pangolin in 52 localities where its presence has been confirmed independently. According to model outputs, persistence probability of pangolins is positively related to distance to main road, initial population abundance, and negatively related to deforestation, shrinkage of favorable habitat, and distance to protected areas. When those factors are controlled for, the white‐bellied pangolin has a higher probability of persistence than the giant pangolin. Even assuming no further habitat change, the distribution area of the white‐bellied pangolin is predicted to keep decreasing against an unavoidable extinction of the giant pangolin in Benin in the next two decades. Besides validating the usefulness of LEK as a population assessment method, this study emphasizes that, despite a demonstrated positive effect of protected areas, the current situation is not sustainable for pangolins and calls for urgent conservation actions to stop or reduce overhunting.

Metapopulation theory (summarized by Hanski 1999) is one of the most influential developments in ecology of recent decades, for example as a cornerstone of conservation biology, and as a theoretical basis for studies of dispersal and of the distribution and abundance of species. A synthesis of metapopulation theory and landscape ecology has been regarded as a key to analyses of the ecological consequences of ongoing landscape changes (Wiens 1997). Although successfully applied to many regional systems of animal populations, the usefulness of metapopulation theory for studies of plants is still open to debate. As Husband & Barrett (1996) and Eriksson (1996) concluded, rather few studies have documented metapopulations in plants, and the same holds for other forms of regional dynamics, e.g. source-sink populations and remnant populations. In a recent paper, Freckleton & Watkinson (2002) have critically reviewed studies of plant metapopulations, with the objectives of assessing whether regional populations of plants really are metapopulations, and suggesting a new typology for different forms of plant regional dynamics. Freckleton & Watkinson stress, and we agree, that these issues are not merely semantic. The concepts of regional dynamics not only determine the ways in which empirical studies are performed, but also influence the interpretation of data (illustrated by Freckleton & Watkinson with studies claiming, but not showing, the existence of metapopulations) and the modelling of spatial dynamics of plant populations. Freckleton & Watkinson (2002) begin by listing four criteria that must be fulfilled in order to regard a regional population as a metapopulation: (i) suitable habitat occurs as discrete patches that may be occupied or unoccupied; (ii) all local populations have a measurable extinction risk; (iii) habitat patches are interconnected by dispersal, allowing the possibility of re-colonization; and (iv) local populations are not completely synchronized in their dynamics. If these criteria are met, regional dynamics cannot be inferred from local processes, and local dynamics cannot be understood without referring to regional patterns or processes. Freckleton & Watkinson (2002) conclude that, given these criteria, very few cases exist where plant metapopulations have been documented. Indeed, there are a number of reasons why plants may not develop metapopulations in the same way as short-lived mobile animals. The existence of long-lived life cycle stages (e.g. seeds or vegetative ramets) means that a local population may persist for a long time even though the patch has become unsuitable. Successful dispersal and recruitment may be very sporadic, and therefore recolonization is unlikely after local population extinction. Dispersal over long distances may be governed by chance events. The definition of 'long distance' may differ between species, but in many cases it may be no more than a few hundred metres (Cain et al. 2000). Suitable habitat is difficult to define, and suitability is likely to be a continuous function of abiotic and biotic environmental factors. Freckleton & Watkinson propose that, using a metapopulation concept for describing regional populations, many plant regional populations would be described as non-equilibrium metapopulations, a conclusion we also reached for plants in fragmented habitats (Eriksson & Ehrl~n 2001). We agree with Freckleton & Watkinson (2002) that it is difficult to assess whether plants in general fulfil the criteria for metapopulations. However, we disagree with their suggestions on a new typology for regional dynamics. We also believe that their conclusions concerning the difficulties in documenting metapopulations in plants may be interpreted as indicating that local processes are sufficient for understanding regional patterns of plant populations, although we acknowledge that this may not have been their intention. We have three objectives here: (i) to comment on the typology of regional dynamics suggested by Freckleton & Watkinson (2002); (ii) to suggest how regional processes might be of importance to plant distributions irrespective of whether plants have metapopulations; and (iii) to argue that metapopulation theory should be developed further as a tool for studies of plants, rather than being replaced by other concepts.

Compared to larger rivers, water quality assessments in small streams are institutionally undertaken less frequently, especially in resource-scarce communities in the Global South. Yet, smaller streams are more sensitive to the ongoing landscape changes within their riparian zone, whose physicochemical signatures may get dampened within the high flows of larger rivers or mixed with similar signals from other parts of the catchment. The Sutunga River in eastern India was thus studied given the intended work's specific focus on smaller rivers. Our objectives were to measure the surface water quality along this small alluvial river situated within agricultural landscapes during the monsoon, post-monsoon, and pre-monsoon periods using a weighted arithmetic-based WQI, to investigate seasonal turbidity, TSS, nitrate (NO3-N), and chloride (Cl-) concentrations along the river's course; and to use NDTI to assess its turbidity following prolonged rainfall events and high flows, with field validation. The computed water quality index (WQI) was based on in-situ measurements from monsoon 2023 to pre-monsoon 2024 and the Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) derived from Sentinel-2A images in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. There was substantial variability in WQI between the monsoon and post-monsoon periods (p = 0.001), but no significant difference was noticed between the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon (p = 0.184), with the majority of sites reporting good quality. One-way ANOVA results showed that DO, NO3-N, Turbidity, and TSS were the key parameters related to water quality, with significant seasonal variations. The polynomial (6th order) line best fit the parameter distributions and a Pearson's correlation matrix highlighted both turbidity and TSS as significantly influencing the surface water quality. The diminishing flow in the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon periods indicate greater stress on the stream habitat environment, with a concomitant increase in nitrate and chloride concentration levels, despite the drop in turbidity and TDS levels from the monsoon period. This variability underlines the importance of conducting site-specific investigations along the river's course to better understand the underlying causes of such seasonal oscillations.

Compared to larger rivers, water quality assessments in small streams are institutionally undertaken less frequently, especially in resource-scarce communities in the Global South. Yet, smaller streams are more sensitive to the ongoing landscape changes within their riparian zone, whose physicochemical signatures may get dampened within the high flows of larger rivers or mixed with similar signals from other parts of the catchment. The Sutunga River in eastern India was thus studied given the intended work's specific focus on smaller rivers. Our objectives were to measure the surface water quality along this small alluvial river situated within agricultural landscapes during the monsoon, post-monsoon, and pre-monsoon periods using a weighted arithmetic- based WQI, to investigate seasonal turbidity, TSS, nitrate (NO3-N), and chloride (Cl-) concentrations along the river's course; and to use NDTI to assess its turbidity following prolonged rainfall events and high flows, with field validation. The computed water quality index (WQI) was based on in-situ measurements from monsoon 2023 to pre-monsoon 2024 and the Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) derived from Sentinel-2A images in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. There was substantial variability in WQI between the monsoon and post-monsoon periods (p = 0.001), but no significant difference was noticed between the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon (p = 0.184), with the majority of sites reporting good quality. One-way ANOVA results showed that DO, NO3-N, Turbidity, and TSS were the key parameters related to water quality, with significant seasonal variations. The polynomial (6th order) line best fit the parameter distributions and a Pearson's correlation matrix highlighted both turbidity and TSS as significantly influencing the surface water quality. The diminishing flow in the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon periods indicate greater stress on the stream habitat environment, with a concomitant increase in nitrate and chloride concentration levels, despite the drop in turbidity and TDS levels from the monsoon period. This variability underlines the importance of conducting site-specific investigations along the river's course to better understand the underlying causes of such seasonal oscillations.

The purpose of the publication is to present the results of the study of anthropogenic changes in the landscapes of the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine, implemented by assessing the indicators of landscapes anthropogenic transformation, their diversity and fragmentation. The basic research methods are methods of geospatial GIS analysis and decoding of remote sensing data of the Earth, geoinformation mapping. According to the indicators of anthropogenic transformation of landscapes at the level of physical-geographical regions and districts of the Forest-Steppe zone, the features of changes for the period 1992-2018 are determined. The results of assessment of anthropogenic changes in forest-steppe landscapes of Ukraine show that in 1992 as well as in 2018 the vast majority of the landscapes of the territory are strongly and excessively transformed by anthropogenic activity. Such patterns persist, despite the fact that during the analyzed period in part of the investigated area there is a certain decrease in anthropogenic pressure on landscapes. The regular relations between the indicators of anthropic landscape diversity and fragmentation of landscapes are determined, which corroborates to their certain conditionality by the degree and nature of anthropogenic transformation of the territory. The novelty of the study are the proposed methods of spatial and temporal changes in landscapes estimating and identifying such changes in landscapes at the level of physical and geographical regions for the period 1992-2018 and revealing trends in the structure of land use, especially agricultural lands, forests, built-up territories as the leading types of land use in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine.

Large dam projects are implemented aiming for multiple benefits including water for agriculture, power generation and flood control. There are considerable environmental and social changes behind these large dam projects, which have not been discussed openly compared to the benefits received from them. However, it is important to analyse the social and environmental changes that could occur as a result of these dam projects in order to evaluate the net benefits received. This study focused on studying the changes in the cultural landscape of Teldeniya and surrounding area due to the construction of the Victoria reservoir. To achieve this objective, a methodology was developed utilizing topographical maps and remotely sensed data. Various spatial and non spatial data belonging to two periods: 1954 represent pre and 2003 post construction periods of the reservoir. The topographical maps were georectified and specific area of interest was obtained. Data of 1954, 2003 obtained from topographic maps were analysed to assess the changes in the landscape. In addition, an IRS LISS III satellite imagery acquired in 1998 was also classified and analysed to support the study. Comparisons were made among the information extracted from 1954, 1998 and 2003 to assess the changes in the cultural landscape of the study area. The study revealed that the land use, road network and the hydrological network have changed considerably. There is a drastic change in the cultural landscape of the study area as a result of the construction of the Victoria reservoir. Some of the land used previously has been submerged with the construction of the dam. The dam project has brought new livelihood options to the people in the area. It is clear that these repercussions are partly due to the changes that have occurred with the development of technology and society with time. The significance of this is that drastic changes are not only on tangible physical changes but also intangible aspects such as culture and the society of this region. Key words: Dams; Reservoirs; Spatial data; Victoria DOI: 10.4038/tar.v22i2.2830 Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 22 (2): 211-219 (2011)

Dynamic of land use, landscape, and their impact on ecological quality in the northern sand-prevention belt of China.

Landscape structure, habitat fragmentation, and the ecology of insects

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)1.IntroductionEnergy has become a vital resource for generating mechanical power in the economic development process since the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. The Industrial Revolution initiated technological innovations and mass production techniques as well as contributing a great increase in the demand for labor, capital, and energy resources. Although the Industrial Revolution greatly increased energy demand in the production process, an extensive debate remains as to the role of energy in economic development. In the second half of the 18th century, physiocrats were the first to see energy as a source of power in agriculture, asserting that all energy came from the land, rain, and sun (Ayres, Van den Bergh, Linderberger & Warr, 2013: 81). The neoclassical dominant view contends that energy is an endogen factor in the production process and its role is unimportant in growth. The most of the empirical studies based on the neoclassical model mainly analyzed how economic growth affected energy consumption rather than vice versa. Most neoclassical economists, with the notable exceptions of Jevons and Hotelling, persistently either ignored or lessened the role of energy in such growth and assumed that energy was not a production factor (Yaprakli & Yurttancikmaz, 2012: 197). Following the oil crises in the 1970s, some economic theories considered energy to be a factor in the production of economic resources that contributed to the production of goods and services. Regarding the potential association between energy and growth, many different views have been put forth in the literature. However, today the broadly accepted view is that that energy is an essential resource in the production process. Georgescu-Roegen (1975), in his fund-flow model, pointed out that energy plays a key role in transforming inputs into outputs in the production process. Many economists considered Georgescu-Roegen's fund-flow model to be more advanced than the neoclassical models. Wrigley (1988), Allen (2009), and some economic historians also pointed out that energy has played a key role in economic development and in explaining the different growth pattern after the Industrial Revolution. Stern (2004) developed a modified version of Solow's (1956) neoclassical growth model by adding energy as an input and considered energy as an essential and complementary factor, but not a substitute, for capital and labor factors. In Stern's (2004) general production function: (Qi,.....,Qu)' = /(A, Xi,.....,Xu, Ei,.....,Eu) Qi are different outputs such as goods and services: A is the state of technology; Xi are various inputs such as capital and labor; and Ei are various energy inputs such as oil, electricity, and coal. Except in micro-economic activities in the service sector, all kinds of production methods using labor and capital in macro-economic activities require energy. Energy is not only an exogenous but also an essential factor in the production and growth process, particularly in the service and production sectors, because not only labor and capital, but also energy is a factor in the production function, as indicated in some biophysical production models. In some biophysical models, energy is the most important and primary factor affecting growth, and labor-capital factors are the secondary factors processing energy. According to ecological economists, technological developments and innovations have little effect on efforts to increase productivity, but energy and energyrelated resources play a major role in the growth and production process (Stern, 2011: 30).Since initiating trade liberalization reforms after 1980, Turkey has shifted to a free market economy and accomplished rapid socioeconomic development. According to World Development Indicators (WDI) averages, GDP growth reached nearly 4.2% (5.4%) a year for the 1980-2014 (2010-2014) period. With a population of 78. …

探讨源汇景观演变特征与径流泥沙的关系对定量识别源汇景观功能对生态过程的影响具有重要的科学意义。以位于黄土高原和西秦岭山地交错区域的渭河源为例，分析了流域源汇景观格局演变与降雨耦合驱动对径流和泥沙的影响，结果表明：（1）研究区1982-2017年汇景观比例逐渐增加并超过源景观，源汇景观功能演变主要发生在黄土丘陵区，源汇景观负荷比指数呈逐年下降趋势；（2）影响流域径流和泥沙的主要因素不同，洪峰流量与含沙量主要受源景观面积比例和源汇景观负荷比的影响，呈显著的下降趋势，而径流量仅与降水量存在相关性；（3）基于信息理论方法的相对重要性分析表明，降雨对流域径流量的相对重要性高于源汇景观负荷比，而源汇景观负荷比对洪峰流量和含沙量的相对重要性较高，传输距离和海拔分布对径流泥沙和洪峰流量具有重要影响。在长时间尺度上，源汇景观格局演变影响了径流及泥沙特征，并且对泥沙影响的相对重要性高于径流。源汇景观合理的时空分布可以有效调控水土流失过程，对黄土高原生态可持续发展具有重要意义。;Identifying the relationships among characteristics of the source and sink landscape and runoff and sediment will help quantifying the interactions between landscape pattern and ecological processes. This study analyzed the coupled impacts from changes in the source sink landscape and precipitation patterns on runoff and sediment at the source watershed of the Weihe River, which located in the ecotone of the Loess Plateau and the western Qinling Mountain. The location-weighted landscape index (LWLI) based on the Source-sink Landscape Model (SSLM) was used to quantitatively characterize the changes of landscape pattern. The results included:(1) the area proportion of the sink landscapes increased from 1982 to 2017 and became larger than the source landscapes. The changes of source and sink landscape mainly happened in the hilly regions of the Loess Plateau. The LWLI decreased from 1982 to 2017, with substantial decrease between 1995 and 2010. (2) The major factors affecting runoff and sediment were explicitly different. The peak flow and sediment concentration substantially decreased from 1982 to 2017 and had close correlations with area proportion of source landscapes and the LWLI values. However, the amount of annual runoff fluctuated during the study period due to variation of precipitation and had limited correlation with changes of the landscape pattern. (3) The LWLI had close relationships with peak flow and sediment concentration by comparing the relative variable importance of landscape to climatic factors, while precipitation was the major factor affecting runoff. Moreover, characteristics of landscape pattern were regulated by latitude and migration distance and had stronger impacts on runoff and sediment concentration than slope in the study area. Results of the study suggested that changes in the pattern of source-sink landscape and precipitation had significant influences on river channel runoff and sediment at a long-time scale, but their importance to runoff and sediment were obviously different. The reasonable planning of source and sink landscapes could effectively control soil and water loss at the watershed scale. For land use planning and policy-making, optimization of landscape configuration should be considered to improve water and soil conservation.