Expansion Axis Research Articles

Assessing urban green infrastructure: A simple and practical measure of its spatial distribution equity and a comprehensive evaluation

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) that provides diverse ecosystem services are crucial components of a city. Achieving appropriate density and equitable distribution of UGI is highly significant for urban planning to ensure sustainable and high-quality development. However, there is still a lack of an applied method for effectively measuring spatial equity of UGI in cities with multiple scales, which impairs the ability to regularly monitor it. Furthermore, the extent to which UGI should be implemented in urban planning in China is still uncertain. In this study, a “Structure-Function-Zoning“ analysis framework for the spatial pattern of UGI is proposed. A monitoring index system in terms of the structure and functions of UGI is first established. Then, an approach for measurement of spatial distribution equity of UGI is developed based on a spatial zoning strategy along the urban expansion axis. And a weighted index is proposed for comprehensive evaluation of UGI pattern. Using three Chinese cities (i.e., Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang) as examples, our research shows that the UGI pattern of Tianjin is distributed more balanced from urban center to suburb among the cities and Shijiazhuang shows relatively poor spatial equity of UGI. In terms of comprehensive evaluation of UGI pattern, Beijing and Tianjin are both rated as “moderate” while Beijing was slightly better than Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang was rated as “relatively poor”. The proposed analysis framework is designed to access the structure and function of UGI in a way that can be spatially differentiated, easily described, and clearly compared for cities of different sizes. More broadly, the comprehensive index adopted in the study can be regarded as a simple and practical tool to perform regular monitoring and provide early warning for UGI planning in urban renewal process.

A divergent tumor overexpressed gene domain and oligomerization contribute to SPIRAL2 function in stabilizing microtubule minus ends.

The acentrosomal cortical microtubules (MTs) of higher plants dynamically assemble into specific array patterns that determine the axis of cell expansion. Recently, the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SPIRAL2 (SPR2) protein was shown to regulate cortical MT length and light-induced array reorientation by stabilizing MT minus ends. SPR2 autonomously localizes to both the MT lattice and MT minus ends, where it decreases the minus end depolymerization rate. However, the structural determinants that contribute to the ability of SPR2 to target and stabilize MT minus ends remain unknown. Here, we present the crystal structure of the SPR2 N-terminal domain, which reveals a unique tumor overexpressed gene (TOG) domain architecture with 7 HEAT repeats. We demonstrate that a coiled-coil domain mediates the multimerization of SPR2, which provides avidity for MT binding, and is essential to bind soluble tubulin. In addition, we found that an SPR2 construct spanning the TOG domain, basic region, and coiled-coil domain targets and stabilizes MT minus ends similar to full-length SPR2 in plants. These results reveal how a TOG domain, which is typically found in microtubule plus-end regulators, has been appropriated in plants to regulate MT minus ends.

Continental-wide population genetics and post-Pleistocene range expansion in field maple (Acer campestre L.), a subdominant temperate broadleaved tree species

Acer campestre L. is a rarely silviculturally managed and poorly investigated European tree species which forms seminatural populations and can thus be considered as a model tree for studying post glacial colonisation and phylogeography. Herein, we studied the genetic structure of Acer campestre L. in order to investigate population and genetic diversity clines over the distribution range and for synthesizing the results into a post-Pleistocene range expansion hypothesis. We characterised the genetic diversity and population structure of 61 Acer campestre populations using 12 microsatellite markers. The three detected gene pools are structured geographically creating a longitudinal pattern corresponding with their proposed refugial origin. The results indicated a longitudinal population cline with three strong but highly admixed gene pools. Based on the possible signal from the structure results, a number of phylogeographic dispersal hypotheses were tested using approximate Bayesian computation, and this analysis supported the three refugia scenario with a simultaneous divergence prior to the last glacial maximum. Acer campestre shows a typical decrease in population diversity with northern and western distribution and signatures of surfing alleles in the western expansion axis in 2% of the included alleles. Acer campestre exhibits a high degree of admixture among populations and typical signatures of isolation by distance with no naturally delimited subpopulations. The population structure is rather impacted by geographically, than climatologically means with surfing alleles and alleles strongly limited to geographical areas. Our data also suggest that the population structure still today harbours signatures of post glacial migrations from Mediterranean as well as northern glacial refugia.

The [S ii] Spectral Images of the Planetary Nebula NGC 7009. II. Major Axis

We derived position–velocity density distribution diagrams along the major (PA = 77°) axis of the elliptical planetary nebula NGC 7009 with the Keck HIRES [S ii] 6716/6731 Å doublet spectral images. The average densities of the main shell and knots of NGC 7009 derived from the [S ii] 6716/6731 Å fluxes integrated over the line of sight indicate a density range of N e = 103.4 to 103.9 cm−3, while the local densities from the volume fraction resolved in radial velocities along the line of sight show a considerably large range of about 102.8–104.7 cm−3. The derived projection angle of the major axis of the main shell is ψ ∼ 18.3° (±2°). Assuming that the main shell is an ellipsoidal shell with a ≃ 16″ and b ≃ 6″, we found the range of the expansion velocity, radius, and latitude of four knots and a hot bubble. The four knots at points in symmetrical positions are roughly aligned with the same axis of expansion of latitudes ϕ ∼ ±34.5° (±0.6°): one pair expands at about 35 km s−1 close to the main ellipsoidal shell, and the other expands rapidly at about 60 km s−1 at a distance of r ∼ 16″. In the latitude range ϕ = 65°–75°, the hot bubble of a relatively large structure expands rapidly with a velocity of 130–150 km s−1. The four knots and hot bubble points, which expand faster than the main shell, appear to have been formed by two to three eruptions at a different epoch from the primary structure formation.

Multipole expansion of the local expansion rate

We design a new observable, the expansion rate fluctuation $\ensuremath{\eta}$, to characterize deviations from the linear relation between redshift and distance in the local universe. We also show how to compress the resulting signal into spherical harmonic coefficients in order to better decipher the structure and symmetries of the anisotropies in the local expansion rate. We apply this analysis scheme to several public catalogs of redshift-independent distances, the Cosmicflows-3 and Pantheon datasets, covering the redshift range $0.01<z<0.05$. The leading anisotropic signal is stored in the dipole. Within the standard cosmological model, it is interpreted as a bulk motion ($307\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}23\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}$) of the entire local volume in a direction aligned at better than 4 degrees with the bulk component of the Local Group (LG) velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This term alone, however, provides an overly simplistic and inaccurate description of the angular anisotropies of the expansion rate. We find that the quadrupole contribution is non-negligible ($\ensuremath{\sim}50%$ of the anisotropic signal), in fact, statistically significant, and signaling a substantial shearing of gravity in the volume covered by the data. In addition, the 3D structure of the quadrupole is axisymmetric, with the expansion axis aligned along the axis of the dipole. Implications for the determination of the ${H}_{0}$ parameter are discussed. We find that Hubble constant estimates may show variation as high as $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{H}_{0}=(4.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.1)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$ between antipodal directions along the dipole axis. In the case of the Pantheon sample, this systematic difference is reduced to $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{H}_{0}=(2.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.1)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$ once model-dependent correction for peculiar velocity flows are implemented. Notwithstanding, the axial anisotropy in the general direction of the CMB dipole is still detected. We thus show how to optimally subtract redshift anisotropies from Pantheon data in a fully model-independent way by exploiting the $\ensuremath{\eta}$ observable. As a result, the value of the best fitting ${H}_{0}$ is systematically revised upwards by nearly $0.7\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{Mpc}$ (about $2\ensuremath{\sigma}$) compared to the value deduced from the Hubble diagram using the uncorrected observed redshift. The goodness of fit is also improved.

Urban Layout of the First Ibero-American Cities on the Continent through Conventual Foundations: The Cases of Santo Domingo (1502) and Panama Viejo (1519)

In the present investigation, we study the influence of conventual foundations on the origin of the urban layout of two of the first cities in the Spanish colonization of America: Santo Domingo (1502) and Panama Viejo (1519), examples of early colonial urbanism. Starting with cartography and historical bibliography, as well as recent studies on their urban evolution and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for graphic representation, a comparative study is carried out between both cities divided into stages of urban expansion until their consolidation (or disappearance in the case of Panama in 1671). We have been able to verify how, in Santo Domingo, the religious orders settled on the outskirts of the city, marking the axes of expansion as an instrument of control and consolidation of an urban layout closer to the idea of a grid, which will materialize more precisely in later cities. Meanwhile, in Panama Viejo, the city was formed longitudinally on the streets occupied by the convents, which served as the main axes that defined the urban design of the city. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of the role of religious power in the formation of the cities presented here.

The Impact of Genetic Surfing on Neutral Genomic Diversity.

Range expansions have been common in the history of most species. Serial founder effects and subsequent population growth at expansion fronts typically lead to a loss of genomic diversity along the expansion axis. A frequent consequence is the phenomenon of "gene surfing," where variants located near the expanding front can reach high frequencies or even fix in newly colonized territories. Although gene surfing events have been characterized thoroughly for a specific locus, their effects on linked genomic regions and the overall patterns of genomic diversity have been little investigated. In this study, we simulated the evolution of whole genomes during several types of 1D and 2D range expansions differing by the extent of migration, founder events, and recombination rates. We focused on the characterization of local dips of diversity, or "troughs," taken as a proxy for surfing events. We find that, for a given recombination rate, once we consider the amount of diversity lost since the beginning of the expansion, it is possible to predict the initial evolution of trough density and their average width irrespective of the expansion condition. Furthermore, when recombination rates vary across the genome, we find that troughs are over-represented in regions of low recombination. Therefore, range expansions can leave local and global genomic signatures often interpreted as evidence of past selective events. Given the generality of our results, they could be used as a null model for species having gone through recent expansions, and thus be helpful to correctly interpret many evolutionary biology studies.

Ancient mitochondrial diversity reveals population homogeneity in Neolithic Greece and identifies population dynamics along the Danubian expansion axis

The aim of the study is to investigate mitochondrial diversity in Neolithic Greece and its relation to hunter-gatherers and farmers who populated the Danubian Neolithic expansion axis. We sequenced 42 mitochondrial palaeogenomes from Greece and analysed them together with European set of 328 mtDNA sequences dating from the Early to the Final Neolithic and 319 modern sequences. To test for population continuity through time in Greece, we use an original structured population continuity test that simulates DNA from different periods by explicitly considering the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations. We explore specific scenarios of the mode and tempo of the European Neolithic expansion along the Danubian axis applying spatially explicit simulations coupled with Approximate Bayesian Computation. We observe a striking genetic homogeneity for the maternal line throughout the Neolithic in Greece whereas population continuity is rejected between the Neolithic and present-day Greeks. Along the Danubian expansion axis, our best-fitting scenario supports a substantial decrease in mobility and an increasing local hunter-gatherer contribution to the gene-pool of farmers following the initial rapid Neolithic expansion. Οur original simulation approach models key demographic parameters rather than inferring them from fragmentary data leading to a better understanding of this important process in European prehistory.

Tailoring sheet resistance through laser fluence and study of the critical impact of a V-shaped plasma plume on the properties of PLD-deposited DLC films for micro-pattern gaseous detector applications

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is an attractive inexpensive alternative to diamond. The control of the C (sp3)/C(sp2) ratio, influencing the material properties, is fundamental for its use in dedicated applications like, for example, the fabrication of a particular class of gas detectors for ionizing particles termed Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs).A deposition technique enabling control on the amount of C(sp3) hybridized bonds, hydrogen content and disorder is pulsed lased deposition (PLD).In this paper, we report on the preparation of hydrogen-free DLC films by nanosecond excimer laser-based ablation of a graphite target correlating the laser fluence with the electrical properties of the DLC films to be used as protective resistive layers in MPGD detectors.Moreover, unprecedented physical insight and discussion are provided about the critical aspects of both occurrence of a V-branched plume and its composition on the spatial distribution of C(sp3) bonds and film uniformity. Improvement strategies are demonstrated by comparing and discussing two classes of PLD experiments: ON-axis (coaxial plasma expansion axis and substrate symmetry axis) and OFF-axis (substrate-axis shifted with respect to the plume-axis and rotating substrate). Optimally working OFF-axis configuration conditions are shown to lead to fine tuning of resistivity and uniformity of composition of C(sp3) bonding over a few cm2 extended areas. Sheet resistance (3.1 ± 0.3) × 109 Ω/sq., corresponding to C(sp3) bonding concentration of ~86%, is reported in OFF-axis experiments at a fluence of 5.5 J/cm2 onto kapton substrates which are used for the realization of MPGDs.

Government policies endanger the indigenous peoples of the Brazilian Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon rainforest deforestation rate increased by 34.1% between 2018 and 2019, reaching even protected areas, such as Indigenous Lands (ILs). In particular, Ituna/Itatá IL, in the state of Pará, restricted to the study of Igarapé Ipiaçava isolated indigenous people, has experienced a 654% deforestation rate increase during the same period. The mainstream deforestation analysis explains it as a struggle between conservation and development, which is commonly typified by large-scale producers who replace natural vegetation with pasturelands and crop fields, especially in agricultural frontiers, as ILs are barriers for protecting forests. In this work, we expose a devised and underlying deforestation process in Ituna/Itatá, and argue that land grabbers and squatters have promoted this boom by moving in, clearing, subdividing, and occupying this IL as if it were real estate. Such process mischaracterizes it and obstructs the demarcation process, in the expectation of a land regularization law that authenticates selling the land in the future. This process seems to be promoted by the Brazilian Federal Government rhetoric and mediated by local politicians, somewhat passing on the message of feeble repression against invasions of public lands. Our results evidence a process of IL mischaracterization, with primary forests converted to pasturelands, and a 1994.30 ton year−1 increase of annual estimates of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) associated with fires. Also, 94% of Ituna/Itatá has been claimed in the Brazilian Rural Environmental Registry, resembling a city allotment process, with a road network conditioning and suggesting axes of deforestation expansion. Measures to prevent deforestation are vital not only to sustain land demarcation processes but also to stop it from spreading to other ILs.

Plasma Emission Spectroscopy to Study the Resputtering Produced by Pulsed Laser Deposition of Au and in Combination With Magnetron Sputtering of ZnO

Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) has been used as an in-situ method to monitor the film deposition carried out using a combination of two plasma-assisted techniques; pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and magnetron sputtering (MS). In this work, the plasmas produced during the PLD ablation of a gold target in an argon atmosphere and its simultaneous use with MS of ZnO were characterized by OES. Neutral atoms of Au, Ar, and Zn and ions of Au were identified, and the temporal and spatial evolution of their emission lines was studied along the axis of the PLD plasma expansion. During the PLD of Au an increment in the emission intensity of neutral Au near the substrates, as a function of the laser pulse fluence, demonstrated resputtering of the Au deposit by the high energy species produced by PLD. When the combination of PLD of Au and MS of ZnO was performed, a similar increment was observed in the emission intensity, but in this case of neutral Zn that was caused by the preferential resputtering of Zn from the ZnO-Au deposit. The MS plasma neither significantly affect the PLD plasma expansion nor did it affect the resputtering of the films.

Cavitation and charge separation in laser-produced copper and carbon plasma in transverse magnetic field

In the present work, we report the dynamics and geometrical features of the plasma plume formed by the laser ablation of copper and graphite (carbon) targets in the presence of different transverse magnetic field. This work emphasizes on the effect of atomic mass of the plume species on the diamagnetic behaviour and geometrical aspect of the expanding plasma plume in the magnetic field. The time-resolved analysis of the simultaneously captured two directional images in orthogonal to the expansion axis is carried out for the comparative study of projected three-dimensional structure of copper and carbon plasma plume. In the presence of magnetic field, sharp differences are observed between the copper and carbon plasma plumes in terms of formation of diamagnetic cavity and structure formation. An elliptical cavity-like structure is observed in case of copper plasma plume which attains the sharp conical shape with increasing the time delay or magnetic field strength. On the other hand, splitted carbon plasma plume appears as a Y-shape structure in the presence of magnetic field where the cavity-like structure is not observed for the considered time and magnetic field. Based on the modified energy balance relation for the elliptic cylindrical geometry, we have also simulated the dynamics of the plume which is in close agreement with observed plasma expansion in diamagnetic and non-diamagnetic regions.

Experiments on plasma arcs at a water–air interface

An exploding water plasma experiment at UCLA investigated the expansion and morphology of a fireball with and without an external magnetic field. Diagnostics include photographs and movies (which may be downloaded) acquired with a framing camera, magnetic probes, and visible light spectra. The expansion and internal magnetic fields are very different from the unmagnetized case when a magnetic field of order 300G is applied along the expansion axis. Visible light spectra are brighter and additional lines are seen in the presence of the magnetic field. The experiment can serve as a platform for studies of interfacial mixing and possibly shed light on very different processes such as laser target physics.

Enhanced X-ray emission arising from laser-plasma confinement by a strong transverse magnetic field

We analyze, using experiments and 3D MHD numerical simulations, the dynamic and radiative properties of a plasma ablated by a laser (1 ns, 10^{12}–10^{13} W/cm^2) from a solid target as it expands into a homogeneous, strong magnetic field (up to 30 T) that is transverse to its main expansion axis. We find that as early as 2 ns after the start of the expansion, the plasma becomes constrained by the magnetic field. As the magnetic field strength is increased, more plasma is confined close to the target and is heated by magnetic compression. We also observe that after sim 8 ns, the plasma is being overall shaped in a slab, with the plasma being compressed perpendicularly to the magnetic field, and being extended along the magnetic field direction. This dense slab rapidly expands into vacuum; however, it contains only sim 2% of the total plasma. As a result of the higher density and increased heating of the plasma confined against the laser-irradiated solid target, there is a net enhancement of the total X-ray emissivity induced by the magnetization.

Demography, genetic diversity and expansion load in the colonizing species Leontodon longirostris (Asteraceae) throughout its native range.

Unravelling the evolutionary processes underlying range expansions is fundamental to understand the distribution of organisms, as well as to predict their future responses to environmental change. Predictions for range expansions include a loss of genetic diversity and an accumulation of deleterious alleles along the expansion axis, which can decrease fitness at the range-front (expansion load). In plants, empirical studies supporting expansion load are scarce, and its effects remain to be tested outside a few model species. Leontodon longirostris is a colonizing Asteraceae with a widespread distribution in the Western Mediterranean, providing a particularly interesting system to gain insight into the factors that can enhance or mitigate expansion load. In this study, we produced a first genome draft for the species, covering 418Mbp (~53% of the genome). Although incomplete, this draft was suitable to design a targeted sequencing of ~1.5Mbp in 238 L.longirostris plants from 21 populations distributed along putative colonization routes in the Iberian Peninsula. Inferred demographic history supports a range expansion from southern Iberia around 40,000years ago, reaching northern Iberia around 25,000years ago. The expansion was accompanied by a loss of genetic diversity and a significant increase in the proportion of putatively deleterious mutations. However, levels of expansion load in L.longirostris were smaller than those found in other plant species, which can be explained, at least partially, by its high dispersal ability, the self-incompatible mating system, and the fact that the expansion occurred along a strong environmental cline.

Climate shaped how Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers interacted after a major slowdown from 6,100 BCE to 4,500 BCE.

The Neolithic transition in Europe was driven by the rapid dispersal of Near Eastern farmers who, over a period of 3,500 years, brought food production to the furthest corners of the continent. However, this wave of expansion was far from homogeneous, and climatic factors may have driven a marked slowdown observed at higher latitudes. Here, we test this hypothesis by assembling a large database of archaeological dates of first arrival of farming to quantify the expansion dynamics. We identify four axes of expansion and observe a slowdown along three axes when crossing the same climatic threshold. This threshold reflects the quality of the growing season, suggesting that Near Eastern crops might have struggled under more challenging climatic conditions. This same threshold also predicts the mixing of farmers and hunter-gatherers as estimated from ancient DNA, suggesting that unreliable yields in these regions might have favoured the contact between the two groups.

A ação do capital imobiliário no Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida faixas 2 e 3 no município de Petrópolis-RJ

O Programa habitacional Minha Casa Minha Vida – MCMV, instituído pelo governo Federal em 2009, promoveu uma (re)organização territorial urbana dos municípios brasileiros. Diversos estudos têm demonstrado esses efeitos, porém com pouca análise sobre as faixas 2 e 3. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar a ação do capital imobiliário exógeno no município de Petrópolis-RJ e sua atuação no MCMV voltado paras as faixas 2 e 3 e como esse processo tem acarretado um novo ordenamento territorial urbano desse município. A metodologia utilizada pautou-se no levantamento bibliográfico e entrevista ao agente público (prefeitura) e aos agentes privados (construtoras, incorporadoras e imobiliárias). Os resultados apontaram para um adensamento do eixo de expansão urbana, localizado na Estrada União e Indústria e na Estrada Philuvio Cerqueira Rodrigues, acompanhado do crescimento da oferta de comércio e serviços, sobretudo no 2º e 3º Distritos. Além desses processos, observou-se a valorização imobiliária dos empreendimentos bem como das áreas no seu entorno, principalmente naqueles espaços cuja verticalização é permitida por lei urbana.
 
 Abstract
 
 ACTION OF REAL ESTATE CAPITAL IN THE MINHA CASA MINHA VIDA PROGRAM TRACKS 2 AND 3 IN PETRÓPOLIS-RJ
 
 The housing Minha Casa Minha Vida Program (My Home My Life) - MCMV, instituted by the Federal government in 2009, promoted an urban and territorial (re) organization of Brazilian municipalities. Several studies have demonstrated these effects, but with little analysis of types 2 and 3. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the action of exogenous real estate capital in the municipality of Petrópolis - RJ and its performance through the MCMV aimed at types 2 and 3 and how this process has brought a new urban territorial ordering in this municipality. The methodology used was based on the bibliographic survey and on interviews with the public agent (city hall) and private agents (builders, developers and real estate). Results pointed to a thickening of the urban expansion axis, located on União e Indústria and Philuvio Cerqueira Rodrigues Roads, accompanied by the growth in the offer of trade and services, especially in the 2nd and 3rd Districts. In addition to these processes, the real estate appreciation of the developments was observed, as well as of the surrounding areas, especially in those spaces in which verticalization is permitted by urban law.

Interaction dependent anisotropic thermal expansion of a hydrogen bonded cocrystal

A binary cocrystal of 2,4,6-triethyl-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (TEBH3) and trans-4,4′-bispyridylethylene (BPE), 1, exhibits a volumetric thermal expansion (αV,298K) of 162(19) [10−6 K−1] between 118 ─ 298 K. The axial thermal expansion coefficients are α1(010), 298K = 15(9) [10−6 K−1], α2(100), 298K = 17(5) [10−6 K−1], and α3(001), 298K = 113(3) [10−6 K−1] respectively. The structure of 1 is a typical 2―fold interpenetrated hydrogen bonded corrugated square lattice (sql) net, sustained by strong O–H⋯O (along the b axis) and O–H⋯N (along the a-axis) hydrogen bonds. The 2‒fold interpenetrated sql nets get stacked into layers along the 001 direction sustained by weak C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The α1(010), 298K and α2(100), 298K directed along the plane of the sql net, are attributed to the presence of strong O–H⋯O and O–H⋯N hydrogen bonds which restrict expansion along the plane of the sql net. The major principle axis of expansion is directed along the direction of the stacking of the interpenetrated nets linked by weak C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds resulting into α3(001), 298K being ∼ 7 times higher than α1(010), 298K and α2(100), 298K. Between 118 K and 208 K a shortening of the strong O–H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed along with a negligible increase in O–H⋯O which accounts for the biaxial NTE exhibited by 1 between 118 K - 208 K along the a and the b axes respectively.

Re-interpretation of City’s Radial Expansion in The Developing Countries through Green Affordable HousingCase Study: Greater Sour Southern Expansion Axis, Lebanon

Re-interpretation of City’s Radial Expansion in The Developing Countries through Green Affordable HousingCase Study: Greater Sour Southern Expansion Axis, Lebanon

Chinese-driven frontier expansion in the Amazon: four axes of pressure caused by the growing demand for soy trade

Chinese demand for the world’s commodities has the capacity to shape agricultural frontiers in many parts of the world, including the Amazon. This article is a preliminary report on findings concerning the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Brazilian Amazon driven by increases in soybean production, extension of cropped area, cross-referenced with satellite data on deforestation rates at the smallest possible scale: the municipal level. The study identifies 21 municipalities forming fours axes of frontier expansion in the Amazon, where soycrops may be the cause for displacement deforestation, as it is the case of cattle ranching. Despite the Soy Moratorium, frontiers in the Amazon keep shifting. The article advocates that further research in those four axes is needed to better understand the relationship between those two industries in terms of land use as well as the socio-environmental on the ground impacts. Furthermore, the connections between those areas with present and future infrastructure development in the Amazon, many counting with direct Chinese investment, will be key to the expansion of the soy value chain, bypassing the initial goal of zero-deforestation.***Expansão de fronteira impulsionada pela China na Amazônia: quatro eixos de pressão causados pela crescente demanda pelo comércio de soja***A demanda chinesa por commodities tem capacidade para moldar fronteiras agrícolas em muitas partes do mundo, incluindo a Amazônia. Este artigo é um relatório preliminar sobre a expansão da fronteira agrícola na Amazônia brasileira, impulsionada por aumentos na produção de soja, extensão da área cultivada, cruzadas com dados de satélite sobre as taxas de desmatamento na menor escala possível: o nível municipal. O estudo identifica 21 municípios formando quatro eixos de expansão de fronteira na Amazônia, onde a lavoura de soja pode ser a causa do desmatamento indireto por deslocamento de outras atividades, como é o caso da pecuária. Apesar da Moratória da Soja, as fronteiras na Amazônia continuam mudando. O artigo defende que mais pesquisas nesses quatro eixos são necessárias para entender melhor a relação entre essas duas indústrias em termos de uso da terra, bem como os impactos socioambientais in loco. Além disso, é fundamental traçar as conexões entre esses eixos com o desenvolvimento presente e futuro de obras de infraestrutura na Amazônia, muitas delas com investimento direto chinês, para antever a expansão da cadeia de valor da soja, que pode estar ignorando de fato a intenção inicial de uma cadeia de valor de desmatamento zero.Palavras-chave: Amazônia. Fronteiras agrícolas. Desmatamento. Soja. Demandachinesa.