Impact Of Land Use Types Research Articles

Distribution of Electric Vehicle Travel in Dalian City of China

Background:: Since the second half of 2021, the prices of natural gas, coal and oil have soared, but at the same time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to become a catalyst for Europe and the world to accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of energy, prompting countries to accelerate investment in renewable energy, improve energy security and achieve energy independence and the energy crisis started in Europe and eventually spread around the world. Under the new circumstances, the global green and low-carbon energy transition is imperative. The International Energy Agency released the "2023 Global Electric Vehicle Outlook" report, which showed that global electric vehicle sales will grow by 35% in 2023 from the previous year to 14 million units, increasing the total share of the overall vehicle market to 18%. Replacing traditional fossil fuels with low energy consumption and low pollution has become a trend in the automotive industry. Objective:: Therefore, this paper studies the travel distribution pattern of electric vehicles in Dalian city, which paves the way for the future development of the electric vehicle industry. Method:: First of all, this paper predicted the number of electric vehicles in Dalian in the next five years. Next, the gravity model and double-constraint gravity model were used to predict and analyze the travel generation, attraction and distribution of each traffic district. The gravity model is based on the concept of gravity in physics, this model can simulate the travel attraction between transportation communities. The dual constraint gravity model is an extension of the gravity model, taking into account the impact of factors other than distance on traffic distribution. For example, land type, land intensity utilization coefficient, etc. Finally, taking Shahekou District of Dalian city as an example, this paper made an empirical analysis of the travel distribution of electric vehicles in Shahekou District. Results:: This article fully considers the impact of land use types on residents' travel. Residential land is an important factor affecting travel volume, while public facility land is an important factor affecting attraction volume. For areas with high travel attractions, it is necessary to consider building more charging facilities around them to solve the problem of difficult charging. The distribution results showed that the amounts of travel in each traffic community were not much different, but their attraction volumes were greatly different. Conclusion:: After understanding the distribution of electric vehicle traffic in various residential areas, it is possible to arrange the planning of public charging facilities more reasonably. The research provides practical guidance for the transportation planning of electric vehicles in such urban cities as Dalian city.

Woody species diversity and the carbon stock potentials of different land use types in agroecosystem of Jimma Ganati District, Western Ethiopia

We investigated the impact of land use types and topographical variables on the diversity of wood species and their carbon stocks in the studied agroecosystems. A generic allometric equation developed for woody plants in agricultural landscapes was used to estimate the carbon stock. We used a mixed-effects linear model using the lmer function in the lme4 package to test the effects of land use types and topographic variables on wood species diversity (Shannon diversity) and stem carbon stock potential. Our study result showed that there is significantly higher woody diversity (P < 0.05) in forests, home gardens and riverine than in grazing lands and croplands. Conversely, woody DBH (cm) and height (m) are relatively higher for croplands followed by grazing land, but lower for home garden and forest land use. There is a statistically significant difference between land use types in their carbon stock (χ² (4) = 18.164, p=0.0011), with forest having the highest total carbon stock, followed by home gardens, but grazing land having the relatively lower total carbon stock of woody species. The study finds that species diversity has a positive and significant (P<0.05) effect on both aboveground and belowground carbon stocks. However, its effect is modulated by land use types, where it is stronger in forest patches, but weaker in more disturbed land use types (e.g., grazing lands and cropland). The study also finds that topographical variables (elevation, slope, and aspects) have no significant (P>0.05) effect on aboveground and belowground carbon stock. The tree species' structural attributes such as height, DBH size, and basal area (BA) have a positive and statistically significant (P < 0.05) effect on carbon stock. The study also found that only a few high DBH class (old growth) tree individuals that are deliberately spared in cropland and grazing land matrix have a high carbon stock contribution. For example, seven species, Podocarpus falcatus, Ficus vasta, Prunus africana, Schefflera abyssinica, Ficus sur, Ekebergia capensis, and Apodytes dimidiate, contribute an estimated 70% of the estimated total carbon stock in the landscapes. These results indicate the need to protect such scattered old-trees in agricultural landscapes both for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration thereby integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into subsistence farming systems.

Impact of land use type and slope position on the erodibility of karst hillslopes in Southwest China

Land use type and slope position have a considerable impact on soil properties and thus likely influence soil erodibility. Soil erosion on karst hillslopes in South China is still serious due to the high intensity of human activities and fragile ecological environment. Nevertheless, the potential effects of land use type and slope position on soil erodibility indicators in karst areas are still unclear. This study was conducted to investigate the spatial variations in soil erodibility indicators, namely, the saturated hydraulic conductivity (KS), mean weight diameter (MWD), soil structural stability (SSI), soil erodibility K factor, soil organic carbon content (SOC), and a comprehensive soil erodibility index (CSEI) for three typical land uses and three slope positions on a karst hillslope. The results showed that KS, MWD, SSI, K factor, SOC and CSEI varied significantly with land use type and slope position. The measured KS, MWD, SSI, K factor and SOC at the nine tested sites displayed a similar trend with soil depth. SOC, MWD and SSI contributed more to the CSEI, with contributions of 27.9%, 25.9% and 25.9%, respectively. KS and K factor contributed less to the CSEI, with contributions of 17.7% and 2.5%, respectively. Woodland is most susceptible to erosion on upper, cropland on middle and grassland on lower slope positions according to the values of CSEI. There were significant positive correlations among sand content, bulk density and CSEI, and there were significant negative correlations among clay content, silt content, root mass density, SOC and CSEI. The changes in soil properties and soil erodibility indicators with land use type and slope position led to the differences in the CSEI. The results provide valuable information for policymakers to select appropriate land use types to mitigate soil erosion and thus improve the healthy development of the ecological environment on karst slopes. Moreover, the results have crucial implications for understanding the mechanism of the spatial variation in soil erosion of karst hillslopes in Southwest China.

Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal

Understanding the role of soil carbon (C) dynamics and quantitative changes as affected by various land use patterns is very critical given the significance of carbon sequestration. In this context, the current study was conducted in the Lal Bakaiya watershed in Makawanpur District, Nepal, to assess the variation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks in three different land use types, namely, natural forest, grassland, and cultivated land. Incremental soil depths method (i.e., 0–15 cm, 16–30 cm, and 31–45 cm) was applied to collect soil samples in bulk from each of the land use under the study to estimate SOC and N stocks in laboratory. A total of 90 soil samples were collected from three soil layers down the soil profile up to 45 cm for each land uses. The results show that both SOC and N contents decreased with soil depths; however, substantial amount of SOC and N stocks were reported in lower soil depths under land use with natural forest. Both SOC and N contents were found relatively higher at 0–15 cm depth in natural forest soil (1.40 ± 0.20% and 0.26 ± 0.04%) than those in grassland and cultivated land, respectively. The mean total SOC stock and N stock ranged from 46.3 ± 4.24 t ha−1 and 7.11 ± 1.86 t ha−1 in cultivated land to 62.05 ± 9.17 t ha−1 and 11.40 ± 1.92 t ha−1 in the land use with natural forest, respectively. Furthermore, the mean total carbon and nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) of the soil was found to be higher in cultivated land (7.07 ± 1.93) than that in natural forest (5.75 ± 1.47) and grassland (5.62 ± 1.49), respectively. Two-way analysis of variance results showed that both land use type and soil depth have significantly ( p &lt; 0.05 ) affected the SOC and N stocks in the study. From the results, it is suggested that well-managed land use can contribute significantly in offsetting global carbon emission.

Soil Carbon Stock and Soil Properties under Different Land Use Types of Agriculture

Agriculture soils play a crucial role in carbon storage and food security. However, uncertainty remains about soil carbon stocks due to spatial variability. This study estimated soil carbon stocks in agricultural land and examined the impact of land use and soil properties on soil organic carbon in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand. Soil samples were collected at three depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) within five different land use types: cassava, coconut, paddy fields, pineapple, and sugarcane. The results revealed that soil organic carbon decreased with increasing depth. Significant differences in soil carbon and soil properties were observed among land uses. The carbon stocks at 0-30 cm depth were as follows: coconut (35.87 mg C/ha), paddy fields (31.17 mg C/ha), sugarcane (28.02 mg C/ha), pineapple (21.79 mg C/ha), and cassava (16.12 mg C/ha). The carbon stocks were significantly correlated with sand, density, clay, silt, and pH. This study highlights the impact of land use types on carbon stocks in agricultural soils and emphasizes the role of soil properties, particularly soil texture, in influencing carbon storage variability. Furthermore, the study highlights the carbon storage potential in agricultural areas, which could guide the formulation of policies to utilize agricultural land to offset CO2 emissions from other sectors.

Study on Effects of Land Use Change on Carbon Emissions in Beijing Tianjin Hebei region from 1990 to 2020

In order to deeply understand the impact of land use types on carbon effect, we choose the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region as the study area. By using the IPCC calculation method and the modified carbon emission calculation model, our paper estimates the carbon source and carbon sink effects of change in land use type in Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin from 1990 to 2020, and analyzes their temporal and spatial changes. The results show that: (1) Development of some factories has gradually shifted to Hebei, so its land area for industrial development has increased. The corresponding total energy consumption has also increased. (2) Construction land is the primary carbon source. The region is in the golden stage of urban construction and industrial development, and the regional infrastructure land will increase accordingly. The construction land will maintain a high growth trend over a long period. (3) Total carbon dioxide in this study area is increasing, and the massive carbon dioxide emissions of change in land use type is far greater than the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed.

Optimizing landscape patterns to maximize ecological‐production benefits of water–food relationship: Evidence from the West Liaohe River basin, China

AbstractWatershed governance based on landscape pattern is a key research topic of watershed sustainable development, and the ecosystem services related to water resource management (WMESs) have become an important focus. The current research mainly focuses on the impact of land use type or landscape pattern on WMESs, while few studies focus on the relationship between WMESs and food production (FP), and the understanding of the impact of landscape pattern configuration on the water–food relationship is relatively limited. In this study, the West Liaohe River basin in China was selected as the research area. Based on the assessment of three WMESs (water yield, WY; soil loss by water, SW; and water purification, WP) and FP using models, we analyzed the influence mechanism of landscape pattern evolution on water–food relationship from 2000 to 2020. Then, the optimal allocation scheme of regional landscape patterns was discussed based on future land use scenario simulations. The results showed that the influence of landscape pattern evolution on the water–food relationship at the patch type level was higher than that at the landscape level, and the spatial configuration of landscape patterns can improve the water–food relationship. Promoting the intensive management of cropland and strengthening the construction of forest and grassland can improve the overall capacity of the WMESs and FP supply in the watershed. The study suggests that the natural development scenario, economic development scenario (EDS), and ecological protection scenario (EPS) should be implemented in counties A, B, and C, respectively. This indicates that counties with higher FP capacity are suitable for the EDS, while counties with lower FP capacity are suitable for the EPS, which will help maximize the benefits of FP and WMESs protection. The results of this study can provide a direct decision‐making basis for the maximization of ecological‐production benefits of the water–food relationship in watersheds and provide a scientific reference for land use policy regulation and ecological security protection of the watershed areas.

Impact of Land Use Change on the Habitat Quality Evolution in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China.

Habitat quality (HQ) is an important indicator to characterize the level of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and can reflect the quality of the human living environment. Changes in land use can disturb regional HQ. Current research mostly focuses on assessing the good or bad quality of regional habitats, and less on the spatial response relationship between land use change and HQ, and even fewer studies on finely distinguishing the impact of land use types on HQ. Therefore, taking Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) of China as the study area, this paper first analyzes the land use change of study area by using the land use transfer matrix, land use rate model and landscape pattern index, and then combines the InVEST model with the multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model to build a refined assessment framework to quantitatively assess the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of HQ, and then analyse in detail the spatial response relationship of each land use type change on the impact of HQ. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the land use in the TGRA shows a changing state of "urban expansion, cultivated land shrinkage, forest land growth, and grassland degradation". With the change in land use, the habitat quality index (HQI) in the study area showed an " increase first and then decline" change characteristics, and the HQ degradation was more obvious in the areas with intense human activities. The impact of land use change over the past 20 years on HQ in the TGRA has significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity, with changes in paddy and dryland having mainly negative impacts on HQ, and changes in sparse land, shrubland, and medium-cover grassland having mainly positive impacts on HQ. This paper mainly provides a research framework for refined assessment, and the results can provide scientific support for land planning and ecological protection in the TGRA, and the research methods and ideas can provide references for similar research.

Impact of land use types on soil moisture dynamics of loamy soils

In the last decades, drought has been a significant climate hazard in the Carpathian Basin. In this study, we investigated the soil moisture dynamics (SM) of three different land use types (pasture, ploughland, and orchard) in the Transdanubian Hills (SW Hungary). The soil moisture, matric potential and rainfall were measured between January 1, 2019 and February 28, 2023. Two monitoring stations were installed at each study site on the shoulder and at the toeslope positions. The study has revealed that the textural types of the study sites were silt loam, clay loam, and silt. The pasture had the most positive water balance, whereas the orchard had the most negative, especially in 2022 when trees were removed. The mean soil moisture values were 0.26, 0.21, and 0.21 for the pasture, ploughland and orchard for 10 cm, and 0.3, 0.22, and 0.22 for the pasture, ploughland and orchard for 30 cm, respectively. Moisture differences were relatively minor between the three sites, however, soil moisture dynamics were influenced by farming practices. Hence, site-specific mapping and analyses of factors responsible for efficient moisture retention are indispensable for the maximization of agricultural productivity and the optimization of the efficiency of ecosystem services. Our results could be used for the promotion of sustainable agricultural activities where loamy soils and subhumid continental climates prevail.

Impact of land use type on soil erodibility in a small watershed of rolling hill northeast China

Land use type can impact soil properties and the characteristics of plant community, which in turn likely affect soil erodibility. The irrational land use induced by the fast conversion from natural forestland to cropland certainly leads to serious soil erosion. Few studies have been conducted to assess the potential effect of land use type on soil erodibility at small watershed scale. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of six typical land use types on soil erodibility reflected by soil penetration resistance (PR), mean weigh diameter (MWD), mean number of drop impact (MND), slaking rate (SR), soil erodibility of K factor, soil organic matter content (SOM), soil structural stability index (SSI), soil cohesion (Coh), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and an integrated comprehensive soil erodibility index (CSEI) in a small watershed of rolling hill northeast China. The results revealed that MWD, MND, SOM, Coh and Ks varied significantly with land use type, with their maximum appeared in forest belt and their minimum occurred in road. The measured PR and SR exhibited an opposite trend. The calculated K factor and SSI were relatively stable or slightly fluctuating with land use type. Significant differences were found in soil texture, bulk density, root mass density and litter mass density between different land use types. CSEI varied extremely with land use type. CSEI of road was the maximum (0.855), while transverse forest belt had the minimum one (0.136). Compared to road, CSEI decreased by 14.3%, 10.8%, 26.5%, 36.9%, 33.3% and 65.7% for maize, soybean, grassland, shrub land, woodland and longitudinal forest belt, respectively. CSEI was significantly decreased and increased linearly with root mass density and bulk density. The results provide insights to understand the differences in soil erosion under different land use types in agricultural small watershed characterized by rolling hills.

Impact of Land Use Type on Macrophyte Occurrence in Ponds in a Changing Climate

Small ponds are essential environmental elements that perform many ecological functions. We tried to answer whether the macrophytes in ponds may be influenced by environmental factors and the neighboring areas’ land-use type. We also tried to determine the trend of changes in the ponds’ depth and size over the decade (2008–2018). The research was carried out on eight ponds in four types of land use (agricultural, horticultural, urban, and industrial areas). The study covered ponds’ morphometric parameters, macrophytes’ occurrence, and physicochemical water parameters. All data collected were statistically processed using CCA, linear regression, and Pearson’s correlation. The results indicated a continuous tendency for the ponds’ size and depth to decrease, particularly in urbanized areas. During the study, most macrophytes’ genera increased their area. Our research allowed us to separate two homogeneous groups of ponds in terms of environmental conditions. The first was horticultural area ponds, for which higher nutrient concentrations in water were determined. Those ponds were inhabited by Ceratophyllum and Sparganium genera. The second was urban and industrial area ponds characterized by higher water temperature, transparency, pH, and were richer in Mg and Ca. Carex, Potamogeton, and Schoenoplectus genera preferred such conditions.

Impacts of Land Use on Surface Water Quality Using Self-Organizing Map in Middle Region of the Yellow River Basin, China.

The Yellow River is one of the most important water sources in China, and its surrounding land use affected by human activities is an important factor in water quality pollution. To understand the impact of land use types on water quality in the Sanmenxia section of the Yellow River, the water quality index (WQI) was used to evaluate the water quality. A self-organizing map (SOM) was used for clustering analysis of water quality indicators, and the relationship between surface water quality and land use types was further analyzed by redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that WQI values ranged from 82.60 to 507.27, and the highest value was the sampling site S3, whose water quality grade was “Likely not suitable for drinking”, mainly polluted by agricultural non-point sources ammonia nitrogen pollution. SOM clustered the sampling sites into 4 groups according to the water quality indicators, the main influencing factors for different groups were analyzed and explored in more depth in relation to land use types, suggesting that surface water quality was significantly connected with the proportion of land use types at the watershed scale in the interpretation of water quality change. The negative impact of cropland on surface water quality was greater than that of other land use types, and vegetation showed a greater positive impact on surface water quality than other land uses. The results provide evidence for water environment conservation based on land use in the watershed.

Impact of Land Use Types at Different Scales on Surface Water Environment Quality and Its Driving Mechanism

As an important carrier of human activities, the spatial type of land use has an important impact on the surface water environment. Taking the Ruoergai wetland as an example, based on object-oriented remote sensing interpretation of land use types combined with water quality examination data, this study analyzed the impact and driving mechanism of land use types at different scales on the surface water environment at the small watershed and buffer scale. ① It was found that the water quality of the Ruoergai wetland could been classified as water grade V, and it was slightly eutrophic as a whole. The main pollutants were total nitrogen(TN) and phosphorus(TP), and the pollution originated from domestic sewage and grazing. ② The environmental quality of surface water was closely related to land use types. There was a negative correlation between chemical oxygen demand(COD) and the proportion of water area, a positive correlation between TN and the proportion of swamp area, and a negative correlation between total TP. ③ There was a significant correlation between spatial land use types at different scales and surface water environment. The land use type within a buffer of 1000 m had the highest interpretation degree for all factors, the land use type within a buffer of 200 m had the greatest interpretation degree for COD, the land use type within a buffer of 500 m zone had the greatest interpretation degree for TP and TN, and the land use type within a buffer of 800 m had the greatest explanation for Chl-a. The results of this study showed that the Ruoergai wetland wetland had a certain purification effect on pollutants and eutrophication. However, different land use types had different effects on different pollutants. The water body had a purification effect on Fe2+, COD, and Chl-a, and the swamp had a purification effect on TP but a cumulative effect on TN. Thus, the small-buffer zone(≤ 1000 m) land use type should be controlled, the water body and swamp areas should be controlled, the self-purification capacity of wetland waters should be improved, and the surface water environment of the Ruoergai wetland should be further protected and repaired.

Impact of Land Use Pattern on Rangeland Vegetation in Blue Nile State, Sudan

The study was conducted in‘Elrosieris’area, Blue Nile State, Sudan, at the end of autumn season on Novermber, 2018 to investigate the impact of land use type on natural rangelands vegetation. Two sites were selected; namely rangelands and abandoned croplands. Three transects of 100 m length were placed randomly in each of these sites. Species composition,plants cover and ground cover were determined using Parker loop method along these transects. Plant density (Plant/m2), frequency, biomass productivity (ton/ha) and carrying capacity, Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU/ha/yr) were determined using quadrate method applied along these transects. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic and T- test. Theresults revealed that plant cover was higher in rangeland (87%) compared to abandoned cropland (79%). Bare soil was lower in rangeland (4%) than in abandoned cropland (8%). Pennisetum ramsum was dominant species inrangeland (70.67%) and less so in abandoned cropland (25.33%). Plant density was higher in rangeland (34.67 plant/m2) compared to abandoned cropland (11.58 plant/m2). The difference in productivity and carryingcapacity were very slight. The study concluded that Pennisetum ramsum was dominant in terms of cover and composition regardless of land use type. Plant density was better in rangeland. The differences in yield and carryingcapacity were close regarding land use pattern.

Integrated assessment of the impact of land use types on soil pollution by potentially toxic elements and the associated ecological and human health risk

The impact of land use type on the content of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and the associated ecological and human health risks has drawn great attention. Consequently, in this study, top- and subsurface soil samples were collected from areas with four different land uses (i.e., cropland, forest, grassland, and developed area) and the total contents of Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were determined. Geostatistical analysis, self-organizing map (SOM), and positive matrix factorization (PMF), ecological risk assessment (ERA) and human health risk assessment (HRA) were applied and used to classify and identify the contamination sources and assess the potential risk. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) was applied to clarify the relationship of land use with PTE contents and risk. The PTE contents in all topsoil samples surpassed the respective background concentrations of China and corresponding subsurface concentrations. However, the ecological risk of all soil samples remained at a moderate or considerable level across the four land use types. Developed area and cropland showed a higher ecological risk than the other two land use types. Industrial discharges (32.8%), agricultural inputs (22.6%), natural sources (23.7%), and traffic emissions (20.9%) were the primary PTE sources in the tested soils, which indicate that anthropogenic activities have significantly affected soil PTE contents to a greater extent than other sources. Industrial discharge was the most prominent source of non-carcinogenic health risk, contributing 37.7% for adults and 35.2% for children of the total risk. The results of PLS-PM revealed that land use change associated with intensive human activities such as industrial activities and agricultural practices distinctly affected the PTE contents in soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Impact of Land-Use Types on the Distribution and Exposure Risk of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Dusts from Benin City, Nigeria.

The concentrations of the sixteen United States Environmental Protection Agency polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in dusts from different land-use types in Benin City by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results obtained were used to assess the ecological and human health risk and to determine the source apportionment. The Ʃ16 PAH concentrations in dusts from Benin City ranged from 230 to 2300µgkg-1 for industrial areas, 211-1330µgkg-1 for commercial areas, 153-1170µgkg-1 for residential areas, and from 216 to 1970µgkg-1 for school playgrounds/parks. The ecological risk assessment suggested that the levels of PAHs in dusts from these land-use types are of low-to-moderate risk to organisms. The benzo(a)pyrene carcinogenic potency [BaPTEQ] (70.5-131µgkg-1) and benzo(a)pyrene mutagenic potency [BaPMEQ] (62.9-122µgkg-1) concentrations were below the Canadian soil quality guideline value of 600µgkg-1. The incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) arising from exposure of adults and children to PAHs in dusts from Benin City were in the magnitude of 10-4-10-2, which exceeded the safe target levels of 10-6, implying a considerable cancer risk for residents of this city. The PAH source apportionment derived from isomeric ratios and multivariate statistics indicated that burning of biomass, wood, and charcoal, and vehicular traffic were the predominant sources of PAHs in dusts from Benin City.

Impact of land use type and organic farming on the abundance, diversity, community composition and functional properties of soil nematode communities in vegetable farming

The excessive application of chemical fertilizers in intensively managed agricultural fields worldwide has resulted in soil degradation and biodiversity loss. This has contributed to a growing interest in sustainable management, such as organic farming. Until now, studies addressing the impact of conventional and organic management on soil biodiversity and functioning have mainly focused on arable farming and only a few reports are available on vegetable production. Vegetable farming is of particular interest, since management intensity is usually very high and there is an increasing demand for vegetable products. Soil nematodes are useful indicators of management intensity on soil ecosystem functioning because they occupy several trophic levels in soil micro-food webs and play a crucial role in nutrient cycling, pest suppression, and the regulation of microbial communities. In this study, we assessed the impact of management intensity and farming system on the community structure and functional guilds of soil nematodes, comparing 20 conventional vegetable fields, 20 organic vegetable fields, and 20 extensive grasslands in Switzerland, analyzing over 30’000 nematode individuals and detecting 98 different nematode genera. We found significant differences in the community structure and functional composition across three farming systems. Extensive grasslands contained the highest nematode abundance, followed by organic vegetable fields, and conventional vegetable fields, indicating a decline due to land-use intensification. Organic farming led to a significant increase in the abundance of herbivores (+82%), bacterivores (+206%) and omnivores (+135%) in comparison with conventional farming. Organic management also enhanced composite (+195%) and herbivores (+451%) footprints, suggesting greater carbon and energy enrichment in soil food web through these functional groups. Community composition of soil nematodes varied significantly across the three farming systems, with each farming system fostering specific indicator taxa. In conclusion, our results show that farming system has a major impact on soil nematode communities with increasing nematode populations under organic vegetable farming. Although organic vegetable production may benefit from enhanced soil fertility due to increased population densities of microbe feeding and omnivorous nematodes, the threat from plant parasitic nematodes to vegetable production requires attention and control strategies should be developed further.

Impact of land use types on the spatial heterogeneity of extreme heat environments in a metropolitan area

Global climate change has intensified extreme climate events such as torrential rain/snow, heat waves, and droughts. Among climate disaster events, extreme heat can bring long and intensified heat waves and seriously impact the human living environment and ecological habitat. However, extreme heat may have inconsistent impacts on various geographical environments, and such extreme heat might impact human health differently among various locations and climate zones. Therefore, this study applies Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to produce 2014–2018 land surface temperatures and further applies spatial analysis to categorize areas into absolute and relative heat areas in the Taipei metropolitan area in Taiwan. A comparative analysis is then conducted based on ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to explore the spatial heterogeneity of changing heat environments in the study area. Although the OLS results show that mixed use has the greatest influence on heat, whereas green space and barren land have the highest negative effect on heat, the GWR analysis shows that the coefficients of every land use type demonstrate different spatial patterns. These spatial patterns can be applied as a reference for the mitigation plans to reduce the effects of heat.

Impact of land use type and altitudinal gradient on topsoil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in the semi-arid watershed of northern Ethiopia

Understanding the role of soils in the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) cycle is essential, assumed that these parameters are among the key soil quality indicators in a given landscape. Nothing but their status is in a state of continual flux due to land-use, soil management practices, and nature of topographic features. Thus, this study has evaluated the effect of land-use types and altitudinal gradient on SOC and TN concentrations and stocks at a watershed scale in northern Ethiopia. A total of 450 topsoil samples (0–30 cm depth) were collected from four different land-use types (Fig.3) across three elevational categories (Fig.1(b)), and their SOC and TN distributions were studied using descriptive statistics and geostatistical methods. Results revealed significant (p < 0.05) differences in SOC and TN concentrations and stocks by land-use type, elevation, and their interactions. The highest SOC stock was recorded at the lower elevation in GL (7.24 Mg C ha−1), followed by PF (4.65 Mg C ha−1) in the middle and GL (4.61 Mg C ha−1) in the upper elevations, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest SOC stock was observed in the BL areas of the upper (2.34 Mg C ha−1) and middle (2.75 Mg C ha−1) elevations. Spatially, the mean SOC stocks of the different land-uses were in the following order: GL > PF > CL > BL in upper elevation, PF > GL > CL > BL in middle elevation, and GL˃CL in lower elevation, respectively. The estimated total SOC and TN stocks of the study watershed were about 46,868.66 ± 7747.38 Mg C and 7,008.02 ± 441.25 Mg N, respectively. The notable difference is attributable to lack of vegetation cover, unsustainable land-use system, and land degradation via water erosion. Hence, these physical landscape disturbances result in disruption of SOC and TN's storage and stability. The SOC and TN stocks have shown a significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation with soil bulk density in the study watershed. The study concludes that variations in the land-use along topographic gradients drive the soils' SOC and TN storage. Therefore, land suitability planning, soil and water conservation measures, and reforestation practices are needed and practical worth increasing SOC and TN storage in the watershed.

Impact of Land Use Types and Seasonal Variations on Soil Physico-chemical Properties and Microbial Biomass Dynamics in a Tropical Climate, Ghana

Land use conversion significantly impact on sensitive soil quality parameters such as microbial biomass and soil microbial quotient. Therefore, soil microbial biomass and physicochemical properties were compared under three different land use systems namely agricultural land, degraded mine land and an adjacent natural forest in the Newmont Gold Ghana Limited concessional areas, Kenyasi, Ghana. In our field experimentation, an area of 300 m2 was demarcated in each land use type for soil sampling. In each of the land use type, we collected soil 5 samples at a depth of 0-15 cm in both the dry and wet seasons respectively. Parameters we measured included soil bulk density, pH, particle size distribution, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and moisture content. Our results revealed that land use type significantly impacted on soil microbial biomass and physicochemical properties. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen was higher in the forested land compared to the agricultural land and degraded mine land, which was due to relatively higher amounts of litter inputs. Microbial biomass carbon decreased between 20.23 - 88.36% when land use changed from forested land to other land uses. Significant positive correlation was observed between soil microbial biomass and water content, soil organic carbon, phosphorus, clay, nitrogen. Generally, seasonal variation in our study area did not influence soil physical and chemical properties, however, it significantly affected microbial biomass indices. Findings of our study further revealed the importance of forested area in the maintenance of soil quality parameters.