Incorporating Land Use Research Articles

Exploring the Transmission Process of Carbon Sequestration Services and Its Applications: A Case Study of Hainan

The pressing need to address climate change and advance global sustainable development has heightened the emphasis on ecosystem services, especially carbon sequestration. This research assesses the supply and demand dynamics of carbon sequestration services on Hainan Island, China, highlighting its significant contributions to global biodiversity conservation and carbon balance. The analysis considers the spatial distribution and interrelation of these services in light of recent land use and ecological policy changes. The methodology incorporates land use and land cover data, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), meteorological data, and soil data. A gravity model is employed to elucidate the supply–demand relationship for carbon sequestration services, examining the flow across different regions and identifying spatial connections and their intensities. The results indicate a notable increase in carbon sequestration supply in Hainan from 2000 to 2020, particularly in the central mountainous areas. Conversely, the demand for these services has risen, especially in the northern plains’ urban areas and southern coastal towns. The gravity model reveals a strong spatial interdependence between the central mountainous supply zones and the high-demand urban locales. This study underscores the disparities in carbon sequestration supply and demand on Hainan, emphasizing the need for the strategic management of these elements. It provides critical data for ecological compensation policies and offers insights into the roles of regional ecosystems in climate change mitigation. The research highlights the necessity of incorporating ecosystem services into land-use planning and decision-making to foster sustainable development and strengthen climate resilience.

Multi-Decadal Land Subsidence Risk Assessment at Major Italian Cities by Integrating PSInSAR with Urban Vulnerability

This study assesses subsidence-induced risk to urban infrastructure in three major Italian cities—Rome, Bologna, and Florence—by integrating satellite-based persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PSInSAR) ground displacement data with urban vulnerability metrics into a novel risk assessment workflow, incorporating land use and population data from the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS)—Urban Atlas. This analysis exploits ERS-1/2, ENVISAT, and COSMO-SkyMed PSInSAR datasets from the Italian Extraordinary Plan of Environmental Remote Sensing, plus Sentinel-1 datasets from CLMS—European Ground Motion Service (EGMS), and spans a 30-year period, thus capturing both historical and recent subsidence trends. Angular distortion is introduced as a critical parameter for assessing potential structural damage due to differential settlement, which helps to quantify subsidence-induced hazards more precisely. The results reveal variable subsidence hazard patterns across the three cities, with specific areas exhibiting significant differential ground deformation that poses risks to key infrastructure. A total of 36.15, 11.44, and 0.43 km2 of land at high to very high risk are identified in Rome, Bologna, and Florence, respectively. By integrating geospatial and vulnerability data at the building-block level, this study offers a more comprehensive understanding of subsidence-induced risk, potentially contributing to improved management and mitigation strategies in urban areas. This study contributes to the limited literature on embedding PSInSAR data into urban risk assessment workflows and provides a replicable framework for future applications in other urban areas.

Recurrent Flooding and Household Food Access in Central Java, Indonesia.

It is unknown how recurring flooding impacts household diet in Central Java. We aimed to assess how recurrent flooding influenced household food access over 22 years in Central Java by linking the Global Surface Water dataset (GSW) to the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We examined linear and nonlinear relationships and joint effects with indicators of adaptive capacity. We measured recurrent flooding as the fraction of district raster cells with episodic flooding from 1984-2015 using GSW. Food access outcomes were household food expenditure share (FES) and dietary diversity score (DDS). We fit generalized linear mixed models and random forest regression models. We detected joint effects with flooding and adaptive capacity. Wealth and access to credit were associated with improved FES and DDS. The effect of wealth on FES was stronger in households in more flood-affected districts, while access to credit was associated with reduced odds of DDS in more flood-affected districts. Flooding had more predictive importance for FES than for DDS. Access to credit, a factor that ordinarily improves food access, may not be effective in flood-prone areas. Wealthier households may be better able to adapt in terms of food access. Future research should incorporate land use data to understand how different locales are affected and further understand the complexity of these relationships.

Black and white but not a crosswalk: land use and roadkill impact the survival of the striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus) in a Neotropical hotspot

ABSTRACT Roadkill, the result of collisions between vehicles and wildlife, is becoming one of the most important conservation issues. This is especially evident in regions such as the Cerrado savannas which are under strong land use conversion, forcing animals to move more through the landscape and thus increasing exposure to roadkill. Herein, we assess the temporal and spatial patterns of roadkill of the striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus) as well as its interaction with surrounding land use in the Brazilian Cerrado. To do so, we sampled BR-050, a nationally-important highway, for roadkilled C. semistriatus between 2015 and 2020 and used location and date to identify temporal and spatial patterns of roadkill. Furthermore, we assessed whether different land uses affected wildlife-vehicle collisions using a random forest model. We recorded 672 roadkilled individuals of C. semistriatus, and detected both monthly and yearly temporal hotspots as well as spatial hotspots. These hotspots were significantly surrounded by soy, which along with savannas and crops were the most impactful land uses. Since conservation practitioners need to know when and where there are higher risks of wildlife-vehicle collision, our results are essential for the conservation of C. semistriatus in the Cerrado by incorporating land use into roadkill.

Refining soil nutrient assessment: Incorporating land use boundaries for precision agriculture.

Soil nutrient levels play a crucial role in determining crop yield. A comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution patterns and evaluation grades of soil nutrients is of significant practical importance for informed fertilization practices, enhancing crop production, and optimizing agricultural land utilization. This study focuses on the urban area of Kashi Prefecture in Xinjiang as a case study. Utilizing soil sample data, GIS spatial interpolation analysis was conducted, incorporating plot boundary information to propose a comprehensive evaluation method for assessing soil nutrient levels at the plot level. Experimental findings revealed the following: (1) The average values of soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (AN), total potassium (AK), and total phosphorus (AP) in the study area were determined to be 13.3 g/kg, 0.74 g/kg, 0.33 g/kg, and 0.03 g/kg, respectively. Among these, AN and SOM were classified as the fourth grade, indicating relatively deficient levels, while AK and AP were classified as the first and second grade, indicating relatively abundant levels. (2) The comprehensive evaluation of soil nutrient grades in the study area primarily fell within the third, fourth, and second grades, representing areas of 29.08 km2, 25 km2, and 4.05 km2, accounting for 50.03%, 43%, and 6.97% of the total area, respectively. (3) The evaluation results of soil nutrient levels at the plot level emphasized the boundary characteristics and provided a more refined assessment grade. This evaluation method is better suited to meet the practical production requirements of farmers and is considered feasible. The outcomes of this study can serve as a reference for precision agriculture management.

Climate impacts of alternative beef production systems depend on the functional unit used: Weight or monetary value

Beef production has been identified as a significant source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the agricultural sector. United States and Canada account for about a quarter of the world's beef supply. To compare the GHG emission contributions of alternative beef production systems, we conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies that were conducted between 2001 and 2023. Results indicated that GHG emissions from beef production in North America varied almost fourfold from 10.2 to 37.6 with an average of 21.4 kg CO2e/kg carcass weight (CW). Studies that considered soil C sequestration (C-seq) reported the highest mitigation potential in GHG emissions (80%), followed by growth enhancement technology (16%), diet modification (6%), and grazing management improvement (7%). Our study highlights the implications of using carbon intensity per economic activity (i.e., GHG emissions per monetary unit), compared to the more common metric of intensity on per weight of product basis (GHG emissions per kg CW) for comparisons across differentiated beef cattle products. While a positive association was found between the proportion of lifespan on grassland and the conventional weight-based indicator, grass-finished beef was found to have lower carbon intensity per economic activity than feedlot-finished beef. Our study emphasizes the need to incorporate land use and management effects and soil C-seq as fundamental aspects of beef GHG emissions and mitigation assessments.

Incorporating Land Use and Transport Interaction Models to Evaluate Active Mobility Measures and Interventions in Urban Areas: A case study in Southampton, UK

New transport strategies, which aspire to create sustainable and resilient cities, prioritize active and public transport modes. This paper investigates the differences in accessibility, mobility and activity patterns as a result of radical road space allocation changes. To do so, the TRANUS Land Use and Transport Interaction model is utilized. Also, the city of Southampton is selected as a case study and four scenarios inspired by the city's ongoing or planned active travel initiatives are the “Business as Usual” (BAU) scenario, the “Southampton Cycling Network” (SCN) scenario, the “Traffic Calming” (TC) scenario, and the “Combined” scenario, which involves the simultaneous deployment of both test scenarios. In the SCN scenario, the proportion of bicycle trips has noticeably risen, whereas in the TC scenario, public transport usage is maintained. Meanwhile, the Combined scenario significantly diminishes the appeal of private motorized transport over the long term. Regarding the impacts on activities, urban sprawl and the creation of new urban centres are observed in all scenarios. Interestingly, the SCN and combined scenarios have similarities in land use effects, but this happens because accessibility increases in peripheral zones in the former, whereas it reduces in central zones in the latter.

Integration of Land Use Potential in Energy System Optimization Models at Regional Scale: The Pantelleria Island Case Study

In the context of the energy transition, the integration of land use considerations into energy planning can provide significant improvements. In energy system optimization models (ESOMs), land use aspects can be integrated at the cost of a finer spatial resolution and a more detailed characterization of land, tailored to regional constraints and specificities. Additionally, an assessment of trade-offs with alternative land uses is necessary. Nevertheless, they are commonly neglected. This study addresses the challenge of incorporating land use aspects into ESOMs, with a focus on the unique context of Pantelleria Island. It aims to bridge the gap in methodologies for renewable energy potential assessment and model integration, considering the critical role of land pricing and availability. It combines geospatial data aggregation with model adaptation to include detailed land use aspects. The findings highlight the substantial impact of land costs on renewable energy planning, with land pricing significantly altering model outcomes. This research offers key insights for sustainable energy planning and underscores the importance of considering land use in energy transition strategies.

Assessing the Influence of Flow Variability on Irrigated Agriculture in the Central Gharb Plain, Morocco

The lower main watercourse of the Sebou Basin in Mechra-Bel-Ksiri is experiencing adverse effects attributed to climate change, notably drought and rising temperatures. In this study, we evaluated the impact of these changes on the irrigation zone using a comprehensive methodology involving break, trend, and low-water analyses. Our assessment, incorporating Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) considerations, reveals detrimental effects on the expansion of irrigated agriculture along the Sebou wadi and its Baht tributary. Consequently, farmers are compelled to tap into underground water sources to fulfill irrigation needs for their farms. This research sheds light on the pressing challenges posed by climate change in the region and the consequent adjustments farmers are forced to make in their water sourcing practices. Keywords: Flow variability; break; trend; low water; land use land cover.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of human activities using location big data in Qilian Mountain National Park

ABSTRACT Human activities significantly impact the environment. Understanding the patterns and distribution of these activities is crucial for ecological protection. With location-based technology advancement, big data such as location and trajectory data can be used to analyze human activities on finer temporal and spatial scales than traditional remote sensing data. In this study, Qilian Mountain National Park (QMNP) was chosen as the research area, and Tencent location data were used to construct time series data. Time series clustering and decomposition were performed, and the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of human activities in the study area were analyzed in conjunction with GPS trajectory data and land use data. The study found two distinct human activity patterns, Pattern A and Pattern B, in QMNP. Compared to Pattern B, Pattern A had a higher volume of location data and clear nighttime peaks. By incorporating land use and trajectory data, we conclude that Pattern A and Pattern B represent the activity patterns of the resident and tourist populations, respectively. Moreover, the study identified seasonal variations in human activities, with human activity in summer being approximately two hours longer than in winter. We also conducted an analysis of human activities in different counties within the study area.

An integrated approach combining LISA, BI-LISA, and the modified COPK method to improve groundwater management in large-scale karst areas

Groundwater protection and sustainable utilization of wells in large-scale karst areas face many challenges due to the complexity of numerous groundwater basins and aquifers. Therefore, scientific evidence is needed for groundwater management in these areas. A method combining source vulnerability, spatial autocorrelation, and bivariate spatial autocorrelation is proposed for groundwater management research. Based on the COP method (composed of flow Concentration, Overlying layers, and Precipitation regime), the COPK method is modified by replacing the sinkhole distance with sinkhole density, and incorporating land use and karst network development. The modified COPK method is used to evaluate the vulnerability of nitrate in groundwater in large-scale karst areas. Guizhou Province in China, which is a typical karst region, was evaluated as a study area. Comparatively to the classical COP method, the revised vulnerability map shows more areas of high vulnerability, mainly in the middle of the study area. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, the modified method had a higher accuracy than the classical COP algorithm. Based on the accurate vulnerability index, vulnerability was classified using the natural break method, and the spatial autocorrelation of vulnerability clustering characteristics was studied. The source vulnerability was divided into High-High (HH), High-Low (HL), Low-High (LH), Low-Low (LL), and Not Significant (NS) clusters. This result can clarify the vulnerability clustering of groundwater in specific areas, thereby helping to improve groundwater management accuracy and efficiency. In addition, bivariate spatial autocorrelation was used to study the nitrate content of wells and source vulnerability. The bivariate local Moran's index showed a spatial negative correlation between the two. Similarly, the BI-LISA map can be used to characterize the spatial aggregation of nitrate content and well vulnerability. This result can help groundwater managers develop reasonable measures to protect water wells.

A critical application of different methods for the vulnerability assessment of shallow aquifers in Zhengzhou City.

Groundwater vulnerability can partially reflect the possibility of groundwater contamination, which is crucial for ensuring human health and a good ecological environment. The current study seeks to assess the groundwater vulnerability of Zhengzhou City by adopting an amended version of the traditional DRASTIC model, i.e., the DRASTICL model, which incorporates land use type indicators. More specifically, the AHP-DRASTICL, entropy-DRASTICL, and AE-DRASTICL models were established by optimizing weights using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight method. The evaluation results for these five models were divided into five levels: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. Using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the nitrate concentration was used to verify the groundwater vulnerability assessment results. The AE-DRASTICL model was found to perform the best, with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.78. However, the AHP and entropy weight method effectively improved the accuracy of vulnerability assessment results, making it more suitable for the study area. This study provides important insights to inform the design of strategies to protect groundwater in Zhengzhou.

Flood disaster mitigation measure recommendations based on flood hazard and risk assessment: a case study in Brebes Regency, North Coast of Java

The concern over floods in the northern coast of Java is more pronounced. The increasing frequency of flood events, material damage and death rates underscore the importance of integrated efforts in controlling floods there. Brebes Regency has good prospects for economic growth and infrastructure. However, because its location on the north coast of Java makes it vulnerable to flooding. Considering this, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of flood hazards and risk assessment in Brebes Regency, as part of efforts to mitigate flood disasters and encourage the development of Brebes Regency as a resilient city. Flood hazard and risk assessment involves the use of spatial analysis techniques, which include the process of examining the level of vulnerability, determining flood hazard zones, and creating a flood risk map. Vulnerability analysis incorporates land use, population density, and economic activities. Flood hazard zoning assessment were carried out using rainfall data, tidal water levels and topography. The findings of the risk assessment indicate that the northern region of Brebes Regency has a high level of risk of flooding. Moreover, these flood risk maps can serve as a valuable tool to inform and guide the development of flood mitigation strategies and infrastructure.

Pedestrian Environments and Transit Ridership

This paper explores how the quality of the pedestrian environment around transit stops relates with transit ridership. The primary hypothesis tested is that transit trip-making is higher in urban environments that are more conducive to non-motorized travel, given that bus transit systems are most frequently accessed via walking or biking. A secondary goal is to contribute to an improved understanding of the measurement of the built environment in geographic information systems (GIS). A composite measure of walkability—incorporating land use mix, density and street patterns—was developed for all transit stops in San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit Systems service area and used as a measure of the built environment. Findings indicate a small but significant, positive relationship between the walkability of the built environment and transit ridership.

Incorporating land use and wind direction in assessment of residential exposure to agricultural herbicides

Incorporating land use and wind direction in assessment of residential exposure to agricultural herbicides

Modular Design of Bioretention Systems for Sustainable Stormwater Management under Drivers of Urbanization and Climate Change

The increase in urbanization and climate change projections point to a worsening of floods and urban river contamination. Cities need to adopt adaptive urban drainage measures capable of mitigating these drivers of change. This study presents a practical methodology for a modular design of bioretention systems incorporating land use and climate change into existing sizing methods. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis for these methods was performed. The methodology was applied to a case study in the city of Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil. Three application scales were evaluated: property scale (PS), street scale (SS) and neighborhood scale (NS) for three temporal scenarios: current, 2015–2050 and 2050–2100. The choice of the sizing method was the factor with greatest influence on the final bioretention performance, as it considerably affected the surface areas designed, followed by the hydraulic conductivity of the filtering media. When analyzing the sensitivity of the parameters for each method, the runoff coefficient and the daily precipitation with 90% probability were identified as the most sensitive parameters. For the period 2050–2100, there was an increase of up to 2×, 2.5× and 4× in inflow for PS, SS and NS, respectively. However and despite the great uncertainty of future drivers, bioretention performance would remain almost constant in future periods due to modular design.

The role of climate change and vegetation greening on evapotranspiration variation in the Yellow River Basin, China

Actual evapotranspiration (ET) plays a key role in the water cycle and energy balance, and it is also sensitive to climate and land use changes due to its explicit link with multiple land surface processes. Understanding spatiotemporal changes of ET and its drivers is of vital importance for water resources management. In this study, we estimated spatiotemporal changes in ET and quantified its drivers in the Yellow River Basin (YRB)—the second largest river basin of China—during the period of 1982–2016 using the modified Penman-Monteith-Leuning (PML) model by simply incorporating land use dynamics. The PML model was validated against on-site flux observations, global evaporation modeling results, and water balance-based observations. The validation using annual and monthly data from above-mentioned data showed that the modified PML model performs well for both the entire YRB and sub-watershed scale. During the 35-year study period, the YRB experienced significant climate warming and vegetation greening, reflected by significant increases in air temperature and leaf area index, causing a significant increase of the basin-averaged ET (1.36 mm/yr, P<0.01). We conducted the factorial experiments to attribute ET variations to climate and vegetation greening, and the results show that climate warming, vegetation greening, and increased vapor pressure deficit were the major contributors to the positive changes in ET, accounting for 45.6% (0.62 mm/yr), 31.6% (0.43 mm/yr), and 19.9% (0.27 mm/yr). Variations in solar radiation and wind speed played minor positive and negative roles in annual ET variations. Moreover, vegetation greening significantly contributed (92.3%) to the increase in the ratio of transpiration to ET due to the increased available energy absorbed by canopy. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate and vegetation on ET, and can help in formulating appropriate policies for water resource management in the context of climate warming and revegetation programs.

Incorporating Land Use Changes and Pastoralists’ Behavior in Sustainable Rangeland Management: Evidence from Iran

The conversion of rangelands to other land uses generates many negative environmental side effects and increases the vulnerability of pastoralists’ livelihoods. In this regard, it would be important to predict the future land use changes and to understand the pastoralists’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior toward the rangelands’ conservation and sustainable management. In this study, the land use changes of Iran Kishlak pastoralist settlements were initially predicted using the Markov chain model and the vulnerability of the study area was determined using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process in terms of environmental stresses during various years. Also, to explore the rangeland conservation behaviors of pastoralists, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was employed. The results indicated that continuation of the current trend of land use change would lead to the intensification of environmental vulnerability, as well as further reduction of rangeland, forest, and water body area. The results of estimating the TPB model revealed that the attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control could account for 75% of the variance changes in the pastoralists’ intention toward rangeland conservation. Compared with the perceived behavioral control, the intention toward rangeland conservation had a stronger effect on rangeland conservation behavior. On the basis of the findings of this study, we concluded that to analyze the pastoralists’ rangelands conservation behaviors, the use of TBP can be the first step toward preventing the degradation of vegetation and sustainable management rangelands. Accordingly, it is recommended that pastoralists be provided with technical and economic assistance in the field of rangeland conservation strategies. This can improve their attitude and beliefs and consequently rangeland conservation behavior.

Creating ecosystem services assessment models incorporating land use impacts based on soil quality

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely applied approach used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or service across its life cycle stages; however, the impacts of land use on ecosystem services are less addressed in most LCA studies. This study, therefore, aims to improve the LCA model by incorporating a new impact category of land use on ecosystem services at both midpoint and endpoint levels in the existing ReCiPe2016 impact assessment method. The impacts of land use in the LCA model included land occupation and land transformation. The soil quality-based indicator, soil organic carbon (SOC), was adopted to quantify the soil quality change in ecosystem services caused by land use. A site with contaminated soils was adopted to validate the proposed impact assessment approach and to compare the results of various remediation practices. Our results revealed that the characterization factors (CFs) varied with the type of land use intervention, with land occupation of settlements presenting the highest CFs and land occupation of forest presenting the most negative CFs and thus benefitting ecosystem services. These results were well reflected in the case study, while the type of land intervention was the key factor determining the impact level. The results suggested that long-term occupation, high contamination levels, and high material or energy use contributed to relatively higher impacts of land use on ecosystem services. The proposed approach enables the quantification of land use impacts on ecosystem services as expressed in monetary loss or benefit at the endpoint resource level. The impact assessment results indicated that the in situ bioremediation scenario contributed relatively higher impacts ($12,667 USD) than the excavation and thermal treatment scenario ($−37 USD). These monetary assessment results are informative and are expected to be used in the decision-making process towards achieving beneficial environmental outcomes.

Analysis of urban carbon balance based on land use dynamics in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China

Faced with climate change, rapid urbanization, and ecosystem degradation, comprehensive analysis of carbon balance are urgently required to achieve the envisioned sustainable development goals. This study proposed an integrated framework incorporating land use dynamics and carbon balance into the urban management system, according to the logic of “Background & Objectives-Carbon balance-(Natural system + Land use and land cover change + Socio-economic system)-Policy & Strategy”. This is followed by the case study and specific policy implications of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, a typical urban agglomeration in China. Results show that the land use structure of the BTH region remained relatively steady from 2000 to 2015. Cultivated land is primarily distributed in the southeast, with a slight decrease from 50.72% in 2000 to 47.63% in 2015. Carbon emissions from built up land have the highest proportion and increased from 82.58% in 2000 to 92.43% in 2015. Carbon sinks are mainly found in the northwest, and carbon sources are mainly found in the southeast. The carbon balance is increasingly unsettled, with a sharply decreasing rate from 2.73% in 2000 to 0.66% in 2015. Comprehensive policies are proposed from four specific aspects, i.e., strengthening land governance, land use planning, optimizing industrial structure, and regulating residential behavior. The results and conclusions provide scientific evidences for the regional spatial management to achieve sustainable development.