Land Survey Data Research Articles

Quantifying pollen-vegetation relationships to reconstruct ancient forests using 19th-century forest composition and pollen data

Mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its effects relies partly on how effectively land-atmosphere interactions can be quantified. Quantifying composition of past forest ecosystems can help understand processes governing forest dynamics in a changing world. Fossil pollen data provide information about past forest composition, but rigorous interpretation requires development of pollen-vegetation models (PVMs) that account for interspecific differences in pollen production and dispersal. Widespread and intensified land-use over the 19th and 20th centuries may have altered pollen-vegetation relationships. Here we use STEPPS, a Bayesian hierarchical spatial PVM, to estimate key process parameters and associated uncertainties in the pollen-vegetation relationship. We apply alternate dispersal kernels, and calibrate STEPPS using a newly developed Euro-American settlement-era calibration data set constructed from Public Land Survey data and fossil pollen samples matched to the settlement-era using expert elicitation. Models based on the inverse power-law dispersal kernel outperformed those based on the Gaussian dispersal kernel, indicating that pollen dispersal kernels are fat tailed. Pine and birch have the highest pollen productivities. Pollen productivity and dispersal estimates are generally consistent with previous understanding from modern data sets, although source area estimates are larger. Tests of model predictions demonstrate the ability of STEPPS to predict regional compositional patterns.

Pre‐industrial landscape composition patterns and post‐industrial changes at the temperate–boreal forest interface in western Quebec, Canada

AbstractQuestionsWhat were the pre‐industrial forest landscape composition patterns? Which factors had structured the pre‐industrial landscape patterns? How have pre‐industrial landscape patterns and post‐industrial disturbances controlled composition changes?LocationAn area of 4175 km2 at the temperate–boreal forest interface of southwest Quebec, Canada.MethodsReconstruction of the pre‐industrial composition is based on an original early land survey data set (1874–1935). Composition changes were computed by comparing historical data with modern forest inventories. Landscape‐scale patterns and composition changes were assessed through spatially constrained clustering analysis.ResultsPre‐industrial forest composition was structured across the landscape by the combination of environmental gradients (topography, deposits, drainage, etc.) and recurrence of fire. Frequency and intensity of fires were most likely the main drivers of forest dynamics and composition across the landscape. Black spruce (Picea mariana) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) dominated hilly areas affected by former fires; aspen (Populus tremuloides) dominated lowlands following recent fire. White cedar (Thuja occidentatlis) and pines (Pinus spp.) dominated areas probably affected by small surface fires. New disturbance regimes that were subsequently incurred by human activities have shifted the pre‐industrial landscape mosaic and have led to the current landscapes. Composition changes included a replacement of conifers by early successional species within settled or burned areas, and the maintenance of conifers and an increase in cedar dominance in areas affected by partial disturbance.ConclusionsPost‐industrial composition changes must be perceived as complex interactions between pre‐industrial landscape patterns and natural and human disturbances. Such land‐use legacies could be important drivers of future landscape change and should be investigated and considered when predicting future climate‐induced ecological changes.

Coastal inundation multi-hazard analysis for a construction site in Malaysia

Coastal inundation due to multiple hazards was analysed for a potential manufacturing plant at the Batu Kawan Industrial Park in Penang state, Malaysia. The analysis accounted for river floods, rainfall and flash floods, cyclones, tides, storm surges, sea-level rise, and tsunamis. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and the effects of climate changes were also briefly evaluated. The proposed site elevation of 2.60 m LSD (land survey data level; 30 cm above mean sea level) will probably be reached by both the 100-year flood and the 100-year combined tide and storm surge. The flooding risk is low, but coincidence with storm surge or high tide will aggravate the situation. Sea level rise over the next 100 years is assumed less than 0.55 m. The relative level for the other hazards was found to be lower. A further comparison of the various hazard levels is not meaningful without considering also the consequences (i.e., the risk).

A Bayesian network highlighting the linkages between landscape structure and the local economy: the case of agritourism in lowland areas of Northern Italy

Linking landscapes to socio-economic benefits necessarily requires considering the usability of landscape structure. To do so, however, depends on the interaction between users and producers of landscape-related services. We illustrate this interaction with a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) in a case study analysing the connection between residents' perceptions of landscape structure and agritourism restaurants in the eastern lowlands of Ferrara (Italy). We use estimates of prior and conditional probabilities from a mix of different data: land use, survey data, regional statistics, and expert judgements to show the likely effects of the landscape structure on the local economy by using intermediate forms of services (i.e. second-order services). The second-order service is highly influenced by the agritourism density and by the frequency with which customers dine at agritourism restaurants and less by landscape attractiveness, confirming the importance of the supply and demand of second-order services in the provision of landscape-related services.

Construction land expansion and cultivated land protection in urbanizing China: Insights from national land surveys, 1996–2006

The remarkable construction land development in urbanizing China has been rarely investigated within the context of the multi-track urbanization process and its relationship with farmland protection has remained vague because of the lack of accurate and reliable data. To fill these gaps, this research analyzed systematic data from the 1996 land survey and the land use change surveys that were conducted annually in the subsequent decade. Driven mainly by the widespread establishment and continuous expansion of economic development zones (EDZs), construction land in China expanded by 2.04 million hectares in 2001–2006, which was approximately twice of that in the previous half-decade. Cities have not grown faster than towns until recently. In rapidly urbanizing China, rural construction land did not shrink but expanded rapidly, especially in the western provinces with a decreasing rural population. Spatially, the eastern coast has maintained its leading position in the construction land distribution and expansion in China; however, the inland regions have contributed an increasing share of national land development. Land survey data did not support the prevailing view that closely connected farmland loss with construction land growth, but showed that only less than 20% of the lost farmland was converted to construction sites. Moreover, this farmland was occupied mostly by EDZs, followed by transportation and rural settlements, whereas the most frequently criticized city and town expansion contributed the least. In this sense, the real challenge of urbanization to farmland protection lies not in the necessary growth of urban areas, but in the irrational expansion of rural settlements that carry increasingly fewer people. Chinese land polices that aim to control construction land growth and prevent cultivated land loss were proved to be a double failure. The control–protection relationship is not simply “control for protection,” as claimed in official discourse; rather, farmland protection is also a slogan and excuse used by the government to restrain the excessive land expropriation in the urban fringe to avoid or mitigate farmland degradation, urban land waste, and social unrest. After reexamining the Chinese urbanization model dominated by the massive floating population and strict and rigid control over urban expansion, we call for more efforts to develop a trans-regional linkage between urban and rural construction land management, which may be a reasonable and effective means for sustainable land development in China.

Exploring Pre-Colonial Resource Control of Individual Sami Households

In order to understand the use and control of resources by indigenous households and bands, information on territorial division is crucial. However, although indigenous resource use has been quantified in several studies, such information has usually been lacking. A unique map provides this kind of information for the Swedish Sami. Drawn by Jonas Persson Gedda in 1671, before the Swedish state started to interfere with Sami territorial division, it shows the borders of 37 household territories. We have combined the geographical information from Gedda’s map with historical sources and modern land survey data to quantify the resources controlled by each household and relate them to taxation. Three crucial resources are identified: alpine heath together with subalpine birch forest, pine-dominated forests, and fishing waters. Only the fishing resource showed any correlation to taxation, which underlines its importance as the main subsistence mode, at least for the forest Sami. Mountain Sami, who lived primarily on reindeer husbandry, controlled abundant alpine heath and subalpine birch forests that were used as summer pastures, but virtually no pine-dominated forests with winter pastures. The necessary winterpastures were located in the territories of the forest Sami, who controlled extensive pine-dominated forests and who were able to combine reindeer herding and wild reindeer hunting.

Study on Technology for Precision Correction of Land Survey Data based on Plotting Result Data and Feature Points

Abstract. High‐precision land survey data is important foundation for fine management of land resources and enhancement of land use efficiency. The main method for land survey is remote sensing (RS) survey. However, the accuracy of data gained through this method is susceptible to image map, boundary interpretation, plotting process and other factors. To improve the accuracy, the method of precision correction of land investigation data that is based on high resolution image data with geometric correction model was discussed in detail. Technical test was conducted in some area of GuangZhou in China, and experimental results showed that the method can improve the accuracy of land survey data effectively.

Spatial Distribution of Typical Landuse Type in Underdeveloped Industrial Cities – A Case of Jialing District in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province

Abstract. The land-use pattern is one of the key study areas of the utilization of land resource、landscape ecology and the sustainable development, which has important implications for other areas such as the ecological environment, land-use, and isolation. Based on the second national land survey data, the applicat ion of landscape ecology theory and mathematical statistics, selecting the diversity index, evenness index, dominance index, fragmentation such as separation, we have studied the quantit ative characteristics of the land-use structure in the suburbs. We have created a kind of distribution in the fractal structure model by using the fractal theory and have analyzed the complxity and stability of the types of land distribution, based on fractal dimension and stability indexes. The results showed that: the diversity and evenness index is smaller, the dominance index is larger, so that the land-use structure is uneven and the advantage land-use is cultivated land. The order of the separation is contrary to the fragmentation. The cultivated land is the most broken and the most concentrated land-use as well as the water area is the least broken and the most scatter land-use. Fractal dimension and stability index shows that the land-use distribution form is more irregular and less stable. The study conducted an analysis of the land-use structure of the urban in the underdeveloped cities, providing a reference for the ecological environmental protection, the rationalization of land-use.

Urban land market and land-use changes in post-reform China: A case study of Beijing

China launched an ambitious urban land-use reform to improve land-use efficiency, raise funds for infrastructure construction, and facilitate foreign investment in the late 1980s. Few studies have systematically evaluated the effects of the market mechanisms on land-use changes in Chinese cities. This paper takes the city of Beijing as a case study to quantify the magnitude of land-use changes and model it in relation to spatial and market drivers through time and across the metropolitan region. The analysis uses unique district-level land survey data from 1992, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2008, as well as land granting records. Analysis reveals that, since the urban land market was established in 1992, the spatial pattern of land uses has changed dramatically in Beijing, land price has exerted a significantly influence on land-use conversion, and the municipal recognition of an open market for land assets has set the spatial–temporal pattern of land uses on a course that sharply differs from past trends in Beijing.

Identifying a land use change cellular automaton by Bayesian data assimilation

We present a Bayesian method that simultaneously identifies the model structure and calibrates the parameters of a cellular automaton (CA). The method entails sequential assimilation of observations, using a particle filter. It employs prior knowledge of experts to define which processes might be important in the system, and uses empirical information from observations to identify which ones really are and how these processes should be parameterized. In a case study for the São Paulo state in Brazil, we identify a land use change CA simulating sugarcane cropland expansion from 2003 to 2016. Eight annual observation maps of sugar cane cultivation are used, split over space and time for calibration and validation. It is shown that the identified CA can properly reproduce the observations, and has a minimum reduction factor of 3 in root mean square error compared to a Monte Carlo simulation without particle filter. In the part of the study area where no observational data are assimilated (validation area), there is little reduction in model performance compared to the part with observational data. So, incomplete datasets, regional land survey data, or clouded remote sensing images can still provide useful information for this particle filter method, which is an advantage because good quality land use maps are rare. Another advantage is that in our approach the output uncertainty encompasses errors from expert knowledge, model structure, parameters and observation (calibration) data. This can, in our opinion, be very useful for example to determine up to what future period the results are a secure basis for decisions and policy making.

Spatial Distribution of Trees and Landscapes of the Past: A Mixed Spatially Correlated Multinomial Logit Model Approach for the Analysis of the Public Land Survey Data

Public Land Survey (PLS) data have been widely used in landscape studies of forest and woodlands in the pre‐ and early‐European‐settled Midwestern and Western United States. We aim to reconstruct presettlement forest vegetation at a finer spatial resolution than available from the PLS data using environmental covariates (slope, aspect, geology, and soil type) and the spatially correlated structure of witness tree data. To accommodate various data obtained from multiple sources while explicitly taking into account their spatial structures, we adopt a mixed spatially correlated multinomial logit model within the framework of a generalized linear mixed model. The application of the proposed model is illustrated using the three most abundant tree taxa from PLS data in the Arbuckle Mountains of south‐central Oklahoma. To assess the influence of each source of information on the spatial prediction, we considered four variant multinomial/spatial models and evaluated their relative predictive power using a validation technique. The probabilistic information about the spatial distribution of tree species obtained from different models reveals the need to integrate information about witness tree data as well as environmental covariates, and the nature of tree species; that is, a tendency to cluster in space to share environmental conditions in the reconstruction of the presettlement forest vegetation surface.Los datos sobre el uso y cobertura de tierras del Public Land Survey (PLS) han sido utilizados ampliamente en estudios de paisaje de bosques y de bosques históricos para periodo previo al asentamiento de migrantes europeos en el medio oeste y oeste de los Estados Unidos. Nuestro objetivo es reconstruir la vegetación forestal previa al asentamiento europeo a una resolución espacial más fina que la disponible actualmente en base a datos del PLS, usando covariables ambientales (pendiente, orientación, geología y tipo de suelo) y la estructura de correlación espacial de los datos de los árboles testigos. Para dar cabida a los diversos datos obtenidos de fuentes múltiples, y a la vez teniendo en cuenta explícitamente sus estructuras espaciales, adoptamos un modelo logit multinomial espacial mixto dentro del marco de los modelos mixtos lineales generalizados (GLMM). La aplicación del modelo propuesto es ilustrada con los tres tipos más abundantes de árboles según los datos del PLS para las montañas de Arbuckle en el centro‐sur de Oklahoma, EEUU. Para evaluar la influencia de cada fuente de información sobre la predicción espacial, se consideraron cuatro variantes de los modelos multinomial y espaciales. El poder predictivo de dichos modelos fue evaluado en relación con una técnica de validación. La información probabilística acerca de la distribución espacial de las especies de árboles obtenidos a partir de los diferentes modelos revela que para la reconstrucción de la superficie de la vegetación forestal histórica, es necesario integrar la información sobre los datos de árboles testigos así como las covariables ambientales y la naturaleza de las especies de árboles: es decir, la tendencia de los arboles a agruparse en el espacio para compartir las mismas condiciones ambientales.公共土地调查(PLS)数据在欧洲人定居美国中西部和西部地区之前以及早期的森林和林地景观研究中得到广泛应用。本文旨在利用环境协变量（坡度、坡向、地貌和土地类型）证据树数据的空间关联结构，重建比PLS数据中更有效的更精细空间分辨率的前殖民期森林植被。为集成多种来源的各类数据，并明确地考虑数据间的空间结构，本文在广义线性混合模型(GLMM)框架下提出了混合空间关联多项Logit模型。以俄克拉荷马州中南部的阿尔布克尔山脉为研究区，提取PLS数据中三种最丰富的树种对模型进行验证。为估计每种信息来源对模型空间预测准确性的影响，本文考虑了4种变异的多项/空间模型并运用验证技术评估它们的相对预测能力。从不同模型获得的树种空间分布的概率信息表明，需要对证据树数据、环境协变量和树种自然属性信息进行集成，也就是说，在重建前殖民期森林植被曲面时，空间上的集聚趋势共享了环境条件。

Ecology and geography of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Changsha, China.

BackgroundHemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an important public health problem in mainland China. HFRS is particularly endemic in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province, with one of the highest incidences in China. The occurrence of HFRS is influenced by environmental factors. However, few studies have examined the relationship between environmental variation (such as land use changes and climate variations), rodents and HFRS occurrence. The purpose of this study is to predict the distribution of HFRS and identify the risk factors and relationship between HFRS occurrence and rodent hosts, combining ecological modeling with the Markov chain Monte Carlo approach.MethodsEcological niche models (ENMs) were used to evaluate potential geographic distributions of rodent species by reconstructing details of their ecological niches in ecological dimensions, and projecting the results onto geography. The Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production was used to produce ENMs. Data were collected on HFRS cases in Changsha from 2005 to 2009, as well as national land survey data, surveillance data of rodents, meteorological data and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI).ResultsThe highest occurrence of HFRS was in districts with strong temperature seasonality, where elevation is below 200 m, mean annual temperature is around 17.5°C, and annual precipitation is below 1600 mm. Cultivated and urban lands in particular are associated with HFRS occurrence. Monthly NDVI values of areas predicted present is lower than areas predicted absent, with high seasonal variation. The number of HFRS cases was correlated with rodent density, and the incidence of HFRS cases in urban and forest areas was mainly associated with the density of Rattus norvegicus and Apodemus agrarius, respectively.ConclusionsHeterogeneity between different areas shows that HFRS occurrence is affected by the intensity of human activity, climate conditions, and landscape elements. Rodent density and species composition have significant impacts on the number of HFRS cases and their distribution.

MINE WATER AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF ENERGY FROM UNDERGROUND MINED AREAS IN ESTONIAN OIL SHALE DEPOSIT

Underground oil shale mining has been applied for ninety years in Estonian deposit in the middle-north part of Baltic oil shale deposit. The underground mining method of oil shale creates underground free space and the mine workings are filled with water after closure, which makes issues of land stability topical.Underground water pools or technogenic water bodies with all-the-year-round stable temperature are formed in the filled underground of oil shale mines. These water bodies have a potential for use as a source of heat for heat pumps and reduction of wintertime heating costs. The aim of this research is to calculate the amount of mine water in closed or abandoned oil shale mines in the central part of Estonian oil shale deposit and offer solutions for usage of undermined areas.Using mine water as a source of heat for heat pump stations means the possibility of using geothermal energy. The first pilot pump in Estonia was launched in Kiikla settlement in 2011. The best solution for such systems is a heat pump complex near Ahtme thermal power plant. The optimal size for the heat pump at Ahtme is 10 MW heat production. Different methods of heat collection for heat pump plants can be applied when other mines will be closed in the future.A 3D-model of the mined underground area has been created using geometric data of mine plans, acts of closed mines, as well as borehole and land survey data. The main tools chosen for spatial modelling were spreadsheets and Microsoft Access databases for systemising and querying data, MapInfo Professional for georeferencing, Vertical Mapper for interpolating and grid calculations and MODFLOW for pumping simulation. Each step of model creation involved analysis and decision on which values should be used to obtain modelling results. Layer thicknesses and required properties of water body were calculated using interpolated grids and surface elevations.

Researches on Generalization Technology for Land Use Mapping Based on 2nd National Land Survey Data

Researches on Generalization Technology for Land Use Mapping Based on 2nd National Land Survey Data

Identifying Restoration Opportunities for Northern White Cedar by Contrasting Historical and Modern Inventories in an Ecological Classification System Context

We propose an approach toward identifying restoration opportunities on the landscape using historical Public Land Survey (PLS) data and modern Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data within an ecological classification system (ECS) context, and demonstrate this approach for northern white cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ) in Minnesota, U.S.A. Concern over long-term declines in the abundance of northern white cedar, particularly in younger ( approach could facilitate the prioritization of potential restoration candidate areas by revealing population dynamics in a temporal context that match the life span of the species of interest.

Discussion on the Utilization of Forestry Resource Data to Update Basic Geographic Information Data

Along with the rapid development of economy, strong demand has been put on the application of basic geographic information data which needs timely updating. It has become a subject to be further investigated to make full use of other data (such as forestry resource data, land survey data, etc.) to effectively add new data when the basic geographic information data is updated and ensure the timeliness of basic geographic information data. This paper gives an instance to describe and discuss a novel method, whose purpose is to quickly update basic geographic information data by forestry resource data on MicroStation V8 platform.

Reciprocation and discipline in Australasia

The nine cadastral jurisdictions that function in Australia and New Zealand operate Torrens title systems that offer guaranteed titles to land and which are supported by accurate and reliable land survey data. There is little if any litigation over boundaries as a result of the maintenance of both the survey system and standards of technical and professional competence amongst cadastral surveyors. Statutory boards in each jurisdiction accredit those surveyors who have proven their competence in cadastral surveying and allow their plans to be lodged in their registration system. Such surveyors are also required to renew their accreditation annually (by a licence or registration renewal process) in order to retain that right of access to add to the cadastre. Boards have in place disciplinary processes (Coutts 2008, 2009, 2010a; Coutts and Grant 2009) to deal with complaints that any particular surveyor has acted in a way that demonstrates incompetence, negligence or unethical behaviour with respect to the cadastre. An Accord for mutual recognition of qualified surveyors from each jurisdiction by every other jurisdiction has existed since 1892 that facilitates the exchange and mobility of locally qualified personnel. This paper examines the use that is made of the reciprocal agreement by cadastral surveyors with the appropriate qualifications and the distribution, origins, frequency and nature of disciplinary actions taken in the last decade (2000–2009) by the Boards against surveyors accredited to work within the cadastre, and comments on its effectiveness. It further develops the theme of recent contributions by the author to FIG Commission 1 on the regulation and disciplining of cadastral surveyors.

A satellite data set for tropical forest area change assessment

A database of largely cloud-free (less than 2.5% of all sites have more than 5% cloud cover), geo-referenced 20 km × 20 km sample sites of 30 m resolution optical satellite imagery have been prepared for the 1990 and 2000 epochs. This spans the tropics with a systematic sample located at the degree confluence points of the geographic grid. The resulting 4016 sample pairs are to be used to measure changes in the area of forest cover between the two epochs. The primary data source was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) global land survey (GLS) data sets. Visual screening of GLS images at all 4016 confluence points from each date identified 2868 suitable pairs where no better alternatives exist (71.6% of the sample). Better alternatives could be found for 26.6% of the sample, substituting cloudy or missing GLS data sets at one or the other epoch or both (GLS-1990 or GLS-2000). Gaps were filled from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat archives (1070 samples), data from other Landsat archives (53 samples) or with alternatives to Landsat, that is, 15 samples from Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT). This increased the effective number of sample pairs to 3945 representing 98% of all target samples. No suitable image pairs were found for 71 confluence points, which were not randomly distributed, but mostly concentrated in the Congo basin, where around 15% of the region remains un-sampled. Variations in date of image acquisition and geometric fidelity are documented. Results highlight the importance of combining systematic data-processing schemes with targeted image acquisition and archiving strategies for global scale applications such as deforestation monitoring and shows that by replacing cloudy or missing GLS data with alternative imagery, the overall coverage of the sample sites within the ecological zones ‘Tropical rainforest’ and ‘Tropical mountain system’ can be improved by 16%.

Historical Vegetation of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, circa 1850

Land survey data recorded by the General Land Office between 1851 and 1910 were used to map historical vegetation in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Of the 202 townships included in our study area, 148 (73%) were surveyed between 1851 and 1855. Widespread but dispersed and small-scale Euro-American settlement preceded the surveys by 5 years or more, but census records indicate that farming and logging at the time of survey had affected less than 4 and 0.5 percent of the valley, respectively. Native habitats presumably were grazed to an unknown extent by free-ranging livestock, but not otherwise disturbed by drainage or plowing. Ten vegetation classes were mapped, comprised of 66 subclasses. Prairie covered the largest area, followed in diminishing order by upland forest, savanna, woodland, riparian and wetland forest, water, shrubland, emergent wetlands, unvegetated, and herbaceous upland. Distribution of vegetation classes reflected gradients in precipitation, hydrology, soil moisture, topography, and fire frequency. In general, prairie occupied a central position in the valley surrounded by more or less concentric bands of savanna, woodland, and closed forest. Prairie and savanna dominated the southern and central valley, while forest and woodland were more abundant in the northern portion of the valley. To some extent, woodland may have been savanna under an earlier Native American fire regime. All subclasses except coniferous forest have declined in area since 1850.

The Influence of Site Design and Resource Conditions on Outdoor Recreation Demand: A Mountain Biking Case Study

We investigated the influence of several choice variables on the demand for six mountain biking sites in the Research Triangle area, North Carolina. In combining on-site data collected from users and land survey data from the sites, mixed logit analyses revealed both trail condition and site layouts significantly influenced users' site choices. Specifically, users favored sites with higher quality trail conditions and routes that were more challenging. The welfare benefits delivered to users ranged from $1.12 to $7.73 per-user per-outing depending on the site. We also applied a generalized estimating equation to the demand data for use in estimating the annual outings and in calculating the consumer surplus of mountain biking activity in the Research Triangle area, North Carolina. Overall, the case study findings have direct implication for high-priority trail assessments, site monitoring, and resource protection.