Land Use Conditions Research Articles

A Hierarchical Approach to Remote Sensing Scene Classification

Remote sensing scene classification deals with the problem of classifying land use/cover of a region from images. To predict the development and socioeconomic structures of cities, the status of land use in regions is tracked by the national mapping agencies of countries. Many of these agencies use land-use types that are arranged in multiple levels. In this paper, we examined the efficiency of a hierarchically designed convolutional neural network (CNN)-based framework that is suitable for such arrangements. We use the NWPU-RESISC45 dataset for our experiments and arrange this data set in a two-level nested hierarchy. Each node in the designed hierarchy is trained using DenseNet-121 architectures. We provide detailed empirical analysis to compare the performances of this hierarchical scheme and its non-hierarchical counterpart, together with the individual model performances. We also evaluated the performance of the hierarchical structure statistically to validate the presented empirical results. The results of our experiments show that although individual classifiers for different sub-categories in the hierarchical scheme perform considerably well, the accumulation of the classification errors in the cascaded structure prevents its classification performance from exceeding that of the non-hierarchical deep model.

Predicting Dynamics of the Potential Breeding Habitat of Larus saundersi by MaxEnt Model under Changing Land-Use Conditions in Wetland Nature Reserve of Liaohe Estuary, China

Identifying waterfowl habitat suitability under changing environments, especially land-use change, is crucial to make waterfowl habitat conservation planning. We took Wetland Nature Reserve of Liaohe Estuary, the largest breeding area of Saunders’s Gulls (Larus saundersi) in the world, as our study area, generated land-use-type maps through interpretation of satellite images from four different years (1988, 2000, 2009, 2017), and predicted the potential breeding habitat of Saunders’s Gulls by MaxEnt model based on the land-use map, along with other environmental variables (NDVI, distance to roads and artificial facilities, distance to rivers and water bodies, DEM and distance to shoreline) for the four years, respectively. The models were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC). We analyzed the changes of the breeding habitat from 1988 to 2017 and utilized RDA to explore the relationships among the changes of suitable habitat of Larus saundersi and the dynamics of land uses. Our results showed that the most suitable habitat decreased by 1286.46 ha during 1988-2009 and increased by 363.51 ha from 2009 to 2017. The suitable habitat decreased by 582.48 ha from 1988 to 2009 and then increased to 1848.96 ha in 2017, while the unsuitable habitat increased by 2793.87 ha during 1988–2009 and then decreased by 178.83 ha from 2009 to 2017. We also found that land use, distance to the coastline, distance to artificial facilities, distance to rivers, distance to roads, and NDVI had certain degrees of impact on the Larus saundersi distribution. The contribution of land use ranged from 16.4% to 40.3%, distance to coastline from 34.7% to 48.0%, distance to artificial facilities from 5.9% to 11.1%, distance to rivers from 5.5% to 11.0%, distance to roads from 3.9% to 12.5%, and NDVI from 0.3% to 6.3%. The change in suitable habitat of Larus saundersi has a positive relationship with the change of seepweed marsh. Human-induced changes in seepweed marsh and coastline position are the main factors influencing the potential breeding habitat of Saunders’s Gulls. We suggest strict conservation of seepweed marsh and implementation of habitat management practices to better protect Saunders’ Gull’s breeding habitat.

福建省安溪县土地利用时空演变规律及其关键驱动因素

以福建省安溪县为研究边界, 选取了1999—2019年该县及所属乡镇的耕地、林地、草地、园地、水域、建设用地和未利用地等7个土地利用类型作为物种变量, 与其相关性较大的社会经济指标为环境变量, 采用典范对应分析和空间自相关等方法进行分析, 以明确安溪县和所属乡镇的土地利用时空演变特征及其关键驱动因素。研究结果表明：安溪县1999—2019年间土地利用类型变化总体上呈“三减四增”态势, 并在全局空间分布格局上呈明显的聚焦状态。全县耕地、草地和水域面积分别减少36.82%、22.91%和8.18%, 而林地、园地(主要是茶园)、建设用地和未利用地面积则分别增加了10.37%、56.39%、206.08%和90.14%。就林地面积而言, 近10年来安溪县24个乡镇中有1/3的乡镇林地呈下降趋势。其中, 祥华、大坪、虎邱、参内、福田和城厢6个乡镇林地面积减少明显。研究表明：在县域水平上, 主要土地利用类型变化, 除了受地理因素的制约外, 主要受社会经济指标和宏观政策的驱动因素调控。排位最大的前3个因素分别是社会消费品零售总额、地区生产总值和茶叶产量。在镇域水平上, 不同乡镇由于地理条件, 特别是城镇化水平和经济发展状况不同, 其土地利用策略和发展驱动力也不同, 但茶产业发展驱动仍是关键因素。根据土地利用现状与存在问题, 提出应强化土地利用科学规划与有效整治, 方可保证区域生态经济协调可持续发展。;In this study, Anxi County of Fujian Province was taken as the research boundary, 7 types of land use including the cultivated land, forest land, grassland, garden land, water bodies, and construction land as well as unutilized land in the County and its townships from 1999 to 2019 were selected as the species variables, and the socioeconomic indicators with a relatively high correlation with them were the environmental variables for this study. The spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of land use and its key driving factors in Anxi County and its townships were analyzed by means of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and spatial autocorrelation. The results showed that the change of land-use type in Anxi County from 1999 to 2019 generally performed a trend of three decreases and four increases, indicating a significant pattern of agglomeration in globally spatial distribution. The area of cultivated land, grassland and water bodies decreased by 36.82%, 22.91% and 8.18%, respectively, while forest land, garden land (mainly tea plantation), construction land and unutilized land increased by 10.37%, 56.39%, 206.08% and 90.14%, respectively. Forest land areas have been increased as a whole within 20a, but the changes varied from township to township. In the past decades, 1/3 of the 24 townships of Anxi County, such as Xianghua, Daping, Huqiu, Cannei, Futian and Chengxiang, showed a significant declining trend in forest land area. Further analysis showed that the changes in main types of land-use were mainly controlled by the driving factors of socioeconomic indicators and macro policies except for restriction by geographical factors in county scale. The top three factors were the total retail sales of consumer goods, the gross regional product and tea production. In township scale, different townships had different land use strategies and development drivers due to different geographical conditions, especially the level of urbanization and economic development, but the development driver of tea industry was still a key factor. Therefore, the authors suggest that it is important to strengthen the scientific planning and effective renovation of land use based on status and problems of land use, so as to ensure the coordinated and sustainable development of regional ecological economy.

Просторово-часова трансформація якості поливних вод на Південнобузькій та Кам’янській зрошувальних системах

Much of Ukraine is located in areas of insufficient moisture, and therefore the food supply and export potential of the state largely depends on the availability, condition and efficiency of irrigated land use. A factor that significantly affects the development of irrigation in the South of Ukraine is the quality of irrigation water. The aim of the article is to highlight the results of the study of spatial-temporal aspects of various indicators of agronomic quality of irrigation waters of the South Bug Irrigation System (SBIS) and Kamianska Irrigation System (KIS). The task of the research was to determine the degree of danger of salinization of soils, the hazard of physical degradation of soils, the danger of toxic effects on the plant of certain toxic anions and cations and the pH value. In terms of the risk of soil salinization, these waters have a medium level of hazard. Such irrigation water has certain limitations in use. If there is no noticeable reduction in the yield of the main crops at the SBIS, then watering with this water will lead to a noticeable loss of yield at the KIS for the most sensitive to salinity crops. KIS and SBIS irrigation water have medium risks of potential salinization of soils, which makes the application of gypsum a mandatory technological measure in the process of growing crops. Regarding the impact of sodium cations on agricultural plants, the quality of irrigation water on the lands of SBIS is low and medium, and on the lands of KIS – average. But at the end of the irrigation season under the influence of temperature and probable inflow into reservoirs along the route of transportation of mineralized groundwater, the use of such water on KIS lands requires significant restrictions due to the high risk of injury to plants with excess sodium cations. The low initial content of chlorine anions in the Southern Bug River, which does not change significantly in the process of water transportation, does not lead to toxic effects on plants in all lands of both irrigation systems hydrocarbonates dominate among all anions in irrigation water, both on SBIS and on KIS, but the content of bicarbonates does not exceed the normative indicators inherent in "average danger of influence on soil solution". At the same time, the presence of large relative amounts of hydrocarbonate anions and sodium cations leads to high values of the "residual sodium carbonate index" (RSCI), especially in the KIS, which indicates the potential danger of rising sodium in water, which can have negative consequences for soil and for the plant. The pH values of irrigation water on the entire transport route in all terms of measurement often fall into the range of values acceptable for agricultural plants. Thus, the assessment of water used in SBIS and KIS, for most parameters shows an average and low agronomic quality, and therefore only limited use of this water for irrigation is possible. This is especially true of KIS lands.

Spatiotemporal evolving patterns of bike-share mobility networks and their associations with land-use conditions before and after the COVID-19 outbreak

Recent months have seen ever-increasing levels of confirmed COVID-19 cases despite the accelerated adoption of vaccines. In the wake of the pandemic, travel patterns of individuals change as well. Understanding the changes in biking behaviors during evolving COVID-19 situations is a primary goal of this paper. It investigated usage patterns of the bike-share system in Singapore before, during, and after local authorities imposed lockdown measures. It also correlated the centrality attributes of biking mobility networks of different timestamps with land-use conditions. The results show that total ridership surprisingly climbed by 150% during the lockdown, compared with the pre-pandemic level. Biking mobility graphs became more locally clustered and polycentric as the epidemic develop. There existed a positive and sustained spatial autocorrelation between centrality measures and regions with high residential densities or levels of the land-use mixture. This study suggests that bike-share systems may serve as an alternative mode to fulfill mobility needs when public transit services are restricted due to lockdown policies. Shared-micromobility services have the potential to facilitate a disease-resilient transport system as societies may have to coexist with COVID in the future.

Spatial Characteristics of Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions of Water Deer in Korea Expressway

In recent decades, rapid industrial growth has accelerated the construction of new roads, which has led to the destruction and isolation of wildlife habitats. Newly constructed roads affect wildlife in many ways. In particular, fatal wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) have a direct impact on wildlife. A substantial number of WVCs occur every year on expressways, where vehicle speeds and vehicle traffic are significant. However, our understanding of the relative importance of the factors associated with areas in which large numbers of WVCs occur on the expressway remains poor. Therefore, herein, we analyze the spatial characteristics of WVCs. The effect of spatial distribution on the occurrence of WVCs was analyzed using the types of land cover in the areas where water deer appear (Cheongju, Boeun, and Sangju) and the areas in which WVCs occur along the Cheongju–Sangju Expressway (CSE). We identified the WVC hotspots by using CSE patrol data recorded between January 2008 and December 2019, and we analyzed the corresponding distribution patterns and land cover characteristics. Along the CSE, a total of 1082 WVCs occurred, out of which collisions involving water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus) accounted for 91%. Water deer appear frequently in Forested Areas and Agricultural Land, but the WVC distribution in the Hotspots followed a highly clustered pattern, with a higher proportion of WVCs occurring in Used Areas (areas including buildings such as residential facilities, commercial and industrial facilities, and transportation facilities). Used Areas have a smaller cut slope compared to Forested Areas, and Used Areas are open terrains. Therefore, the occurrence of WVCs will be high given that wildlife can easily access the expressway. Based on these results, we can infer that the landscapes near the expressway influence the occurrence of WVCs. To establish an effective policy for reducing WVCs on a road, the WVC characteristics and spatial distribution of the road should be considered together. Further research on the wildlife ecology and land-use status of WVC hotspots is required to mitigate WVCs on expressways and protect human and animal life. Therefore, if the characteristics of WVC hotspots are analyzed considering the characteristics of various ecosystems, an appropriate WVC reduction plan can be established.

Combined Impact of Climate Change and Land Qualities on Winter Wheat Yield in Central Fore-Caucasus: The Long-Term Retrospective Study

Progressing climate change has been increasingly threatening the agricultural sector by compromising the resilience of ecosystems and endangering food security worldwide. Altering patterns of major climatic parameters require the perspectives of agricultural production to be assessed in a holistic way to understand the interactions of climatic and non-climatic factors on crop yield. However, it is difficult to distinguish the direct influence of changing temperature and precipitation on the productivity of crops while simultaneously capturing other contributing factors, such as spatial allocation of agricultural lands, economic conditions of land use, and soil fertility. Wide temporal and spatial fluctuations of climatic impacts substantially complicate the task. In the case of the 170-year retrospective analysis of the winter wheat sector in the south of Russia, this study tackles the challenge by establishing the multiplicative function to estimate crop yields as a long-term result of a combined influence of agricultural output parameters, qualities of soils, and climate variables. It is found that within the climate–land–yield triangle, linkages tighten or weaken depending on the strength of noise effects of economic and social perturbations. Still, the overall pressure of climate change on the cultivation of winter wheat has been aggravating. The inter-territory relocation of areas under crops based on the matching of soil types, precipitation, air temperature, and erodibility of lands is suggested as a climate response option. The approach can be employed as a decision support tool when developing territory-specific land management policies to cope with adverse climate impacts on the winter wheat sector.

Agricultural land use in the post-reform period (2000-2020) in a market economy

The formation of agricultural land use adequate to the tasks of the market economy is the most important task of the post-reform period. Agrarian transformations were of a social and political nature and solved the problems of transition from a planned to a market economy. To implement them, we used not the experience of Russia in previous years, but examples from the practice of advanced economies of the European Union. Therefore, the appearance of such a phenomenon as unused land (in general, characteristic of the crisis periods of the market economy) caused a negative perception. The paper considers this problem as an important social and economic phenomenon and suggests ways to solve it. For this purpose, the technology of identifying and detailed study of the state of the land is proposed. The identification of the natural suitability for the cultivation of the main agricultural crops is confirmed by ensuring sufficient efficiency of crop production. Based on the analysis of the conditions of land use (labor, capital and energy supply) and their legal status, the economic feasibility of involving unused plots in economic turnover is established. This will make it possible to make the necessary and reasonable decisions to restore the land and resource potential of agricultural production. To ensure the controlled and systematic implementation of the program to solve the problem, a state-commercial center is being created in the subject of the Federation, which organizes, controls and finances the activities carried out.

Comparing GHG Emissions from Drained Oil Palm and Recovering Tropical Peatland Forests in Malaysia

For agricultural purposes, the drainage and deforestation of Southeast Asian peatland resulted in high greenhouse gases’ (GHGs, e.g., CO2, N2O and CH4) emission. A peatland regenerating initiative, by rewetting and vegetation restoration, reflects evidence of subsequent forest recovery. In this study, we compared GHG emissions from three Malaysian tropical peatland systems under the following different land-use conditions: (i) drained oil palm plantation (OP), (ii) rewetting-restored forest (RF) and (iii) undrained natural forest (NF). Biweekly temporal measurements of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes were conducted using a closed-chamber method from July 2017 to December 2018, along with the continuous measurement of environmental variables and a one-time measurement of the soil physicochemical properties. The biweekly emission data were integrated to provide cumulative fluxes using the trapezoidal rule. Our results indicated that the changes in environmental conditions resulting from draining (OP) or rewetting historically drained peatland (RF) affected CH4 and N2O emissions more than CO2 emissions. The cumulative CH4 emission was significantly higher in the forested sites (RF and NF), which was linked to their significantly higher water table (WT) level (p < 0.05). Similarly, the high cumulative CO2 emission trends at the RF and OP sites indicated that the RF rewetting-restored peatland system continued to have high decomposition rates despite having a significantly higher WT than the OP (p < 0.05). The highest cumulative N2O emission at the drained-fertilized OP and rewetting-restored RF sites was linked to the available substrates for high decomposition (low C/N ratio) together with soil organic matter mineralization that provided inorganic nitrogen (N), enabling ideal conditions for microbial mediated N2O emissions. Overall, the measured peat properties did not vary significantly among the different land uses. However, the lower C/N ratio at the OP and the RF sites indicated higher decomposition rates in the drained and historically drained peat than the undrained natural peat (NF), which was associated with high cumulative CO2 and N2O emissions in our study.

Empirical Modeling of Stream Nutrients for Countries without Robust Water Quality Monitoring Systems

Water quality models are useful tools to understand and mitigate eutrophication processes. However, gaining access to high-resolution data and fitting models to local conditions can interfere with their implementation. This paper analyzes whether it is possible to create a spatial model of nutrient water level at a local scale that is applicable in different geophysical and land-use conditions. The total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were modeled by integrating Geographical Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Generalized Additive and Land-Use Changes Modeling. The research was based on two case studies, which included 204 drainage basins, with nutrient and limnological data collected during two seasons. The models performed well under local conditions, with small errors calculated from the independent samples. The recorded and predicted concentrations of nutrients indicated a significant risk of water eutrophication in both areas, showing the impact of agricultural intensification and population growth on water quality. The models are a contribution to the sustainable land-use planning process, which can help to prevent or promote land-use transformation and new practices in agricultural production and urban design. The ability to implement models using secondary information, which is easily collected at a low cost, is the most remarkable feature of this approach.

Balance of sugarcane plantation land needs in Lamongan Regency in 2031 based on land-use changes using SPOT imagery

The volume of Indonesia's sugar imports in 2019 reached 4,09 million tons. The high volume of imports was influenced by the decreasing area of sugarcane plantations. Lamongan Regency is one of the sugarcane and sugar-producing regencies in East Java. Sugarcane and sugar production in Lamongan Regency has experienced quite diverse dynamics and has been influenced by changes in land-use conditions. This study aims to analyze the balance of land needs for sugarcane plantations in Lamongan Regency in 2031 based on an analysis of land-use changes using SPOT imagery of 2007, 2013, and 2019. The study was conducted by analyzing land-use changes, population projections, and land demand balance analysis for sugarcane plantations. The results of the analysis showed that the population of Lamongan Regency in 2031 is projected to reach 1.419.843 people with a land requirement for sugarcane plantations of 2.362,29 ha. There will be a land surplus of 1.276,92 ha but it is still concentrated in 7 of the 27 sub-districts. Sugarcane plantations in Lamongan Regency have the potential to be developed considering that the land allocation for plantations in the Lamongan Regency Spatial Plan of 2011-2031 reaches 10.022,42 ha.

Resource efficiency in ecological technologies of tomato production in the conditions of hydrothermal climate tension

The complex conditions of the modern period of agricultural production development determine the need to develop new elements of technologies adapted to modern conditions of land use. The article presents the results of studies of the growth regulator effect on obtaining high-quality tomato products. It is proved that the organosilicon preparation Energy-M stimulated the growth and development of plants, increased the productivity of tomatoes in the acutely arid conditions of the Lower Volga region. The object of the study was the tomato variety Hercules. The highest yield of tomatoes with the formation of a large number of large fruits with good taste indicators was obtained on the variety Hercules on the variant with pre-sowing seed treatment, as well as non-root treatment of plants in the initial growth period and in the budding-flowering phase. The use of the Energy-M growth regulator on tomato culture is an effective measure. It is recommended that producers of high-quality vegetable products widely use this drug against the background of sufficient mineral nutrition by soaking the seeds before sowing and processing the plant throughout the growing season.

Settlement Suitability Analysis Based on the Catastrophic Eruption of Sinabung

Mount Sinabung is an active volcano after being 'dormant' for a long time since the 1600s. Sinabung has begun to show its activities from 2010 to 2020, so that it has a long impact on community activities, damage to settlements, agricultural and threats to the lives of residents around Sinabung. This study aims to determine the conditions of land use in disaster-prone areas in relation to spatial patterns and levels of disaster prone. The research method is carried out through spatial analysis by overlaying the land use map with the spatial planning map to produce a land use suitability map. The spatial pattern suitability map is overlaid with a disaster hazard map to determine the level of security in settlements. The results showed that 5 affected Districts, namely in the Districts of Naman Teran, Payung, Simpang Empat, Tiganderket, Munte, the safe zone was 145.66 hectares, the less safe zone was 0.98 hectares, the unsafe zone was 36.91 hectares and the very insecure zone was 1.25 hectares. It is hoped that the spatial analysis regarding the distribution of safe locations for settlements is expected to become a policy material for the government to formulate arrangements for the use and utilization of space so that the spatial planning policies that are established are in line with efforts to reduce the risk of the eruption of Mount Sinabung disaster.

THE TYPIZATION OF THE SOIL COVER STRUCTURE BY GIS MEANS FOR EVALUATING THE PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

A geosystem approach to the analysis of the structure of the soil cover by soil combinations with the use of geoinformation technologies is considered. Within the boundaries of the soil-ecological zoning of Belarus, the identified types of land are considered as units of territorial planning in the areas of nature management. An agroecological assessment of the productive potential of soil and land resources of agricultural landscapes was carried out on the basis of the nomenclature of land types and the formula of soil combination. In the basic agricultural landscapes, on a typical spatial basis, the factors of differentiation of the structure of the soil cover and the conditions of land use are taken into account. Regularities of changes in the cost of production of the main types of agricultural products, depending on the territorial affiliation to one of the limited set of identified types of land, have been revealed. The prospects for the use of typified soil cover structures in land management and the practice of territorial planning of agricultural landscapes are described.

Using the City Biodiversity Index as a Method to Protect Biodiversity in Korean Cities

This study calculated the ecological network index (City Biodiversity Index 2) of 85 cities in Korea using the Land Cover Map. Based on the values of the index, four types of city were studied, including Miryang (Cluster A), Anseong (Cluster B), Samcheok (Cluster Cluster), and Yongin (Cluster D). Based on the current status of land use and natural green space in urban areas, small and medium-sized cities do not show many disconnected factors and have a positive (+) effect on the ecological network index (ENI) value. In order to promote urban biodiversity, it is necessary not only to expand the green area quantitatively, but also to improve the quality, such as expanding and connecting natural green areas, and reducing linear disconnection factors.

Palaeoecological records as a guide for fire management in Killarney National Park, Ireland

Climate change is allowing fire to expand into previously unburnt ecosystems and regions. While management policies such as fire suppression have significantly altered their frequency and intensity. To prevent future biodiversity/ecosystem services loss, and the large financial burden of wildfires, management plans will be required to adapt to future climate and land use changes. Long-term ecological data offer a unique perspective to assess fire variability under different climate and land-use conditions. In this study, we focus on Killarney National Park, Ireland. An area which today is under threat from an increase in fire activity. Comparing palaeoecological and archaeological records, we reconstruct the past fire dynamic and its impact on the landscape, and evaluate the role of climate vs humans in influencing the natural fire regime over the millennial time-scale. Our results indicate that fire has been present in the landscape since the beginning of the Holocene, with fire in the early Holocene being largely controlled by climate and microsite conditions, and in the late Holocene being increasingly influenced by human activity. The knowledge of past fire regimes can help inform future management in order to protect the semi-natural native woodland. The park's present landscape mosaic, could be preserved by limiting forest encroachment through moderate grazing and burning, while also protecting any fragmented forest from excessive grazing and large/intense fires, via traditional fire management strategies such as fuel load management. However, a fire management strategy should only be implemented following careful consideration of all ecosystem factors and controls.

Complex agricultural zoning of the territory for assessing the land and resource potential and for production planning

In accordance with Russian laws, agricultural land has priority in use and should be protected. However, arable land varies in quality, even within the same land plot. Applying the method of complex agricultural zoning of the territory of agricultural organizations, the land and resource potential is assessed with the subsequent allocation of specialized zones that allow for determining the value of this potential. Methodological recommendations presented in this article will allow agricultural producers to organize effective agricultural production aimed at sustainable land use development. It is proposed to plan the scale and level of intensification of the use of arable land according to the average annual indicators (with average weather and current economic conditions over 10 years) of spring wheat production. The paper presents possible scenarios for the development of situations for planning production: with an increase and decrease in yield by 20%, with an increase and decrease in the cost of products by 20%, with an increase in production costs by 10%. After the calculations were completed, each plot of the agricultural organization was assigned to groups according to the efficiency of arable land use: constantly ineffective land (under any conditions); constantly efficient land under any changes in natural and economic conditions; precariously efficient lands. The research substantiates the need to take into account the conditions of land use by means of comprehensive agricultural zoning of the territory to ensure the adoption of effective management decisions on the available arable land. At the same time, improving the quality of land and creating proper conditions for its use is one of the mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of crop production.

Connecting biodiversity and human dimensions through ecosystem services: The Numto Nature Park in West Siberia.

An assessment of the socio-ecological system of the Nature Park "Numto" in West Siberia was carried out based on ecosystem services (ES) mapping, applying a "cascade approach" which was modified according to the specific conditions of low commercial land-use by Indigenous Peoples and adopted with a focus on making it practicable and understandable by decision-makers. The ES values were defined through stakeholder analysis, while the mapping was based on the biophysical traits of the ecosystems and related spatial distribution of ecosystem functions. The mapped ecosystem values differ from the perceived ones. The assessment identified conflicting land uses and groups of stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples vulnerable to future climate change-induced deficits in access to ES. The ES that are important for climate change mitigation and adaptation are not valued highly by Indigenous Peoples. ES mapping is suggested as an appropriate method for the development of straightforward recommendations for Nature Park management.

Modeling of humus content in chernozem typical in conditions of long-term land use

The article considers experimental data on the study of humus content in typical chernozem, depending on the method of basic tillage, doses of mineral and organic fertilizers in conditions of long-term land use. It is determined that when plowing, it is better to apply manure at a dose of 16 t/ha in combination with mineral fertilizers at a dose of N84P124K124, and with minimal tillage – mineral fertilizers in a single dose. The correlation and regression analysis of the obtained results was carried out. It was found that when constructing 4-factor models, a strong correlation was established in the 0-10 cm layer (>0.7), and in the underlying layers an average correlation (0.53-0.60). These models will allow not only to control the humus content in typical chernozem, but also to make a forecast of its changes in the future.

Using suitability analysis, informed by Co-Design, to assess contextually appropriate urban growth models in Gulu, Uganda

ABSTRACT Uganda has one of Africa’s fastest urban growth rates, compounding urban challenges, including urban sprawl, the proliferation of informal settlements, decrepit housing, and the privatization of urban development without providing public open space and transport connectivity. In response, this paper tests generic models of urbanization that could be applied in Uganda. This evaluation is conducted through a suitability analysis, informed through Co-Design activities, of the city of Gulu in Northern Uganda. The paper concludes that a corridor model is most responsive to existing environmental, transportation and land-use conditions and residents’ aspirations.