Land-use History Research Articles

Reconstructing valley landscapes. GIS-analyses of past land use changes in three Flemish river valleys since the late 18th century

The restoration of riverine ecosystem services and floodplain landscapes has become an important tool in climate mitigation, however, it is often unclear what landscape a restoration is (or should be) referring to. Little is known moreover, about long-term transitions in historic valley land use or how they echo in contemporary perceptions of floodplain landscapes. Also in densely populated Flanders (in the north of Belgium), where floodplains are quickly losing their natural functions, policymakers are actively in pursuit of climate change adaptation strategies and sustainable valley management. We present the results of a GIS-based reconstruction of historical land use in three Flemish river valleys from 1771 to 2002 and compare them to changes in regional land use. We find that while grasslands initially and to a vast extent covered our selected floodplains, the latter were by the mid-19th century cultivated for agricultural production, in line with a global expansion of arable land and regional demographic growth. Also forest cover in the studied river valleys grew exponentially from the late 19th century, unmatched by regional forest cover. After the Second World War, a denser road network, more area that is built-up and forest plantations visually contributed to valley compartmentalisation and the perception of a closed landscape. Varying soil textures and drainage levels or the (in)ability to manage them properly accounted for different(ly) (timed) land use changes between the studied floodplain areas. Regional changes in historic land use were of lesser importance.

Shifting cultivation in decline: An analysis of soil fertility and weed pressure in intensified cropping systems in Eastern Amazon

Reconciling forest preservation and agricultural production is a major challenge. In Brazil, environmental laws have been introduced to reduce forest degradation associated with the expansion of agriculture. However, these laws are constraining small-scale family farmers who rely on cassava produced in shifting cultivation. Faced by scarcity of land, farmers are reducing the fallow periods on their farms. In this study, our hypothesis was that the reduction of the fallow period in shifting cultivation systems leads to a depletion of soil fertility and an increase in weed pressure. In the Brazilian Eastern Amazon region, soil fertility and weed infestation indicators were assessed in 36 cassava fields under shifting cultivation with different land-use histories. The frequency of cultivation of the fields in the past 10 years ranged from 1 to 7 and averaged 3.7 ± 2.3. The results show that the most frequently cultivated fields had lower soil fertility, indicated by lower soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and exchangeable potassium and pH. In addition, labor input for weeding and weeding frequency increased with the frequency of cultivation of the fields, indicating that weed pressure increased with intensified crop cultivation and shorter fallow periods. The findings of this study make clear that the current trend of reducing the fallow period in the Eastern Amazon is a threat to the sustainability and productivity of the local shifting cultivation systems. There is an urgent need for alternative production systems that allow for a better weed control and that contribute to restoring and maintaining soil fertility.

A new frontier of archaeological dark earth at the northern Amazonia headwaters of Roraima state: Soil attributes and landscape interplays

Despite the existence of various studies on Archaeological Dark Earth - ADE, there is still a very large gap concerning the Amazon region, with many areas remaining unexplored scientifically. The aim of this study, therefore, was to characterize and classify areas of Archaeological Dark Earth located on rural properties and in one riverside community in the southern mesoregion of the state of Roraima. At these locations, trenches were dug in a total of 13 areas, and the profiles morphologically characterized and sampled for soil classification and Carbon-14 dating. The areas were georeferenced and measured, and the history of land use was described, together with the predominant vegetation in the region. The following physical analyses were carried out: texture and bulk density. The chemical analysis consisted of pH in water and KCl, exchangeable cations, exchangeable Al, available P, titratable acidity (H + Al), total N and organic matter. To produce the maps, computational processing was used in a Geographic Information System - GIS, employing geoprocessing tools with the aid of the ArcGIS v10.6 software; the attributes prepared from SRTM images were drainage network and terrain. Using the Brazilian System of Soil Classification (SiBCS), the profiles were classified as: Argissolos Amarelos, Cambissolo Háplico, Latossolos Amarelos, Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo, and Nitossolo Vermelho. It is suggested that the anthropogenic subgroup be included in the SiBCS. With the exception of 3 horizons, the anthropogenic horizon of each of the profiles sampled in the region has a eutrophic character, with ages that range from 1120 to 1864 years before present (YBP). Each of the areas of ADE is associated with a drainage network ranging from a small creek, approximately 6m wide, to a fast-flowing river, such as the Branco River, which is over 1,700m wide. The 13 areas are located in places away from the flood area that show little variation in relief, with a predominance of flat to gently undulating terrain.

Associations between recent land use history and urban forest composition

More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Sustaining healthy urban forests is increasingly relevant to this population given the wide range of economic, ecological, and social benefits that urban forests provide. Yet forests in cities grow in sites that are fragmented, with frequent disturbance, altered soils, and complex land use history, which can lead to the degradation of forest conditions and the benefits they provide. We measured forest composition and structure in 1124 plots across 53 parks in New York City’s (NYC) 2,497-ha natural area forests and uplands. To better understand the factors responsible for their current condition, we documented historical land use in each plot using aerial imagery going back 90 years, quantified edge effects using remote sensing, and field-measured contemporary disturbances, soil characteristics and light. In the last 90 years, the majority of contemporary natural areas in NYC have recolonized from farmland, built, landscaped lawn, and open field cover-types to forests (from a mean of 37% to 76% forest cover). Areas previously documented as having human land use (e.g. arable agriculture), now have double the amount of invasive species cover compared to sites that were forested or natural areas in the last 90 years. Contemporary measures of forest edge, light, and soil pH have a stronger association with native species basal area, species richness, and invasive species cover, but have an additive effect with measures of historical land cover and local site-level disturbances. We find that a history of non-forest cover, in combination with high soil pH and edge adjacency, was associated with the most invaded contemporary forests. Overall, it appears that a non-forest land use history may be a precursor to altered environmental conditions, making it an important lens upon which to understand forest succession more broadly in complex human-dominated forests, like those in New York City.

Seed sourcing for climate-resilient grasslands: The role of seed source diversity during early restoration establishment.

Restoration advocates for the use of local seed in restoration, but theory suggests that diverse seed sources may enhance genetic diversity and longer term evolutionary potential within restored communities. However, few empirical studies have evaluated whether species and genetic diversity within species impacts plant community composition following restoration. The goal of this research is to compare the effects of single and multi-sourced seed mix treatments on plant community diversity following restoration. Species establishment, abundance, and diversity were compared following two restoration seed mix treatments created to include 14 species commonly used in grassland restoration. We compared the application of seed mixes designed using a single population per species with those containing five populations per species across sites in Minnesota and South Dakota, United States. Early plant establishment and richness mostly reflected non-seeded species across both sites, although seeded species established at a slightly higher rate in year two following restoration. At the South Dakota site, community composition largely reflected changes associated with establishment across the growing season as opposed to seed mix treatment. This contrasted with the Minnesota site, where community composition appeared to be strongly influenced by seed mix treatment. While there is some evidence seed mix treatment may be influencing the emergent community across sites, spatial heterogeneity across the Minnesota restoration site likely influenced diversity in early emergence over that of seed mix treatment. Indeed, varying land-use history across both sites likely contributed to differences in species composition observed at this early stage of the restoration. This suggests that seed mix treatment may have limited impact on early post-restoration emergence diversity relative to the importance of land-use history. However, future monitoring will be needed to evaluate whether the impact of seed mix treatment on community composition changes over time.

ArchaeoSRP

AbstractFor much of its history, archaeological research has relied on site-specific projects, regional comparisons, and theory building from case studies. However, recent research themes concerning the emergence of complex social-ecological systems and long-term land-use legacies require a new approach to archaeological data. Large-scale syntheses of archaeological data provide an effective way forward to address these new research themes. In more concise terms, “big questions” require “big data” to help answer them. The archaeological information collected by the USDA Forest Service is one such “big dataset” and represents an incalculable investment in time, resources, and expertise. This article explores this concept and presents an R package (ArchaeoSRP) designed to extract archaeological information from USDA Forest Service site record files. We demonstrate the functionality of this R package through a case study examining the archaeological data for the Cle Elum Ranger District, within Central Washington's Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Our results reveal the efficiency of using automated methods to extract, organize, and synthesize district-level archaeological data, which, in turn, reveal patterns of precontact and historic land use that were otherwise not distinguishable.

HISDAC-ES: historical settlement data compilation for Spain (1900–2020)

Abstract. Multi-temporal measurements quantifying the changes to the Earth's surface are critical for understanding many natural, anthropogenic, and social processes. Researchers typically use remotely sensed Earth observation data to quantify and characterize such changes in land use and land cover (LULC). However, such data sources are limited in their availability prior to the 1980s. While an observational window of 40 to 50 years is sufficient to study most recent LULC changes, processes such as urbanization, land development, and the evolution of urban and coupled nature–human systems often operate over longer time periods covering several decades or even centuries. Thus, to quantify and better understand such processes, alternative historical–geospatial data sources are required that extend farther back in time. However, such data are rare, and processing is labor-intensive, often involving manual work. To overcome the resulting lack in quantitative knowledge of urban systems and the built environment prior to the 1980s, we leverage cadastral data with rich thematic property attribution, such as building usage and construction year. We scraped, harmonized, and processed over 12 000 000 building footprints including construction years to create a multi-faceted series of gridded surfaces, describing the evolution of human settlements in Spain from 1900 to 2020, at 100 m spatial and 5-year temporal resolution. These surfaces include measures of building density, built-up intensity, and built-up land use. We evaluated our data against a variety of data sources including remotely sensed human settlement data and land cover data, model-based historical land use depictions, and historical maps and historical aerial imagery and find high levels of agreement. This new data product, the Historical Settlement Data Compilation for Spain (HISDAC-ES), is publicly available (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22009643, Uhl et al., 2023a) and represents a rich source for quantitative, long-term analyses of the built environment and related processes over large spatial and temporal extents and at fine resolutions.

Climate Change Scenarios Reduce Water Resources in the Schuylkill River Watershed during the Next Two Decades Based on Hydrologic Modeling in STELLA

The Schuylkill River Watershed in southeastern PA provides essential ecosystem services, including drinking water, power generation, recreation, transportation, irrigation, and habitats for aquatic life. The impact of changing climate and land use on these resources could negatively affect the ability of the watershed to continually provide these services. This study applies a hydrologic model to assess the impact of climate and land use change on water resources in the Schuylkill River Basin. A hydrologic model was created within the Structural Thinking Experiential Learning Laboratory with Animation (STELLA) modeling environment. Downscaled future climate change scenarios were generated using Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) from 2020 to 2040 for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios. Three regional land use change scenarios were developed based on historical land use and land cover change trends. The calibrated model was then run under projected climate and land use scenarios to simulate daily streamflow, reservoir water levels, and investigate the availability of water resources in the basin. Historically, the streamflow objective for the Schuylkill was met 89.8% of the time. However, the model forecasts that this will drop to 67.2–76.9% of the time, depending on the climate models used. Streamflow forecasts varied little with changes in land use. The two greenhouse gas emission scenarios considered (high and medium emissions) also produced similar predictions for the frequency with which the streamflow target is met. Barring substantial changes in global greenhouse gas emissions, the region should prepare for substantially greater frequency of low flow conditions in the Schuylkill River.

Postglacial phylogeography, admixture, and evolution of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) in Eastern North America.

Climate change is a major evolutionary force that can affect the structure of forest ecosystems worldwide. Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) has recently faced a considerable decline in the Southern Appalachians due to rapid environmental change, which includes historical land use, and atmospheric pollution. In the northern part of its range, red spruce is sympatric with closely related black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), where introgressive hybridization commonly occurs. We investigated range-wide population genetic diversity and structure and inferred postglacial migration patterns and evolution of red spruce using nuclear microsatellites. Moderate genetic diversity and differentiation were observed in red spruce. Genetic distance, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses identified two distinct population clusters: southern glacial populations, and the evolutionarily younger northern populations. Approximate Bayesian computation suggests that patterns of admixture are the result of divergence of red spruce and black spruce from a common ancestor and then introgressive hybridization during post-glacial migration. Genetic diversity, effective population size (Ne) and genetic differentiation were higher in the northern than in the southern populations. Our results along with previously available fossil data suggest that Picea rubens and Picea mariana occupied separate southern refugia during the last glaciation. After initial expansion in the early Holocene, these two species faced a period of recession and formed a secondary coastal refugium, where introgressive hybridization occurred, and then both species migrated northward. As a result, various levels of black spruce alleles are present in the sympatric red spruce populations. Allopatric populations of P. rubens and P. mariana have many species-specific alleles and much fewer alleles from common ancestry. The pure southern red spruce populations may become critically endangered under projected climate change conditions as their ecological niche may disappear.

Reconstructing and identifying historic land use in northeastern United States using anthropogenic landforms and deep learning

The northeastern U.S. experienced land use/land cover (LULC) changes over the last 300 years, including widespread deforestation during the 17th and 19th centuries, followed by reforestation in the 20th century. Reconstructing the extent of historic land use is crucial to understanding longer term impacts of anthropogenic activity. However, LULC datasets around the globe are typically only available for the last 50 years. This study aims to reconstruct the spatial distribution of cleared land with area estimation at two time periods based on stone walls using light detection and ranging (lidar), historic aerial photography, and deep learning. The two time periods are (1) the peak of agricultural activity period (mid-19th century) and (2) early-20th century. We utilized deep learning methods for (1) mapping the distribution of stone walls from lidar derivatives and 1934 aerial photography and (2) mapping historic land use from pre-satellite era aerial photography. The results of area estimation demonstrate strong consistency with the area indicated in the census record for both time periods. Notably, the incorporation of stone walls from 1934 orthomosaic plays a key role in significantly increasing the agreement of cleared area in the mid-19th century, as it compensated for the absence of walls that have been removed. By adding new historical time intervals of cleared land with our method, it allows for investigating the duration of land used for agricultural activities and the spatial pattern of LULC transition over the last 300 years.

A Predictive Model For Quantifying The Combined Effect Of Land Use Change And Climatic Variability On Sedimentation In Malaba Sub Catchment

Over the previous years, sedimentation in Malaba sub catchment has become a major problem, this research aimed at using SWAT as a predictive model to assess the impacts of historical and future climate change and land use changes on sedimentation in Malaba sub catchment. Two variables rainfall and temperature were considered under climate change. Four scenarios were modeled in SWAT during this study, the first scenario focused on historical sedimentation in the catchment, land use data of 2000 and weather data of 1990 to 2005 was used to simulate flow and sediment yield in the catchment. The second scenario focused on the current sediment yield in the catchment where land use data of 2020 and weather data of 2003 to 2020 was used to simulate the sediment yield and flow. Calibration and validation was done using SWAT CUP software. The calibrated and validated model was then used to further simulate two future scenarios. The two future scenarios used projected land use data and projected weather data. Land use data was projected using Clerk Labs Terr set software while weather data was projected using the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM). The third scenario considered projected land use data of 2035 and projected weather data of 2020 to 2035 to simulate flow and sediment yield of 2023 to 2035. The forth scenario considered projected land use data of 2050 and projected weather data of 2033 to 2050 to simulate catchment flow and sediment yield of 2036 to 2050. The results obtained from climate change analysis indicated un even changes, rainfall over the catchment is expected to increase, maximum temperature is expected to increase, minimum temperature is expected to reduce. Land use change results after comparison between the historical land use and projected land use indicated that from 2020 to 2050 cropland and built up area will increase while forests and water bodies will reduce. Average annual Sediment yield of 1993 to 2020 is expected to generally increase from 4975.4 tons/km2/year to an average annual sediment yield of 5525.6 tons/km2/year from 2023 to 2050. Therefore, mitigation measures should be adopted to ensure sustainable management of the catchment. Some of the recommendations made in this research are; Government through NEMA should put restrictions on cultivation close to the river banks, encourage planting trees within the catchment, bare lands within the catchment should be converted to other sustainable land uses. The study findings of this research shall be relevant for planning, design and management of reservoirs, dams, irrigation systems and sustainability of eco systems in the catchment.

Rapid laminated clastic alluviation associated with increased Little Ice Age flooding co-driven by climate variability and historic land-use in the middle Severn catchment, UK

The analysis of exceptionally well-preserved visible clastic laminations in deep alluvial sediments at Kempsey, Worcestershire (UK), allows a new high-resolution analysis of late-Holocene flood-history in the largest UK catchment, as well as local human response. At the sample site over 4.5 m of sandy-silt overbank-alluvium accumulated on the floodplain and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the upper 2.25 m demonstrates accretion from the late 14th century CE onwards. Sub-centimetre to centimetre resolution multi-proxy sediment analysis (loss on ignition, magnetic susceptibility, particle size, ITRAX and portable XRF) demonstrate clear variations in depositional history over the last millennium due to channel stability. Between c. 1380 and 1550 CE overbank sedimentation was driven by lower energy flood events, with negligible effect from climatic conditions during the Spörer Minimum (1460–1550 CE). After c. 1550 CE the magnitude of flooding events increased and by c. 1610 CE, the start of the visible sub-centimetre laminations, the accumulation rate regularly exceeded 3 mm year−1, which increased to 4.5 mm year−1 between c. 1690 and 1710 CE, and 3 and 3.5 mm year−1 between c. 1790 and 1840 CE before alluviation was altered by an embankment. The greatest extent of coarse overbank deposition and increased accumulation rate occur concurrently with periods of climatic instability associated with the Maunder (1645–1715 CE) and Dalton (1790–1820 CE) Minima, the periods of largest historical floods and during the intensification of arable cultivation across the middle Severn catchment. This data correlates well with other sites in the catchment suggesting that these are basin-wide forcing-responses. We also present evidence that this catchment-wide hydro-geomorphological history had local effects in shifting the geographical focus of an important settlement away from its historic floodplain edge location – which can be viewed as an adaptation to the flood risk.

Homogenization and species compositional shifts in subalpine vegetation during the 60-year period

Subalpine and alpine plant communities are considered highly sensitive and hence endangered by global changes. In central Europe, the highly sensitive habitats are also influenced by human activities: land use, industrial pollution, and tourism. That is especially true for subalpine plant communities formed on mid-latitude mountains during specific postglacial development. Our study aimed to (1) document changes in cover and plant species diversity between the past (1950s and 1970s) and present (2019) and (2) reveal differences in the functional composition of the species among the studied periods. In 2019, quasi-permanent marked plots originally surveyed in the 1950s and 1970s were resurveyed at Králický Sněžník (Śnieżnik Kłodski) Mountains, the High Sudetes Mts.. We assessed temporal changes in plant species composition, species cover, functional groups, growth forms, and degree of specialization. We found homogenization of the vegetation over time and changes in the cover of specific functional groups that were attributed to environmental factors connected with the cessation of historical land use, atmospheric deposition, and climate change. Implementing a suitable combination of mowing and grazing to support diversity, and to prevent homogenization of vegetation is highly recommended.

Multi-Scale Drivers of Land-Use Changes at Farm Level II: Application of Conceptual Framework in the Salinity Intrusion Zone of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and Cross-Case Comparison with the Highly Flooded Zone

Frequent drought and worsening salinity intrusion challenge future land uses and livelihoods in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The central government is, therefore, formulating a new strategy premised on adaption to natural environmental dynamics. For an achievable strategy that bridges the gap between plans and practice, it is important to understand what drives land-use changes at the farm level. Previous research developed and applied a multi-scale drivers framework in the highly flooded zone of the delta. The current study uses that same framework to investigate the land-use history and drivers of change in the salinity intrusion zone of this delta from 1975 to 2016. We interviewed 32 farmers in Tra Vinh Province and used transcript analysis to quantify the influence of the drivers that the farmers mentioned. We then compared the drivers of land-use change with those found earlier in the highly flooded zone. Results show more diversification of land uses and land-use changes in the salinity intrusion zone. Farmers here followed three main pathways: rice intensification, integrated farming of rice and vegetables/aquaculture, or intensive shrimp farming. Land-use changes were conditional on the regional infrastructure construction to preserve freshwater conditions. However, household-scale drivers, especially natural and financial assets, were most frequently mentioned. Socio-economic context also emerged as an important driver, particularly trends and pressures from the community and markets.

Carbon dioxide fluxes and soil carbon storage in relation to long‐term grazing and no grazing in Icelandic semi‐natural grasslands

AbstractQuestionWhat is the effect of long‐term grazing and no grazing (NG) on carbon dioxide flux and soil carbon storage in Icelandic semi‐natural grasslands.LocationThree farms, with known history of land use, in W Iceland.MethodsOn each farm, we located an intensively and an extensively grazed site, which both had been constantly grazed for centuries, and a parallel site with no grazing for over 50 years. We measured net ecosystem exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration and normalized difference vegetation index on a regular basis over the growing season. Samples were taken from 60 cm deep soil profiles for analysis of soil organic carbon (SOC).ResultsThe grazed sites showed significantly more negative NEE than the NG sites, indicating more carbon dioxide uptake on the grazed sites compared to the NG sites. The normalized difference vegetation index was also significantly higher on the grazed sites. On all farms, the total SOC content was higher in the grazed sites than in the parallel NG sites.ConclusionsThe study indicates that cessation of grazing decreases productivity and carbon dioxide uptake in a semi‐natural grassland in Iceland, as well as SOC content in the soil. Historically, all the NG sites in the study had the same grazing history as the continuously grazed sites until grazing exclusion. The measured lower SOC on the NG sites seems to indicate that, without grazing, SOC is lost with time and/or grazing is needed to maintain SOC in these grasslands.

How does understory vegetation diversity and composition differ between monocultures and mixed plantations of hybrid poplar and spruce?

Although monocultures are important for timber production, they are often associated with lower biological diversity than mixtures. Thus, mixed plantations have been suggested as a way to enhance biodiversity because of their inherent compositional diversity. However, the effects of monocultures versus mixtures on understory diversity and composition can vary in different ecosystems. The objective of this study was to assess how monocultures and mixed plantations influence understory vegetation diversity and composition in the boreal forest region of southern Quebec. We sampled plantations established with deciduous Populus trichocarpa Torrey & A. Gray × balsamifera L. and P. maximowiczii Henry × balsamifera L. and coniferous Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea glauca (Moench) species planted in monocultures and in mixed plantations on abandoned farmlands and a forest site. We assessed understory vegetation diversity and composition in each canopy type (coniferous, deciduous, mixed) and in each plantation type. We evaluated bryophyte and lichen diversity and composition specifically in tree microhabitats: soil, tree bases, and tree trunks. We found that vascular plant and lichen species richness was similar in all plantation types, while bryophyte species richness was higher in spruce monocultures and in mixed plantations compared to poplar monocultures. Our results also highlight how land-use history influenced vascular plant composition as abandoned farmland sites were composed of more ruderal vascular plants, while the previously forested site was composed of species found in natural forests. In the context of reforestation and plantations, our study suggests mixing spruce with poplars to maximize understory vegetation diversity as the addition of spruce in mixed plantations promoted the establishment of terrestrial bryophytes, while poplars favored the establishment of epiphytic lichens.

Park conservation or degradation? iCLUE modelling of land use change projections in the upper Manafwa watershed on Mount Elgon, Uganda

Land use changes result from interactions between different factors over time. Land use models support natural resource conservation by helping stakeholders to understand and predict these changes. Through such model-based projections, governments and conservationists can identify hotspots of encroachment and formulate informed decisions for sustainable conservation. Land use on Mount Elgon has undergone rapid changes in the conservation area and community land since the 1970s. Park encroachment has threatened natural cover due to population pressure and increasing demand for agricultural land. To support conservation efforts, this study conducted near-future potential land use change projections using historical land use change and iCLUE model simulations. This study established hotspots of land use conversion, locations of park encroachment and the extent of land use intensification in the upper Manafwa watershed of Mount Elgon. The study applied remote sensing, a geographic information system, and a land use change model (iCLUE), while considering nine land use classes to project land use change for 2030, 2040 and 2050 using a “business-as-usual” scenario. Stakeholder verification of the model output was conducted in a dedicated workshop. The results showed that in 2050, agriculture (44.24%) and low-stocked tropical high forest (22.56%) will be the largest land cover classes with bushland and shrubs as the smallest land cover classes (∼0.5%). Most of the land use conversion in the park is projected to occur along the boundary of the conservation area by agriculture and built-up areas. This study will guide stakeholders and decision makers in planning future sustainable management strategies to conserve and enhance remaining forest tracts in Mount Elgon.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystem service values in China’s Northeast Tiger-Leopard National Park from 2005 to 2020: Evidence from environmental factors and land use/land cover changes

The Northeast Tiger-Leopard National Park (NTLNP) in China is an area of great ecological significance, known for its abundant wilderness resources and biodiversity. However, the habitats in NTLNP have been threatened by historical land use and land cover (LULC) changes caused by urban expansion and economic development. In response to this challenge, this study based on remote sensing-derived LULC products from 2005 to 2020, utilized the equivalent factors refined ecosystem service values (ESV) assessment model, and in conjunction with Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* spatial analysis methods to evaluate the macro-scale and pixel-scale spatio-temporal dynamics of ESV in the NTLNP. We also employed the cold and hot spot analysis (CHSA) method to identify zones of ESV improvement and degradation within the NTLNP. Our findings indicate that over the past 15 years: (1) Forestland in the NTLNP possesses the most substantial ESV proportion (97.48%), and the regulating service value is the major contributor among the four types of services (71.31%). (2) Despite a fluctuating trend of increasing, decreasing, and then growing overall ESV growth within the NTLNP, the ecological benefits have been difficult to return to their peak values of 42.184 billion CNY in 2015. (3) The waters of NTLNP exhibit a high LULC dynamic of 27.91%, with an ESV underestimation of 28.4 million CNY. (4) The pixel-scale analysis unveils a dispersed distribution of ESV degradation pixels, with their cumulative area significantly larger than the share of ESV improvement pixels. (5) The CHSA results showed that areas with intensive human activity, such as towns and their surrounding areas, tend to experience ESV degradation, while regions with effective river management, such as the river basin of Hunchun county-level city, experience ESV improvement. Therefore, this study delineates the regulatory zones of the NTLNP by the result of the CHSA-based decision tree, pinpoints ecologically threatened core areas and further categorizes these based on risk levels and types, helping maintain a dynamic balance between the allocation of human and physical resources for park management and the primary conservation needs within the national park. Moreover, the study recommends that policymakers take measures to strengthen risk mitigation, enhance their focus on areas where ESV is fragile, and optimize the allocation of internal resources in national parks.

White-tailed deer responses to acoustic predator cues are contingent upon past land use and contemporary fire regime

Abstract Prey can assess the immediate risk of predation by detecting cues of predator presence, and it is expected that prey should invest in costly antipredator behaviors when a cue of predator presence is detected. Features of the habitat in which the cue is detected, such as vegetative concealment, serve as indirect cues of risk and can mediate how prey respond to direct cues of predator presence. Past agricultural land use and contemporary fire regimes are common disturbances that may modify prey perceptions of risk and could, therefore, alter prey responses to direct cues of predator presence. We examined whether the overlap of these two disturbances affected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) responses to cues of predator presence by measuring deer vigilance and foraging bout duration in response to coyote (Canis latrans) vocalizations across 20 woodlands that varied in past land use and contemporary fire regime. Frequent fire regimes consistently increased deer visibility to predators across both land-use history contexts. Deer exhibited no behavioral response to the predator cue in habitats containing infrequent fire regimes or agricultural legacies. Deer responded to the cue in frequently burned woodlands without agricultural legacies through increased vigilance and time spent at a foraging location. These findings reveal that land-use legacies and contemporary fire regimes can mediate how prey respond to direct cues of risk. They also suggest that prey may balance the uncertainty associated with cues of predation risk with the urgency of responding to a potential attack by being vigilant and remaining in place.

Fleeting fields of Zadar (Croatia): characterizing millennial-scale urban landcover change, green space, and resilience into the twenty first century

Cities are a growing factor in global change today, but urbanization as a process has played a significant role in shaping our planet’s environments for millennia. Exploring the longevity or persistence of cityscapes can therefore reveal qualities that may have strengthened urban sustainability or resilience over long periods. In the Mediterranean, many ancient cities lie in ruin and are fully formed archaeological sites, while others reflect continuous growth and expansion into the modern era, often replacing what has traditionally been a rural mosaic of green space with a more homogenized urban landcover. Green spaces like cultivated lands, urban forests, recreational parks, and green belts are essential components of urban resilience, as they build adaptive capacity by improving human health and livelihoods, reducing surface runoff and erosion, and mitigating urban heat island effects, among others. Protection of green space in urban and peri-urban contexts also offers greater capacity to transform in the face of uncertain change. This paper centers on the ancient city of Zadar along Croatia’s Adriatic coast to characterize broad millennial-scale changes in urban landcover and green space. The results suggest that the distribution of urban landcover and green space appears to have been fairly stable for much of Zadar’s 3,000-year history, which arguably played a significant role in its persistence into the present era. However, the pace and scale of urban development, as well as the corresponding losses of green space, have accelerated from the mid-twentieth century onward, depleting a major source of socioecological resilience that has benefitted the city since the Iron Age. Archaeological and historical fields of study provide a deep temporal context to these contemporary challenges and are well-suited to identify and promote the locally and historically distinctive character of surviving green spaces. Land use legacies stemming from Roman surveying and historic field clearance practices around Zadar have resulted in one of the most distinctive and well-preserved physical manifestations of ancient and historic land use in the Mediterranean. Recognition of their cultural significance, even in their diminished state, would add further value for their protection and continued capacity toward urban resilience in the next century.