Land Use Types Research Articles

Influence of land-use types and topographic slopes on the physico-chemical characteristics of soils in Northwestern Ethiopia

AimsThis study examines the effects of land-use types and slope position on selected soil physico-chemical properties in the Ageza Watershed, Northwestern Ethiopia, focusing on soil fertility depletion and its impact on agricultural productivity.Materials and methodsThe experiment utilized a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, involving three land-use types and slope positions. A total of 27 soil samples (both disturbed and undisturbed) were collected, prepared, and analyzed for selected physico-chemical properties following standard laboratory procedures. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA with SAS software.ResultsSignificant variations in most soil physico-chemical properties were observed across land-use types and slope positions. Soil bulk density, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (Av. P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable bases significantly (P ≤ 0.001) differed among the land-use types and slope positions. The main effects showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences in sand, silt, and clay contents across the land-use types. However, pH did not show significant differences (P > 0.05). Soil bulk density, silt content, Av. P, exchangeable bases, and CEC all showed significant (P ≤ 0.01) differences among the slope positions. Forest land had the highest values for clay (46.11%), OC (6.08%), Av. P (20.60 mg/kg), CEC (33.89 cmol (+) kg-¹), and exchangeable cations: Ca²+ (23.72 cmol (+) kg-¹), Mg²+ (4.40 cmol (+) kg-¹), K+ (1.18 cmol (+) kg-¹), and Na+ (0.77 cmol (+) kg-¹). Grazing land exhibited higher silt and bulk density, while cultivated land had higher sand content. Lower slope positions recorded the highest values for clay (47.33%), silt (20.77%), pH (4.90), Av. P (16.61 mg/kg), Ca²+ (20.10 cmol (+) kg-¹), Mg²+ (3.73 cmol (+) kg-¹), K+ (1.00 cmol (+) kg-¹), Na+ (0.66 cmol (+) kg-¹), and CEC (28.71 cmol (+) kg-¹), while bulk density was higher in the upper slope position.ConclusionLand-use types and slope positions significantly influence variations in soil physico-chemical properties and overall soil fertility status. Forest preservation and management are essential to improve the soil fertility in this region.

Spatio-temporal variation and prediction of land use and carbon storage based on PLUS-InVEST model in Shanxi Province, China

AbstractCoal mining in Shanxi Province for many years has caused regional land-use changes, seriously affecting the local ecological environment. To promote the green and sustainable development of this area and achieve the goal of “double carbon”, the PLUS-InVEST model was used to analyze the nearly 20 year land-use types transfer and carbon storage changes in the region based on the five periods of land-use data of Shanxi Province from 2002 to 2022 in this study. Three scenarios were set up to predict the data in 2032, and the driving forces of spatial differentiation of the carbon storage were analyzed by geographical detector. The results showed that: (1) Land-use change had an important impact on carbon storage. Construction land in Shanxi Province expanded by 3068.47 km2 from 2002 to 2022, an increase of 59.33%, and the rest of the land types, except for forest, continued to decrease, resulting in a decline in total carbon storage of 228.88 × 104 t. (2) The natural development scenario shows the same transfer of land as before in 2032. Under the urban development scenario, the expansion of construction land in Shanxi Province is the largest, and carbon storage decreases instead of increasing; under the ecological protection scenario forest and grassland increase, and carbon storage increase the most, with a value of 738.67 × 104 t. (3) The dominant driving factors for the spatial differentiation of carbon storage in Shanxi Province were the land-use degree comprehensive index and night light index, with the explanatory power of 0.866 and 0.755, respectively, and the interaction of the land-use degree comprehensive index with other factors had the most significant effect on the change of carbon storage. The study suggested that the expansion of construction land into high carbon storage categories was the main reason for the loss of carbon storage, and Shanxi Province should optimize the land-use structure and adopt ecological protection works to increase carbon storage effectively.

Visualization of commuting areas and examination of jobs-housing balance with the adoption of excess commuting

Rapid urban growth extends the boundaries of urbanized areas and makes people spend extra travel cost on the journey to work. Scholars have examined commuting behaviors between residence and work places within a region, and suggested the conceptual theory of jobs-housing balance to evaluate if there are sufficient job opportunities for residents in the region. A quantitative measurement of excess commuting is proposed to reflect the degree of jobs-house balance. However, current studies focus on the evaluation of excess commuting and the causality of spatial restructuring between residence and workplace, the spatial extend of excess commuting in an urban region is not visually delineated. In addition, conventional studies acquire static data such as statistic data or other survey data to analyze impacts of commuting patterns on urban formation. Today the emergence of spatial big data sheds light on the causality of urban commuting from higher spatial and temporal resolutions. This study aims to examine the degree of jobs-housing balance through the calculation of excess commuting and represent the spatial extent of excess commuting of Taichung metropolitan area in Taiwan. Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) data, the spatial big data which is publicly accessible in Taiwan, is introduced as the commuting data and to calculate three key parameters of excess commuting, Tmin, Tobs, and Tmax. The three parameters are used to visualize the extent of commuting zones and examine commuting patterns of Taichung metropolitan area and observe the spatial relationship between those patterns and land-use types. The evaluation of excess commuting indicates that the degree of jobs-housing imbalance in Taichung metropolitan area is similar to Los Angeles metropolis in US. The analytical results explain how ETC data can be successfully used for the calculation of excess commuting, and visualization of the extent of commuting regions. In addition, after the cluster analysis of residential areas, it is intuitive to observe spatial correlation between hot zones of residential areas and the spatial extent of theoretical maximum commuting, and shows that the scenarios of commuting can be considered as an indicator to explain the possibility of urban expansion in the future.

Spatiotemporal distribution of organochlorine pesticides in the upper La Antigua watershed, Veracruz Mexico

Even though the use of organochlorine pesticides has been prohibited since the last century their presence is still being recorded around the world. In the upper La Antigua watershed, Veracruz, Mexico we have reported concentrations of these contaminants in different compartments of the riverine ecosystems. This is of relevance due to their potential disruptive endocrine effect on the vertebrates drinking the water or feeding in the riverine area. In this study we evaluated concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in streams running throughout mountain cloud forest and two different types of land use, pasture lands and coffee plantations. Water and periphyton samples were collected during the wet and the dry seasons from streams located in independent micro-basins. Spatial explicit analyzes show that the concentrations measured are independent of the distribution of the streams in the geographical area sampled. However seasonal differences were found during the dry season in the water and during the rainy season in periphyton. While OCPs in water support the idea that micro-basins can be used as independent monitoring units, OCPs in periphyton can be indicators of the effect of different land use. Some concentrations of all the OCPs registered had values above the limits for tap water.

Habitat quality in farmland influences the activity patterns of giant Galapagos tortoises

AbstractMany Galapagos giant tortoises make seasonal migrations from arid lowlands in the wet season, to humid highlands in the dry season. However, for critically endangered Western Santa Cruz giant tortoises (Chelonoidis porteri), at least 88% of the habitat in the highlands is now used for agriculture. To understand the impact of agricultural land use on tortoise behavior, we conducted 242 30-minute observations of tortoises on farms. We (1) recorded the time tortoises spent eating, walking, and resting in three different land-use types, (2) measured their temperature, and (3) quantified their selection of fine-scale vegetation characteristics. We found that tortoises rest for significantly longer periods when they are in abandoned land, compared to livestock, grazing, and touristic land. Generally, tortoises rested for longer when they were cooler. Time spent eating was increased by the density and proportion of ground vegetation, while time spent walking was reduced by tall vegetation. These findings suggest that the distribution of land-use types and the fine-scale composition of thermoregulatory and grazing resources within farmland have important implications for the behavior of tortoises while in human-modified land. Wildlife managers and landowners wishing to support tortoises on farms should focus on rehabilitating abandoned land and encouraging a heterogenous mix of sun and shade, and short ground vegetation across land-use types.

Riverine CH4 and CO2 emissions respond to associated agricultural land use and seasonality

ABSTRACT Recently, agricultural land use has significantly impacted carbon emissions and water quality in adjacent rivers. This study examined the influence of land-use types and seasonality on carbon emissions from agriculture-impacted rivers in Shanghai. Our results showed that the crop farming land-use-associated river (AR) had CH4 and CO2 fluxes 2.68 and 3.47 times higher, respectively, than those in the aquaculture land-use-AR and 2.86 and 2.81 times higher than in the livestock and poultry breeding land-use-AR. Statistical analyses revealed that total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and humification index were significantly correlated with crop farming land-use-AR carbon emissions. Conversely, no clear correlation was found between chemical factors and carbon fluxes in the aquaculture land-use-AR and livestock and poultry breeding land-use-AR due to the complexity of pollution sources. Seasonality significantly influenced CH4 and CO2 fluxes from agriculture-impacted rivers, with carbon fluxes in summer being 3.5 and 2.5 times higher than in winter, respectively. Crop farming land-use-AR carbon fluxes exhibited the highest variability under seasonal influences. This study emphasizes the need for policies to mitigate agricultural land use impacts on river carbon emissions.

Modelling Blow Fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Spatiotemporal Species Richness and Total Abundance Across Land-Use Types.

Geographic Information Systems provide the means to explore the spatial distribution of insect species across various land-use types to understand their relationship with shared or overlapping spatiotemporal resources. Blow fly species richness and total fly abundance were correlated among six land-use types (residential, commercial, waste, woods, roads, and agricultural crop types) and distance to streams. To generate multivariate models of species richness and total fly abundance, blow fly trapping sites were chosen across the land-use gradient of Windsor-Essex County (Ontario, Canada) using a stratified random sampling approach. Sampling occurred in mid-June (spring), late August (summer), and late October (fall). Spring species richness correlated highest to residential (-), woods (-), distance to streams (+), and tomato fields (+) in models across all three land-use buffer scale distances (0.5, 1, 2 km), with waste (+/-), roads (-), wheat/corn (-), and commercial (-) correlating at only two of the three scales. Spring total fly abundance correlated with all but one land-use variable across all buffer scale distances, but the distance to streams (+), followed by orchards/vineyards (+) exhibited the greatest importance to these models. Summer blow fly species richness correlated with roads (-) and commercial (+) across all buffer distances, whereas at two of three buffer distances wheat/corn (-), residential (+), distance to streams (+), waste (-), and orchards/vineyards (+) were also important. Summer total fly abundance correlated to models with distance to streams (+), orchards/vineyards (+), and sugar beets/other vegetables (+) at the 2 km scale. Species richness and total abundance models at the 0.5 km buffer distance exhibited the highest correlation, lowest root mean square error, and similar prediction error to those derived at larger buffer distances. This study provides baseline methods and models for future validation and expansion of species-specific knowledge regarding adult blow fly relationships with spatiotemporal resources across land-use types and landscape features.

Records of endangered felines in conservation units in the Brazilian Pampa

The Brazilian Pampa biome is an environment formed by grasslands, shrubs, and riparian forests, home to several endemic species. These are being increasingly threatened by the replacement of their native areas by other types of land use, including agriculture and urbanization. To obtain comprehensive records of the native fauna, camera traps were installed in two protected areas, the Ibirapuitã Biological Reserve and the Espinilho State Park. In this way, it was possible to detect diverse populations of two native cats, the margay (Leopardus wiedii) and the Geoffroy’s cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), as well as the first record of the elusive Pampa’s cat (Leopardus munoai) in Brazilian conservation units, highlighting the critical importance of these unique habitats for biodiversity conservation and ecological research.

Analysis of the Biennial Productivity of Arabica Coffee with Google Earth Engine in the Northeast Region of São Paulo, Brazil

Numerous challenges are associated with the classification of satellite images of coffee plantations. The spectral similarity with other types of land use, variations in altitude, topography, production system (shaded and sun), and the change in spectral signature throughout the phenological cycle are examples that affect the process. This research investigates the influence of biennial Arabica coffee productivity on the accuracy of Landsat-8 image classification. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and the Random Forest algorithm were used to process the annual and biennial mosaics of the Média Mogiana Region, São Paulo (Brazil), from 2017 to 2023. The parameters evaluated were the general hits of the seven classes of land use and coffee errors of commission and omission. It was found that the seasonality of the plant and its development phases were fundamental in the quality of coffee classification. The use of biennial mosaics, with Landsat-8 images, Brightness, Greenness, Wetness, SRTM data (elevation, aspect, slope), and LST data (Land Surface Temperature) also contributed to improving the process, generating a classification accuracy of 88.8% and reducing coffee omission errors to 22%.

Perturbation of soil organic carbon induced by land-use change from primary forest

Abstract The impact of land-use change (LUC) on soil organic carbon (SOC) has been a wide concern of land management policymakers because CO2 emissions induced by LUC have been the second largest carbon source worldwide. However, due to insufficient data quality and limited biome coverage, a global big picture of the impact of LUC on SOC is still not clear. This study conducted a meta-analysis on 288 independent observations sourced from 62 peer-reviewed papers to provide a global summary of the change in SOC after the conversion of primary forests into other land-use types. The conversion of primary forest to cropland resulted in the most severe SOC loss (-33.2%), followed by conversion into plantation forests (-22.3%) and secondary forests (-19.1%). Nonetheless, SOC increased by 9.1% after a conversion from primary forests into pasture. More SOC loss was found at sites with lower precipitation for primary forests converted to cropland and plantation forests. The SOC loss decreased consistently with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) for all four types of LUC. Moreover, the loss of SOC tended to worsen over time when primary forests are converted to cropland or plantation forests. In contrast, SOC loss recovered over time following conversion to secondary forests. The gain of SOC gradually increased over time after conversion to pastures. To conclude, the changes in SOC are related not only to the land-use type but also to precipitation, temperature and turn years after LUC. Due to limited data, this study focuses on soil profiles within 30 cm depth, and future research should explore SOC dynamics induced by LUC at greater depths. Overall, cases of SOC loss of approximately 30% following deforestation were very common (except for conversion to pasture). Thus we suggest that the loss of SOC following LUC should be carefully considered and monitored in land management.

Historical and Legal Aspects of the Use of Land Plots for Horticulture

The article focuses on the peculiarities of legislative support for the establishment and development of land plots for horticulture within a historical context. Given that the current legal regulation of land use in the field of horticulture significantly differs from that which existed before the start of land reform in Ukraine, the article analyses the normative-legal framework that has laid the groundwork for the initiation of this type of land use. As a result of the analysis, the role of gardening and viticulture societies is characterized, which were users of land for collective gardening and viticulture even during Soviet times. Attention is drawn to the fact that the Land Code of the Ukrainian SSR of 1970 enshrined only the collective organizational and legal form of gardening (viticulture) and contained provisions according to which the lands occupied by collective gardens are in permanent use by gardening (viticulture) societies.Land plots were allocated to them from reserve lands, the state forest fund, and vacant lands within populated areas. Membership in the society was limited to citizens who did not own private plots or gardens. The activities of each society as a legal entity were regulated by the society’s charter, which was registered in accordance with established procedures. On the land plots designated for collective gardening (viticulture), members of the society were to establish orchards and vineyards on a collective basis and carry out the construction of summer­type garden buildings. Special attention in the article is given to the analysis of social relations that are formed in the field of gardening, which have undergone significant changes due to the initiation of land reform, as well as the adoption of the Land Code of the Ukrainian SSR in 1990 and its new edition in 1992. The article also analyzes the provisions of the current Land Code of Ukraine that regulate the mechanism for transferring land of general use into private ownership of legal entities of gardening societies. It examines, in a comparative aspect, the legal regime of land of general use and other categories of land in Ukraine.

Assessment and multi-scenario simulation of ecosystem service values in Southwest China’s mountainous and hilly region

Abstract The southwestern mountainous and hilly regions of China are vital ecological barriers upstream of the Yangtze River. Assessing and simulating changes in ecosystem service value (ESV) in this area is essential for ensuring sustainable ecological development. In this study, our purpose was to evaluate and simulate the spatial patterns as well as trends in the changes shown by the ESV in Yanting County, China, from 2020 to 2030 via a grid-scale using the equivalent factor method and the Markov–patch-generating land use simulation model. The results indicated that (1) from 2020 to 2030, forest, cultivated, and construction lands would be the main types of land use. (2) In 2030, the projected ESVs in Yanting County under the as-usual, low-carbon, and shared development scenarios were 5.31, 5.30, and 4.99 billion RMB, respectively. Compared to the 2020 ESV of Yanting County, the as-usual scenario and low-carbon scenario ESVs increased. The shared development scenario ESVs decreased. It reflects the contra-diction between urbanization, industrialization, agricultural production, and ecological protection in Yanting County. The spatial distribution of the ESVs of all three scenarios showed an agglomeration trend. (3) Given the background of national food security and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the setting of a low-carbon development scenario combined with a shared development scenario appears to be more suitable for the future development of Yanting County, which is conducive to the rational planning of land-use patterns and the sci-entific growth of ESV in Yanting County. This study underscores the critical importance of integrating ESVs in sustainable land-use planning and management, and provides a reference for the rational use of land resources, land spatial planning, and policy-making for ecological protection in Yanting County.

Biodiversity and Soil Reinforcement Effect of Vegetation Buffer Zones: A Case Study of the Tongnan Section of the Fujiang River Basin

The riparian vegetation buffer zone is an important component of riverbank ecosystems, playing a crucial role in soil consolidation and slope protection. In this study, the riparian vegetation buffer zones in the Tongnan section of the Fujiang River Basin were selected as the research object. Surveys and experiments were conducted to assess the species composition and the soil and water conservation effectiveness of the riparian vegetation buffer zone. There are a total of 35 species, mainly comprising angiosperms and ferns. The dominant species include Cynodon dactylon, Setaria viridis, Phragmites australis, Erigeron canadensis, and Melilotus officinalis. The Patrick richness index (R) and Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H) are more significantly influenced by the types of land use in the surrounding area, whereas the impact on the Simpson diversity index (D) and Pielou uniformity index (E) is comparatively less pronounced. When the root diameter is less than 0.2 mm, the tensile strength of Cynodon dactylon roots is the highest. For root diameters larger than 0.2 mm, Melilotus officinalis roots exhibit the highest tensile strength. The presence of plant root systems significantly reduces erosion, delaying the time to reach maximum erosion depth by 1–4 min, decreasing erosion depth by 9–38 mm, and reducing the total amount of erosion by 20.17–58.90%. The anti-scouribility effect of Cynodon dactylon is significantly better than that of Setaria viridis. The root system notably enhances soil shear strength, delaying the shear peak by 0.26–4.8 cm, increasing the shear peak by 4.76–11.37 kPa, and raising energy consumption by 23.76–46.11%. Phragmites australis has the best resistance to shear, followed by Erigeron canadensis, with Melilotus officinalis being the least resistant. Therefore, to balance the anti-scouribility effect and shear resistance of plant roots, it is recommended to use a combination of Cynodon dactylon and Phragmites australis for shallow-rooted and deep-rooted planting. This approach enhances the water and soil conservation capacity of riverbanks.

Distribution of soil fertility indices in aggregate size fractions under different land-use types for coarse-textured soils of the derived savannah

The research investigated the distribution of soil fertility indices among aggregate-size fractions across three land-use types (forested, cultivated, and fallow lands) for loamy sand at Ede-Oballa, a derived savannah in southeastern Nigeria. Surface soil samples from these land-use types were air-dried and separated into <0.25 mm, 0.25-0.5 mm, 0.5-1.0 mm, 1.0-2.0 mm, 2.0-4.0 mm, and 4.0-8.0 mm aggregates before analyses. There were significant interaction effects of land-use type and aggregate-size fraction on the distribution of soil particle sizes (sand, silt, and clay) and contents of total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases (Mg2+ and Na+), and exchangeable acidity as well as apparent cation exchange capacity (CEC). Land-use type affected soil pH, K+, Ca+, and percent base saturation but not soil organic carbon (SOC), which was rather unevenly distributed among the aggregate-size fractions. The distribution of most fertility indices, those defining CEC, and SOC content favoured >2.0 mm (large), 0.25-0.5 mm and <0.25 mm (micro-) aggregates, respectively, under cultivated land. However, soil total nitrogen and exchangeable acidity contents were best improved in the largest (4.0-8.0 mm) aggregates under forested and fallow lands, respectively. The study highlights the potential of land-use types generally and arable-crop cultivation specifically to engender aggregates of different sizes with specific roles in improving soil quality and fertility.

Interaction and bacterial effects of microplastics pollution on heavy metals in hyporheic sediments of different land-use types in the Beiluo River Basin

Microplastics (MPs) pollution is ubiquitous, causing serious ecological damage by threatening the growth and health of living organisms. This study investigated the vertical and horizontal distribution of MPs, MPs-heavy metals (MPs-HMs) accumulation, contamination assessment and microbial biodiversity in hyporheic sediments of different land-use types. MPs abundance in shallow sediments (0-30 cm) was significantly higher than that in deep sediments (30-60 cm), with fewer large MPs in the deep sediments. Blue, fiber, and <500 μm were the dominant MPs types, and polystyrene, polylactic acid, and polyvinyl chloride were the dominant polymers in the Beiluo River Basin. The average concentrations of HMs detected in MPs were all much higher than the same metals in the sediments. The pollution loading index of MPs was higher in areas with a greater proportion of anthropogenic land use, and MP-HM were present to varying degrees in the vertical distribution (PN>1). Critically, bacterial diversity of anthropogenic land use was smaller than that of natural land use. High MP-HM concentrations reduced the abundance of cyanobacteria, nitrospirota, acidobacteriota, and planctomycetota, whereas desulfobacterota, chloroflexi, myxococcota, actinobacteriota, and proteobacteria have developed tolerance to MP-HM. Overall, our findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between different land-use types and the spatial distribution of MPs and MP-HM, which is critical to manage and mitigate the hyporheic zone pollution.

Diversity and Composition of Termites in Several Types of Land Use

Diversity and Composition of Termites in Several Types of Land Use

INTEGRATING LAND USE ANALYSIS WITH WATER DEMAND ESTIMATION: A CASE STUDY OF PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA

The challenges posed by population growth, urbanization, and changing land use patterns on sustainable water resource management are significant. This paper puts forth an integrated framework aimed at assessing future water demand in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The proposed framework combines population projections, estimations of water demand, and analyses of land use activities. Through an examination of demographic trends and land use patterns, the framework predicts population growth and identifies areas with high water demand. Daily water use patterns in homes and businesses (temporal analysis) inform the designing future water infrastructure, incorporating temporal aspects. Statistical and spatial analysis techniques are then utilized to merge these projections with water demand estimations to quantify water requirements in various zones and types of land use. This study has unveiled two daily peaks in water demand, which align with household schedules. Residential areas emerge as the primary consumers of water, displaying an evening peak distinct from the midday peak seen in businesses. The current water demand in Putrajaya is estimated at 94 million litres per day, with domestic usage surpassing non-domestic usage in a ratio of 3:2. Projections based on future land use plans foresee a 19% increase in demand, underscoring the urgency for proactive water management strategies. Spatial analysis has highlighted residential areas as the main users of water, with demand levels varying throughout the city. By comprehending these temporal and spatial patterns, water authorities can strategically target interventions, optimize infrastructure siting, and forecast future demand trends. These proactive measures are essential for securing a sustainable water future for Putrajaya.

Exploring the Coupling Relationship and Driving Factors of Land Use Conflicts and Ecosystem Services Supply–Demand Balances in Different Main Functional Areas, Southwest China

ABSTRACTConflicts between different types of land use, driven by rapid urbanization, are altering ecosystem services supply–demand balances (ESDB), and the reduction of ESDB will threaten regional sustainable development and human welfare. However, there are few studies on the interrelationships and their drivers between land use conflicts (LUCs) and ESDB from a coupling perspective, especially in different main functional areas. Therefore, this study focused on Southwest China. Firstly, the coupling coordination degree model was employed to measure the ESDB‐LUCs relationship and analyze its dynamic changes from 1990 to 2020. Then, the RDA method was used to explore the driving factors of the ESDB‐LUCs relationship in different functional areas (i.e., urban development area (UDA), agricultural development area (APA), and ecological protection area (EPA)). The results show that the LUCs index displayed a downward trend in the SW during 1990–2020, with a decreasing distribution pattern from the northeast to the southwest. The ESDB index exhibited a downward and then upward trend, with an increasing distribution mode from the northeast to the southwest. There was a spatial dependence between LUCs and ESDB. The type of coupling coordination between LUCs and ESDB was dominated by moderate coordination, with the index showing a spatial pattern of UDA &gt; APA &gt; EPA. Among these, the proportion of cropland and the proportion of urban land were the main factors influencing the degree of coordination of the UDA (explanation rate &gt; 80%), showing positive and negative effects, respectively. The proportion of forestland and the proportion of cropland were the main factors influencing the APA and EPA (explanation rate &gt; 70%), with negative and positive effects, respectively. Therefore, mitigating the conflict between cropland and urban land, cropland and forest land is essential to achieve ecosystem balance in the SW.

Ecosystem Carbon Stock in Iron-Metamorphic Soils with Different Types of Land Use in South Karelia

Ecosystem Carbon Stock in Iron-Metamorphic Soils with Different Types of Land Use in South Karelia

Investigating the Long-Term Effects of Anthropogenic Practices on Soil Features

Anthropogenic practices have been increasingly conducted on the rise in addressing the escalatingdemands for socioeconomic development, resulting in significant impacts on land ecosystems. This research seeks toevaluate the influence of anthropogenic activities on soil features in mountainous regions of Vietnam by focusing 84samples collected from 12 locations across Lam River Basin at seven soil profiles (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-60, 60-80 and 80-100 cm).The findings reveal notable differences in soil texture among land use types (LUTs). Forest cover lands (FCLs),showed the least amount of sand content, varying from 29.7% to 37.6%, while unplanted and bare lands (UBLs) had thehighest sand ratios, up to 53.9%. FCLs exhibited lowest bulk density (BD), soil porosity (SP) and soil electricalconductivity (EC) and C:N ratio with respective ranges of 0.93-1.29 g.cm-3, 32.7-36.5%, 0.526-0.743 mS.m-1 and6.74 -8.52, respectively.In contrast, crop cultivation lands (CCLs) demonstrated higher values for BD (1.17-1.25 g/cm3), SP (39.25-43.19%), EC (0.583-0.792 mS.m-1) and C:N ratio (11.27-15.77). UBLs, on the other hand, exhibited even highest valuesup to 1.23-1.36 g.cm-1, 43.19-49.62%, 0.437-0.619 mS.m-1 and 11.68-16.58% and displayed high levels of exchange ironsand soil organic content compared to FCLs. Other factors such as pH varied little in space between the sampled soillocations and along the soil profiles. Overall, the study indicates that anthropogenic practices have impacts on the soilfeatures across the study area.