Ecological Stability Of Landscape Research Articles

An assessment of landscape‐ecological stability in agricultural regions of Ural and West Siberia

Aim . An assessment and cartographical analysis of landscape‐ecological stability in agricultural regions of Ural and West Siberia, subjects of Asian Russia, using eight steppe areas as an example. Material and Methods . An assessment of landscape‐ecological stability through calculating the coefficient of the ecological stability of a landscape on the base of the conjugate analysis of 13 indicators grouped into two blocks – stable and unstable landscape components. Monitoring of the state of an agricultural area using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of crops on the base of Earth remote sensing. Results . Specific territorial features and inter‐regional relations were determined according to separate landscape components. A schematic map reflecting the state of ecological stability was formulated; it was shown that this rises the more easterly the location. Conclusion . The Tyumen region is distinguished by clearly expressed ecological stability, which is also well expressed in the Novosibirsk region. Most other regions are characterized by a conditionally stable state. The Orenburg region’s landscapes are in an unstable state. Arable lands are characterized by the most instability among unstable components of a landscape. The coefficient of landscape ecological stability (CESL) is tightly connected with the proportion of tillage in a region’s total area. It rises with the reduction of a tillage area in 74% of cases studied. Withdrawal from cultivation of unstable and degraded lands during the intensification of agriculture in highly fertile areas and transfer to fodder lands (including protected areas), which contribute to an increase in the proportion of stable landscape elements, can be considered as the main direction for increasing their stability and preserving biological diversity.

Application of Landscape-Ecological Approach for Greenways Planning in Rural Agricultural Landscape

This article presents an innovative approach to the concept of facilitating greenways into sustainable landscape planning. The greenways can be planned by application of a landscape-ecological concept, including analysis and synthesis of selected abiotic, biotic, and socio-economic landscape-ecological factors and recreation conditions, and by reviewing the current landscape structure and condition of linear components of green infrastructure. Determining the landscape ecological stability, visual impact of agricultural lands, potential erosion risks and real erosion processes, and identifying the natural, cultural, and historical values in the landscape, contributes to the design of ideal greenways placement and other linear components of green infrastructure. Applying these proposals to the agricultural landscape would increase the ecological stability and connectivity, decrease soil and water erosion risks, eliminate visual impact, and develop recreational infrastructure. In this way, greenways planning brings about a synergy between sustainable rural development, landscape and nature protection, and landscape aesthetics, which provides optimal landscape utilization and may encourage tourism and economic prosperity in the study area. Finally, in addition to the researched ecological benefits, our greenways proposal represents an alternative connection of settlements in rural agricultural landscapes, and so it can stimulate sustainable mobility and recreation as well as physical activity, health, and well-being.

The spatial analysis of landscape ecological stability and ecological security in the steppe regions of Russia

The ecological-economic security [EES] and the landscape-ecological stability of the steppe regions of Russia are the main factors of national security and indicators of the sustainability of socio-economic development. Therefore, it is advisable to consider them based on large-scale studies. The study territory is a mesoregion, including the steppe zone of Russia. A comprehensive analysis of the economic development, social sector, and ecological condition of the territory became the basis for assessing the EES of the regions. We assessed landscape-ecological stability by calculating the coefficient of ecological stability of the landscape. Based on reliable information, we formed a database that comprises 37 indicators for 18 steppe regions of Russia. Using the coefficients and integral indices, we compiled an integrated schematic map. As a result, we established that the level of stability of the ecological landscape increases to the northeast of the studied territory. We observed the maximum value of the ecological and economic security index (1.8) in Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Bashkortostan, and Novosibirsk Krai. Furthermore, we characterized the regions where the coefficient of ecological landscape stability exceeded 1 by indicators of ecological and economic security, presented in the ratio 1/1.5/2.

Spatial and temporal analysis of landscape ecological quality in Yulin

Yulin is one of the important energy chemical industry area in China, located at the intersection of Loess Plateau and Mu Us Desert, and the vulnerability of ecosystem in this area is extremely prominent. Landscape ecological quality research helps to enhance ecological protection and high quality development in the region. The Remote sensing images in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2018 of Yulin were interpreted to the landscape thematic data by ERDAS and ArcGIS10 and the landscape ecological quality model has been established in terms of the landscape ecological stability and disturbance. This paper aimed to reveal the spatial–temporal characteristics of landscape ecological quality. The results showed that: (1) the trend of landscape ecological quality firstly improve then degrade and enhance again during 2000–2018. (2) the landscape ecological quality improved and the areas with poor and fair landscape ecological quality reduced and the areas with high landscape ecological quality increased from 2000 to 2010. (3) the ecological quality was not optimistic during 2010 and 2015, with the areas with high landscape ecological quality reduced.(4) the ecological quality improved again from 2015 to 2018, and the areas with highest landscape ecological quality reaching 65.201% of total area. The changes of ecological quality were mainly driven by the project of returning farmland to forest, which increased vegetation coverage, reduced soil erosion, and achieved obvious results in ecological benefits, and these results may provide helpful information for the ecological conservation and development. • The topic is novel. Currently, there are few studies on landscape ecological quality. • This paper is taking innovative research methods—stability and disturbance, and constructing a landscape ecological quality evaluation model based on the characteristics of the study area using the landscape ecological index. • The research results are helpful to increase the attention to the quality of landscape ecology which promote the further development of landscape ecology.

The status of commons in the changing landscape in the Czech Republic

Commons were ancient pastures, which once occurred in every village in many countries, including the Czech Republic. They have been a landscape and social phenomenon for decades. However, social and economic changes brought an end to community ownership and traditional management of these commons. The number of commons has been decreasing since the middle of the 19th century and currently very few remain. This paper evaluates the status of former commons in 35 cadastres in south-western Bohemia and describes the changes they have undergone in the last two hundred years. Three historical periods were identified as the main drivers in the changes in the status of commons. We started with a period from the middle of the 19th century to the 1950s, the second from 1950s to 1990s and the last from 1990s to 2019. Aerial images and field surveys revealed that 93% of former commons disappeared due to afforestation, conversion to fields and natural succession occurring on abandoned commons. The social and economic aspects associated with these changes are mentioned. Some of the commons are part of the Territorial system of landscape ecological stability (Ecological networks) and we suggest that more of the remaining commons should be included in this network. They could play a role in maintaining biodiversity and providing stepping stones in a uniform agriculture landscape. We propose to evaluate the conservation and ecosystem value of these commons in more detail and set up the appropriate management essential for the preservation or restoration of commons, an indisputable part of our biological and cultural heritage.

The influence of landscape structure on the quality index of surface waters

AbstractThe article focuses on the problem of structure degradation and ecosystem functioning – the urgency that identifies the relevance of operations at a strategic level aimed at providing the integrated assessment of ecological stability of water. Determination of water quality indicators were divided into blocks according to the criteria of salt composition, according to chemical saprobological indicators and the content of specific substances of toxic and radiation action. According to the results of block analysis, the integrated ecological index of water quality was determined by the dependence of water quality on the indicators of ecological stabilization of the landscape and the structure of biotechnical elements. The article determines the relationships between worsening quality of surface waters and stabilization or destabilization of the landscape structure. The research was conducted on medium and large streamflows on the Right Bank of Polesie region of the Dnieper-River cascade within which the tracts of land were identified and the landscape ecological stability (CESL1) and landscape biotechnical elements coefficients (CESL2) were determined. The retrospective analysis was performed of the surface water features on the Right Bank of Polesie region of the Dnieper-River cascade and the main trends in salt block indicators, trophic and saprobiological block indicators, and in the content of toxic and radioactive substances at observation sites were estimated. Based on obtained data, the integrated assessment in trends of surface water quality on the Right Bank of Polesie region of the Dnieper-River cascade was made and the main parameters and scale of stabilization and destabilization of landscape impact on the water quality formation were defined.

Assessment of ecological stability of the built environment in relation to sustainable construction

Abstract When placing buildings in a landscape environment, the urban and architectural design of the building must be in harmony with the surrounding environment. The environmental criterion in assessing the sustainability of buildings and the subsequent environmental certification of buildings is the construction site selection in terms of its ecological importance. The way to determine the ecological value of a territory is through the determination of the landscape’s ecological stability, which can be considered as a basis for assessing all conditions and assumptions of land use. Maintaining ecological stability on Earth is a prerequisite for sustainable development and is of long-term strategic importance for the development of society. The contribution is focused on the evaluation of ecological stability in relation to sustainable construction in the cadastral area of the village Vajkovce, located in the district of Košice-okolie (surrounding). The ecological stability of the territory is evaluated by several methods used in the assessment of the landscape ecological stability and their modifications expressed by the coefficient of ecological stability. The results indicate that the territory of the municipality of Vajkovce is one of the ecologically unstable areas and therefore appropriate measures were proposed to increase its ecological stability.

An Assessment of Changes in Ecological Stability and Landscape Management Practices over the Last Centuries: A Case Study from Vrbovce, Slovakia

The landscape is an open system influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors that in a long-run fundamentally affect its state and development. A comprehensive understanding and assessment of the anthropogenic impacts on the environment is a key prerequisite to maintain its good ecological state. However, as the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the environment are omnipresent, necessary measures for their mitigation should be addressed to improve the landscape ecological stability. In Slovakia, agricultural activities on large blocks of land are considered as one of the main anthropogenic factors negatively influencing the landscape ecological stability, which however could be eliminated by effective landscape management activities. This study assesses the ecological stability of the cadastral area of the village of Vrbovce in both historical and current contexts and suggests several “green” measures aiming at improving its ecological stability. The information about the land types and structures were obtained by manual vectorization of historical and current topographical maps. Based on this information analysis of land utilization and its development was carried out for a period of more than 250 years. For each historical period, a coefficient of ecological stability was evaluated to assign a degree of ecological stability for each period. Moreover, an analysis of positive and negative landscape-ecological impacts was also performed to identify the problematic areas within the cadastral area that need to be addressed by mitigation measures. Based on these analyses several mitigation measures were suggested to improve the ecological stability of the area. Most of them were related to the agricultural land, which makes up a significant part of the area and represents its less ecologically stable part. The proposed measures respect the original rural character of the area and its specific scenery which is a result of centuries of man-land interaction. The measures are mostly focused on transforming some of the less ecologically stable areas into natural grasslands which would be used for ecological cattle and sheep breeding as these activities were historically the primary source of living in this area.

Environmental differences of land creation in time interval for determination of industrial influence on landscape

The assessment of the spatial structure the land cover has great significance for the research of landscape especially from the aspect of the maintaining landscape ecological stability and the sustainable development as well as the landscape potential. At the same time it has an important role in identifying of impacts the industry on the landscape. The classes of land cover layers can be considered as the basis for other analyses of landscape. Purpose.: In the contribution we decided to compare the changes in landscape structure between the years 1958 - 2009 in territory of city Krompachy. Methods: field, analytical and mathematical. Results: For evaluating changes in the landscape structure we used topographic map from 1958 and orthophotomaps of the actual situation in 2009. The changes in the landscape structure were evaluated through GIS technologies in time horizon 1958 - 2009. Absolute and percentage differences in the land cover classes for the time horizon 1958 - 2009 are expressed by means of contingency tables transformation. The trends in the development classes of land cover are documented by the graph of the land cover classes on the second hierarchical level.

A method proposal for cumulative environmental impact assessment based on the landscape vulnerability evaluation

Cumulative environmental impact assessment deals with the occasional use in practical application of environmental impact assessment process. The main reasons are the difficulty of cumulative impact identification caused by lack of data, inability to measure the intensity and spatial effect of all types of impacts and the uncertainty of their future evolution. This work presents a method proposal to predict cumulative impacts on the basis of landscape vulnerability evaluation. For this purpose, qualitative assessment of landscape ecological stability is conducted and major vulnerability indicators of environmental and socio-economic receptors are specified and valuated. Potential cumulative impacts and the overall impact significance are predicted quantitatively in modified Argonne multiple matrixes while considering the vulnerability of affected landscape receptors and the significance of impacts identified individually. The method was employed in the concrete environmental impact assessment process conducted in Slovakia. The results obtained in this case study reflect that this methodology is simple to apply, valid for all types of impacts and projects, inexpensive and not time-consuming. The objectivity of the partial methods used in this procedure is improved by quantitative landscape ecological stability evaluation, assignment of weights to vulnerability indicators based on the detailed characteristics of affected factors, and grading impact significance.

Cost indicators of common facilities of land consolidation

Land consolidation can be defined as the spatial and functional arrangement of lands. By the process of land consolidation the ownership rights to land are settled and conditions for the rational management of land owners are created. The plan of common facilities is an important part of the land consolidation project. It is a set of measures creating conditions for access to lands (traffic network) and conditions for improvement of the environment (land resources conservation and development, water management, enhancement of landscape ecological stability). The costs of land consolidation are covered mainly by public resources.Considerable investment costs are necessary for the implementation of structures. The volume of investments is given by the estimation of construction costs. The cost indicator of a structure of common facility (CICF) can be used as a ratio. Among other things, this paper presents the catalogue of construction works for representative structure of common facilities, including the prices and a card of the cost estimation. These data may be used for a better orientation in the price level of particular items by both employees of land authorities and construction companies competing for contracts during the awarding of contracts for public procurement.

Land Consolidations as an Effective Instrument in Soil Conservation

AbstractKadlec V., Žížala D., Novotný I., Heřmanovská D., Kapička J., Tippl M.: Land consolidations as an effective instrument in soil conservation. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 33, No. 2, p. 188-200, 2014.In the Czech Republic, more than 50% of agricultural land is threatened by water erosion, which is tremendously increasing during last couple of years. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with soil conservation as soon as possible. Land consolidations (LCs) are thus an important tool for implementation of soil, water and landscape conservation measures. It is possible to arrange land ownerships by them. They also arrange land spatially and functionally, provide availability of parcels and their land use in public interest. Besides that, environmental improvement, soil conservation, water management and increase in landscape ecological stability supplement the use of LCs. The results of soil consolidations serve for renewal of cadastral records and for the backgrounds for landscape planning. The aim of the research was to evaluate the selected site (district Plzeň - South) with regard to the amounts and limits of proposed and implemented measures in LC process. The research was processed on the basis of detailed analysis regarding erosion risk and runoff conditions in GIS compared with the previous data (before LC).

Changes in the landscape due to land consolidations

Muchova Z., Petrovic F.: Changes in the landscape due to land consolidations. Ekologia (Bratislava), Vol. 29, No. 2, p. , 2010. The aim of this paper is the analysis of changes in the secondary landscape structure caused by comprehensive land consolidation processes. For a more detailed survey, three cadastral areas have been selected. In those areas, the land consolidation projects are undergone and are currently in draft stage for the general principles of functional organization of the landscape and form different geomorphologic types of georelief. In the territory of Hajske, the georelief prevalent type is lowland, in the cadastral area of Veľke Vozokany upland and Kanianka represents typical hills. We evaluated the landscape structure of the territory under consideration in three levels: historical landscape structure (2. Austro-Hungarian military mapping), current landscape structure ( analytical part − the results of a dedicated planimetric mapping in land consolidation projects), and the new structure of the country (evaluation and design part − results of the draft of the general principles of functional organization of the territory). As indicators of changes in the landscape the elements characterizing the land use have been selected: arable land, forest land, vineyards, gardens, orchards, permanent grassland, water areas, urbanized areas and other areas. In the paper, we focus on an aggregated balance of types of plots in all three areas and three selected horizons. We present the evolution of landscape structure and we have also tried to propose clear landscape structure changes (size and location), in line with the trend of sustainable land use. In the areas of interest, there are proposed new landscape elements to enhance the landscape diversity and also positively influence the species diversity of flora and fauna, enhance the landscape ecological stability and prevent the destructive processes in the landscape.

EVALUATION OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL POLARIZATION AND ITS APPLICATION FOR STRATEGICAL TERRITORIAL PLANNING

To avoid antagonism in system nature-economy-society the concept of state territory management has to be based on the principles of sustainable and balanced development. The strategy of economy development should follow not only the criteria of economical effectiveness, but also the indexes of ecological stability of the territory.The extent of ecological polarization (measure of landscape stability) is conditioned by the combination of (1) landscape geochemical sensitivity and (2) technogeochemical pressure defined in respective territorial units. With respect to self-cleaning features of landscapes 7 levels of geosystem sensitivity were distinguished and mapped in Lithuania territory. The largest part of the territory is occupied by averagely and more than averagely sensitive geosystems, the least area is taken by relatively insensitive and extremely sensitive geosystems. The technogeochemical pressure was evaluated through the detailed analysis of landscape technomorphological structure. Using the GIS data bases, in the technotopes distinguished the technogeochemical pressure was evaluated according to the area of industrial and built-up territories, agricultural lands, road net density (adjusted by traffic intensity), and dosmestic pollution (assessed according to the population density). Each of the agents was given different weitcoefficients in regard to its pollution emissions. The layer superposition of the geosystem sensitivity and technogeochemical pressure gave the emergence of cartoscheme revealing the distribution of areas with different ecological polarization, divided into 5 tension levels. In order to distinguish the priority territories of land management and optimization the polarization area net and the natural frame of Lithuania were superposed.Knowledge of the ecological polarization areas allows the rendering of recommendations to economy units for their economical activity organization that should be developed considering the means of landscape ecological stability maintenance like increase of forest percentage, formation of geochemical barriers, proper distribution of land use.

Erosion-preventive crop rotations for landscape ecological stability in upland regions of Lithuania

A combination of perennial grass species and selected crop rotation can help prevent soil erosion in upland regions. Research data were obtained on sandy loam Dystric Albeluvisols at the Kaltinenai Research Station of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture on the undulating hilly topography of the Zemaiciai Uplands of Western Lithuania to identity crop and crop rotations that would minimise soil erosion. Measured water erosion rates during long-term field experiments were: 5.4–17.0 Mg ha −1 under winter rye, 18.0–62.8 Mg ha −1 under spring barley and 44.4–186.2 Mg ha −1 under potatoes. Perennial grasses completely prevented water erosion. The erosion-preventive grass–grain crop rotations (>50% grass) decreased soil losses on arable slopes of 2–5°, 5–10° and 10–14° by 77–81%, while the grain–grass crop rotation (<50% grass) decreased rates by 21–24%, compared with the field crop rotation. The mean annual metabolisable energy accumulated by the erosion-preventive grass–grain crop rotations under optimum ground and fertiliser treatments on slopes of varying gradient was 96.7 GJ ha −1. This was 24.8% higher than under the field crop rotation and 20.2% higher than under the grain–grass crop rotation. The mean digestible protein productivity of sod-forming perennial grasses was 13.1% higher than the mean productivity of grass–grain crop rotations and 53.7% higher than the grain–grass crop rotation on slopes of 10–14°. The erosion-preventive capability of crop rotations depends on their structure and composition. The grass–grain crop rotations and sod-forming perennial grasses significantly increased soil aggregate stability compared with grain–grass crop rotations on 10–14° slopes, thus both these systems decrease soil erodibility. The main attributes of the proposed land conservation and sustainable land-use system were the careful selection of optimum erosion-preventive ecosystems (sod-forming perennial grasses or erosion-preventive crop rotations) with high erosion-resisting capabilities. These systems must vary in response to slope conditions. Such ecosystems assist erosion control and thus the ecological stability of the undulating topography of Lithuania. These results may have wider applicability on the undulating landscapes of the Temperate Zone.

Changing minor rural road networks in relation to landscape sustainability and farming practices in West Europe

Use and characteristics of the minor rural road network have changed dramatically in West-European intensive agricultural landscapes. These changes are caused by modern agriculture, by changing values of the road’s verges and by the multifunctionalization of the rural landscape. Changing the network, conventional farming practices often decrease landscape ecological stability. These problems can be tackled by managing the road-verge network as an integrated subsystem of the landscape. A multifunctional management can reconcile transport, biological and recreational functions of the rural road-verge network.