Landscape Resources Research Articles

Resource landscape, microbial activity, and community composition under wintering crane activities in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea.

Endangered cranes migrate to the Demilitarized Zone in Korea in search for habitat and food during winter. While cranes have the potential to influence soil biogeochemical processes via dropping, foraging, and walking, few studies have investigated ecological roles of migrating birds in the new habitat. Here, we explored how cranes alter resource landscape (the amount and quality of carbon) and microbial community in soil. We set up control (fenced, no crane access) and treatment (free crane activities) plots (n = 6, respectively) in a rice paddy, and collected soils at 0–15 cm three months after the crane migration. Soils were tested for total carbon, total nitrogen, water extractable organic carbon, and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, along with microbial parameters (biomass, respiration, community composition). The wintering crane activity significantly increased total carbon and nitrogen contents, but decreased the ratio of CH (aliphatic) to COO (carboxylic) in soil. Also, both microbial biomass and respiration was greater in soils under crane activities. Bacterial and fungal community composition differed with or without crane activities, with treatment soils harboring more diverse microbial communities. Our results demonstrate that crane migration created a distinct system with altered resource landscape and microbial community, highlighting beneficial effects of migratory cranes on the soil biogeochemical processes in rice paddies. This study may help encourage more farmers, local governments, and the public to participate in crane conservation campaigns targeted at rice fields.

Landscape Evaluation of Forest Park Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

Road ecological landscape construction is an important part of creating an ecological garden city, and it is also an indispensable link in urban garden landscape planning. Taking a national forest park in a certain area as the research object, using the analytic hierarchy process, taking into account the ecological and landscape benefits, we selected 6 parameters: carbon sequestration, dust retention, humidification, plant aesthetic benefits, plant ornamental benefits, and roadside landscape integration. The main indicators construct the forest park landscape resource quality evaluation system. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation score of the national forest park landscape resource quality in this area is 82.36 points, which is in line with the first-level standard in the evaluation system, indicating that the quality of the scenic resources in the park is high and it has unique tourism development value, which can scientifically and reasonably develop forest ecology tourism. In addition, the evaluation system proposed in this article can objectively reflect the value of the park’s ecological whirlpool and the basic conditions for carrying out ecotourism according to the key index factors that affect the quality of scenic resources and provide a scientific and reliable reference for the high-quality development of forest parks.

Sustainable Relationship in Design: The Contribution Wisdom of Academies Landscape in Southern Jiangsu from an “Interpersonal View” Perspective

In recent years, designers have increasingly emphasized sustainability in landscape design, but they have focused more on the “human-nature” relationship while neglecting the relationship between people. As a result, problems such as inconvenient use of the landscape and waste of resources for management and renovation have been caused. To solve this problem, it is necessary to establish the correct concept at the beginning of design. Traditional Chinese ideas can often provide appropriate reference points for many contemporary issues, including design. Taking the landscapes of ancient academies in southern Jiangsu as an example, this paper tries to explore the methods and ideas of the designers to deal with the “people-people” relationship in the process of construction, as an example of sustainable landscape design. Both textual research and metrological historiography were used to examine and summarize the characteristics of the landscape construction of the academies in southern Jiangsu, combined with the analysis of the theory of “interpersonal view”. It is apparent that the landscape construction of the academies in southern Jiangsu is characterized by site selection with favorable geography and people, scale and function with the balance of supply and demand, building construction with thrift and efficiency, and a site-specific and simple courtyard built. The formation of these characteristics originates from the founder’s design concept of care about education and being kind to scholars, saving materials and taking good care of the people, benefiting others before to themselves, and portraying the Confucian idea of “great harmony in the world”. The thought and design concept of the landscape construction of the academies in southern Jiangsu can provide a reference point for landscape designers to solve the sustainable problem of the “people-people” relationship in landscape design.

Diets maintained in a changing world: Does land-use intensification alter wild bee communities by selecting for flexible generalists?

Biodiversity loss, as often found in intensively managed agricultural landscapes, correlates with reduced ecosystem functioning, for example, pollination by insects, and with altered plant composition, diversity, and abundance. But how does this change in floral resource diversity and composition relate to occurrence and resource use patterns of trap‐nesting solitary bees? To better understand the impact of land‐use intensification on communities of trap‐nesting solitary bees in managed grasslands, we investigated their pollen foraging, reproductive fitness, and the nutritional quality of larval food along a land‐use intensity gradient in Germany. We found bee species diversity to decrease with increasing land‐use intensity irrespective of region‐specific community compositions and interaction networks. Land use also strongly affected the diversity and composition of pollen collected by bees. Lack of suitable pollen sources likely explains the absence of several bee species at sites of high land‐use intensity. The only species present throughout, Osmia bicornis (red mason bee), foraged on largely different pollen sources across sites. In doing so, it maintained a relatively stable, albeit variable nutritional quality of larval diets (i.e., protein to lipid (P:L) ratio). The observed changes in bee–plant pollen interaction patterns indicate that only the flexible generalists, such as O. bicornis, may be able to compensate the strong alterations in floral resource landscapes and to obtain food of sufficient quality through readily shifting to alternative plant sources. In contrast, other, less flexible, bee species disappear.

Construction of evaluation model of ecotourism resources in featured small towns

PurposeWith the development of small towns in China, the country pays more and more attention to the protection of landscape resources. It is an urgent problem that is how to protect landscape resources and ecological environment while developing economic industry in small towns. Establishing an ecotourism evaluation model can provide valuable reference for ecotourism planning, development protection and sustainable development of small towns.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct the ecotourism evaluation system that accords with the characteristics of small towns. A judgment matrix is constructed to determine specific indicators and factor values based on expert survey results. Based on the AHP theory and considering 4 aspects, construction conditions of featured small towns, ecological and environmental conditions, ecotourism resources endowment and development conditions and tourism capacity. In addition, 16 factor evaluations were selected, evaluation model of ecotourism resources were built and each evaluation index value was confirmed by adopting expert's advice.FindingsEcological environment, socioeconomic, uniqueness, esthetic ornamental value, small-scale industry scale, type and development level, type and scale, tourism talent level, therapeutic and leisure value were the indispensable components of evaluation of ecotourism resources in featured small towns.Originality/valueThe ideas of ecological environment development are rooted in the hearts of the people with the development of times. The model in this research is pertinent, typical and universal to some extent. Thus it is worth popularizing and applying.

Robots as models of evolving systems

Experimental robobiological physics can bring insights into biological evolution. We present a development of hybrid analog/digital autonomous robots with mutable diploid dominant/recessive 6-byte genomes. The robots are capable of death, rebirth, and breeding. We map the quasi-steady-state surviving local density of the robots onto a multidimensional abstract “survival landscape.” We show that robot death in complex, self-adaptive stress landscapes proceeds by a general lowering of the robotic genetic diversity, and that stochastically changing landscapes are the most difficult to survive.

Research on health promotion strategies of public recreation space in the coastal area of Qingdao City Center, China

After the outbreak of the pandemic, people's travel and outdoor activities have been restricted or hindered, and urban environmental health has become the topic of most public concern. With the widespread of vaccination and the reduction of urban control, people's enthusiasm for travel has been released again, healthy urban life has gradually become the focus of the post-pandemic era. The coastal recreation space is rich in blue and green landscape resources and has good health benefits. It is a high-quality urban environment for traveling and outdoor sports. Based on a multidisciplinary perspective, this article proposes the relationship between coastal recreation space and people's health life and the changes of traditional recreation space in the post-pandemic era. The coastal recreation space in Qingdao city center is selected as a case, the popular routes of recreation APPs are selected as samples. The article uses SPSS to analyze the current space issues, and studies the strategies for promoting urban environmental health in coastal public recreation space, in order to improve the quality and efficiency of people's healthy life in the post-pandemic era.

Landscape Efficiency Assessment of Urban Subway Station Entrance Based on Structural Equation Model: Case Study of Main Urban Area of Nanjing

Public landscape efficiency is one of the research hotspots in contemporary landscape performance. The renewal of micro landscape space has positive effects on community vitality and the sustainable development of landscape resources. The subway station entrance is a typical representative of the miniature landscape environment. To improve the construction of subway station entrances, clear cognition on the landscape efficiency of subway station entrances and their impact indicators is necessary. For this purpose, a structural equation model with a parameter system was established to measure landscape efficiency. There are four latent variables (e.g., traffic capacity) and 10 observed variables (e.g., visual level) composed of an estimation model. Researchers selected 131 subway station entrances in the main urban area of Nanjing as survey samples. Various methods, including investigation, image recognition, and modelling analysis, were comprehensively used to analyse the landscape characteristics of the subway station entrances quantitatively. A calculation was conducted to obtain the correlation coefficient of latent variables and the explanatory degree of observed variables. The result shows that green space landscapes and traffic capacity impresses the landscape efficiency of subway station entrances. Furthermore, all these variables have complex correlations. The fluctuation of any latent variable may cause the decay or enhancement of related variables. Therefore, designers should have a comprehensive cognition of the landscape environment of subway station entrances to enable them to propose balanced design strategies under traffic, visibility, plants and facilities. This paper aims to help designers gain an in-depth understanding of the ideal landscape construction forms at subway station entrances and facilitate the high-quality development of the urban landscape environment.

Assessment of the possibility of establishing cultural parks in selected rural and small town areas in the Lublin Province

The study objective was to identify and assess the cultural landscape resources in two counties in the Lublin Province (Poland) – county of Radzyń Podlaski and county of Łęczna – and to examine the public opinion about the establishment of cultural parks within these two counties. The research procedure included an analysis of district-level planning and strategy documents, a SWOT analysis, a field inventory, and a questionnaire survey. This research was preceded by an analysis of the functioning of cultural parks in other regions in Poland. An additional goal of the study was to join the global discussion about cultural parks. The research has shown that the county of Radzyń Podlaski and county of Łęczna have great potential for creating cultural parks. However, it is necessary to improve the public awareness (particularly of local governments and property owners) about the cultural park as a form of protection and the development opportunities related to its establishment e.g. revitalisation, tourism and recreation. System-wide changes in the scope of establishment and functioning of cultural parks are also advisable.

Evaluation of Rural Tourism Landscape Resources in Terms of Carbon Neutrality and Rural Revitalization

Rural tourism landscape resources are important ingredients of rural revitalization and modernization in developing countries and regions. Evaluation methods play a crucial role in the planning, design, transformation, development, and protection of these resources. However, there has been a lack of research on the evaluation of rural tourism landscape resources, especially from the perspective of rural revitalization and carbon neutrality. From the perspective of carbon neutrality and rural revitalization, this article establishes an indicator system to evaluate rural tourism landscape resources based on previous evaluation methods and expert consultations on landscape planning. An evaluation model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy VIKOR method structure matching is also suggested. Some practical suggestions are put forward to promote the values of rural tourism landscape resources through empirical analyses of three regions in Changsha, Hunan, China. Our study shows that the evaluation results could objectively reflect the values and existing problems of rural tourism landscape resources, which could provide practical tools for local government departments to make decisions, and landscape architects to plan and design. Based on this model, further suggestions are provided to improve rural tourism landscape resources.

A Study on Landscape Resources by Trails in Hallasan National Park Area

이 연구는 한라산국립공원지역 경관자원을 특성에 맞춰서 유형별로 나누고, 자연경 관자원에 비해 연구가 미진한 인문경관자원의 성격을 규명하면서 그에 맞는 유형별 분류를 했다. 경관자원 유형에 따라 한라산국립공원지역 어리목·영실·성판악·관음사·돈내코 등 5개 탐방로에서 확인 가능하거나 주변에 있는 경관자원을 제시했다. 자연경관자원을 동·식물, 지형·지질, 계곡, 산정화구호·습지, 오름, 동굴·궤, 폭포·샘, 기상 등 8개 유형으로 나눴다. 화산폭발로 형성된 한라산국립공원지역의 자연환경을 쉽게 보여줄 수 있도록 비슷한 특성을 가진 자원을 하나로 묶었으며 대표적인 자원을 중심으로 분석했다. 인문경관자원을 시설·도로, 1차산업, 방어유적, 기념물, 종교·제사, 풍수지리, 신화·전 설·무속, 예술·기록 등 8개 유형으로 구분해서 대표 자원을 제시했다. 유형별로 경관자 원의 내용을 분석했다. 한라산국립공원 주요 탐방로별로 확인 가능한 경관자원을 유형별로 확인한 결과 관음사탐방로가 가장 풍부한 자연·인문 경관자원을 보유한 사실을 밝혔다. 이들 경관자원 유형을 활용해 가치 평가, 중요 경관자원 선정, 목록화 등을 추진하면 한라산국립공원의 가치가 더욱 높아질 것이다.

Evaluation and Improvement of Cultivated Land Leisure Service Function Based on Multisource Spatial Data

The leisure service function is an important component of the derivative function and non-market function of cultivated land. Therefore, exploring the strength of the cultivated land leisure service function with the help of spatial information technology is significant in guiding the proper utilization and protection of cultivated land resources. This paper constructed an evaluation system based on the three dimensions of ecological landscape, social activities, and economic performance, explored the spatial difference of the cultivated land leisure service function in Yuanyang County, the major grain-producing area along the Yellow River through spatial weighted overlay, classified the hot spots of leisure services and presented suggestions for improvement. Results show the following: (1) the landscape resources in the northern part are relatively monotonous, while those in the southern part are rich and evenly distributed. Spatial accessibility presents a distribution of “one core with multiple subcores”. The distribution of leisure service supply capacity is characterized by “multiple cores and multiple circles.” (2) The hot spots of the cultivated land leisure service function are the Urban Agricultural Central Area and the Ecological Agriculture Core Area in the middle of the county, and the Suburban Agritourism Development Area, the Yellow River Agritourism Transitional Area, and the Leisure Agriculture Connection Area on the periphery of the county. (3) The agricultural landscape should be fully protected and utilized in the Urban Agricultural Central Area. The spatial accessibility and regional reputation of the Ecological Agriculture Core Area need to be improved. The landscape diversity and landscape quality should be improved in the Suburban Agritourism Development Area. The Yellow River Agritourism Transitional Area needs to overcome the loss of tourists. The Leisure Agriculture Connection Area should increase the number of leisure and tourism facilities.

Integration of vegetation classification with land cover mapping: lessons from regional mapping efforts in the Americas

Aims: Natural resource management and biodiversity conservation rely on inventories of vegetation that span multiple management or political jurisdictions. However, while remote sensing data and analytical tools have enabled production of maps at increasing spatial resolution and reliability, there are limited examples where national or continental-scaled maps are produced to represent vegetation at high thematic detail. We illustrate two examples that have bridged the gap between traditional land cover mapping and modern vegetation classification. Study area: Our two case studies include national (USA) and continental (North and South America) vegetation and land cover mapping. These studies span conditions from subpolar to tropical latitudes of the Americas. Methods: Both case studies used a supervised modeling approach with the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) to produce maps that provide for greater thematic detail. Georeferenced locations for these vegetation types are used by machine learning algorithms to train a predictive model and generate a distribution map. Results: The USALANDFIRE (Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Project) case study illustrates how a history of vegetation-based classification and availability of key inputs can come together to generate standard map products covering more than 9.8 million km2 that are unsurpassed anywhere in the world in terms of spatial and thematic resolution. That being said, it also remains clear that mapping at the thematic resolution of the IVC Group and finer resolution require very large and spatially balanced inputs of georeferenced samples. Even with extensive prior data collection efforts, these remain a key limitation. The NatureServe effort for the Americas - encompassing 22% of the global land surface - demonstrates methods and outputs suitable for worldwide application at continental scales. Conclusions: Continued collection of input data used in the case studies could enable mapping at these spatial and thematic resolutions around the globe. Abbreviations: CART = Classification and Regression Tree; CONUS = Conterminous United States; DSWE = Dynamic Surface Water Extent; EPA = United States Environmental Protection Agency; FGDC = Federal Geographic Data Committee; IVC = International Vegetation Classification; LANDFIRE = Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Project; LFRDB = LANDFIRE Reference Database; LiDAR = Light Detection and Ranging; NDVI = Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NLCD = National Land Cover Database; USNVC = United States National Vegetation Classification; USA = United States of America; WWF = World Wildlife Fund or Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Landscapes as drivers of ecotourism development: a case study in Northern Laos

ABSTRACT Widely heralded as a driver of sustainable development, ecotourism is promoted using images of rural landscapes. But how important are the landscapes themselves in these tourism projects? Based on advertising by tour operators and trekking agencies on their websites and reviews by tourists posted on Tripadvisor®, we have identified the motivations on which landscape resources are based and analyzed the importance of forests and anthropogenic landscapes (formed by agricultural activity in particular) in attracting tourists. This study is based on an analysis of representations of forested landscapes in the Nam Ha National Protected Area, in the mountains of Northern Laos.

Contribution of Infrastructure to the Township’s Sustainable Development in Southwest China

Townships in Southwest China are usually located in mountainous regions, which are abundant in natural and cultural landscape resources. There are additional requirements for the township’s sustainable development in these areas. However, insufficient infrastructures, due to limited resources, constrain the sustainable development of these townships. Sustainable contribution of infrastructure (SCOI) in this study is defined as the performance of infrastructure as a contribution to the coordinated development among economic, social, and environmental dimensions of township’s sustainable development. It is necessary to assess these infrastructures according to SCOI and provide choices for investment to maximize resource utilization. Therefore, an assessing model of SCOI with 26 general indicators was developed, which covers five most urgently needed infrastructures of these townships in Southwest China, including road transport, sewage treatment, waste disposal, water supply, and gas. In this model, quantitative and qualitative methods are combined to acquire different SCOI of each infrastructure. The result of the SCOI would be an important reference for infrastructure investment. A case study of Jiansheng Town, that is located in the Dadukou district of Chongqing, demonstrates the applicability of the model. It shows the assessing model of SCOI is efficient to identify the most valuable infrastructure that is appropriate for investment with the goal of township’s sustainable development. This study can provide insights for infrastructure investment and management in townships or areas.

The origin of peasant culture. Prehistory of knowledge of landscape resources in a perspective of continuity, surplus and prosperity

The origin of peasant culture. Prehistory of knowledge of landscape resources in a perspective of continuity, surplus and prosperity

Active regimes for particles on resource landscapes

We introduce an active matter model composed of sterically interacting particles, which absorb resources from a substrate and move in response to resource gradients. For varied ratios of absorption rate to substrate recovery rate, we find a variety of regimes including periodic waves, partial clustering, stochastic motion, and a frozen state. If passive particles are added, they can form crystalline clusters in an active fluid. This model could be implemented using colloidal systems on feedback landscapes and can provide a soft matter realization of excitable media and ecological systems.

COMMONS IN MARGINAL LANDSCAPES. Collective practices for an alternative narrative and use of common spatial resources in peripheral landscapes


 
 
 
 This contribution aims to describe commons practices in marginal landscapes from the perspective of the design disciplines – landscape and urban design and architecture – as special collective forms of transfer of tangible and intangible values. Case studies in the Alps and Apennine context support the analysis. Specifically the paper investigates the role of commons to explore how these practices in urban and rural areas can be different for their relational capacity and strength, but are also complementary in enabling forms of inclusive habitat. Commons in marginal landscapes are examined through the lens of landscape design and space transformation to detect structural challenges and dynamics but also to propose an alternative narrative. These places need the innovative potential of commons to steer a necessary upgrade in the management and use of material and immaterial resources.
 
 
 

Dynamic Landscape Fragmentation and the Driving Forces on Haitan Island, China

Island ecosystems have distinct and unique vulnerabilities that place them at risk from threats to their ecology and socioeconomics. Spatially exhibiting the fragmentation process of island landscapes and identifying their driving factors are the fundamental prerequisites for the maintenance of island ecosystems and the rational utilization of islands. Haitan Island was chosen as a case study for understanding landscape fragmentation on urbanizing Islands. Based on remote sensing technology, three Landsat images from 2000 to 2020, landscape pattern index, transect gradient analysis, and moving window method were used in this study. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, impervious land increased by 462.57%. In 2000, the predominant landscape was cropland (46.34%), which shifted to impervious land (35.20%) and forest (32.90%) in 2020. Combining the moving window method and Semivariogram, 1050 m was considered to be the best scale to reflect the landscape fragmentation of Haitan Island. Under this scale, it was found that the landscape fragmentation of Haitan Island generally increased with time and had obvious spatial heterogeneity. We set up sampling bands along the coastline and found that the degree of landscape fragmentation, advancing from the coast inland, was decreasing. Transects analysis showed the fragmentation intensity of the coastal zone: the north-western and southern wooded zones decreased, while the concentration of urban farmland in the north-central and southern areas increased. The implementation of a comprehensive experimental area plan on Haitan Island has disturbed the landscape considerably. In 2000, landscape fragmentation was mainly influenced by topography and agricultural production. The critical infrastructure construction, reclamation and development of landscape resources have greatly contributed to the urbanisation and tourism of Haitan Island, and landscape fragmentation in 2013 was at its highest. Due to China’s “Grain for Green Project” and the Comprehensive Territorial Spatial Planning policy (especially the protection of ecological control lines), the fragmentation of Haitan Island was slowing. This study investigated the optimal spatial scale for analyzing spatiotemporal changes in landscape fragmentation on Haitan Island from 2000 to 2020, and the essential influencing factors in urban islands from the perspective of natural environment and social development, which could provide a basis for land use management and ecological planning on the island.

Seasonal dynamics of competition between honey bees and wild bees in a protected Mediterranean scrubland

Due to the widespread use of pesticides and the lack of floral resources in many agricultural landscapes, beekeepers have moved numerous honey bee colonies in protected areas which could shelter an important diversity of wild bees. Here, we investigated the seasonal dynamics of the competition between honey bees and wild bees through a two‐year study of plant–bee networks in a Mediterranean protected area. We recorded the visitation rates of four bee groups: honey bees, small wild bees, large wild bees and bumblebees. Our study reveals that the competition for floral resources induced by honey bees is especially strong during the early spring and then decreases along the season for all groups of wild bees. We observed a competitive exclusion of all groups of wild bees illustrated by an avoidance of well‐flowered plant species in presence of honey bees. As a consequence, we detected a rewiring of large and small bee floral preferences linked to the presence of honey bees. In presence of honey bees, Rosmarinus officinalis and Cistus albidus were significantly less visited by large bees. This study underlines the need to mitigate the establishment of numerous honey bee colonies in protected areas as honey bees could strongly affect the foraging activity of wild bees.