Natural Landscape Conditions Research Articles

Urban Space and Its Structural Components Study in Russian Historiography

The article examines the historiography of studies devoted to various components of urban space and approaches to its study in Russian historical urban studies. It is noted that in most of the studies on the history of the city, the urban space is considered only partially, from the point of view of a separate aspect, which often does not allow to form a complete picture. The authors trace the formation of modern trends in the study of the city as a historical phenomenon, highlight the main components of the concept of "urban space", the study of which together allows you to make a synthetic description of the city space and trace its changes in the historical perspective, such as natural landscape conditions, development, zoning, culture, as well as the activities of the citizens themselves. Each of these aspects contains a separate layer of characteristics that are significant for understanding urban space. From the point of view of the historical process, the importance of each of these components for the representativeness of research findings is traced. The importance of multidimensional analysis of the city's space to identify patterns of historical development is emphasized. The conclusions reflect the main trends in the study of urban space in different periods.

Assessing Impacts of Human Stressors on Stream Fish Habitats across the Mississippi River Basin

Effective conservation of stream fishes and their habitats is complicated by the fact that human stressors alter the way in which natural factors such as stream size, catchment geology, and regional climate influence stream ecosystems. Consequently, efforts to assess the condition of stream fishes and their habitats must not only attempt to characterize the effects of human stressors but must account for the effects of natural influences as well. This study is an assessment of all stream fish habitats in the Mississippi River basin, USA. The basin supports over 400 stream fish species, drains a land area of 3.2 M km2, and includes a myriad of human stressors such as intensive agriculture, urbanization, nutrient loading, and habitat fragmentation by dams and road/stream crossings. To effectively characterize types and levels of human stressors specifically impacting the basin’s stream fish species, our assessment approach first accounted for the influence of natural landscape conditions on species abundances with multiple steps, including stratifying our analyses by region and stream size and quantitatively modeling the influences of natural factors on stream fishes. We next quantified individual fish species responses to explicit human stressors for different measures of land use, fragmentation, and water quality, including summaries of measures in local vs. catchment extents. Results showed that many species had negative threshold responses to human stressors and that impacts varied by species, by region, and by the spatial extents in which stressors were summarized. Our spatially explicit results indicated the degree of stream reach impairment for specific stressor categories, for individual species, and for entire assemblages, all of which are types of information that can aid decision makers in achieving specific conservation goals in the region.

Practical Thinking on Landscape Renovation Design of the Riverbed and its Surrounding Areas of the Jiang River in Shiyan City

Based on the concept of common life between man and nature, the paper aims to guide people to deeply feel the nature. It combs and analyzes the landscape cases of the Jiang River by means of literature research and observation to achieve the transformation and upgrading of the stereotyped river landscape into the organic combination of art and nature. In the study, it is found that to achieve the ideal landscape effect, the transformation should be based on the concept of returning to nature, and the natural landscape conditions of the research objects should be combined to strengthen or weaken the characteristics of the base.

A Preliminary Exploration of Landscape Preferences Based on Naturalness and Visual Openness for College Students With Different Moods.

The interaction between man and nature causes people to have different preferences for their surrounding environment, and pleasant landscapes can bring both physical and mental benefits to people. Previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between moods and landscape preferences, and this study sought to explore the landscape preferences of college students under different moods. A total of 1,034 students participated in the survey, recovering 1,022 valid questionnaires. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale was used to evaluate the mental status of each respondent. The study on landscape characteristics proceeded in two steps (comprising four gradients): landscape naturalness and landscape visual openness. The research results show that under natural landscape conditions, college students in a fatigued state have a greater preference for the second-gradient (higher naturalness) landscape environment; under the conditions of landscape visual openness, college students in an indignant state have a greater preference for the second-gradient (relatively private) landscapes. These findings have significance for exploring the rehabilitation function of landscape architecture and have a guiding role for future landscape design.

ЭКОЛОГО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ ЗЕМЕЛЬ ВО ВЬЕТНАМЕ В УСЛОВИЯХ ИННОВАЦИОННОГО РАЗВИТИЯ

The article presents the results of analysis of ecological and economic features of agricultural land use, characterizing the main aspects of land resources management in terms of spatial and territorial conditions, soil quality, natural landscape conditions. Various methods of analyzing the efficiency of agricultural land use are analyzed. The aspects of the ecological and economic analysis of agricultural land use in Vietnam under the conditions of innovative development are considered. Environmental factors affecting land use are given. Recommendations for improving the ecological and economic efficiency of agricultural land use are presented.

Route persistence. Modelling and quantifying historical route-network stability from the Roman period to early-modern times (AD 100\u20131600): a case study from the Netherlands

Research on route-network stability is rare. In time, due to cultural and/or natural causes, settlement locations and route orientation shift. The nature of these spatial changes sheds light on the complex interaction between settlements and surrounding natural landscape conditions. This study investigates the stability of route networks in the Netherlands during the past two millennia by determining their persistence through time. Environmental, archaeological and historical data are used to reconstruct and compare route networks. By using network friction, archaeological data on settlement patterns and route networks in combination with historical data (e.g. old maps), we were able to model route-network persistence (not necessarily continuity) from the Roman to early medieval periods (AD 100–800) and from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Times (AD 800–1600). Results show that around 67.6% of the modelled early-medieval routes in the Netherlands are persistent with routes in the Roman period. Covering a much larger surface area of the Netherlands, 24.5% of the early-modern routes show a clear persistence with their early-medieval counterparts. Besides the differences in surface area, this downfall can largely be explained by cultural dynamics, with 71.4% of the early-modern route network following modelled movement corridors already in existence during the Early Middle Ages.

Effects of spatial heterogeneity in moisture content on the horizontal spread of peat fires

The gravimetric moisture content of peat is the main factor limiting the ignition and spread propagation of smouldering fires. Our aim is to use controlled laboratory experiments to better understand how the spread of smouldering fires is influenced in natural landscape conditions where the moisture content of the top peat layer is not homogeneous. In this paper, we study for the first time the spread of peat fires across a spatial matrix of two moisture contents (dry/wet) in the laboratory. The experiments were undertaken using an open-top insulated box (22×18×6cm) filled with milled peat. The peat was ignited at one side of the box initiating smouldering and horizontal spread. Measurements of the peak temperature inside the peat, fire duration and longwave thermal radiation from the burning samples revealed important local changes of the smouldering behaviour in response to sharp gradients in moisture content. Both, peak temperatures and radiation in wetter peat (after the moisture gradient) were sensitive to the drier moisture condition (preceding the moisture gradient).Drier peat conditions before the moisture gradient led to higher temperatures and higher radiation flux from the fire during the first 6cm of horizontal spread into a wet peat patch. The total spread distance into a wet peat patch was affected by the moisture content gradient. We predicted that in most peat moisture gradients of relevance to natural ecosystems the fire self-extinguishes within the first 10cm of horizontal spread into a wet peat patch. Spread distances of more than 10cm are limited to wet peat patches below 160% moisture content (mass of water per mass of dry peat). We found that spatial gradients of moisture content have important local effects on the horizontal spread and should be considered in field and modelling studies.

Reconstructing the natural hydrology of the San Francisco Bay–Delta watershed

Abstract. We evaluated the impact of landscape changes on the amount of delta outflow reaching San Francisco Bay. The natural landscape was reconstructed and water balances were used to estimate the long-term annual average delta outflow that would have occurred under natural landscape conditions if the climate from 1922 to 2009 were to repeat itself. These outflows are referred to as natural delta outflows and are the first published estimate of natural delta outflow. These natural delta outflows were then compared with current delta outflows for the same climate and existing landscape, including its re-engineered system of reservoirs, canals, aqueducts, and pumping plants. This analysis shows that the long-term, annual average delta outflow under current conditions is consistent with outflow under natural landscape conditions. The amount of water currently used by farms, cities, and others is about equal to the amount of water formerly used by native vegetation. Development of water resources in California's Central Valley transferred water formerly used by native vegetation to new beneficial uses without substantially reducing the long-term annual average supply to the San Francisco Bay–Delta estuary. Based on this finding, it is unlikely that observed declines in native freshwater aquatic species are the result of annual average delta outflow reductions.

Constelaciones rurales serranas. Lógicas de ocupación del territorio y modelos de orden en el Norte de Traslasierra [Córdoba, Argentina

A set of intentioned readings made on an ancient Cordoba’s landscape reveal the occupation logics developed over centuries of territorial construction. These logics result from the combination of cultural ways of domination and exploitation of space, technical resources available and the natural landscape conditions imposed. From these processes, models of territorial order emerge as operational synthesis from the accumulation of human labor in the territory, gathering –in their own material structure– the key for future planning criteria. Just like constellation structures, order models express a form of spatial organization and some type of rurality specific from Northern Traslasierra. The aim is to arrive at a deep understanding of this postponed territory, show its cultural and natural resources and, through those, build a territorial narrative that places them back on the map of Cordoba’s regions.

A Novel Site Assessment Model based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process for Water Recreation Activities

With an increasing number of people participating in various water recreation activities, the popularity of leisure and recreational activities in Taiwan has grown. However, an urgent problem which requires an immediate solution is lack of quality activity sites. Through literature review, interviews with experts, and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, this research clarifies the assessment criteria for water recreation activity sites and explored the importance of these criteria. The results show that the most crucial criteria for the assessment of water recreation activity sites are Special Site Conditions, followed by District Operating Conditions, and then by Natural Landscape Conditions. The results of this study can be used as references for future planning or selection of water recreation activity sites.

Reljefo įtakos bendrosios dirvožemio anglies kitimui tyrimas ir vertinimas

Dirvožemis yra viena iš svarbiausių gamtinių Žemės landšaftų posistemių, žmogui turinčių išimtinę svarbą kaip pagrindinis maisto šaltinis. Viena aktualiausių susirūpinusios savo ateitimi žmonijos problemų – Žemės dirvožemių išsaugojimas, jų derlingumo ir sveikos būklės palaikymas vis didėjančio technogeninio slėgio ir gamtinių landšaftų degradacijos sąlygomis. Kaip papildomą neigiamo pobūdžio veiksnių Žemė privalės įveikti ir jau prasidėjusio globalaus atšilimo pasekmes, su kuriomis neišvengiamai susidurs ir Lietuvos žemės ūkis. Šiame darbe analizuojamas bendrosios anglies kitimas atsižvelgiant į reljefą. Lietuvoje šiuo metu eroduojami dirvožemio paviršiai sudaro 30–50 %. Erozijos paveikti dirvožemiai praranda derlingumą, o tai skatina ir tolesnę jų degradaciją.

INTERACTION BETWEEN LANDSCAPE AND RURAL SETTLEMENT IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE NORTHWEST OF THE RSFSR

A key element of the Soviet program for upgrading the economy of the non-Chernozem region of the RSFSR is the choice of rural settlements that show prospects of future growth. With particular reference to a study area in Novgorod Oblast, south and southwest of Lake Il'men', the author demonstrates that the selection of prospective population centers must be based on a comprehensive examination of natural landscape conditions, types of farming and the existing settlement pattern within particular collective and state farms. Two case studies of farms are discussed in detail.