Previous Land Research Articles

Methodology for selecting potential CO2 sinks in Macaronesia: The case of Gran Canaria

Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. One of the several ways to mitigate CO2 emissions is through afforestation, which prevents catastrophic environmental consequences. The mean average emission per tourist in the Canary Islands on their way to the islands is 0.48 Tn. Like most urban cities, the island of Gran Canaria faces the problem of CO2 emissions due to anthropogenic and human activities. Vegetation coverage significantly influences the distribution of temperature. The correlation between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of Gran Canaria, using satellite images from Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2, revealed a strong inverse relationship within all land use types, with an R2 value of 0.39. Land suitability analysis is a prerequisite for optimum utilization of available land resources. This study developed a suitability map for afforestation based on land use land cover, topographic, meteorologic, and socio-economic factors. Eight factors, including distance from settlements, land use, distance from the road, distance from water, elevation, slope, precipitation, and temperature, were employed according to previous studies, expert consultation, and land suitability mapping experience. After the criteria decision and data acquisition, maps of each criterion were created and transformed using the Suitability Modeler of ArcGIS Pro. The current study results show that 87% of the total area is suitable for afforestation and reforestation projects in Gran Canaria. Instead of using reactive methods to lessen the effects, the study recommends a proactive approach to climate adaptation through nature-based solutions. The study is part of an umbrella project of the Canary Islands and Spain in general, which considers the contributions of local and institutional stakeholders at different stages of the project. The next stage will be to design a forest afforestation and reforestation project, considering the kind of tree species needed, the methods required to implement it, and the management guidelines about the initial years of installation and growth of the new trees. The most crucial technical choice is which forest species to choose, as it will determine the success of the reforestation effort. The new revegetated space's ability to sequester carbon dioxide will primarily rely on the productivity of the land used for forest reforestation, the species chosen, and the introduced planting density.

Land use history and landscape forest cover determine tropical forest recovery

Abstract To conserve biodiversity and combat climate change it is vital to restore forest ecosystems. Natural forest regrowth is a nature‐based solution to restore forests, but it has rarely been evaluated how this is affected by the combination of previous land use intensity and surrounding forest cover, and how this varies between the two main tropical forest types; dry and wet forests. Thirty‐three plots were established on abandoned agricultural fields in a dry (13 plots) and wet (20 plots) tropical forest in Mexico and monitored 3 years for the following tree community attributes: structure, diversity, regeneration mode, potential symbioses with N fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. Previous land use intensity was described using interviews, and landscape forest cover and fragmentation within a 1000 m radius surrounding the plots were quantified using satellite images. Variable importance analyses indicated that land use intensity was more important than forest cover and fragmentation for the state of the tree community attributes after 3 years. This suggests that previous land use impacts the start of succession and leaves important legacies on the vegetation. Land use intensity, forest cover and fragmentation were equally important in determining the change in tree community attributes over time, indicating that both management practices and dispersal shape subsequently community assembly. A higher land use intensity decreases tree richness recovery, while size of the largest forest patch decreases tree density and connectivity of these patches increases tree density. The dry forest had a faster increase in tree density recovery compared to the wet forest through a high initial resprouting capacity and abiotically dispersed trees. Synthesis and applications: Both a higher land use intensity and fragmented forest landscape decreases the speed of forest recovery, indicating that human actions and landscape transformation shape the course of succession. Restoration in fragmented forest landscapes through natural regeneration is more suitable in areas with low previous land use intensity, higher forest connectivity and abiotically dispersed species. Effective restoration should therefore consider both land use history and landscape forest cover and be tailored to local socio‐ecological conditions.

Are biomass feedstocks sustainable? A systematic review of three key sustainability metrics

AbstractBiomass feedstocks are growing in importance due to their ability to serve as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels for large scale energy generation, with bioenergy projected to be a growing part of the UK's energy mix. Combined with technologies such as carbon capture and storage, sustainable bioenergy has the potential to produce negative emissions with including counterbalancing residual emissions. This paper presents a systematic review of the sustainability impacts of wood biomass (forestry/SRC) and Miscanthus, which are grown as energy fuels, comparing the three key indicators of sustainability: soil organic carbon sequestration rates, biodiversity, and water use efficiency (WUE). Analysis has shown significant influence from primary soil composition (p < 0.001) and previous land use (p < 0.001) on soil organic carbon sequestration rates following conversion to biomass feedstock production. Conversion from arable to forestry can have positive rates of sequestration of 1.4 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1 on mineral soils, while similar conversions on a highly organic soils can lead to losses of −25 Mg C ha−1 year−1. This indicates a strong need for careful site selection for future forestry plantations. Miscanthus showed no preference under mineral or organic soils for carbon sequestration rate. Biodiversity at different trophic scales is impacted differently by biomass feedstock production. No significant impact on invertebrates was demonstrated between feedstocks but there is a significant difference between crops (p < 0.001) for vertebrates at higher trophic levels. A limited dataset was collected for WUE from the review, but analysis showed comparable WUE rates for Miscanthus and short rotation coppice, while forestry had significantly lower (p < 0.001) WUE. With global temperatures increasing and changes to climate, water stress is likely to increase. WUE will play an important role in the considerations dfor long term biomass feedstock planning and sourcing.

Problematic Land Buying and Selling Transactions

Introduction: Land ownership has become a primary need, but in the process of land ownership there are still problems. Basically, the acquisition of land rights according to the Decree of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs Number 21 of Article 1 Point 1, the acquisition of land is carried out by transferring land rights or through the delivery of release of land rights followed by granting rights. But this activity is not carried out in its entirety so that it will cause problems in granting rights to the community. Purposes of the Research: This research was conducted in Sanahu Village, Elpaputih District, West Seram Regency. This village prioritizes and gives importance to matters relating to customary land. However, based on the dinamics of the community, transactions carried out by the community should be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the legislation governing land registration in order to obtain legal certainty in the transactions carried out and aim for orderly administration in land sector. Methods of the Research: This research method is empirical juridical research that uses primary and secondary data. The legal materials used are primary legal materials, secondary legal materials with questionnaire and interview methods, data collection techniques with literature studies and field studies. Data processing and analysis techniques use descriptive analytical data analysis by identifying, classifying, then analyzing and describing according to the hierarchy. Results of the Research: Based on have not carried out the first land the results of the interviews, it is known that some people in Sanahu village do not know about the sale and purchase practices that should be taken in order to obtain legal certainty from the sale and purchase transactions carried out. This should be done based on the provisions of Article 19 paragraph 2 of the UUPA, Article 37 of PP 24 of 1997 concerning land registration. As a result, in the event of problems related to previous land transactions, the community had to resolve themselves in a family manner, either without or with assistance from local officials. As a result, the people of Sanahu village have not carried out the initial registration and maintenance of land registration data properly. Because land administration is not orderly, if there are land issues in transactions carried out either by transferring rights or encumbering rights, there will be problems in the future and limit land owners in carriying out legal actions.

Land cover effects on regenerants density and richness in restoration treatments in the Atlantic Rainforest biome

There is good evidence that the results of a restoration program depend largely on the landscape context. In restoration projects, it is crucial to consider the previous land uses and covers and landscape configuration as they have a significant impact on the entire process, especially seed dispersal and natural regeneration of sites. Thus, the objective of this work was to verify the effect of landscape (i.e., land use) on restoration success of total planting, seed sowing and natural regeneration sites in the Atlantic Forest biome, southeast Brazil. The methodology employed was based on demonstration units of restoration. The focus was on regenerant richness and abundance indicators, along with land use and land cover data (class area) from 2010, 2015, and 2020, obtained from the MapBiomas Project. Generalized linear models and correlation analysis were used for the study. We hypothesize that a landscape with more forest and natural regeneration cover (mosaic of agriculture and pasture) would positively affect regenerants in restored sites, which we only observed for natural regeneration treatment sites. In active restoration treatment sites, mosaic of agriculture and pasture was negatively and farming was positively associated to regenerants. We also found greater density and richness of regenerants in natural regeneration treatment sites than in seed sowing and seedling planting. The influence of the surrounding landscape, particularly mosaic, played a crucial role in this success. In addition, land use cover history, as we observed in classes in the last five and ten years, did explain regenerants in studied sites. Thus, results show that the characterization of landscape context and previous land-use history is essential to understand the limitations to succession and define cost-effective restoration strategies.

Pastoralism in the high tropical Andes: A review of the effect of grazing intensity on plant diversity and ecosystem services

AbstractAimsPastoralism is a land‐use system that involves the care and use of grazing livestock and has been more common in areas of low resource availability. In this review, we analyze the impact of pastoralism on biodiversity and ecosystem services across the tropical Andes. This region is the most extensive and populated tropical mountain region in the world and presents a high diversity of biomes, livestock types and management histories. Given that pastoralism is a main land use here, understanding its impacts is important for providing appropriate recommendations for sustainable management.LocationTropical Andes; Venezuela to the north of Argentina and Chile.MethodsTo understand these impacts, we performed a systematic literature search (August 2021) and obtained 103 articles. We created a conceptual framework to map how available research has contributed to our understanding of the main pastoral systems, their associated management strategies and the impact of different grazing intensities on vegetation cover/diversity and ecosystem services.ResultsWe found that research has focused on two leading pastoral systems in the region: bovines in the páramo biome of the northern Andes and camelids in the puna biome of the central Andes. We found important environmental impacts at high grazing intensities for both the puna camelid and páramo bovine pastoral systems, including a decrease in soil organic carbon and an increase in soil compaction, a decrease in above‐ground biomass, plant species richness, and graminoid cover, as well as clear changes in the growth‐form composition of vegetation.ConclusionsGiven these findings, we recommend coordinated research efforts using common methodologies, documenting current and previous land use, including stocking rates, and combining observational and experimental approaches to develop a more integrated understanding of pastoralism's impacts across this diverse and vulnerable region.

ERRORS IN THE LAND RECORD OF RIGHTS (KHAIAN) AND THE REMEDIAL PROCEDURE IN BANGLADESH: AN ANALYSIS OF EXISTING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND FUTURE REFORMS

Land record of rights (known as khatian in Bangla) is an indispensable and integral part of land administration which contains and recognizes the chain of title. It is prepared through surveying and mapping of land plots and updating ownership. It shows all the detailed interests and contains the entire information of the previous and present land owners. However, inappropriate record of rights for example mistakes in land records increases difficulties in every aspect of land tenure. In these circumstances, it is essential to be familiar with record of rights mechanism while making land records so that no mistake takes place. This paper aims to study the existing categories of land record of rights, types of usual mistakes in the record, reasons for such mistakes, methods of correction of mistakes, and liability for such mistakes in the land record of rights. In addition, this paper intends to assess the categories of core causes of challenges in land survey and records, and provides recommendations to overcome those challenges. This article is based on the primary and secondary sources and descriptive in nature. Secondary data has been collected from text books, journal articles, judicial precedents, websites, reports and so on. In completing this study, qualitative approach has been adopted to make an analytical reasoning in identifying the relevant laws as regards Record-of-rights in Bangladesh. Practical experience as a legal officer and associates of Law Chambers has been reflected in this article.

Those with constant property rights have perseverance: China’s land tenure reform promotes environment-friendly farming practices

Few studies have used large-scale household-level panel data to quantify the impact of land tenure reform on environment-friendly farming practices from a chemical fertiliser reduction perspective. This study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between land certification and farmers’ chemical fertiliser use. It employs nationally representative panel data from the Chinese Family Database and a propensity score matching and difference-in-difference approach. The results show that land certification significantly reduces the usage of chemical fertilisers, mainly by increasing long-term investment, promoting land renting, and inhibiting off-farm employment. This effect varies greatly between farmers with and without land certification experience before the new round of land certification, although no significant difference exists based on whether farmers have previous land adjustment experience. Furthermore, land certification also helps increase the probability of straw recycling and farm manure use. Accordingly, developing countries can combine land tenure reform with environment-friendly farming practices. Through large-scale land certification reforms, and the continuous enhancement of land tenure security, a solid foundation for a land tenure system for sustainable agricultural development can be established.

Analisis Perubahan Tutupan Lahan Kecamatan Batang Anai Kabupaten Padang Pariaman Tahun 2002-2022

Land cover change is a process of change from previous land cover to other land cover and is also long or temporary in nature which is a form of logical consequence of growth and transformation. The purpose of this study was to identify and determine land cover in Batang Anai Sub-district. The research method uses the overlay method, map analysis approach and also regression statistics, namely Landsat images of land cover of the study area in 2002 and 2022 sourced from the Research Center. Significant changes in the area of each category reflect major shifts in the land use structure of the area over the period 2002 to 2022. An increase in urban and wet-rice farming, along with a decrease in the area of shrubs, are highlighted. The driving factor for land change in the Batang Anai sub-district is caused by people who want to increase their income from existing land by expanding their plantation or agricultural land and also building built-up land.

Patterns of deadwood amount and deadwood diversity along a natural forest recovery gradient from agriculture to old-growth lowland tropical forests

AbstractDeadwood is a key component of nutrient cycling in natural tropical forests, serving as a globally important carbon storage and habitat for a high number of species. The conversion of tropical forests to agriculture modifies deadwood pools, but we know little about deadwood dynamics in forests recovering from human disturbance. Here we quantified the volume and diversity of coarse woody debris (CWD, ≥ 7 cm diameter) and the mass of fine woody debris (FWD, < 7 cm) along a chronosequence of natural forest recovery in the lowlands of the Ecuadorian Chocó region. We sampled forest plots ranging from 1–37 years of recovery post-cessation of agricultural use as either cacao plantation or cattle pasture, as well as actively managed cacao plantations and cattle pastures, and old-growth forests. In contrast to our expectation, we found no significant increase in deadwood volume with recovery time. The diversity in size, decay stage and type of CWD increased along the recovery gradient, with no effect of previous land use type. The mass of FWD increased overall across the recovery gradient, but these results were driven by a steep increase in former pastures, with no change observed in former cacao plantations. We suggest that the range of sizes and decomposition stages of deadwood found in these two major tropical agricultural systems could provide suitable resources for saproxylic organisms and an overlooked carbon storage outside old-growth forests. Our estimates of deadwood in agricultural systems and recovering forests can help improve global assessments of carbon storage and release in the tropics.

Early production of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and willow (Salix spp.) indicates carbon accumulation potential in Appalachian reclaimed mine and agriculture soil

AbstractThe production of bioproduct feedstocks such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and willow (Salix spp.) on degraded lands provides an opportunity to grow dedicated bioenergy crops with the potential to capture and store carbon in the soil while reducing competition with land for food production. However, how the production of these crops alters plant–soil–microbe interactions that govern soil C accumulation in highly degraded soil is underexplored. The objectives of this study were to examine select biological and chemical properties related to stable soil organic matter (SOM) production from the growth of switchgrass and willow on marginal soil over two growing seasons and whether biochar amendment can positively affect these parameters. To address our objectives, paired former surface mined lands and non‐mine impacted marginal agriculture sites were selected across West Virginia, USA, and biochar and unamended control treatments were imposed. Through the first two growing seasons, microbial activity and demand for carbon (C) increased and was accompanied by a shift in extracellular enzyme investment for decomposition‐associated enzymes. Mineral‐associated organic matter C increased over the two growing seasons, and this increase was greater in the mine sites compared to the agriculture sites. Compared to each site's previous land use, C losses were observed under bioproduct systems in the agriculture, but not the mine sites. Biochar amendments did not impact microbial activity but did increase the C:N of SOM. Overall, our results suggest that the early growth of switchgrass and willow can result in C accumulation in marginal and highly degraded lands.

Development of a gridded yield data archive for farm management and research at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

AbstractHigh‐quality, gridded maps of crop yield, which discern the spatial variability in productivity across individual farm fields, are extremely valuable in numerous agricultural and remote sensing applications. The availability of these data was greatly facilitated by the development and adoption of grain yield monitors starting in the early 1990s. However, the utility of raw yield monitor data is limited if additional processing has not been carried out to ensure data quality. In addition, a readily accessible data repository that allows for examining long‐term yield variability in response to climate and management is often not available. We present a protocol for producing a multi‐year (7 years currently processed), gridded yield data archive derived from yield monitor data acquired from over 40 production fields at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, MD. Production of the archive involved the projection of the yield monitor data into a geographic coordinate system suitable for mapping, the identification and removal of data outliers, and the production of gridded, spatially interpolated yield maps using block Kriging. All map products were produced in common, nonproprietary file formats for easy access. Preliminary assessments of the processed yield monitor data have underscored the necessity of data filtering and have shown the influence of previous land use practices and biophysical properties, such as topography and soil moisture availability, on yield response. We discuss the use of spatially interpolated, archival yield maps in the implementation of precision farming techniques such as the development of site‐specific variable rate prescriptions as well as remote sensing applications, including the selection of field sites for long‐term agricultural experiments and the assessment of crop modeling approaches. The gridded yield data archive will be housed at the National Agricultural Library as a dynamic dataset that will continue to expand in breadth and depth. It will be a part of and provide support to internal USDA yield monitoring investigations as well as complementary external efforts. All geospatial data delivered to NAL will adhere to the ISO 19115 Geospatial Metadata Standards to provide the user with a full understanding of the yield monitor and associated datasets.

Evaluating the Topographic Factors for Land Suitability Mapping of Specialty Crops in Southern Ontario

Climate change research identifies risks to agriculture that will impact agricultural land suitability. To mitigate these impacts, agricultural growing regions will need to adapt, diversify, or shift in location. Various machine learning algorithms have successfully modelled agricultural land suitability globally, predominantly using climate and soil features. Topography controls many of the environmental processes that impact agriculture, including soils, hydrology, and nutrient availability. This research evaluated the relationship between specialty crops and topography using land-surface parameters extracted from a 30 m DEM, soil features, and specialty crop presence/absence data derived from eight years of previous land classifications in southern Ontario, Canada. Using random forest, a model was developed for each specialty crop where feature permutation importance, Matthew’s correlation coefficient, and the area under the precision-recall curve was calculated. Elevation relative to watershed minimum and maximum, direct radiation on Day 172, and spherical standard deviation of normals were identified as the mean most important topographic features across all models and beet crops were found to have the highest association with topographic features. These results identify locations of agricultural expansion opportunities if climate becomes more favourable. The importance of topography in addition to climate and soils when identifying suitable areas for specialty crops is also highlighted.

Extending irrigation reservoir histories for improved groundwater modeling and conjunctive water management in two Arkansas critical groundwater areas

Agricultural land managers in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain rely on the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer for the majority of the water used for irrigation in the region. Pumping that outpaces recharge has resulted in significant cones of depression in the region, increasing pumping costs and forcing producers to use more surface water, often in the form of constructing on-farm storage reservoirs. At the same time, efforts are underway to improve groundwater models to run scenarios of conjunctive water management in the region. The improved models require accurate depiction of how the system is being managed including the use of on-farm storage reservoirs. This study extends our knowledge of on-farm storage reservoir construction from those established by a previous study that tracked reservoir construction between 1996 and 2015 backward an additional 20 years to 1976. This was accomplished by using older multi-band satellite and aerial imagery. The study area covers portions of two Critical Groundwater Regions in eastern Arkansas. Reservoir construction was classified into five-year bins starting in 1976 and ending in 2015. Details of how older imagery was processed and analyzed are provided. Previously, nearly 50% of the on-farm storage reservoirs had unknown construction dates, but this research study resolved construction dates for 85% and 72% of the reservoirs in the two study areas. Relationships between time and depth to groundwater, reservoir size, previous land use, and saturated aquifer thickness are described and contrasted in the two study areas across the 40-year study period. Use of the information provided will help guide policy and resource allocation for future reservoir construction activities and help improve conjunctive water management of the region. Specifically, the addition of this historic information will allow modelers to further refine groundwater-surface water models and should improve water resources scenarios that include reservoirs as a tool to reduce groundwater decline.

Health Assessment of Free-Ranging Eastern Indigo Snakes (Drymarchon couperi) from Hydrologic Restoration Construction Sites in South Florida, USA.

There is a paucity of information regarding the health status of free-ranging eastern indigo snakes (EIS; Drymarchon couperi) in heavily modified and developing landscapes. As a component of regional Florida Everglades restoration efforts, several areas occupied by EIS are being converted from agricultural lands to reservoirs. From 2020 to 2022, 28 EIS were opportunistically captured at two of these sites and brought into captivity to join a captive breeding colony; however, 11 snakes died within 5 mo of capture. Health assessments were performed on 28 individuals and included hematology and plasma biochemistry analysis, as well as screening for pesticide contaminant levels, parasites, and other pathogens. Overall, the presence of pathogens was relatively high, suggesting immunosuppression secondary to stress: 25/28 (89.4%) Kalicephalus sp.; 12/28 (42.9%) Raillietiella orientalis; 11/28 (39.2%) Ochetosoma validum; 7/28 (25.0%) Cryptosporidium serpentis; 3/28 (10.7%) snake adenovirus 1; and 1/28 (3.6%) Ferlavirus genotype C. Stress may have been caused by physical displacement, habitat modification, and noise pollution. These potential stressors (including the presence of remnant harmful chemicals from previous land use and the impacts on this federally threatened species) should be considered further when making restoration or construction decisions.

Long-term dynamics of forests with Pinus sibirica in the upper reaches of the River Kolva (Northern Pre-Urals, Russia) from 1938 to 2023

Forest ecosystems have been impacted by human activity over several millennia in a variety of ways. Previous land use activity has not only changed the ratio of various terrestrial ecosystems, but also influenced the distribution of tree species. The insight into the forest species composition, dynamics and revealing how it differs from the modern one should be of decisive importance for the identification and conservation of the most valuable forests, as well as the restoration of ones previously disturbed. The density and distribution of some species continues to decline rapidly due to the anthropogenic activity. This problem is most urgent in boreal forests, formed by a limited set of tree species. Studies of the long-lived tree species dynamics and their ability to restore after various types of disturbances deserve special attention. Based on analysis of forest management materials from 1938 and 2023, this paper was aimed to analyse the dynamics of forests with the participation of Pinus sibirica in the Northern Pre-Urals (Permsky Krai, Russia), on the western border of the species' natural range. In 1938, the forests with Pinus sibirica occupied 16.6% of all forests in the research area. In 1938, most forests with Pinus sibirica (64%) were forests, in which P. sibirica was represented by only 1–5% of the stock. Pinus sibirica-dominated forests were almost absent, with only one site with 60% dominance of P. sibirica, and five sites with 40% dominance of P. sibirica. Over the next 85 years, the area of forests with Pinus sibirica participation in the research area has decreased by 2.5 times due to the impact of clear cuttings and forest fires. By 2023, the ratio of forest areas with various proportions of Pinus sibirica participation had changed considerably. The highest changes were found in forests with Pinus sibirica participation of 1%, 5% and 20% of the stock. Analysis of the typological structure of forests showed that at present Pinus sibirica has survived only in natural dark-coniferous forests, which have not been affected previously by forestry activities and fires. Due to the exceptionally slow regeneration following fires and logging activities, Pinus sibirica is absent in the forests formed over the studied period. The current federal legal restrictions prove ineffective as they target the preservation of forest stands containing over 30% of Pinus sibirica, while the majority of forests in the study area contain less proportion of this species. We believe that it is necessary to develop uniform measures to preserve existing and restore the lost Pinus sibirica populations in the Komi Republic and the Permsky Krai, including the prohibitions on the logging of forests with any proportion of Pinus sibirica as well as the creation of P. sibirica forest plantations.

The Implementation of the Acknowledgment of Rights through the Conversion of Customary Land Ownership

To ensure legal certainty and the protection of the rights of each party to land ownership, including customary lands, it is necessary for the state to regulate this matter. One of the substantial triggers for conflicts is the neglect of the rights of indigenous communities, especially concerning the recognition of customary land, and there is still confusion in land regulations. The second root cause is that the conversion process of land rights from customary land to one of the rights under the Agrarian Law (UUPA) is still fully regulated by the law. The conclusion of the research in this thesis is that the implementation of recognition through the conversion of customary land aims to acknowledge previous land rights and to ensure legal certainty, which can contribute to the realization of a just and prosperous society as envisioned by Article 33 Paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Obstacles in the implementation of the recognition of customary land rights include the lack of legal awareness among the community, the perception that recognition by the indigenous community is already strong, a lengthy and costly conversion process, incomplete land administration systems, and a shortage of technical conversion personnel. To address these obstacles, the Land Office plays a crucial role in conducting outreach and implementing policies related to the recognition of rights through the conversion of customary land ownership.

Unsettling in Norrland

This research uses film, photography and projection to analyse the changing space of Northern Sweden (Norrland). This peripheral region is one of the most rapidly reconfiguring spaces in Europe, with on-going programmes of corporate and state investment to exploit space and natural resources for settlement and extraction.
 The images are part of an archive of the moving of buildings, a common practice in the region. Buildings are moved in relation to changing environmental conditions and now urban land values and global property speculation. It is understood to be a distinct process of what David Harvey has described as “remaking capitalism’s geography”1
 Images analyse the material conditions, ideology and power in this frontier economy. The project considers an architecture of de-growth2, challenging ideas of the expanding urbanisation of Norrland. As land values and modes of occupation change, buildings are displaced from the urban centre to increase occupation density through speculative investment. This process displaces social space and previous land formations. The city of Kiruna has been entirely displaced by expanding mine workings. The practice of relocation also has the capacity to shift large-scale historic architectures, as a distinct form of caretaking.
 In this moment of new waves of investment in mining and forestry, of urbanisation of parts of the region, predicated on an underlying and largely uncontested agenda of ‘development’, the archive offers other conceptions of space and architectural production.
 The images consider the wrenching of a house from its location and moving it to another location, documenting this process of detachment. It records the re-arrangements of space between land and building. Displacement is illuminated through projections to unsettle, by superimposing architectures onto previous conditions. Keywords: Unsettling, de-growth, relocation, house-moving, displacement.
 Cover image: Robin Serjeant, “Midwinter projection inside the house.”, Degernäs, December 2021, Film stills

Is inclusive more elusive? An impact assessment analysis on designating environmental justice communities in the US

As a policy objective, environmental justice (EJ) aims to promote the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to environmental laws and regulations. At the current stage of EJ policy, federal and state regulators have attempted to prioritize populations for receiving federal and state grants and other benefits or to incentivize private investment. Using mapping and screening tools, policymakers have identified communities as “environmental justice communities”, “disadvantaged”, or “overburdened” based on selected social, economic, environmental, and health indicators. The overarching goal of the study is to understand the impacts of the environmental justice policy at the federal and state level, the extent to which the designation of EJ communities is a representative illustration of the populations experiencing environmental burdens, and their link to systemic racism, i.e., redlining.A methodology for assessing the implications of EJ definitions is proposed through a data-driven approach using socioeconomic and environmental indicators and examining previous land use discriminatory decision-making. The findings of the study have direct implications on the distribution of federal and state resources towards underserved and overburdened communities, but also in the methodologies utilized for environmental impact assessments (EIAs). The approach is demonstrated as a showcase study for the State of Connecticut, but the proposed methodology is of significance for future research on environmental impact assessments and policymakers nationwide. Our analysis points to four main key conclusions: a) a sole indicator to designate EJ communities, although it might seem more inclusive, is not representative of the disproportionate burdens communities are experiencing, b) race is a factor that cannot be neglected to identify injustices as is the parameter most correlated with environmental burdens, c) sophisticated tools that combine both social and environmental criteria in the designation provide a more accurate description of the environmentally challenged populations, and d) formerly redlined areas are highly associated with present inequalities, which indicates the value of the historical context in the identification of today's EJ communities, and the value of integrating redlining maps as a screening factor to designate EJ populations.

Mapping and Modelling of Land Use Change in Nepal

Land use changes are a common occurrence resulting from different factors in Nepal. There is a need for better understanding of the temporal and spatial change dynamics of land uses as well as their future projections. This paper assesses the land use change and its impact on carbon stocks and provides future scenarios of land use changes and their impacts on carbon stocks. The methods involved classification of medium resolution satellite image using Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) techniques, analysis of the change across three time frames,modelling the future land use, and assessment of the impacts on carbon stocks. OBIA was used for the image segmentation and image classification for the assessment of land uses present in two different periods i.e. 2010 and 1990. The classification of the images was carried out using the spectral characteristics of the Landsat images. Image indices, i.e., Vegetation Index were used for land use classification.
 The land use changes over time and space was analysed using Geographical Information System (GIS) overlaying techniques. A future scenario model was prepared using Land Change Modeler of IDRISI software. The study has focused on the land use changes and their future projection based on the potential transition of the land uses. The comparison of land use maps from 1990 to 2010 shows that the different pattern of annual land use changes in different districts such as forest areas are increasing at annual rate of 0.3 per cent in Rasuwa, 2.3 percent in Gorkha and 0.6 per cent in Chitwan. Similarly, the agricultural land is decreasing at the annual rate of 0.2 per cent in Rasuwa, 2.4 per cent in Gorkha and 0.8 per cent in Chitwan. Likewise, the future projection of land uses in all the three sites was made using the previous land use pattern and driving forces. There was a 0.1 per cent change annually in forest coveragein both Gorkha and Rasuwa whereas Chitwan showed higher rate of forest cover change of 0.2 per cent annually.