Previous Land Research Articles

Identifying Causes of Urban Differential Subsidence in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta by Combining InSAR and Field Observations

The Mekong delta, like many deltas around the world, is subsiding at a relatively high rate, predominately due to natural compaction and groundwater overexploitation. Land subsidence influences many urbanized areas in the delta. Loading, differences in infrastructural foundation depths, land-use history, and subsurface heterogeneity cause a high spatial variability in subsidence rates. While overall subsidence of a city increases its exposure to flooding and reduces the ability to drain excess surface water, differential subsidence results in damage to buildings and above-ground and underground infrastructure. However, the exact contribution of different processes driving differential subsidence within cities in the Mekong delta has not been quantified yet. In this study we aim to identify and quantify drivers of processes causing differential subsidence within three major cities in the Vietnamese Mekong delta: Can Tho, Ca Mau and Long Xuyen. Satellite-based PS-InSAR (Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) vertical velocity datasets were used to identify structures that moved at vertical velocities different from their surroundings. The selected buildings were surveyed in the field to measure vertical offsets between their foundation and the surface level of their surroundings. Additionally, building specific information, such as construction year and piling depth, were collected to investigate the effect of piling depth and time since construction on differential vertical subsidence. Analysis of the PS-InSAR-based velocities from the individual buildings revealed that most buildings in this survey showed less vertical movement compared to their surroundings. Most of these buildings have a piled foundation, which seems to give them more stability. The difference in subsidence rate can be up to 30 mm/year, revealing the contribution of shallow compaction processes above the piled foundation level (up to 20 m depth). This way, piling depths can be used to quantify depth-dependent subsidence. Other local factors such as previous land use, loading of structures without a piled foundation and variation in piling depth, i.e., which subsurface layer the structures are founded on, are proposed as important factors determining urban differential subsidence. PS-InSAR data, in combination with field observations and site-specific information (e.g., piling depths, land use, loading), provides an excellent opportunity to study urban differential subsidence and quantify depth-dependent subsidence rates. Knowing the magnitude of differential subsidence in urban areas helps to differentiate between local and delta wide subsidence patterns in InSAR-based velocity data and to further improve estimates of future subsidence.

Crossroads of Change: The People and the Land of Pecos by Cori Knudten and Maren Bzdek

Reviewed by: Crossroads of Change: The People and the Land of Pecos by Cori Knudten and Maren Bzdek Jen Corrinne Brown Crossroads of Change: The People and the Land of Pecos. By Cori Knudten and Maren Bzdek. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. Pp. 224. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Part of the Public Lands History series at the University of Oklahoma Press, Crossroads of Change is an environmental history of Pecos National Historic Park. The park is a thirty-minute drive southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near the headwaters of the Pecos River in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and it offers a unique overview of southwestern history. It protects the ruins of Pecos Pueblo, one of the largest pueblos at the time of Spanish arrival, a Spanish mission, a Civil War battlefield, and a former cattle ranch. Authors Cori Knudten and Maren Bzdek cover these shifting [End Page 479] land uses within the changing political and social landscape of the upper Pecos Valley. Arranged chronologically, the book highlights the successive management regimes of the Indigenous Pecos people, Hispanic settlers, Anglo settlers, Civil War soldiers, later ranchers (including dude ranches), and finally the state and federal managers. Subsistence farming, commercial livestock grazing, mining, timber cutting, and tourism all affected, and sometimes degraded, the arid, mountainous environs of the upper Pecos Valley. In addition to changing land practices, Knudten and Bzdek cover the contentious land claims common in U.S. Southwest history. For Indigenous people, centuries of disease, Apache and Comanche raiding, Hispano land grabs, and other challenges made life at Pecos Pueblo increasingly untenable. They moved to Jemez Pueblo in 1838. For the Hispanic settlers, the aftermath of the Mexican-American War led to more American settlement in the area and loss of previous land grants. Given the layered history of dispossession, conflicts continued far into the twentieth century. The book's coverage reflects its own origins. It started out as a National Park Service (NPS) contract and historical report by the two authors. The early chapters synthesize archaeological studies, translated documents, and secondary sources. Southwestern historians will not find much new here, but the focus on the upper Pecos Valley offers an entry point into this larger history for general readers and tourists. In later chapters, the authors use more archival sources, manuscript collections, and the occasional interview. Given these origins, the chapters that focus on the twentieth century and federal management remain the strongest. In 1935, the lands around Pecos Pueblo were transferred to the state of New Mexico. The lack of funding and protections for the ruins that followed from state-monument status proved problematic. This eventually led to Pecos Pueblo becoming a national monument administered by the National Park Service, a designation that became official in 1966. The site also benefited from philanthropic neighbors. Oil tycoon Elijah E. "Buddy" Fogelson and his actress wife, Greer Garson Fogelson, donated money and parts of their massive ranch to the monument. In the late 1980s, after Fogelson died, the Mellon Foundation bought a 5,500-acre parcel of the ranch to donate to NPS. Southwest writer and conservationist William deBuys helped broker the deal. Such an addition required administrative changes, and in 1990, the monument became Pecos National Historic Park. Despite NPS's success in preserving the history of Pecos Pueblo, until recently few management decisions included the involvement of Pecos descendants from Jemez Pueblo and elsewhere. The authors noted that policies changed in the 1990s to include Pecos people as stakeholders in NPS management. But given its importance, I wished for more coverage [End Page 480] and analysis of this topic. Overall, Crossroads of Change offers a succinct resource for historians interested in federal management of southwestern public lands and should make a fine addition to the park store's shelves at Pecos National Historic Park. Jen Corrinne Brown Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Copyright © 2021 The Texas State Historical Association

Integrating spontaneous urban woodlands into the green infrastructure: Unexploited opportunities for urban regeneration

Urban forests have manifold social, economic, cultural and ecological benefits and are major components of the urban green infrastructure. Among them, spontaneous urban woodlands develop unintentionally on abandoned lands in both growing and shrinking cities and deserve additional attention. We aimed to describe the planning and social processes linked to failures and successes in recognising spontaneous woodlands in Italy. We collected data on the woodland area characteristics, urban settings, and former land use as well as on the planning and property evolution (e.g. land use zone designations) and citizens involvement for 19 sites in 13 representative Italian cities. Our results highlighted that spontaneous woodlands are heterogeneous in size and age, and grow on a variety of previous land uses, with residential and industrial being the most dominant. More than half of the urban plans designated land uses that require new soil sealing and tree plantations instead of maintaining the existing woodlands. Only in four case studies, urban plans recognised the spontaneous woodland, at least partially, as an element of the city’s green infrastructure. We pinpoint an overall deficiency of the planning process in considering spontaneous urban woodlands, although with some exceptions that can represent models for future planning. The role of citizens seemed pivotal, even if not necessarily decisive, in the promotion and maintenance of these woodlands as a real social and ecological asset. A complex and modern array of approaches should capitalise on the potential benefits of spontaneous urban woodlands with the participation of citizens as a strong element of governance.

Where and when are plantations established? Land-use replacement patterns of fast-growing plantations on agricultural land

The location of fast-growing plantations for energy reveals valuable information concerning farmers' preferences and land use change patterns, necessary to have adequate environmental and economic assessments. The present study analyses the last decades’ data concerning the establishment of willow, poplar and hybrid aspen plantations in Sweden. The analysis includes extension planted, a geo-statistical analysis of core location patterns, and the type of land being replaced or replacing plantations, for the period 1986–2017. The results show a steady decrease of willow plantations in recent years, which can be explained by changes in the policy framework (after 1996) and the increase in cereal prices (after 2007). The decline is partially offset by the establishment of new poplar and hybrid aspen plantations. New plantations tend to spread in southern areas; willow tends to be planted on higher productivity agricultural areas, and poplar on less productive land. There is a trend towards preferring smaller plantations (<1 ha) versus large ones (>10 ha). Although many willow plantations have been established on previous cereal land (particularly on spring barley and winter wheat), this pattern changed after 2007, preferring grasses and fallow land. The latter is the most common land use replaced by poplar plantations. These shares may have important applications in economic and environmental assessments; the general spatial patterns of the main fast-growing species for biomass can provide a valid reference for the future implementation of bioenergy production systems.

What Factors Influence Rural-To-Urban Migrant Peasants to Rent out Their Household Farmland? Evidence from China’s Pearl River Delta

With the accommodative policy and rapid urbanization in China, large-scale migration of rural-to-urban peasants seeking nonagricultural employment has occurred. This has led to farmland rental, which is considered an effective means of land arrangement. Multiple variables were selected to examine the influencing factors of land rental for rural–urban peasants in China by using survey data collected in six core cities of the Pearl River Delta and a logistic regression model. This study revealed that benefits, household members, and urban living conditions and urban integration are factors that affect land rental. According to the results, improvements in working conditions, urban social insurance and urban integration, annual gross household income, and secure land ownership can promote land rental, whereas stronger hometown connections and parenting inhibit land rental. Women and youth excluded from China’s previous land allocation hold complex attitudes toward land rental, with age and sex statistically significant variables affecting land rental. We underscore the influence of family members and urban living conditions for land rental, which were ignored in earlier studies, to provide suggestions for future policy development, with an emphasis on the land rental market and redistribution of idle land.

Study to Determine Levels of Cadmium in Cocoa Crops Applied to Inland Areas of Peru: “The Case of the Campo Verde-Honoria Tournavista Corridor”

The presence of cadmium (Cd) in cocoa crops is currently a serious problem for farmers and producers in various regions of South America. Because its exports of cocoa and derivatives to European markets are threatened by possible signs of contamination in cocoa beans for export. Territories with a low organic component predated and exploited by illegal logging, burning and the intensity of unsustainable land use is common in large Amazonian areas in countries of the region. These factors were incorporated in statistical analysis in order to relate them to the contents of Cd in soil, leaves and beans in the study areas located in Peru. Such as the Campo Verde-Honoria-Tournavista corridor (Ucayali Region and Huanuco Region). Cadmium concentrations were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. As a consequence of this study, we determined and concluded that the observed difference in distribution of Cd contents by sectors can be explained by previous land use and age of cocoa crop. Indeed, the average content of Cd in soil in all cocoa growing areas is higher than the standard established by the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM). However, when the measurements obtained in previously predated and exploited sectors are not considered, the Hotelling’s T2 simultaneous 90% confidence interval contains the value of the Peruvian standard 1.4 mg/kg. Therefore, with this information we prepare a geochemical Cd map in soils for the study area, which will help cocoa producers to identify areas that exceed the allowed Cd values. In this way, we can carry out in the future a mitigation plan for areas with Cd problems, which allows to reduce their content with major challenges to sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Transition from Animal-Based to Plant-Based Food Production to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture—The Case of Denmark

Curbing emissions from agriculture, and especially from livestock production, is essential in order to fulfil the Paris Agreement. Shifting to a diet lower in meat consumption has been emphasized in several studies. Based on the Planetary Health Diet developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, this study investigates the effect on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions of transitioning the Danish agricultural system, which currently relies mainly on meat and dairy production, towards increased focus on plant-based foods, combined with replacement or reduction of imported feed and carbon sequestration on previous agricultural land. The study finds a large potential for reducing emissions from Danish agriculture through implementation of the Planetary Health Diet, with reductions of up to 20.2 Mt CO2e (CO2 equivalents) (86.5%) under the most ambitious conditions. This demonstrates the potentially large benefits from transitioning towards a more plant-based European agricultural sector and underscores the need for European and national policies incentivizing this transition.

Land-use perturbations in ley grassland decouple the degradation of ancient soil organic matter from the storage of newly derived carbon inputs

Abstract. In a context of global change, soil has been identified as a potential carbon (C) sink, depending on land-use strategies. To detect the trends in carbon stocks after the implementation of new agricultural practices, early indicators, which can highlight changes in short timescales, are required. This study proposes the combined use of stable isotope probing and chemometrics applied to solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra to unveil the dynamics of the storage and mineralization of soil carbon (C) pools. We focused on light organic matter fractions isolated by density fractionation of soil water stable aggregates because they respond faster to changes in land use than the total soil organic matter (SOM). Samples were collected from an agricultural field experiment with grassland, continuous maize cropping, and ley grassland under temperate climate conditions. Our results indicated contrasting aggregate dynamics depending on land-use systems. Under our experimental conditions, grassland returns larger amounts of C as belowground inputs than maize cropping, evidencing a different distribution of light C fractions between aggregate classes. Coarse aboveground inputs from maize contributed mostly to larger macroaggregates. Land-use changes with the introduction of ley grassland provoked a decoupling of the storage and/or degradation processes after the grassland phase. The newly derived maize inputs were barely degraded during the first 3 years of maize cropping, whereas grassland-derived material was depleted. As a whole, results suggest large microbial proliferation as shown by 13C NMR under permanent grassland, then reduced within the first years after the land-use conversion, and finally restored. The study highlighted a fractal structure of the soil, determining a scattered spatial distribution of the cycles of storage and degradation of soil organic matter related to detritusphere dynamics. As a consequence, vegetal inputs from a new land use are creating new detritusphere microenvironments that may be disconnected from the dynamics of C cycle of the previous land use. The formation of those different and unconnected microenvironments may explain the observed legacy effect of the previous land use, since each microenvironment type contributes separately to the overall soil C cycle. The effects of the new land use on the soil C cycle are delayed until the different detritusphere microenvironments remain unconnected, and the ones from the previous land use represent the predominant microenvironment type. Increasing knowledge of the soil C dynamics at a fine scale will be helpful in refining the prediction models and land-use policies.

Multi-parameter assessment of soil quality under Miscanthus x giganteus crop at marginal sites in Île-de-France

In the context of increasing biomass cultivation for energy production in Europe, the objective of this study was to carry out a multi-parameter assessment of soil quality under Miscanthus x giganteus crop at marginal sites. Chemical (pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, C:N, metal trace elements), biological (microbial biomass, earthworm communities) and physical (aggregate stability, bulk density) soil properties were evaluated 5 years after planting Miscanthus on a polluted (CH) and unpolluted (MG) marginal sites and compared with adjacent undisturbed meadow areas and Miscanthus crop cultivated on an arable field (BF). The effect of Miscanthus on soil quality was site dependent and related to soil properties (texture), metal trace element (MTE) contamination and previous land use. At MG, where Miscanthus was cultivated on a previously undisturbed meadow, results suggested a negative effect of Miscanthus on soil biological properties with a lower earthworm abundance and biomass, and a worst functional and species structure in the Miscanthus than in the undisturbed meadow, despite a good yield. Results under Miscanthus at BF were similar in terms of soil quality to Miscanthus at MG and higher than under Miscanthus at the polluted site (CH). At CH, results suggested that Miscanthus may reduce the mobility of MTE, however further longer term studies, at a range of sites are needed to conclude about the impact of Miscanthus on soil quality at contaminated and/or uncontaminated sites.

A meta-analysis of changes in soil organic carbon stocks after afforestation with deciduous broadleaved, sempervirent broadleaved, and conifer tree species

Key message Different tree species have dissimilar capacities to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC). Deciduous broadleaved trees show the most stable increase in SOC stock after afforestation than other tree species, while sempervirent conifer trees show the lowest rate of SOC stock change. Sempervirent broadleaved trees show the greatest increase in SOC stock 20 years after afforestation. ContextThe rate at which soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes after afforestation varies considerably with the tree species. A better understanding of the role of tree species in SOC change dynamic is needed to evaluate the SOC sequestration potential of afforestation programs.AimsThe aim of this paper is to identify the dissimilar rates at which different tree species sequester SOC, following afforestation.MethodsWe complete a meta-analysis with 544 data points from 261 sites in 90 papers. We group tree species into decidious broadleved, sempervirent broadleaved and sempervirent conifer. We use standardization and/or extrapolation methods to standardize soil depths. Statistical analysis test the main effects of tree species and their interactions with previous land use and plantation age on SOC stock change after afforestation.ResultsDeciduous broadleaved trees show a stable increase in SOC stock, and are especially suited for afforestation of grassland or soils with high initial SOC. Sempervirent broadleaved afforestation results in loss of SOC stock in young stands, but greater SOC stock in mature stands. Sempervirent conifer trees show the lowest rate of SOC stock change, but are suitable for nutrient-poor soil.ConclusionThe results emphasize the importance of considering tree species when estimating SOC stock change, in particular when carbon sequestration is an objective of afforestation programs.

Recovery of aboveground biomass, species richness and composition in tropical secondary forests in SW Costa Rica

Tropical secondary forests comprise about half of the world’s tropical forests and are important as carbon sinks and to conserve biodiversity. Their rate of recovery varies widely; however, particularly older secondary forests are difficult to date so that the recovery rate is uncertain. As a consequence, factors affecting recovery are difficult to analyse. We used aerial surveys going back to 1968 to date 12 secondary forests in the wet tropics of SW Costa Rica and evaluated the recovery of aboveground biomass, tree species richness and tree species composition in relation to nearby old-growth forests and previous land use. To confirm the validity of the space-for-time substitution, the plots were re-censused after four years. We found fast rates of aboveground biomass accumulation, especially in the first years of succession. After 20 years AGB had reached c. 164 Mg/ha equivalent to 52% of the biomass in old-growth forests in the region. Species richness increased at a slower pace and had reached c. 31% of old-growth forests after 20 years. Recovery rates differed substantially among forests, with biomass at least initially recovering faster in forests after clearcuts whereas species numbers increased faster in forests recovering from pastures. Biomass recovery was positively related to the forest cover in the vicinity and negatively to species richness, whereas species richness was related to soil parameters. The change during the four years between the censuses is broadly in line with the initial chronosequence. While the recovery of tropical secondary forests has been studied in many places, our study shows that various environmental parameters affect the speed of recovery, which is important to include in efforts to manage and restore tropical landscapes.

Strategi Percepatan Pengumpulan Data Yuridis Dalam Pendaftaran Tanah Sistematis Lengkap di Desa Palbapang Kecamatan Bantul Kabupaten Bantul

Complete Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) is a government program in accelerating mass land registration with a complete map concept. This program is expected able to overcome the delays of previous mass land registration program through the scheme of ajudication and PRONA. To achieve the goals, throughout the year, the target is high and always increase. Because of this high target, Land Office in Bantul District implement some innovations, especially in juridical data collection. This research aimed to explain the strategy in collecting juridical data in Palbapang Village, and find obstacles in data collection. Qualitative descriptive research was used for this research. The results of the research showed that: 1) the strategies used by Land Office is the use of SIAP application for juridical data input and involved several teams in the collection of juridical data such as puldatan team, village government and the community; 2) there are constraints on the implementation, including lack of human resources in carrying out tasks as a juridical task force, and there were still many villages that collect documents near the end of the fiscal year.

Mechanism of Land Subsidence of Plateau Lakeside Kunming City Cluster (China) by MT-InSAR and Leveling Survey

Li, S.M.; Wang, Z.M.; Yuan, L.W.; Li, X.X.; Huang, Y.Z., and Guo, R., 2020. Mechanism of land subsidence of plateau lakeside Kunming city cluster (China) by MT-InSAR and leveling survey. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 666-675. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The Kunming city cluster (KCC) is located around the lakeside of Dianchi Lake, a plateau lake in Kunming Basin southwest of China, which is of complex geological structures and evolutionary history, and belongs to an earthquake fault depression area, where faults are developed and crustal stability is poor. Influenced by regional uplift and continuous subsidence of lakeside areas, the land subsidence characteristics of KCC are quite complex. The subsidence mechanism shows multi-inducement and multi-source property. In this paper, the land subsidence ranges, subsidence rate and subsidence spatio-temporal variation pattern of KCC were analyzed, mainly based on multi-temporal interferometry synthetic aperture radar (MT-InSAR), supplemented by leveling survey data, from 1986 to 2018. The effects of various controlling factors on land subsidence were studied respectively, such as geological structure, stratigraphic distribution, groundwater exploitation, and loads on the ground due to infrastructure construction and human activities, and the internal mechanism and response relation between the subsidence and the factors were studied too. The controlling factors and variation pattern of land subsidence in KCC were identified. The results have shown that the land subsidence of KCC is mainly affected by the tectonic activity in this area, fault basin landform sediments provide conditions for the development and speed up of land subsidence, and the previous land subsidence areas were closely related to the excessive exploitation of groundwater. However, in recent years, the subsidence areas expand continuously due to increases of loads from human activities. By analyzing the controlling factors and spatio-temporal variation pattern of land subsidence in the study areas, this paper has preliminarily revealed the land subsidence mechanism, which will provide reasonable theoretical reference and practical guidance for identifying and eliminating the potential land subsidence hazards and urban development planning in the plateau lakeside city cluster.

Grouping tree species to estimate afforestation-driven soil organic carbon sequestration

Any grouping of tree species concerned with SOC sequestration should include trees that are as homogeneous as possible in their carbon sequestration. We propose a classification of tree species into deciduous broadleaf, evergreen broadleaf, deciduous conifer and evergreen conifer and assess the validity of such classification. We conducted a quantitative review of 264 observations from 90 papers. One-way analysis of variance and hierarchical multiple regression were performed to test the homogeneity within the tree types and the extent to which the tree classifications could affect the SOC stock change, after controlling for temperature, precipitation, stand age, initial SOC stock and previous land use. There is less variation in the SOC sequestration rates of tree types if they are grouped as deciduous broadleaf, evergreen broadleaf and evergreen conifer rather than evergreen and deciduous, or broadleaf and conifer. Evergreen broadleaf accumulates SOC at the fastest rate (0.73 Mg ha−1 yr−1), compared to deciduous broadleaf (0.42 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and evergreen conifer (0.48 Mg ha−1 yr−1). The proposed classification may help researchers to better estimate the changes in SOC stocks after afforestation with various tree species, when direct measurements are not available. Our proposed classification of tree species is more accurate than the more commonly used groups of deciduous and evergreen or broadleaf and conifers.

A Bayesian modeling framework for estimating equilibrium soil organic C sequestration in agroforestry systems

Agroforestry is a form of productive land management that combines trees or bushes with annual crops or pasture, and it can bring benefits in terms of food security and increased carbon (C) sequestration compared with conventional agriculture. But agroforestry as a structured form of agronomic management is relatively new compared with well-established and widespread agronomic systems. Consequently, there is a lack of data and few models of soil organic carbon (SOC) have been developed specifically for agroforestry systems. Also, agroforestry SOC sequestration data measured in field experiments are often reported only as average linear sequestration rates over the study period. This approach, equivalent to zero-order kinetics, makes it difficult to compare results since, in reality, SOC sequestration rates are variable over time and change depending on the duration of measurements. Sequestration rates are also strongly dependent on former C stocks in the soil, further hampering comparisons between agroforestry systems established on different former land uses.To describe the SOC stocks variation over time, researchers often employ models considering at least first-order kinetics. This approach can take care of the two above mentioned issues, considering both the variation of the sequestration over time and the effect of previous land use. However, the variability of agroforestry systems makes applying these models more challenging compared to simpler agricultural systems. To deal with this problem we propose to use detailed uncertainty estimation methods, based on stochastic calibrations that can deal with broad probability distributions.To do so, we adapted a first-order compartmental SOC model to agroforestry systems. It was calibrated within a Bayesian framework on global agroforestry data. Compared to linear coefficients, the model (ICBMAgroforestry) estimates equilibrium SOC stocks of different agroforestry systems probabilistically and is providing uncertainty bounds. These values are independent of initial land use and time duration of the experiments. ICBMAgroforestry can be used for rapid assessment and comparison of the maximum potential SOC stocks for different agroforestry systems and climatic zones. In this study, we could use our approach to estimate the global maximum C that can be sequestered by agroforestry systems at equilibrium, which ranged between 156 and 263 Mg C ha−1 on average, above but comparable with similar estimates for simpler agricultural systems.

Soil microbial composition varies in response to coffee agroecosystem management

Soil microbes are essential to the continued productivity of sustainably managed agroecosystems. In shade coffee plantations, the relationship between soil microbial composition, soil nutrient availability and coffee productivity have been demonstrated, but the effects of management on the composition of the soil microbial communities remains relatively unexplored. To further understand how management modulates the soil microbiome, the soil fungal and bacterial communities, soil chemistry, and canopy composition were surveyed in a Nicaraguan coffee cooperative, across 19 individual farms. Amplicon sequencing analyses showed that management (organic or conventional), stand age and previous land use affected the soil microbiome, albeit in different ways. Bacterial communities were most strongly associated with soil chemistry, while fungal communities were more strongly associated with the composition of the canopy and historical land use of the coffee plantation. Notably, both fungal and bacterial richness decreased with stand age. In addition to revealing the first in-depth characterization of the soil microbiome in coffee plantations in Nicaragua, these results highlight how fungal and bacterial communities are simultaneously modulated by long-term land use legacies (i.e. an agricultural plot's previous land use) and short-term press disturbance (i.e. farm age).

Legacy Effects of Hydrologic Alteration in Playa Wetland Responses to Droughts

Wetland conservation increasingly must account for climate change and legacies of previous land-use practices. Playa wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, but may be impacted by intensifying droughts and previous hydrologic modifications. To inform playa restoration planning, we asked: (1) what are the trends in playa inundation? (2) what are the factors influencing inundation? (3) how is playa inundation affected by increasingly severe drought? (4) do certain playas provide hydrologic refugia during droughts, and (5) if so, how are refugia patterns related to historical modifications? Using remotely sensed surface-water data, we evaluated a 30-year time series (1985–2015) of inundation for 153 playas of the Great Basin, USA. Inundation likelihood and duration increased with wetter weather conditions and were greater in modified playas. Inundation probability was projected to decrease from 22% under average conditions to 11% under extreme drought, with respective annual inundation decreasing from 1.7 to 0.9 months. Only 4% of playas were inundated for at least 2 months in each of the 5 driest years, suggesting their potential as drought refugia. Refugial playas were larger and more likely to have been modified, possibly because previous land managers selected refugial playas for modification. These inundation patterns can inform efforts to restore wetland functions and to conserve playa habitats as climate conditions change.

Estimation of total carbon stock of Kakinada mangrove using normalized difference vegetation index, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh

Mangroves hold a significant amount of carbon and play a critical role in the earth's climate system. To this date, carbon stock had never been estimated for Kakinada mangroves with NDVI especially in Coringa which has been affected by disturbances (e.g.: Gathering Fuelwood, Fish Farming, and Prawn Farming). Understanding the multi-temporal dynamics of carbon stocks over Kakinada forests is very crucial because previous land use land cover change activities have modified the land for unsustainable aquaculture. During the study, we described arobust approach to estimate the carbon content of mangroves by using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index features. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index has features based on nearinfrared spectrum absorption for the different vegetation classes. Further sliced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index values from 0.15 to 0.64 have been used to calculate the aboveground biomass stock and belowground biomass stock which was afterward concluded as total carbon stock. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index based estimation of aboveground carbon stock results as 41.311 ±13 Mg ha-1, whereas belowground carbon estimated as 71.382 ± 20 Mg ha-1. Final results for Total carbon calculated by AGC and BGC is 112.694 ± 26 Mg ha-1. Additionally, linear regression analysis shows positive Skewness between the NDVI and the carbon stock. The Pearson correlation was calculated based on the independent (Carbon values) and dependent variable (NDVI) results in a value of 0.95.

Investigation of Termite Attack on Cultural Heritage Buildings: A Case Study in Aceh Province, Indonesia.

Surveys of the conditions of termite attack were conducted in two regencies, Pidie and Greater Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia (40 houses in each location). Interviews were also conducted with home owners to collect data on the building history; culture, such as daily life in the house; the frequency and intensity of termite attacks; and traditional knowledge for avoiding and/or suppressing termite attacks. We found that 51% of traditional houses were infested by two termite species: Coptotermes gestroi and Nasutitermes matangensis. The lower parts of traditional houses were frequently attacked and severely damaged by termites. Previous land use and the ages of the traditional houses affected the intensity of the termite attacks. Several measures for avoiding and/or suppressing termite attacks on cultural heritage buildings are also proposed.

Does the Process of Passive Forest Restoration Affect the Hydrophysical Attributes of the Soil Superficial Horizon?

There has been an increase in the area of secondary tropical forests in recent years due to forest restoration in degraded areas. Recent analyses suggest that the success of passive forest restoration is highly uncertain and needs to be better understood. This study aimed to investigate the behavior of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and some hydrophysical soil attributes between agricultural land uses, restored forests, and a degraded forest fragment. The areas evaluated are located in the municipality of Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil, under different types of land use: (i) two areas in the process of passive forest restoration: one of 18 and another of 42 years (NR18 and NR42); (ii) a degraded forest fragment (FFD); (iii) pasture (P), and (iv) sugarcane (SC). The hydraulic soil conductivity characterization was performed using the Beerkan method. Dry soil bulk density (BD), total porosity (Pt), macroporosity (Mac), microporosity (Mic), penetration resistance (PR), mean aggregate diameter (MWD), and soil organic carbon (OC) were also determined. The comparative analysis of the hydrophysical attributes of the soil superficial horizon in agricultural land uses (P and SC), restored forests (NR18 and NR42), and a degraded forest (DFF) confirms that the recovery of soil hydrological functioning in ongoing forest restoration processes can be a relatively slow process. In addition, the intensity of previous land use leaves footprints that can affect passive restoration areas for decades after agriculture abandonment, increasing the time for the recovery of Ks and soil hydrophysical attributes.