Spatial Distribution Of Land Research Articles

Predicting land use/land cover changes in the Santchou Wildlife Reserve (Santchou, West-Cameroon) using a CA-Markov model

Over the last three decades, the Santchou Wildlife Reserve (SWR) located in the West region of Cameroon has experienced rapid degradation. Land reclamation and population growth have significantly contributed to meeting the increasing demands for foods and urban development. In this study, Landsat 4–5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images of 1988 and 2005, and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI-TIRS) image of 2022 are firstly used for calculating and analysing area changes and then spatial distribution of land use/land cover changes (LULCC) in the SWR for a time span 1988–2005–2022. Secondly, the spatial distribution of LULCC from 2022 to 2027 and from 2027 to 2032 was simulated using a Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov model that allows to predict future changes and identify the possible patterns of evolution. Results exhibit six major LULC classes including Mountain Forest, Degraded Lowland Forest, Lowland Forest, Degraded Mountain Forest, Built-up Area and Cultivated Land. The overall accuracies of LULC classification reached 89.71‒92.24 %, with Kappa coefficients of 0.87‒0.92. However, the prediction model was validated with an overall good agreement of 90.51 %. In general, two significant patterns of change were evidenced and characterized by the rapid expansion of Cultivated Land from 158.6 to 736.4 ha between 1988 and 2022, and could reach 809.0 ha in 2032, while Built-up Area displays a surface change from 12.4 to 29.3 ha, which is expected to attend 67.3 ha in 2032. Change patterns from the past to the future are also marked by a decline of Mountain Forest (2107.4 to 1594.4 ha), Degraded Lowland Forest (1450.1 to 1024.5 ha) and Degraded Mountain Forest (954.6 to 860.6 ha) at the expense of Lowland Forest (2332.5 to 2659.8 ha). Human activities influenced by socio-economic issues remain the main factor of changes in the SWR. Despite the limitations of the CA-Markov model due to the non-consideration of socio-economic factors, this study appears as a new opportunity to develop effective strategies for managing LULCC and protecting ecological biodiversity in the SWR.

Land-Use Pattern Evaluation Using GeoSOS-FLUS in National Territory Spatial Planning: A Case Study of Changzhi City, Shanxi Province

Land-use patterns have always been affected by urban development, and their structural optimization is of great significance to high-quality urban development. However, since the establishment of the spatial planning system, there are still a lack of methods for optimizing the land-use structure. To this end, the research proposes an analysis framework, and proposes the direction of land-use structure adjustment through the status analysis, potential evaluation, and LUCC simulation model, and provides a new idea and method of spatial planning. The research uses an analytical framework to analyze the case of Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, puts forward the problems existing in the process of its land use, and further proposes the direction and focus of the adjustment of the land-use structure. Results show that the spatial distribution of land in Changzhi City presents a “forest-farm-forest” characteristic, and forest land, farmland and grassland account for 85% of its total area. From 2010 to 2018, the grassland area in Changzhi City decreased the most to 3486.13 hm2, and the comprehensive degree of land use increased from 235.88% to 236.73%; however, the cultivated land showed a downward trend. The construction land intensive utilization of Changzhi City is low, and the potential for rural construction land consolidation is high. In addition, the conversion probability of cultivated land in the Tunliu district and the conversion probability of construction land close to Luzhou district are relatively higher, which can be used as crucial areas for the future development of Changzhi City. In the process of urban development, cultivated land protection and construction land demand should be balanced.

Contribution of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies to Food Self-Sufficiency of Smallholder Households in Mali

Climate change has resulted in food insecurity for the majority of farming communities in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Mali. In this paper, we present a methodology for scaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies such as Contour Bunding (CB), Microdosing (MD), Intercropping (IC), Zaï pits, and Adapted crop Variety (AV) treatments, and evaluated their contribution to smallholder households’ food self-sufficiency. We used the participatory technology selection method and on-farm demonstration in order to tackle farm-related constraints. The study found that there has been a major shift in the spatial distribution of land use/land cover (LULC) classes between 2016 and 2020. About 25% of the areas changed from other land use/land cover to cropland. Crop yields obtained from CSA-treated fields were significantly higher than yields from farmers’ practice (FP). The application of CSA technologies resulted in millet yield increases by 51%, 35%, and 23% with contour bunding (CB), microdosing (MD) and intercropping (IC), respectively. With Zaï pits and adapted variety (AV) treatments, the yield increases were 69% and 27%, respectively. Further, the use of IC and MD technologies reduced the food-insecure household status to 13%, which corresponds to a food insecurity reduction of 60%. The application of Zaï technology reversed the negative status of food-insecurity to +4%, corresponding to a reduction in food insecurity of more than 100%. In the case of food-secure households, the application of CSA technologies led to increased food production. However, notwithstanding this, prospects for CSA in the Sahel hinge on the capacities of farming households and local extension agents to understand the environmental, economic and social challenges in the context of climate change, and consequently to self-mobilize in order to select and implement responsive technologies.

Reconstruction of Anthropogenic Land-Cover Change for Middle America, 1500 CE

This project demonstrates how to use existing syntheses of many decades of historical social science research to produce empirically derived land-use maps in a GIS for large regions for a specific target year at a resolution appropriate to the calibration of existing anthropogenic land-cover change (ALCC) models. Disagreement among the outputs of various ALCC models results from differing estimates of population and assumptions about how much food a given population requires and the productivity per unit area of various types of cropping systems. The resulting ALCC model output of the spatial distribution of land uses at a given time becomes input for climate models, which thereby incorporate those uncertainties. To address the issue at a global scale, the LandCover6k working group of PAGES (Past Global Changes), has undertaken an international effort to empirically calibrate the HYDE ALCC model. This report on a contribution to that effort employs empirical data from previously published scholarship in geography, anthropology, and archaeology on the land use of Middle America centered on a target year of 1500 CE. Maps from those sources were digitized and georeferenced in a GIS (Geographic Information System) and used to digitize polygons in which each category of land use is known to have occurred during late precolonial and early colonial times, centered on the target year. The land-use typology used was agreed on at the first, 2015 LandCover6k meeting and includes five top-level categories: Pastoral; Urban and Extractive; Hunting, Fishing, and Gathering; No land Use; and Agriculture. This project further includes a dozen Agricultural subcategories specifically appropriate to Middle America in 1500 CE: agroforestry; orchards and orchard gardens; shifting cultivation; short-fallow cultivation; sloping-field terraces; bench terraces; cross-channel terraces; subsurface irrigation; floodwater irrigation; canal irrigation; recessional cultivation; and intensive wetland fields. The results are presented and discussed as sixteen GIS screenshots.

Prioritization in wildfire restoration using GIS-based ordered weighted averaging (OWA): A case study in southern California

<abstract> <p>Wildfires are a prevalent natural disaster that can significantly impact human populations and result in considerable losses. With a changing climate, wildfires in many countries have increased in intensity and frequency, making effective restoration efforts in affected areas crucial. This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of ordered weighted averaging (OWA), a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis technique, in identifying priority areas for wildfire restoration. A case study using the 2009 Station Fire in California is presented, using the restoration criteria of slope, erodibility, proximity to forest cover, and proximity to surface water. By applying both importance and order weights, multiple OWA decision strategies with varying risk levels were examined. Different strategies greatly influence the spatial distribution of land considered high and low priority for wildfire restoration, each with varying levels of trade off. In the OWA decision space, placing full emphasis on the highest (best) values (using the risk-taking OR operator) or the lowest values (using the risk-averse AND operator) resulted in composite priority maps that cannot be recommended for practical use. More nuanced scenarios are achieved with the OWA operators representing a range of compromise decision strategies between these extremes. The OWA technique in GIS can thus help to explore the impact of decision-makers' risk attitudes in a wildfire restoration setting.</p> </abstract>

Floor area density and land uses for efficient district cooling systems in high-density cities

Floor area density and land uses are two fundamental parameters of a city's master plan. Both affect the spatial and temporal distribution of the cooling demand in a district. This work studies how floor area density and land use impact the efficiency of district cooling systems in high-density cities and quantifies the impact using five cost indicators. We use the street layout plan of a district of downtown Singapore to generate hundreds of designs by varying density and land uses using Rhino/Grasshopper and the quasi-Monte Carlo Saltelli sampler. Five independent input variables are used for the sampling. The three land uses featured are residential, office, and retail. We assess the cost performance of the district cooling systems for each sample using an urban energy simulation program tool, the City Energy Analyst (CEA). To identify the effects of each design variable on the capital and operational costs of district cooling systems, we perform the Sobol' sensitivity analysis. We find that the district land use ratio is the most dominant parameter, followed by the spatial distribution of density, whereas the spatial distribution of land uses has less influence. Urban planners and designers may use the results of this study of floor area density and land use when designing districts of high-density cities serviced by district cooling systems.

Correlations between land use and stream nitrate-nitrite concentrations in the Yahara River Watershed in south-central Wisconsin

To better inform land management decisions, we explored relationships between land use data and stream nitrate-nitrite (NO3NO2) concentration data in the Yahara River Watershed (YRW) in south-central Wisconsin, USA. Three metrics were used to evaluate the extent of different land uses in the watershed: (1) the area percentage of each land use in both the watershed and in a range of riparian zone widths, (2) the area factor, which refers to the ratio of the area of woodland, recreational, open and vacant subdivided land, or wetlands in the riparian zone (6.1–213.4 m widths) to agricultural areas in the rest of watershed, which indicates the buffering capacity of the riparian zone, and (3) the inverse-distance-weighted (IDW) area percentage with proximity to sub-watershed outlet and to stream, which characterizes spatial arrangement in the watershed by assigning a higher weight to patches closer to the outlet or stream and a lower weight to those farther away. We found significant, positive correlations between the extent of agricultural areas and stream NO3NO2 concentrations. NO3NO2 concentrations were highly correlated to area factor metrics for all riparian zone widths such that as area factor decreased, NO3NO2 concentrations increased. There was also a marked increase in NO3NO2 concentrations at a threshold of approximately 60% agricultural area with IDW proximity to stream. Wetland area percentage in the entire watershed and IDW wetland area percentage with proximity to stream were negatively correlated to stream NO3NO2 concentrations. Compared to the simple area percentage metric, area factor and IDW wetland area percentage with proximity to stream were better indicators of stream NO3NO2 concentrations. Results from this study indicate that, in addition to land use area percentage, spatial distributions of land uses should be considered when managing watersheds. This study also demonstrates the value of citizen-based sampling data and reveals opportunities to improve the utility of such data.

Farklı Konumsal Çözünürlüğe Sahip Uydu Görüntüleri Kullanarak CORINE Arazi Örtüsü/Arazi Kullanım Sınıflarının Belirlenmesi

Arazi örtüsü/kullanımı sınıflarının mevcut konumsal dağılımlarının belirlenmesi ve süreç içerisinde meydana gelen değişimlerinin incelenmesi ekonomik ve sosyo-kültürel birçok alanda gerçekleştirilen çalışmalar için önemli bir temel oluşturmaktadır. Bu nedenle, arazi örtüsü/arazi kullanımı hakkındaki bilgilerin kendi içlerinde tutarlı olabilmesi için sistematik bir şekilde sınıflandırılması ve belli standartlarda üretilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma ile Samsun ili Vezirköprü (Türkiye) ilçesine ait 11251 hektar büyüklüğünde bir alanın ait Landsat 8, Sentinel 2 ve Triplesat uydu görüntülerinden CORINE arazi kullanım/arazi örtü sınıflamasının birinci ve ikinci düzeylerinde dağılım haritalarının oluşturulması ve yer gerçekleri ile karşılaştırmalarının yapılması amaçlanmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, çalışma alanına ait tüm uydu görüntülerinde en yaygın dağılım gösteren sınıfın tarım alanları olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sınıflama hassaslığı bakımından Sentinel ve Triplesat uydu görüntülerine ait kappa değerleri (% 92.95 ve % 93.11) benzer hassasiyette oranlanırken, Landsat uydu görüntüsünde bu değerin % 83’e düştüğü belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca yaklaşık 34 yıllık süreç içerisinde gerek tarım alanlarından gerekse de orman alanlarından bir kısmı yapay alanlara kaydığı belirlenmiştir. Çalışma sonucu arazi örtüsü/kullanımının izlenmesinde elde edilen güvenilir sonuçlar ile uydu görüntülerinin geniş alanları, kısa zaman periyodlarında ve yüksek çözünürlüklü olarak gözlemleme kabiliyetlerinden faydalanılabileceği önerilmiştir.

Lateral mobilization of soil carbon induced by runoff along karstic slopes

Soil erosion induced by runoff is a main hydrological pathway for lateral transport of carbon in terrestrial landscapes. More information about how water erosion influences the carbon gains and losses at different erosional and depositional landform positions is critical, especially in fragile agroecosystems with a variety of land uses and ephemeral hydrological and sedimentological pulses, typical of Mediterranean environments. The purpose of this study is to characterize the lateral mobilization of soil organic and inorganic carbon (SOC and SIC) along topographically driven transects over a period of four decades in a sub-humid karstic area in northern Spain. The 137Cs inventories and the characterization of terrain attributes of the study area were used to identify whether erosional or depositional processes have been predominant in the 58 sampling sites. Average soil losses and gains varied between −4 and +4 mm ha−1 yr−1, and the carbon patterns obtained are discussed in the context of the dominant hydrological processes in the study area. Results indicate that SOC and SIC losses were related to an increase in water flow accumulation, while the highest SOC gains were recorded at concave positions. Soil erosion processes and the content of SOC and SIC in soils are the two main factors controlling carbon budgets. The topographical and geomorphological characteristics of the transects, the spatial distribution of land uses and the presence of landscape linear elements such as terraces or paths, affect runoff and determine the sediment connectivity and carbon dynamics along the slopes. The combined use of 137Cs and the perceptual model provides reliable SDR estimates benefiting the appraisals of the redistribution of eroded carbon. The knowledge of processes involved in the lateral carbon movement induced by runoff along karstic hillslopes provides a better understanding of the role of soil erosion as carbon source or sinks in the global carbon cycle.

Accuracy assessment technique for testing multiple sub-pixel mapping downscaling factors

ABSTRACTSub-pixel mapping (SPM; a.k.a. super-resolution mapping) is a sub-field of remote sensing focused on mapping the spatial distribution of land covers from fractional land cover maps, such as those produced by spectral unmixing. A necessary consideration for developing universally applicable SPM methods is that they are able to function across multiple target scales (i.e. zoom factors). Yet most studies test only a single scale, likely due to the challenges of testing a SPM technique that is transferable across multiple scales. This study develops a simple adjustment to the widely used confusion-error matrix that can account for the uncertainties introduced when reference data must be aggregated to permit testing multiple downscaling factors. Results show how off-diagonal components (e.g. errors of commission and omission) can be adjusted to account for the overestimation of disagreement that occurs during scale translations. Furthermore, results show how supplemental accuracy can be accounted for between the SPM result and areas with low fractional proportions, which is not possible using currently available methods. This simple yet effective way to compare accuracies across scale factors provides a means to develop and test SPM methods applicable across multiple scales.

Palaeoclimate constraints on the impact of 2 °C anthropogenic warming and beyond

Over the past 3.5 million years, there have been several intervals when climate conditions were warmer than during the pre-industrial Holocene. Although past intervals of warming were forced differently than future anthropogenic change, such periods can provide insights into potential future climate impacts and ecosystem feedbacks, especially over centennial-to-millennial timescales that are often not covered by climate model simulations. Our observation-based synthesis of the understanding of past intervals with temperatures within the range of projected future warming suggests that there is a low risk of runaway greenhouse gas feedbacks for global warming of no more than 2 °C. However, substantial regional environmental impacts can occur. A global average warming of 1–2 °C with strong polar amplification has, in the past, been accompanied by significant shifts in climate zones and the spatial distribution of land and ocean ecosystems. Sustained warming at this level has also led to substantial reductions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, with sea-level increases of at least several metres on millennial timescales. Comparison of palaeo observations with climate model results suggests that, due to the lack of certain feedback processes, model-based climate projections may underestimate long-term warming in response to future radiative forcing by as much as a factor of two, and thus may also underestimate centennial-to-millennial-scale sea-level rise.

Food security and climate change: the case of rainfed maize production in Mexico

Climate change has altered global rainfall amounts and seasonality. Rainfed crops are particularly dependent on foreseeable rainfall, thus yields of maize, wheat and sorghum have decreased globally. Rainfed maize is the cornerstone of the agriculture in Mexico and the nutrition base of as many as twenty million people. Despite its relevance, the risk that climate change represents for this economic activity has not been studied in our country. We evaluated the link between rainfall variability and maize yields in Mexico across three different time periods: the present, the past 30 years and the remainder of this century (future) with RCPs scenarios. We found that rainfed agriculture was distributed as a function of the dry-season length, occurring in areas with a 4–9 months dry season, thus climate change may alter not only agricultural yields, but also the spatial distribution of land uses. There was a linear correlation (r = 0.45) between mean annual precipitation and rainfed maize production nationally for the period 1980–2012. The correlation was stronger (r = 0.91) during 2005–2012 when high-resolution data were available for the analysis. Correlation values were not homogeneously distributed within the country, although the minimum correlation was 0.35. In the future scenarios, yields were predicted to either not change or to decrease by as much as 10%. The strongest negative impacts were predicted across the Northeast and the South of the country, where yields declined by up to 30% in all scenarios.

Enhancing Connectivity Index to Assess the Effects of Land Use Changes in a Mediterranean Catchment

AbstractIn the Mediterranean region, the long history of cultivation is associated with significant changes in the original landscape. Agricultural intensification and subsequent land abandonment and reforestation have significantly affected the hydrological behaviour and connectivity patterns of hydrological systems. Thus, information on the spatial distribution of land use/cover is essential for monitoring the runoff response to interpret catchment hydrology. A medium‐sized catchment of the central part of the Ebro Basin (NE Spain), representative of Mediterranean mountain agroecosystems, was selected to assess the effect of land use/cover changes during the last few decades on the hydrological network of the catchment. To this end, a topography‐based index, the ‘index of connectivity’, was applied to assess the effects of land use changes from 1957 to 2010. The sediment connectivity was estimated by using a geomorphometric approach to simulate how connectivity changes due to the different land covers. To improve this index, we used a combination of C‐factor, rugosity index and the novel application of a total aerial biomass equation over pine‐reforested areas as a weighting factor. A high‐resolution (1 × 1 m) digital elevation model was created by filtering and applying a multiscale curvature classification algorithm. The connectivity values show a decrease directly related to ~71% decrease of agricultural land. Understanding landscape patterns, changes and interactions of human activities is essential for land management in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neighborhood Planning for Sustainable Transport

Indian cities are experiencing rapid urbanization as an effect of economic growth and industrialization. The urbanization process impacts the spatial distribution of land uses and travel demand created by the distribution of activities. Therefore it becomes imperative that the mobility of people and goods should be planned appropriately to minimize congestion and other environmental impacts on the cities. Mobility demand of people living in urban and metropolitan areas has continuously been growing due to the increasing socio-economic needs which lead to varied activities. Hence, people tend to use individual motorized transport modes in order to satisfy this ever-changing mobility demand. Mobility and accessibility are an integral component for planning and design of road transport infrastructure. Pedestrian traffic is most neglected road users while planning and designing the road transport infrastructure. In 1988 Indian Roads Congress (IRC) released the guidelines for pedestrian facilities (IRC: 103–1988) after getting the approval from the Highways Specifications and Standards Committee. The guidelines kept forward an argument that pedestrians are more vulnerable to being involved in accidents and it is imperative that adequate consideration should be given to their safety (IRC: 103–1988, 1989). It recommended that pedestrian facilities should be planned in an integrated manner to ensure a continuous pedestrian flow and an overall strategic plan should be made to ensure that. Another important recommendation by the guidelines was that the convenience of the pedestrian should be a paramount consideration; otherwise the facilities provided will not be fully used. This paper is an effort to look into the status of mobility pattern in Delhi's different kind of neighborhoods (Residential, Commercial, and Institutional) and give solution for their needs. Aim of the study is to give a mobility and accessibility plan for neighborhood according to sustainable transport to ensure safe & secure movement. This paper focuses on the understanding of urban mobility, and its issues related to economy, society and environment. The paper proposes a definition of sustainable urban transport by incorporating the mobility and accessibility needs of the people and goods, by emphasizing the relation and interdependence of land use and transportation system.

Predicting Urban Land Use Changes Using a CA–Markov Model

This study employs a CA–Markov model as one of the planning support tools for analysis of temporal changes and spatial distribution of urban land uses in Anzali, located in Gilan province in the northwest of Iran. In the first step, area changes and spatial distribution of land uses in the town were analyzed and calculated using geographic information systems technology for a time span 1989–2011. In the next step, using the transition matrix, the spatial distribution of urban land uses in 2021 was simulated, the changes were predicted and the possible growth patterns were identified as well. The results showed a declining trend of 10.64 % in forest, 8.52 % in Anzali wetland and 11.54 % in barren land during 1989–2011, and also an increasing trend of 7.1 % in urban areas for a time span 1989–2021. Major expansions in urban areas were witnessed around western and eastern borders of the city, particularly close to the eastern border. Scattered expansions were also predicted in the Anzali wetlands registered in the Ramsar Convention (southern borders). This study provides an opportunity to define and apply better strategies for environmental management of land use to make an optimized balance between urban development and ecological protection of environmental resources.

Spatial-Temporal Changes in Ecological Risk of Land use Before and After Grain-for-Green Policy in Zhengning County, Gansu Province

Abstract: The Grain—for—Green Policy aims to convert cropland to grassland and forest across western China, and evaluating ecological risk is essential to its implementation. Because few recent studies have focused on eco—risk changes of land use in the areas affected by significant policies, this paper took Zhengning County in Gansu Province as our focal area, and studied spatial-temporal changes in ecological risk before and after policy implementation. Based on indices of landscape fragmentation and ecosystem service value, an ecological risk assessment method using ArcGIS and Fragstats was done. The regional gravity center model and land spatial distribution model were also used to enrich the quantitative description of divisional eco—risk and its spatial—temporal variation in the county. Results showed that the implementation of the policy has contributed to an overall reduction in ecological risk in Zhengning County, with a divisional degree order reduction following the pattern: eastern Zhengning >...

THE SPATIAL INTERACTION OF BANDUNG CITIZENS

Bandung is one of the cities in Indonesia which has rapid population growth. Bandung also has high citizen mobility that comes from both other areas around the city and inside the city itself. This mobility is caused daily activities of the citizen, eitherby studying or working. The objectives of this research are to analyze: 1) the citizen mobility in Bandung, 2) the spatial distribution of land uses in Bandung, and 3) the spatial interaction of Bandung citizens, on the basis of land use and citizen mobility in Bandung. This research uses descriptive analytical method. The data is collected by using interview based technique. The collected data consist of mobility location, type of occupation, modes of transportation, destination location, and land use type. The data are analyzed using percentage and origin-destination matrix. The result of this research indicates that the purpose of the citizen mobility in Bandung is mostly conducted to work by using his/her own vehicle. Most of the mobility is occurred around each developmental area. Furthermore, it is also revealed that there is a massive movement to Cibeunying region,n which is used for educational purposes, offices, and trading areas.

The multivariate statistical structure of DRASTIC model

Summary An assessment of aquifer intrinsic vulnerability was conducted in the Sordo river basin, a small watershed located in the Northeast of Portugal that drains to a lake used as public resource of drinking water. The method adopted to calculate intrinsic vulnerability was the DRASTIC model, which hinges on a weighted addition of seven hydrogeologic features, but was combined with a pioneering approach for feature reduction and adjustment of feature weights to local settings, based on a multivariate statistical method. Basically, with the adopted statistical technique-Correspondence Analysis-one identified and minimized redundancy between DRASTIC features, allowing for the calculation of a composite index based on just three of them: topography, recharge and aquifer material. The combined algorithm was coined vector-DRASTIC and proved to describe more realistically intrinsic vulnerability than DRASTC. The proof resulted from a validation of DRASTIC and vector-DRASTIC by the results of a groundwater pollution risk assessment standing on the spatial distribution of land uses and nitrate concentrations in groundwater, referred to as [ NO 3 - ]-DRASTIC method. Vector-DRASTIC and [ NO 3 - ]-DRASTIC portray the Sordo river basin as an environment with a self-capability to neutralize contaminants, preventing its propagation downstream. This observation was confirmed by long-standing low nitrate concentrations in the lake water and constitutes additional validation of vector-DRASTIC results. Nevertheless, some general recommendations are proposed in regard to agriculture management practices for water quality protection, as part of an overall watershed approach.

The implications of the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy reforms for land-use and landscape quality in England

The assessment of the potential landscape impacts of the latest Common Agricultural Policy reforms constitutes a challenge for policy makers and it requires the development of models that can reliably project the likely spatial distribution of land uses. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of 2003 CAP reforms to land uses and rural landscapes across England. For this purpose we modified an existing economic model of agriculture, the Land-Use Allocation Model (LUAM) to provide outputs at a scale appropriate for informing a semi-quantitative landscape assessment at the level of ‘Joint Character Areas’ (JCAs). Overall a decline in the cereal and oilseed production area is projected but intensive arable production will persist in specific locations (East of England, East Midlands and South East), having ongoing negative effects on the character of many JCAs. The impacts of de-coupling will be far more profound on the livestock sector; extensification of production will occur in traditional mixed farming regions (e.g. the South West), a partial displacement of cattle by sheep in the upland regions and an increase in the sheep numbers is expected in the lowlands (South East, Eastern and East Midlands). This extensification process will affect positively those JCAs of mixed farming conditions, but it will have negative impacts on the JCAs of historically low intensity farming (e.g. the uplands of north-west) because they will suffer from under-management and land idling. Our analysis shows that the territorialisation between intensively and extensively agricultural landscapes will continue.

Temporal and spatial changes of residential land in the Yuyang desert region of northern Shaanxi Province in recent 20 years

It is very important to understand the temporal and spatial changes of residential land for the improvement of human settlement environment. Based on the three TM images of 1986, 1996 and 2005 and other assistant maps, the temporal and spatial characteristics of residential land in the Yuyang desert region of northern Shaanxi Province of China were analyzed by using geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technology. Some important conclusions were obtained, which mainly contained four aspects as follows. 1) The area of residential land in the Yuyang desert region increased 956.07 hm2 in total, and the changes of residential land among the townships were different with four various change trends. The expansion speeds in the Yuyang Township and Qinhe Township were the biggest from 1986 to 1996 and from 1996 to 2005, respectively. The expansion intensities in other townships were below 0.1%, except the Yuyang Township. 2) The number of residential land patches increased 2847, while the average area and perimeter of residential land patches decreased 0.304 hm2 and 60.78 m during 1986–2005, respectively. The residential land patches also displayed four different changes from 1986 to 2005 among the townships. 3) The residential land mainly distributed in the middle of Yuyang Township and Mahe Township, and the interface of Jinjitan Township and Mengjiawan Township. The total spatial pattern of residential land was relative stability, but the significant changes of residential land were found in the Yuyang Township and its vicinities during 1986–2005. 4) Three distribution patterns of residential land at the micro scale were categorized from the 100 typical villages in the study area. The number of villages in the pattern 1 increased, while the pattern 2 and pattern 3 decreased in recent 20 years, which implicated the adaptation of humans to the habitation environment. This research would provide scientific references for harmonizing the human-land relationship, optimizing the residential land spatial distribution patterns and constructing the well human settlement environment in the desert regions.