scholarly journals Effects of altitude, land use and microsites on early life performance of a high mountain tree: Insights from an in situ sowing experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1537-1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Cáceres ◽  
Karin Schrieber ◽  
Susanne Lachmuth ◽  
Harald Auge ◽  
Daihana Argibay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Early Life ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Sowing Experiment

scholarly journals Diagnostic Species Diversity Pattern Can Provide Key Information on Vegetation Change: An Insight into High Mountain Habitats in Central Apennines

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-472
Author(s):  
Marco Varricchione ◽  
Valter Di Cecco ◽  
Lucia A. Santoianni ◽  
Angela Stanisci ◽  
Mirko Di Febbraro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Ex Situ Conservation ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Diagnostic Species ◽  
Mountain Habitats ◽  
Over Time

High mountain ecosystems are hotspots of biodiversity that are highly vulnerable to climate warming and land use change. In Europe, high mountain habitats are included in the EC Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive) and the identification of practices facilitating effective monitoring is crucial for meeting HD goals. We analyzed the temporal changes in species composition and diversity on high mountain EU habitats and explored if the subgroup of diagnostic species was able to summarize the comprehensive information on plant community variations. We performed a re-visitation study, using a set of 30 georeferenced historical plots newly collected after 20 years on two EU habitats (Galium magellense community growing on screes (8120 EU) and Trifolium thalii community of snowbeds (6170 EU)) in the Maiella National Park (MNP), which is one of the most threatened Mediterranean mountains in Europe. The presence of several endangered species and the availability of a botanical garden, a seed bank, and a nursery, make the MNP an excellent training ground to explore in situ and ex situ conservation strategies. We compared overall and diagnostic species richness patterns over time by rarefaction curves and described the singular aspects of species diversity (e.g., richness, Shannon index, Simpson index, and Berger–Parker index), by Rènyi’s diversity profiles. Diversity values consistently varied over time and across EU habitat types, with increasing values on scree communities and decreasing values on snowbeds. These changes could be associated with both land use change, through the increase of grazing pressure of Apennine chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), which determined a rise of nitrophilous species in the scree community, and an increase of grasses at the expense of forbs in snowbeds, and to climate change, which promoted a general expansion of thermophilous species. Despite the two opposite, ongoing processes on the two plant communities studied, our results evidenced that diagnostic species and overall species followed the same trend of variation, demonstrating the potential of diagnostics for EU habitat monitoring. Our observations suggested that the re-visitation of historical plots and the implementation of frequent monitoring campaigns on diagnostic species can provide important data on species abundance and distribution patterns in these vulnerable ecosystems, supporting optimized in situ and ex situ conservation actions.

A quantitative method to detect the ventilation paths in a mountainous urban city for urban planning: A case study in Guizhou, China

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Ling Chen ◽  
Jun Lu ◽  
Wei Wei Yu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Frontal Area ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Least Cost Path ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Mapping Procedure ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
The Government

In this paper, a new frontal area index (FAI) mapping method is presented to describe the surface roughness of Renhuai, as an example of typical medium high mountain gorge type Karst city. Comparing with the traditional calculating method of FAI, a local topography (hills) factor is added to the calculation of the FAI in each 100 m × 100 m grid cell. The results show that the modified FAI is more strongly related to the mountainous land-use type than traditional, and local topography regions with large podium structure had higher values than other urban land-use types in mountainous city. With the frontal area index mapping procedure and a self-compiled least cost path analysis method, the potential airflow corridors traversing through the study area can be located, and the total computation time is shorter and less than 1 s. Air volume, a significant measurement index of urban ventilation capacity, is then simulated in computational fluid dynamics model (CFD-PHOENICS) to confirm the significance and efficiency of these specific ventilation corridors. Based on our findings, the government and urban planners may use the descendent maps to understand the urban ventilation paths within a mountainous city for urban local renovation decisions.

Phenotypic differences among wild passerine nestlings in relation to early-life rearing environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Gómez ◽  
Christy Morrissey ◽  
Sonia Cabezas ◽  
Tracy Marchant ◽  
Robert Clark
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Aerial Insectivore ◽  
Fledgling Survival ◽  
Insect Populations

Subtle changes in stress physiology during critical developmental stages have been linked to long-term fitness; however, the biological processes and phenotypic responses to early-life rearing environments such as anthropogenic land use conditions, have not been fully evaluated in insectivorous birds. We manipulated Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808), brood sizes at sites with contrasting agricultural land use to assess phenotypic changes in body condition and genetic and physiological biomarkers of stress during the sensitive nestling growth phase. We predicted that nestling swallows raised on cropland-dominated sites, especially those in enlarged broods, would have lower body condition, shorter telomeres, and higher feather corticosterone than nestlings raised in smaller broods at grassland sites. Body condition was highest among nestlings raised in reduced broods but was unrelated to land use. Telomere lengths tended to be shorter in nestlings from enlarged broods and at cropland sites. Corticosterone was not related to any factor. Locally-abundant insect populations associated with wetlands may have dampened the effects and/or parent swallows assumed higher costs of reproduction rather than passing these costs to nestlings. Results suggest that food stress could reduce fledgling survival via telomere shortening; a hypothesis that requires further investigation due to its potential importance to population viability in multiple declining aerial insectivore species.

scholarly journals Crowdsourcing LUCAS: Citizens Generating Reference Land Cover and Land Use Data with a Mobile App

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Laso Bayas ◽  
Linda See ◽  
Hedwig Bartl ◽  
Tobias Sturn ◽  
Mathias Karner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
In Situ Data

There are many new land use and land cover (LULC) products emerging yet there is still a lack of in-situ data for training, validation, and change detection purposes. The LUCAS (Land Use Cover Area frame Sample) survey is one of the few authoritative in-situ field campaigns, which takes place every three years in European Union member countries. More recently, a study has considered whether citizen science and crowdsourcing could complement LUCAS survey data, e.g., through the FotoQuest Austria mobile app and crowdsourcing campaign. Although the data obtained from the campaign were promising when compared with authoritative LUCAS survey data, there were classes that were not well classified by the citizens, and the photographs submitted through the app were not always of sufficient quality. For this reason, in the latest FotoQuest Go Europe 2018 campaign, several improvements were made to the app to facilitate interaction with the citizens contributing and to improve their accuracy in LULC identification. In addition to extending the locations from Austria to Europe, a change detection component (comparing land cover in 2018 to the 2015 LUCAS photographs) was added, as well as an improved LC decision tree and a near real-time quality assurance system to provide feedback on the distance to the target location, the LULC classes chosen and the quality of the photographs. Another modification was the implementation of a monetary incentive scheme in which users received between 1 to 3 Euros for each successfully completed quest of sufficient quality. The purpose of this paper is to present these new features and to compare the results obtained by the citizens with authoritative LUCAS data from 2018 in terms of LULC and change in LC. We also compared the results between the FotoQuest campaigns in 2015 and 2018 and found a significant improvement in 2018, i.e., a much higher match of LC between FotoQuest Go Europe and LUCAS. Finally, we present the results from a user survey to discuss challenges encountered during the campaign and what further improvements could be made in the future, including better in-app navigation and offline maps, making FotoQuest a model for enabling the collection of large amounts of land cover data at a low cost.

scholarly journals NO<sub>2</sub> seasonal evolution in the North Subtropical free troposphere

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 14473-14504
Author(s):  
M. Gil-Ojeda ◽  
M. Navarro-Comas ◽  
L. Gómez-Martín ◽  
J. A. Adame ◽  
A. Saiz-Lopez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Horizontal Line ◽  
Free Troposphere ◽  
Seasonal Evolution ◽  
The North ◽  
Measuring Period ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pollution Events

Abstract. Three years of Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAXDOAS) measurements (2011–2013) have been used for estimating the NO2 mixing ratio along a horizontal line of sight from the high mountain Subtropical observatory of Izaña, at 2370 m a.s.l. (NDACC station, 28.3° N, 16.5° W). The method is based on horizontal path calculation from the O2–O2 collisional complex at the 477 nm absorption band which is measured simultaneously to the NO2, and is applicable under low aerosols loading conditions. The MAXDOAS technique, applied in horizontal mode in the free troposphere, minimizes the impact of the NO2 contamination resulting from the arrival of MBL airmasses from thermally forced upwelling breeze during central hours of the day. Comparisons with in-situ observations show that during most of measuring period the MAXDOAS is insensitive or very little sensitive to the upwelling breeze. Exceptions are found during pollution events under southern wind conditions. On these occasions, evidence of fast efficient and irreversible transport from the surface to the free troposphere is found. Background NO2 vmr, representative of the remote free troposphere, are in the range of 20–45 pptv. The observed seasonal evolution shows an annual wave where the peak is in phase with the solar radiation. Model simulations with the chemistry-climate CAM-Chem model are in good agreement with the NO2 measurements, and are used to further investigate the possible drivers of the NO2 seasonality observed at Izaña.

Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leif S. Anderson ◽  
William H. Armstrong ◽  
Robert S. Anderson ◽  
Dirk Scherler
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Threshold Method ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Debris Cover ◽  
A Chain ◽  
The Relationship

&lt;p&gt;Many glaciers in High Mountain Asia are experiencing the debris-cover anomaly. The Kennicott Glacier, a large Alaskan Glacier, is also thinning most rapidly under debris cover. This contradiction has been explained by melt hotspots, such as ice cliffs, streams, or ponds scattered within the debris cover or by declining ice flow in time. We collected abundant in situ measurements of debris thickness, sub-debris melt, and ice cliff backwasting, allowing for extrapolation across the debris-covered tongue. A newly developed automatic ice cliff delineation method is the first to use only optical satellite imagery. The adaptive binary threshold method accurately estimates ice cliff coverage even where ice cliffs are small and debris color varies. We also develop additional remotely-sensed datasets of ice dynamical variables, other melt hot spots, and glacier thinning.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kennicott Glacier exhibits the highest fractional area of ice cliffs (11.7 %) documented to date. Ice cliffs contribute 26 % of total melt across the glacier tongue. Although the &lt;em&gt;relative&lt;/em&gt; importance of ice cliffs to area-average melt is significant, the&lt;em&gt; absolute&lt;/em&gt; area-averaged melt is dominated by debris. At Kennicott Glacier, glacier-wide melt rates are not maximized in the zone of maximum thinning. Declining ice discharge through time therefore explains the rapid thinning. Through this study, Kennicott Glacier is the first glacier in Alaska, and the largest glacier globally, where melt across its debris-covered tongue has been rigorously quantified.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also carefully explore the relationship between debris, melt hotspots, ice dynamics, and thinning across the debris-covered tongue. In doing so we reveal a chain of linked processes that can explain the striking patterns expressed on the debris-covered tongue of Kennicott Glacier.&lt;/p&gt;

Evaluation of an in situ early life stage test with cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki, for environmental monitoring – a case study using mine effluent

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Chalmers ◽  
J. Elphick ◽  
G. Gilron ◽  
H. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Early Life Stage ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Treated Effluent ◽  
Mine Effluent ◽  
A Site

This study evaluated an in situ early life stage test using cutthroat trout for potential use in Canada's Metal Mines Effluent Regulations' Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program. Current field monitoring approaches focus on either adult fish surveys or mesocosm studies, but both of these have inherent limitations that may affect their suitability on a site-specific basis. This study evaluated an alternative approach, namely an in situ toxicity test, as part of an EEM program for a zinc, copper and gold mine. Hatchboxes containing cutthroat trout embryos were placed in a creek that receives treated effluent from the mine, and monitored through the swim-up stage to evaluate hatching success, survival, normal development and growth. Advantages of the method include: no feeding requirement during exposure, fixed exposure locations, relevant endpoints and high statistical sensitivity. In addition, the extended exposure period integrated long-term exposure variables, including low-flow and freshet events. This approach also has application to other salmonid species and types of discharges.

Soil functions and in situ stress distribution in subtropical soils as affected by land use, vehicle type, tire inflation pressure and plant residue removal

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 78-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dörthe Holthusen ◽  
André Anibal Brandt ◽  
José Miguel Reichert ◽  
Rainer Horn ◽  
Heiner Fleige ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Stress Distribution ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Plant Residue ◽  
Soil Functions ◽  
Inflation Pressure ◽  
Residue Removal ◽  
Vehicle Type ◽  
Subtropical Soils

scholarly journals Estimating daily surface NO<sub>2</sub> concentrations from satellite data - A case study over Hong Kong using land use regression models

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasdeep S Anand ◽  
Paul S Monks
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Land Use Regression ◽  
Vertical Column ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
In Situ Data

Abstract. Land Use Regression (LUR) models have been used in epidemiology to determine the fine-scale spatial variation in air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in cities and larger regions. However, they are often limited in their temporal resolution, which may potentially be rectified by employing the synoptic coverage provided by satellite measurements. In this work a mixed effects LUR model is developed to model daily surface NO2 concentrations over the Hong Kong SAR during 2005-2015. In-situ measurements from the Hong Kong Air Quality Monitoring Network, along with tropospheric vertical column density (VCD) data from the OMI, GOME-2A and SCIAMACHY satellite instruments were combined with fine-scale land use parameters to provide the spatiotemporal information necessary to predict daily surface concentrations. Cross-validation with the in-situ data shows that the mixed effect LUR model using OMI data has a high predictive power (adj. R2 = 0.84), especially when compared with surface concentrations derived using the MACC-II reanalysis model dataset (adj. R2 = 0.11). Time series analysis shows no statistically significant trend in NO2 concentrations during 2005-2015, despite a reported decline in NOx emissions. This study demonstrates the utility in combining satellite data with LUR models to derive daily maps of ambient surface NO2 for use in exposure studies.

scholarly journals Crowdsourcing LUCAS: Citizens Generating Reference Land Cover and Land Use Data with a Mobile App

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Laso Bayas ◽  
Linda See ◽  
Hedwig Bartl ◽  
Tobias Sturn ◽  
Mathias Karner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
High Quality ◽  
In Situ Data

There are many new land use and land cover (LULC) products emerging yet there is still a lack of in situ data for training, validation, and change detection purposes. The LUCAS (Land Use Cover Area frame Sample) survey is one of the few authoritative in situ field campaigns, which takes place every three years in European Union member countries. More recently, a study has considered whether citizen science and crowdsourcing could complement LUCAS survey data, e.g., through the FotoQuest Austria mobile app and crowdsourcing campaign. Although the data obtained from the campaign were promising when compared with authoritative LUCAS survey data, there were classes that were not well classified by the citizens. Moreover, the photographs submitted through the app were not always of sufficient quality. For these reasons, in the latest FotoQuest Go Europe 2018 campaign, several improvements were made to the app to facilitate interaction with the citizens contributing and to improve their accuracy in LULC identification. In addition to extending the locations from Austria to Europe, a change detection component (comparing land cover in 2018 to the 2015 LUCAS photographs) was added, as well as an improved LC decision tree. Furthermore, a near real-time quality assurance system was implemented to provide feedback on the distance to the target location, the LULC classes chosen and the quality of the photographs. Another modification was a monetary incentive scheme in which users received between 1 to 3 Euros for each successfully completed quest of sufficient quality. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether citizens can provide high quality in situ data on LULC through crowdsourcing that can complement LUCAS. We compared the results between the FotoQuest campaigns in 2015 and 2018 and found a significant improvement in 2018, i.e., a much higher match of LC between FotoQuest Go Europe and LUCAS. As shown by the cost comparisons with LUCAS, FotoQuest can complement LUCAS surveys by enabling continuous collection of large amounts of high quality, spatially explicit field data at a low cost.

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