scholarly journals Rapid Assessment and Ground Truthing of Habitat Composition and Analysis of Semi-Natural Habitat Diversity of Proposed Greenway Developments

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Julien Carlier ◽  
James Moran
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Matrix Composition ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Land Use Intensification ◽  
Ground Truthing

Across Europe, Greenways upcycle disused railway infrastructure into non-motorised public infrastructure, often with limited consideration to potential ecological synergies. Pre-development, disused transport corridors become relatively undisturbed and potentially host diverse semi-natural habitats. The study objectives were 1) to produce a highly detailed and accurate dataset using remote sensing with rapid assessment techniques for ground truthing and 2) subsequently examine habitat diversity existing along a proposed Greenway. A 7000 ha study corridor was based on a disused railway proposed as a transfrontier Greenway connecting the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The study applied a rapid-assessment virtual validation techniquealongside remote sensing and accuracy assessment. Inter-relationship between seminatural habitat diversity and land-use intensification was examined. Remote sensing accuracies of 89% and 99% for a real and linear habitat classification were obtained. Degrees of land-use intensification were observed throughout the corridor, highlighting the importance of maintaining and enhancing remaining semi-natural habitat that exists along the proposed Greenway route. Through understanding the landscape matrix composition and semi-natural habitat diversity, European Greenwayscan achieve multi-functionality for ecosystem conservation, forming integral components of Green Infrastructure.

Supporting decision makers through rapid assessments of remote sensing data: the case of Tefé National Forest, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Moreira Pessôa ◽  
Liana O. Anderson ◽  
Rafael Suertegaray Rossato ◽  
Victor Marchezini ◽  
Bruna Maria Pechini Bento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Extreme Drought ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Sensing Data

<p>Providing scientific subsidies for public policies is a compromise that is beyond the boundaries created by the academic universe, requiring scientists to respond to the challenges posed by increasingly complex societies, both socially and environmentally. Considering this, the objective of this work was to build a pilot project for rapid assessment of Tefé National Forest (TNF) land use zoning and evaluate its relevance as a tool to support actions and influence discussions in protected area management councils.</p><p>The assessment considered remote sensing data on deforestation and fire from 2005 to 2015. Deforestation maps (PRODES-INPE) and active fire (MODIS) information were overlapped with TNF land use zoning. Although National Forest, in general, has its land use rules provided by law, each protected area defines on its Management Plan their own land use zoning, with specific rules.</p><p>The study showed that in 2015, 97% of TNF was covered by forest, and although no deforestation was recorded in the same year, the number of active fires was 1.8 times higher than the average from 2005 to 2014. This demonstrates the vulnerability of this area to the extreme drought which affected the region this year. The Population Zone, where 44% of the TNF population lives, recorded the highest rates of deforestation and fire. The Preservation Zone, on the other hand, showed to be fulfilling its function, presenting no active fires and only one deforestation event during the whole analyzed period.</p><p>These results were presented at the 20th TNF Council Meeting, in 2017. The TNF manager pointed out the great importance of spatial and temporal diagnoses, which can exert in prioritize actions to tackle specific problems in most threatened zones. Community leaders participating in the meeting contributed to the completion of the results with in situ day-to-day reports, offering hypotheses for some phenomena observed on the assessment, such as the deforestation observed in 2010. After that, it became clear that actions directly focused on the Population Zone, and mainly related to the use of fire in years of extreme drought, can improve the conservation outcome for this protected area. Integrated socio-environmental diagnosis, such as this pilot project, can be an important tool, allowing a broader version of the monitoring strategies.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing the effects of agricultural intensification on natural habitats and biodiversity in Southern Amazonia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0225914
Author(s):  
Jan Göpel ◽  
Jan Schüngel ◽  
Benjamin Stuch ◽  
Rüdiger Schaldach
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
Southern Amazonia ◽  
The Impact

The ongoing trend toward agricultural intensification in Southern Amazonia makes it essential to explore the future impacts of this development on the extent of natural habitats and biodiversity. This type of analysis requires information on future pathways of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) under different socio-economic conditions and policy settings. For this purpose, the spatially explicit land-use change model LandSHIFT was applied to calculate a set of high-resolution land-use change scenarios for the Brazilian states Para and Mato Grosso. The period of the analysis were the years 2010–2030. The resulting land-use maps were combined with maps depicting vertebrate species diversity in order to examine the impact of natural habitat loss on species ranges as well as the overall LULCC-induced effect on vertebrate diversity as expressed by the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII). The results of this study indicate a general decrease in biodiversity intactness in all investigated scenarios. However, agricultural intensification combined with diversified environmental protection policies show least impact of LULCC on vertebrate species richness and conservation of natural habitats compared to scenarios with low agricultural intensification or scenarios with less effective conservation policies.

scholarly journals Detection of Vegetation Losses in Shrimp Farming Area Using Remote Sensing Technique.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-107
Author(s):  
Shaharlina Abdul Rasid ◽  
Noor Janatun Naim Jemali ◽  
Nur Kyairatul Syafinie Abdul Majid
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Shrimp Farming ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Bare Area ◽  
Remote Sensing Technique ◽  
Farming Area

The conversion of mangrove forest to aquaculture activity leads to the destruction of habitat diversity and ecosystem. Shrimp farming is a sector of aquaculture that has a high potential for poverty alleviation and rural development in Tumpat, Kelantan. However, the development of this activity induces changes that potentially have negative impacts on the environment, one of which is vegetation deterioration. Pulau Terendak, Tumpat has been through the phase of conversion area which established as a shrimp farming area at year 1989. Using remote sensing technique, this study was implemented to identify the current status and total ranges of shrimp farming area by comparing vegetation losses from year 1989 to 2017. Land use and land cover maps of study area was analyzed through a process called image classification. Supervised classification using Maximum Likelihood algorithm was utilized to assess vegetation losses of the 45 hectare of shrimp farm area. Four main land use classes were detected namely water, bare area, dense vegetation and small vegetation. Result showed that in 25 years, vegetation of the area had decline to 23.3% while bare soil or open area increased to 8.5%. Digital analyzed data was compared to field verification procedure, accuracy assessment in this study was recorded at 64.3%. There are many causes for vegetation or mangrove loss but in this case the conversion of mangroves to shrimp farms has caused considerable attention whereby vegetation losses was found at serious state. Output of this study could suggest the authorities to plan a good strategy to address this issue in cost effective with maximum benefits for the environment and society.

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS to Detect Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Jos East Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Solomon Wuyep zitta
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Land Cover Changes ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Plateau State ◽  
Ground Truthing ◽  
Land Management System

This study examines the potentials of Remote Sensing techniques and GIS in land resources management with particular reference to detect land use and land cover changes in Jos East L.G.A, between 1995 to 2015. In this study, administrative maps, remotely sensed data (Landsat and Nigeriasat-1 satellite imageries) and GIS techniques were used in the image analysis. All these were done using Ilwis 3.3 Academic, ERDAS 9.3, IDIRISI 17.0 and ArcGIS 10.1. Digital camera was also used for ground truthing. The results were presented using classified imageries. Between the years 1995 to 2015, there was consistent change in the land use land cover of Jos east with different LULC categories. Throughout the study years, vegetation was observed to have the highest percentage of the total land coverage with 57544.28 ha (63%) in 1995, decreasing to 50322.96 ha (50%) in 2005, and 34969.95 (39%) in the year 2015. While agricultural/farm land was gradually increasing throughout the study period with 21271.05 ha (23%) in 1995, 27017.37 ha (27%) in 2005 and 25406.19 ha (28%) in 2015. Findings also showed that build-up-areas/settlement development increased consistently from 1451.97ha (2%) in 1995, 3290.49 ha (3%) in 2005 to 5817.96 (6%) in 2015. It was concluded that agriculture in the study area is increasing while large areas of vegetation is drastically reducing and being converted to farmlands and settlements. It is recommended that government should put up a reliable land management system in form of restrictions on premature conversion of agricultural land, there should be policies that control threat to the vegetation cover. Government should take cognizance of the land use and land cover at a regular interval to ascertain the changes that are taking place in the study area.

scholarly journals Habitat-host Microbial Associations Across a Gradient in Land Use Intensification in Southern Amazon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ananda Brito de Assis ◽  
Décio Tadeu Corrêa ◽  
Rodrigo Gouvêa Taketani ◽  
Carlos Arturo Navas ◽  
Luis Schiesari
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Chemical Degradation ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Land Use Intensification ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Microbial Associations ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Abstract The conversion of natural habitats to agriculture results in the structural, physical and chemical degradation of ecosystems; and microbial communities respond to change with shifts in diversity and environmental function. Because the structure of amphibian-associated microbiome depends partially on the dynamics of microorganisms in the habitat, we hypothesized that land use would affect the tadpole skin microbiota structure of populations inhabiting water bodies in agricultural lands. To study this, we sampled microbial communities of water bodies and skin of larval amphibian across a gradient of land use intensification represented by cerrado, pastures and soybean fields. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput gene sequencing to characterize the microbial communities. Land use had a strong effect on both host and habitat bacterial communities. Bacterial ASVs richness and diversity in water bodies decreased from pristine habitat to soybean plantations, with the cerrado community differing from pasture and soybean fields. The aquatic microbial community composition and structure were different across the gradient, showing a robust effect of land use on this habitat. The richness and diversity of amphibian-associated bacterial community was lowest in cerrado and highest in pasture populations. The soybean plantation exhibited the most distinct composition and structure of amphibian microbiota while the pasture and cerrado communities were similar. Bacterial ASVs, candidates for biomarkers of the land use effect on both host and water bodies communities, were indicated. Our results highlight the effects of land use intensification as a driver for amphibian microbiome and offer information on the functionality of agro-industrial environments.

scholarly journals Bees support farming. Does farming support bees?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti S. Virkar ◽  
Ekta Siddhu ◽  
V. P. Uniyal
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Doon Valley ◽  
Bee Diversity ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
The Tropics

AbstractTropical regions are subjected to rapid land use changes altering species composition and diversity in communities. The non-Apis bees are vital invertebrates continued to be highly neglected in the tropics. We compared their diversity status, richness and composition across natural areas and agroecosystems in Doon valley, a subtropical-temperate landscape situated at the foothills of outer Himalayas in India. We investigated how two major habitats relate to non-Apis bee diversity, specifically seeking answers to (1) Whether natural habitat is a refuge to richer and rarer bee communities than agroecosystems? (2) Are natural habitats important for supporting wild bee populations in agroecosystems? (3) Do polyculture farms behave similar to natural habitats and therefore support richer bee communities than monoculture? Observation and pantrap sampling were used to collect data. We recorded 43 species belonging to bees of five families. The findings of our investigation demonstrate the importance of natural habitats as a potential refuge for non-Apis bees. The findings highlighted that Doon valley harboured twenty-five rare species of non-Apis bees, and natural habitats are a refuge to 11 rare specialist species (clamtest; Specialization threshold K = 2/3, Alpha level = 0.005). Natural habitat diversity in Doon valley supports bee communities in nearby agroecosystems (R2 = 0.782, SE = 0.148, P = 0.004). Polyculture practices in agroecosystems (<100m from forest H’ = 2.15; >100m from forest = 2.08) in the valley mimic natural habitats (H’ = 2.37) and support diverse non-Apis bee communities (2.08) in comparison to monocultures (<100m from forest H’ = 2.13; >100m from forest =1.56). Bees evolved with flowering plants over 120 million years and they suffice an ever-growing anthropogenic nutrition needs with their services through enhanced agricultural production in pursuit of forage. We finally recommend similar assessments of bee diversity and plants they support in different habitats and vice versa.

scholarly journals Changes of Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Diversity of Odonata (Insecta) in Response to Land Use in Amazonia

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1061
Author(s):  
Fernando Geraldo de Carvalho ◽  
Leandro Duarte ◽  
Gabriel Nakamura ◽  
Guilherme Dubal dos Santos Seger ◽  
Leandro Juen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Data Sampling ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Habitat Generalists

Changes in natural habitats for human use can alter the distribution of biodiversity, favoring species that are more tolerant to environmental disturbance. Usually, these species comprise clades of habitat generalists, which have biological mechanisms to colonize environments with different environmental conditions. However, such effects are still poorly understood for most biological groups, such as the Amazon odonates. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of land use along an environmental gradient on the phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of Odonata in the Amazon. We tested the following hypotheses: In deforested areas (e.g., pasture for cattle, palm plantation, and logging), the Odonata community will be more taxonomically and phylogenetically impoverished than in forested areas. We assume that the modification of the natural habitat causes loss of specialist forest species and favors specialist species of open areas and/or habitat generalists. Data sampling was performed in 195 streams under different land-use types: livestock areas, palm monoculture, timber exploitation, and forest areas taken as reference sites. Our results showed that anthropogenic impacts affected the phylogenetic diversity of odonates and the increase in shrub vegetation was related to the increase in the phylogenetic diversity of communities. On the other hand, shrub vegetation is indicative of disturbed areas, where secondary vegetation predominates, with less canopy cover due to the absence or discontinuity of the native tree cover in these habitats. Nonetheless, species richness and abundance were not related to the effects of anthropogenic land use. Finally, our results suggest that the phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian odonates is related to riparian vegetation structure.

Monitoring land use change in the Lake Taupo catchment between 1975, 1990 and 2002 using satellite remote sensing data

2007 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
H. Lilienthal ◽  
A. Brauer ◽  
K. Betteridge ◽  
E. Schnug
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Satellite Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Lake Water Quality ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Slow Decline

Conversion of native vegetation into farmed grassland in the Lake Taupo catchment commenced in the late 1950s. The lake's iconic value is being threatened by the slow decline in lake water quality that has become apparent since the 1970s. Keywords: satellite remote sensing, nitrate leaching, land use change, livestock farming, land management

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