scholarly journals Understanding of Forest Cover Dynamics in Traditional Landscapes: Mapping Trajectories of Changes in Mountain Territories (1824–2016), on the Example of Jeleniogórska Basin, Poland

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska ◽  
Maciej Filipiak ◽  
Anna Napierała-Filipiak
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Depth Analysis

Though on a global scale, for ecological reasons, increased forest cover is universally regarded as positive, on a local scale, the reforestation of arable land may pose threats to cultural landscapes by removing characteristic landscape features. Particularly vulnerable are marginal rural areas, e.g., mountain regions, where most traditional land use systems have survived and which are subject to the most spectacular land use change. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the issue of the management of forest cover in historical cultural landscapes in mountain territories in Poland within the context of widespread land use change in Eastern Europe. Land cover data were obtained from historical and contemporary aerial photographs, as well as topographic maps from five time points between 1824 and 2016. The study was conducted by means of spatio-temporal forest cover trajectory analysis (LCTA), transition and time–depth analysis, and land cover change calculations that were made by means of ArcGIS. Our research indicates that the rate of change has risen considerably in the last two decades, and the current share of forest cover is much bigger than that reflected in the official data. Eight principal forest cover trajectory types were identified. The biggest area is occupied by woodland of long-term stability. Another large group is constituted by forests created on the basis of arable land and grassland as a result of simple conversion at one point in time, mainly in the years 1824–1886 and 1939–1994. At the same time, a sizeable group is made up by areas that have been subject to unplanned cyclical or dynamic changes during various periods. A very important group is comprised new forests that were created in 1994–2016, predominantly as a result of natural succession, that are often not included in official land classifications. The constant expansion of woodlands has led to a shrinking of historical former coppice woodlands. This indicates that the current landscape management mechanisms in Poland are inadequate for protecting the cultural landscape. The barriers include the lack of intersectoral cooperation and the overlooking of the historical context of landscapes. The present situation calls not only for verification of the existing forest policy but also for increasing the role and engagement of local communities, as well as making comprehensive local development plans, all of which may be helped by the findings of our study and of similar research.

scholarly journals Land-Use Change Related to Topography and Societal Drivers in High-Mountains – A Case Study in the Upper Watershed of the Tergi (Kazbegi Region), Greater Caucasus

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Theissen ◽  
Annette Otte ◽  
Rainer Waldhardt
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Development Trends ◽  
Greater Caucasus

Abstract High mountain ecosystems, with strong topographic and climatic gradients, are fragile and particularly sensitive to changes in land use. The abandonment of historic cultural landscapes has often led to changes in the pattern of land cover and thus, to a shift in the functions of high mountain landscapes, like fresh water supply, productivity or erosion control. In order to understand the effects of land-use change on the land-cover pattern at the local and regional scale, we analyzed and classified the mountainous landscape structure in the Kazbegi region in Georgia, located in the Central Greater Caucasus. For 13 settlements, we determined the land cover as present in 1987 and 2015, and quantified the changes over time to detect land-cover development trends for each settlement. Using a cluster analysis, the study area was analyzed regarding to topography (altitude, aspect, slope) and distance to settlements at the regional scale to gain six groups with separating conditions. Furthermore, each settlement was classified according to topography and land-cover change to obtain site-specific, comparative development trends. Our results show that this Caucasian high-mountain landscape is characterized by open grassland (67%) used as pasture and hay meadow, and natural birch forests (7%) in patches in the upper half of the subalpine belt. Within the settlements but also in their surroundings, field vegetables are cultivated in home gardens (1%). Land-cover change during the observation period mainly affected the cultural grassland with hay meadow abandonment. Moreover, shrubbery and forest expanded considerably on abandoned pastures. We further detected a strong relationship to topography that considerably varied between settlements resulting in specific trends in land-use change. Hay-making and arable land cultivation are focused today on sun-exposed and gentle slopes near the settlements. Shrub encroachment and reforestations were localized on farther distances and mostly on north-exposed slopes. Besides providing basic information about the historic and current land-use and land-cover patterns, our results quantify the landscape change during almost 30 years. A spatio-temporal analysis revealed an understanding of how land-use decisions influence the landscape pattern. In the context of societal development, regional socioeconomic processes, like shifts in the agricultural structure and population outmigration, seem to be societal drivers of changes. Our findings reveal linkages and interrelationships between natural, human-induced environmental and socioeconomic processes within high-mountain socio-ecological systems. Moreover, we suggest that sustainable land-use strategies for spatial development on sub-regional level, especially in marginal high-mountain regions, should consider topography and its influence on land-use change.

scholarly journals Geospatial assessment of land use and land cover dynamics in the mid-zone of Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-305
Author(s):  
Addo Koranteng ◽  
Isaac Adu-Poku ◽  
Emmanuel Donkor ◽  
Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
The Past ◽  
Open Forest

AbstractLand use and land cover (LULC) terrain in Ghana has undergone profound changes over the past years emanating mainly from anthropogenic activities, which have impacted countrywide and sub-regional environment. This study is a comprehensive analysis via integrated approach of geospatial procedures such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) of past, present and future LULC from satellite imagery covering Ghana’s Ashanti regional capital (Kumasi) and surrounding districts. Multi-temporal satellite imagery data sets of four different years, 1990 (Landsat TM), 2000 (Landsat ETM+), 2010 (Alos and Disaster Monitoring Constellation-DMC) and 2020 (SENTINEL), spanning over a 30-year period were mapped. Five major LULC categories – Closed Forest, Open Forest, Agriculture, Built-up and Water – were delineated premised on the prevailing geographical settings, field study and remote sensing data. Markov Cellular Automata modelling was applied to predict the probable LULC change consequence for the next 20 years (2040). The study revealed that both Open Forest and Agriculture class categories decreased 51.98 to 38.82 and 27.48 to 20.11, respectively. Meanwhile, Built-up class increased from 4.8% to 24.8% (over 500% increment from 1990 to 2020). Rapid urbanization caused the depletion of forest cover and conversion of farmlands into human settlements. The 2040 forecast map showed an upward increment in the Built-up area up to 35.2% at the expense of other LULC class categories. This trend from the past to the forecasted future would demand that judicious LULC resolutions have to be made to keep Ghana’s forest cover, provide arable land for farming activities and alleviate the effects of climate change.

scholarly journals A tájhasználat változása a Hódmezővásárhelyi kistérségben a földhasználat és a felszínborítás változásának tükrében

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Krisztián Kis
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Positive Result ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Land Cover Changes ◽  
Landscape Use ◽  
Uncultivated Land ◽  
Use Categories

The proportion of the land use categories reflects the quality and intensity of the landscape use. According to the data the land use of the micro-region mostly defined by arable land, grassland (meadow/pasture), forest and uncultivated land, which are amounted to 99% of the area of the micro-region during the examined period. In spite of the short examined period it can be concluded from the examination that considerable changes took place in the landscape use of the micro-region which can be derived from the land use and land cover changes. It can be assessed as favourably change that forest areas increased but the increase of uncultivated land at the same time can be less favourable assessed. The proportion of forest and semi-natural areas, wetlands and water bodies also increased as the positive result of the land use change.

scholarly journals Global rules for translating land-use change (LUH2) to land-cover change for CMIP6 using GLM2

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3203-3220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Ma ◽  
George C. Hurtt ◽  
Louise P. Chini ◽  
Ritvik Sahajpal ◽  
Julia Pongratz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Translation Rule

Abstract. Anthropogenic land-use and land-cover change activities play a critical role in Earth system dynamics through significant alterations to biogeophysical and biogeochemical properties at local to global scales. To quantify the magnitude of these impacts, climate models need consistent land-cover change time series at a global scale, based on land-use information from observations or dedicated land-use change models. However, a specific land-use change cannot be unambiguously mapped to a specific land-cover change. Here, nine translation rules are evaluated based on assumptions about the way land-use change could potentially impact land cover. Utilizing the Global Land-use Model 2 (GLM2), the model underlying the latest Land-Use Harmonization dataset (LUH2), the land-cover dynamics resulting from land-use change were simulated based on multiple alternative translation rules from 850 to 2015 globally. For each rule, the resulting forest cover, carbon density and carbon emissions were compared with independent estimates from remote sensing observations, U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization reports, and other studies. The translation rule previously suggested by the authors of the HYDE 3.2 dataset, that underlies LUH2, is consistent with the results of our examinations at global, country and grid scales. This rule recommends that for CMIP6 simulations, models should (1) completely clear vegetation in land-use changes from primary and secondary land (including both forested and non-forested) to cropland, urban land and managed pasture; (2) completely clear vegetation in land-use changes from primary forest and/or secondary forest to rangeland; (3) keep vegetation in land-use changes from primary non-forest and/or secondary non-forest to rangeland. Our analysis shows that this rule is one of three (out of nine) rules that produce comparable estimates of forest cover, vegetation carbon and emissions to independent estimates and also mitigate the anomalously high carbon emissions from land-use change observed in previous studies in the 1950s. According to the three translation rules, contemporary global forest area is estimated to be 37.42×106 km2, within the range derived from remote sensing products. Likewise, the estimated carbon stock is in close agreement with reference biomass datasets, particularly over regions with more than 50 % forest cover.

scholarly journals What explains the elevational upward shifts at the treeline ecotone?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Àngela Manrique-Alba ◽  
Santiago Beguería
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Treeline Ecotone

<p>Temperatures have increased worldwide in the last decades, with the most pronounced and rapid changes occurring at high altitudes and latitudes. Climate change has played an important role in modifying the altitudinal location of the treeline ecotone, i.e. the transition from timber line (the upper forest limit, defined by the presence of a continuous forest cover) to the treeline (the last upright trees reaching 2 or 3 m in height). Moreover, the influence of recent land use change (e.g., changes in pastoral use, tourism development) in treeline dynamics is increasingly acknowledged. We have compiled a dataset of treeline changes over the Pyrenees mountain range, extending over more than 12000 linear kilometres, representing a large study area that extends across a broad range of environmental conditions. The main objective was to assess the effects of climate change, past land uses and physiography on the treeline dynamics between 1956 and 2015. To explore the variation in treeline shifts we used pairs of aerial photographs taken in 1956 and 2015 and we identified the position of the tree line using a criterion based on canopy cover thresholds. Our findings show significant differences between tree line dynamics for the two analysed periods and allow us to infer the relative importance of climatic factors, land use change, and local anthropogenic influence modulating the treeline structure and its dynamics.</p>

scholarly journals Assessment of land use cover changes, carbon sequestration and carbon stock in dry temperate forests of Chilas watershed, Gilgit-Baltistan

2024 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Raqeeb ◽  
A. Saleem ◽  
L. Ansari ◽  
S. M. Nazami ◽  
M. W. Muhammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
C Stocks ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan

Abstract Land use and land cover change are affecting the global environment and ecosystems of the different biospheres. Monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of these changes is of utmost importance as they often results in several global environmental consequences such as land degradation, mass erosion, habitat deterioration as well as micro and macro climate of the regions. The advance technologies like remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) are helpful in determining/ identifying these changes. In the current study area, changes in carbon stocks, notably in forest areas, are resulting in considerable dynamics of carbon stocks as a result of climate change and carbon sequestration. This study was carried out in the Diamer district of the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Pakistan to investigate the change in cover change/land use change (particularly Forest Land use) as well as carbon sequestration potential of the forests in the district during almost last 25years. The land cover, temporal Landsat data (level 1, LIT) were downloaded from the USGS EROS (2016), for 1979-1989, 1990-2000 and 2001-2012. Change in land uses, particularly forest cover was investigated using GIS techniques. Forest inventory was carried out using random sampling techniques. A standard plot of size 0.1 ha (n=80) was laid out to determine the tree density, volume, biomass and C stocks. Simulation of C stocks was accomplished by application of the CO2FIX model with the data input from inventory. Results showed a decrease in both forest and snow cover in the region from 1979-2012. Similarly decrease was seen in tree volume, tree Biomass, dynamics of C Stocks and decrease was in occur tree density respectively. It is recommended we need further more like project such as BTAP (Billion Tree Afforestation Project) and green Pakistan project to increase the forest cover, to control on land use change, protect forest ecosystem and to protect snow cover.

scholarly journals Monitoring Land Encroachment and Land Use & Land Cover (LULC) Change in The Pachhua Dun, Dehradun District Using Landsat Images 1989 and 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Rahul Thapa ◽  
Vijay Bahuguna
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lulc Change

Remote sensing and G.I.S help acquire information on changing land use and land cover (LULC), and it plays a pivotal role in measuring and monitoring such local and global changes. The present analysis has been executed on Landsat 5 TM, 1989 and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS, 2020 images of Pachhua Dun, including Dehradun & Mussoorie urban agglomeration. The present study aims to detect the land encroachment or area of change; rate of change and monitoring spatio-temporal variation in LULC change between 1989-2020 using change detection technique, supervised maximum likelihood classification, and Overall accuracy & Kappa Coefficient (K) was applied as an accuracy assessment tool. The results derived from the change detection analysis exhibits that the highest growth rate was recorded in built-up areas +247.75% (110 km2) and revealed the annual rate of change of 3.55 km2. or  7.99%, the highest among all LULC class during the overall study period of 31 years. The result also found that among all LULC class, the most significant LULC conversion took place from agricultural land to built-up areas followed by open/scrubland and vegetation/forest cover; approximately 69.9km2 of the area under agricultural land was found to be converted into built-up areas. At the same time, 38.9 km2 area of vegetation/forest cover and 36.3 km2 of the area of open/scrubland have converted into agricultural land. Rising anthropogenic influence and unsustainable land-use practices in the study area have led to a large-scale human encroachment and rapid transformation of the natural landscape into the cultural landscape. This analysis provides the essential long-term Geospatial information related to LULC change for making optimum decision-making process and sustainable land-use planning in the Pachhua Dun-Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India. 

Threats of Changes in Land-Use and Drivers on Owabi and Barekese Watershed Forests in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Samuel Ayesu ◽  
Victor Rex Barnes ◽  
Olivia Agbenyega
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Significant Negative Relationship ◽  
Landsat Satellite ◽  
Site Population

This study analyzes the patterns of land-use and land-cover changes for the last three decades (1986–2017) and its drivers for Owabi and Barekese watersheds in the moist semi-deciduous forest of Ghana. The study used Landsat satellite imageries of 1986, 1998, 2007, and 2017 and population data to analyze land cover and use changes of the two watersheds. A decline in natural vegetation cover by 57% and 71.3% has occurred for Owabi and Barekese watersheds respectively. Cropland increased by 77.1% and 105.2% while settlement has increased by 1,018% and 4%, respectively, for Owabi and Barekese watersheds. Cropland is the main form of land-use change for Barekese watershed while settlement is the main land-use change in the Owabi watershed. Annual expansion of settlement within the Owabi site was 38.1%, and cropland was 5.2% for the Barekese site. Population trends had a significant negative relationship with forest cover and a positive relationship with settlement and cropland. Catchment degradation was also influenced by the management model used.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal variations in land use and land cover in the Njoro and Kamweti River catchments, Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Chepkorir Koskey ◽  
George Morara Ogendi ◽  
Charles Mwithali M'Erimba ◽  
Geoffry Mukonambi Maina
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
The Other ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
River Catchments

The Njoro and Kamweti River catchments are productive catchments that have and continue to experience major land-use changes with consequences on land cover and the associated environmental resources. It is, therefore, crucial to understand the type of changes occurring, spatial patterns, and the rates at which these changes are occurring. In this study, we quantified the changes in land use and land cover that occurred between 1988 and 2019 identifying areas of change and the average annual rate of change. Thematic Mappers (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mappers Plus (ETM +) and Sentinel images were obtained for 1988 and 2019. Ground truthing was carried out to enable us to verify the accuracy of the remotely sensed data using in-situ observations to refine the classification output. The results obtained indicated that both catchments have experienced intense land-use changes but at different levels. Njoro River catchment’s forest cover and shrubland had decreased at a rate of 6.06 Km2/year and 0.92 Km2/year respectively and the most increase was recorded in farmlands (3.11 Km2/year) as the other land use classes also increased. In the Kamweti River catchment, forest cover showed a decrease at a rate of 0.21 Km2/year, and farmlands also a slight decrease of 0.1 Km2/year while the other land cover classes increased in area coverage during the period 1988-2019.  The changes in land use and land cover were attributed to increased demand for food and housing and thus continued degrading the two catchments especially the Njoro River catchment. Results obtained indicated that anthropogenic activities were the major contributing factors to the changes in Land Use Land Cover experienced in both catchments. We recommend continued analysis of the trends and rates of land cover conversions owing to their potential use by development planners. 

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