Suburban frog ponds: mapping local land cover yields different estimates of landscape composition than the National Land Cover Database

10.7287/peerj.preprints.570v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Max Lambert

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Large Scale ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Landscape Composition ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Simple Method ◽

Fine Grain ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Ecological Patterns

Suburban neighborhoods are rapidly spreading globally. As such, there is an increasing need to study the environmental and ecological effects of suburbanization. At large spatial extents, from county-level to global, remote sensing-derived land cover data, such as the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), have yielded insight into patterns of urbanization and concomitant large-scale ecological patterns in response. However, the components of suburban land cover (houses, yards, etc.) are dispersed throughout the landscape at a finer scale than the relatively coarse grain size (30m pixels) of NLCD may be able to detect. Our understanding of ecological processes in heterogeneous landscapes is reliant upon the accuracy and resolution of our measurements as well as the scale at which we measure the landscape. Analyses of ecological processes along suburban gradients are restricted by the currently available data. As ecologists are becoming increasingly interested in describing phenomena at spatial extents as small as individual households, we need higher-resolution landscape measurements. Here, I describe a simple method of translating the components of suburban landscapes into finer-grain, local land cover (LLC) data in GIS. Using both LLC and NLCD, I compare the suburban matrix surrounding ponds occupied by two different frog species. I illustrate large discrepancies in Forest, Yard, and Developed land cover estimates between LLC and NLCD, leading to markedly different interpretations of suburban landscape composition. NLCD, relative to LLC, estimates lower proportions of forest cover and higher proportions of anthropogenic land covers in general. These two land cover datasets provide surprisingly different descriptions of the suburban landscapes, potentially affecting our understanding of how organisms respond to an increasingly suburban world. LLC provides a free and detailed fine-grain depiction of the components of suburban neighborhoods and will allow ecologists to better explore heterogeneous suburban landscapes at multiple spatial scales.

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Bee responses to landscape composition on coupled and decoupled multiscale approaches

10.21203/rs.3.rs-750143/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lazaro Carneiro ◽

Milton Cezar Ribeiro ◽

Willian Moura de Aguiar ◽

Camila de Fátima Priante ◽

Wilson Frantine-Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Cover ◽

Linear Models ◽

Landscape Heterogeneity ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Landscape Composition ◽

Landscape Context ◽

Multiscale Approach ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Scale Of Effect

Abstract ContextMultiscale approaches are essential for understanding ecological processes and detecting the scale of effect. However, nested multiscale approaches retain the effect of the landscape attributes from the smaller spatial scales into the larger ones. Thus, decoupling local vs. regional scales can reveal detailed ecological responses to landscape context, but this multiscale approach is poorly explored. ObjectivesWe evaluated the scale of effect of the forest cover (%) and landscape heterogeneity on Euglossini bees combining coupled and decoupled multiscale approaches. MethodsThe Euglossini males were sampled in forest patches from 15 landscapes within the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil. For simplicity, we defined that the coupled approaches represented the local scales and decoupled approaches the regional scales. We decoupled the scales by cutting out the smaller scales inserted into larger ones. We estimated the relationship of the bee community attributes with forest cover (%) and landscape heterogeneity in local and regional scales using Generalized Linear Models. ResultsWe found positive effects of landscape heterogeneity on species richness for regional scales. Forest cover and landscape heterogeneity in local scales showed positive effects on the euglossine abundances. The scale of effect for euglossine richness was higher than species abundances. ConclusionsCombining coupled and decoupled multiscale approaches showed adequate capture of the scale of effect of the landscape composition on bee communities. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to measure the influence of the landscape context on biodiversity. Maintaining landscapes with larger forest cover and spatial heterogeneity is essential to keep euglossine species requirements.

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Analysis of Forest Deforestation and its Driving Factors in Myanmar from 1988 to 2017

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11113047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 3047 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Rongfeng Yang ◽

Yi Luo ◽

Kun Yang ◽

Liang Hong ◽

Xiaolu Zhou

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Large Scale ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Temporal Evolution ◽

Driving Factors ◽

Deforestation Rate ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Landsat Satellite

Myanmar, abundant in natural resources, is one of the countries with high forest cover in Southeast Asia. Along with its rapid socio-economic development, however, the construction of large-scale infrastructure, expansion of agricultural land, and an increasing demand for timber products have posed serious threats to the forests and significantly affected regional sustainable development. However, the geographical environment in Myanmar is complex, resulting in the lack of long-term sequence of land cover data products. Based on 30 years’ Landsat satellite remote sensing imagery data and the land cover data extracted by a mixed classification method, this paper examined the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of forest cover in Myanmar and investigated driving factors of the spatio-temporal evolution. Results show that the forest cover has decreased by 110,621 km2 in the past 30 years with the annual deforestation rate of 0.87%. Cropland expansion is the main reason for the deforestation throughout the study period. The study can provide basic information of the forest cover data to the Myanmar government for ecological environment protection. At the same time, it can provide important support to the “Belt and Road” initiative to invest in the region’s economy.

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Uncertainty Analysis of Multisource Land Cover Products in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168857 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8857

Author(s):

Longhao Wang ◽

Jiaxin Jin

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Least Squares Regression ◽

Average Deviation ◽

Deviation Analysis ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Spatial Changes ◽

Forest Coverage ◽

High Consistency

Satellite-based land cover products play a crucial role in sustainability. There are several types of land cover products, such as qualitative products with discrete classes, semiquantitative products with several classes at a predetermined ratio, and quantitative products with land cover fractions. The proportions of land cover types in the grids with coarse resolution should be considered when used at the regional scale (e.g., modeling and remote sensing inversion). However, uncertainty, which varies with spatial distribution and resolution, needs to be studied further. This study used MCD12, ESA CCI, and MEaSURES VCF land cover data as indicators of qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative products, respectively, to explore the uncertainty of multisource land cover data. The methods of maximum area aggregation, deviation analysis, and least squares regression were used to investigate spatiotemporal changes in forests and nontree vegetation at diverse pixel resolutions across China. The results showed that the average difference in forest coverage for the three products was 8%, and the average deviation was 11.2%. For forest cover, the VCF and ESA CCI exhibited high consistency. For nontree vegetation, the ESA CCI and MODIS exhibited the lowest differences. The overall uncertainty in the temporal and spatial changes of the three products was relatively small, but there were significant differences in local areas (e.g., southeastern hills). Notably, as the spatial resolution decreased, the three products’ uncertainty decreased, and the resolution of 0.1° was the inflection point of consistency.

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Regionalisation of asset values for risk analyses

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-6-167-2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 167-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

A. H. Thieken ◽

M. Müller ◽

L. Kleist ◽

I. Seifert ◽

D. Borst ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Census Data ◽

Population Data ◽

Dasymetric Mapping ◽

Unit Value ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Mapping Techniques ◽

Asset Data

Abstract. In risk analysis there is a spatial mismatch of hazard data that are commonly modelled on an explicit raster level and exposure data that are often only available for aggregated units, e.g. communities. Dasymetric mapping techniques that use ancillary information to disaggregate data within a spatial unit help to bridge this gap. This paper presents dasymetric maps showing the population density and a unit value of residential assets for whole Germany. A dasymetric mapping approach, which uses land cover data (CORINE Land Cover) as ancillary variable, was adapted and applied to regionalize aggregated census data that are provided for all communities in Germany. The results were validated by two approaches. First, it was ascertained whether population data disaggregated at the community level can be used to estimate population in postcodes. Secondly, disaggregated population and asset data were used for a loss evaluation of two flood events that occurred in 1999 and 2002, respectively. It must be concluded that the algorithm tends to underestimate the population in urban areas and to overestimate population in other land cover classes. Nevertheless, flood loss evaluations demonstrate that the approach is capable of providing realistic estimates of the number of exposed people and assets. Thus, the maps are sufficient for applications in large-scale risk assessments such as the estimation of population and assets exposed to natural and man-made hazards.

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A Regression-Based Prediction Model of Suspended Sediment Yield in the Cuyahoga River in Ohio Using Historical Satellite Images and Precipitation Data

Water ◽

10.3390/w12030881 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 881 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Richard Ampomah ◽

Hossein Hosseiny ◽

Lan Zhang ◽

Virginia Smith ◽

Kristin Sample-Lord

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Suspended Sediment ◽

Sediment Yield ◽

Flood Management ◽

Mean Annual Precipitation ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Yield Data ◽

Suspended Sediment Yield ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

The Mean

Urbanization typically results in increased imperviousness which alters suspended sediment yield and impacts geomorphic and ecological processes within urban streams. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in the ability to predict suspended sediment yield. This study assesses the combined impact of urban development and increased precipitation on suspended sediment yield in the Cuyahoga River using statistical modeling. Historical satellite-based land-cover data was combined with precipitation and suspended sediment yield data to create a Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model for the Cuyahoga watershed. An R2 value of 0.71 was obtained for the comparison between the observed and predicted results based on limited land-use and land-cover data. The model also shows that every 1 mm increase in the mean annual precipitation has the potential to increase the mean annual suspended sediment yield by 860 tons/day. Further, a 1 km2 increase in developed land area has the potential to increase mean annual suspended sediment yield by 0.9 tons/day. The framework proposed in this study provides decision makers with a measure for assessing the potential impacts of future development and climate alteration on water quality in the watershed and implications for stream stability, dam and flood management, and in-stream and near-stream infrastructure life.

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Negative or positive effects of plantation and intensive forestry on biodiversity: A matter of scale and perspective

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc86354-3 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 86 (3) ◽

pp. 354-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Henrik Hartmann ◽

Gaëtan Daoust ◽

Brigitte Bigué

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Large Scale ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

High Yield ◽

Ecosystem Integrity ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Management Paradigms ◽

Carry Over ◽

Terrestrial Biodiversity

Terrestrial biodiversity is closely linked to forest ecosystems but anthropogenic reductions in forest cover and changes in forest structure and composition jeopardize their biodiversity. Several forest species are threatened because of reduced habitat quality and fragmentation or even habitat loss as a result of forest management activities. In response to this threat, integrated forest management (IFM) was developed in the early 1990s and has been applied over large spatial scales ever since. While IFM seeks to satisfy both human resource demands and ecosystem integrity, the whole forest matrix is affected and this may also have negative impacts on biodiversity. The concept of forest zoning (e.g., Triad) avoids these issues by physically separating land uses from each other. The zoning approach has been developed in the same period as IFM, but there are still very few examples of large-scale applications. This may be because its distinctiveness from IFM may not always seem clear and because forest zoning is not easily implemented. Here we explain these differences and show that IFM and the zoning approach are indeed different management paradigms. We advocate the use of high-yield plantations within the zoning paradigm as a means for biodiversity conservation and review the literature (with an emphasis on the northern hemisphere and on plantation forestry within a land-zoning approach) on impacts of forest management activities on biodiversity. Furthermore, we give advice on issues that require consideration when implementing forest zoning at both the stand and the landscape levels. We recommend several small changes in design and management of forest plantations as a means to significantly increase their biodiversity value. We conclude that while forest zoning seems an adequate strategy for the Canadian forestry sector, a shift in paradigm must carry over to policy-makers and legislation if this approach is to succeed. Key words: biodiversity, landbase zoning, forest management, intensive silviculture, plantation forests

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Motif: an open-source R tool for pattern-based spatial analysis

10.32942/osf.io/kj7fu ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jakub Nowosad

Keyword(s):

Spatial Analysis ◽

Land Cover ◽

Open Source ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Forest Cover ◽

R Package ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Wide Range

*Context* Pattern-based spatial analysis provides methods to describe and quantitatively compare spatial patterns for categorical raster datasets. It allows for spatial search, change detection, and clustering of areas with similar patterns. *Objectives* We developed an R package **motif** as a set of open-source tools for pattern-based spatial analysis. *Methods* This package provides most of the functionality of existing software (except spatial segmentation), but also extends the existing ideas through support for multi-layer raster datasets. It accepts larger-than-RAM datasets and works across all of the major operating systems. *Results* In this study, we describe the software design of the tool, its capabilities, and present four case studies. They include calculation of spatial signatures based on land cover data for regular and irregular areas, search for regions with similar patterns of geomorphons, detection of changes in land cover patterns, and clustering of areas with similar spatial patterns of land cover and landforms. *Conclusions* The methods implemented in **motif** should be useful in a wide range of applications, including land management, sustainable development, environmental protection, forest cover change and urban growth monitoring, and agriculture expansion studies. The **motif** package homepage is https://nowosad.github.io/motif.

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Preliminary assessment of habitat characteristics of woodland caribou calving areas in the Claybelt region of Québec and Ontario, Canada

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.23.5.1708 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 247 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Émilie Lantin ◽

Pierre Drapeau ◽

Marcel Paré ◽

Yves Bergeron

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Black Spruce ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Vegetation Characteristics ◽

Forest Cover Types

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) require a diversity of forested habitats over large areas and may thus be particularly affected by the large-scale changes in the composition and age-class distribution of forest landscapes induced by the northern expansion of forest management. In this study we examine habitat characteristics associated to the use of calving areas by woodland caribou females and calves at different spatial scales. Thirty females were captured and collared with Argos satellite transmitters that allowed to locate 14 calving areas. Field surveys were conducted at each of these areas to measure the landscape composition of forest cover types and local vegetation characteristics that are used for both forage conditions and protection cover. At the scale of the calving area, univariate comparisons of the amount of forest cover types between sites with and without calves showed that the presence of calves was associated to mature black spruce forest with a high percent cover of terrestrial lichens. Within calving grounds, univariate comparisons showed that vegetation features like ericaceans and terrestrial lichens, that are important food resources for lactating females, were more abundant in calving areas where females were seen with a calf in mid-July than in areas where females were seen alone. The protection of the vegetation cover against predators was however similar between calving areas with or with¬out a calf. Logistic regression results also indicated that vegetation characteristics associated to forage conditions were positively associated to calf presence on calving grounds. Our results suggest that foraging conditions should be given more attention in analyses on habitat requirements of woodland caribou.

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Investigating the interactions between Forest Cover Change and Hydroclimatic patterns in the Bolivian Amazon basin over the last 30 years

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17876 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sly Wongchuig Correa ◽

Jhan Carlo Espinoza ◽

Hans Segura ◽

Thomas Condom ◽

Clémentine Junquas

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Large Scale ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Hydrological Modeling ◽

European Space Agency ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Wet Season ◽

Climatic Index ◽

Bolivian Amazon

Large evidences support the strong impacts on rainfall amount and the increasing of dry-season length on the Amazonian forest. All of these effects are usually attributed to large scale atmospheric circulation and to land cover changes as part of anthropogenic effects. In this research we assess statistical and modeling approaches to investigate the interaction between changes in forest cover and hydroclimate processes on a regional and local scale.Henceforth, the deforestation areas and climatic indexes for the southern Amazon basin (south of 14&#176;S) were evaluated. The deforestation map was estimated for the 1992-2018 period, based on global land cover maps at 300 m of spatial resolution produced by the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) by using several remote sensing datasets. The CHIRPS rainfall dataset (P) for the 1981-2018 period was used to estimate the dry day frequency (DDF, P<1mm) and the wet day frequency (WDF, P>10mm). In addition, the mean actual seasonal evapotranspiration (AET) was GLEAM and ET-Amazon evapotranspiration datasets for the 1980-2018 and 2003-2013 periods respectively. In order to determine the local and the regional climatic effect for each pixel of the climatic index (DDF, WDF and AET), the deforestation fraction was estimated considering different spatial radii of influence (20 to 50 km).The first results indicate a particular pattern in the southern Bolivian Amazon where two groups of areas were identified, considering the common period of analysis (1992-2018). One of them shows a significant relationship between increasing trend of DDF and decreasing trend of WDF while deforestation fraction is high, what mainly occurs during the wet season. In addition, this region is clearly placed in areas with values of deforestation fraction above ~30%, a closest value to the usually estimated Amazon Tipping Point (~40%). Below this value, the second group is also located in regions with positive trends of DDF and negative trends of WDF. This region has probably a strongest link with the large-scale climate.Considering these preliminary results, the statistical approaches developed in this research could give some insights about the interactions between forest change and the regional hydro climatology, which might improve the understanding of this interaction based on large-scale hydrological modeling.

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