The Extent of Infrastructure Causing Fragmentation in the Hydrocarbon Basin in the Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Patagonia (Argentina)

Fragmentation is a disruption in the connectivity of landscapes. The aims of this paper are (i) to quantitatively assess the fragmentation rates in three landscape units located in a hydrocarbon basin, and (ii) to model their behavior between 2001 and 2013 using landscape metrics at different scales of resolution. The following metrics were selected using principal component analysis (PCA): The Clumpiness Index (CLUMPY), patch density (PD), perimeter-area fractal dimension (PAFRAC) and effective mesh size (MESH). Results from our investigations pointed out that hydrocarbon activity increased the fragmentation at the sites. In particular, the CLUMPY index increased in all three landscape units, the average of PD decreased from 60 to 14 patches per 100 hectares, whereas the mean of MESH was quite constant, however, due to oil production, it decreased mainly in the coastal valleys. Finally, the PAFRAC also decreased at sites with oil production, being more evident in the plateau and coastal canyons. As a whole, outputs from our analyses clearly pointed out that the monitoring of landscape fragmentation trends in arid and semi-arid zones can be successfully achieved using metrics derived from satellite spectral information.Fil: Buzzi, Mariana Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Rueter, Barbara Lisa. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ghermandi, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Lasaponara, Rosa. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Itali

Impact of rapid urban expansion on green space structure

Rapid urban expansion has had a significant impact on green space structure. A wide variety of modelling approaches have been tested to simulate urban expansion; however, the effectiveness of simulations of the spatial structure of urban expansion remains unexplored. This study aims to model and predict urban expansion in three cities (Kuala Lumpur, Metro Manila and Jakarta), all experiencing rapid urban expansion, and to identify which are the main drivers, including spatial planning, in the resulting spatial patterns. Land Change Modeller (LCM)-Markov Chain models were used, parameterised on changes observed between 1988/1989 and 1999 and verified with the urban form observed for 2014. These models were then used to simulate urban expansion for the year 2030. The spatial structure of the simulated 2030 land use was then compared with the 2030 master plan for each city using spatial metrics. LCM-Markov Chain models proved to be a suitable method for simulating the development of future land use. There were also important differences in the projected spatial structure for 2030 when compared to the planned development in each city; substantive differences in the size, density, distance, shape and spatial pattern. Evidence suggests that these spatial patterns are influenced by the forms of rapid urban expansion experienced in these cities and respective master planning policies of the municipalities of the cities. The use of integrated simulation modelling and landscape ecology analytics supplies significant insights into the evolution of the spatial structure of urban expansion and identifies constraints and informs intervention for spatial planning and policies in cities

How reliable is the MODIS land cover product for crop mapping Sub-Saharan agricultural landscapes?

Accurate cropland maps at the global and local scales are crucial for scientists, government and nongovernment agencies, farmers and other stakeholders, particularly in food-insecure regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we aim to qualify the crop classes of the MODIS Land Cover Product (LCP) in Sub-Saharan Africa using FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) and AGRHYMET (AGRiculture, Hydrology and METeorology) statistical data of agriculture and a sample of 55 very-high-resolution images. In terms of cropland acreage and dynamics, we found that the correlation between the statistical data and MODIS LCP decreases when we localize the spatial scale (from R2 = 0.86 *** at the national scale to R2 = 0.26 *** at two levels below the national scale). In terms of the cropland spatial distribution, our findings indicate a strong relationship between the user accuracy and the fragmentation of the agricultural landscape, as measured by the MODIS LCP; the accuracy decreases as the crop fraction increases. In addition, thanks to the Pareto boundary method, we were able to isolate and quantify the part of the MODIS classification error that could be directly linked to the performance of the adopted classification algorithm. Finally, based on these results, (i) a regional map of the MODIS LCP user accuracy estimates for cropland classes was produced for the entire Sub-Saharan region; this map presents a better accuracy in the western part of the region (43%-70%) compared to the eastern part (17%-43%); (ii) Theoretical user and producer accuracies for a given set of spatial resolutions were provided; the simulated future Sentinel-2 system would provide theoretical 99% user and producer accuracies given the landscape pattern of the region. (Résumé d'auteur

A statistical analysis of the relationship between landscape heterogeneity and the quantization of remote sensing data

This report addresses the investigation of the relationship between the landscape heterogeneity and the sequencing of remote sensing imagery for the purpose of better understanding the parameters of the Symbolic Machine Learning developed within the Global Human Settlement Layer project. To address this issue statistical regression analysis was conducted between the sequences derived from the Landsat satellite data and different landscape metrics derived from land cover maps. The results show that only the Relative Patch Richness influences the number of sequences for different levels of image reduction levels. The Shannon Landscape Diversity Index seems to be related to the Number of Sequences in the image until a certain Level of Quantization that may be an indicator of the optimal parameter for the sequencing of the input satellite data. These results represent a good step forward in the attempt to automatize the parameters set of the Symbolic Machine Learning classifier.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Influence of oil activity and sheep ranching on plant cover in the arid and semi-arid region of Patagonia, Argentina

La Geografía como ciencia ha provisto el mayor cuerpo teórico para el estudio de las configuraciones que se producen sobre el espacio geográfico. La generación de cartografía que representa las cubiertas de suelo es uno de los usos más importantes de la percepción remota. Se seleccionaron polígonos, con actividad petrolera y ganadera, en las siguientes unidades de paisaje: cañadones, pampas y valles. Los polígonos se utilizaron para evaluar cambios multi-tempo-rales de las cubiertas de suelo y las comunidades vegetales en un período de 15 años. Se realizaron clasificaciones supervisadas y análisis de métricas de paisaje para examinar las posibles causas de estos cambios comparando: i) polígonos sin actividad petrolera ni ganadera (testigo), ii) con actividad petrolera y ganadera, iii) con actividad petrolera y sin actividad ganadera, y iv) sin actividad petrolera y con actividad ganadera. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que la densidad de parches, el borde total, la densidad de borde y el índice de división de los fragmen-tos aumentaron en las tres unidades de paisaje, entre 2001 y 2016. El índice de contagio, en cambio, disminuyó. Se observó un incremento del suelo desnudo en las pampas y en los valles occidentales, con un retroceso de las comunidades vegetales dominantes. La densidad de parches en los sitios sin disturbios fue la menor, y en los sitios con ambos disturbios actuando simultáneamente fue máxima. En los sitios sin disturbio el tamaño efectivo de malla fue máximo, mientras que en los sitios con algún disturbio fue menor. Al analizar el efecto del disturbio sobre los elementos del paisaje se observó que su presencia genera la mayor densidad de parches y la mínima conectividad. Los resultados muestran que se produjo un proceso de frag-mentación en las coberturas del suelo direccionados por la explotación petrolera y la ganadería ovina, que disminuyen el tamaño de los parches y, por lo tanto, la densidad de los mismos por unidad de superficie.The Geography has provided the greatest theoretical body for the study of the configurations that occur over the geographical space. The generation of cartography that represents ground cover is one of the most important uses of remote sensing. Polygons were selected, with oil and livestock activity, in the landscape units: coastal canyons, plateaus and western valleys. The polygons were used to evaluate multi-temporal changes in land cover and plant communities over a period of 15 years. Supervised classifications and analysis of landscape metrics were made to examine the possible causes of these changes by comparing: i) polygons without oil or livestock activity (control), ii) polygons with oil and livestock activity, iii) polygons with oil activity and without livestock activity, and iv) polygons without oil activity and livestock activity. The results obtained indicated that the density of patches, the total edge, the edge density and the division index of the fragments increased in the three landscape units, between 2001 and 2016. The contagion index, however, decreased. An increase in bare soil was observed in the plateaus and in the western valleys, with a regression of the dominant plant communities. The density of patches in the sites without disturbance was the lowest, and in the sites with both disturbances acting simultaneously was maximum. In the sites without disturbance the effective mesh size was maximum, while in the sites with some disturbance it was smaller. When analyzing the effect of the disturbance on the elements of the landscape it was observed that the presence of the disturbance generates the highest density of patches and the minimum connectivity. The results show that there was a process of fragmentation in the coverage of the soil directed by the oil exploitation and sheep farming, which decrease the size of the patches and, therefore, the density of the same per unit area.Fil: Buzzi, Mariana Andrea. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Rueter, Barbara Lisa. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ghermandi, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Maldonado, F.. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Sede Puerto Madryn; Argentin

Landscape heterogeneity as a surrogate of biodiversity in mountain systems: what is the most appropriate spatial analytical unit?

P. 285-294The estimated potential of landscape metrics as a surrogate for biodiversity is strongly dependent on the spatial analytical unit used for evaluation. We assessed the relationship between terrestrial vertebrate species richness (total and taxonomic) and structural landscape heterogeneity, testing the impact of using different spatial analytical units in three mountain systems in Spain. Landscape heterogeneity was quantified through an additive partitioning of the Shannon diversity index of landscape classes. Both landscape heterogeneity and species richness were calculated using two spatial analytical unit approaches: eco-geographic vs. arbitrary (i.e., watersheds vs. square windows of different sizes 20 × 20 km, 50 × 50 km, 100 × 100 km). We predicted species richness on the basis of landscape heterogeneity by fitting separate linear models for each spatial analytical unit approach. The main results obtained showed that landscape heterogeneity influenced terrestrial vertebrate species richness. However, the emerging relationships were dependent on the spatial analytical unit approach. The eco-geographic approach showed significant relationships between landscape heterogeneity and total and taxonomic species richness in almost all cases (except mammals). Considering the arbitrary approach, landscape heterogeneity appeared as a predictor of species richness only for mammals and breeding birds and at the coarsest spatial scales. Our results claim for further consideration of eco-geographical spatial analytical unit approaches in biodiversity studies and show that the methods of this study offer a valuable cost-effective framework for biodiversity management and spatial modeling, with potential to be adapted to national and global applications.S

Selecting landscape metrics as indicators of spatial heterogeneity-A comparison among Greek landscapes

This paper investigates the spatial heterogeneity of three landscapes along an altitudinal gradient and different human land use. The main aim was the identification of appropriate landscape indicators using different extents. ASTER image was used to create a land cover map consisting of three landscapes which differed in altitude and land use. A number of landscape metrics quantifying patch complexity, configuration, diversity and connectivity were derived from the thematic map at the landscape level. There were significant differences among the three landscapes regarding these four aspects of landscape heterogeneity. The analysis revealed a specific pattern of land use where lowlands are being increasingly utilized by humans (percentage of agricultural land = 65.84%) characterized by physical connectedness (high values of Patch Cohesion Index) and relatively simple geometries (low values of fractal dimension index). The landscape pattern of uplands was found to be highly diverse based upon the Shannon Diversity index. After selecting the scale (600 ha) where metrics values stabilized, it was shown that metrics were more correlated at the small scale of 60 ha. From the original 24 metrics, 14 individual metrics with high Spearman correlation coefficient and Variance Inflation Factor criterion were eliminated, leaving 10 representative metrics for subsequent analysis. Data reduction analysis showed that Patch Density, Area-Weighted Mean Fractal Dimension Index and Patch Cohesion Index are suitable to describe landscape patterns irrespective of the scale. A systematic screening of these metrics could enhance a deeper understanding of the results obtained by them and contribute to a sustainable landscape management of Mediterranean landscapes. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V

Deconstructing landscape pattern : applications of remote sensing to physiognomic landscape mapping

Funding Information: This research was supported by European Social Fund?s Dora Plus Programme (Grant No. 4-12/89). Authors are grateful to Ms Joanna Storie (Estonian University of Life Sciences) for English editing and proofreading, applied to the text. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.In 1939, Carl Troll pointed out that “air photo interpretation is to a large extent landscape ecology”. From that time forward, remote sensing has been applied across different disciplines to comprehend the holistic and dynamic spatial layout of the visual Earth environment. However, its applicability in the domain of landscape character assessment, landscape design and planning is still questionable. The purpose of this paper was to synthesise some historical and current applications of remote sensing for the decomposition of the continual visual landscape from a bird’s eye perspective and to explore the potential for bridging geographic processes with visual perception and an appreciation of the landscape pattern. From the point of view of landscape ecology, the organisation of the landscape pattern [namely, the size, shape (form), number, density and diversity, the complexity of landscape elements, and colours and textures of the land cover] is crucial for the cognition of both the visual landscape experience and the geographic processes. There are numerous pieces of evidence from the literature that remote sensing data are widely implemented in the modelling of physiognomic landscape. The synthesis of the literature concludes with perspective directions of remote sensing applications, such as mapping the status of the ecosystem (landscape) services provision, the delineation of the boundaries of the protected areas based on the quality of the visual environment, and the assessment of the sustainability of the land use practices, regarding their impact on landscape aesthetics extent.Peer reviewe

Assessment of land use change by quantifying landscape pattern in Welioya, Sri Lanka

Land use changes occur everywhere. Land use changes, such as forest degradation, effect on a global level. They have an influence for example to climate change, water circulation and erosion. However, they affect also on a local level and can have an impact to the everyday lives of local communities. Examining land use changes is important, because it brings more knowledge about changing areas, and how to deal with the changes. Local level examination is important when analysing land use changes, as local level actions help to understand large-scale phenomena as well. Understanding of land use changes can aid policymakers, who are responsible for making decisions about land use management. Land use changes are evident also in Sri Lanka. During the past few centuries, the country has undergone considerable forest loss. The loss of forest has affected to the land management of the country, since strict nature protection procedures have been put in place. In practise, this has meant strict forest conservation policies and forest demarcations in many areas. The strict forest protection has been a successful solution in terms of biodiversity conservation. At times the conservation procedures have been so restrictive that they have affected negatively to the life styles and livelihoods of local communities, who are dependent on the forest resources. This thesis examines the changes in land use in Welioya village, in central Sri Lanka. The village is located in the proximity of a demarcated Bogahapalassa Natural Forest, which has worked as a source of livelihoods for the villagers. This study examines, how the land use and land management has developed in the area. It views also, which kind of governmental actions have been implemented in the area to increase crop productivity. Moreover, it will consider the impacts of the strict conservation procedures to the local communities. It will also present alternative solutions that aim to include locals in the forest conservation. One of these procedures is called community participation. The land use changes are analysed with classifying satellite data by visual interpretation method. With the method, two land use maps are created for two different years, 2003 and 2015. After satellite image classification, the land use changes are quantified with landscape pattern analysis to discover, whether there is change in the landscape. Moreover, patchiness, fragmentation and other features of landscape pattern are assessed. Based on the results it is discovered that the area has gone through significant change. Due to the governmental projects, the area of home gardens has increased and traditional cultivation practises have decreased. The conservation of the Bogahapalassa Natural Forest has had a reviving effect, as the area of the forest has increased and open areas inside the forest have decreased. The government aims at protecting the forest in the future, but their focus is mostly in the biodiversity conservation, and not so much in the subsistence or livelihoods of the locals. This creates challenges in the area, and this remains a concern among the villagers.Maankäytön muutoksia tapahtuu ympäri maailmaa ja esimerkiksi metsien vähenemisellä on maailmalaajuisia vaikutuksia. Niillä on vaikutusta esimerkiksi ilmastonmuutokseen, veden kiertoon ja eroosioon. Maankäytön muutoksia tapahtuu myös paikallisella tasolla, ja niillä on vaikutusta paikallisten yhteisöjen jokapäiväiseen elämään. Maankäytön muutosten selvittäminen on tärkeää, sillä se tuo lisää tietoa muuttuvista alueista ja siitä, kuinka näiden muutosten kanssa tulee menetellä. Myös paikallisen tason tarkastelu on tärkeää tutkiessa maankäytön muutoksia, sillä paikallisen tason toimintatavat voivat auttaa ymmärtämään myös laajemman tason ilmiöitä. Lisäksi maankäytön muutosten ymmärtäminen voi auttaa päätöksentekijöitä, jotka ovat vastuussa maankäyttöä koskevista päätöksistä. Maankäytön muutokset ovat nähtävissä myös Sri Lankassa. Viimeisen muutaman vuosisadan aikana, Sri Lankan metsät ovat vähentyneet merkittävästi. Metsien häviäminen on vaikuttanut maankäyttöä koskevaan päätöksentekoon, sillä maassa on otettu käytäntöön tiukkoja luonnonsuojelutoimenpiteitä. Tämä on tarkoittanut monilla alueilla tiukkaa metsänsuojelupolitiikkaa ja metsissä liikkumisen rajoittamista. Tiukka metsien suojelu on ollut onnistunut ratkaisu biodiversiteetin suojelemisen kannalta. Toisinaan suojelutoimet ovat kuitenkin olleet niin rajoittavia, että ne ovat vaikuttaneet negatiivisesti elämäntyyleihin ja toimeentuloon paikallisten yhteisöjen keskuudessa, jotka ovat riippuvaisia metsistä saatavista resursseista. Tämä tutkielma tarkastelee maankäytön muutoksia Welioya-kylässä Sri Lankassa. Kylä sijaitsee rajatun Bogahapalassa -suojelumetsän läheisyydessä, joka on toiminut toimentulon lähteenä monelle paikalliselle. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, kuinka maankäyttö ja sen hallinta ovat kehittyneet alueella. Työssä tarkastellaan myös, millaisia valtiollisia toimenpiteitä alueella on toteutettu satojen tuottavuuden kasvattamiseksi. Lisäksi työssä käsitellään tiukkojen suojelutoimenpiteiden vaikutusta paikallisiin yhteisöihin. Työssä esitetään myös vaihtoehtoisia ratkaisuja, joilla pyritään siihen, että myös paikalliset yhteisöt osallistuisivat metsänsuojeluun (eng. community participation). Maankäytön muutoksia on analysoitu luokittelemalla satelliittikuvia visuaalisen tulkinnan avulla. Satelliittikuvien luokittelu on yleinen metodi maankäytön muutoksien tarkastelussa. Luokittelun avulla tutkimusalueelle luodaan kaksi maankäyttökarttaa vuosille 2003 ja 2015. Luokittelun jälkeen maankäytön muutokset kvantifioidaan maisema-analyysillä (landscape pattern analysis) muutoksien todentamiseksi. Maisemasta analysoidaan myös yhtenäisyyttä, fragmentoitumista ja muita maiseman piirteitä. Tulosten perusteella todetaan, että alue on muuttunut huomattavasti. Valtion rahoittamien projektien myötä kotipuutarhojen pinta-ala on kasvanut, ja perinteiset viljelymenetelmät ovat vähentyneet. Lisäksi Bogahapalassa metsän suojelulla on ollut elvyttävä vaikutus, sillä metsän pinta-ala on kasvanut, ja metsän rajojen sisällä sijaitsevien avomaiden osuus on vähentynyt. Sri Lankan hallitus pyrkii suojelemaan metsäaluetta myös tulevaisuudessa, mutta päätavoitteena on biodiversiteetin suojelu, eikä niinkään paikallisten ihmisten toimeentulon varmistaminen. Tämä aiheuttaa alueelle tulevaisuudessa haasteita, ja se on myös huolenaihe paikallisten kyläläisten keskuudessa