26 research outputs found
Does combining canopy reflectance and canopy temperature allow Identifying drought resistance strategies in potato?
Land use and environmental factors affecting red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) hunting yields in southern Spain
The red-legged partridge is a small game species
widely hunted in southern Spain. Its commercial use has
important socioeconomic effects in rural areas where other
agrarian uses are of marginal importance. The aims of the
present work were to identify areas in Andalusia (southern
Spain) where game yields for the red-legged partridge
reach high values and to establish the environmental and
land use factors that determine them. We analysed 32,134
annual hunting reports (HRs) produced by 6,049 game
estates during the hunting seasons 1993/1994 to 2001/2002
to estimate the average hunting yields of red-legged
partridge in each Andalusian municipality (n=771). We
modelled the favourability for obtaining good hunting
yields using stepwise logistic regression on a set of
climatic, topographical, land use and vegetation variables
that were available as digital coverages or tabular data
applied to municipalities. Good hunting yields occur
mainly in plain areas located in the Guadalquivir valley,
at the bottom of Betic Range and in the Betic depressions.
Favourable areas are related to highly mechanised, lowelevation
areas mainly dedicated to intensive dry crops.
The most favourable areas predicted by our model are
mainly located in the Guadalquivir valley
Effects of drought stress on crop development, growth and chlorophyll fluorescence in five potato clones.
Yield and physiological response of potatoes indicate different strategies to cope with drought stress and nitrogen fertilization.
Geographical and environmental correlates of big and small game in Andalusia (southern Spain)
In Andalusia, southern Spain, each game estate applies its own rules and presents its results in annual hunting
reports, which have been mandatory for Spanish game estates since 1989. We used the information about hunting yields,
included in 32134 annual hunting reports produced during the period 1993/94 to 2001/02 by 6049 game estates, to determine
the current distribution of hunting yields of big and small game species in Andalusia. Using generalised linear
models and a geographic information system, we determined the most favourable municipalities to big and small game,
respectively, and delimited potential areas to attain good hunting yields for big and small game at a 1-km2 resolution.
Municipalities and areas favourable to big game are mainly located in the Sierra Morena and the westernmost fringe of
the Betic Range, while those favourable to small game occupy the upper Guadalquivir River valley. There is a clear segregation
between big and small game species according to the physiography and land uses of the territory. Big game
species are typical of Mediterranean woodland areas, while the most emblematic small game species prefer agricultural
areas. Our results provide a territorial ordination of hunting yields in southern Spain and have several potential applications
in strategic planning for hunting activities and biodiversity conservation in Andalusia that can be extrapolated to
other regions
Using indigenous knowledge to link land cover mapping with land use in the Venezuelan Amazon.
Remote sensing and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be combined to advance conservation of remote tropical regions, e.g. Amazonia, where intensive in situ surveys are often not possible. Integrating TEK into monitoring and management of these areas allows for community participation, as well as for offering novel insights into sustainable resource use. In this study, we developed a 250-m-resolution land-cover map of the western Guyana Shield (Venezuela) based on remote sensing, and used TEK to validate its relevance for indigenous livelihoods and land uses. We first employed a hyper-temporal remotely sensed vegetation index to derive a land classification system. During a 1,300-km, 8-day fluvial expedition in roadless areas in the Amazonas State (Venezuela), we visited six indigenous communities who provided geo-referenced data on hunting, fishing and farming activities. We overlaid these TEK data onto the land classification map, to link land classes with indigenous use. Several classes were significantly connected with agriculture, fishing, overall hunting, and more specifically the hunting of primates, red brocket deer, black agouti, and white-lipped peccary. We then characterized land classes using greenness and topo-hydrological information, and proposed 12 land-cover types, grouped into five main landscapes: 1) water bodies; 2) open lands/forest edges; 3) evergreen forests; 4) submontane semideciduous forests, and 5) cloud forests. Our results show that TEK-based approaches can serve as a basis for validating the livelihood relevance of landscapes in high-value conservation areas, which can form the basis for furthering the management of natural resources in these regions