A rule-based semi-automatic method to map burned areas in Mediterranean using Landsat images – revisited and improved

At local or regional scales, where Landsat has been extensively applied to monitor burned areas, semi- or fully automated methods are not very common. Koutsias et al. ([2013]. “A Rule-Based Semi-Automatic Method to map Burned Areas: Exploring the USGS Historical Landsat Archives to Reconstruct Recent Fire History.” International Journal of Remote Sensing 34 (20): 7049–7068) developed a semi-automatic method to map burned areas consisted of a set of rules that are valid especially when the post-fire image has been captured shortly after the fire. However, the rule-based approach is not free of errors that eventually create limitations to adopt this method for reconstructing the fire history in a fully automated mode. In this work, we improved the method by revisited and improving the rules that have been developed in the first paper, especially for reducing the omission errors. Minor changes have been made to almost all rules; however, one of the rules has been revised and changed the most as compared to the others by also considering the short-wave infrared channel TM5 (in Landsat-5 or Landsat-7). In this case, the algorithm could successfully capture the fire scar in dry vegetated areas as well. Due to the lack of reference data collected in the field, we used reference data collected by photo interpretation, and the accuracy assessment showed that these had a high agreement with the burned land mapping results

Distribution and habitat use by sympatric dormice species in two Natura 2000 sites in central Macedonia, Greece

There has been little research on the distribution and ecology of the four dormouse species occurring in Greece; the Edible Dormouse (Glis glis), Forest Dormouse (Dryomys nitedula), Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) and Mouse-tailed Dormouse (Myomimus roachi). As a result, the latter three species are listed as data deficient (DD) in the National Red Data Book. Recently, the government has tried to address this knowledge gap, funding dormouse surveys within the Natura 2000 network. In this context, we used a combination of nest-tubes (n=442) and track-tunnels (n=238) to study dormouse distribution and habitat use across 37 sites representing different habitat types (with varying levels of grazing) of two mountainous N2K sites (GR1270001, GR1270005) in central Macedonia. We detected G. glis at 28 sites, D. nitedula at 32 sites, and M. avellanarius at seven sites. Positive identification of the different species was twice as likely in track-tunnels (unbaited; metal sheets covered in soot) than nest-tubes. We estimated relative abundance across sites using Royle-Nichols occupancy models, except for M. avellanarius due to data limitations. For all species, we examined habitat use using MaxEnt ecological-niche models. Our findings show that D. nitedula has the widest distribution, occurring even in sparse forests and maqui with moderate or high livestock grazing intensity. G. glis is common, but restricted to medium-high elevation forests. M. avellanarius appears to have a discontinuous distribution. If this study is representative of its status across the country, that species requires conservation efforts

Simulating Future Land Use and Cover of a Mediterranean Mountainous Area: The Effect of Socioeconomic Demands and Climatic Changes

Land use and cover (LUC) of southern European mountains is dramatically changing, mainly due to observed socioeconomic demands and climatic changes. It is therefore important to understand LUC changes to accurately predict future landscapes and their threats. Simulation models of LUC change are ideal for this task because they allow the in silico experimentation under different socioeconomic and climatic scenarios. In the present study, we employed the trans-CLUE-S model, to predict for 2055 the LUC of a typical southern European sub-mountainous area, which has experienced widespread abandonment until recently. Four demand scenarios were tested, and under each demand scenario, we compared three climatic scenarios, ranging from less to more warm and dry conditions. We found that farmland declined from 3.2% of the landscape in 2015 to 0.4% in 2055 under the business-as-usual demand scenario, whereas forest further increased from 62.6% to 79%. For any demand scenario, differences in LUC between maps predicted under different climatic scenarios constituted less than 10% of the landscape. In the less than 10% that differed, mainly farmland and forest shifted to higher elevation under a warmer and drier climate, whereas grassland and scrubland to lower. Such insights by modelling analyses like the present study’s can improve the planning and implementation of management and restoration policies which will attempt to conserve ecosystem services and mitigate the negative effects of socioeconomic and climatic changes in the mountainous regions of southern Europe

Acceleration and Relocation of Abandonment in a Mediterranean Mountainous Landscape: Drivers, Consequences, and Management Implications

Land abandonment in European mountains threatens habitats shaped for centuries by low-intensity agriculture and grazing. Hence, it is important to identify spatiotemporal patterns in rural abandonment, and relate them to biophysical and socioeconomic drivers. We pursued these goals in the theoretical context of transitions from traditional to productivist and then to post-productivist agriculture. We conducted a case study in a representative of southern Europe sub-mountainous marginal area that was once traditionally exploited (Pindus range, Epirus, Greece). Land cover was mapped from the outset of abandonment (years 1945, 1970, 1996 and 2015), and we subsequently calculated landscape metrics. An Intensity Analysis facilitated the comparison of rates of land cover change between time periods. By employing random forest modelling, we related socioeconomic, physiographic, geological and climatic predictors to land type occurrence and succession intensity. We found that farmland decreased from 30% to 3% during the 70 years of the study period, and that forest increased from 22% to 63%. The landscape’s heterogeneity, ecotone diversity, and spatial aggregation decreased. Abandonment and succession accelerated and relocated to lower elevation, especially during the latest time period, which was related to a second depopulation wave and livestock decrease. The remaining lowland farmlands were of productivist agriculture, and no widespread post-productivist regime was found. Thus, our study supports the view that policies, which have been mainly based on the linear transition of agricultural regimes in northern Europe, must take into account southern European mountains, where widespread abandonment can coexist with limited intensification and extensification