Using the urban landscape mosaic to develop and validate methods for assessing the spatial distribution of urban ecosystem service potential

The benefits that humans receive from nature are not fully understood. The ecosystem service framework has been developed to improve understanding of the benefits, or ecosystem services, that humans receive from the natural environment. Although the ecosystem service framework is designed to provide insights into the state of ecosystem services, it has been criticised for its neglect of spatial analysis. This thesis contains a critical discussion on the spatial relationships between ecosystem services and the urban landscape in Salford, Greater Manchester. An innovative approach has been devised for creating a landscape mosaic, which uses remotely-sensed spectral indices and land cover measurements. Five ecosystem services are considered: carbon storage, water flow mitigation, climate stress mitigation, aesthetics, and recreation. Analysis of ecosystem service generation uses the landscape mosaic, hotspot identification and measurements of spatial association. Ecosystem service consumption is evaluated via original perspectives of physical accessibility through a transport network, and greenspace visibility over a 3D surface. Results suggest that the landscape mosaic accuracy compares favourably to a map created using traditional classification methods. Ecosystem service patterns are unevenly distributed across Salford. The regulating services draw from similar natural resource locations, while cultural services have more diverse sources. The accessibility and visibility analysis provides evidence for the importance of urban trees as mitigators of ‘grey’ views, and urban parks as accessible producers of multiple services. Comprehensive ecosystem service analysis requires integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Evaluation of spatial relationships between ecosystem services and the physical landscapes in this thesis provides a practical method for improved measurement and management of the natural environment in urban areas. These findings can be used by urban planners and decision makers to integrate ecological considerations into proposed development schemes

Modelling spatial distribution of outdoor recreation trips of urban residents : An in-depth study in Salford, UK

Outdoor recreation is one of the most important leisure activities of urban residents, with urban greenspace accruing the highest value of benefits among all greenspaces in the UK. However, access and trip-making to outdoor greenspaces by urban residents remain poorly understood. Existing trip-making prediction models that have been established for assessing the recreation benefits of outdoor greenspaces have dealt separately with visits to urban and rural greenspaces. This makes it difficult to assess greenspace strategies when considering them as a whole infrastructure. Meanwhile there is a risk of misjudging the value (e.g. double counting) when they are summed mechanically. This research aims to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of predictive models of outdoor recreation travel. An output of the research is a new model with two components: (a) predominantly local trips and (b) predominantly non-local trips. The resultant model is able to make an assessment that seamlessly combines urban and rural greenspaces. It also links the spatial distribution of visits to key spatial factors, such as distribution of population, location of recreational sites, transport accessibility and travel time. The resulting quantification of the impacts of policy interventions provide a robust basis for decision making

The potential of dual-wavelength laser scanning for estimating vegetation moisture content

Vegetation moisture content is an important early indicator of forest drought stress, disease and fire risk. Existing remote sensing techniques to measure biochemical properties of vegetation, such as Equivalent Water Thickness (EWT), are limited by an inability to differentiate canopy and understorey properties and are influenced by variations in canopy structure. By providing a range-resolved estimate of reflectance, laser scanner measurements have the potential to overcome these limitations. Dual-wavelength laser scanning can provide an active measurement of reflectance from which spectral indices can be derived that are insensitive to range, incidence angle and scattering area of the target within the laser beam, factors that make exploiting single-wavelength laser scanner intensity data difficult. This study demonstrates the potential of dual-wavelength laser scanning for measurement of leaf biochemical properties, through determining the relationship between a laser-scanner-derived spectral index, using near infrared (1063 nm) and middle infrared (1545 nm) wavelengths, and the EWT of individual leaves. The suitability and sensitivity of the index is tested using a leaf optical properties model (PROSPECT-5) and the method is tested experimentally under laboratory conditions using the Salford Advanced Laser Canopy Analyser. A strong relationship (R2 = 0.8, RMSE = 0.0069 g cm− 2) was found between a normalised ratio of the two wavelengths and measured EWT of leaf samples. The relationship corresponds well to that predicted by modelling. However, the experimental data also revealed significant spatial variability in the index value across individual leaves, suggesting heterogeneity in moisture distribution at within-leaf scales. The study suggests significant potential for using dual-wavelength and multispectral laser scanning for measuring vegetation biochemical properties

Liraglutide and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: In a randomized, controlled trial that compared liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue, with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk who were receiving usual care, we found that liraglutide resulted in lower risks of the primary end point (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes) and death. However, the long-term effects of liraglutide on renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown. METHODS: We report the prespecified secondary renal outcomes of that randomized, controlled trial in which patients were assigned to receive liraglutide or placebo. The secondary renal outcome was a composite of new-onset persistent macroalbuminuria, persistent doubling of the serum creatinine level, end-stage renal disease, or death due to renal disease. The risk of renal outcomes was determined with the use of time-to-event analyses with an intention-to-treat approach. Changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 9340 patients underwent randomization, and the median follow-up of the patients was 3.84 years. The renal outcome occurred in fewer participants in the liraglutide group than in the placebo group (268 of 4668 patients vs. 337 of 4672; hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67 to 0.92; P=0.003). This result was driven primarily by the new onset of persistent macroalbuminuria, which occurred in fewer participants in the liraglutide group than in the placebo group (161 vs. 215 patients; hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.91; P=0.004). The rates of renal adverse events were similar in the liraglutide group and the placebo group (15.1 events and 16.5 events per 1000 patient-years), including the rate of acute kidney injury (7.1 and 6.2 events per 1000 patient-years, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This prespecified secondary analysis shows that, when added to usual care, liraglutide resulted in lower rates of the development and progression of diabetic kidney disease than placebo. (Funded by Novo Nordisk and the National Institutes of Health; LEADER ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01179048 .)