De evaluatie van bodemerosie op de neolithische site van Ottenburg/Grez-Doiceau

This contribution reports on the investigations at the Neolithic site of Ottenburg, located in the loess area of Flanders. The research must lead to the evaluation of the preservation of this archaeological site with regard to both historic and present-day water and tillage erosion. Additionally, it serves as a test case for the use of the newly developed highresolution digital terrain model (DTM) of Flanders. The identification of historic erosion is based on the current depths of (calcareous loess and clay illuviation) soil horizons, detected by means of hand augeringthe current erosion is simulated with a spatially distributed erosion and sediment delivery model. At Ottenburg, the results of both approaches correspond quite well, allowing the identification of four zones with a different magnitude of soil erosion. Taking into account the established extension of the Neolithic site, based on the distribution of artefacts at the surface and microtopographic features identified on the DTM, a number of site management guidelines are proposed. Ultimately, this should result in the elaboration of a detailed site management plan

The Scenic Beauty of Geosites and Its Relation to Their Scientific Value and Geoscience Knowledge of Tourists: A Case Study from Southeastern Spain

Scenic beauty is one of the most-commonly used indicators in the inventory and assessment of geosites for geoconservation, geoheritage management and geotourism development. It is an important driver of tourists to visit natural areas and it also provides support for the protection of natural heritage. Previous studies on scenic beauty mainly focused on landscape preference and physical characteristics of geosites that affect scenic beauty appreciation. The relationships between the scenic beauty of geosites, their scientific value and the geoscience knowledge of tourists has not been empirically investigated in detail. Hence, this study investigates this relationship using 34 geosites from southeastern Spain. For this purpose, 29 respondents with a geoscience background and who all visited the 34 geosites, 43 respondents with a geoscience background but who did not visit the geosites, and 104 respondents with no geoscience background and who did not visit the geosites, participated in a survey. The first group rated the scenic beauty and the scientific value of the geosites based on a direct field visit during which the scientific background of these geosites was given. On the other hand, the latter two groups rated scenic beauty using representative photos of the geosites. A five-point Likert scale was used to rate the scenic beauty and the scientific value of the geosites. We found a significant relationship between the scenic beauty of geosites and their scientific value, and this relationship becomes more significant if the geoscientific knowledge of the respondents increases. One-way ANOVA results indicated that a geoscience background contributed to higher perceived scenic beauty, especially for those geosites that in general were considered as more scenic by all the respondent groups. It was also found that geosites with viewpoints received in general higher scenic beauty and scientific value ratings

Future C loss in mid-latitude mineral soils: climate change exceeds land use mitigation potential in France

Many studies have highlighted significant interactions between soil C reservoir dynamics and global climate and environmental change. However, in order to estimate the future soil organic carbon sequestration potential and related ecosystem services well, more spatially detailed predictions are needed. The present study made detailed predictions of future spatial evolution (at 250 m resolution) of topsoil SOC driven by climate change and land use change for France up to the year 2100 by taking interactions between climate, land use and soil type into account. We conclude that climate change will have a much bigger influence on future SOC losses in mid-latitude mineral soils than land use change dynamics. Hence, reducing CO2 emissions will be crucial to prevent further loss of carbon from our soils

Landscape Capacity and Social Attitudes towards Wind Energy Projects in Belgium

The present energy crisis and the awareness of the human impact on climate change have boosted the public debate on the accelerated deployment of renewable energy sources. The objective of this research project is to analyse and assess the landscape capacity and social attitudes towards wind energy parks in Belgium, especially in non-urban and non-industrial sites. This research project starts from the observation that a sustainable production of energy, relying on renewable resources, should go hand in hand with a sustainable societal support for the use of these renewable sources. Experiences from neighbouring countries showed that the societal support depends of the regional landscape capacity and the social attitudes towards wind energy parks. In this research project both quantitative and qualitative research techniques will be used to: (1) measure the landscape capacity in relation to the location of wind energy parks in Belgium, (2) to gain insight in the way attitudes towards wind energy parks are socially constructed and reproduced.Les évolutions globales récentes, comme le prix croissant des matières premières et la conscientisation du réchauffement climatique, engendrent un intérêt important envers les sources d’énergies renouvelables. Ceci s’harmonise bien avec la nouvelle quête d’un équilibre entre les besoins économiques, environnementaux et sociaux de la société, également appelé développement durable. Ces trois piliers concernent également les projets éoliens. Il ressort des expériences dans les pays voisins que ce sont surtout les aspects sociaux (réactions des riverains) et environnementaux (impact paysager) des projets éoliens qui retiennent l’attention. C’est pourquoi nous voulons examiner quels sont les paysages adaptés aux projets éoliens en Belgique (aspect environnemental) et comment ces projets sont perçus par les citoyens belges dans différents contextes (aspect social).Lacsawe

Do tourists' preferences match the host community's initiatives? : a study of sustainable tourism in one of Africa's oldest conservation areas

Involvement of stakeholders in sustainable tourism, particularly in developing countries, is crucial for the success of tourism development. However, its implementation is often criticized for not considering stakeholders' needs. This study explores tourists' preferences for tourism activities, designed by local stakeholders, in one of the oldest conserved parks in East Africa-the Menagesha Suba Forest, in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. The study area is endowed with natural, cultural and historical, yet undeveloped, tourist attractions. The host community benefits little from tourism and is in continual conflict with the park administration. This study aims to provide new insights on potential engagement of stakeholders in sustainable tourism planning. In particular, we explored tourists' preferences for activities designed by local stakeholders, as well as their preferences concerning the improvement of the park infrastructure. The local community has been engaged in group discussions to design community involvement activities in tourism, while park guest books have been consulted to identify infrastructure improvements suggested by tourists. A survey that embedded a discrete choice experiment was conducted among tourists that visited the Menagesha Suba Forest. Data were analyzed with mixed logit and latent class models. We identified preferences for infrastructure improvement in the park. Tourists' preferences are heterogeneous and vary with their profile as foreigners, foreign residents, and locals. Furthermore, the study indicates that there is a mismatch between tourists' preferences and activities designed by the host community for their engagement in tourism. Tourists might be unaware of the importance of such activities for local communities. On the other hand, the findings also imply that increasing host residents' awareness of tourism and tourists' preferences is required, prior to tourism activities planning. Hence, sustainable tourism planning and development needs to understand perception gaps between host residents and tourists for its smooth implementation

Modeling sediment yields in Italian catchments.

Sediment yield observations, derived from 40 long-term sedimentation records in Italian reservoirs, were used to calibrate and validate the spatially distributed sediment delivery model WaTEM/SEDEM using the best data available at national scale. The sediment yield data set includes records from semi-natural catchments in northern Italy as well as agricultural and semi-natural basins in central and southern Italy. The average size of the catchments is 150 km2 with mean annual sediment yields ranging from 0.20 to 20 t ha−1 year−1. WaTEM/SEDEM estimates mean annual sediment fluxes to permanent river channels. Depending on the local transport capacity, the sediment flux is detachment-limited or transport-limited. The optimal transport capacity parameters for Italian conditions were derived via automatic calibration procedures. A global model calibration procedure taking into account all catchments in the dataset led to an overestimation of the sediment yield for the mountain catchments and an underestimation for the non-mountain catchments. Sediment yield estimates are more reliable when calibration procedures are applied separately for mountain and non-mountain catchments. The model performance of WaTEM/SEDEM is rather poor in the mountain catchments (R=0.25), which suggests that the model structure is too simplified to come to an adequate description of the sediment fluxes. The model performance for the non-mountain catchments, which are more important from a management point of view, is significantly better (R=0.51). Considering the fact that data layers with a 75×75 m resolution were used, the results are encouraging the further development and application of spatially distributed sediment yield models at regional and national scale levels

Wind Turbines in my landscape

peer reviewe

Detecting and modelling spatial patterns of urban sprawl in highly fragmented areas: A case study in the Flanders–Brussels region

The Flanders–Brussels region (Belgium) is one of the most urbanised regions in Europe. Since the 1960s the region is subject to urban sprawl, which resulted in highly fragmented landscapes. In this study, urban expansion in the period 1976–2000 is detected using LANDSAT satellite imagery in two contrasting study areas (highly urbanised vs. semi-urbanised) in the Flanders–Brussels area. The highly urbanised study area is characterised by a concentric growth pattern, while the urban expansion in the semi-urban area is much more fragmented. Next, the observed urban sprawl pattern of 2000 was reproduced by means of a spatial model, based on suitability maps. Employment potential, distance to roads and to motorway entry points and flood risk were used to assess the suitability for new built-up land. The observed expansion of the built-up area between 1976 and 1988 was used to calibrate the model parameters. The land cover map of 2000 was used to validate the model output. The analysis shows that the model output should not be interpreted at the level of individual grid cells. At aggregation levels of 240m×240m and above the model produces significant results. The model performance is better in areas with concentric urban sprawl patterns than in highly fragmented areas. Because of its simplicity, the proposed methodology is a useful tool for land managers and policy makers that want to evaluate the impact of their decisions and develop future scenarios.status: publishe

Complexity and performance of urban expansion models

Urban expansion and spatial patterns of urban land have a large effect on many socioeconomic and environmental processes. A wide variety of modelling approaches has been introduced to predict and simulate future urban development. These models are often based on the interpretation of various determining factors that are used to create a probability map. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of different modelling approaches for simulating spatial patterns of urban expansion in Flanders and Brussels in the period 1988-2000. Hereto, a set of urban expansion models with increasing complexity was developed based on: (i) logistic regression equations taking various numbers of determining variables into account, (ii) CA transition rules and (iii) hybrid procedures, combining both approaches. The outcome of each model was validated in order to assess the predictive value of the three modelling approaches and of the different determining variables that were used in the logistic regression models. The results show that a hybrid model structure, integrating (static) determining factors (distance to the main roads, distance to the largest cities, employment potential, slope and zoning status of the land) and (dynamic) neighbourhood interactions produces the most accurate probability map. The study, however, points out that it is not useful to make a statement on the validity of a model based on only one goodness-of-fit measure. When the model results are validated at multiple resolutions, the logistic regression model, which incorporates only two explanatory variables, outperforms both the CA-based model and the hybrid model. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe