scholarly journals Land Suitability Mapping Using Geochemical and Spatial Analysis Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5404
Author(s):  
Dimitrios E. Alexakis ◽  
George D. Bathrellos ◽  
Hariklia D. Skilodimou ◽  
Dimitra E. Gamvroula
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Cadmium Concentration ◽  
Cobalt Content ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Land Evaluation ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Analysis Methods

Assessing the suitability of urban and agricultural land is essential for planning sustainable urban and agricultural systems. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the suitability of land in Ioannina plain (western Greece) concerning the soil contents of two potentially toxic elements, cadmium (Cd) and cobalt (Co). Geochemical and spatial analysis methods were applied to assess the distribution of Cd and Co in the soil of the Ioannina plain and identify their origin. The primary anthropogenic sources of Cd and Co in the topsoil of the study area can be attributed to traffic emissions, aircraft operations, vehicle crushing and dismantling activities. Element content is compared to international guidelines and screening values. Cadmium and Co concentration in the soil of the study area is well above the European topsoil mean. Thus, the urban and agricultural lands cover the vast majority (92%) of the total area. Cadmium concentration in soil of the study area with a mean (mg kg−1) 1.7 and 2.0 was observed in agricultural and urban land use, respectively. Cobalt content in soil of the area studied with a mean (mg kg−1) 30.8 and 37.1 was recorded in agricultural and urban land use, respectively. Land evaluation suitability by adopting criteria provided from the international literature is discussed.

scholarly journals Relating environmental variables with aquatic community structure in an agricultural/urban coldwater stream

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. L. Myers ◽  
Richard R. Rediske ◽  
James N. McNair ◽  
Aaron D. Parker ◽  
E. Wendy Ogilvie
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Aquatic Communities ◽  
Natural Stream ◽  
Longitudinal Gradients ◽  
Agricultural Areas

Abstract Background Urban areas are often built along large rivers and surrounded by agricultural land. This may lead to small tributary streams that have agricultural headwaters and urbanized lower reaches. Our study objectives assessed are as follows: (1) landscape, geomorphic, and water quality variables that best explained variation in aquatic communities and their integrity in a stream system following this agricultural-to-urban land use gradient; (2) ways this land use gradient caused aquatic communities to differ from what would be expected for an idealized natural stream or other longitudinal gradients; and (3) whether the impacts of this land use gradient on aquatic communities would grow larger in a downstream direction through the agricultural and urban developments. Our study area was an impaired coldwater stream in Michigan, USA. Results Many factors structured the biological communities along the agricultural-to-urban land use gradient. Instream woody debris had the strongest relationship with EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) abundance and richness and were most common in the lower, urbanized watershed. Fine streambed substrate had the strongest relationship with Diptera taxa and surface air breather macroinvertebrates and was dominant in agricultural headwaters. Fish community assemblage was influenced largely by stream flow and temperature regimes, while poor fish community integrity in lower urban reaches could be impacted by geomorphology and episodic urban pollution events. Scraping macroinvertebrates were most abundant in deforested, first-order agricultural headwaters, while EPT macroinvertebrate richness was the highest downstream of agricultural areas within the urban zone that had extensive forest buffers. Conclusion Environmental variables and aquatic communities would often not conform with what we would expect from an idealized natural stream. EPT richness improved downstream of agricultural areas. This shows promise for the recovery of aquatic systems using well-planned management in watersheds with this agricultural-to-urban land use pattern. Small patches of forest can be the key to conserving aquatic biodiversity in urbanized landscapes. These findings are valuable to an international audience of researchers and water resource managers who study stream systems following this common agricultural-to-urban land use gradient, the ecological communities of which may not conform with what is generally known about land use impacts to streams.

scholarly journals Urban Land-Use Dynamics in the Niger Delta: The Case of Greater Port Harcourt Watershed

Urban Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nimi Dan-Jumbo ◽  
Marc Metzger ◽  
Andrew Clark
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Hard Copy ◽  
Land Use Classification ◽  
Depth Analysis

Cities in developing countries are urbanising at a rapid rate, resulting in substantial pressures on environmental systems. Among the main factors that lead to flooding, controlling land-use change offers the greatest scope for the management of risk. However, traditional analysis of a “from–to” change matrix is not adequate to provide information of all the land-use changes that occur in a watershed. In this study, an in-depth analysis of land-use change enabled us to quantify the bulk of the changes accumulating from swap changes in a tropical watershed. This study assessed the historical and future land-use/land-cover (LULC) dynamics in the River State region of the Niger Delta. Land-use classification and change detection analysis was conducted using multi-source (Landsat TM, ETM, polygon map, and hard copy) data of the study area for 1986, 1995, and 2003, and projected conditions in 2060. The key findings indicate that historical urbanisation was rapid; urban expansion could increase by 80% in 2060 due to planned urban development; and 95% of the conversions to urban land occurred chiefly at the expense of agricultural land. Urban land was dominated by net changes rather than swap changes, which in the future could amplify flood risk and have other severe implications for the watershed.

Elevated mercury levels in biota along an agricultural land use gradient in the Oldman River basin, Alberta

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1202-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Brinkmann ◽  
Joseph B. Rasmussen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Total Mercury ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Oldman River Basin ◽  
Catostomus Catostomus ◽  
Oldman River

This study examines relationships between anthropogenic influence and mercury concentrations in biota along an elevational river gradient with intensifying agricultural and urban land use in the Oldman River basin, Alberta, Canada. We use nitrogen stable isotope signatures (δ15N) indicative of anthropogenic sources of N to indicate the extent of land use influence on the river ecosystem. δ15N values in biota increased by 4.2‰ along the river gradient, consistent with increasing nitrogen sources from sewage and manure. Mercury concentrations in longnose dace ( Rhinichthys cataractae ), suckers ( Catostomus catostomus , Catostomus commersonii ), and net-spinning caddisfly larvae, the most abundant macroinvertebrates, all increased downstream; dace ranged from 0.023 ppm total mercury below the Oldman reservoir to 0.10 ppm total mercury downstream of Lethbridge. Dace consumed mostly insect larvae, and no increase in trophic position (as estimated by δ15N) was observed along the gradient. Fish directly exposed to agricultural and urban effluents had significantly lower mercury levels, or showed no difference, relative to reference sites, which suggests that these effluents play no significant role in elevating mercury levels in river food webs.

Spatial Dynamic Modeling of Ecological and Agricultural Land Preservation Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development in Nanjing, China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zipan Cai ◽  
Si Chen ◽  
Vladimir Cvetkovic
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Dynamic Modeling ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Spatial Dynamic

<p>In the context of accelerated urbanization, ecological and agricultural lands are continuously sacrificed for urban construction, which may severely affect the urban ecological environment and the health of citizens in cities in the long-term. To explore the sustainable development of cities, it is of considerable significance to study the complex and non-linear coupling relationship between urban expansion and the ecological environment. Different from static quantitative analysis, this paper will establish a spatial dynamic modeling approach couples the urban land-use change and ecosystem services. The spatial dynamic modeling approach combines a network-based analysis method with accurate environmental assessments, which includes a causal change mechanism that simplifies the complex interaction between the urban system and the surrounding environment. Because the model can use a pre-determined cell transformation rules to simulate the conversion probability of land cells at a specific point in time, it provides the opportunity to test the impact of changes in different policy scenarios. In the phase of the environmental impact assessment, the change probability will be converted into an environmental impact based on the calculation of the ecosystem services values under different development scenarios. Taking Nanjing, a rapidly developing city in China as an example, this paper will set up a variety of sustainable development policy scenarios based on the feedback relationship of local land use driving factors. We will test and evaluate the “what-if” consequences through a comparative study to help design the optimal environmental regulation scheme. Planning and decision support will be made to further guide the rational allocation of land use parcel and land development intensity towards a sustainable development future. As a result, this study can support policy decision makings on urban land-use planning and achieve ecological and agricultural land preservation strategies.</p>

scholarly journals Peri-Urban Land Use Dynamics and Development Implications in the Bamenda III Municipality of Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi ◽  
Balgah Sounders Nguh ◽  
Achia Soulange Nafoin
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Urban Zone ◽  
Land Use Dynamics

<em></em><em><em> </em><em>A consequence of rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is the growth of the peri-urban environment. Peri-urban areas the world over are undergoing rapid changes in their land uses with significant development implications. In the present study, Bamenda III, a municipality of Cameroon, which forms part of the Bamenda Metropolis—a primate city par excellence, witnessed dramatic changes in its peri-urban zone. Such changes are exemplified by the multiplication of land uses, a reduction in<br />agricultural land in favour of settlements and other infrastructural developments as well as wetland invasion. Using a systematic sampling of 100 inhabitants in the Bamenda III peri-urban zone, complemented by interviews and secondary data sources, we sought to investigate the evolution, drivers and development implications of peri-urban land use dynamics. The results showed that during the year 2000-2015, there was a reduction in agricultural land area from 2943ha to 1389ha and a corresponding increase in the area for settlements from 1389ha to 2943ha. A positive correlation was observed between population growth and peri-urban land use dynamics in Bamenda III. The observed<br />dynamics has significant developmental implications in terms of future planning perspectives, future developments at the expense of agricultural land and further encroachments into wetlands. The study<br />concludes that a coordinated and planned growth policy should be introduced in order to control rapid peri-urban land use change in the face of population growth.</em></em>

scholarly journals Lower bumblebee colony reproductive success in agricultural compared with urban environments

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1881) ◽  
pp. 20180807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ash E. Samuelson ◽  
Richard J. Gill ◽  
Mark J. F. Brown ◽  
Ellouise Leadbeater
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Sexual Offspring

Urbanization represents a rapidly growing driver of land-use change. While it is clear that urbanization impacts species abundance and diversity, direct effects of urban land use on animal reproductive success are rarely documented. Here, we show that urban land use is linked to long-term colony reproductive output in a key pollinator. We reared colonies from wild-caught bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris ) queens, placed them at sites characterized by varying degrees of urbanization from inner city to rural farmland and monitored the production of sexual offspring across the entire colony cycle . Our land-use cluster analysis identified three site categories, and this categorization was a strong predictor of colony performance. Crucially, colonies in the two clusters characterized by urban development produced more sexual offspring than those in the cluster dominated by agricultural land. These colonies also reached higher peak size, had more food stores, encountered fewer parasite invasions and survived for longer. Our results show a link between urbanization and bumblebee colony reproductive success, supporting the theory that urban areas provide a refuge for pollinator populations in an otherwise barren agricultural landscape.

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