Urbanización
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Placing land degradation and biological diversity decline in a unified framework: Methodological and conceptual issues in the case of the north Mediterranean region
The development of synergies between efforts to mitigate land degradation and biological diversity decline can enhance effectiveness, speed up implementation and avoid potential conflicts. Due to the variable nature of these processes and to the variable characteristics of the areas where they occur, there is no general rule linking land degradation and biological diversity decline. Thus, a geographically limited approach focusing on drivers of change may provide a more appropriate base upon which synergies can be built. This exercise is undertaken for the case of northern Mediterranean.
Strategic Environmental Assessment in Latin America: A methodological proposal for urban planning in the Metropolitan Area of Concepción (Chile)
This work describes a methodology for Strategic Environmental Assessment of urban areas in Latin America based on the recently approved European Planning Directive, and applies it to the Metropolitan Area of Concepción (Chile). The method is based on the Land Suitability Index (LSI), a cartographic GIS-based index originally developed for the region of Barcelona (Spain) and aimed at determining the suitability of each point in a region for urban development, considering three sub-indexes: (i) Naturalness, (ii) Ecological Connectivity and (iii) Natural Risk.
Urbanites, smallholders, and the quest for empathy: Prospects for collaborative planning in the periurban Shullcas Valley, Peru
Given the regional geographic specificities of Central Andean valleys, the social and environmental impact of dispersed urbanization on smallholder farmers is particularly high in the new urban peripheries of Peruvian mountain cities.
Novel woodland patches in a small historical Mediterranean city: Padova, Northern Italy
Woodland fragments, in small historical cities, are commonly regarded as temporary voids in an urban matrix, yet to be allocated a land-use, under city planning regulations. However, they could display relevant plant diversity, and contribute to urban ecosystem services. This study combined surveys at 100 m², and at patch level, with the aim to investigate how patch size, stand and urbanization, affected the structure of plant communities in thirty woodland fragments (0.1–2 ha), spontaneously developing in the small, historical city of Padova (Northern Italy).
Assessing the effect of green cover spatial patterns on urban land surface temperature using landscape metrics approach
The present study was aimed to investigate how and to what extent urban land surface temperature (ULST) is affected by spatial pattern of green cover patch in an urban ambient in Isfahan, Iran. To materialize the effects of spatial pattern of green cover on ULST, Landsat ETM + image data on May 5, 2002 was acquired to be processed for ULST estimation and to generate Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) classes.
Agricultural and green infrastructures: The role of non-urbanised areas for eco-sustainable planning in a metropolitan region
Non-Urbanised Areas (NUAs) are part of agricultural and green infrastructures that provide ecosystem services. Their role is fundamental for the minimization of urban pollution and adaptation to climate change. Like all natural ecosystems, NUAs are endangered by urban sprawl. The regulation of sprawl is a key issue for land-use planning. We propose a land use suitability strategy model to orient Land Uses of NUAs, based on integration of Land Cover Analysis (LCA) and Fragmentation Analysis (FA). With LCA the percentage of evapotranspiring surface is defined for each land use.
Ranching motivations in 2 Colorado counties
The objectives of this Colorado study were to assess primary reasons ranchers choose to stay or sell the ranch, compare the motivations for ranching between a traditional agriculturally based county and a rapidly developing county, and assess whether factors such as length of tenure, fiscal dependency on ranching, and dependency on public lands play roles in decisions to sell. Personal interviews were conducted with 37 ranchers. While land use conversion occurs for a wide variety of reasons, lack of heirs and detrimental public policy were important reasons given for selling ranches.
Stormwater Infrastructure Controls Runoff and Dissolved Material Export from Arid Urban Watersheds
Urbanization alters watershed ecosystem functioning, including nutrient budgets and processes of nutrient retention. It is unknown, however, how variation in stormwater infrastructure design affects the delivery of water and materials from urban watersheds. In this study, we asked: (1) How does stormwater infrastructure design vary over time and space in an arid city (Phoenix, Arizona, USA)?, and (2) How does variation in infrastructure design affect fluxes of dissolved nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and organic carbon (DOC) from urban watershed ecosystems?
Assessing hydrological impact of potential land use change through hydrological and land use change modeling for the Kishwaukee River basin (USA)
Urbanization alters spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem primary production: A case study of the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA
Previous studies have found that urbanization often decreases net primary production (NPP), an important integrative measure of ecosystem functioning. In arid environments, however, urbanization may boost productivity by introducing highly productive plant communities and weakening the coupling of plant growth to naturally occurring cycles of water and nutrients. We tested these ideas by comparing NPP estimated for natural and anthropogenic land covers in the Phoenix metropolitan region of USA using MODIS NDVI data and a simplified parametric NPP model.
Using algal metrics and biomass to evaluate multiple ways of defining concentration-based nutrient criteria in streams and their ecological relevance
We examined the utility of nutrient criteria derived solely from total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in streams (regression models and percentile distributions) and evaluated their ecological relevance to diatom and algal biomass responses. We used a variety of statistics to characterize ecological responses and to develop concentration-based nutrient criteria (derived from ecological effects) for streams in Connecticut, USA, where urbanization is the primary cause of watershed alteration.