The relationship between land cover patterns and surface temperature was examined using random forest as well as simple linear regression for two urban sites in Denver, Colorado, USA. Among four land cover types of buildings, trees, grass, and roads and parking lots, only trees and roads and parking lots show significant spatial metrics affecting surface temperature using both the methods.

A distributed adaptation of i-Tree Eco was used to simulate dry deposition in an urban area. This investigation focused on the effects of varying temperature, LAI, and NO₂ concentration inputs on estimated NO₂ dry deposition to trees in Baltimore, MD. A coupled modeling system is described, wherein WRF provided temperature and LAI fields, and CMAQ provided NO₂ concentrations. A base case simulation was conducted using built-in distributed i-Tree Eco tools, and simulations using different inputs were compared against this base case.

Based on an extensive survey of woodland visitors in Wallonia, south Belgium, we examined a wide range of individual-, residential- and destination-level variables for their associations with the distance travelled for woodland leisure on foot, by bicycle and by car. For each transport mode, explanatory bivariate analyses were conducted firstly to identify potential correlates of the distances travelled. Then, cross-classified multilevel analysis was performed to build estimation models for the trip distance.

In urban areas, the competition between land development and ecological conservation is intense. To mitigate the negative effects of urbanization, we developed a methodology to plan a spatially explicit conservation network based on widely available remotely sensed data and other auxiliary data. First, as an area of strategic significance for the conservation of regional flora and fauna and for maintaining high environmental quality to promote human well-being, the remaining natural and semi-natural areas were identified as ecologically primary areas.

Urban gardens may support bees by providing resources in otherwise resource-poor environments. However, it is unclear whether urban, backyard gardens with native plants will support more bees than gardens without native plants. We examined backyard gardens in northwestern Ohio to ask: 1) Does bee diversity, abundance, and community composition differ in backyard gardens with and without native plants? 2) What characteristics of backyard gardens and land cover in the surrounding landscape correlate with changes in the bee community?

In this study, we have considered the relationship between the spatial configuration of land use and water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Using land use types, landscape metrics, and long-term water quality data, as well as statistical and spatial analysis, we determined that most water quality parameters were negatively correlated with non-wood forest and urban areas but were strongly positively correlated with the proportion of forest area.

The concept of Ecosystem Services has gained traction on the scientific agenda and has found its way into research on urban environments. Cities and towns, like any other ecosystem, provide specific services to their inhabitants and communities and they are benefited by surrounding ecosystems as well. Among the different categories, typical Ecosystem Services categories such as food production and erosion control usually have a lesser importance within urban contexts.

Urbanization in China accompanies economic development and population growth. Changes in land use leads to changes in both meteorological and chemical fields. In this study, the impact of land use change in Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ, indicating Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) areas on meteorology and ozone concentrations are studied using the WRF–Chem model. Land use change is represented by two different land cover data sets: USGS and MODIS.

Human-induced soil degradation is a serious and complex environmental challenge in Iran. For a long time, human activities, namely the overuse of land, have been influencing the natural processes on and in soils; therefore, various types of soil degradation can be observed in many parts of the country. The understanding and the consideration of direct and indirect effects of human activities on soils are indispensable for the prediction of the human impact on soil degradation processes.

We exploited publicly available satellite- and aircraft-based imagery to estimate urban vegetation cover fraction and land use by class for a semiarid urban area that includes Phoenix, AZ, USA, using low-cost and technologically modest tools. This technique is also used to evaluate two satellite-derived tree cover datasets as well as to compare estimates from the present study with land cover data generated from another study performed using the same study domain.

The paper describes the main phases and results of a study which is part of a broader research programme aimed at assessing the changes that have occurred in Italian rural landscapes since the Second World War. The research deals with the definition of a methodology suitable for analysing the changes in the rural built environment over wide areas. This methodology focuses on the definition of representative sample areas aimed to reduce survey costs while allowing results to be characterised by a known and provable degree of reliability and precision.