Species distribution models (SDMs) are often used in conservation planning, but their utility can be improved by assessing the relationships between environmental and species response variables. We constructed SDMs for 30 stream fishes of Maryland, USA, using watershed attributes as environmental variables and presence/absence as species responses. SDMs showed substantial agreement between observed and predicted values for 17 species.

CONTEXT : Understanding the variability of vegetation distribution and its determinants is a central issue for addressing the effects of edges on ecological processes. Recent studies have revealed inconsistencies in the patterns of responses to edge effects that raise important questions about their determinants. We investigated the edge effect response patterns by adapting a recently proposed continuous approach to the case of small forest fragments in southwestern France.

Knowledge about the effects of changing environmental factors on stability of spatial structure of soil moisture is important in measurement design and spatial and land-atmosphere modeling, but was rarely considered. We examined the effects of soil temperature and moisture on spatial structure of daily soil moisture at 10-cm and 20-cm depth covering forest and grass sampling points (31 and 11, respectively) over 10months with a maximum between-point distance of 130m.

The rapid and efficient detection of illicit drug cultivation, such as that of Cannabis sativa, is important in reducing consumption. The objective of this study was to identify potential sites of illicit C. sativa plantations located in the semi-arid, southern part of Pernambuco State, Brazil. The study was conducted using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) of Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre high-resolution geometric (SPOT-5 HRG) images (overpass: 31 May, 2007).

Questions: What is the relative importance of landscape variables compared to habitat quality variables in determining species composition in floodplain forests across different physiographic areas? How do species composition and species traits relate to effects of particular landscape variables? Do lowland and mountain areas differ in effects of landscape variables on species composition? Location: Southern Czech Republic. Methods: A total of 240 vegetation relevés of floodplain forests with measured site conditions were recorded across six physiographic areas.

This work presents a procedure for classifying land-use and land-cover (LULC) types in the Brazilian Amazon. Fraction imagery representing proportions of green vegetation, soil, and shade was estimated using all six reflective bands of the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM1 to TM5 and TM7) through the linear spectral mixing model (LSMM).

Although local variation in territorial predator density is often correlated with habitat quality, the causal mechanism underlying this frequently observed association is poorly understood and could stem from facultative adjustment in either group size or territory size. To test between these alternative hypotheses, we used a novel statistical framework to construct a winter population‐level utilization distribution for wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Ontario, which we then linked to a suite of environmental variables to determine factors influencing wolf space use.

Context Reptiles, especially snakes, can cause a fear reaction in the public and are, therefore, a good model to examine human–wildlife conflicts. Human city dwellers often respond to the presence of snakes or other reptiles by calling out the responsible agency for animal control, which has to mediate the situation. Aims To determine how the temporal and spatial occurrence of human–reptile conflicts were associated with environmental conditions and socio-economic factors in a large Brazilian city (Belo Horizonte).

The objective of this article is to investigate whether it is possible to use Landsat data together with ancillary data and temporal context to accurately identify land covers found in the fallow areas of Montane Mainland Southeast Asia's (MMSEA's) difficult-to-map swidden landscapes. A rule-based non-parametric hybrid classification method that integrates knowledge about the vegetation regrowth patterns in these landscapes with analysis of Landsat imagery is developed. The method is applied to three upland districts of the Nghe An Province, Vietnam.

The past two decades saw rapid and massive urbanization and industrialization in China. Despite much research has been reportedly done at local and regional scales, little has been reported on the trajectories, patterns, and drivers of these two intertwining processes at the national level. This is mainly due to the fact that until recently, high resolution spatial data of land use and land cover change were not available at national level. The research reported in this paper aimed to fill this knowledge gap.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) estimates of gross primary production (GPP) were validated using field-based estimates of net primary production from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program across the eastern USA. A total of 54 969 MODIS pixels and co-located FIA plots were analysed to validate MODIS GPP estimates. We used a data resolution of individual MODIS pixels and co-located FIA plots, and used detailed pixel- and plot-specific attributes by applying screening variables (SVs) to assess conditions under which MODIS GPP was most strongly validated.

We present an approach to regional environmental monitoring in the Northern Eurasian grain belt combining time series analysis of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data over the period 2001-2008 and land cover change (LCC) analysis of the 2001 and 2008 MODIS Global Land Cover product (MCD12Q1). NDVI trends were overwhelmingly negative across the grain belt with statistically significant (p[Symbol: see text]0.05) positive trends covering only 1% of the land surface.