Despite being recognized as a key baseline dataset for many applications, especially those relating to biogeochemical cycles, land cover products in their current form are limiting. Typically they lack the thematic detail necessary for driving the models that depend upon them. This study has demonstrated the ability to produce a highly detailed (both spatially and thematically) land cover/land use dataset over Russia – by combining existing datasets into a hybrid information system.

This article examines the transition from shifting cultivation to rubber production for a study area in northern Laos PDR using an agent-based model of land-cover change. A primary objective of the model was to assess changes in household-level inequality with the transition from shifting cultivation to rubber adoption. A secondary objective was to develop explanations for the rate of rubber adoption in the study area.

The paper presents the development of a groundwater potential index (GWPI) map of the Araniar River basin, India, through an overlay analysis of climatic, geologic, geomorphic, soil and land use/land cover features of the basin using Landsat5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data and ArcGIS9.2. A correlation analysis of the developed GWPI map was carried out with a yield map of the basin to standardize the weights assigned to each theme.

Event based rainfall-runoff simulation is very important in water resources management. In this paper, an integrated watershed model considering important hydrological processes has been presented for the event based runoff simulation. Green–Ampt–Mein–Larson model has been used for the estimation of infiltration. For runoff estimation, kinematic wave equations are solved for a channel network using finite-element method. Remotely sensed data have been used for evaluating land use/land cover data.

We studied the ecological characteristics of 45-50-yr-old subtropical dry forest stands in Puerto Rico that were growing on sites that had been deforested and used intensively for up to 128 yr. The study took place in the Guánica Commonwealth Forest. Our objective was to assess the long-term effects of previous land use on this forest--i.e., its species composition, structure, and functioning. Previous land-use types included houses, farmlands, and charcoal pits. Stands with these land uses were compared with a nearby mature forest stand.

We investigated the role of land use/land cover and agriculture practices on stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics in the Willow Slough watershed (WSW) from 2006 to 2008. The 415km² watershed in the northern Central Valley, California is covered by 31% of native vegetation and the remaining 69% of agricultural fields (primarily alfalfa, tomatoes, and rice). Stream discharge and weekly DOC concentrations were measured at eight nested subwatersheds to estimate the DOC loads and yields (loads/area) using the USGS developed stream load estimation model, LOADEST.

Land as a resource of agricultural production is not fully exploited in Latvia, as approximately 400 thousand ha, according to the data in the identification system of agricultural parcels, were undeclared for the Single Area Payment Scheme in 2012 and, of the agricultural area, 10 % was uncultivated and 2% was overgrown. It creates unique opportunities and a potential for enhancing the management and use of land in the future to increase the output of agricultural products.

Bumble bee (Bombus) species are ecologically and economically important pollinators, and many species are in decline. In this article, we develop a mechanistic model to analyse growth trajectories of Bombus vosnesenskii colonies in relation to floral resources and land use. Queen production increased with floral resources and was higher in semi‐natural areas than on conventional farms. However, the most important parameter for queen production was the colony growth rate per flower, as opposed to the average number of available flowers.

In agricultural industry of the Republic of Belarus the problem of increasing the effectiveness of utilization of land resources appears one of the most actual. Annual alienation of agricultural lands and arable fields under housing construction and industrial buildings, roads and other economic object leads to implacable decline of agricultural areas. Absence of new lands, suitable for agricultural use, promotes increase of agricultural productivity by means of intensification of producing process.

In northern New Mexico, complex interactions among climate, land use, and the associated reduction of surface fire in forest and savanna communities facilitated the expansion of piñon-juniper woodlands. Because increasing tree cover can outcompete herbaceous vegetation (e.g., forbs and grasses), woodland expansion resulted in reduced herbaceous cover and increased soil exposure, leading to increased runoff and erosion.

Renewable energy sources (RES) can undoubtedly contribute to protecting the environment and conserving fossil fuels, as well as enhancing regional and rural development opportunities. However, every energy production process affects the environment and involves the use of land resources. The risks linked to intensified RES use should be adequately taken into consideration in any planning process, as ill-conceived energy policies may adversely impact land and local ecosystems, and lead to increases in public spending.

Local land-use planning procedures are increasingly recognized as potentially crucial to ensure off-reserve biodiversity protection. Mainstreaming systematic conservation planning maps in these decision-making procedures has been proposed as a mechanism to achieve this. However, research is lacking on how to convince officials and politicians to change their behaviour and include the maps in their decision-making. Social marketing is a tool commonly used to effect behaviour change in many sectors but its application in conservation is limited.