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Meta-analysis for the transfer of economic benefits of ecosystem services provided by wetlands within two watersheds in Quebec, Canada
Climate change will cause major changes in ecosystems. Therefore, it is crucial that climate change policy consider the value of all services that are provided by watershed ecosystems. For this purpose, geospatial data and economic analysis are combined to determine a monetary value for wetland ecosystem goods and services (EGSs) in the watersheds of the Yamaska and Bécancour Rivers (Quebec, Canada). From published studies of wetland economic evaluations, we selected 51 relevant studies from 21 countries and performed a benefit transfer using meta-analysis.
Realistic Assessment of the Indicator Potential of Butterflies and Other Charismatic Taxonomic Groups
Charismatic groups of animals and plants often are proposed as sentinels of environmental status and trends. Nevertheless, many claims that a certain taxonomic group can provide more-general information on environmental quality are not evaluated critically. To address several of the many definitions of indicator species, we used butterflies to explore in some detail the attributes that affect implementation of indicators generically.
Farmland Allocation along the Rural-Urban Gradient: The Impacts of Urbanization and Urban Sprawl
In the vicinity of a city, farmers are confronted with increasing agricultural land prices and rents along the rural-urban gradient, but they concurrently enjoy the advantages associated with proximityto a larger and wealthier consumer base. We hypothesize that farmers transition fromlow-value, land-intensive \traditional" crops to high-value, labor-intensive \specialized" crops on parcels located closer to urban centers. Once returns to development of a parcel exceed theprofits associated with farming, exurban farmers may sell their land for conversion to urban use.
Remote Sensing and GIS Approach for Delineation of Groundwater Potential and Groundwater Quality Zones of Western Doon Valley, Uttarakhand, India
Groundwater exploration in the Western Doon valley has been carried out to delineate the groundwater potential and groundwater quality zones suitable for domestic purposes based on the integrated use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The Western Doon Valley, occupying broad synclinal troughs in the evolving fold-thrust system of sub-Himalaya, which is filled by post-Siwalik fluvial and debris flow deposits in the late Quaternary-Holocene.
definition of potential infiltration areas in Guaratinguetá watershed, Paraíba do Sul Basin, Southeastern Brazil: an integrated approach using physical and land-use elements
This work describes the methodological approach used for mapping the potential infiltration areas of the Guaratinguetá watershed (160 km2), situated in Southeastern Brazil. The method is considered a qualitative approach, which takes into account thematic maps (geology, pedology, geomorphology, and land use/land cover) and the precipitation spatial distribution. A group of experts in Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering has applied an infiltration potential scale factor that ranges from 5 (highest influence) to 1 (lowest influence).
Characterizing changes in urban landscape of Nairobi city, Kenya
Landscapes in urban areas especially in developing countries are under pressure due to increasing population of urban dwellers and un-directed spread of city boundaries. Sound urban environment plays important aesthetic, ecological, cultural, social and engineering roles beneficial to the people. To support better management of vegetated sites, it is necessary to understand the spatial configuration at the landscape scale and changes that have occurred.
Predicting plant species richness and vegetation patterns in cultural landscapes using disturbance parameters
A new methodological framework for plant diversity assessment at the landscape scale is presented that exhibits the following strengths: (1) potential for easily standardizable sampling procedure; (2) characterization of disturbance regime; (3) use of selected disturbance descriptors as explanatory variables which probably allow for better transferability than site specific land use types--for example, to evaluate the emerging use of energy plants that pose novel management challenges without historic precedence to many landscapes; (4) analysis of quantitative and qualitative aspects of pla
Land use and land cover change in the Colombian Andes: dynamics and future scenarios
Land use and land cover changes (LUCC) are recognized as one of the most relevant drivers of biodiversity loss in ecosystems. Through the analysis of satellite images, this article quantifies the LUCC that occurred between 1985 and 2008 in the Colombian Andes. Four submodels of changes were analyzed: deforestation, crop intensification, conversion to pastures, and abandonment.
Projecting regional area changes in forestland cover in the U.S.A
Representing ecological processes in agent-based models of land use and cover change
Agent-based models of land use and cover change (ABMs/LUCC) have traditionally represented land-use and land-cover changes as arising from social, economic and demographic conditions, while spatial ecological models have tended to simulate the environmental impacts of spatially aggregated human decisions.
Landowner response to policies regulating land improvements in Finland: Lease or search for other options?
Land improvements with long pay-back periods are often delayed on leased agricultural land. The delay in improvements has been found to result in land degradation, decreased land productivity and environmental problems. An important question is thus how landowners would respond to regulations and mandates concerning land improvements. Based on a Finnish landowner survey, we analysed landowner choices under certain land improvement regulations, using the currently dominant choice of leasing land for agricultural use as the benchmark.