Landscape-ecological mapping of the Netherlands

The Landscape-ecological Mapping of the Netherlands project (LMN project) started in 1983 with the aim of establishing a landscape-ecological database for use in developing and evaluating national land-use plans. The project, working with grid cells of 1 km², has four working objectives: a) development of mapping potential for basic landscape-ecological data, b) assessment of susceptibility to interventions, c) evaluation of significance for nature conservation and d) production of vulnerability maps, as a combination of susceptibility and significance. In addition to information on soil, groundwater, ecotopes, flora and fauna, the database also incorporates information on physiographical features and entire landscapes. The resulting database is a geographic information system (GIS). This article describes the second phase of the project (1985–1989), covering the Randstad area, and focusses on the methods and the applications potential of the database.     

A review of models of landscape change

Models of landscape change may serve a variety of purposes, from exploring the interaction of natural processes to evaluating proposed management treatments. These models can be categorized as either whole landscape models, distributional landscape models, or spatial landscape models, depending on the amount of detail included in the models. Distributional models, while widely used, exclude spatial detail important for most landscape ecological research. Spatial models require substantial data, now more readily available, via remote sensing, and more easily manipulated, in geographical information systems. In spite of these technical advances, spatial modelling is poorly developed, largely because landscape change itself is poorly understood.To facilitate further development of landscape models I suggest (1) empirical multivariate studies of landscape change, (2) modelling of individual landscape processes, (3) explicit study of the effect of model scale on model behavior, and (4) scaling-up results of studies, on smaller land areas, that have landscape relevance.     

Scale of heterogeneity of forage production and winter foraging by elk and bison

The relationship between fine-scale spatial patterns of forage abundance and the feeding patterns of large ungulates is not well known. We compared these patterns for areas grazed in winter by elk and bison in a sagebrush-grassland landscape in northern Yellowstone National Park. At a fine scale, the spatial distribution of mapped feeding stations in 30 m × 30 m sites was found to be random where there were no large patches devoid of vegetation. In areas similar to the mapped sites, the underlying spatial distribution pattern of biomass was also determined to be random. At a broad scale, forage biomass differed among communities across the northern range but forage quality did not. These results suggest that ungulates are feeding randomly within forage patches (fine scale) but may select feeding sites based upon forage abundance at broader, landscape scales. Contrary to what has been suggested in other systems, ungulates were not overmatching at finer scales.     

园林布局中必然性和偶然性要素的辩识与运用

阐释了园林构成要素中的必然性要素和偶然性要素及其相互关系与运用意义；以昆明世博园中“齐鲁园”为例，辩识了“齐鲁园”中必然性与偶然性园林要素，分析了诸要素在特定园林环境布局中的运用。     

Growth response of Ficus benjamina to limited soil volume and soil dilution in a skeletal soil container study

The interactive effects of rooting volume and nutrient availability in a skeletal soil medium designed to meet street tree and pavement needs were observed in a containerized experiment. Benjamin fig (Ficus benjamina L.) was grown in a stone-soil blended skeletal soil material (CU-Soil™) and compared to a loam soil. The same topsoil used as the soil component in the skeletal soil material was used as the sole component in the comparison soil-only treatment.Plants grown in the skeletal soil material had reduced leaf tissue N content and depressed growth compared with plants grown in non-diluted soil. No other mineral deficiencies were found. Leaf number, chlorophyll concentration, shoot weight, and root characteristics were all affected.Reduced growth from soil dilution could be offset by the provision of an enlarged rooting volume for root development. Large containers of skeletal soil were observed to have smaller root systems compared to equivalent net volumes of loam soil at the first two harvest dates of the study. By the end of the study, the large containers of skeletal soil were observed to have developed larger root systems compared to equivalent net volumes of loam soil; resulting in comparable leaf N levels and total plant dry matter. Plants in skeletal soil had lower shoot: root ratios at the end of the study. Investing resources to further root growth in times of nutrient shortages is a probable plant reaction as evidenced by differences in specific root length between treatments. The study allowed a method for directly partitioning the containerization effect by having equivalent amounts of soil over two volumes.     

Carbon storage by urban tree cultivars, in roots and above-ground

Urban trees can favorably affect factors underlying global warming by storing carbon and by reducing energy needs for cooling and heating buildings. To estimate carbon stored in roots and above-ground portions of trees, data was collected consisting of whole tree sampling of Amelanchier, Malus, Pyrus, and Syringa cultivars. Roots were excavated using an Air-Spade^™. Regression analysis resulted in two equations for predicting total carbon storage based on height and diameter of trees up to 20 cm dbh: Y = 0.05836 (dbh²) for root carbon storage, and Y = 0.0305 (dbh² × h)^0.9499 for above-ground carbon storage, explaining 97% and 96% of the variation, respectively. Average carbon stored in roots of various cultivars ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 kg for smaller trees, those 3.8 to 6.4 cm dbh, to more than 10.4 kg for trees 14.0 cm to 19.7 cm dbh. Average total carbon stored by cultivars ranged from 1.7 to 3.6 kg for trees less than 6.4 cm dbh to 54.5 kg for trees larger than 14.0 cm. The data from these equations apply mainly to trees in nurseries and recently transplanted trees. Comparisons showed that above-ground estimates from previous studies using a sampling technique overestimated values obtained from actual above-ground weights.     

The effects of agricultural fields and human settlements on the use of rivers by wildlife in the mid-Zambezi valley,Zimbabwe

After the eradication of the Tse-Tse fly in the Mid-Zambezi valley, human settlements and fields extended mainly along the main rivers. In order to investigate the consequences of this human development on wildlife diversity we monitored three rivers of the Mid-Zambezi valley in Zimbabwe: Angwa, Manyame and Kadzi. The rivers were divided in segments of 200 m which were checked for spoors in order to assess the number of species and the number of individuals that used the segments. Human settlements were also recorded. We used a GIS to define the spatial characteristics of the fields present along the rivers, and related them to the distribution and abundance of wild species spoors in the river beds and banks. Our results show that the number of species in one segment of the river decreased with the increasing size of the field area bordering the segment. For all the major ungulate species, the numbers of individuals recorded per segment decreased with increasing field area. A similar trend was observed for small and medium-sized carnivores, though they were in lower numbers when present. Our analyses thus confirm that the extension of human agriculture in wildlife areas has an impact on most wild species, but we also define some threshold value of field size above which there seem to be an acceleration of the decrease in wildlife density and diversity: 3.2 ha for medium and small herbivores and carnivores; only the elephant seem to tolerate larger field area with a threshold value of 32 ha.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial pattern analysis of pre- and post-hurricane forest canopy structure in North Carolina,USA

Existing spatial patterns of a forest are in part a product of its disturbance history. Using laser altimetry and field measures of canopy top height to represent pre- and post-hurricane canopy topography, respectively, we measured changes in spatial patterns of stand structure of a United States southern mixed coniferous-deciduous for est. Autocorrelative and fractal properties were measured in this opportunistic study to quantify changes in canopy architecture along twelve, 190-250 m transects that were subjected to moderate to high levels of wind disturbance. Prior to the hurricane, canopy heights were autocorrelated at scales <40 m with an average fractal dimension of 1.71. After the disturbance, autocorrelation disappeared; the average fractal dimension rose to 1.94. This shift towards spatial randomness illustrates part of the cyclical nature of ecosystem development. It shows how a catastrophic collapse of biomass accumulation corresponds to a decrease in ecosystem organization across a landscape. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

中国北方干旱半干旱地区宏观地貌的发育特征

分析了中国北方地区宏观地貌的基本特征、地质构造背景和地貌发育的主要影响因素,以期形成对北方干旱半干旱地区的自然地理条件、生态环境特征及农业发展基础条件的深刻认识,为生态环境的保护和区域农业规划提供参考。     

基于不同尺度的干旱区城市景观生态研究--以陕西榆林市为例

从区域与城市两个尺度水平 ,对毛乌素沙漠南缘的榆林市城市景观进行研究认为 :在大尺度水平上 ,区域景观生态特征对城市景观特征具有一定的控制作用 ,而城市景观强大的功能流对区域景观产生干扰作用。城市景观的空间扩展与演化 ,既受区域景观特征的影响 ,也是区域景观演化的一个有机构成部分 ;在小尺度空间上 ,景观功能区、景观斑块与廊道的格局与功能 ,对城市景观格局动态以及维持城市景观多样的生态功能具有重要意义。在不同的利益追求下形成的景观文化 ,将深刻地影响到区域与城市景观演化的方向与过程。