Making the landscape “home”: Narratives of bushfire and place in Australia

This study investigated how the meaning of ‘home’ influences the social construction of bushfire in two Australian communities at high risk. An increasing number of Australians are living in proximity to areas of high bushfire risk due to climate, vegetation and demographic changes. Land and Fire Management Agencies recognise an urgent need to understand what motivates residents to take action to mitigate bushfire risk, and individual decisions whether or not to evacuate when bushfire is imminent. In bushfire policy and management, the home is considered to be synonymous with the house and associated built structures. Using a combination of visual and ethnographic research methods, we ‘mapped’ residents’ understanding of ‘home’. The findings suggest that the concept of ‘home’ embraces more than the private spaces of house and garden. Landscape practices such as gardening with indigenous plant species, ecological restoration, and habitual walking extend the home territory beyond the house and garden and into public landscapes. Physical elements of the landscape such as mountains and locally significant species of trees form part of the ‘imaginary’ of home. These findings are important to the on-going study of the meaning of home. The implications are also significant for land and bushfire managers as they suggest that community education programs that focus solely on the house may fail to connect with people’s wider sense of home in the landscape.     

Complementing geotechnical slope stability and land movement analysis using satellite DInSAR

This paper explores the potential of using satellite radar inteferometry to monitor time-varying land movement prior to any visible tension crack signs. The idea was developed during dedicated geotechnical studies at a large open-pit lignite mine, where large slope movements (10–20 mm/day) were monitored and large fissures were observed in the immediate area outside the current pit limits. In this work, differential interferometry (DInSAR), using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ALOS images, was applied to monitor the progression of land movement that could potentially thwart mine operations. Early signs of land movements were captured by this technique well before their visual observation. Moreover, a qualitative comparison of DInSAR and ground geodetic measurements indicates that the technique can be used for the identification of high risk areas and, subsequently, for the optimization of the spatial distribution of the available ground monitoring equipment. Finally, quantitative land movement results from DInSAR are shown to be in accordance with simultaneous measurements obtained by ground means.     

Landscape Reconstruction and Recreation of Damaged Land in Opencast Coal Mine: A Review

Land resources in opencast coal mine are excavated and occupied during the process of mining. Severe soil compaction resulted from heavy machinery lead to a series of consequences: vegetation cannot grow normally, loss of soil and water take place constantly, and landscape is damaged. Therefore, for the future development of reclamation and ecological restoration in opencast coal mine, it has become one major task to carry out the reconstruction of damaged landscape. According to the damage characteristics of land landscape in mining area, this paper summarized the data acquisition methods of damaged land landscape in this field, including remote sensing, GPS RTK, UAV, 3D laser scanning. Fractal and landscape index methods reflecting landscape were also reviewed. Besides, landscape remodeling and reconstruction theories were concluded, which include landscape ecology, microtopography and imitated-nature landform. Base on the above mentioned, it was found out that the UAV, 3D laser scanning technologies and fractal characterization method were rarely applied. In order to provide theoretical guidance and scientific basis for improving the effect of damaged landscape reconstruction and recreation in opencast coal mine, future research should be targeted on strengthening technology, deepening the fractal theory, creating landscape planning and technology system of damaged land.     

花岗岩露天关闭矿山生态修复技术应用北大核心CSCD

矿山生态修复是贯彻落实“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念、实施“山水林田湖草沙”生态保护修复工程的重要举措,其中坚硬岩石高陡边坡生态修复是矿山环境修复的难点与热点问题。以苏州市金山浜花岗岩露天关闭矿山生态修复项目为例,调查分析矿山地质环境问题,针对矿山植被覆盖度低、地貌景观破损造成视觉污染及地质灾害现状,采用削坡清坡、浆砌片石格构植被护坡、客土喷播、锚固铁丝网砼筑围堰、废弃地平整覆土、截排水及植被养护等技术对矿山进行生态修复。实践表明:采取的技术方案使花岗岩边坡安全稳定,坡面植被覆盖率达85%以上,废弃地得到整理利用,改善了矿山生态环境和景观面貌,提升了环太湖风景区的生态环境品质。     

土地复垦美学视觉评价:以黄土高原矿区为例

目前国内外很少有从美学角度进行土地复垦的研究,土地复垦美学概念暂未提出,土地复垦美学视觉评价体系还未成熟。为深入研究土地复垦美学概念内涵,讨论土地复垦美学表现形式,本文参考平朔矿区土地复垦与生态修复的经验,采用文献归纳法和移植研究法,以“山水林田湖草生命共同体理念”为依托,构建了由要素评价和系统评价组成的嵌套式评价体系。通过解构美国林务局视觉管理系统(visual management system,VMS)评价、美国土地管理局视觉资源管理系统(visual resource management,VRM)、联邦公路局视觉影响评估系统(visual impact assessment,VIA)、复田景观评价、园林景观美学评价等成熟的视觉评价体系,结合矿区生态系统修复“五元共轭”理论,构建了一套适用于黄土高原矿区的土地复垦美学视觉评价体系,所有指标共计21项,即地貌重塑与土壤重构相关指标8项、植被重建与生物多样性相关指标7项、景观重现相关指标6项。各项指标完成了定性、半定量化释义,修正了“岩貌、地形地貌、湖泊、毗邻景观”4项指标的评价标准。土地复垦美学评价不可忽略主观因素影响,应注重景观美学表现形式的多样性与差异性,使土地复垦美学视觉表现得更具选择性。     

Assessment of visual impact induced by surface mining with reference to a case study located in Sardinia (Italy)

Surface mining and quarrying typically generate a considerable number of environmental impacts among which landscape alteration remains one of the most significant. Although landscape alteration does not directly affect public health, it may produce an adverse reaction among potential observers and compromise the use and potential growth of the surrounding territory. In order to assess the impact produced by surface excavation, some aspects of landscape modification can be objectively measured, such as the extent of the visible alteration, its shape and the chromatic contrast with the surroundings. With reference to a case study located in Sardinia, this article discusses the implementation of two different visual impact assessment methods, one defined by the EC decision 272/02 (Commission Decision 2002), the other previously proposed by the authors of the present article and based on the estimation of the impact indicator Lvi (level of visual impact). The comparison of the results proves that the method established by the EC decision leads to the underestimation of the visual impact for alterations which are significantly wider than their height. On the other hand, the implementation of the Lvi method clearly shows how the indicator is affected by the quarry’s lateral extent and suggests the possibility of calculating a global impact factor LVI to be associated to a given route, considering the variability of the visual impact with the curvilinear abscissa of the route itself.     

Marginal land and the global land rush: A spatial exploration of contested lands and state-directed development in contemporary Ethiopia

The ‘global land rush’ or ‘global land grabbing’ phenomena has prompted concerns over the potential of large-scale land acquisitions to displace rural populations and impact food security in lesser-developed countries. State actors often assert that lands being leased to investors are ‘marginal’, ‘wasteland’, ‘barren’, or ‘unused’ without explicitly stating the criteria that are used to classify those spaces. Using Ethiopia as a case study, this paper synthesizes semi-structured interviews and geospatial land-use data to unpack the federal government’s notion of ‘marginal land’ to investigate how land qualifies for deposition into a federal land bank set aside for future investment and the agro-ecological characteristics and human-environment interactions endemic to these areas. We find that government officials conceive land bank areas to be generally fertile but currently ‘unused’. In reality, we find land bank areas: (1) are used by pastoralists or rural people practicing land extensive forms of cultivation that are only loosely integrated into the Ethiopian state, (2) overlap with protected areas such as National Parks, and (3) are located in places that have surface water resources the government intends to use for large-scale development such as irrigation or hydropower projects. We argue that the intended land uses of banked lands serve not only to fulfill larger development objectives but also increase state-accessible product produced in these areas strengthening the link between ‘othering’ labels, development, and state-making in the context of the global land rush.     

A case study on geochemical anomaly identification through principal components analysis supplementary projection

Based on a case study in which a single geochemical anomaly was located in the vicinity of an abandoned mine in Central Portugal, a recursive methodology for anomaly/background separation was developed. This methodology relies on the supplementary projection of each of the samples taken from a subset of ‘anomaly candidates’ onto the axes provided by Principal Components Analysis of the background subset. The concept of ‘anomaly intensity’, defined by the average of the distances from the original to the supplementary projections, is the basis for final anomaly identification.     

Palaeochannel-controlled depositional features of the cretaceous lower Mahadek uranium Mineralisation in Umthongkut area,West Khasi Hills,Meghalaya

GIS complemented statistical classification techniques yield good result in predicting landslide hazards. Indian standard landslide hazard model follows guidelines formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS, 1998), in which the study area is divided into five categories, ranging from very low hazard zone to very high hazard zone on fixed numerical ratings. For land use planners, “moderate hazard zone” proves vague and indecisive. In the present study, BIS based landslide hazard zones are demarcated for 140 sq. km area for a road corridor in East and North Sikkim that shows 21.96%, 53.14%, 22.80% and 2.10% for ‘Low Hazard Zone’, ‘Moderate Hazard Zone’, ‘High Hazard Zone’ and ‘Very High Hazard Zone’ respectively. This classification scheme has been reclassified to binary system based on population distribution and defining the cut-off by evaluation techniques of the ROC. The reclassification eliminates “moderate hazard zone”, minimizing the Type-II error and becomes more acceptable for future land use planning.     

What local people? Examining the Gállok mining conflict and the rights of the Sámi population in terms of justice and power

The global extraction of minerals is commonly located in areas populated by indigenous people; and while conflicts between multinational corporations and local activists and indigenous people are widespread today, the understanding of their dynamics are lacking. The Swedish government’s encouragement to an expanding mining industry has caused resistance due to environmental and social implications, particularly its effect on Sámi reindeer husbandry. The resistance to a mine in Gállok is based on the belief that the right to decide about land use historically falls on the Sámi people, and the right to affect land use is detrimental for the survival of Sámi culture and reindeer husbandry. Although the conflict may be perceived as concerning access to natural resources, we argue that the perceived environmental conflict can be viewed as part of a larger struggle over social status and recognition. Data have been collected using qualitative methods such as observations, interviews and documents. The subsequent analysis relies on a meta-theoretical framework of justice as recognition using a typology of relations of power. Our findings suggest that relations of power constitute different categories of social actors. Stakeholders like the Sámi population are subordinated to more dominant stakeholders such as the government, the company and media, who have ‘more’ power or ‘different’ kinds of power ‘over’ others. Through these asymmetric power relations, historical state-Sámi relations are continuously reproduced within prevailing institutions, and also in this mining conflict. Interviewees from business and the municipality testified to the discourses driven by a neoliberal and profit-focused worldview. Challenging the neoliberal discourse, other stakeholders, namely civil society and Sámi, expressed an alternative discourse based on a local, traditional, cultural, environmental and anti-neoliberal worldview.     

浅析广安华蓥山区山水林田湖综合治理措施——以高顶山矿区为例

高顶山矿区位于广安华蓥市城区东南约5km处。长期的采矿活动,导致区内矿山地质环境问题突出,严重影响华蓥山地区人民的生命财产安全。矿山地质环境问题亟待解决。本文通过分析区内主要存在的矿山地质环境问题,提出通过矿山地质灾害、矿山土地恢复、矿山地形地貌景观恢复治理,河道综合整治、道路修复、生态保育、产业提升等措施;消除安全隐患,保障区内人民生命财产安全;改善生态环境,实现华蓥山地区生态环境全面恢复,生态环境质量提升,提高环境承载力,实现区内"山青、水秀、林美、田良"的目标。并对区内的产业转型升级进行了探讨,提出将高顶山矿区建设成具有科普和教育价值的旅游景观目的地;利用矿区独具特色工业人文景观和别致的自然景观,将高顶山矿区建设成集"科普、休闲、康养、户外、探秘"五大功能于一体的矿山公园,推动矿业经济转型升级,促进产业结构转型和经济社会可持续发展。     

陕北煤矿区黄土丘陵地貌景观规划模式设计与布局

陕北煤矿区是我国重要的产煤基地,煤炭大量开采后会引起地表沉陷和景观扰动。以陕北柠条塔矿沉陷区为例,针对该区域内黄土丘陵地貌特征,通过室内统计分析、现场调研、定性定量相结合等方法综合分析地表景观存在的问题,并进行景观模式规划设计与布局,为此地貌类型中地下开采矿区景观规划提供借鉴。结果发现,地上景观存在4个问题:自然景观碎片化,生态环境缺乏整体布局;煤炭地下开采动态化,地上景观规划缺乏联动机制;土地资源利用低效化,景观生态?产业经济缺乏有机链接;环境土质干旱瘠薄化,景观再造与技术支持缺乏联系。针对这些问题构建坡度坡向分级为基础的区划规划模式,“三期两带”的时空规划模式,以复合种植模式为主的植物组合规划模式,以微生物菌肥、无人机飞播、矿井水再利用为主的技术规划模式,并进行了生态–经济–社会的综合效益分析,为煤矿区的后续生存发展、生态经济的升级转型奠定基础。      

成都经济区不同地貌景观区土壤有机碳分布特征及储量估算

利用四川省成都经济区多目标区域地球化学调查获得的土壤有机碳含量数据,探讨了成都经济区不同地貌景观区土壤有机碳的分布特征。山区表层土壤有机碳含量(SOC)最高(22 g/kg左右),较平原区、丘陵区高一倍以上,丘陵区最低(9.49 g/kg)。成都平原区和东部丘陵区深层土壤碳含量相差不大,且均低于研究区深层土壤碳含量均值(6.99 g/kg)。利用指数模型对单位土壤平均碳量(USCATOC)、有机碳储量(USCATOC,h)、有机碳丰度指数(R)进行了估算。结果表明:各地貌单元土壤碳含量、单位土壤平均碳量、有机碳储量、有机碳丰度指数(R)分布具有山区高于平原区、丘陵区最低的一致性特征。龙门山区、西南山区面积约占全区的42%,土壤有机碳储量约占全区的59%;成都平原区、丘陵区面积占58%,土壤有机碳储量约占全区的41%。单位土壤平均碳量、有机碳储量在不同地貌单元中分布的差异主要与不同地貌单元的土壤有机碳含量有关,此外还可能与成土母质、植被发育情况、土地利用方式有关。     

土地资源利用的景观生态优化方法

空间格局的生态优化是以往土地利用优化配置中的薄弱环节 ,景观生态学的发展与完善为弥补此项不足提供了一个全新的研究视角 ,在此方面已进行了长期的理论与方法探讨。为进一步促进景观生态学与土地利用优化配置的结合 ,探索土地资源利用空间生态优化的有效途径 ,文章系统阐述了近几十年景观生态学在土地利用优化配置的应用研究中采用的主要方法及其发展 ,并重点讨论了基于格局分析的土地利用生态优化途径及其发展前景。     

基于RS和GIS的喀斯特山区生态系统构成与格局及转化分析——以贵州毕节地区为例

为了更好地了解贵州省毕节地区生态系统类型的构成、格局与转化特征,本文基于面向对象分类和空间统计与分析技术,对毕节地区2000年和2010年生态系统类型进行提取,并对生态系统构成、格局和转化特征进行定量分析。结果表明:从生态系统构成和格局看,2010年研究区生态系统类型以林地和耕地为主,分别占研究区面积的42.65 ％和42.51 ％;2000和2010年该区均具有较高的斑块数和较小的平均斑块面积,说明该地区景观破碎化程度较高;2010年斑块总数较2000有所减少,表明研究区景观连通性得到改善,景观整体趋于规整化;2010年旱地斑块总面积和平均斑块面积有所减少,针叶林、草地则增加,显示该地区退耕还林还草项目的实施有所成效;旱地和针叶林的聚集度都增加,表明二者连通性增强、景观更加集中。从生态系统转化特征看,2000-2010年,研究区生态系统类型间转化总面积为1 298.25 km2,面积明显减少的是旱地和水田,明显增加的主要为林地、草地,土地面积转移矩阵显示旱地主要向林地、草地转化;受旱地面积较大影响,毕节、黔西、大方的面积变化和生态系统转化剧烈程度都较大,8个县（市）的生态系统类型相互转化强度值均为正值,可见生态系统覆被类型均向着较好的方向发展。      

项目管理理论在土地一级开发项目中的应用——目标分析和目标系统设计

土地一级开发是国内很多大中城市进行城市运营的重要方式,项目管理的理论方法已广泛应用于基建、开发、科研等项目运作。从项目管理的角度对该项活动的实施过程加以分析,将目标管理的方法应用其中,进行充分的目标分析和目标系统设计,可以使土地一级开发的运作更加科学化、系统化。     

Evaluation of groundwater vulnerability in El-Bahariya Oasis,Western Desert,Egypt, using modelling and GIS techniques: A case study

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer (NSSA) is the main groundwater resource of the El-Bahariya Oasis, which is located in the middle of the Western Desert of Egypt. This aquifer is composed mainly of continental clastic sediments of sandstone with shale and clay intercalations of saturated thickness ranging between 100 and 1500 m. Vulnerability assessment to delineate areas that are more susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources has become an important element for sustainable resources management and land use planning. Accordingly, this research aims to estimate the vulnerability of NSSA by applying the DRASTIC model as well as utilising sensitivity analyses to evaluate the relative importance of the model parameters for aquifer vulnerability in the study area. The main objective is to demonstrate the combined use of the DRASTIC and the GIS techniques as an effective method for groundwater pollution risk assessment, and mapping the areas that are prone to deterioration of groundwater quality and quantity. Based on DRASTIC index (DI) values, a groundwater vulnerability map was produced using the GIS. The aquifer analysis in the study area highlighted the following key points: the northeastern and western parts of the NSSA were dominated by ‘High’ vulnerability classes while the northwestern and southeastern parts were characterised by ‘Medium’ vulnerability classes. The elevated central part of the study area displayed ‘Low’ aquifer vulnerability. The vulnerability map shows a relatively greater risk imposed on the northeastern part of the NSSA due to the larger pollution potential of intensive vegetable cultivation. Depth-to-water, topography and hydraulic conductivity parameters were found to be more effective in assessing aquifer vulnerability.     

Statistical analysis of geo-electric imaging and geotechnical test results – a case study

For conjunctive use of geoelectric imaging and geotechnical site investigations in geotechnical characterization of major civil engineering construction sites, an objective assessment of influencing factors is important. Here, we present multiple regression analyses of both geoelectric (Electrical Resistivity Tomography, ERT; Induced Polarization Imaging, IPI) and geotechnical site investigations (Standard Penetration Test, SPT) for two profiles at a construction site for CGEWHO Complex in Greater Noida region, Delhi to assess the role of influencing formation factors like sand, fines and water content. Achieved results show that SPT ‘N’ and IPI are well predicted by a linear multiple regression. On an average, the nonlinear regression has improved predicted SPT ‘N’, resistivity and chargeability by 28.55%, 22.45% and 9.58%, respectively. The influence of sand and fines content is more than that of water content in the prediction of chargeability and SPT ‘N’. RMS error is less in prediction of IPI chargeability (average error of 1.96%) in comparison to SPT ‘N’ value (average error of 11.35%). As factors affecting chargeability (IPI) and SPT ‘N’ are similar, non-invasive IPI can be used along with few geotechnical site investigations for detailed geotechnical site investigations.     

北京露天废弃矿山地质环境治理模式探讨

北京地区许多废弃的无主老矿山未实施矿山环境治理和土地资源恢复工程,矿区内地质环境和生态条件恶劣。本文对废弃矿山及其治理工程特点进行了分析,运用灰色关联度分析法,阐述了矿山废弃地土地资源破坏效应的四个因素——地表景观效应、土体污染效应、次生灾害效应、生态环境之间的联系。以房山区石窝大理石矿山废弃地治理工程为例,提出了矿山废弃地治理以矿山环境、灾害治理为主,以园林景观绿化为辅相结合的二维治理模式,在地形整治、挡土墙、绿化等措施的基础上进行园林景观的设计,结合周边居民生活需求,利用矿区内的正负地形渣堆和采石坑,进行景观的再生和组合,将采石坑设计成下沉式休闲公园和健身广场,希望通过园林景观绿化工程的实施,改善矿区及周边地表景观和生态环境。     

The Maltese Islands: climate, vegetation and landscape

The Maltese Islands, situated in the central Mediterranean, occupy an area of only some 316 km². The climate is typically Mediterranean: the average annual rainfall is c. 530 mm of which some 85% falls during the period October to March; the mean monthly temperature range is 12--26 °C, and the islands are very windy and sunny. Although small, the Maltese Islands have a considerable diversity of landscapes and ecosystems which are representative of the range and variety of those of the Mediterranean region. The islands are composed mainly of limestones, the soils are young and are very similar to the parent rocks, and there are no mountains, streams or lakes, but only minor springs; the main geomorphological features are karstic limestone plateaux, hillsides covered with clay taluses, gently rolling limestone plains, valleys which drain runoff during the wet season, steep sea-cliffs on the south-western coasts, and gently sloping rocky shores to the Northeast. The main vegetational assemblages are maquis, garigue and steppe; minor ones include patches of woodland, coastal wetlands, sand dunes, freshwater, and rupestral communities; the latter are the most scientifically important in view of the large number of endemic species they support. Human impact is significant. Some 38% of the land area is cultivated, c. 15% is built up, and the rest is countryside. The present landscape is a result of the interaction of geology and climate, coupled with the intense human exploitation of the environment over many thousands of years, which has altered the original condition of the vegetation cover, principally through the diversion of vast tracts of land to cultivation, the construction of terraces, water catchment devices, irrigation channels and drainage ditches, the grazing of animals on uncultivated land, and the development of land for buildings and industry. The scantiness of the soil, combined with the erratic rainfall and the periodic disturbance of the vegetation cover, has resulted in extensive erosion. As a consequence it is now difficult for the original vegetation to reassert itself, affecting the landscape drastically and permanently. Much of the original native flora has been lost or marginalised and the present day non-urban landscape is now dominated by vegetation consisting mainly of ruderal and introduced species. As the population increases, and human pressure on the environment mounts, such trends are likely to continue and it is only very recently that some important initiatives have been taken to manage the environment and halt the deterioration of the landscape.