Urban Forest Values of the Citizenry in Three Colombian Cities

Urban forests are an integral part of urban ecosystems and quality of life. With an overwhelmingly urban population, Latin American countries benefit considerably from their urban forests. However, little is known about the values that make such forests important. The goal of this study was to provide an overview of urban forest values in Colombia. Exploratory research was undertaken in the cities of Bogotá, Cali, and Pereira, with the use of field tours based on visits to five urban forest types, personal diaries, and focus groups. Recruitment was based on voluntary self-selection. Data were captured from 72 participants and analyzed via coding and theme extraction. The data demonstrate that Colombian urban dwellers value the urban forest in terms of a rich array of psychological, aesthetic, sociocultural, ecological, environmental, and economic themes. This study is a primer for eliciting urban forest values and developing typologies in a novel and effective way.     

Tourist Carrying Capacity Measures: Crowding Syndrome in the Caribbean

International tourism is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Understanding the variety of national and local impacts of this increase is of importance to a growing number of governments. Butler's resort cycle model (1974, 1980, 1991) provides for several long‐term possibilities as to the relationship between crowding and growth. McElroy, de Albuquerque, and Dioguardi (1993) focus on one of those possibilities. Specifically, using their penetration ratio, they predict that as tourist crowding continues for a group of Caribbean islands, the appeal of these islands decreases in the eyes of potential tourists and that, as time increases, the growth rate of the affected islands, actually decreases. Our article indicates that such a simple, straight‐line relationship between increased crowding and a decrease in the rate of change may not be inevitable; indeed, diseconomies of scale may be avoided. The use of a curvilinear regression function reveals how both positive and negative scale economies existed in the Caribbean during the years 1992 through 1996.     

Recreating Ocean Space: Recreational Consumption and Representation of the Caribbean Marine Environment

This paper investigates the historical relationship between the development of marine-based tourism and representations of marine space. Over the past 100 years, the Caribbean Sea has been transformed from a transportation surface connecting exotic ports of call into a commodity itself. Imagined by early travelers as a two-dimensional space to be crossed, the Caribbean has became part of a new tropical marine aesthetic, a three-dimensional spectacle to be actively consumed and conserved. These changing representations of the marine environment as a space of consumption have been paralleled by changes in the relationships between marine and terrestrial political economies. As marine-based tourism has intensified, the balance of power among coastal resource users has shifted. The increasingly conflictive consequences of this shift are illustrated by the case of Soufrière in St. Lucia where new uses of marine space have re-configured social and economic relationships. Soufrière's coastal economy has been transformed and its marine space increasingly politicized as competing representations of the sea have been used to assert conflicting claims to resource access. This paper attempts to elucidate the power of these representations by investigating their historical relationship to the changing role of the Caribbean Sea in the international tourism industry.     

Recreating Ocean Space: Recreational Consumption and Representation of the Caribbean Marine Environment

This paper investigates the historical relationship between the development of marine-based tourism and representations of marine space. Over the past 100 years, the Caribbean Sea has been transformed from a transportation surface connecting exotic ports of call into a commodity itself. Imagined by early travelers as a two-dimensional space to be crossed, the Caribbean has became part of a new tropical marine aesthetic, a three-dimensional spectacle to be actively consumed and conserved. These changing representations of the marine environment as a space of consumption have been paralleled by changes in the relationships between marine and terrestrial political economies. As marine-based tourism has intensified, the balance of power among coastal resource users has shifted. The increasingly conflictive consequences of this shift are illustrated by the case of Soufrière in St. Lucia where new uses of marine space have re-configured social and economic relationships. Soufrière's coastal economy has been transformed and its marine space increasingly politicized as competing representations of the sea have been used to assert conflicting claims to resource access. This paper attempts to elucidate the power of these representations by investigating their historical relationship to the changing role of the Caribbean Sea in the international tourism industry.     

Mapping fire regimes in China using MODIS active fire and burned area data

Relatively little is known about vegetation fire regimes in China. In this study, we investigated fire regime characteristics and their potential drivers, utilizing information extracted from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) satellite. Twelve fire regime variables were selected and computed on a regular grid over all of China, using MODIS burned area and active fire data during the period 2001 to 2016, to identify fire incidence and its inter-annual variability, seasonality, intensity, fire size distribution and vegetation types affected by fire. The variables were normalized and clustered to define six fire regimes with distinctive fire attributes. Results show that 78.6% of the land in China was affected by fire during the study period. The barren or sparsely vegetated lands of western China are nearly fire-free. Active fires were observed in Central China, but area burned was not detectable from MODIS. Forest fires in northeastern China are relatively large, infrequent, with a short fire season that peaks in non-winter seasons and higher inter-annual variability, implying a high likelihood of accidental causes. In contrast, forest fires in southern China are relatively small, frequent, with a long fire season that peaks in non-summer seasons, and lower inter-annual variability, suggesting regular use as a land management tool. Low inter-annual variability and low fire intensity were associated with cropland fires, whereas grassland fires generally exhibit the opposite traits. We have also discussed the potential drivers of each fire regime characteristics.     

Characterization of the July 2007 Swaziland fire disaster using satellite remote sensing and GIS

Data from the NASA'S MODIS (Aqua and Terra) and EUMETSAT'S MSG-SEVIRI satellite sensors is analysed to characterise the geographic and temporal (including diurnal) evolution of the July 2007 fire disaster in the Kingdom of Swaziland using a geographic information system (GIS). Significant fire activity was observed during a three-day period beginning on the 27th July 2007. A total of 1358 and 4365 active fire hotpots were detected by MODIS and MSG-SEVIRI, respectively, mainly concentrated in the Highveld (70.91% for MODIS, 89.89% for MSG) and Middleveld (11.27% for MODIS, 5.23% for MSG) with MSG/MODIS active fire count ratio ranging from a high of 3.69 in the Highveld to a low of 0.06 in the Lubombo Plateau. The results indicate complex differences in spatial fire distribution, behaviour and risk within the country and the effect of sensor differences. A pronounced fire diurnal cycle with a broad afternoon peak centred on 14:00 local time is observed, in general agreement with observations from the region. Despite their limitations, the study demonstrates the importance and usefulness of remotely sensed data and GIS technology for fire disaster and risk assessment for a developing country, where fire monitoring resources are scarce.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of fires in tropical savannas of Indonesia

This paper examines spatial and temporal patterns of large to medium‐sized fires across the Indonesian Archipelago using remote sensing, particularly the MODIS fire products, over a 14 years period (2000–13 inclusive) in conjunction with climatic and land data in a GIS. Results showed fires (burned area and number of fires) were detected the most in year 2002 and least in 2010. The extent of burning was correlated with the annual Southern Oscillation Index with most burning occurring during times of sustained negative SOI values, which generally means drier conditions across the region. Most of the detected fires occurred in the middle of the dry season and in drier eastern Indonesia. Across Indonesia, approximately 1.5 per cent of available open vegetation area burned, whereas only 0.5 per cent of forest area burned. Most open vegetation burning was detected in the savanna with an area equivalent to 11.1 per cent of its extent being burned over the 14 years. On Sumba Island, where the pronounced dry season extends for at least four months, open vegetation is the most common land cover type, of which 99 per cent burned by area over the study period making it the island with the most burned areas in the Indonesian Archipelago.     

'Black skins–white masks': Postcolonial reflections on 'race', gender and second generation return migration to the Caribbean

This paper illustrates the opportunities afforded by the adoption of postcolonial discourse in development geography, drawing specifically on issues of transnationalism, hybridity and inbetweeness. The utility of such notions and associated approaches is illustrated by the authors' current research on the migration of young, second generation and foreign-born 'Bajan-Brits' to the small Caribbean island nation of Barbados, the homeland of their parents. Focussing on issues of 'race' and gender, the paper examines the experiences of return migration among this cohort from an interpretative perspective framed within postcolonial discourse. It argues that notwithstanding the considerable sociocultural problems of adjustment encountered, these Bajan-Brit 'returnees' may be seen as occupying positions of relative economic privilege. Theirs is a liminal space derived by virtue of having been born and/or raised in the UK and being of the black 'race'. Accordingly, they are demonstrated to be both advantaged and disadvantaged; both transnational and national; and black but, in some senses, symbolically white.     

Environmental history of the Colombian savannas of the Llanos Orientales since the Last Glacial Maximum from lake records El Pinal and Carimagua

Late Quaternary environments have been studied by pollen analysis of lake sediments from the savannas of the Colombian Llanos Orientales at 180 m elevation. The pollen record form Laguna El Pinal (4°08N, 70°23W), dated by 6 AMS radiocarbon dates, starts at 18,290 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The record from Laguna Carimagua (4°04N, 70°14W), also dated by 6 AMS dates, starts at 8270 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Both records show a landscape dominated by grassland savanna with only few woody savanna taxa, such as Curatella and Byrsonima, frequent fires, and little occurrence of forest and/or gallery forest along the rivers. The savanna ecosystem at the studied sites was relatively stable during the last 18,000 yrs, but minor changes in floral composition, and in the proportion of savanna/forest, have been recorded. Very little gallery forest and the non permanent lake conditions of Laguna El Pinal reflect the driest period, interpreted to reflect low rainfall rates and long dry seasons during the Last Glacial Maximum until 10,690 ¹⁴ C yr B.P. During the Late Glacial, Laguna El Pinal was a permanent shallow lake, and changed into a lake with higher water levels during the Holocene, indicating wetter conditions. Expansion of regional gallery forest also started at around 10,690 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Little vegetational change observed in Laguna Carimagua at 5570 ¹⁴ C yr B.P., in combination with a simultaneous decrease of savanna observed in previously studied lakes, suggest a change to regional wetter conditions. Thus, the Holocene before 5500 ¹⁴ C yr B.P. was somewhat drier than the following period until about 3850 ¹⁴C yr B.P. In both records, Late Holocene lake deposits are incomplete. Shore vegetation of Laguna Carimagua always included a minor contribution of the palms Mauritia and Mauritiella. The marked increase of palms during the last c. 3800 yrs points to increased human impact on the vegetation under the wettest Holocene climate regime.     

Increases in fire risk due to warmer summer temperatures and wildland urban interface changes do not necessarily lead to more fires

Forest fire frequency in Mediterranean countries is expected to increase with land cover and climate changes as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns are altered. Although the cause of many Mediterranean fires remains poorly defined, most fires are of anthropogenic origin and are located in the wildland urban interface (WUI), so fire ignition risk depends on both weather and land cover characteristics. The objectives of this study were to quantify the overall trends in forest fire risk in the WUI of the Alpes-Maritimes department in SE France over a period of almost 50 years (about 1960–2009) and relate these to changes in land cover and temperature changes. Land cover for two contrasting reference catchments (236 km² and 289 km², respectively) was mapped from available aerial photographs. Changes in fire risk over time were estimated using statistical relationships defined for each type of WUI, where isolated and scattered housing present a greater risk than dense and very dense housing. Summer monthly temperatures and spring and summer precipitation were quantified over the same temporal period as land cover. Finally, trends in fire frequency and burned area were analyzed over a shorter 37 year period (1973–2009) due to the lack of available fire data before 1973. Fire risk associated with WUI expansion increased by about 18%–80% over the 1960–2009 period (depending on the catchment). Similarly, mean summer minimum and maximum monthly temperatures increased by 1.8 °C and 1.4 °C, respectively, over the same period. Summer rainfall appears to decrease over time since about the 1970's but remains highly variable. Land cover and weather changes both suggest an overall increase in fire risk. However, the number of fires and burned area have decreased significantly since about 1990. This paradoxical result is due to a change in fire-fighting strategy which reinforced the systematic extinction of fires in their early stages. Technical support in the form of improved radio communication and helicopters contributed greatly to reducing fire frequency and burned area. Surveillance and legal reforms included the introduction of field patrols and restricted access to forests during high risk periods. Although this has proven highly successful in the short term, the risk of fuel load accumulation over time remains a risk which might contribute to the development of mega-fires in extreme climatic conditions in the future.     

The ecogeochemical role of forest fires in the Baikal region

A study is made of the behavior of artificial radionuclides and heavy metals during a forest fire. It is shown that forest fires are accompanied by airborne migration of some heavy metals and artificial radionucleides as well as by pollution of new areas. The main depositories of elements falling out of the atmosphere are provided by forest litter, mosses, lichens, and tree needles. Up to 40% of 137Cs and 90Sr can migrate from the sites of fires, which originally were contained in the soil-vegetation cover. The elements that are carried away from the sites of fires partly deposit themselves on adjacent areas.     

三江源区湖泊和沼泽遥感影像分类研究

为了进一步了解三江源区的湿地分布现状,尝试利用MODIS 16天合成的归一化植被指数(NDVI)数据,采用决策树分类方法对三江源区湿地的遥感影像进行了分类研究.在数据预处理时,采用中值滤波和主成分变换结合的方法有效地去除了MODIS数据的噪声;在决策树构建过程中,结合DEM数据有效地提取出湖泊;利用象元NDVI时序变化曲线规律,采用先控制曲线形状、再控制拐点阚值的方法对沼泽进行分类.通过精度验证,湖泊的分类精度达到了96.5%,总的分类精度达到了84.2%,Kappa系数为0.78.利用MODIS NDVI时间序列数据和决策树方法能够满足大范围区域湖泊和沼泽遥感影像分类要求.     

MODIS NDVI时间序列在三江平原湿地植被信息提取中的应用

以三江平原为研究区,利用多时相的中分辨率成像光谱仪(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,MODIS)影像数据,采用一种基于归一化植被指数(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI)时间序列的监督分类方法获取了研究区湿地植被的分布数据。监督分类以NDVI时间序列的波形所反映出的植被物候特征作为分类器,将离散的傅立叶变换应用于NDVI时间序列以减少高频噪声对分类的影响,并运用傅立叶变换后波形幅度和相位的相似性来确定像素的归属类别。根据研究区植被的物候特征的差异,区分出7种地表(沼泽、沼泽化草甸、滩地、水田、旱地、灌木和林地)的植被类型,得到三江平原2005年湿地植被的分布数据。该方法的总体分类精度达到79.67%,Kappa系数为0.752 5。研究表明,基于MODIS多时相NDVI数据,采用基于傅立叶组分的相似度分类方法可以客观、经济、快速的提取湿地植被分布数据。