A geospatial approach to assessing land change in the built-up landscape of Wa Municipality of Ghana

ABSTRACT

Urban landscapes are changing in response to changes in socio-economic conditions. Land change scientists seek to understand these land dynamics in the coupled human-environment system of urban landscapes. This study assessed land change in the built-up area of Wa Municipality between 1986 and 2016 using Landsat images. We used the Support Vector Machine algorithm for classifying the images. We recorded image classification accuracies of 97%, 95%, 92% and 96% for the 1986, 1996, 2006 and 2016 classified images, respectively. Our study finds that over the 1986–2016 period, agricultural land and bare land transitioned to build-up land by 9.23% and 3.79%, respectively, as compared to 2.79% for vegetation and 0.05% for water. Our in-municipal level analysis thus shows that urban landscapes could expand more sustainably by targeting other dominant land categories instead of the vegetation cover. The findings in this paper could serve as a spatial model for planning and reducing the unintended socio-ecological impacts of expansion in the built-up area.     

基于RS和GIS的土地生产力与人口承载量──以向家坝库区为例

本文在分析土地生产力与承载力研究现状的基础上 ,以向家坝库区耕地为研究对象 ,根据库区经济地理现状 ,确定土地人口载量研究区域 ,并利用GIS和RS技术对研究区土地利用现状和地形地貌特点进行深入分析 ,建立“空间·属性一体化”数据库。本文还建立了土地资源人口承载量评价指标体系 ,利用潜力递减法 ,进行以村级为单位的耕地粮食综合村尺度的近期和远景 (2 0 12 )土地人口承载量研究 ,提出与当地农业发展相一致的整个研究区环境容量。结果表明 ,与其它耕作方式相比 ,复种耕种可获得更大的人口承载量 ;库区环境容量已趋饱和 ,而且未来库区土地承载力呈下降趋势 ;通过改良品种、扩大水稻播种面积可在一定程度上缓解地矛盾。     

GIS支持下的吉林省西部生态环境脆弱态势评价研究

由于自然条件的边缘性和过渡性,吉林省西部生态系统脆弱性和敏感性显著,其土地利用呈现农牧业交错的过渡特征,是全球和我国土地利用/覆被变化(LUCC)研究的典型区和首选区。基于GIS技术的空间分析功能,建立了基本评价因素的数字环境模型。应用主成分综合分析方法,提出了生态脆弱态势指数模型,获取了吉林省西部近15年生态环境脆弱性变化的空间分布规律,以期为区域生态环境的治理与建设提供依据。     

太湖流域土地利用变化对流域产水量的影响

根据土地详查和土地利用总体规划资料，分析太湖流域近２０年土地利用的现状特点和将来变化趋势。并以 １９９１年降雨类型分别计算了 １９８６、１９９６和 ２０１０年土地利用状况下流域的产水量。结果表明，太湖流域土地利用变化的主要特点是耕地面积的减少和建设用地面积的增加。同样降雨类型，１９９６年流域下垫面状况下的产水量比 １９８６年的多１０．１８ × １０８ ｍ３，２０１０年产水量将比 １９８６年多 １２ × １０８ｍ３。太湖流域土地利用变化对流域产水量有较大影响，这与２０世纪９０年代以来太湖持续高水位的现象相吻合。     

Crops,trees, and birds: Biodiversity change under agricultural intensification in Uganda's farmed landscapes

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 115–130, 2006

This paper examines the relationship between the intensity of agricultural land use and the abundance and richness of trees and birds in a humid tropical developing region where natural vegetation is being rapidly converted into farmland under market and population pressures. We analysed survey data on land use, birds and woody plants collected in 14 study sites situated within smallholder cropland and commercial plantations in southern Uganda. Commercial plantations had very few trees and only 10% of the original bird species. Land use intensification in smallholder systems also showed losses in bird abundance and species richness, but not nearly as much as in plantations. In both systems the impact of intensification was much bigger on the specialised and threatened birds compared to the less specialised species. This argues strongly for ‘species-sensitive’ conservation policies combining protected areas with land use regulation in areas undergoing intensification. We also found a much higher loss in bird biodiversity during the first phases of land use intensification (when larger tracts of forest are cleared) than in later phases characterised by clearing of smaller patches of vegetation and improved management of farm trees. This suggests high pay-offs to geographical targeting of conservation efforts in farmed landscapes.     

Responses of rural households to the impacts of population and land-use changes along the Eastern Escarpment of Wello,Ethiopia

The article analyses the effects of changes in land cover and land use changes together with population changes on the livelihood of rural households, and also farming households' responses to these changes, in typical rural settings of north-eastern Ethiopia. The study shows that the immediate impact of shrubland and forest increase since the late 1970s, coupled with population increase, is an exponential fall of per capita cropland and grazing land, which are the principal physical assets of livelihoods of the rural farming community in the area. Furthermore, the study reveals that the scarcity of cultivated land in the area neither brings about agricultural intensification nor leads to diversification into non-farm activities, and farmers did not respond to the scarcity of cultivated land through large out-migration. In general, the Boserupian assumption of land-use intensification through improved labour and land productivity did not happen in the region. Rather, the Malthusian thesis seems appropriate. The majority of farming households are destitute, unable to satisfy their own food demands, and live in absolute poverty. This situation has been brought about not only due to population pressure but also as a result of the policies that have been applied in all systems since the 1950s.     

A spatiotemporal calculus for reasoning about land-use trajectories

Earth observation images are a powerful source of data about changes in our planet. Given the magnitude of global environmental changes taking place, it is important that Earth Science researchers have access to spatiotemporal reasoning tools. One area of particular interest is land-use change. Using data obtained from images, researchers would like to express abstractions such as ‘land abandonment’, ‘forest regrowth’, and ‘agricultural intensification’. These abstractions are specific types of land-use trajectories, defined as multi-year paths from one land cover into another. Given this need, this paper introduces a spatiotemporal calculus for reasoning about land-use trajectories. Using Allen’s interval logic as a basis, we introduce new predicates that express cases of recurrence, conversion and evolution in land-use change. The proposed predicates are sufficient and necessary to express different kinds of land-use trajectories. Users can build expressions that describe how humans modify Earth’s terrestrial surface. In this way, scientists can better understand the environmental and economic effects of land-use change.     

From pastoralism to tourism: The historical impact of changing land use practices in Namaqualand

We use the concept of ecological revolutions to explain the environmental history of Namaqualand, from the advent of pastoralism 2000 years BP, to colonial settlement in the 18th century and finally to the recent trend of de-agrarianization from the middle of the 20th century. Early traveller's records and census data are used to assess changes in the human population of the region and how this affected wildlife and agricultural practices. Pre-colonial indigenous hunter-gatherer (Bushmen) and pastoralist (Khoekhoen) populations in Namaqualand consisted of probably no more than a few thousand individuals. Over the next three centuries, the general population rose steadily to more than 65,000 people but has fallen in recent years. Wildlife appears not to have been abundant in Namaqualand's pre-colonial landscapes and large springbok ‘treks’ were probably a rare event. The number of domestic livestock in Namaqualand peaked in 1957 largely as a result of an increase in the number of sheep which have fallen steadily since this time. Crop production was absent from Namaqualand's pre-colonial landscapes but increased to cover nearly 30,000 ha in the early 1970s. The area under cultivation has declined by nearly two thirds since this time largely as a result of the large-scale abandonment of wheat farming in marginal environments. We touch on differences between the communal areas and private farms, particularly in terms of their human populations and agricultural impact on the land. Repeat landscape photographs support our main findings which suggest that both rocky, upland habitats and rivers have not been transformed substantially by land use practices in Namaqualand. Instead, sandy pediments have borne the brunt of human impacts in the region. Finally, we highlight the beginning of a new ecological revolution in Namaqualand due to changes in the global and national political economy.     

Neoliberalism, environmentalism, and agricultural restructuring in Morocco

Neoliberal restructuring in Morocco has been taking place for over twenty years. Beginning with a decade of structural adjustment, from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, parts of the public sector have been privatized, state services such as health care and education reduced, tariffs lowered and exports heavily promoted. In the dryland agricultural areas, a declensionist colonial environmental narrative has been appropriated to help justify and implement the neoliberal goals of land privatization and the intensification of agricultural production in the name of environmental protection. This paper contributes to areas of growing interest for geographers through an analysis of the underexplored relationship between neoliberalism and environmentalism, in the form of questionable environmental narratives, in Morocco. Land degradation in the dryland agricultural areas of Morocco is commonly blamed on overgrazing by local pastoralists despite existing documentation that suggests instead that ploughing of marginal lands and over-irrigation are the primary drivers of land degradation in the region. The deployment of this colonial environmental narrative of 'native improvidence' has facilitated an expansion of state power over collective rangelands under neoliberalism at the same time that government involvement has decreased in other sectors. The effects of neoliberalism in Morocco have been complex and thus the paper argues that current neoliberal reforms such as the Morocco–US free trade agreement need to be scrutinized carefully to prevent a further exacerbation of poverty as well as to prevent further land degradation in these areas.     

中国建设用地规模变化及其影响因素

建设用地是经济社会活动的重要基础, 建设用地规模变化与经济社会发展有着密切的关系, 深入分析中国建设用地规模及其变化的影响因素, 对于正确认识中国土地利用中存在的问题及其未来改革创新方向具有深远意义。基于1996 年和2007 年的中国土地利用变更调查数据及经济社会统计数据, 采用逐步回归分析方法, 分别对1996 年和2007 年中国建设用地规模及其变化同经济社会因素的相关关系进行了定量研究。结果发现, 1996 年和2007 年中国建设用地规模同经济社会因素的相关关系有所不同。1996 年中国建设用地规模与非农产业产值、总人口正相关, 与城镇居民人均收入负相关;2007 年建设用地规模仅与总人口呈正相关关系。1996-2007 年间中国建设用地规模变化仅与财政收入变化、城镇人口变化呈正相关, 与非农业产值变化没有显著的相关关系。这一结果表明, 1996 年中国建设用地规模与经济社会发展状况相对比较协调, 2007 年则变得不够协调, 1996-2007 年间建设用地规模增加的主要动力源于地方政府对土地财政的严重依赖性和中国的快速城镇化, 与产业发展和经济增长的协同性较弱。建设用地规模增加与经济社会发展的失调不利于中国社会经济的可持续发展, 从长远来看, 需要改革不合理的财政体制和土地征用制度。     

海岛(县)主体功能区划分的研究——以浙江省玉环县、洞头县为例

海岛是海中陆地,一个海岛包括岛陆、岛基、岛滩和海岛周围的海域。地域主体功能区划主要强调国土空间开发的分工和布局,要求做到国土的全覆盖。海岛县是海陆国土空间复合系统,同陆域县区一样,根据资源环境承载能力、现有开发密度和发展潜力,统筹考虑未来人口分布、经济布局、国土利用和城镇化格局,将国土空间划分为优化开发、重点开发、限制开发和禁止开发四类主体功能区。在已有陆域主体功能区划和海洋功能区划等理论的基础上,考虑陆域要素与海域要素,应用层次分析、多指标综合加权评价法和主成分-聚类分析等主要量化方法,把地理空间思想融入分析框架中,做到定性与定量相结合,从而划分出玉环和洞头二个海岛县海陆国土空间复盖的主体功能区划。陆域主体功能区与海洋主体功能区要相互衔接,主体功能定位相互协调。     

Reconstructing pre-agricultural expansion vegetation cover of Ethiopia

Landscape reconstructions can be used to define a reference condition from which to assess the magnitude of land changes caused by human influence. Since the beginning of the last century, the population of Ethiopia has increased drastically with large effects on the natural vegetation and biodiversity. However, the original land cover patterns in Ethiopia have not been precisely mapped, which hinder the identification of the biophysical and socio-economic factors that contributed to the current landscape patterns. The objective of this study was to reconstruct the past century vegetation landscapes of Ethiopia (i.e. vegetation cover before agricultural expansion) and identify which ecosystems have been most affected by land changes. First, the net primary productivity (NPP) was modelled based on the climatic constraints of natural vegetation growth (water availability, solar radiation and minimum temperature) derived from remote sensing and climate data. This analysis showed that water availability is the most critical constraint for vegetation growth for all regions and land cover types in Ethiopia. Then, the past vegetation was mapped based on predicted NPP. Our results show that i) the extent of broadleaved evergreen or semi-deciduous forest, open broadleaved deciduous forest, closed to open shrubland, mosaic forest-shrubland/grassland, sparse vegetation and grassland was 18.8%, 12.4%, 20.6%, 31.5%, and 16.8%, respectively, and ii) current agricultural landscapes were previously covered mainly by broadleaved evergreen and deciduous forest, which encompassed 38.9%. The least affected by agricultural expansion were sparse vegetation and grassland. Our study provides novel insights on pre-agricultural expansion landscapes in Ethiopia with critical information for scientists and other stakeholders working on the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded areas.     

Evaluation of eco-economic effects in relation to resettlement policy in Shulehe River Basin

In the Shulehe River Basin, policy of resettlement was very effective in handling agricultural development and livelihood problems in regions of poverty limited by topography, climate, or infrastructure. Thus, since 1996–1997, the Shulehe River Basin resettlement project transferred roughly 7.5×104 people from areas of Dingxi, Longxi or Minxian which could not offer sufficient resources for the residents. Meanwhile, construction facilities such as the reservoir, which underpins the resettlement project, also triggered an internal migration of people away from the reservoir to other parts of the Shulehe River Basin. This large scale migration derived apparent effects in water resources, land use and cover change, agricultural structure as well as landscapes. Results show that total arable land expanded by 3.1×108 m2, cattle numbers maintained a stable level of 1×104, pigs declined to a low level due to market trends, and sheep numbers soared from 17.44×104 to 73.57×104. However, greening and afforestation increased while croplands maintained a rational tendency accompanying with greening area expansion. From the standpoint of integration, the Shulehe River Basin resettlement policy fulfilled its previous goals of improving the inhabitants' livelihood and the capacity of environment when spatial residues including environmental capacity and resources consumption for sustainable development are still positive conditions.     

基于3S的毛乌素沙地腹地景观格局演变及其驱动力分析——以内蒙古乌审旗为例

在遥感与GIS技术支持下,以乌审旗1986年、1991年、1996年、2000年和2005年5期TM影像为主要数据源,对乌审旗景观空间格局的动态变化特征及其演变的驱动因素进行了研究。结果显示,乌审旗景观格局从1986年到2005年期间发生了显著变化,居民地、工矿用地明显增加,沙地、水域景观逐年下降,耕地、林地面积变化不大,草地、未利用地增加,景观多样性和空间破碎度增加,斑块的自相似性增强;各类景观斑块的平均面积整体上是增加的,景观分形维数随着时间的推移呈现先下降后上升、又下降的趋势。结合经济社会统计数据分析表明,人为因素是影响乌审旗景观格局演变的主要原因,其中人口增加、国民经济增长、工矿产业发展,以及政府决策和生态治理工程是景观格局演变的主要驱动因子。     

Scenarios of land system change in the Lao PDR: Transitions in response to alternative demands on goods and services provided by the land

Sudden and gradual land use changes can result in different socio-ecological systems, sometimes referred to as regime shifts. The Lao PDR (Laos) has been reported to show early signs of such regime shifts in land systems with potentially major socio-ecological implications. However, given the complex mosaic of different land systems, including shifting cultivation, such changes are not easily assessed using traditional land cover data. Moreover, regime shifts in land systems are difficult to simulate with traditional land cover modelling approaches. A novel simulation approach was employed that focused on simulating changes in land systems rather than focusing on land cover. With the CLUmondo model we simulated three scenarios of potential developments between the years 2010 and 2030 assuming different degrees of international market integration and sustainable growth objectives. Although all scenarios show a decline of shifting cultivation systems, the respective orientation of markets and land governance resulted in strongly different land change trajectories. The land system changes are strongly location dependent and different trajectories are found in different parts of the country. Some scenarios show clear elements of land sparing with intensification of land management in the valleys and re-growth of forest on sloping land. Other scenarios show elements of enhanced multi-functionality. The approach addressed methodological challenges in simulating land system regime shifts and complex mosaic landscapes while accounting for societal demands for different types of goods and services from land systems. The land systems approach allows a nuanced representation of different types of forests and agricultural systems such as shifting cultivation and commercial agricultural plantations. Simulation results contribute to a debate about desired future land use on the national scale including its environmental and socio-economic implications.     

Ecological succession and land use changes in a lake retreat area (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley)

In the semi-arid Main Ethiopian Rift Valley, ecological succession is related to continuous lake retreat. Human activity, through its impact on land use and cover, affects this ecological succession at various degrees. Through a remote sensing study, we explored how the drivers for land use and cover changes (LUCC) have changed over the last decades and which impact this has on ecological succession. Remote sensing data used include a Landsat MSS from 1973, a Landsat TM from 1986 and Landsat ETM+ from 2000; a conventional type of classification was used whereby supervised classification of the 2000 image was supplemented by unsupervised classification of the older images. Due to decreased rainfall and water abstraction for intense irrigated agriculture in its catchment, Lake Abijata lost 46% of its area between 2000 and 2006. On the emerged land, an ecological succession was observed along the environmental gradient of the retreating lake: emerged bare land, grassland, land with few scattered Acacia shrubs and open woodlands. Between 1986 and 2000, LUCC tendencies were totally reversed and woody vegetation decreased strongly, indicating increased human impact. This land degradation took place in a context of instable political situation, fuelwood extraction, higher population density and better communications.     

江汉平原土地利用的时空变化及其驱动因素分析

采用遥感、GIS一体化技术,利用1989～1990、1995～1996和1999～2000年获取的三期陆地资源卫星图像,对江汉平原土地利用10年变化和以1995～1996年为界的前后两个5年变化的时空特征进行了分析,并探讨了变化的驱动因素。结果表明,该区的土地利用在不同的时间及空间尺度上有明显不同的特点。10年间,耕地减少近5万hm²,其中,前5年的减少量占多数,达6783%。各类建设用地总计增加了156万hm²,其中,前5年的增加量是后5年的2倍。水域面积在10年间增加了达到354万hm²,后5年的增幅不到前期的1/2。土地利用变化最快的区域均处于工业经济较发达、城市化较快的地区如武汉、仙桃,变化最慢的区域在监利、松滋、天门等地。政策、社会经济与科技因素对土地利用随时间尺度的变化有决定性的影响。     

Dynamic trends and driving forces of land use intensification of cultivated land in China

The aim of this study is to establish several important factors representing land use intensification in cultivated land (denoted by CII), using a multi-dimensional approach to achieve realistic and practical cultivated land use policies in China. For this reason, the theoretical framework was first built to explain the changes of land use intensification in the cultivated land, and then the variables and index were further developed for the purpose of characterizing the dynamic trends and driving forces of the land use intensification in the cultivated land at the provincial level. The study results indicate that the extent of CII significantly increased during the period of 1996 to 2008, due to the extensive use of fertilizers, machinery and pesticide, increased labor and capital input, and intensified land use. Moreover, the principal component regression results show that the productivity of cultivated land, economic benefits of cultivated land, labor productivity, and land use conversion are the main factors affecting the village development. The first three factors play a positive role, while the last one has a negative effect on the land use intensification in the cultivated land. According to these results, the main policies for sustainable intensification in cultivated land are proposed. First, the sustainable pathways for intensification should be adopted to reduce the unsustainable uses of chemical fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, etc. Second, the conditions for agricultural production should be further improved to increase the cultivated land productivity. Third, it is very necessary and helpful for improving labor productivity and land use efficiency from the viewpoint of accelerated the cultivated land circulation. The last step is to positively affect the production activities of peasants by means of reforming the subsidy standards.     

Monitoring directions and rates of change in trees outside forests through multitemporal analysis of map sequences

This study explores the potential of historical maps to detect, measure and monitor changes of trees outside forests. The main goal is to assess local-level changes of scattered trees and orchards and their land-use determinants in two areas in Southern Germany between 1901/1905 and 2009. Firstly, overall landscape changes are recorded. Secondly, the spatial-temporal trajectories of scattered trees and their land-use determinants are identified. Thirdly, changes in quantity and fragmentation patterns of traditional orchards are analyzed in their relationship to overall land-cover change. The results confirm major losses in scattered trees, mainly due to urbanization, agricultural intensification, and land abandonment. They further reveal that, while orchards have persisted in total area, they have undergone critical changes toward a simplified landscape structure and loss of the traditional land-use mosaic, which is a characterizing feature of high nature value landscapes. Multi-temporal assessment showed that most trends have been continuous and did not change directions over time, but rather accelerated during periods of rapid change (most dramatically in the 1950-1990 period). The case of orchards and scattered trees illustrates a major problem of cultural landscapes in Europe: Semi-natural landscape features of high nature value are threatened by both intensification and abandonment of land uses. This makes their conservation a potentially costly enterprise, as both opportunity costs for lost alternative land uses and for conservation management costs arise.     

中国省域耕地集约利用态势与驱动力分析

基于“理性小农”、超边际经济学等理论,建立了农户耕地集约利用解释的理论框架。构建了集约利用度指数 (CII) 和驱动力模型,分析了1996-2008年中国省域的耕地集约利用程度及其影响因素。研究结果表明：我国耕地利用集约度总体大幅度提高,但地域差异明显,初步形成了第一阶梯较高集约度、第二三阶梯较低集约度的空间格局;耕地集约利用的首要贡献来自于化肥、机械、农药等省工性劳动的大量使用,其次是资本投入和劳动力;耕地自然本底条件、耕地经济收益和劳动力生产率,与耕地集约度呈正相关,而耕地非农化效益与耕地利用集约度呈负相关。基于研究结论的政策引申：加强政策引导,科学合理使用非可再生能源等省工性劳动;切实改善农业生产条件,适度规模经营,提升劳动生产率和耕地综合生产力;提高耕地经营性经济补贴标准,激励农户稳定从事农业生产的积极性。