Wall-to-wall spatial prediction of growing stock volume based on Italian National Forest Inventory plots and remotely sensed data

Spatial predictions of forest variables are required for supporting modern national and sub-national forest planning strategies, especially in the framework of a climate change scenario. Nowadays methods for constructing wall-to-wall maps and calculating small-area estimates of forest parameters are becoming essential components of most advanced National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. Such methods are based on the assumption of a relationship between the forest variables and predictor variables that are available for the entire forest area. Many commonly used predictors are based on data obtained from active or passive remote sensing technologies. Italy has almost 40% of its land area covered by forests. Because of the great diversity of Italian forests with respect to composition, structure and management and underlying climatic, morphological and soil conditions, a relevant question is whether methods successfully used in less complex temperate and boreal forests may be applied successfully at country level in Italy.For a study area of more than 48,657 km² in central Italy of which 43% is covered by forest, the study presents the results of a test regarding wall-to-wall, spatially explicit estimation of forest growing stock volume (GSV) based on field measurement of 1350 plots during the last Italian NFI. For the same area, we used potential predictor variables that are available across the whole of Italy: cloud-free mosaics of multispectral optical satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM), microwave sensor data (JAXA PALSAR), a canopy height model (CHM) from satellite LiDAR, and auxiliary variables from climate, temperature and precipitation maps, soil maps, and a digital terrain model.Two non-parametric (random forests and k-NN) and two parametric (multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression) prediction methods were tested to produce wall-to-wall map of growing stock volume at 23-m resolution. Pixel level predictions were used to produce small-area, province-level model-assisted estimates. The performances of all the methods were compared in terms of percent root mean-square error using a leave-one-out procedure and an independent dataset was used for validation. Results were comparable to those available for other ecological regions using similar predictors, but random forests produced the most accurate results with a pixel level R² = 0.69 and RMSE_% = 37.2% against the independent validation dataset. Model-assisted estimates were more precise than the original design-based estimates provided by the NFI.     

Application of participatory principles to investigation of the natural world: An example from Chile

Participatory research in environmental and natural resources-related fields is premised on many of the same notions that underlie participatory processes in decision making. This study examines one instance of participatory research to assess the extent to which the documented benefits of participatory decision-making hold up in the context of research. A survey of Chilean shell-fishers engaged in research with marine biologists assesses the relationships between four variables: fishers’ participation in research, fishers’ opinions of biologists, fishers’ trust in biologists, and fishers’ acquisition of knowledge from biologists. Results illuminate the multidimensionality of these variables and suggest that complex interrelationships between them make the benefits of participatory research more nuanced than those reported for participatory decision-making. For instance, participatory research may provide low benefits when participatory research outcomes differ little from those produced solely by scientists. In addition, high-cost scenarios may result when outcomes of participatory research are inferior to those produced solely by scientists. A third downside may result when participation leads participants to increase their deference to scientific knowledge, thereby defeating the corroborative purpose of their participation. A fourth effect may occur when increased trust by in scientists results from participation, decreasing participants’ perceived need to take part in research.     

海洋交通风险应急决策系统设计与实现

针对海洋交通风险事故的特点,采用基于分层推理思想设计了海洋交通风险应急决策处理模型。在模型中提出了以行为和状态为核心的知识规则描述方法。以该模型为基础给出了系统的设计与实现。通过将海洋交通风险事故分解为事务级、情况级和执行级三级处理,使系统能综合应用海洋交通事务各种信息进行有效决策,提高了海洋交通事务风险控制能力。系统的实现对于促进海洋交通风险控制的智能化水平,深化海事管理信息化平台建设具有现实意义。     

新疆绿洲城镇组群内部经济联系及空间差异测度研究

绿洲城镇组群是新疆特殊区域形成的规模相对较小的单一中心空间自组织模式。运用城市中心性指数、城市经济联系模型和Theil系数对新疆八大绿洲城镇组群内部城镇中心性、经济联系及空间差异测度。结果显示：绿洲城镇组群内部的中心城市的中心性职能较强,周边城镇的中心性职能相对较弱,形成了单中心的空间自组织模式;绿洲城镇组群内部经济联系量和经济联系隶属度大小的排序一致,离中心城市的距离越近、经济发展水平越高,经济联系隶属度越高;近10 a年来绿洲城镇组群的整体空间差异一直在扩大,且呈现出继续扩大趋势。在此基础上,提出了建立区域合作协调机制、明确城镇组群发展方向、增强中心城市的辐射带动作用、实现产业合理分工以及构建制度保障体系促进绿洲城镇组群的协同发展。     

基于空间计量模型的中国城市化发展与城市空气质量关系

采用中国289个地级及以上城市2016年的空气质量指数（AQI）和夜间灯光数据,运用空间滞后模型,从空间溢出效应视角出发探究了城市化发展与空气质量之间的定量关系。从空间滞后模型的估计结果来看,城市空气污染存在显著的空间溢出效应,周边地区空气质量的下降会导致本地空气污染情况加重。在城市发展过程中,城市经济发展水平的提高,引致的城市建设用地的扩张使得空气质量不断恶化;政府管制力的加强对空气污染的治理起到了促进作用,而居民环保意识和城市技术创新水平的提高有利于空气质量的改善。此外,PM2.5质量浓度的上升导致空气质量恶化。公路货运量在统计上与空气质量的关系不显著。从研究结果来看,协调城市发展与空气质量的关系以及加强空气污染防治的联防联控机制,是未来空气污染治理工作的重点。     

Large bio-geographical shifts in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean: From the subpolar gyre, via plankton, to blue whiting and pilot whales

Pronounced changes in fauna, extending from the English Channel in the south to the Barents Sea in the north-east and off Greenland in the north-west, have occurred in the late 1920s, the late 1960s and again in the late 1990s. We attribute these events to exchanges of subarctic and subtropical water masses in the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, associated with changes in the strength and extent of the subpolar gyre. These exchanges lead to variations in the influence exerted by the subarctic or Lusitanian biomes on the intermediate faunistic zone in the north-eastern Atlantic. This strong and persistent bottom-up bio-physical link is demonstrated using a numerical ocean general circulation model and data on four trophically connected levels in the food chain – phytoplankton, zooplankton, blue whiting, and pilot whales. The plankton data give a unique basin-scale depiction of these changes, and a long pilot whale record from the Faroe Islands offers an exceptional temporal perspective over three centuries. Recent advances in simulating the dynamics of the subpolar gyre suggests a potential for predicting the distribution of the main faunistic zones in the north-eastern Atlantic a few years into the future, which might facilitate a more rational management of the commercially important fisheries in this region.     

Mapping fisheries in the German exclusive economic zone with special reference to offshore Natura 2000 sites

Large intensity and diversity of human activities result in an increase in complexity in the utilization of space. This paper describes the fisheries and a method to map fishing efforts and catches of different fleets by combining vessel monitoring system (VMS) data and logbook data. The method makes it possible to explore the spatial and temporal variability of fishing and the potential impacts of proposed management measures on the fisheries. The method is proposed to be used in the development of management plans for marine protected areas such as Natura 2000 sites, designated to protect vulnerable habitats and species.     

Spatial policy and the behavior of fishermen

Fishery policy makers would often benefit from information on how a policy might change fishermen behavior before the policy is implemented. This paper contributes to the literature by comparing simulated behavioral response with actual response to a spatial policy using a discrete choice model of fishing location choice. The results point to the inherent problem of the simulation's inability to capture the fundamental change in the nature of the choice problem that occurs with the change in policy. Addressing this problem will be important as these models continue to be used to inform policy makers.     

Scleractinian cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz—First clues about their spatial and temporal distribution

This paper presents the first compilation of information on the spatial distribution of scleractinian cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz based on literature research and own observations (video footage, sediment samples). Scleractinian cold-water corals are widely distributed along the Spanish and Moroccan margins in the Gulf of Cádiz, where they are mainly associated with mud volcanoes, diapiric ridges, steep fault escarpments, and coral mounds. Dendrophyllia cornigera, Dendrophyllia alternata, Eguchipsammia cornucopia, Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are the most abundant reef-forming species. Today, they are almost solely present as isolated patches of fossil coral and coral rubble. The absence of living scleractinian corals is likely related to a reduced food supply caused by low productivity and diminished tidal effects. In contrast, during the past 48 kyr scleractinian corals were abundant in the Gulf of Cádiz, although their occurrence demonstrates no relationship with main climatic or oceanographic changes. Nevertheless, there exists a conspicuous relationship when the main species are considered separately. Dendrophylliids are associated with periods of relatively stable and warm conditions. The occurrence of L. pertusa mainly clusters within the last glacial when bottom current strength in the Gulf of Cádiz was enhanced and long-term stable conditions existed in terms of temperature. Madrepora oculata shows a higher tolerance to abrupt environmental changes.     

Distribution and spatial variation of hydrothermal faunal assemblages at Lucky Strike (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) revealed by high-resolution video image analysis

Whilst the fauna inhabiting hydrothermal vent structures in the Atlantic Ocean is reasonably well known, less is understood about the spatial distributions of the fauna in relation to abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, a major active hydrothermal edifice (Eiffel Tower, at 1690 m depth) on the Lucky Strike vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR)) was investigated. Video transects were carried out by ROV Victor 6000 and complete image coverage was acquired. Four distinct assemblages, ranging from dense larger-sized Bathymodiolus mussel beds to smaller-sized mussel clumps and alvinocaridid shrimps, and two types of substrata were defined based on high definition photographs and video imagery. To evaluate spatial variation, faunal distribution was mapped in three dimensions. A high degree of patchiness characterizes this 11 m high sulfide structure. The differences observed in assemblage and substratum distribution were related to habitat characteristics (fluid exits, depth and structure orientation). Gradients in community structure were observed, which coincided with an increasing distance from the fluid exits. A biological zonation model for the Eiffel Tower edifice was created in which faunal composition and distribution can be visually explained by the presence/absence of fluid exits.