Multiple attribute evaluation of landscape management

Economic approaches to the valuation of ecological services have several limitations. Some of these limitations can be overcome using the multiple attribute decision-making model developed in this paper. The model postulates that a private or public decision-maker selects a site/landscape management plan based on the biophysical and economic attributes of alternative management plans, the decision-maker’s preferences for attributes, and constraints on the selection of a management plan.Two cases are examined. Case A is a watershed consisting of publicly owned land that is managed at the site, management unit and landscape scales. Management is based on the philosophy of ecosystem management. Case B is a watershed composed of several privately owned units that are managed at the site scale by decision-makers whose primary motivation is economic profit. The preferred management plan in both cases is determined using a two-stage procedure. The first stage uses a stochastic programming model to identify the most efficient management plans for a site/landscape. The second stage determines which efficient management plan for a site/landscape is preferred by maximizing an expected utility function that is additive in the attributes and assumes that the decision-maker is risk neutral.Whether a land-management plan results in strongly or weakly sustainable resource conditions is evaluated. Strong sustainability requires the probability of exceeding the minimum acceptable value of an attribute to be greater than or equal to a pre-determined reliability level for each attribute. Weak sustainability requires the same condition except that it applies to a composite index of the attributes rather than each attribute. Bayes theorem is used to evaluate uncertainty about whether the state of a landscape is sustainable.     

Simulating secondary succession of elk forage values in a managed forest landscape,western Washington

Modern timber management practices often influence forage production for elk (Cervus elaphus) on broad temporal and spatial scales in forested landscapes. We incorporated site-specific information on postharvesting forest succession and forage characteristics in a simulation model to evaluate past and future influences of forest management practices on forage values for elk in a commercially managed Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii, PSME)-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla, TSHE) forest in western Washington. We evaluated future effects of: (1) clear-cut logging 0, 20, and 40% of harvestable stands every five years; (2) thinning 20-year-old Douglas fir forests; and (3) reducing the harvesting cycle from 60 to 45 years. Reconstruction of historical patterns of vegetation succession indicated that forage values peaked in the 1960s and declined from the 1970s to the present, but recent values still were higher than may have existed in the unmanaged landscape in 1945. Increased forest harvesting rates had little short-term influence on forage trends because harvestable stands were scarce. Simulations of forest thinning also produced negligible benefits because thinning did not improve forage productivity appreciably at the stand level. Simulations of reduced harvesting cycles shortened the duration of declining forage values from approximately 30 to 15 years. We concluded that simulation models are useful tools for examining landscape responses of forage production to forest management strategies, but the options examined provided little potential for improving elk forages in the immediate future.     

Model-Based Assessment of Aspen Responses to Elk Herbivory in Rocky Mountain National Park,USA

In Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) has been observed to be declining on elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) winter range for many decades. To support elk management decisions, the SAVANNA ecosystem model was adapted to explore interactions between elk herbivory and aspen dynamics. The simulated probability of successful vegetative regeneration for senescent aspen stands declines sharply when elk densities reach levels of 3–5 elk/km², depending on model assumptions for the seasonal duration of elk foraging activities. For aspen stands with a substantial component of younger trees, the simulated regeneration probability declines more continuously with increasing elk density, dropping below 50% from densities at 8–14 elk/km².At the landscape scale, simulated aspen regeneration probability under a scenario of extensive seasonal use was little affected by elk population level, when this level was above 300–600 elk (25%–50% current population) over the ca. 107 km² winter range. This was because elk distribution was highly aggregated, so that a high density of elk occupied certain areas, even at low population levels overall. At approximately current elk population levels (1000–1200 elk), only 35%–45% of senescent aspen stands are simulated as having at least a 90% probability of regeneration, nearly all of them located on the periphery of the winter range. Successful management for aspen persistence on core winter range will likely require some combination of elk population reduction, management of elk distribution, and fencing to protect aspen suckers from elk browsing.     

Public–Private Partnerships for Solid Waste Management Services

The increasing cost of municipal solid waste (MSW) management has led local governments in numerous countries to examine if this service is best provided by the public sector or can better be provided by the private sector. Public–private partnerships have emerged as a promising alternative to improve MSW management performance with privately owned enterprises often outperforming publicly owned ones. In Lebanon, several municipalities are transforming waste management services from a public service publicly provided into a public service privately contracted. In this context, a regulated private market for MSW management services is essential. The present study examines a recent experience of the private sector participation in MSW management in the Greater Beirut Area. The results of a field survey concerning public perception of solid waste management are presented. Analysis of alternatives for private sector involvement in waste management is considered and management approaches are outlined.     

Modeling the Landscape Drivers of Fire Recurrence in Sardinia (Italy)

Although recurrent fire events with very short return periods have the most dangerous effects on landscape degradation, only a few papers have explored the landscape ecological factors that drive the probability of fire recurrence. In this paper we apply a habitat suitability model for analyzing the spatial relationship between a selected set of landscape factors (mainly land use types) and fire recurrence in Sardinia (Italy) in the years 2005–2010. Our results point out that fire occurrence in already burned areas is lower than expected in natural and semi-natural land cover types, like forest and shrublands. To the contrary, like in all regions where human activity is the main source of fire ignitions, the probability of fire recurrence is higher at low altitudes and close to roads and to urban and agricultural land cover types, thus showing marked preference for those landscape factors denoting higher anthropogenic ignition risk.     

Landscape-Scale Factors Affecting Feral Horse Habitat Use During Summer Within The Rocky Mountain Foothills

Public lands occupied by feral horses in North America are frequently managed for multiple uses with land use conflict occurring among feral horses, livestock, wildlife, and native grassland conservation. The factors affecting habitat use by horses is critical to understand where conflict may be greatest. We related horse presence and abundance to landscape attributes in a GIS to examine habitat preferences using 98 field plots sampled within a portion of the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve of SW Alberta, Canada. Horse abundance was greatest in grassland and cut block habitats, and lowest in conifer and mixedwood forest. Resource selection probability functions and count models of faecal abundance indicated that horses preferred areas closer to water, with reduced topographic ruggedness, situated farther from forests, and located farther away from primary roads and trails frequented by recreationalists, but closer to small linear features (i.e. cut lines) that may be used as beneficial travel corridors. Horse presence and abundance were closely related to cattle presence during summer, suggesting that both herbivores utilise the same habitats. Estimates of forage biomass removal (44 %) by mid-July were near maximum acceptable levels. In contrast to horse-cattle associations, horses were negatively associated with wild ungulate abundance, although the mechanism behind this remains unclear and warrants further investigation. Our results indicate that feral horses in SW Alberta exhibit complex habitat selection patterns during spring and summer, including overlap in use with livestock. This finding highlights the need to assess and manage herbivore populations consistent with rangeland carrying capacity and the maintenance of range health.     

The geography of conflict between elk and agricultural values in the Cypress Hills, Canada

Complex ecological issues like depredation and its management are determined by multiple factors acting at more than one scale and are interlinked with complex human social and economic behaviour. Depredation by wild herbivores can be a major obstacle to agricultural community support for wildlife conservation. For three decades, crop and fence damage, competition with livestock for native rangeland and tame pasture, and depredation of stored feed by elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) have been the cause of conflict with agricultural producers in the Cypress Hills, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Tolerance of elk presence on private lands is low because few benefits accrue to private landowners; rather they largely perceive elk as a public resource produced at their expense. Government management actions have focused on abatement inputs (e.g., population reduction; fencing) and compensation, but incentives to alter land use patterns (crop choice and location) in response to damages have not been considered. Nor has there been information on spatial structure of the elk population that would allow targeted management actions instead of attempting to manage the entire population. In this study we analysed the spatial structure of the Cypress Hills elk population, the distribution of the elk harvest in relation to agricultural conflicts, developed models of the spatial patterns of conflict fields, and evaluated compensation patterns for damage by wild herbivores. We propose modifications to current abatement and compensation programs and discuss alternative approaches involving changes to agricultural land use patterns that may reduce the intensity of conflicts with elk, and increase the acceptance capacity of landowners.     

Prescribed burning effects on summer elk forage availability in the subalpine zone, Banff National Park, Canada

The effects of prescribed burning on forage abundance and suitability for elk (Cervus elaphus) during the snow-free season was evaluated in east-central Banff National Park, Canada. Six coniferous forest and mixed shrub-herb plant communities (n=144 plots), and 5223ha of burned (n=131) vegetation <12 years old were sampled using a stratified semi-random design. Sampling units represented various combinations of vegetation, terrain conditions, and stand ages that were derived from digital biophysical data, with plant communities the basic unit of analysis. Burning coniferous forest stands reduced woody biomass, and increased herbaceous forage from 146 to 790 kg/ha. Increases commonly occurred in the percent cover of hairy wild rye (Leymus innovatus (Beal) Pigler) and fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub.). The herbaceous components of mixed shrub-herb communities increased from 336-747 kg/ha to 517-1104 kg/ha in response to burning (P<0.025, Mann-Whitney U-test). Browse biomass (mostly Salix spp. and Betula nana L.) increased >or=220% (P相似文献   

Paleozoological Data Suggest Euroamerican Settlement Did Not Displace Ursids and North American Elk from Lowlands to Highlands

The hypothesis that Euroamerican settlement displaced some populations of large mammal taxa from lowland plains habitats to previously unoccupied highland mountain habitats was commonly believed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By the middle twentieth century biologists had come to favor the hypothesis that Euroamerican colonization resulted in the extirpation of populations of large mammal in lowland habitats and those taxa survived in pre-existing relict populations in the highlands. Why modern biologists changed their minds is unclear. There is no historical evidence that unequivocally favors one hypothesis over the other. The low-elevation Columbia Basin of eastern Washington state in the northwestern United States is surrounded by forested mountains. The majority of historical records (1850 AD or younger) of black bear (Ursus americanus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and North American elk (Cervus elaphus) occur in mountainous, coniferous forest habitats. Paleozoological records of these taxa ≤ 10,000 year old and >160 year old in both highland and lowland habitats suggest the displacement hypothesis does not apply to ursids and elk in this area. These taxa seem to have been more or less ubiquitous in the area prior to Euroamerican colonization (ca. 1850 AD), and were extirpated from lowland habitats after colonization. Recent colonization of lowland shrub-steppe habitats by elk in particular, although historically unprecedented, must be categorized as recolonization rather than an invasion. Whether a species is classified as indigenous or nonindigenous may influence management activities focused on that species. The paleozoological record indicates ursids and elk are indigenous to the highland forest habitats of eastern Washington.     

Road traffic and nearby grassland bird patterns in a suburbanizing landscape

An extensive road system with rapidly increasing traffic produces diverse ecological effects that cover a large land area. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of roads with different traffic volumes on surrounding avian distributions, and its importance relative to other variables. Grassland bird data (5 years) for 84 open patches in an outer suburban/rural landscape near Boston were analyzed relative to: distance from roads with 3000–8000 to >30,000 vehicles/day; open-habitat patch size; area of quality microhabitat within a patch; adjacent land use; and distance to other open patches. Grassland bird presence and regular breeding correlated significantly with both distance from road and habitat patch size. Distance to nearest other open patch, irrespective of size, was not significant. Similarly, except for one species, adjacent land use, in this case built area, was not significant. A light traffic volume of 3000–8000 vehicles/day (local collector street here) had no significant effect on grassland bird distribution. For moderate traffic of 8000–15,000 (through street), there was no effect on bird presence although regular breeding was reduced for 400 m from a road. For heavier traffic of 15,000–30,000 (two-lane highway), both bird presence and breeding were decreased for 700 m. For a heavy traffic volume of ≥30,000 vehicles/day (multilane highway), bird presence and breeding were reduced for 1200 m from a road. The results suggest that avian studies and long-term surveys near busy roads may be strongly affected by traffic volume or changes in volume. We conclude that road ecology, especially the effects extending outward >100 m from roads with traffic, is a sine qua non for effective land-use and transportation policy.     

Farmland damage and its impact on the overlapped areas of cropland and coal resources in the eastern plains of China

The subsidence caused by coal mining in areas where cropland and coal resources overlap in the eastern plains of China with high ground water levels has caused large amounts of water to collect in cropland, significant damage to cropland, and a sharp contradiction between people and land distribution within this region. Systematic analysis and calculation were conducted on these areas by using GIS spatial overlay analysis technology, subsidence and occupied cropland estimation models, and crop yield reduction prediction model to reveal the overlapped characteristics and extent of farmland damage, as well as to evaluate the effects of farmland damage to grain yield, farmland landscape, agricultural population, and dynamical equilibrium of the total cultivated land. Results showed that the overlapped areas of cropland and coal resources on the eastern plains of China occupied an area covering 1.33 × 10⁵ km², which accounted for 31.93% of the total cropland area. In 2020, the accumulative total area of destroyed cropland reached 3.83 × 10³ km², thus reducing grain yield by 9.63 × 10⁸ kg, and increasing the number of landless farmers to 1.91 × 10⁶. Furthermore, the quality and production capacity of cultivated land decreased, farmland landscape patterns changed, land patterns and structures were adjusted, the dynamical equilibrium of the total cultivated land was difficult to guarantee, and social instability increased in coal mining subsidence areas. These findings provided a scientific basis for relevant government departments to enact countermeasures for the coordinative production of coal and grain.     

Landscape Trends in Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States Ecoregions

Landscape pattern and composition metrics are potential indicators for broad-scale monitoring of change and for relating change to human and ecological processes. We used a probability sample of 20-km × 20-km sampling blocks to characterize landscape composition and pattern in five US ecoregions: the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Northern Piedmont, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge Mountains. Land use/land cover (LULC) data for five dates between 1972 and 2000 were obtained for each sample block. Analyses focused on quantifying trends in selected landscape pattern metrics by ecoregion and comparing trends in land cover proportions and pattern metrics among ecoregions. Repeated measures analysis of the landscape pattern documented a statistically significant trend in all five ecoregions towards a more fine-grained landscape from the early 1970s through 2000. The ecologically important forest cover class also became more fine-grained with time (i.e., more numerous and smaller forest patches). Trends in LULC, forest edge, and forest percent like adjacencies differed among ecoregions. These results suggest that ecoregions provide a geographically coherent way to regionalize the story of national land use and land cover change in the United States. This study provides new information on LULC change in the southeast United States. Previous studies of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s showed a decrease in landscape fragmentation and an increase in percent forest, while this study showed an increase in forest fragmentation and a loss of forest cover.     

The costs to farmers and estate owners of public access to the countryside

This paper considers the external costs of public access on privately‐owned farm and estate land in Scotland. The increased costs and reductions in income associated with public access are found to be highly variable and site‐specific, with the main effects on land in areas of high population density or high scenic quality, or with recreational attributes. Although costs were on average higher for estates, reflecting their larger area and recreational potential, on a per‐hectare basis the costs of access were greater for the farm sector. Whilst much of the public access exists through de facto rights on open‐access land, there was evidence for an increasing commercialization of open‐air recreation, particularly with respect to more specialized activities. The discussion considers the extent to which the costs of access for land managers are reflected in policies determining the public provision of countryside access.     

Planning for green cities: some emerging principles

There are a number of reasons why planners should take a more positive approach towards the natural economy of the city, and this paper rehearses the arguments in favour. The author takes the view that much publicly owned land is manicured and excessively stocked with exotic species so that they are relatively poor in wildlife. An alternative to the generally held view that dormant land in urban areas is unsightly and encourages vandalism, is that such sites offer opportunities for visual interest, education and recreation. The paper concludes by outlining a number of courses of action which, it is suggested, may come to dominate environmental planning.     

Resolving conflicting priorities in Ontario agriculture

Changes in global patterns of grain production have affected the profitability of commercial, cash-crop agriculture in North America. The current financial crisis has highlighted a perceived conflict between the priorities of (1) strengthening net farm profit, (2) maintaining the productive potential of the land base, (3) enhancing the health and cohesiveness of the agricultural community, and (4) addressing societal demands for safe foodstuffs. Reducing input costs by reducing the need for privately owned machinery can minimize the scale-dependence of agricultural practices, as illustrated with examples involving silage and intensively managed pasture in Ontario. This approach could improve farming opportunities for nontraditional, part-time farmers, and at the same time, create a niche for professional custom operators and managers. Enhancing the viability of nontraditional farm operations, a historically neglected component of the farming community, as well as commercial farms is viewed as one approach to sustaining and improving both the agricultural land base and the agricultural community. Applying resource-extensive rather than resource-intensive approaches to forage management reveals that these apparently divergent priorities are, in fact, interlocking pieces of the same puzzle.     

Lakes,Wetlands, and Streams as Predictors of Land Use/Cover Distribution

The importance of the surrounding landscape to aquatic ecosystems has been well established. Most research linking aquatic ecosystems to landscapes has focused on the one-way effect of land on water. However, to understand fully the complex interactions between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems must be seen not only as receptors of human modification of the landscape, but also as potential drivers of these modifications. We hypothesized that the presence of aquatic ecosystems influences the spatial distribution of human land use/cover of the nearby landscape (≤1 km) and that this influence has changed through time from the 1930s to the 1990s. To test this hypothesis, we compared the distribution of residential, agricultural, and forested land use/cover around aquatic ecosystems (lakes, wetlands, and streams) to the overall regional land use/cover proportion in an area in southeast Michigan, USA; we also compared the distribution of land use/cover around county roads/highway and towns (known determinants of many land use/cover patterns) to the regional proportion. We found that lakes, wetlands, and streams were strongly associated with the distribution of land use/cover, that each ecosystem type showed different patterns, and that the magnitude of the association was at least as strong as the association with human features. We also found that the area closest to aquatic ecosystems (<500 m) was more strongly associated with land use/cover distribution than areas further away. Finally, we found that the strength of the association between aquatic ecosystems and land use/cover increased from 1938 to 1995, although the overall patterns were similar through time. Our results show that a more complete understanding is needed of the role of aquatic ecosystems on the distribution of land use/cover.     

Simulating Land-Cover Change in Montane Mainland Southeast Asia

We used the conversion of land use and its effects (CLUE-s) model to simulate scenarios of land-cover change in Montane mainland southeast Asia (MMSEA), a region in the midst of transformation due to rapid intensification of agriculture and expansion of regional trade markets. Simulated changes affected approximately 10 % of the MMSEA landscape between 2001 and 2025 and 16 % between 2001 and 2050. Roughly 9 % of the current vegetation, which consists of native species of trees, shrubs, and grasses, is projected to be replaced by tree plantations, tea, and other evergreen shrubs during the 50 years period. Importantly, 4 % of this transition is expected to be due to the expansion of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), a tree plantation crop that may have important implications for local-to-regional scale hydrology because of its potentially high water consumption in the dry season.     

Local government policies toward environmentally sensitive areas in British Columbia,Canada; Washington and Oregon,USA

While there has been sustained debate on the issue of provincial and state versus local government environmental planning, maintaining privately owned natural resources in the public interest is increasingly viewed as beyond the scope of local governments alone. This paper describes and compares province- and state-level mandates and options for local governments (i.e., city, county, or district) to regulate land uses of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) in British Columbia in Canada and in Washington and Oregon in the United States. We define ESAs as landscape elements or places that are vital to the long-term maintenance of biological diversity, soil, water, and other natural resources, especially as they relate to human health, safety, and welfare, both on-site and in a regional context. Underlying similarities are that all three jurisdictions legally express the need for land-use planning by local governments in managing ESAs. Although all three jurisdictions exhibit similar problems in their attempt to accomplish this, ESA planning by local governments is an optional process in British Columbia and Washington but mandatory in Oregon. Furthermore, actual processes prescribed by each of the three jurisdictions are quite different. The information base upon which local regulation of privately held ESAs depends is variable, both within and between the province- and statelevel jurisdictions. Other than for some specific water-related resources, standard definitions and inventory methods for ESAs are lacking, as is coordination among local governments or among the province- and state-level governments. This study concludes that there is a need for a regional environmental information system in the Pacific Northwest based upon an integrated and scientific approach toward ESA structures and functions.     

Carbon Stocks and Projections on Public Forestlands in the United States, 1952–2040

Approximately 37% of forestlands in the conterminous United States are publicly owned; they represent a substantial area of potential carbon sequestration in US forests and in forest products. However, large areas of public forestlands traditionally have been less intensively inventoried than privately owned forests. Thus, less information is available about their role as carbon sinks. We present estimates of carbon budgets on public forestlands of the 48 conterminous states, along with a discussion of the assumptions necessary to make such estimates. The forest carbon budget simulation model, FORCARB2, makes estimates for US forests primarily based on inventory data. We discuss methods to develop consistent carbon budget estimates from inventory data at varying levels of detail. Total carbon stored on public forestlands in the conterminous US increased from 16.3 Gt in 1953 to the present total of 19.5 Gt, while area increased from 87.1 million hactares to 92.1 million hactares. At the same time the proportion of carbon on public forestlands relative to all forests increased from 35% to 37%. Projections for the next 40 years depend on scenarios of management influences on growth and harvest.This article was written and prepared by US Government employees on official time, and it is therefore in the public domain and not subject to copyright.     

Relationships Between Major Ownerships, Forest Aboveground Biomass Distributions, and Landscape Dynamics in the New England Region of USA

This study utilizes remote sensing derived forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimates and ownership information obtained from the Protected Areas Database (PAD), combining landscape analyses and GIS techniques to demonstrate how different ownerships (public, regulated private, and other private) relate to the spatial distribution of AGB in New England states of the USA. “Regulated private” lands were dominated by lands in Maine covered by a Land Use Regulatory Commission. The AGB means between all pairs of the identified ownership categories were significantly different (P < 0.05). Mean AGB observed in public lands (156 Mg/ha) was 43% higher than that in regulated private lands (109 Mg/ha), or 30% higher than that of private lands as a whole. Seventy-seven percent of the regional forests (or about 9,300 km²) with AGB >200 Mg/ha were located outside the area designated in the PAD and concentrated in western MA, southern VT, southwestern NH, and northwestern CT. While relatively unfragmented and high-AGB forests (>200 Mg/ha) accounted for about 8% of total forested land, they were unevenly proportioned among the three major ownership groups across the region: 19.6% of the public land, 0.8% of the regulated private land, and 11.0% of the other private land. Mean disturbance rates (in absolute value) between 1992 and 2001 were 16, 66, and 19 percent, respectively, on public, regulated private, and other private land. This indicates that management practices from different ownerships have a strong impact on dynamic changes of landscape structures and AGB distributions. Our results may provide insight information for policy makers on issues regarding forest carbon management, conservation biology, and biodiversity studies at regional level.