Spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern in response to deforestation in Northeastern Turkey: a case study in Rize

Recognition and understanding of landscape dynamics as a historical legacy of disturbances are necessary for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. This study analyzes spatial and temporal changes in land use and forest cover patterns in a typical mountain forest area in Rize Forest Enterprise of the Northeastern part of Turkey. The area is investigated by evaluated the temporal changes of spatial structure of forest conditions through spatial analysis of forest cover type maps from 1984 and 2007 using GIS and FRAGSTATS. The quantative evidences presented here showed that there were drastic changes in the temporal and spatial dynamics of land use/forest cover. As an overall change between 1984 and 2007, there was a net decrease of 2.30% in total forested areas. On one hand, productive forest areas decreased 12,506 ha, on the other hand, degraded forest areas increased 14,805 ha. In examining the changes of crown closure and development stages of forest ecosystem during the study period, the forest stand area with medium crown closures increased. Regenerated area increased while the other development stages were left to grow to mature development stages in the period. These results regarding to crown closure and development stage showed that forest quality has increased but total forest areas decreased. This is partially due to out-migration of rural population in Rize and Cayeli towns. In terms of spatial configuration, analysis of the metrics revealed that landscape structure in Study area had changed substantially over the 23-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by the large patch numbers and the smaller mean patch sizes due to heavy timber subtraction, illegal cutting, and uncontrolled stand treatments.     

The Stream and Its Altered Valley: Integrating Landscape Ecology into Environmental Assessments of Agro-Ecosystems

Little is known about the importance of landscape and land cover to the implementation and performance of agricultural conservation projects designed to improve stream quality. In our study, we addressed the potential importance of landscape and land cover to conservation projects by measuring variation across 191 μ-basins (100–2400 ha) and integrating the observed variation into a study design aimed at determining the effectiveness of conservation projects. Our findings indicate that there are strong gradients across which landscape and land cover attributes vary. Land cover varied along a gradient of agricultural intensity, basin morphometry across gradients of stream closure and basin size, basin substrate was described by variation in drumlin formation, glacial landform type, and soil drainage, while agricultural conservation projects varied according to the level of project implementation. Correlation of these gradients found several associations between landscape and land cover, indicating that agricultural intensity was being constrained predominantly by drumlin formation and glacial landform type. Landscape and land cover did not appear to be determining factors in the implementation of conservation projects by land owners. Based on these findings we chose 32 μ-basins which represented the variability along each of the defined gradients for further study. We conclude that landscape scale variables demonstrate important variation and covariation that can and should be integrated into study designs for the assessment of streams and human activities affecting streams.     

Using remote sensing and GIS to detect and monitor land use and land cover change in Dhaka Metropolitan of Bangladesh during 1960–2005

This paper illustrates the result of land use/cover change in Dhaka Metropolitan of Bangladesh using topographic maps and multi-temporal remotely sensed data from 1960 to 2005. The Maximum likelihood supervised classification technique was used to extract information from satellite data, and post-classification change detection method was employed to detect and monitor land use/cover change. Derived land use/cover maps were further validated by using high resolution images such as SPOT, IRS, IKONOS and field data. The overall accuracy of land cover change maps, generated from Landsat and IRS-1D data, ranged from 85% to 90%. The analysis indicated that the urban expansion of Dhaka Metropolitan resulted in the considerable reduction of wetlands, cultivated land, vegetation and water bodies. The maps showed that between 1960 and 2005 built-up areas increased approximately 15,924 ha, while agricultural land decreased 7,614 ha, vegetation decreased 2,336 ha, wetland/lowland decreased 6,385 ha, and water bodies decreased about 864 ha. The amount of urban land increased from 11% (in 1960) to 344% in 2005. Similarly, the growth of landfill/bare soils category was about 256% in the same period. Much of the city's rapid growth in population has been accommodated in informal settlements with little attempt being made to limit the risk of environmental impairments. The study quantified the patterns of land use/cover change for the last 45 years for Dhaka Metropolitan that forms valuable resources for urban planners and decision makers to devise sustainable land use and environmental planning.     

Trends in land use and land cover change in the protected and communal areas of the Zambezi Region,Namibia

Land management decisions have extensively modified land use and land cover in the Zambezi Region. These decisions are influenced by land tenure classifications, legislation, and livelihoods. Land use and land cover change is an important indicator for quantifying the effectiveness of different land management strategies. However, there has been no evidence on whether protected or communal land tenure is more affected by land use and land cover changes in southern Africa and particularly Namibia. Our study attempted to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between land use and land cover change and land tenure regimes stratified according to protected and communal area in the Zambezi Region. Multi-temporal Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery were used to determine the temporal dynamics of land use and land cover change from 1984 to 2010. The landscape showed distinctive modifications over the study period; broad trends include the increase in forest land after 1991. However, changes were not uniform across the study areas. Two landscape development stages were deduced: (1) 1984–1991 represented high deforestation and gradual increase in shrub land; (2) 1991–2000 and 2000–2010 represented lower deforestation and slower agropastoral expansion. The results further show clear patterns of the dynamics, magnitude, and direction of land use and land cover change by tenure regime. The study concluded that land tenure has a direct impact on land use and land cover, since it may restrict some activities carried out on the land in the Zambezi Region.     

Assessing implications of land use and land cover changes in forest ecosystems of NE Turkey

Monitoring land use and land cover change (LUCC) and understanding forest cover dynamics is extremely important in sustainable development and management of forest ecosystems. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal pattern of LUCC in the Yaln?zçam and U?urlu forest planning units which are located in the northeast corner of Turkey. The investigation also evaluates the temporal changes of the spatial structure of forest conditions through the spatial analysis of forest-cover type maps from 1972 and 2005 using geographical information systems and FRAGSTATS^TM. As an overall change between 1972 and 2005, there was a net increase of 1,823 ha in forested areas, and cumulative forest improvement accounted for 2.06 %. In terms of spatial configuration, the landscape structure in the study area changed substantially over the 33-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by large patch numbers and smaller mean patch sizes, owing to heavy grazing, illegal cutting, and uncontrolled stand treatments.     

基于土地利用变化的忻州市生态格局时空变化分析

为了厘清改革开放以来忻州市各类生态系统及生态系统格局的时空特征,使用忻州全市1980、2000、2018年的土地利用和覆盖(LULC)二级分类数据,经过土地转移矩阵和景观格局指数计算,探讨分析了忻州市改革开放以来近40年的LULC及格局的长时间序列时空变化特征,以揭示忻州市的生态环境变化态势。研究区近40年来以城镇用地和其他建设用地增加为主,其他各类减少,城镇化和人口增长带来的土地和生态压力主要集中在草地、耕地以及湿地上;其中2000—2018年的变化更剧烈,人类活动对自然的干扰加剧,但同时在这一阶段已经开始了森林、湿地的保护,开展经济发展与生态文明同步建设。     

Landscape-based upstream-downstream prevalence of land-use/cover change drivers in southeastern rift escarpment of Ethiopia

Characterized by high population density on a rugged topography, the Gedeo-Abaya landscape dominantly contains a multi-strata traditional agroforests showing the insight of Gedeo farmers on natural resource management practices. Currently, this area has been losing its resilience and is becoming unable to sustain its inhabitants. Based on both RS-derived and GIS-computed land-use/cover changes (LUCC) as well as socioeconomic validations, this article explored the LUCC and agroecological-based driver patterns in Gedeo-Abaya landscape from 1986 to 2015. A combination of geo-spatial technology and cross-sectional survey design were employed to detect the drivers behind these changes. The article discussed that LUCC and the prevalence of drivers are highly diverse and vary throughout agroecological zones. Except for the population, most downstream top drivers are perceived as insignificant in the upstream region and vice versa. In the downstream, land-use/cover (LUC) classes are more dynamic, diverse, and challenged by nearly all anticipated drivers than are upstream ones. Agroforestry LUC has been increasing (by 25% of its initial cover) and is becoming the predominant cover type, although socioeconomic analysis and related findings show its rapid LUC modification. A rapid reduction of woodland/shrubland (63%) occurred in the downstream, while wetland/marshy land increased threefold (158%), from 1986 to 2015 with annual change rates of -?3.7 and +?6%, respectively. Land degradation induced by changes in land use is a serious problem in Africa, especially in the densely populated sub-Saharan regions such as Ethiopia (FAO 2015). Throughout the landscape, LUCC is prominently affecting land-use system of the study landscape due to population pressure in the upstream region and drought/rainfall variability, agribusiness investment, and charcoaling in the downstream that necessitate urgent action.     

Impact of land use and land cover changes on ecosystem services in Menglun, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Changing the landscape has serious environmental impacts affecting the ecosystem services, particularly in the tropics. In this paper, we report changes in ecosystem services in relation to land use and land cover over an 18-year period (1988--2006) in the Menglun Township, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. We used Landsat TM/ETM and Quickbird data sets to estimate changes in ten land use and land cover categories, and generalized value coefficients to estimate changes in the ecosystem services provided by each land category. The results showed that over the 18-year period, the land use and land cover in the study area experienced significant changes. Rubber plantations increased from 12.10% of total land cover to 45.63%, while forested area and swidden field decreased from 48.73 and 13.14 to 27.57 and 0.46%, respectively. During this period, the estimated value of ecosystem services dropped by US $11.427 million (approximately 27.73%). Further analysis showed that there were significant changes in ecological functions such as nutrient cycling, erosion control, climate regulation and water treatment as well as recreation; the obvious increase in the ecological function is provision of raw material (natural rubber). Our findings conclude that an abrupt shift in land use from ecologically important tropical forests and traditionally managed swidden fields to large-scale rubber plantations result in a great loss of ecosystem services in this area. Further, the study suggests that provision of alternative economic opportunities would help in maintaining ecosystem services and for an appropriate compensation mechanisms need to be established based on rigorous valuation.     

Assessment for Salinized Wasteland Expansion and Land Use Change Using GIS and Remote Sensing in the West Part of Northeast China

Due to human impact under climatic variations, western part of Northeast China has suffered substantial land degradation during past decades. This paper presents an integrated study of expansion process of salinized wasteland in Da’an County, a typical salt-affected area in Northeast China, by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. The study explores the temporal and spatial characteristics of salinized wasteland expansion from 1954 to 2004, and land use/cover changes during this period. During the past 50 years, the salinized wasteland in study area have increased by 135,995 ha, and in 2004 covers 32.31% of the total area, in the meantime grassland has decreased by 104,697 ha and in 2004 covers only 13.15% of the study area. Grasslands, croplands and swamplands were found the three main land use types converted into salinized wasteland. Land use/cover changes shows that between 1954 and 2004, 48.6% of grasslands, 42.5% of swamplands, and 14.1% of croplands were transformed into salinized wasteland, respectively. Lastly, the major factors influencing salinized wasteland expansion and land use/cover changes were also explored. In general, climatic factors supplied a potential environment for soil salinization. Human-related factors, such as policy, population, overgrazing, and intensified and unreasonable utilization of land and water resources are the main causes of salinized wasteland expansion.     

A comparison of two procedures to estimate three basic monitoring landscape metrics for monitoring

An interesting alternative to wall-to-wall mapping approaches for the estimation of landscape metrics is to use sampling. Sample-based approaches are cost-efficient, and measurement errors can be reduced considerably. The previous efforts of sample-based estimation of landscape metrics have mainly been focused on data collection methods, but in this study, we consider two estimation procedures. First, landscape metrics of interest are calculated separately for each sampled image and then the image values are averaged to obtain an estimate of the entire landscape (separated procedure, SP). Second, metric components are calculated in all sampled images and then the aggregated values are inserted into the landscape metric formulas (aggregated procedure, AP). The national land cover map (NLCM) of Sweden, reflecting the status of land cover in the year 2000, was used to provide population information to investigate the statistical performance of the estimation procedures. For this purpose, sampling simulation with a large number of replications was used. For all three landscape metrics, the second procedure (AP) produced a lower relative RMSE and bias than the first one (SP). A smaller sample unit size (50 ha) produced larger bias than a larger one (100 ha), whereas a smaller sample unit size produced a lower variance than a larger sample unit. The efficiency of a metric estimator is highly related to the degree of landscape fragmentation and the selected procedure. Incorporating information from all of the sampled images into a single one (aggregated procedure, AP) is one way to improve the statistical performance of estimators.     

Estimation of Plant Diversity at Landscape Level: A Methodological Approach Applied to Three Spanish Rural Areas

Approaches linking biodiversity assessment with landscape structure are necessary in the framework of sustainable rural development. The present paper describes a methodology to estimate plant diversity involving landscape structure as a proportional weight associated with different plant communities found in the landscape mosaic. The area occupied by a plant community, its patch number or its spatial distribution of patches are variables that could be expressed in gamma plant diversity of a territory. The methodology applies (1) remote sensing information, to identify land cover and land use types; (2) aspect, to discriminate composition of plant communities in each land cover type; (3) multi-scale field techniques, to asses plant diversity; (4) affinity analysis of plant community composition, to validate the stratified random sampling design and (5) the additive model that partitions gamma diversity into its alpha and beta components. The method was applied to three Spanish rural areas and was able to record 150-260 species per ha. Species richness, Shannon information index and Simpson concentration index were used to measure diversity in each area. The estimation using Shannon diversity index and the product of patch number and patch interspersion as weighting of plant community diversity was found to be the most appropriate method of measuring plant diversity at the landscape level.     

Cumulative effects of developed road network on woodland—a landscape approach

Population growth, during the twentieth century, has increased demand for new farmlands. Accordingly, road networks have rapidly been developed to facilitate and accelerate human access to the essential resources resulted in extensive land use changes. The present study aims at assessing cumulative effects of developed road network on tree cover of Golestan Province in northern Iran. In order to detect changes over the study period of 1987–2002, the LULC map of the study area was initially prepared from the satellite images of Landsat TM (1987) and ETM+ (2002) using maximum likelihood supervised classification method. Afterwards, a total number of seven landscape matrices were selected to detect cumulative effects of the developed road network on woodland cover. The obtained results indicated that the fragile patches are mainly located at a distance of 171–342 m from the roadside. Furthermore, the majority of the patches affected by cumulative effects of development activities are situated at a distance of 342–684 m from the roadside, over an approximate area of 55 ha. The analysis of landscape metrics revealed that the developed road network has increased the landscape metrics of “the number of patches” and “patches perimeter-area ratio”. It has also followed by a decrease in metrics such as “patches area”, “Euclidean nearest neighbor distance”, “patches proximity”, “shape index”, “contiguity”, and “mean patches fractal dimension”. The road network has also increased the “number of patches” and decreased the “mean patches area” representing further fragmentation of the landscape. With identification of highly affected wooldland cover patches, it would be possible to apply adaptive environmental management strategies to preserve and rehabilitate high-priority patches.     

Spatial dynamics of carbon storage: a case study from Turkey

Forest ecosystems have an important role in carbon cycle at both regional and global scales as an important carbon sink. Forest degradation and land cover changes, caused by deforestation and conversion to non-forest area, have a strong impact on carbon storage. The carbon storage of forest biomass and its changes over time in the Hartlap planning unit of the southeastern part of Turkey have been estimated using the biomass expansion factor method based on field measurements of forests plots with forest inventory data between 1991 and 2002. The amount of carbon storage associated with land use and land cover changes were also analyzed. The results showed that the total forested area of the Hartlap planning unit slightly increased by 2.1 %, from 27,978.7 ha to 28,282.6 ha during the 11-year period, and carbon storage increased by 9.6 %, from 390,367.6 to 427,826.9 tons. Carbon storage of conifer and mixed forests accounted for about 70.6 % of carbon storage in 1991, and 67.8 % in 2002 which increased by 14,274.6 tons. Land use change and increasing forest area have a strong influence on increasing biomass and carbon storage.     

Land use/land cover change and their effects on landscape patterns in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang (China)

Human modification of land use and land cover change (LUCC) drives the change of landscape patterns and limits the availability of products and services for human and livestock. LUCC can undermine environmental health. Thus, this study aimed to develop an understanding of LUCC in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang, China, an arid area experiencing dramatic water and land resource use. A time series of satellite images (1964, 1973, 1989, 1999, and 2009) were used to calculate the index of landscape patterns to study the processes involved in changes to land uses and landscape patterns and the influence of this changes on landscape patterns. The results show that land uses in the Yanqi Basin have changed dramatically since 1964 with grassland being mainly converted to cropland. Landscape fragmentation and diversity have decreased in the study area, although landscape fragmentation increased from 1964 to 1999 and then decreased by 2009. The index of landscape diversity decreased from 1.64 in 1964 to 0.71 in 2009. The heterogeneity and complexity of the landscape increased during this period. In contrast, the index of dominance decreased from 0.85 in 1964 to 0.83 in 2009. Land use change drives landscape patterns of the development of the watershed toward diversity and a fragmented structure. Population growth, economic development, and industrial policies were the dominant driving forces behind LUCC in the Yanqi Basin. Sustainable use of land resources is a significant factor in maintaining economic development and environmental protection in this arid inland river basin.     

Remote sensing and GIS-based integrated analysis of land cover change in Duzce plain and its surroundings (north western Turkey)

The aim of this study is to research natural land cover change caused by the permanent effects of human activities in Duzce plain and its surroundings, and to determine the current status of the land cover. For this purpose, two Landsat TM images were used in the study for the years 1987 and 2010. These images are analysed by using data image processing techniques in ERDAS Imagine©10.0 and ArcGIS©10.0 software. Land cover change nomenclature is classified according to the Coordination of Information on the Environment Level 2 Classification (1—urban fabric, 2—industrial, commercial and transport units, 3—heterogeneous agricultural areas, 4—forests, and 5—inland wetlands). Furthermore, the image analysis results are confirmed by the field research. According to the results, a decrease of 33.5 % was recorded in forest areas from 24,840.7 to 16,529.0 ha; an increase of 11.2 % was recorded in heterogeneous agricultural areas from 47,702.7 to 53,051.7 ha. Natural vegetation, which is the large part of land cover in the research area, has been changing rapidly because of rapid urbanisation and agricultural activities. As a result, it is concluded that significant changes have occurred on the natural land cover between the years 1987 and 2010 in the Duzce plain and its surroundings.     

Determining land use changes by radar-optic fused images and monitoring its environmental impacts in Edremit region of western Turkey

Rapid and unplanned urbanization and industrialization are the main reasons of environmental problems. If urban growth is not based on resource sustainability criteria and urban plans are not applied, natural and human resources are damaged dramatically. In this study, land use change and urban expansion in Edremit region of Turkey is determined by means of remote sensing techniques between 1971 and 2002. To improve the accuracy of land use/cover maps, the contribution of SAR images to optic images in defining land cover types was investigated. To determine the situation of land use/cover types in 2002 accurately, Landsat-5 images and Radarsat-1 images were fused, and the land use/cover types were defined from the fused images. Comparisons with the ground truth reveal that land use maps generated using the fuse technique are improved about 6% with an accuracy of 81.20%. To define land use types and urban expansion, screen digitizing and classification methods were used. The results of the study indicate that the urban areas have been increased 1,826 ha across the agricultural fields which are in land use capability classes of I and II, and significant environmental changes such as land degradation and degeneration of ground water quality occurred.     

Examining Relationships Between Socioeconomic Factors and Landscape Metrics in the Southern Basin of the Caspian Sea

Socioeconomic forces are not only among the main drivers of landscape dynamics; they are also influenced by landscape patterns. Landscape structure and functions are closely related to natural and social factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships among some human-related factors and landscape ecological metrics as landscape pattern indicators and to identify suitable metrics for modeling these relationships. To this goal, landscape ecological metrics were calculated for each of the 32 counties of Mazandaran and Guilan provinces located in the southern basin of the Caspian Sea using land use/cover maps in class level. Stream network metrics were calculated using a digital elevation model, road density metrics were calculated using map of main roads separately, and significant metrics were selected according to results of correlation tests and factor analysis. The correlations between these metrics and socioeconomic factors were tested, and their relationships were modeled with multiple linear regressions. Significant relationships were found among socioeconomic factors and landscape ecological metrics, and land use/cover data are applicable for modeling socioeconomic factors, especially demographic and employment structure factors. Among the landscape metrics applied in this study, road density, mean patch size, mean nearest neighbor distance, and percentage of a land use/cover class in landscape were important metrics for predicting socioeconomic factors. Our findings indicated that road density metric and percentages of urban class are useful for predicting urban socioeconomic factors and percentage of agriculture and forest classes in the landscape are suitable metrics for predicting rural socioeconomic factors.     

Analysing land cover changes for understanding of forest dynamics using temporal forest management plans

This study analyses forest dynamics and land use/land cover change over a 43-year period using spatial-stand-type maps of temporal forest management plans of Karaisal? Forest Enterprise in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Stand parameters (tree species, crown closures and developmental stages) of the dynamics and changes caused by natural or artificial intervention were introduced and mapped in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and subjected to fragmentation analysis using FRAGSTATS. The Karaisal? Forest Enterprise was first planned in 1969 and then the study area was planned under the Mediterranean Forest Use project in 1991 and five-term forest management plans were made. In this study, we analysed only four periods (excluding 1982 revision plans): 1969, 1991, 2002 and 2012. Between 1969 and 2012, overall changes included a net increase of 3,026 ha in forested areas. Cumulative forest improvement accounted for 2.12 % and the annual rate of total forest improvement averaged 0.08 %. In addition, productive forest areas increased from 36,174 to 70,205 ha between 1969 and 2012. This translates into an average annual productive forest improvement rate of 1.54 %. At the same time, fully covered forest areas with crown closure of “3” (>70 %) increased about 21,321 ha, and young forest areas in developmental stage of “a” (diameter at breast height (dbh)?<?8 cm) increased from 716 to 13,305 ha over the 43-year study period. Overall changes show that productive and fully covered forest areas have increased egregiously with a focus on regenerated and young developmental stages. A spatial analysis of metrics over the 43-year study period indicated a more fragmented landscape resulting in a susceptible forest to harsh disturbances.     

Spatial and temporal dynamics of land use pattern in Eastern Turkey: a case study in Gümüşhane

Recognition and understanding of landscape dynamics as a historical legacy of disturbances are necessary for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. This study analyzed spatial and temporal changes in land use and land cover patterns in a typical mountain watershed in the Gumushane district along the Northeastern part of Turkey. The area is investigated by comparing LANDSAT images from 1987 to 2000 and evaluated the temporal changes of spatial structure of forest conditions through spatial analysis of forest cover type maps from 1971 and 1987 using GIS and FRAGSTATS™. The results show a general decreasing trend in area of natural land cover types including broadleaf and conifer forests as well as coppice between 1971 and 1987 (0.54%, respectively). In contrast, between 1987 and 2000 this natural land cover types show increasing trend (1.6%). In parallel with forest dynamics, the area of managed land including lowland and upland agricultural areas, rangelands and grasslands increased during the first period and decreased during second period. In terms of spatial configuration, Gümüşhane forests aren’t generally fragmented by intensive forest utilization in the latter periods. This is partially due to out-migration of rural population in Gümüşhane. Nevertheless, land use pattern significantly changed over time depending on a few factors such as unregulated management actions, social pressure and demographic movements. The study revealed that demographic movements have a major effect on landscape dynamics.     

A half-century analysis of landscape dynamics in southern Québec,Canada

We studied landscape dynamics for three time periods (<1950, 1965, and 1997) along a gradient of agricultural intensity from highly intensive agriculture to forested areas in southern Québec. Air photos were analyzed to obtain long-term information on land cover (crop and habitat types) and linear habitats (hedgerows and riparian habitats) and landscape metrics were calculated to quantify changes in habitat configuration. Anthropogenic areas increased in all types of landscapes but mostly occurred in the highly disturbed cash crop dominated landscape. Perennial crops (pasture and hayfields) were largely converted into annual crops (corn and soybean) between 1965 and 1997. The coalescence of annual crop fields resulted in a more homogeneous agricultural landscape. Old fields and forest cover was consistently low and forest fragmentation remained stable through time in the intensive agriculture landscapes. However, forest cover increased and forest fragmentation receded in the forest-dominated landscapes following farm abandonment and the transition of old fields into forests. Tree-dominated hedgerows and riparian habitats increased in areas with intensive agriculture. Observed changes in land cover classes are related to proximate factors, such as surficial deposits and topography. Agriculture intensification occurred in areas highly suitable for agriculture whereas farm abandonment was observed in poor-quality agriculture terrains. Large-scale conversion of perennial crops into annual crops along with continued urbanization exerts strong pressures on residual natural habitats and their inhabiting wildlife. The afforestation process occurring in the more forested landscapes along with the addition of tree-dominated hedgerows and riparian habitats in the agriculture-dominated landscapes should improve landscape ecological value.