Toward achieving a sustainable management: characterization of land use/land cover in Sokoto Rima floodplain,Nigeria

Land use change is the main driving force of global environmental change and is considered as very central to the ongoing debate on sustainable development. Even though large volume of literature materials is available of land use/land cover (LU/LC) change for many areas, very little is known of it in the floodplain of the Sokoto Rima River Basin of Nigeria despite the basin’s strategic importance. Thus, this study characterized the basin’s LU/LC and its change using computer-based digital classification of near-anniversary Landsat 5 TM imagery of November 23, 1998, and Landsat 8 OLI of December 2, 2013. The results of the digital classification were complimented with field-based observations on major observable characteristics of every LU/LC identified. Thirteen classes (forest area, dense grassland, grassy fallow, grazed open grassland, open cultivation, open grain fallow farmland, pepper cultivation, rice farmland, scrubland, sugarcane farmland, dry bare land, sand deposit and wetland/water) were characterized and the nature and extent of their changes assessed. 40 % of the basin’s uses is under cultivation, 22 % is under fallow, 27 % is either degraded or non-cultivable, while 11 % is forested. Change events include forest loss, increase in area cultivated, expansion of shrub/scrubland and pervasiveness of grazing. The changes were more pronounced in the upper than either the central and southern segments of the basin. In general LU/LC changes in the basin are reflection of increased human population pressure and effects of climate change. The LU/LC patterns and changes suggest underutilization and mismanagement of the floodplain which have impact on soil, hydrology and biodiversity with serious implication for livelihood and food security. The study recommends that interventions are needed to promote enhanced and sustainable management of land, water and vegetation resources in the basin, with particular emphasis on empowering the local land users to participate actively toward sustainable management of the floodplain.     

Social contrasts and land use conflicts in the context of sustainable development and management needs: a case study from an estuarine area at northeastern Brazil

This paper discusses the misuses of estuaries in Northeast of Brazil and the social contrasts there found. The several kinds of impacts promoted by capitalist enterprises in one side and by traditional population, who uses estuary areas at another side, are in complete disagreement with the ethic of sustainable development. Our intention is to demonstrate how these aspects occur in the River Paraíba do Norte estuary, in the State of Paraíba. Observing the conditions of infrastructure besides the multiple ways to handle along with the extension of the estuary, we could recognize 59 focus of conflict between the incorrect use and sustainable mode. Most of the uses concern to traditional artisan fishing, slums and recreational marinas, reflecting the great social contrast between rich and poor people settled in area studied. Ecological and social implications of these conflicting uses are discussed and measures to improve the situation are suggested.     

Dynamics of land use land cover and its impact on carbon stocks in Sub-Saharan Africa: an overview

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Land use land cover change (LULCC) is a global environmental trend that plays a key role in worldwide environmental change and sustainable development....     

Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the problems that the world has been facing for the last few decades despite political attention....     

Agroforestry in the Western Ghats of peninsular India and the satoyama landscapes of Japan: a comparison of two sustainable land use systems

Agroforestry in the Western Ghats (WG) of peninsular India and satoyama in rural Japan are traditional land-use systems with similar evolutionary trajectories. Some of their relevance was lost by the middle of the twentieth century, when modern agricultural technologies and urbanisation engineered shifts in emphasis towards maximising crop production. There has been, however, a resurgence of interest in traditional land-use systems recently, in view of their ability to provide ecosystem services. Both agroforestry and satoyama are thought to be harbingers of biological diversity and have the potential to serve as “carbon forests.” Carbon (C) stock estimates of the sampled homegardens in WG ranged from 16 to 36 Mg ha⁻¹. Satoyama woodlands owing to variations in tree stocking and management conditions indicated widely varying C stocks (2–279 Mg ha⁻¹). Agroforestry and satoyama also differ in nature, complexity, and objectives. While agroforestry involves key productive and protective functions, and adopts ‘intensive management’, the satoyama woodlands are extensively managed; understorey production is seldom a consideration. Differences in canopy architecture (multi-tiered structure of agroforestry vs. the more or less unitary canopy of satoayama) and land ownership pattern (privately owned/managed agroforestry holdings vs. community or local government or privately owned and mostly abandoned satoyamas) pose other challenges in the transfer and application of knowledge gained in one system to the other. Nonetheless, lessons learnt from satoyama conservation may be suitable for common pool resource management elsewhere in Asia, and aspects relating to understorey production in agroforestry may be relevant for satoyama under certain scenarios.     

Changing land use/cover patterns and implications for sustainable environmental management in the Irangi Hills,central Tanzania

This article examines the changes in land-use/cover types in the Irangi Hills, central Tanzania during the last 45 years and how such changes have influenced environmental and agricultural sustainability in the area. The spatial and temporal changes of land-use/cover were analysed through aerial photographs interpretation. Local perceptions and experiences of changes were addressed through household interviews and field observations. Results from this study show that during the last 45 years open and wooded grasslands, and other tree-cover types covered about 40% of the land area, ranging from 29% in 1960 to 43–45% between 1977 and 1992. Also, during the same period both the total area and spatial distribution of cultivated fields varied greatly. The cultivated area increased from 31% in 1977 to 35% in 1992, mainly due to agricultural expansion into areas formerly used for grazing and in sandy watercourses that shrunk by 55% between 1977 and 1992. The spatial distribution of the different land-use/cover types is influenced by variations in the scale of soil erosion and soil-conservation initiatives implemented in the Irangi Hills since the early 1970s. However, with increasing pressure on the land, and the declining capacity of the soil conservation authority, sustaining agricultural production in the area remains a major challenge.     

A system view of solvent selection in the pharmaceutical industry: towards a sustainable choice

This paper presents a review of approaches that may be useful for the selection of solvents in the early stages of process development for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Characteristics of the methodologies and their applicability in early stages are explored. Early stages of development are recognised as ideal for detecting benefits and issues regarding the use of solvents. The ??system?? concept is introduced for the evaluation and selection of solvents in pharmaceutical processes; this concept does not yet seem to be widely utilised within the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. System analysis is considered an important tool for viewing solvent selection from a holistic perspective. Hence, approaches suitable for the early stages of development and considering a holistic perspective might deliver more sustainable processes. The evolution of the synthesis of Ibuprofen API is used to illustrate this concept.     

Climate change, drought risk and land capability for agriculture: implications for land use in Scotland

Land capability classification systems define and communicate biophysical limitations on land use, including climate, soils and topography. They can therefore provide an accessible format for both scientists and decision-makers to share knowledge on climate change impacts and adaptation. Underlying such classifications are complex interactions that require dynamic spatial analysis, particularly between soil and climate. These relationships are investigated using a case study on drought risk for agriculture in Scotland, which is currently considered less significant than wetness-related issues. The impact of drought risk is assessed using an established empirical system for land capability linking indicator crops with water availability. This procedure is facilitated by spatial interpolation of climate and soil profile data to provide soil moisture deficits and plant available water on a regular 1-km grid. To evaluate potential impacts of future climate change, land capability classes are estimated using both large-scale ensemble (multi-simulation) data from the HadRM3 regional climate model and local-scale weather generator data (UKCP09) derived from multiple climate models. Results for the case study suggest that drought risk is likely to have a much more significant influence on land use in the future. This could potentially act to restrict the range of crops grown and hence reduce land capability in some areas unless strategic-level adaptation measures are developed that also integrate land use systems and water resources with the wider environment.     

Movement towards a low carbon emitted environment: a test of some factors in Malaysia

There exists a high global concern in different nations on environmental sustainability especially at the focal stage of increased economic growth and development process due to high level of environmental degradation and pollution. The major aim of this study was to empirically examine how to minimise carbon emissions (CO₂) in Malaysia which are mainly caused by energy production, fossil fuel consumption, population density and economic growth. The study adopted the method of autoregressive distributed lag bound testing approach to analyse the data for the period 1971–2011. The study found that economic growth in Malaysia has a direct relationship with CO₂ emissions in both the short run and the long run. Similarly, there is a positive relationship between fossil fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions over the same period. Population density was found to have positive impacts on CO₂ emissions. Contrarily, the relationship between the activities of energy production and pollution is negative in the long run. The study recommends that a targeted GDP growth rate should be set with the consideration to avoid more environmental pollution. In addition, the positive impact of fossil fuel consumption on the environmental pollution implies that there is a need to make and implement policies that will encourage the use of public transportation system more than private transportations. That is, the unnecessary use of private vehicles should be discouraged in order to reduce the extent of fossil fuel consumption.     

The potential perils of Sal forests land grabbing in Bangladesh: an analysis of economic,social and ecological perspectives

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The increased demand for foods and commercialization of the commodity markets has resulted in enormous interest in arable land resources, leading to a...     

Land-use and land-cover effects on regional biodiversity distribution in a subtropical dry forest: a hierarchical integrative multi-taxa study

Latin American subtropical dry ecosystems have experienced significant human impact for more than a century, mainly in the form of extensive livestock grazing, forest products extraction, and agriculture expansion. We assessed the regional-scale effect of land use and land cover (LULC) on patterns of richness distribution of trees, birds, amphibians, and mammals in the Northern Argentine Dry Chaco (NADC) over c. 19 million hectares. Using species distribution models in a hierarchical framework, we modeled the distributions of 138 species. First, we trained the models for the entire Argentinean Chaco with climatic and topographic variables. Second, we modeled the same species for the NADC including the biophysical variables identified as relevant in the first step plus four LULC-related variables: woody biomass, distance to crops, density of livestock-based rural settlements (puestos), and vegetation cover. Third, we constructed species richness maps by adding the models of individual species and considering two situations, with and without LULC variables. Four, richness maps were used for assessing differences when LULC variables are added and for determining the main drivers of current patterns of species richness. We found a marked decrease in species richness of the four groups as a consequence of inclusion of LULC variables in distribution models. The main factors associated with current richness distribution patterns (both negatively) were woody biomass and density of livestock puestos. Species richness in present-day Semiarid Chaco landscapes is strongly affected by LULC patterns, even in areas not transformed to agriculture. Regional-scale biodiversity planning should consider open habitats such as grasslands and savannas in addition to woodlands.     

Consumptive values and local perception of dry forest decline in Burkina Faso,West Africa

Traditional ecological knowledge and local experience of resource management and the usefulness of plant species can make important contributions to attempts to understand forest ecosystems and to develop effective sustainable management strategies for them. Therefore, the utilization of tree species by local people, their perceptions of changes in the surrounding forests, and suggested solutions for associated problems, were studied in the Sissili province of southern Burkina Faso. Information was collected through a combination of participatory rural appraisals, household interviews, and observational methods. Principal component analysis was used to analyze the consumptive values of woody species and their respective parts. A total of 82 species were identified, 90% of them were used for medicinal purposes, 78% for fodder, 73% for food, 67% for house construction, and 58% for wood carving. This suggests that forests play a key role in sustaining the rural livelihood and contributing to poverty reduction. The various stakeholders perceived that vegetation clearing for cultivation of cash crops (agribusiness) was the main driver of the change in forest cover. Species reported to be declining in the area included Parkia biglobosa, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Afzelia africana, Bombax costatum, Tamarindus indica, and Diospyros mespiliformis. Thus, a concerted effort should be made to manage the remaining natural forests in the country. Appropriate management strategies should be developed jointly by the local communities and external support groups to integrate the valuable local knowledge about forest species with the stakeholders’ suggestions in order to promote sustainable management of the region’s forest ecosystems.     

可持续交通消费的接受和使用行为研究——基于上海市汽车共享的调查

汽车共享作为中国新兴的可持续交通方式,如何成功的使消费者接受和使用,是研究的关键挑战。本文基于UTAUT2模型,选择上海市居民作为调查对象,发现价格价值对行为意向影响最大,其次为享乐动机、努力期望、绩效期望和便利条件,社群影响对行为意向影响不显著;行为意向和便利条件对使用行为有显著正面影响,便利条件对使用行为影响更大。进而,使用个人特征为调节变量(是否有私家车、网约车经验和婚姻状况)验证对模型路径的影响,绩效期望对行为意向的影响受到是否有车、网约车经验和婚姻状况三个因素的调节,无车、无网约车经验与未婚的受访者调节效应更强;便利条件对行为意向和使用行为的影响同时受到是否有车单个因素的调节,无车者的调节作用更强;价值价格对行为意向的影响受到婚姻状况的调节,未婚者的调节效应更强;行为意向对使用行为的影响受到是否有网约车经验的调节,无网约车经验的调节效应更强。基于汽车共享服务发展初期的市场调查,本文建议汽车共享企业应提前布局服务网络,扩大会员数量,宣传它与私家车相比的成本优势和共享的价值观,获得细分市场。     

Modeling groundwater flow and its associated environmental problem in a lowland coastal plain: a first step towards a sustainable development plan

Groundwater is an important resource in the alluvial coastal lowland plains. In the Shiroishi lowland plain, southwestern Kyushu Island of Japan, land subsidence due to groundwater development has long been recognized as an environmental issue. Land subsidence can have several negative economic and social implications. In this study, an integrated numerical groundwater and land subsidence model, which combines a three-dimensional numerical groundwater flow model and a one-dimensional soil consolidation model, was used to simulate the dynamic groundwater flow and ground subsidence due to pumping. On the other hand, a groundwater optimization model was also formulated to search for an optimal safe yield of groundwater pumping without violating physical, environmental, social-economic constraints. The model results reveal that groundwater levels in the aquifers greatly vary from season to season in response to varying climatic and pumping conditions. Consequently, land subsidence has rapidly occurred throughout the area with the central prone in Shiroishi plain. The study also proposes a countermeasure against subsiding process in the area by means of numerical models. The optimization model result suggests that pumping can be increased in the northern part of the study area without leading to significant land subsidence.     

Examination of land use/land cover changes,urban growth dynamics,and environmental sustainability in Chittagong city,Bangladesh

As in many other developing countries, cities in Bangladesh have witnessed rapid urbanization, resulting in increasing amounts of land being taken over and therefore land cover changing at a faster rate. Until now, however, few efforts have been made to document the impact of land use and land cover changes on the climate, environment, and ecosystem of the country because of a lack of geospatial data and time-series information. By using open source Landsat data integrated with GIS technologies and other ancillary data, this study attempts to classify land use and create land cover maps, enabling post-classification change detection analysis. By this method, we document the spatial and temporal trajectory of urban expansion in Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh, over a 36-year period. The findings suggest that, over the study period, 56 % of the land cover has undergone change, mainly because of the expansion of built-up areas and other human activities. During the 36-year period, the built-up area around Chittagong city has expanded by 618 %, with an average annual rate of increase of 17.5 %. As a result of rapid urbanization, the vegetated hills near urban development areas face serious threats of further encroachment and degradation, given that 2178 ha of hills have already been intruded over the study period. Because urbanization processes in Bangladesh have traditionally been viewed as the result of population growth and economic development, very little work has been done to track the potential growth trajectory in a physical or spatial context. This study, therefore, will contribute to the current understanding of urban development in Bangladesh from a temporal and spatial point of view. Findings will be able to assist planners, stakeholders, and policy makers in appreciating the dynamism of urban growth and therefore will facilitate better planning for the future to minimize environmental impacts.     

Water demand of central pivot-irrigated areas in Bahia,Brazil: management of water resources applied to sustainable production

When performed without technical criteria, the rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural frontiers can result in overexploitation of water, causing worrying impacts on the balance of agroecosystems. This study proposes a model applied to the state of Bahia, to estimate the water demand of areas irrigated by a central pivot, in order to contribute to information that will subsidize the inspection and planning of water resources in the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The irrigated areas were identified and measured by photointerpretation using orbital images from the Landsat-8 satellite. With a historical series of data, the reference evapotranspiration was calculated and monthly water balance was elaborated. The data obtained were spatialized by kriging, and with punctual values of water deficit (mm), the water demand of the irrigated perimeter of the equipment was estimated. The results were described considering strategic planning units, proposed from municipalities, hydrographic basins and biomes. A total of 4075 pivots were quantified, covering an irrigated area of 265,896.30 ha and with an average annual consumption of 1,333,473,208.02 m³ of water. Areas of high demand were identified, especially in the western region of Bahia, which includes the hydrographic basin of the São Francisco River and the Cerrado biome, concentrating 80.85% and 75.47% of the state water demand for pivots, respectively. Considering possible points of water vulnerability and continuity of this expansion, the results provide the primary information needed to encourage the adoption of public policies aimed at the management of water resources. The study method proposes guidelines that condition the application in any region of interest in the world.

Graphical abstract

     

Linking perceived land and water resources degradation,scarcity and livelihood conflicts in southwestern Tanzania: implications for sustainable rural livelihood

In Africa, the land and water resources quality are key factors for sustainable development. The degradation of the quality of these resources leads to scarcities and conflicts, which together threaten the sustainability of rural livelihoods. This work investigated and analysed the livelihoods conflicts over the land and water resources and their scarcities, policies that contributed to the land and water scarcities and the livelihood conflicts and linkage of the conflicts to the resources scarcities and degradation. Implications of degradation of the resources, development policies and livelihoods conflicts on sustainable development are discussed. Literature study, visits and discussions, participatory assessments, observations and questionnaire survey were used tools to collect data. Interviews of the 266 households revealed that, those experiencing the land and water scarcities and conflicts over these resources are significantly (p < 0.001) higher than those not experiencing the scarcities and conflicts. Crop-livestock competition, over the land and water resources causes prominent conflicts. A significant, (p < 0.05) associations of livelihoods conflicts to water shortage and period of water shortage for crop and livestock production were found. Improved accessibility to soil and water management technologies, wildlife–livestock co-existence, recognition of needs and land rights for pastoralists are recommended to minimize scarcities and herders versus farmers’ conflicts.     

Household-specific variables and forest dependency in an Indian hotspot of biodiversity: challenges for sustainable livelihoods

Deforestation studies have attracted considerable attention over the past two decades. Analyses of local deforestation examine the significance of numerous explanatory variables for the extraction of forest products. This study distinguishes among the explanatory variables as household-specific and site-specific, and argues for in-depth analysis of household-specific variables. It examines the role of household size, income, and education on firewood extraction and beedi-making in the Western Ghats of India, a hotspot of biodiversity. The study documents the incidence of these livelihoods, investigates the interaction among the three variables, and uses logistic regression models to determine the exact probability for the livelihoods. Two novel features of the study include analysis of wood and non-wood extraction through a single dataset and determination of model by the data. The results show high dependency of households on forest-based livelihoods, situations when the probability of livelihoods changes substantially, and non-parallel trends for household dependency. The study suggests the role of household-specific variables as the agents of motivation and persistence for forest-based livelihoods and presents a hypothesis about the critical size of household in forest dependency. The study recommends four measures—harvest of ecosystem services, rise in income, migration and mobility, and environmental education—to promote sustainable livelihoods.     

Detecting spatiotemporal change of land use and landscape pattern in a coastal gulf region,southeast of China

Geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing (RS), gradient analysis, and landscape pattern metrics were coupled to quantitatively characterize the spatiotemporal change of land use and landscape pattern over the period 1988–2007 in a coastal gulf region, southeast China. The results obtained show an increase in cropland, buildup land, and aquiculture area and decrease in orchard, woodland, and beach area during 1988–2007. Landscape fragmented processes were strengthened and landscape pattern structure became more complicated in the last two decades in Luoyuan gulf region. The dynamics intensity of landscape pattern is stronger during 2002–2007 than that during 1988–2002. Spatial difference of urban–rural landscape pattern can be detected distinctively in two transects in terms of landscape metrics. Urbanization processes and the policy developed to transfer seawater into buildup land are two driving forces leading to the spatiotemporal change of landscape pattern in Luoyuan gulf region in the last two decades.