Assessment of Soil Erodibility Indices for Conservation Reserve Program Lands in Southwestern Kansas Using Satellite Imagery and GIS Techniques

The soil erodibility index (EI) of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, which was the major criterion for CRP enrollment, was assessed for six counties in southwestern Kansas using USGS seamless digital elevation model data and Geographical Informational System techniques. The proportion of land areas with EI values of 8 or lower was less than 1% of the entire study area and most of the land areas (72.5%) were concentrated on EI values between 8 and 24. Although land acreage with EI values of 24 or higher decreased dramatically, the proportion of CRP lands to the other land-use types did not change much from low to high EI levels. The soil EI and physical soil characteristics of the CRP lands were compared to those of other land-use types. In general, the mean EI values of the land-use types were strongly correlated with physical soil properties, including organic matter content, clay content, available water capacity, permeability, and texture. CRP lands were compared in detail with cropland in terms of their soil characteristics to infer the pivotal cause of the land transformation. Although there was no significant statistical difference in EI between cropland and CRP soils, soil texture, soil family, and permeability were statistically different between the two. Statistical analyses of these three variables showed that CRP soils had coarser texture and higher permeability on average than cropland soils, indicating that CRP lands in the study area are drier than cropland soils. Therefore, soil moisture characteristics, not necessarily soil erosion potential, might have been the key factor for CRP enrollment in the study area.     

The role of the rural settlements in the Brazilian savanna deforesting process

Although the drivers of deforestation in Brazil are relatively well known, there is still limited understanding of the role of family farm-based rural settlements in land cover changes, particularly in the Brazilian savanna. This research aims to identify land use patterns within rural settlements and examine how they are influenced by regional dynamics. The study is based on GIS techniques and satellite image classification (Landsat 5-TM and RapidEye imagery), combined with geo-referenced fieldwork data in three different regions of the State of Goiás. The results reveal that the deforestation arrangement within the studied rural settlements is very similar to the deforestation found in the surrounding regions. As a positive outcome, the rural settlements have a higher share of remnant vegetation when compared to the surrounding areas, but this is still concentrated within legal reserves. We conclude that the changing patterns of rural settlement land cover are highly influenced by regional dynamics.     

Connecting the Dots: Public Engagement with Environmental Data

Air pollution and other environmental hazards are often imperceptible and need to be made publicly visible. The paper argues for the importance of visualizations in drawing public attention to imperceptible hazards and in providing the public with access to empirical data describing the risks. It also argues for critical inquiry into hazards’ selective visibility as it is produced by visualizations. The impact of visualizations and their selective visibility are considered through the example of a public art project called Particle Falls installed in 2014 in Pittsburgh, a city with a long history of both ignoring air pollution and working to ameliorate this problem. I examine the impact and selective visibility of Particle Falls by considering the underlying production of data, as well as context and support systems for this visualization, and by comparing it with other visualizations of local air quality.     

Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains,USA

Despite long-standing knowledge of the benefits of riparian buffers for mitigating nonpoint source pollution, many streams are unprotected by buffers. Even landowners who understand ecological values of buffers mow riparian vegetation to the streambank. Do trends in rural riparian conditions reflect the development of riparian forest science? What motivates residential riparian management actions? Using high-resolution orthoimagery, we quantified riparian conditions and trends between 1998 and 2015 in the rural upper Little Tennessee River basin in Macon County, North Carolina and explored how landowners view riparian zone management and riparian restoration programs. Buffer composition in 2015 was as follows: no buffer (32.5%), narrow (19.3%), forested (26.7%), shrub (7.2%), and intermediate (7.0%). Relative to 1998, the greatest decrease occurred in the no buffer class (−17.7%, 46 km) and the largest increases occurred in the shrub (+72.5%, 20 km) and narrow (12.6%, 14 km) classes. Forested buffer marginally increased. Semi-structured interview data suggest that landowners prioritize recreational and scenic aspects of riparian buffers over ecological functions such as filtration and bank stabilization. Riparian restoration programs might be made more enticing to non-adopters if outreach language appealed to landowner priorities, design elements demonstrated intentional management, and program managers highlighted areas where ecological goals and landowner values align.     

Combined Effects of Levels of Protection and Environmental Variables at Different Spatial Resolutions on Fish Assemblages in a Marine Protected Area

Abstract: The links between species–environment relations and species’ responses to protection are unclear, but the objectives of marine protected areas (MPAs) are most likely to be achieved when those relations are known and inform MPA design. The components of a species’ habitat vary with the spatial resolution of the area considered. We characterized areas at two resolutions: 250 m² (transect) and approximately 30,000 m² (seascape). We considered three categories of environmental variables: substrate type, bottom complexity, and depth. We sought to determine at which resolution habitat characteristics were a better predictor of abundance and species composition of fishes and whether the relations with environmental variables at either resolution affected species’ responses to protection. Habitat features accounted for a larger proportion of spatial variation in species composition and abundances than differences in protection status. This spatial variation was explained best by habitat characteristics at the seascape level than at the transect level. Species’ responses to protected areas were specific to particular seascape characteristics, primarily depth, and bottom complexity. Our method may be useful for prioritizing marine areas for protection, designing MPAs, and monitoring their effectiveness. It identified areas that provided natural shelter, areas acting as buffer zones, and areas where fish species were most responsive to protection. The identification of such areas is necessary for cost‐effective establishment and monitoring of MPAs.     

Invasive Species Research to Meet the Needs of Resource Management and Planning

Abstract: As zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) continue to spread among inland lakes of the United States and Canada, there is growing interest from professionals, citizens, and other stakeholders to know which lakes are likely to be colonized by zebra mussels. Thus, we developed a classification of lake suitability for zebra mussels on the basis of measured or estimated concentrations of dissolved calcium in lake water and applied the classification to >11,500 lakes in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The majority of lakes (58%) were classified as unsuitable (<10 mg/L Ca) for survival and reproduction of zebra mussels, 27% were identified as suitable (≥21 mg/L Ca), and 15% were classified as borderline suitable (≥10 and <21 mg/L Ca). Of the 77 inland lakes with confirmed zebra mussel records for which data on dissolved calcium were available, our method classified 74 as suitable and 3 as borderline suitable. To communicate this lake‐specific suitability information and to help prioritize regional efforts to monitor and prevent the expansion of zebra mussels and other invasive species, we developed a web‐based interface (available from http://www.aissmartprevention.wisc.edu/ ). Although we are still uncertain of how access to suitability information ultimately affects decision making, we believe this is a useful case study of building communication channels among researchers, practitioners, and the public.     

基于SD-CA-GIS的环境累积效应时空分析模型及应用

环境累积效应分析强调环境变化的时空放大作用,突出环境要素之间的时空交互作用,从而对环境分析方法的能力提出了挑战.因此,本文在对传统环境分析方法归纳、分析和总结的基础上,以地理信息系统(GIS)为基础平台,集成系统动力学(SD)和元胞自动机(CA)的优点,建立了能够分析时间累积、空间累积效应的SD-CA-GIS模型.以山西潞安矿区作为研究区域,在分析矿区社会、经济、工程和环境等因子之间时空交互作用的基础上,构建了SD-CA-GlS模型.考虑到矿区土地利用变化的特殊性,从影响矿区土地利用变化的驱动因子出发,预测和模拟了矿区2006-2030年土地利用变化的累积状况.结果发现,由于煤炭资源开采等人类干扰活动的影响,研究区在研究时段内,工矿用地、居民用地和交通用地呈现累积性增加,其它土地利用类型累积性减少.同时,由于不同阶段人类活动干扰的种类和强度变化,使得不同土地利用类型的空间扩展变化存在一定的差异.上述研究表明,该模型能够同时考虑时间累积效应和空间累积效应的动态变化,能为环境累积效应的分析和评价提供有效的帮助.     

基于GIS的云南省生态系统评价模型关键技术研究

以建立云南省生态系统评价计算机软件系统为背景,通过指标体系模型、数据组织模型和功能模块数据流模型等关键技术的分析,并基于GIS理论设计了生态系统评价软件模型的总体框架,为计算机软件系统的编程实现提供了方法和依据。     

河流水环境可视化仿真系统的开发

为了对河流进行有效管理,必须建立完善的河流水环境管理系统。计算机技术已广泛用于水环境管理。开发河流水环境可视化仿真系统是推进河流水环境管理科学化的主要工作之一。本文基于GIS平台,结合Vega虚拟现实仿真工具开发河流水环境可视化系统,不仅能够将各监测站点地理信息、河流水质信息等在GIS上展示,还实现了河流虚拟现实漫游的功能,为提升河流水环境管理水平提供基本的软件保障。     

滁州市震害预测项目中地图数据处理方法研究

本文以滁州市震害预测项目为例,介绍了将DWG格式数据转换成SHAPE格式数据的方法和整个数据处理流程。总结了在数据处理过程中摸索出的数据错误检查和修改方法。