Landscape Ecology

Domesticated animals spread from their ancestral heartland in northern Africa and southwestern Asia into eastern and southern Africa after 4000 BP. Three theories account for the relatively slow spread of domesticated animals into the southern latitudes between 4000 and 3000 BP. The first theory posits that arid climates hindered the dispersal of domesticated animals beyond the Lake Turkana basin until pluvial conditions set in after 3000 BP. The second theory argues that epizootic diseases were the inhibiting factors. Finally, indigenous cultural reticence to alter their primary modes of subsistence in favor of animal husbandry accords with the archaeological data from sites that date to this period. A single normative paradigm explaining the shift from a primarily foraging subsistence economy to one that relied heavily on domesticates is unlikely. This review of the current archaeological and paleoenvironmental state of knowledge finds the “static frontier” likely resulted from a combination of all of these factors.

Allergenic pollens produced by some tree species in urban parks, a part of the urban flora, cause pollinosis, allergic rhinitis, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and asthma. The allergenic pollen levels of four urban parks in Aydin (Turkey) were determined using the Index of Urban Green Zones Allergenicity (IUGZA). The potential allergenicity value (PAV) of each species and the crown volume of each individual belonging to the species were used in the index calculation. According to their PAV values, tree species were classified as nil (0), low (1–6), moderate (8–12), high (16–24), and very high (27–36) allergenicity. The Shannon Diversity Index (SHDI) was used to calculate the parks’ biodiversity levels. Canonical correspondence analysis, one of the ordination methods, was used to identify the species distribution among the four parks and reveal the relationship between the SHDI, number of species, tree density, and IUGZA. The ratio of allergenic tree species in the four parks examined varied between 97.90 and 100%. The PAV of 9 tree species, including the genus Cupressus in the Cupressaceae family, was determined as very high, while the PAV of 20 tress species, including the genus Prunus, was revealed to be low. While the park with the lowest IUGZA value (0.17) was Aytepe Recreation Area, the park with the highest IUGZA value (0.52) was Pinarbasi Recreation Area. The lowest Shannon Diversity Index (SHDI) value (0.70) was detected in Aytepe Recreation Area, whereas the highest value (2.90) was determined in Nevzat Bicer Park. There was no correlation between the IUGZA value and species count, tree density, and SHDI variables. Ismet Sezgin Park and Pinarbasi Recreation Area pose a risk to human health at any time of the year. The results, which focused on allergenic flora, should be used to design new parks and revitalize existing ones.

Gli spazi residuali generati dai processi di modificazione della città sono una potenziale risorsa e la loro rigenerazione può innescare significativi processi di trasformazione urbana.
L’autore propone la riconfigurazione di questi spazi attraverso l’uso della vegetazione. L’ipotesi nasce per soddisfare la crescente necessità dei cittadini di avere dei luoghi distanti dalla frenesia della metropoli e per rispondere a una rinnovata attenzione per l’ecologia. Al tempo stesso, l’idea incontra l’esigenza di incrementare parchi, giardini e spazi per la natura in contrappunto alla densità del costruito.
La lettura di alcuni casi studio individua possibili strategie di trasformazione che mettono in evidenza il valore e le potenzialità di questi spazi, così come la loro importanza nel riattivare relazioni spaziali e sociali.
Infine, uno sguardo sui territori del litorale medio adriatico segna l’inizio di un nuovo studio sugli spazi residuali nella città adriatica.

D. Kienast, Progetto paesaggistico per Kronsberg
C. Dalnoky, M. Desvigne, Progetto paesaggistico per la fabbrica Thompson
R. Cecchi, V. Lima, P. Nicolin, P. Traversi, Nove parchi
P. Latz + Partners, Parco Dora
M. Desvigne,  La “Confluence”
P. Mathieux, J. Vergely,  Promenade Plantée
I. Kowarik e A. Langer, Gruppe Odious,  Schöneberger Südgelände Park
Community Gardens a ManhattanLois Weinberger, Ruderals

Today’s conversations about vertical farming deal almost exclusively with food production. After all the key advantages
of vertical farming are to grow healthy, pesticide-free crops all year round at very high and very predictable rates of
yield. However, the authors of this report believe that this is only the beginning. Vertical farming can also be used for
waste water management and recycling, innovative local food distribution and business models, air quality measures,
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, education, as well as playing a potential role in novel health, nutritional, and
pharmaceutical applications.
Before we can begin expanding the conversation about vertical farming, we need to establish a common language
that includes global industry events and definitions that can be applied to vertical farming and controlled environment
agriculture (CEA). That is the first purpose. From there, the authors intend to share the state of the industry based
upon the most current information available to date and expand the conversation into new opportunities and areas of
possibility for vertical farming globally.
Based on survey results from the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) members, the definition of vertical farming is the
practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and/or integrated into buildings. The
modern idea of vertical farming uses CEA technology. CEA facilities use environmental control (humidity, temperature,
gases, etc.), fertigation1, and potentially artificial control of light (as a supplement in the case of a rooftop greenhouse,
or as a unique light source in pure indoor farming conditions).
In the current state of the industry employing a qualified workforce is one of the main challenges in the private
sector. Vertical farming CEA facilities use a diverse team of experts from different backgrounds that include growers,
horticulturalist, mechanical, biological and electrical engineers, architects, data scientists, food safety experts, etc.
This report looks at CEA education programs and degrees in schools, universities and private companies worldwide.
It posits the next steps needed to develop the next generation of vertical farmers.
As the industry continues to educate and search for qualified vertical farmers, cities will have to cope with urban
regulations to foster industry development. We analyzed architecture and urban regulations, and shed light on how
Singapore, New York City and Paris are adapting to urban regulations as well as various programs that support vertical
farming and their respective city sustainability objectives.
We point out how cities and various programs can provide funding or support for vertical farming companies.
However, for any enterprise to enter the vertical farming industry, it is crucial to have a sound business proposition
and understand how to survive and scale in local markets. We address and analyze finance and business models and
provide a roadmap for entrepreneurs.
Vertical farming technologies are not limited to food production. An important and generally under-reported production
method for medicinal products is vertical farming. Plant-made pharmaceuticals may create the opportunity to produce
biologically active molecules at a low-manufacturing cost. We outline what are plant-made pharmaceutical products
and production advantages used for recombinant protein pharmaceutical production. We were careful to include data
on the use of medicinal plants in various regions of the world. With medicinal plants used widely in Asia, we chose
to highlight current business opportunities for vertical farming beyond food. We also mention market opportunities
and novel applications in the biopharming space, that is, using plants to manufacture novel biological agents, which
has been difficult to imagine before the rise of new CEA and low cost genetic engineering technologies. However, this
report will not address medicinal marijuana developments despite market growth in operational facilities that use
CEA technologies.
One main purpose of the white paper is to evaluate global developments and document the regional specificities of
the vertical farming industry, as driven by bottom-up (private sector-led) and/or top-down (government-led) initiatives
in each region. This report identifies in specific regions how the building up of vertical farming can also promote
adjacent industries (e.g., semiconductor and LED lighting industry in Taiwan). As the industry grows within each country there will be champions, survivors and failed enterprises.
Media coverage in the West and Asia reports on the scale, size, methods, models and production capabilities of
vertical farms, and provides insight on the amount of operational units and trends. Although actionable data to
support decision makers is limited, we assess and provide an analysis of current operational facilities and provide
forecasts of overall industry trends. In the face of insufficient data and a lack of proven models, we nevertheless hope
throughout the course of this report to offer the reader a complete view based on the information currently available.
This study has its caveats. As already indicated above, in the industry there is no aggregated data source, and this
is the role we are attempting to fulfill. Throughout the course of the report we compiled available data from public
sources and government documents, as well as from more than 30 interviews we conducted to demonstrate and
forecast the development of the industry. This is one of the first attempts to describe the global vertical farming
industry; moving forward we will be in a position to go deeper and add material to the study. In short, our findings
indicate that before we envision vertical farms as tools for our cities, first we need to remove remaining administrative
constraints, improve the training of the workforce, encourage competition, enhance business models and attract
investors.

Land-use/land-cover change is the most important factor in causing biodiversity loss. The Mediterranean region has been affected by antropic disturbance for thousands of years, and is, nowadays, one of the most significantly altered hotspots in the world. However, in the last years a significant increase in forest cover has been measured. These new patterns are independent from planned conservation strategies and appear to have a substantial impact on landscapes and biodiversity. We used three land-use/land-cover maps (from 1960 to 2000) covering the Italian peninsula to analyze the pattern of land-use/land-cover change. We measured an increase in forests, especially in mountains, an increase in artificial areas, especially in coastal zones, and a decrease in pastures. Intensively cultivated areas showed a limited decrease while extensively cultivated ones showed a marked decrease. In the same period mammal and bird species followed a similar pattern, with forest birds, ungulates and carnivores increasing, and typically Mediterranean species decreasing. We suggest that our results may provide important information, which could be useful for conservation planning in the entire Mediterranean hotspot. We suggest that an increasing conservation effort should be made to protect the Mediterranean-type forests and scrublands, as well as traditional agricultural practices. Moreover, future conservation efforts should consider the broad socio-political and ecological processes that are most likely to occur across the whole hotspot, especially along coastal areas, and the network of protected areas should be functionally integrated in a conservation strategy that includes the human-dominated landscape.

The two smallest islands of the Azores have received at the same year the title of Biosphere Reserve, from the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme. The territorial object of this article is precisely one of those islands, Graciosa Island. On the one hand this was a way to reward its good interaction between Man and Nature until that year. But afterwards how was that relationship carried out? Are measures being taken in order to elevate the environmental quality? Does a better environment compromise the island’s economic growth and affect its inhabitants’ standard of living? This dissertation will try to answer these questions. Furthermore a detailed analysis will be done concerning two types of intervention at the landscape in Graciosa island, under a perspective in which it is intended to juggle the biophysical environment with some of the social and economical aspects of Graciosa Island.

Human activities have been and are continuing to change the environment on local and global
scales. Many of these alterations are  leading to dramatic changes  in the  biotic structure and
composition  of  ecological  communities(Hooper  et  al,  2005). The  biodiversity-productivity
relationship is foundational to understanding the global extinction crisis and its impacts on the
functioning of natural ecosystems(Liang et al, 2016a).
In African countries where demographic and socio-economic constraints  mean that agrarian
systems  lack  inputs  (Diallo  et  al,  2008).  Thus,  this  global  crisis  mainly  affects  arable
land(Louppe & Ouattara, 1997a). To counter this and to promote sustainable agriculture, crop
residues  represent  an  important  source  of  nutrients  for  cropping  systems(Samba,  2001).
Moreover, the introduction of trees with agronomic interests represents another alternative in
the  fertilization  of  soils  without  the  use  of  chemical  fertilizers.  In  Africa,  the  tree  plays  an
important role in traditional land-use systems. The mechanical effect of its roots fixed the soil
and the decomposition of its litter often constitutes the main source of nutrients for the growth
of  plants(Switzer  &  Nelson,  1972)  and  allows  to  maintain  the  biological  life  in  the  soil.
Nutrients are essential in the vegetative cycle or in the reproduction of plants(Cecillon et al,
2009). By incorporating soil litter and the formation of stable aggregates, a mixture of organic
matter and clay particles, soil organisms contribute to the creation of the lumpy soil structure.
This  landfill  burial  activity  results  in  the  creation  of  humus,  the  subsequent  degradation  of
which contributes to the release of minerals directly assimilable to plants. The fertility of these
soils depends  mainly on the rate of  decomposition of the plant litter  (Samba, 2001) and the
recirculation of its components under the action of these organisms. The reintroduction of the
tree into these production systems is therefore one of the fundamental conditions for restoring
the fertility of tropical soils. It is on the basis of this strategy that we must create sustainable
agriculture at the level of Moroccan lands.

The information contained in the guide is a synthesis of four years research into the conservation and restoration of koala populations in fragmented landscapes of eastern Australia. The guidelines also capture a decade of practical research and planning experience by the Australian Koala Foundation in mapping koala habitat and developing koala conservation and management plans for local government areas in New South Wales. They draw on the collective knowledge of researchers who wanted to see their results put ...

The Niagara Falls speak to us with great clarity about the evolution of the relationship between man and nature in Western culture. Here a shift can be recognized both in aesthetic and physical terms – from feelings of repulsion and anxiety to ones of enchantment and delight, from the fear of the overwhelming power of the falling waters to the illusion of man’s total control of them. Paradoxically, the Niagara region, a key node of the Great Lakes ecological and economic system, is a region that did not lack planning: the construction of the western end of the Erie Canal, the system of parks designed by Olmsted and Vaux in both Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and the large infrastructures Robert Moses and his Power Authority built in Niagara County, not to mention all of the utopian urban projects that were developed for Grand Island and Niagara Falls. Yet today Niagara is one of the poorest and most socially devastated counties in the state of New York. Its once booming industry has nearly completely evaporated, hiding a territory riddled with toxic landfills and decrepit neighbourhoods behind the touristy curtain of the falls. So what went wrong? How did the grandeur of the past get lost?

Modelling and forecasting of the distribution and abundance of organisms using environmental variables is a major focus of applied ecological research. High-resolution airborne laser scanning is a recently developed remote-sensing method that provides data that can be used as surrogates for the vertical structure of the vegetation. These data can be used for modelling the occurrence and abundance of species or species assemblages. Until now, few studies evaluated the potential of these data for use in such models, or compared the suitability of data obtained by airborne systems with data gained by alternative methods. To fill part of this gap, we used forest passerine bird species to evaluate airborne laser scanning data for statistical modelling of potential bird abundances and composition of assemblages. Birds were counted in a mixed montane forest, on 223 1-ha plots along four transects. In the same period, these areas were scanned using Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) to characterise canopy structure. Additionally, we used visual interpretations of aerial photographs and field measurements on the same plots to derive habitat variables for comparison. We found clear correlations between the LiDAR variables and the other two variable sets using canonical correlation analysis. With a few exceptions, predictive power of the LiDAR data set for modelling abundances of single species, with up to 40% explained variance, was superior to that of the other two data sets. Models agreed with existing ecological knowledge for these species. For modelling of species composition with redundancy analysis, LiDAR was also superior to the other two data sets with more than 20% unique contribution to the explained variance. Our results clearly showed that LiDAR provides valuable data for describing and modelling single species as well as assemblages of forest organisms.Die Modellierung und Vorhersage der Verbreitung und Abundanz von Organismen ist ein Schwerpunkt in der angewandten Ökologie. Neue entwickelte Anwendungen von Lasern aus Flugzeugen liefern Daten, die sich zur Charakterisierung der Vegetation eignen. Mit diesen Daten lassen sich Vorkommen und Häufigkeit von Arten in Wäldern modellieren. Bis heute haben aber nur wenige Arbeiten das Potential solcher Daten für den Gebrauch in Habitatmodellen geprüft oder die Eignung der Daten mit Parametern aus anderen Quellen verglichen. Um diese Lücke zumindest teilweise zu schließen, haben wir die Abundanz von Sperlingsvögeln und sowie die Artenzusammensetzungen verwendet, um die Eignung von solchen durch Fernerkundung gewonnene Charakterisierung der Vegetationsstruktur für statistische Modellierung zu evaluieren. In einem Bergmischwald wurden auf 223 Ein-Hektar Quadranten entlang von vier Transekten Vögel standardisiert erfasst. Parallel dazu wurde die Fläche mit Hilfe von Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) aus der Luft erfasst. Darüber hinaus wurden Luftbilder interpretiert und auch Strukturvariablen im Gelände erhoben. Kanonische Korrelationsanalysen Analysen zeigten eine klare Korrelation der drei verschiedenen Datensätze. Mit wenigen Ausnahmen zeigten die aus LiDAR abgeleiteten Umweltdaten die beste Vorhersagekraft bei der Modellierung der Abundanz einzelner Arten und erreichten eine Varianzerklärung von 40%. Darüber hinaus standen die Ergebnisse auch im Einklang mit dem bestehenden Wissen zur Ökologie der Vogelarten. Auch bei Modellierung der Artenzusammensetzung mit Hilfe einer Redundanzanalyse zeigten die aus LiDAR abgeleiteten Variablen mit 20% unabhängiger erklärter Varianz den größten unabhängigen Erklärungsbeitrag. Unsere Ergebnisse unterstreichen das Potential von LiDAR-Daten für die Modellierung von Arten und auch Artengemeinschaften in Wäldern.

Sheshnev A. S., Kovalev M. V. Sanitary Condition of the Gully System and the Problem of the Organization of Runoff From the city Territory of Saratov in the Late XIX Century. Izv. Saratov Univ. (N. S.), Ser. Earth Sciences, 2018, vol. 18, iss. 3, рр. 214–218. (in Russian).

At the end of the 19th century the urban sanitary commission was created for the solution of problems of improvement in the territory of Saratov. In 1890 this commission made the inspection of Glebuchev ravine as zones of sanitary and ecological trouble. By results of researches health officers prepared the analysis of a condition of the territory and the recommendation on the improvement of Saratov. The expressed opinions differed significantly, and reflected the different views on the mechanism of improvement of the sanitary and hygienic situation. This article is based on archival documents, which was used for the first time.

The study examined the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of seven different tree species growing around electricity generating houses within the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Main campus, Samaru. Four parameters, leaf relative water content (RWC), ascorbic acid content (AA), total chlorophyll (TCH) and pH of leaf extract were used to compute the APTI of the tree species. Results indicate the order of tolerance showing Azadirachta indica (9.8) < Carica papaya (11.5) < Albizia lebbeck (14.9) < Senna siamea (17.0) <Mangifera indica (17.8) <Khaya senegalensis (19.5) < Termonalia collii (20.9). Terminalia collii, the most tolerant could act as a possible sink for air pollutants around pollution emitting sources. On the other hand, A. indica, the most sensitive of the studied species could serve as a possible indicator of air pollution.

Nuestro país ocupa el cuarto lugar en Latinoamérica por la extensión del territorio nacional protegido toda vez que Costa Rica tiene el 40%, Guatemala 35%, Chile 20% y México 12%. Por lo que resulta importante, practicar actividades económicas en las Áreas Naturales Protegidas (ANPs) que tiendan a la permanencia de los recursos naturales que ostenta México. La posición físico-geográfica de nuestro país favorece la existencia de elementos que confluyen en la conformación de una gran riqueza de paisajes terrestres y marinos.

The vegetation of the Wet Tropics bioregion of Far North Queensland is a complex system whose components (mainly tropical rainforests and fire-prone forests and woodlands) have mostly been studied independently from each other. We suggest that many characteristics of the vegetation are consistent with those of a complex, dynamic, spatially heterogeneous system which exhibits alternative stable states. We propose these states are driven and maintained by the interaction of vegetation-specific positive feedback loops with the regions’ environmental parameters (such as topography, steep humidity gradients and seasonality) and result in the rainforest/fire-prone vegetation mosaic that characterises the area. Given the regions’ magnitude, biodiversity and complexity, we propose the Wet Tropics as an important new example and a good testing ground for alternative stable state and resilience theories in large heterogeneous natural systems. At the same time, thinking in terms of alternative stable states and resilience creates a new context for understanding the regions’ biological dynamics.

La diversidad alfa y beta de la avifauna diurna estudiada en la Zona de Amortiguamiento del Área Natural Protegida Colima, Cuscatlán; en donde las principales actividades que se llevan a cabo son en su mayoría agrícolas y ganaderas realzan la importancia del estado de la biodiversidad con respecto al paisaje. Es así como se llevó a cabo en 12 muestreos durante septiembre a diciembre 2013, el método de conteo por puntos extensivos, delimitados en tres sectores de la zona, con el objeto de tomar en cuenta los diversos ecosistemas presentes Dentro de los resultados más relevantes cabe destacar que se obtuvo un 13% de la avifauna registrada a nivel nacional. Además, se evidenció que entre los sectores A-B se alcanzó un 84% de las especies registradas que comparten la Zona de Amortiguamiento, asimismo, se demostró que el gremio trófico insectívoro fue el hábito predominante para la zona en estudio y que el 35% de las especies típicas de bosque identificadas en la Zona de Amortiguamiento del Área Natural Protegida Colima representaron la conectividad de los sectores y la importancia de un adecuado manejo y planificación agroforestal para la conservación de la biodiversidad en territorios privados, ya que estos albergan un porcentaje significativo para este tipo de especies.

Summary
The alpha and beta diversity of diurnal birds studied in the buffer zone of the Natural Protected Area Colima, Cuscatlan; where the main activities carried out are mostly agricultural and livestock, highlighting the importance of biodiversity status with respect to the landscape. This study was conducted in 12 samplings during September to December 2013, the method of counting by extensive points, delimited in three sectors of the area, in order to take into account, the different ecosystems presented. Along the most relevant results: 13% of the national registered avifauna was obtained. The study also showed that among the sectors AB, 84% of the recorded species share the buffer zone. The trophic guild insectivorous was the predominant habit for the study area, and 35% of the typical forest species identified in the buffer zone represent the connectivity in the sectors and the importance of proper management and planning agroforestry for biodiversity conservation on private lands, as these harbor a significant percentage for this type of species.

The article presents a problem of landscape planning of protected areas on the example of Ślężański
Landscape Park within Sobotka commune resulting from the socio - economic changes and spatial policy of the
municipal authority. Discussion of creating the space is particularly important in relation to areas with large
natural beauty (part of the municipality is located within Ślężański Landscape Park and buffer zone), where there
are strong processes of urbanization. The result of the study is to determine the level of landscape change and
synanthropisation. Comparing the results of the study with conditions and directions of spatial management
helped to identify the areas where the threat of degradation of landscape values is greatest. It is the effect of bad
planning decisions, resulting from too little awareness of the local community and local authorities of the effects
that cause changing spatial structure in a historical landscape