This paper analyzes increasingly individualized herding behavior after the implementation of a grazing ban policy in northern China based on empirical research in 12 pastoralist villages. The findings reveal that de-collectivization of pastureland has not necessarily led to direct changes in individual land use strategies.

Information about changes in, and causes of, land use/land cover (LULC) is crucial for land use resource planning. We investigated the processes involved in LULC change (LUCC) in the Dongjiang Watershed, in Southern China, over a 15-year period to gain a better understanding of the causes of the main types of LUCC. Using a depth transition matrix and redundancy analysis (RDA), the major types and causes of LUCC for each LULC type over the past 15 years were identified. LUCC exhibited obvious net change, relatively low persistence, and high swap change.

Obtaining information about soil properties under different agricultural uses to plan soil management is very important with a view to sustainability in the different agricultural systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in certain indicators of the physical quality of a dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol) under different agricultural uses. The study was conducted in an agricultural area located in northern Paraná State.

Quantifying the amount of forest and change in the amount of forest are key to ensure that appropriate management practices and policies are in place to maintain the array of ecosystem services provided by forests. There are a range of analytical techniques and data available to estimate these forest parameters, however, not all ‘forest’ is the same and various components of change have been presented. Forest as defined by use and forest as defined by cover are different, although it is common for scientists and policy makers to infer one from the other.

Soil loss is a major concern for land managers due to its influence on biomass production, surface water quality and landscape beauty. In Somalia, the risk of soil loss is accelerated by the removal of vegetation, bad land use practices and negative impacts of urbanization. The political upheavals and consequent insecurity in the country are major limitations for detailed database and research in soil loss.

Atemporal and intertemporal use of public lands, the determination of optimal levels of wilderness designation and habitat preservation, and the appropriate regulation of natural resources have all been "hot button" issues in the American West for quite some time now. In this paper, I propose and describe a research agenda which promises to yield interesting and useful new policy insights into these fractious resource issues.

The effects of land use policy and socioeconomic changes on urban landscape dynamics have been increasingly investigated around the world, but our knowledge of the underlying processes of these effects is still inadequate for sustainably managing urban ecosystems.

A key activity in Phase 1 of REDD+—the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) forestry mitigation mechanism—is the development of policies and measures (PAMs) to define where and how emissions reductions and carbon stock enhancements and conservation will be achieved. This paper provides contextual data and information for the development of PAMs specifically for the buffer zones of protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon, sites where REDD+ has the potential to generate considerable social and ecological co-benefits.

A consequence of the European colonization of Australia has been a significant ioss of biodiversity: one in four mammal species is either extinct or threatened. In contrast, only one species of bird has been lost from the Australian continent and there is less concern for the survival of the Australian avifauna than for mammals. This is despite the fact that nearly one in five bird species is listed as threatened or of “special concern”.

The effect of shallow water table fluctuations on the evaporation and CO₂ fluxes in a peatland is investigated. The fluxes of evaporation and net ecosystem exchange of carbon were measured from mid-spring to the end of summer in 2005 and 2006 and simulated independently with process models. The observed and modelled data were then compared along a gradient of water levels. Any variation along the gradient would imply an influence of the water table on the flux. It became evident that changes in the water table had no effect on the evaporation and CO₂ fluxes of the peatland.

Complex changes in carbon sources and sinks caused by rapid urbanization have been observed with extensive changes in the quantity, structure, and spatial pattern of land use types. Based on the modified Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model and on gray relational analysis, we analyzed the influence of land use changes on carbon sinks and emissions in Guangzhou from 2000 to 2012. The aim was to identify suitable options for built-up land expansion that would allow for minimal carbon losses.