Europe is characterized not only by large geomorphological variability but also by a long history of land use. This resulted in a highly variegated landscape. Based on the IGBP‐transect initiative, a north south transect was established across Europe ranging from north Sweden to central Italy in order to study effects of global change. Mainly process oriented studies were established on plots along the transect, and these were used to establish functional relationships as basis for landscape integration.

The fundamental land use/land cover change (LUCC) of Naoli River (NLR) Basin in Sanjiang Plain since 1954 is characterized with a very significant shrink of wetland area, primarily due to agricultural reclamation, especially farm construction. In this paper, LUCC data of six periods were generated to explore the process of LUCC in NLR; the driving factors were discovered and the regression analysis of these driving factors was realized using the Dyna-CLUE model; and the land use pattern of 2020 in NLR Basin was projected under six scenarios.

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is a major indicator of the impact of climate change and human activity, particularly in the Sahel, where the land cover has changed greatly over the past 50 years. Aerial and satellite sensors have been taking images of the Earth's surface for several decades. These data have been widely used to monitor LUCC, but many questions remain concerning what type of pre-processing should be carried out on image resolutions and which methods are most appropriate for successfully mapping patterns and dynamics in both croplands and natural vegetation.

Human activities in many parts of the world have greatly changed the natural land cover. This study has been conducted on Pichavaram forest, south east coast of India, famous for its unique mangrove bio-diversity. The main objectives of this study were focused on monitoring land cover changes particularly for the mangrove forest in the Pichavaram area using multi-temporal Landsat images captured in the 1991, 2000, and 2009.

Due to the progressive forest expansion in European mountain areas triggered by agricultural abandonment, semi-natural meadows and pastures of great ecological and aesthetic value are disappearing. The aim of this study is to predict and analyse the future evolution of land use and land cover (LULC) in the Stubai Valley, Central Alps. We propose a computational Population Dynamics P system (PDP) model that incorporates the main LULC change processes like plant production, grazing, abandonment and reforestation.

An assessment of sensitivity to land degradation has been carried out in the Extremadura region, SW Spain, by means of a modelling approach developed by the European Commission funded MEDALUS project (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use) which identifies such areas on the basis of an index (Environmentally Sensitive Area index, ESA index) that incorporates data on environmental quality (climate, vegetation, soil) as well as anthropogenic factors (management).

Airborne lidar provides accurate height information of objects on the earth and has been recognized as a reliable and accurate surveying tool in many applications. In particular, lidar data offer vital and significant features for urban land-cover classification, which is an important task in urban land-use studies. In this article, we present an effective approach in which lidar data fused with its co-registered images (i.e.

Among the world’s continents, Africa has the highest incidence of food insecurity and poverty and the highest rates of population growth. Yet Africa also has the most arable land, the lowest crop yields, and by far the most plentiful land resources relative to energy demand. It is thus of interest to examine the potential of expanded modern bioenergy production in Africa. Here we consider bioenergy as an enabler for development, and provide an overview of modern bioenergy technologies with a comment on application in an Africa context.

Detailed, up-to-date information on intra-urban land cover is important for urban planning and management. Differentiation between permeable and impermeable land, for instance, provides data for surface run-off estimates and flood prevention, whereas identification of vegetated areas enables studies of urban micro-climates. In place of maps, high-resolution images, such as those from the satellites IKONOS II, Quickbird, Orbview and WorldView II, can be used after processing.

Urban freshwaters provide a range of ecosystem services, including stormwater management, water treatment, biodiversity, and aesthetics. Management of freshwaters should aim to maximise as many of these services as possible, but managers are often focused on individual services. To test for the biodiversity value of stormwater management ponds (SMPs) in Ottawa, Canada, 20 SMPs were surveyed for macroinvertebrates using standardised sampling techniques.

Scientific interpretation of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and water quality is important for sustainable urban planning and watershed environmental protection.

Land use and land cover changes in the Brazilian Amazon have major implications for regional and global carbon (C) cycling. Cattle pasture represents the largest single use (about 70%) of this once-forested land in most of the region. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the RothC and Century models at estimating soil organic C (SOC) changes under forest-to-pasture conditions in the Brazilian Amazon. We used data from 11 site-specific 'forest to pasture' chronosequences with the Century Ecosystem Model (Century 4.0) and the Rothamsted C Model (RothC 26.3).