We predict fine-scale species richness patterns at large spatial extents by linking a systematic sample of vascular plants with a multitude of independent environmental descriptors. Switzerland, covering 41,244 km² in central Europe. Vascular plant species data were collected along transects of…
Land management policies for coastal areas are confronted with increased pressures of land development and urbanisation. Across the northern Mediterranean countries, governments have adopted policies and implemented incentive and regulatory instruments to manage this phenomenon. For transition…
This article analyses the mechanism behind the changes in agricultural land use arising from climate variables, agricultural policies and socio-economic pressures. The study presented here has undertaken an integrated methodology in the estimation of future land use change in Europe. The…
Vegetation changes following agricultural land abandonment at high elevation --- which is frequent in Europe --- could have a major impact on carbon (C) sequestration. However, most information on the effects of vegetation changes on ecosystem C stocks originates from low-elevation studies on…
Birds of agricultural systems are one of the most threatened groups of birds in Europe mainly due to their sharp population decline in recent decades. Habitat intensification resulting from more productive agricultural practices has been proposed as a major cause for these declines. However,…
The distribution of land rights is a very important economic and political issue, and itplayed a central role in the transition processes in Europe and Asia. This paperanalyzes the impact of the distribution of land on household welfare by usingsubjective well-being (SWB) data from a rural…
Grasslands are an important land use in Europe with essential functions for feed and ecosystem service supply. Impact assessment modelling of European agriculture and the environment needs to consider grasslands and requires spatially explicit information on grassland distribution and…
The analysis of the dependence of landscape patterns on environment was carried out in order to investigate the landscape structure evolution of Spain. The underlying concept was that the dependence between landscape spatial structure and environmental factors could be gradually decreasing over…
The process of agricultural abandonment has been taking place for the last decades all around Europe. This process has special effect on mountain livestock farming, as it is the case of that of Catalan Pyrenees, which is characterised by an extensive management of the herd between the alpine…
This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case…
This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case…
Aproximadamente 1,6 mil millones de personas –más del 25 por ciento de la población mundial – dependen de los recursos forestales para la consecución de los medios de vida y la mayor parte de ellos (1,2 mil millones) utiliza los árboles en las explotaciones agrícolas para generar alimentos y…