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本研究では，北海道十勝地域において頻繁にロードキルが発生しているアカギツネVulpes vulpes（以下キツネ）を対象に，北海道開発局が収集した国道におけるロードキルデータを用いて，その発生数が道路の交通量や道路周辺の景観構造およびエゾシカ（Cervus nippon yesoensis，以下シカ）の駆除・狩猟から受ける影響を検討した．2000～2009年のキツネの国道におけるロードキルデータを2つの季節に分け，国道を2km毎に区切ったトランセクト内のロードキル発生数を目的変数とした一般化線形モデルによる解析を行った．考慮した影響要因は，トランセクト内の平均交通量，トランセクトの中心から半径1km内に含まれる市街地，草地，農耕地，森林の面積率，河川総延長，景観の多様度指数，シカの平均駆除数，平均狩猟数，シカの平均生息密度指標である．その結果，産仔・育仔期（3月～8月）のキツネのロードキル発生数は局所的な交通量とともに増加したがある一定の交通量を超えると減少し，さらに道路周辺に草地が多くシカの狩猟数が多い場所で多くなった．分散・交尾期（9月～2月）のキツネのロードキル発生数は景観の多様度指数が高く，かつシカの密度指標が低い場所で多かった．本研究により，十勝におけるキツネのロードキル発生数と関係のある要因は季節によって異なることが示され，またキツネと景観の多様度との関係性やキツネによるシカ狩猟残滓利用の可能性，シカがキツネへ与える間接効果の可能性などキツネの生態に関するさまざまな仮説が提示された．We analyzed factors affecting the road-kill frequency of red fox, Vulpes vulpes, including landscape structure around the roads, and harvest of sika deer, Cervus nippon yesoensis, for nuisance control and hunting in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Generalized linear models explaining the road-kill frequency of red fox in each 2 km transect were generated for the birth and pup-rearing period, and for the dispersal and breeding period, using road-kill data for 2000 and 2009 on national roads. Model selection revealed that the road-kill frequency during birth and pup-rearing period increased with increasing proportion of grassland area and the number of deer harvested for hunting within a 1 km radius of the center of the transect. The road-kill frequency during the dispersal and breeding period was associated with landscape diversity index positively, and with deer density index negatively around the transect. These results suggest that important factors affecting red fox road-kill frequency differed between the two periods. We also suggest possible effects on red fox of landscape diversity, utilization of shot deer carcasses, and indirect effects of deer.

International audience; Helicoverpa armigera (H€ubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest of global importance, threatening several key crops, including cotton. This study analysed the influence of landscape composition and agricultural practices on (i) the abundance of H. armigera larvae, and (ii) the proportion of infested plants (infestation) in cotton fields in northern Benin. In 2011 and 2012, the abundance of H. armigera was monitored during the rainy period, with weekly observations of 50 cotton plants in 20 fields selected each year. We selected cotton fields based upon the composition of the surrounding landscape (cotton, tomato and maize fields, and areas of natural vegetation) within 500 metres radius buffers. We also recorded agricultural practices, included sowing date, crop rotation, and frequencies of weeding and of treatment with insecticides. In testing for a relationship between the pest problem and landscape and management, we fitted logistic multiple regression models and compared all the possible models using an information-theoretic approach. Cotton fields surrounded by cotton crops were found to have significantly higher infestation rates. Natural vegetation was positively correlated with the level of infestation. This study highlights the importance of considering both landscape variables and agricultural practices to improve strategies management of H. armigera.

The main purpose of this analysis is to identify places in Europe that can be described as very diverse according to various natural landscape types or landscape regions. In order to obtain these “hotspots,” several geographical divisions of Europe were examined. The analysis was performed for most of Europe at 5 km resolution. First, maps of landscape variety were produced based on each division of Europe taken into account. This step was carried out for each cell by counting the number of different unique natural landscape types or regions that are present in a radius of 50 km around the cell. Several maps of landscape diversity were produced using this method. Each of them was then weighted; the cell values were divided by the number of all unique types or regions in a division. In the final stage, all of the maps were synthesized (averaged) into one map showing landscape diversity for Europe. With this data it was possible to determine Europe’s landscape hotspots and to define the most naturally heterogeneous countries. Among all of the European countries, Slovenia has the highest average landscape diversity; the highest absolute landscape diversity is located in the Norwegian part of southern Scandinavia.

The scientific subjects addressed in the research into badlands since the publication of Bryan and Yair's book (Bryan, R.B. and Yair, A. (Editors), 1982 Badland geomorphology and piping. Geo Books, Norwich, 408 pp.) are briefly analysed. With a steadily increasing number of papers per year, attention to some aspects, such as runoff generation, piping and the role of lithology and soils, varied, whereas the percentage of studies on erosion rates increased steadily over time. Vegetation was not a subject of research in early papers, as most of the papers dealing with vegetation were rather descriptive and published in local or limited-diffusion media, which contrasts with the present situation when about 40% of papers published in international journals about badlands address some aspect of vegetation. However, the growth in the attention paid to vegetation and erosion rates was not linked to any increase in papers dealing with badland reclamation. Badlands are now seen as a group of systems with some common features but diverse dynamics, depending mainly on climatic and lithological drivers. More attention should be paid in the future to investigating the evolution of these landforms over time, mostly through modelling studies, whereas emerging technologies foster detailed analyses that were not possible formerly. Although some badland areas determine on- and off-site environmental issues, others are spots of landscape diversity that merit protection rather than reclamation.

Se analiza el impacto y la evolucion de la estructura del paisaje en un incendio del Prepirineo aragones utilizando 6 imagenes Landsat 5 TM, identificando relaciones entre valores de heterogeneidad espacial y comunidades vegetales. Se extraen los NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), se calcula el indice de Shannon y se cartografia para cada ano. Se definen tres componentes representativos de los valores de diversidad (preincendio, a corto plazo y a medio plazo). Se concluye que a nivel de comunidad vegetal el incendio ha supuesto un incremento de la diversidad interna en algunas comunidades. No obstante, a medio plazo y a escala global el fuego provoca la homogeneizacion del paisaje, tal y como describen otros autores utilizando fuentes de informacion similar.

Research on change in land use and landscape pattern is the foundation for studies exploring natural and cultural landscape of a region. This study used GIS software and utilized topographic maps to examine the changes that occurred in the Oguraike floodplain, during the time points of 1888, 1909, 1961, and 2002. The Oguraike floodplain, which was dominated by the landscape of Oguraike Pond and paddy fields in 1888, was dominated by the landscape of urban areas and paddy fields in 2002. Moreover, urban areas, cropland, paddy fields, and grasslands have become concentrated into larger patches, whilst the water bodies have become more fragmented. Overall, there has been a reduction in landscape diversity on the floodplain.

During the last decade, agriculture has lost its importance in many European mountain regions and tourism, which benefits from attractive landscapes, has become a major source of income. Changes in landscape patterns and elements might affect scenic beauty and therefore the socio-economic welfare of a region. Our study aimed at modeling scenic beauty by quantifying the influence of landscape elements and patterns in relationship to distance. Focusing on Alpine landscapes in South and North Tyrol, we used a photographic questionnaire showing different landscape compositions. As mountain landscapes offer long vistas, we related scenic beauty to different distance zones. Our results indicate that the near zone contributes by 64% to the valuation of scenic beauty, the middle zone by 22%, and the far zone by 14%. In contrast to artificial elements, naturalness and diversity increased scenic beauty. Significant differences between different social groups (origin, age, gender, cultural background) occurred only between the local population and tourists regarding great landscape changes. Changes towards more homogenous landscapes were perceived negatively, thus political decision makers should support the conservation of the cultural landscape.

Landscape diversity index behaves ineffective in small scale farmland. The correlation coefficients between Shannon's diversity index as well as Simpson's diversity index with the population density of ladybeetles are negative. This result is opposite with the results from large scale farmland in developed countries. Landscape pattern has significant influence on the population density of ladybeetles. Especially the cotton/wheat relay intercrops have significant influence on the population density of ladybeetles. Besides grassland are also beneficial to the population density of ladybeetles.

The Etropy problem has been widely applied in the assessment and analysis of landscape ecology. Research results are just at the indicators, not able to describe the spatial distribution of the landscape. In this paper, we will simulate the results of the application Etropy problem in landscape assessment based on a GIS. A GIS is used to store the information of layers on landscape structure, indicator analysis and map-layer assessment. This is a new research direction, research results of Etropy problem will be simulated by the evaluation map. Research have been applied in Sa Pa area - one of Vietnam's most mountainous district. Research results shown the landscape diversity in the research area and landscape area identification to be conserved.

Background Diet and nutrition-related behaviours are embedded in cultural and environmental contexts: adoption of new knowledge depends on how easily it can be integrated into existing knowledge systems. As dietary diversity promotion becomes an increasingly common component of nutrition education, understanding local nutrition knowledge systems and local concepts about dietary diversity is essential to formulate efficient messages. Methods This paper draws on in-depth qualitative ethnographic research conducted in small-scale agricultural communities in Tanzania. Data were collected using interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation in the East Usambara Mountains, an area that is home primarily to the Shambaa and Bondei ethnic groups, but has a long history of ethnic diversity and ethnic intermixing. Results The data showed a high degree of consensus among participants who reported that dietary diversity is important because it maintains and enhances appetite across days, months and seasons. Local people reported that sufficient cash resources, agrobiodiversity, heterogeneity within the landscape, and livelihood diversity all supported their ability to consume a varied diet and achieve good nutritional status. Other variables affecting diet and dietary diversity included seasonality, household size, and gender. Conclusions The results suggest that dietary diversity was perceived as something all people, both rich and poor, could achieve. There was significant overlap between local and scientific understandings of dietary diversity, suggesting that novel information on the importance of dietary diversity promoted through education will likely be easily integrated into the existing knowledge systems. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0150-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Aegean Archipelago is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. It lies to the east of the Greek mainland, and it has long been a meeting point for humans coming from the three continents, as it has also been for plants and animals (Triantis and Mylonas, 2009). Human presence and the multiplicity of the geological history of the Aegean Archipelago are the main factors affecting Aegean island landscapes and their cultural aspects.

Znanstvena monografija podaja spoznanja o strukturi in funkciji kulturne pokrajine Ljubljanskega barja, ki jo sestavljajo ravnina, sredi katere se dvigajo osamelci, ter hribovje in gricevje na obrobju. Vecji del obmocja, ki ga bistveno zaznamuje voda in izjemna biotska pestrost, je bil leta 2008 razglasen za Krajinski park Ljubljansko barje. V raziskavi smo na treh pilotnih obmocjih identificirali 28 pokrajinskih gradnikov, ki so odvisni od geoloske podlage, vode ter od rabe zemljisc in prispevajo h pokrajinski pestrosti. Pomemben vpliv na rabo zemljisc imajo kmetijska placila kmetom, ki najvec prispevajo k obdelanosti zemljisc ter sonaravni reji, precej manj pa k ohranjanju bolj naravnih pokrajinskih gradnikov. V monografiji ugotavljamo, da je z vidika trajnostnosti kljucno stremljenje k taksni pokrajinski pestrosti, ki zagotavlja cim boljse delovanje pokrajine in vec razlicnih ekosistemskih storitev. Analiza razvoja pilotnih obmocij v stirih casovnih obdobjih je pokazala, da so bile sprva v pokrajini glavne gonilne sile kmetijstvo, poselitev in upravljanje z vodo, v zadnjih desetletjih pa postajata vse pomembnejsi gonilni sili naravovarstvo in turizem. The monograph ('Protection and sustainable development of a cultural landscape: the case of Ljubljana Moor') introduces research findings about the structure and functions of the Ljubljana Moor (Ljubljansko barje) cultural landscape. This landscape is composed of a plain with isolated hills (inselbergs) and hills on the outskirts. Floods are still frequent. Due to its exceptional biodiversity, in 2008 the area was proclaimed a landscape park. In the study we identified 28 landscape elements in 3 pilot sites – depending on the geological substratum, water, and land use – which contribute to landscape diversity. Payments to farmers have a significant impact on land use which influences greatly land cultivation and sustainable breeding, while these have a considerably lower influence on the preservation of semi natural landscape elements. We discovered that in terms of sustainability the key tendency is to strive to such a landscape diversity that ensures optimum landscape functioning and various ecosystem services.The analysis of landscape changes over 4 study periods showed that, initially, agriculture, settlement, and water management were the main drivers; however, over recent decades the importance of nature protection and tourism has increased. In today’s landscape there are two conflicting trends: intensification and land abandonment . Based on the aforementioned findings, we designed 27 measures for the protection and sustainable managment of the Ljubljana moor cultural landscape.

This paper addresses current changes in the highly diverse Europeanlandscape, and the way these transitions are being treated in policy andlandscape management in the fragmented, heterogeneous and dynamiccontext of today’s Europe. It appears that intersecting driving forces areincreasing the complexity of European landscapes and causing polarisingdevelopments in agricultural land use, biodiversity conservation and culturallandscape management. On the one hand, multifunctional rural landscapes,especially in peri-urban regions, provide services and functions that servethe citizens in their demand for identity, support their sense of belongingand offer opportunities for recreation and involvement in practical landscapemanagement. On the other hand, industrial agricultural production onincreasingly large farms produces food, feed, fibre and energy to serveexpanding international markets with rural liveability and accessibility asa minor issue. The intermediate areas of traditionally dominant small andfamily farms in Europe seem to be gradually declining in profitability. Thepaper discusses the potential of a governance approach that can cope withthe requirement of optimising land-sharing conditions and communitybasedlandscape development, while adapting to global market conditions

Aim The general dynamic model (GDM) of oceanic island biogeography integrates rates of immigration, speciation and extinction in relation to a humped trajectory of island area, species carrying capacity and topographic complexity through time, based on a simplified island ontogeny. In practice, many islands have more complex ontogenies, featuring surfaces of varying age. Here, we extend the GDM to apply at a local scale within islands, and test the predictions analytically within individual islands. Location El Hierro, La Palma and Tenerife (Canary Islands). Methods Following the GDM logic, we derive predictions for the distributions and richness of single island endemics (SIEs) across island landscapes of different age. We test these predictions by means of generalized linear models and binominal tests using gridded species occurrence data for vascular plant SIE species and a set of climatic, topographic and terrain age variables. We also examined phylogenetic divergence times for a subset of endemic lineages. Results Geological age, in interaction with slope, and topographic variables, best explained SIE richness at the landscape scale. About 70% of SIEs had ranges strongly biased to, or largely restricted to old terrain. Available phylogenetic divergence times of SIEs of radiated plant lineages suggested an origin on the older parts of the islands. Metrics of anthropogenic disturbance and habitat availability were unrelated to the observed SIE pattern. Main conclusions Our findings support the hypothesis that SIEs have evolved and accumulated on older and topographically complex terrain, while colonization processes predominate on the youngest parts. These results imply that evolutionary processes shape species distributions at the landscape scale within islands. This opens the perspective of extending the GDM framework to understand processes at a local scale within individual islands.

The application of hydrological models for the assessment of ecosystem services provides multiple opportunities for their quantitative analysis. Furthermore, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based models provide the possibility for spatially explicit analyses of model outputs and their representation in maps. A broadly applied and freely available hydrological model is the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The tool for its application in ArcGIS is ArcSWAT. The application of the model in mountain areas in Bulgaria can provide better understanding of the supply of ecosystem services and especially the water-related services, considering the large landscape diversity and climate differences within mountain watersheds. Still, data characteristics and limitations in Bulgaria can be restrictive for the quality of the model outputs.

High landscape diversity is assumed to increase the number and level of ecosystem services. However, the interactions between ecosystem service provision, disturbance and landscape composition are poorly understood. Here we present a novel approach to include uncertainty in the optimization of land allocation for improving the provision of multiple ecosystem services. We refer to the rehabilitation of abandoned agricultural lands in Ecuador including two types of both afforestation and pasture rehabilitation, together with a succession option. Our results show that high compositional landscape diversity supports multiple ecosystem services (multifunction effect). This implicitly provides a buffer against uncertainty. Our work shows that active integration of uncertainty is only important when optimizing single or highly correlated ecosystem services and that the multifunction effect on landscape diversity is stronger than the uncertainty effect. This is an important insight to support a land-use planning based on ecosystem services., Land use becomes more diverse when it considers uncertain interactions of multiple ecosystem services. Here, Knoke and colleagues show that uncertainty plays a larger role if ecosystem services are optimized only for a single service, or if services correlate.

As the world's population continues to grow, the demand for food, fodder, fibre and bioenergy will increase. In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has driven the intensification of agriculture, promoting the simplification and specialization of agroecosystems through the decline in landscape heterogeneity, the increased use of chemicals per unit area, and the abandonment of less fertile areas. In combination, these processes have eroded the quantity and quality of habitat for many plants and animals, and hence decreased biodiversity and the abundance of species across a hierarchy of trophic levels and spatial scales within Europe. This biodiversity loss has led to profound changes in the functioning of European agroecosystems over the last 50 years. Here, we synthesize the findings from a large-scale pan-European investigation of the combined effects of agricultural intensification on a range of agroecosystem services. These include (1) the persistence of high conservation value species; (2) the level of biological control of agricultural pests and (3) the functional diversity of a number of taxonomic groups, including birds, beetles and arable weeds. The study encompasses a gradient of geography-bioclimate and agricultural intensification that enables the large-scale measurement of ecological impacts of agricultural intensification across European agroecosystems. We provide an overview of the role of the CAP as a driver of agricultural intensification in the European Union, and we demonstrate compelling negative relationships between the application of pesticides and the various components of biodiversity studied on a pan-European scale.

The plane tree in Nedelišće is the first piece of nature to have been protected in Međimurje, proclaimed to be protected in February, 1963. The foundations for the first official environmental protection were laid by the 1960 Environmental Protection Act. This proclamation has been part of general trends of proclaiming protected areas in Croatia in the past fifty years. The timing and the way of proclaiming protected areas in Međimurje County followed the pattern of proclaiming protected areas in other parts of The Republic of Croatia. The early period of the history of proclaiming protected areas was characterised by a large number of small protected areas. This trend changed over time towards proclaiming a smaller number of larger protected areas. In the same way, Međimurje County proclaimed the area by the Mura River protected in 2001, and ten years later, The Government of the Republic of Croatia proclaimed the areas by the Mura and the Drava Rivers a regional park Mura-Drava. The population density of the county, constant aspirations for economic growth, and a global trend of diminishing biological and landscape diversity require the application of the concept of protection that will take into consideration the singularities and differences within each area. We should aspire for the most favourable state of nature and the components of the environment, but this must not remain only a desire of an individual or a group of people. On the contrary, it is an unavoidable scenario if we want to survive in the future.

Keywords: RS, GIS, Landscape metrics, rural township, cold region Abstract. Facing the impact of rapid urbanization and the problems of environmental deterioration, how to manage the development of landscape and green spaces in rural townships has become an important issue in China. However, how and to what extent can the patterns and changes of green spaces in the rural townships be identified and analyzed in an efficient and timely way remains an unsolved research question. Using the selected rural township in the cold region of China-the Hutou township-as the case setting, this study explicitly examines the changes of landscape patterns and green spaces by employing Remote Sensing (RS), GIS, and landscape indicators. Through a combination of methods including spatial analysis, GIS mapping, and field survey, this study proposes a methodology for systematically monitoring landscape changes in rural townships. After our empirical investigation, this paper reveals several critical problems of landscape management such as a decrease of landscape diversity and an increase in green space fragmentation in the rural township under study. Accordingly, related suggestions on planning actions and policies are provided to improve the situation.

We consider the use of two approaches in assessing landscape diversity of a territory: qualitative and quantitative analyses of the landscape structure on the basis of landscape maps, and a space imagery-based calculation of landscape diversity. This study revealed that the two approaches under consideration reflect different properties of landscape. It is established that the various indicators used in analyzing landscape maps unveil the aspects of a complicated and multifaceted notion of “landscape diversity”. A number of indicators overlap to a significant extent. Landscape diversity has a high degree of dependence on an island’s area.

Investigation of the diversity of a landscape implies finding appropriate measures coupling information on richness and equitability. Most of the papers dealing with remotely sensed images have relied on the richness of digital numbers (DNs) or on Shannon entropy or Pielou evenness indices for measuring their heterogeneity. Instead, based on ecological theory, we will show that rank–abundance diagrams may be profitably used in remote sensing to take into account both spectral richness and spectral equitability at the same time, by using a unique approach. After a theoretical introduction to the problem, we will empirically test the proposed method by extractingDNabundances derived froma Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image representing contrasting landscapes (test sites), plotting the relative abundance of each DN value versus its rank (rank–abundance diagrams) and interpreting statistically and ecologically the achieved results. We do not propose rank–abundance diagrams as a replacement of existing measures of spectral diversity, but as a parallel method to encompass (at the same time) both richness and evenness of remotely sensed images.

Using an ingenious cartographic method, for the Baikal natural territory we have developed a benchmark network that includes 18 tracts (0.47% of the territory under consideration). Special-purpose ground-based surveys of the selected tracts showed that such a network fully reflects the landscape diversity on the level of geoms, the phytocenotic diversity, and the species diversity of the regional biota.

A landscape diversity representativeness assessment is made of the system of specially protected territories in Nenets Autonomous Okrug having regard to natural regionalization and zonal division. It is shown that the existing specially protected natural territories are representative for a small number of landscapes. Maps have been generated, which display the distribution of rare and threatened groups of landscapes, and territories have been identified, which are high priority for the establishment of specially protected natural territories.

In this paper, the evolution characteristics of landscape ecological pattern of Shenmu County are addressed based on the principles and methods of landscape ecology and the spatial analysis of GIS and Fragstats in order to maintain and improve the landscape pattern in this region as well as provide support for planning. Firstly, the typical TM / ETM images in 1989, 2002 and 2006 are pro-processed based on GIS software to analyze the land use / cover change process in Shenmu county, and then the change characteristics of landscape pattern are analyzed by landscape indicators. The results demonstrate that the regional differences among different landscape types enlarge gradually, the landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity increase constantly, and the landscape diversity and evenness decrease over the past years.

Capsule The presence of Krueper's Nuthatches can be predicted by variables describing topography, vegetation structure and tree species, and knowledge of these can be used to determine sites for conservation action. Aim To analyse the relationships between habitat suitability, as characterized by the presence or absence of Krueper's Nuthatches, and different predictor variables of forest and landscape diversity by building a logistic regression model. Methods We investigated the influence of 11 environmental variables on the occurrence of Krueper's Nuthatches. Logistic regression, a particular case of glm with binomial error distribution, was used to identify vegetation and topographical variables that provide an explanation for the presence/absence of Krueper's Nuthatches in the study region of South Anatolia, Turkey. Results Tree height, and north and southeast directions of slope were positively correlated with the probability of occurrence of Krueper's Nuthatches. Altitude, the presence of Red Pine an...

We highlight the importance of microrefugia in the light of population migration and genetic drift by synthesizing lessons learnt from metapopulation and palaeoecological studies. The concept of microrefugia is considered as a long-term variant of conventional metapopulations, in which microclimatic stability supersedes gene flow in determining species survival. Not all species can maintain populations in microrefugia. Life history traits such as small body size, the capacity for asexual reproduction, and species with light genetic loads favour survival. Microrefugia will facilitate faster rates of species responses to climate change than envisioned in diffusion models, and potentially provide a means to alleviate the negative effects posed by natural or anthropogenic barriers to migration. Predictive models based on relatively coarse-grained approaches that ignore microrefugia will lead to overestimates of extinction risk. Microrefugia should be identified and conserved, not for the species they contain, as these are likely to turn over with time, but as an important component of landscape diversity that will provide a safe haven for species not yet identified as at risk.

Three key types of natural-territorial complexes (NTCs) ensuring geosystem stability are identified on the basis of assessing landscape diversity in the Russian part of the Lesser Khingan. Landscape representativity for special protected natural territories of the Lesser Khingan is outlined. A need to increase the protected area of taiga landscapes is revealed.

Studies of spatial patterns of landscapes are useful to quantify human impact, predict wildlife effects, or describe variability of landscape features. A common approach to identify and quantify landscape structure is with a landscape scale model known as a contagion index. A contagion index quantifies two distinct components of landscape diversity: composition and configuration. Some landscape ecologists promote the use of relative contagion indices. It is demonstrated that relativized contagion indices are mathematically untenable. Two new theoretical contagion indices, r 1 and r 2 , are derived .using a mean value approach (Le., statistical expected value) instead of entropy. Behavior of r 1 and r 2 was investigated with simulated random, uniform, and aggregated landscapes. They are shown to be well-behaved and sensitive to composition and configuration. Distributional properties of f\ and r2 are derived. They are shown to be asymptotically unbiased, consistent, and asymptotically normally distributed. Variance formulas for r1 and r2 are developed using the delta method. The new index models are used to examine landscape diversity on three physiographic provinces in Alabama by analyzing the pattern and changes in forest cover types over the recent past. In comparing r1 and r2 , use of r1 in analysis of variance gave a more conservative test of contagion.

In Poland, a system of protected areas should be created, the system which would protect more effectively the most precious wealth of biological and landscape diversity in the country, at the same time resulting in a dynamic socio-economic development in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. For the systems of protected areas environmental monitoring is necessary, it would improve correction and design of new directions of development adjusted to already existing of natural, social and economic interest reality. Received: Jane, 2010 1st Revision: July, 2010 Accepted: October, 2010 JEL Classification: Q57, P2

In the article major factors of culture genesis in the Altai Mountains are analyzed. Natural and social laws of formation and evolution of the Altai's ethno-cultural landscapes are revealed. Ten basic factors in the formation and development of the ethno-cultural landscapes of the Altai have been identified through the joint application of natural-scientific and humanitarian research methods. Such are the High landscape diversity, the Naturally caused low population of Altai, the Barrier and contact role of the Altai Mountains, the External expansion, the Natural isolation of the Altai geo-cultural space, the Natural environment dynamics in Altai and adjacent contiguous territories, the State regulation of economic activity, the Change in the geoeconomical and geopolitical situation of the region, the Change in market conditions, the Change in the traditional worldview of the local population. According to the results of the work, it is determined that the culture genesis of Altai is largely determined by natural factors. Now in the Altai Mountains there is a great variety of ethno-cultural landscapes, the laws of development of which are related both to the features of the environment and to social processes. The isolation and inaccessibility of the Altai Mountains territory, its remoteness from civilizational centers, significant internal differentiation determine the low intensity of processes cultural diffusion, and significant sustainability and the preservation of traditional ethno-cultural landscapes. Globalization processes lead to simplification and unification structure of the Altai's geo-cultural space and loss of cultural diversity.

For the first time for the Kuril Islands, we present the results derived from investigating the changes in landscape structure of Matua Island that have been taking place since the latter half of the 20th century under the effect of volcanic activity. We constructed the 1:200 000 landscape maps for different time spans. We consider in detail the issue relating to the development of the geosystems on the island in the wake of the 2009 eruption. A cartographic-statistical analysis of the landscape maps is carried out, and the role of volcanism in the change of the quantitative parameters of landscapes is highlighted.

Ho Chi Minh City is a city with many cultures, architectural styles, and different lifestyles. This makes Ho Chi Minh City characterized as a diverse city satisfying the different elements: spatial diversity, cultural diversity. According to the Saigon master plan of Coffyn designed in the early 20th century, together with public spaces, the commercial areas of Ho Chi Minh City were also identified as the main points for the city development. Therefore, the commercial streets in its old downtown also showed very obvious diversity. Vietnamese people have adjusted the urban spaces planned by French people in order to match with their lifestyle for more than 100 years. Besides, many old commercial buildings have been demolished and replaced with new buildings, causing the disturbance of life and cultural values of the city, leaving many streets losing their original landscapes and getting the same style. Their uncontrolled diverse development causes the clutter, loss of order, and insecurity. From this above situation, the author has chosen the subject “Design of the landscape diversity of commercial streets in the old downtown of Ho Chi Minh City” in order to find the oriented development for those streets on the basis of maintaining and developing their inherent diverse characteristics.

Coastal dune systems are very sensitive geoindicators that reflect rapid geological change and its environmental consequences. Detailed analysis of the long-term trends in the dynamics of the shifting Holocene dunes using satellite images and ground survey data revealed that during the 20th century, erosion, flattening, and sylvanization of the dunes along the entire 33-km length of the still-active Great Curonian dune ridge was taking place at a very rapid rate and scale. Flattening of the shifting dune ridge because of exhaustion of sand supplies, plant succession, and human activity is the main dune management problem, important both for the maintenance of landscape diversity and for the conservation of the traditional heritage features of the Curonian Spit as a World Heritage site. A radical shift in dune-handling paradigm—from forestation to the removal of pine plantations—and the enhancement of dune dynamism is critically needed for the protection of the Great Curonian shifting dune ridge.

Based on RS, GIS and Apack software, the indices of landscape pattern such as landscape area index, landscape diversity index and landscape fragmentation index were chosen in order to describe changes in the spatial pattern of alpine wetland landscape on the Zoige Plateau during 1966–2000. Results showed that alpine wetland landscape was characteristic of marsh wetlands, which had the biggest patch number and the largest area. The alpine wetland landscape had higher spatial heterogeneity. The largest area appeared in Zoige County with the highest wetland ratio; comparatively, Aba County and Luqu County had much lower wetland ratio. The total area of alpine wetland landscape decreased rapidly during 1966–1986, but it began to increase after 1986. The wetland landscape area shrank by 59857.83 hm2 during 1966–2000. The alpine wetland landscape showed the characteristics of concentrated distribution in the past four decades, with higher convergence and dominance indices. The centroid of wetland landscape moved 12.54 km in the northwest direction firstly, 11.33 km in the southeast direction, and then 1.1 km in the north direction.

We present a proposal for a standardized method to develop restoration practices capable of increasing the efficacy of landscape management and create the necessary bridge between restoration planning and landscape ecology. This methodology was developed in order to identify the reference landscape and to define areas within that landscape that possess different degrees of potential for restoration purposes in a cultural landscape. We utilized retrospective data to compare former ecosystem arrangements, taking into account ecological, spatial and temporal issues, such as historical information on changes in land use, in addition to diachronically analyzed aerial photos taken between 1954 and 2002, using an object-based approach. The test area is a Nature Reserve in Tuscany (Italy) that preserves the cultural landscape of biancane badlands – erosion forms generated on Plio-Pleistocene marine clay outcrops – which is characterized by a high erosion rate. In the first step, a land cover map was obtained by image segmentation on the 1954 photographs and the patches classified as “target habitats” were used as a selection mask on the 2002 image. As a second step, a more detailed land cover map was created for the areas selected as masks in the previous step. Hence, the target habitats that showed stability (persistence) between the two dates were excluded from the analysis, as well as the land cover classes not suitable for restoration (broad-leaved forests, arable land, artificial and other agricultural areas). The selected sites, covered by four vegetation types in the 2002 land cover map, accounted for approximately 91 ha. The method focuses on selecting sites for restoration in order to reduce efforts and negative impact and to maximize the restoration results.

Wild oat is one of the most economically important and widely distributed weed species in eastern Washington. The timing of wild oat control in this region is affected by the extreme topographical diversity. The objective of this research was to assess the influence of landscape diversity on the pattern of wild oat emergence. Wild oat emergence was monitored at five landscape positions along a north/south transect. The timing of emergence across the landscape tended to follow the distribution of solar radiation, such that wild oats emerged earlier at landscape positions with greater solar radiation and thus, higher soil temperatures. The time to reach 25% of maximum emergence was reached on average 17 days earlier at south- compared to north-facing landscape positions. This difference was maintained over the course of the emergence period. These results show that site properties, such as slope, aspect, and elevation, affect the thermal and hydric conditions in the soil seed bank and can cause site-specific patterns of wild oat emergence.

Increased adoption of silvoarable agroforestry (SAF) systems in Europe, by integratingtrees and arable crops on the same land, could offer a range of environmental benefits compared with conventional agricultural systems. Soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, carbon sequestration and landscape biodiversity were chosen as indicators to assess a stratified random sample of 19 landscape test sites in the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions of Europe. At each site, the effect of introducing agroforestry was examined at plot-scale by simulating the growth of one of five treespecies (hybridwalnut Juglansspp.,wildcherry Prunus aviumL.,poplar Populusspp.,holmoak Quercus ilexL.subsp. ilexand stone pine Pinus pinea L.) at two tree densities (50 and 113 trees ha 1 ) in combination with up to five crops (wheat Triticum spp., sunflower Helianthus annuusL.,oilseedrape Brassica napusL.,grainmaizeandsilagemaize Zea maysL.).Atlandscape-scale, theeffect ofintroducing agroforestry on 10 or 50% of the agricultural area, on either the best or worst quality land, was examined. Across the 19 landscape test sites, SAFhad a positive impact onthe four indicators with the strongest effects when introduced onthe best qualityland. The computer simulations showed that SAF could significantly reduce erosion by up to 65% when combined with contouring practices at medium (>0.5 and 3th a 1 a 1 ) erosion sites. Nitrogen leaching could be reduced by up to 28% in areas where leaching is currently estimated high (>100 kg N h 1 a 1 ), but this was dependent on tree density. With agroforestry, predicted mean carbon sequestration through immobilization in trees, over a 60-year period, ranged from 0.1 to 3.0 t C h 1 a 1 (5‐179 t C h 1 ) depending on tree species and location. Landscape biodiversity was increased by introducing SAF by an average factor of 2.6. The implications of this potential for environmental benefits at European-scale are discussed. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper deals with the market segmentation of recreational forest services using the concept of ‘sensation seeking’ to describe expectations of town dwellers towards recreation. In this approach, the variable of landscape dissimilarity is evaluated based on the landscape preferences of town dwellers for recreational purposes. The urban agglomeration of Białystok and the Knyszyn Forest (North-Eastern Poland) were chosen as the target for this case study. The results of the research suggest that the potential market of recreational forest services of the urban agglomeration of Białystok includes and provides for about 30% of the inhabitants. The emerging true market of the recreational services of the Knyszyn Forest reaches only about 22% of the inhabitants of Białystok. These market limitations and the characteristics of the forest landscape are inacceptable for outdoor recreation for the majority of town dwellers.