Pioneer settlement in the Asiatic tropics; studies in land utilization and agricultural colonization in southeastern Asia

"This study has been made with the cooperation of the Secretariat of the Institute of Pacific relations and constitutes a report in its International research series."

Land resource analysis /

Research proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation, Research Applied to National Needs (RANN).

Land utilization and rural economy in Korea,

Mode of access: Internet.

Arid and semiarid land stewardship : a 10-year review of accomplishments and contributions of the International Arid Lands Consortium /

"November 2001."

Public Land for Affordable Housing: An Evaluation of a HALA Proposal in Seattle

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Heterogeneity of physico-chemical properties in structured soils and its consequences

Structured soils are characterized by the presence of inter- and intra-aggregate pore systems and aggregates, which show varying chemical, physical, and biological properties depending on the aggregate type and land use system. How far these aspects also affect the ion exchange processes and to what extent the interaction between the carbon distribution and kind of organic substances affect the internal soil strength as well as hydraulic properties like wettability are still under discussion. Thus, the objective of this research was to clarify the effect of soil aggregation on physical and chemical properties of structured soils at two scales: homogenized material and single aggregates. Data obtained by sequentially peeling off soil aggregates layers revealed gradients in the chemical composition from the aggregate surface to the aggregate core. In aggregates from long term untreated forest soils we found lower amounts of carbon in the external layer, while in arable soils the differentiation was not pronounced. However, soil aggregates originating from these sites exhibited a higher concentration of microbial activity in the outer aggregate layer and declined towards the interior. Furthermore, soil depth and the vegetation type affected the wettability. Aggregate strength depended. on water suction and differences in tillage treatments.

A survey of urban open space using colour infra-red aerial photographs

There has been a dramatic change in the U.K. government policy regarding the establishment of new towns. The emphasis is now on the redevelopment of existing cities rather than on building new ones. This has created an urgent need to carry out detailed surveys and inventories of many aspects of urban land use in metropolitan areas: this study concentrates on just one aspect - urban open space. In the first stage a comparison was made between 1:10,000 scale black and white and 1:10,000 scale colour infra-red aerial photographs, to compare the type and amount of open space information which could be obtained from these two sources. The advantages of using colour infra-red photography were clearly demonstrated in this comparison. The second stage was the use of colour infra-red photography as the sole source of data to survey and map the urban open space of a sample area in Merseyside Metropolitan County. This sample area comprised eleven 1/4km2 squares, on each of which a 20m x 20m grid cell was placed to record, directly from the photography, 625 sets of data. Each set of data recorded the type and amount of open space, its surface cover, maintenance status and management. The data recorded were fed into a computer and a suite of programs was developed to provide output in both computer map and statistical form, for each of the eleven -1/4km2 -sample areas. The third stage involved a comparison of open space data with socio-economic status. Merseyside County Planning Authority had previously conducted a socio-economic survey of the county, and this information was used to identify ' the socio-economic status of the population in the eleven ilkm2 areas of this project. This comparison revealed many interesting and useful relationships between the provision of urban open space and socio-economic status.

Computer automation of land evaluation procedures

This study was concerned with the computer automation of land evaluation. This is a broad subject with many issues to be resolved, so the study concentrated on three key problems: knowledge based programming; the integration of spatial information from remote sensing and other sources; and the inclusion of socio-economic information into the land evaluation analysis. Land evaluation and land use planning were considered in the context of overseas projects in the developing world. Knowledge based systems were found to provide significant advantages over conventional programming techniques for some aspects of the land evaluation process. Declarative languages, in particular Prolog, were ideally suited to integration of social information which changes with every situation. Rule-based expert system shells were also found to be suitable for this role, including knowledge acquisition at the interview stage. All the expert system shells examined suffered from very limited constraints to problem size, but new products now overcome this. Inductive expert system shells were useful as a guide to knowledge gaps and possible relationships, but the number of examples required was unrealistic for typical land use planning situations. The accuracy of classified satellite imagery was significantly enhanced by integrating spatial information on soil distribution for Thailand data. Estimates of the rice producing area were substantially improved (30% change in area) by the addition of soil information. Image processing work on Mozambique showed that satellite remote sensing was a useful tool in stratifying vegetation cover at provincial level to identify key development areas, but its full utility could not be realised on typical planning projects, without treatment as part of a complete spatial information system.

Background levels of urban land contamination

The research work reported in this thesis is concerned with the development and application of an urban scale sampling methodology for measuring and assessing background levels of heavy metal soil contamination in large and varied urban areas. The policy context of the work is broadly the environmental health problems posed by contaminated land and their implications for urban development planning. Within this wider policy context, the emphasis in the research has been placed on issues, related to the determination and application of 'guidelines' for assessing the significance of contaminated land for environmental planning. In concentrating on background levels of land contamination, the research responds to the need for additional techniques which address both the problems of measuring soil contamination at the urban scale and which are also capable of providing detailed information for use in the assessment of contaminated sites. Therefore, a key component of the work has been the development of a land-use based sampling framework for generating spatially comprehensive data on heavy metals in soil. The utility of the information output of the sampling method is demonstrated in two alternative ways. Firstly, it has been used to map the existing pattern of typical levels of heavy metals in urban soils. Secondly, it can be used to generate both generalised data in the form of 'reference levels' from which the overall significance of .background contamination may be assessed and detailed data, termed 'normal limit levels' for use in the assessment of site specific investigation data. The fieldwork was conducted in the West Midlands Metropolitan County and surface soil has been sampled and analysed for a measure of plant-available' and 'total' lead cadmium, copper and zinc. The research contrasts with much of the previous work on contaminated land which has generally concentrated on either the detailed investigation of individual sites suspected of being contaminated or the appraisal of land contamination resulting from specific point sources.

European biorefineries:implications for land, trade and employment

Biorefineries are expected to play a major role in a future low carbon economy and substantial investments are being made to support this vision. However, it is important to consider the wider socio-economic impacts of such a transition. This paper quantifies the potential trade, employment and land impacts of economically viable European biorefinery options based on indigenous straw and wood feedstocks. It illustrates how there could be potential for 70-80 European biorefineries, but not hundreds. A single facility could generate tens of thousands of man-years of employment and employment creation per unit of feedstock is higher than for biomass power plants. However, contribution to national GDP is unlikely to exceed 1% in European member states, although contributions to national agricultural productivity may be more significant, particularly with straw feedstocks. There is also a risk that biorefinery development could result in reduced rates of straw incorporation into soil, raising concerns that economically rational decisions to sell rather than reincorporate straw could result in increased agricultural land-use or greenhouse gas emissions. © 2013.

Diatom-based paleolimnological reconstruction of Quaternary environments in a Florida sinkhole lake

Despite lake sensitivity to climate change, few Florida paleolimnological studies have focused on changes in hydrology. Evidence from Florida vegetation histories raise questions about long-term hydrologic history of Florida lakes, and a 25-year limnological dataset revealed recent climate-driven effects on Lake Annie. The objectives of this research are (1) to use modern diatom assemblages to develop methods for reconstruction of climatic and anthropogenic change (2) to reconstruct both long-term and recent histories of Lake Annie using diatom microfossils. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction models were developed from diatom assemblages of various habitat types from modern lakes. Plankton and sediment assemblages were similar, but epiphytes were distinct, suggesting differences in sediment delivery from different parts of the lakes. Relationships between a variety of physical and chemical data and the diatoms from each habitat type were explored. Total phosphorus (TP), pH, and color were found to be the most relevant variables for reconstruction, with sediment and epiphyte assemblages having the strongest relationships to those variables, six calibration models were constructed from the combination of these habitat types and environmental variables. Reconstructions utilizing the weighted averaging models in this study may be used to directly reveal TP, color, and pH changes from a sediment record, which might be suggestive of hydrologic change as well. These variables were reconstructed from the diatom record from both a long-term (11,000 year) and short-term (100 year) record and showed an interaction between climate-driven and local land-use impacts on Lake Annie. The long-term record begins with Lake Annie as a wetland, then the lake filled to a high stand around 4000 years ago. A period of relative stability after that point was interrupted near the turn of the last century by subtle changes in diatom communities that indicate acidification. Abrupt changes in the diatom communities around 1970 AD suggest recovery from acidification, but concurrent hydrologic change intensified anthropogenic effects on the lake. Diatom evidence for alkalization and phosphorus loading correspond to changes seen in the limnological record.

The Effect of Nutrient-Rich Effluents from Shrimp Farming on Mangrove Soil Carbon Storage and Geochemistry Under Semi-Arid Climate Conditions in Northern Brazil

A semi-arid mangrove estuary system in the northeast Brazilian coast (Ceará state) was selected for this study to (i) evaluate the impact of shrimp farm nutrient-rich wastewater effluents on the soil geochemistry and organic carbon (OC) storage and (ii) estimate the total amount of OC stored in mangrove soils (0–40 cm). Wastewater-affected mangrove forests were referred to as WAM and undisturbed areas as Non-WAM. Redox conditions and OC content were statistically correlated (P < 0.05) with seasonality and type of land use (WAM vs. Non-WAM). Eh values were from anoxic to oxic conditions in the wet season (from − 5 to 68 mV in WAM and from < 40 to > 400 mV in Non-WAM soils) and significantly higher (from 66 to 411 mV) in the dry season (P < 0.01). OC contents (0–40 cm soil depth) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the wet season than the dry season, and higher in Non-WAM soils than in WAM soils (values of 8.1 and 6.7 kg m− 2 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively, for Non-WAM, and values of 3.8 and 2.9 kg m− 2 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively, for WAM soils; P < 0.01). Iron partitioning was significantly dependent (P < 0.05) on type of land use, with a smaller degree of pyritization and lower Fe-pyrite presence in WAM soils compared to Non-WAM soils. Basal respiration of soil sediments was significantly influenced (P < 0.01) by type of land use with highest CO2 flux rates measured in the WAM soils (mean values of 0.20 mg CO2 h− 1–g− 1 C vs. 0.04 mg CO2 h− 1–g− 1 C). The OC storage reduction in WAM soils was potentially caused (i) by an increase in microbial activity induced by loading of nutrient-rich effluents and (ii) by an increase of strong electron acceptors [e.g., NO3−] that promote a decrease in pyrite concentration and hence a reduction in soil OC burial. The current estimated OC stored in mangrove soils (0–40 cm) in the state of Ceará is approximately 1 million t.

Land-cover detection and landscape structure analysis in the Pachitea Basin, Peruvian Amazon

Classification procedures, including atmospheric correction satellite images as well as classification performance utilizing calibration and validation at different levels, have been investigated in the context of a coarse land-cover classification scheme for the Pachitea Basin. Two different correction methods were tested against no correction in terms of reflectance correction towards a common response for pseudo-invariant features (PIF). The accuracy of classifications derived from each of the three methods was then assessed in a discriminant analysis using crossvalidation at pixel, polygon, region, and image levels. Results indicate that only regression adjusted images using PIFs show no significant difference between images in any of the bands. A comparison of classifications at different levels suggests though that at pixel, polygon, and region levels the accuracy of the classifications do not significantly differ between corrected and uncorrected images. Spatial patterns of land-cover were analyzed in terms of colonization history, infrastructure, suitability of the land, and landownership. The actual use of the land is driven mainly by the ability to access the land and markets as is obvious in the distribution of land cover as a function of distance to rivers and roads. When considering all rivers and roads a threshold distance at which disproportional agro-pastoral land cover switches from over represented to under represented is at about 1km. Best land use suggestions seem not to affect the choice of land use. Differences in abundance of land cover between watersheds are more prevailing than differences between colonist and indigenous groups.

Half-degree gridded nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use for global agriculture production during 1900-2013

In addition to enhance agricultural productivity, synthetic nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) fertilizer application in croplands dramatically altered global nutrient budget, water quality, greenhouse gas balance, and their feedbacks to the climate system. However, due to the lack of geospatial fertilizer input data, current Earth system/land surface modeling studies have to ignore or use over-simplified data (e.g., static, spatially uniform fertilizer use) to characterize agricultural N and P input over decadal or century-long period. We therefore develop a global time-series gridded data of annual synthetic N and P fertilizer use rate in croplands, matched with HYDE 3,2 historical land use maps, at a resolution of 0.5º latitude by longitude during 1900-2013. Our data indicate N and P fertilizer use rates increased by approximately 8 times and 3 times, respectively, since the year 1961, when IFA (International Fertilizer Industry Association) and FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) survey of country-level fertilizer input were available. Considering cropland expansion, increase of total fertilizer consumption amount is even larger. Hotspots of agricultural N fertilizer use shifted from the U.S. and Western Europe in the 1960s to East Asia in the early 21st century. P fertilizer input show the similar pattern with additional hotspot in Brazil. We find a global increase of fertilizer N/P ratio by 0.8 g N/g P per decade (p< 0.05) during 1961-2013, which may have important global implication of human impacts on agroecosystem functions in the long run. Our data can serve as one of critical input drivers for regional and global assessment on agricultural productivity, crop yield, agriculture-derived greenhouse gas balance, global nutrient budget, land-to-aquatic nutrient loss, and ecosystem feedback to the climate system.