Visualization of Landscape Changes in a 3D Environment Using the Storytelling Approach—The Example of the City of Pristina

This study proposes a detailed concept of how landscape changes can be transferred and communicated in a 3D environment using the storytelling approach. In 2018, Mocnik and Fairbairn argued that maps are good for representing a geographic space but texts have a better benefit than maps for telling a story [1]. A framework is presented on how a landscape change can be retrieved out of textual descriptions. A prototype of a 3D model with a projection on top of it was developed. The case study tells the story of the landscape change in the city of Pristina. The key element of the visualization is a timeline. Several media like cadastral maps, orthophotos, texts, graphics, and background sound are used and combined in an animated light show and the visualization was evaluated within a user study.

Landscape Changes from 1974 to 1995 in the Upper Minjiang River Basin, China

Landscape changes were traced over the 20 years from 1974 to 1995 in the upper Minjiang River basin, one of the most important forest regions in China, based on satellite image interpretation to provide basic data for local decision-making as well as sustainable landscape use and management. Results revealed that landscape from 1974 to 1995 changed at the regional scale as the area of forestland decreased, while cropland, shrubland, economic forest, grassland, and built-up land increased. Landscape changes mainly occurred in forestland, shrubland, grassland, economic forest, and built-up land. Moreover, the changes among forestland, shrubland, and grassland were the largest, influencing the whole characteristics of the changes in the basin. Analysis of the changes between 1974 and 1995 in the study area indicated that landscape heterogeneity and fragmentation increased, whereas landscape connectivity decreased. There were multiple reasons for landscape changes. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to quantitatively study driving forces of landscape changes. The PCA results showed that economic and population factors were the principal driving forces of landscape changes from 1974 to 1995 in the upper Minjiang River basin, and that PCA was a suitable method for investigating driving forces of landscape changes.

Landscape Changes in Wenchuan ——A Mountainous County in Sichuan, China

Based on the collection of land use maps of three representative years (1972,1986 and 1995) with a scale of 1 : 100 000, which were derived from interpreted aerial photographsand field surveys , landscape pattern were studied in Wenchuan County of Aba Prefecture, northwestof Sichuan Province, China. Six land use categories were classified according to the actuality ofthe study area and digitized by manual with the assistance of Geographic Information System (GIS).Landscape spatial and temporal changes were analyzed quanti-ficationally by a series of structure,shape, pattern indices, which indicated that grassland dominates in number of patch while bothgrassland and shrub-land dominate in total area of patch over time. During the last 23 years, thefractal dimension of grassland and shrub-land were decreased while the other types were increased.Highest dominance and fragmentation and lowest diversity characterized the landscape of 1972. In1986, the landscape pattern had the highest diversity and lowest dominance and fragmentation, whichis contrary to the pattern in 1972. Slight change of diversity, dominance and fragmentation has beendisplayed from 1986 to 1995.

Using occupancy models to determine mammalian responses to landscape changes

Determining impacts of anthropogenic landscape changes on wildlife populations is difficult.Besides the challengesDetermining impacts of anthropogenic landscape changes on wildlife populations is difficult.Besides the challenges of designing field studies to document conditions before and after landscape changes occur,assessment of popula-of designing field studies to document conditions before and after landscape changes occur,assessment of popula-tion responses(e.g.changes in population density)often provide poor inference because of sampling limitations.tion responses(e.g.changes in population density)often provide poor inference because of sampling limitations.Estimation of occupancy,however,only requires data on detection or non-detection of a species and might provideEstimation of occupancy,however,only requires data on detection or non-detection of a species and might provide better inference.To demonstrate the utility of occupancy models,we used data from an American black bear(Ursusbetter inference.To demonstrate the utility of occupancy models,we used data from an American black bear(Ursus americanus Pallas)population in North Carolina,USA to test our research hypothesis that documented declines inamericanus Pallas)population in North Carolina,USA to test our research hypothesis that documented declines in site occupancy of black bears would be greater near a new four-lane highway.We used multi-season occupancysite occupancy of black bears would be greater near a new four-lane highway.We used multi-season occupancy models to estimate site occupancy based on bear visitation to survey sites before and after completion of the newmodels to estimate site occupancy based on bear visitation to survey sites before and after completion of the new highway and as a function of distance to the highway.Site occupancy declined from 0.81 to 0.35 between the twohighway and as a function of distance to the highway.Site occupancy declined from 0.81 to 0.35 between the two study phases,but was not a function of distance to the highway.Therefore,the impact of the new highway onstudy phases,but was not a function of distance to the highway.Therefore,the impact of the new highway on occupancy extended to the entire study area.Our case study demonstrates that occupancy models can provideoccupancy extended to the entire study area.Our case study demonstrates that occupancy models can provide powerful inference regarding the potential impacts of landscape changes on species occupancy.As urban areas andpowerful inference regarding the potential impacts of landscape changes on species occupancy.As urban areas and transportation infrastructure are rapidly expanding in developing regions of the world,the need to determine howtransportation infrastructure are rapidly expanding in developing regions of the world,the need to determine how these changes affect mammal populations and how they might be mitigated increases accordingly.Because fieldthese changes affect mammal populations and how they might be mitigated increases accordingly.Because field sampling for occupancy models only requires detection data,surveys can be conducted for extensive geographicsampling for occupancy models only requires detection data,surveys can be conducted for extensive geographic areas,thus making these surveys particularly applicable to studies of large mammals.areas,thus making these surveys particularly applicable to studies of large mammals.

Regional agricultural landscape pattern changes along the Yellow River in Henan Province from 1987 to 2002

Agricultural landscape along the riparian zones is designated as important landscape components for partly controlling water quality, biodiversity, as well as for their aesthetic role in landscapes. Therefore, the change of agricultural landscape along the riparian zones is at the top of the agenda for many policy makers and landscape planners. As a basis for conservation management, sufficient information about landscape structure should be provided. In the present study, we reconstructed the former landscape structure and elucidated the changes in landscape patterns during a period of about 15 years. Two sets of maps were used： a landsat-5 TM image （1987） and landsat-7 ETM image （2002）. The frequency index, landscape diversity index and landscape fragmentation index were calculated for analyses. The results showed that： （1） the areas of the irrigated land, river, forest and beach landscape classes presented a decreasing trend while the areas of landscape classes of pool, paddy fields, dry land and construction land increased. （2） Disturbed by human activity, landscape diversity index increased but landscape fragmentation index decreased. In short, Human activities have had important influences on agricultural landscape of the riparian zones along the Yellow River in Henan Province.

Coastline and landscape changes in bay areas caused by human activities: A comparative analysis of Xiangshan Bay, China and Tampa Bay, USA

Using multitemporal Landsat TM/OLI images at a 10-year interval, in this study, we （1） extracted information of spatial location, length, and sinuosity of coastline and landscape configuration, diversity and fragmentation in the bay areas of Xiangshan Bay （XB）, China and Tampa Bay （TB）, USA from 1985 to 2015; （2） constructed indices of artificial coastlines and human disturbance on bay area landscapes; and （3） explored and discussed the impacts of human activities on changes of coastlines and landscape types in the two bay areas. Our analysis results demonstrate the following five points. （1） During the past 30 years, the lengths of natural coastline in XB and TB shrank, while the lengths of their artificial coastline increased first and then maintained stable. Since there were different influences of human activities on coastlines and landscape types between the two bay areas, XB experienced dramatic changes in parts of coastline geomorphologies and continuous decrease of coastline sinuosity, while, in TB, there was a little change in coastline geomorphologies and its coastline sinuosity was almost unchanged. （2） The intensity of human activities in XB was continuously enhanced from 1985 to 1995, and then the degree of enhancement had slowed down after 1995. However, in the time period, the impacted extent of human activities gradually increased and finally covered almost entire coastlines in XB. In TB area, although the intensity of human activities was enhanced, the degree of enhancement slowed down from 1985 to 2015 and the impacted areas of human activates were concentrated in several coastal city areas. （3） The average area of landscape patches strongly disturbed by human activities in both XB and TB generally showed a trend of decreasing from 1985 to 2005. However, during the period of 2005 to 2015, the average patch area of landscapes disturbed by different degrees of human activities in XB changed differently, while in TB it almost did not change. （4） From 1985 to 2005, the indices of landscape diversity in various areas of human disturbance in XB gradually increased, while in TB, changes in indices of the landscape diversity varied. From 2005 to 2015, the changes in the intensity of human disturbance in both bay areas were from weak to strong, whereas the indices of landscape diversity in XB and TB increased first and then decreased. （5） The landscape fragmentation index in different human disturbance areas in both XB and TB gradually increased from 1985 to 2005, while from 2005 to 2015, in both bay areas, the landscape fragmentation index presented a decreasing trend.

Development versus conservation: evaluation of landscape structure changes in Dem?novská Valley, Slovakia

This paper presents the changes of landscape structure in the Demanovská Valley which ranks among the most valuable protected areas of Slovakia. The area was selected on the basis of changes associated with the rapidly growing tourism industry and the rise of an important destination in the center of Low Tatras National Park, Slovakia. To document any changes, we visually interpreted data from aerial and satellite images in three periods（1949, 2007 and 2013） and for predicting future changes we used land use planning documentation. Interpreted data were analyzed using overlay analysis and landscape metrics. Results showed extensive changes in the landscape structure mainly connected with the development of tourism infrastructure. We also identified long-term changes whose causes stem from the transformation of society and forest management in the past. The dynamics and extent of these changes may increase in the future. We propose to stop future development of ski slopes and expansion of related infrastructure, to focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly operation of the existing ski resort and to invest a substantial portion of profits to support projects aimed to preserve surrounding lands and wildlife.

Landscape change on burned blanks in Daxing'an Mountains

Daxing抋n Mountains was one of the most important forest areas in China, but it was also an area which was prone to suffering forest fire. The catastrophic forest fire that occurred in Daxing抋n Mountains on May 6, 1987 devastated more than 1.33?06 hm2 of natural forests, which leaded to the formation of some mosaic areas with different burn intensities. Two forest farms of Tuqiang Forest Bureau (124?5-122?8E, 53?4-52?5N) were chosen as a typical area to analyze the post-fire landscape change by drawing and comparing the two digital forest stand maps of 1987 and 2000. The landscape lands of forest were classi-fied into 12 types: coniferous forest, broadleaf forest, needle-broadleaf mixed forest, shrub, nursery, harvested area, burned blanks, agricultural land, swamp, water, built-up, grass. The results showed that: 1) The burned blanks was almost restored, some of them mainly converted into broadleaf forest land during the process of natural restoration, and coniferous forest land by the artificial re-forestation, and the others almost changed into swamp or grass land; 2) The proportion of forest area increased from 47.6% in 1987 to 81.3% in 2002. Therefore, a few management countermeasures, such as the enhancing peoples consciousness of fire-proofing and constructing species diversity, were put forward for forest sustainable development.

How to Heat a Planet? Impact of Anthropogenic Landscapes on Earth’s Albedo and Temperature

Today anthropogenic climate change is underway and predicted future global temperatures vary significantly. However, the drivers of current climate change and their links to Earth’s natural glacial cycle have yet to be fully resolved. Currently, many on a local level understand, and are exposed to, the heat energy generated by what’s referred to as the urban heat island effect (UHI), whereby natural flora with higher albedos is replaced by manmade urban areas with lower albedos. This heat effect is not constrained to these regions and all anthropogenic surfaces with lower albedos need to be studied and quantified as the accumulated additional heat energy (infrared energy) is trapped within Earth’s atmosphere and could affect the Earth on a planetary level. Deployed satellites have detected critical changes to Earth’s albedo to lower levels, however the cause and impact of these changes have yet to be fully understood and incorporated into Global Circulation models (GCMs). Here it’s shown that industrialization of anthropogenic landscape practices of the past century has displaced millions of square kilometres of naturally high albedo grasslands with lower albedo agricultural landscapes. Utilising a fundamental Energy Balance Model, (EBM) it’s demonstrated these specific changes have generated vast amounts of additional heat energy which is trapped by the atmosphere, transferred and stored within the oceans of the Earth as shown in Figure 1. The total additional heat energy accumulated over the preceding 110 years correlates to that required to warm the Earth to the levels seen to date, altering Earth’s overall energy budget. This energy will continue to accumulate and warm the Earth to a predicted 1.60 ± 0.20 Celsius by 2050 over 1910 levels. These findings are independent of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) additions and are further validated by predicting Earth’s temperature and albedo at the last glacial maxima, suggesting that an albedo cycle aligned to Gaia theory is the primary driver of Earth’s natural climate cycle.

Landscape pattern change in the upper valley of Min River

The upper valley of Min River (102° 59′ –104° 14′ E, 31° 26′ – 33° 16′ N), which is consisted of the counties Wenchuan, Maoxian, Lixian, Heishui, and Songpan, refers to the part up to Dujiangyan City, and locates on the transition zone from the Tibetan Plateau to the Si- chuan Basin. It is one of the most important forest areas in China, especially in Sichuan Province. Over past two decades, the landscape changed remarkably in the region. The 3S techniques (Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Position System (GPS)) were used to classify the images and analyze the landscape change. The remotely sensed data of Landsat TM 1986 and Landsat ETM+ 2000 were used to analyze the landscape change of the region. The landscape were classified into 10 types of cropland, for- est, shrub land, economic forest, grassland, build up land, river, lake, swamp, and unused land. The results showed that: 1) the woodland and grassland were dominating landscape types in the upper valley of Min River, which is more than 91% of the study area; 2) the alteration of the landscape was mainly happened among forest, shrub land, grassland, economic forest, cropland, and build up land, where forest de- creased from 51.17% to 47.56%; 3) the landscape fragmentation in the upper valley of Min River was aggravated from 1986 to 2000.

Impacts of human activity and natural change on the wetland landscape pattern along the Yellow River in Henan Province

By using GIS and remote sensing techniques, the paper discusses how human activities have changed along the Yellow River in Henan province, China and how these altered activities have influenced the wetland landscape pattern change from 1987 to 2002. Results show that the total area of the wetland reduces dramatically compared to 1987, the total area of wetland reduces by 19.18%, the number of the patches in 2002 increases by 21.17%, the density increases by 50%, and the total perimeter increases by 1,290,491 m. Disturbed by human activities, landscape diversity index decreases from 1.1740 in 1987 to 0.9803 in 2002. During the last 20 years, the total area of the rice wetland increases, while the others decrease. Among those, the area of the bulrush wetland decreases most. In 1987, it takes 0.5% of the total area, but in 2002, it only takes 0.11%. The interpenetration of human influences on the wetland natural system has been long and close. The impacts of human activities on the spatial pattern of the wetland landscape along the Yellow River in Henan from 1987 to 2002 are great.

Adapting the botanical landscape of Melbourne Gardens(Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)in response to climate change

Botanic gardens around the world maintain collections of living plants for science, conservation, education, beauty and more. These collections change over time-in scope and content-but the predicted impacts of climate change will require a more strategic approach to the succession of plant species and their landscapes. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria has recently published a 'Landscape Succession Strategy'for its Melbourne Gardens, a spectacular botanical landscape established in 1846. The strategy recognizes that with 1.6 million visitors each year, responsibility for a heritage-listed landscape and the need to care for a collection of 8500 plant species of conservation and scientific importance, planting and planning must take into account anticipated changes to rainfall and temperature. The trees we plant today must be suitable for the climate of the twenty-second century. Specifically, the Strategy sets out the steps needed over the next twenty years to transition the botanic garden to one resilient to the climate modelled for2090. The document includes a range of practical measures and achievable(and at times somewhat aspirational) targets. Climate analogues will be used to identify places in Australia and elsewhere with conditions today similar to those predicted for Melbourne in 2090, to help select new species for the collection. Modelling of the natural and cultivated distribution of species will be used to help select suitable growth forms to replace existing species of high value or interest. Improved understanding of temperature gradients within the botanic garden, water holding capacity of soils and plant water use behaviour is already resulting in better targeted planting and irrigation. The goal is to retain a similar diversity of species but transition the collection so that by 2036 at least 75% of the species are suitable for the climate in 2090. Over the next few years we hope to provide 100% of irrigation water from sustainable water sources, and infrastructure will be improved to adapt to predicted higher temperatures and more climatic extremes. At all times there will be a strong focus on assisting the broader community in their response to climate change.

Driving factors of forest landscape change in Yiluo River basin

The expansion of agriculture is posited as one of the main dynamics of forest landscape change globally, and the robust modeling of these processes is important for policy as well as academic concern. This paper concerns a relatively small area of Yiluo River catchment where considerable attention has been paid to slow down the process of the expansion of agriculture into the remaining natural forests. In the present study, we reconstructed the former forest landscape structure and elucidated the landscape change during a period of about 15 years. Three sets （1987, 1996 and 2002） of maps derived from Landsat-5 images were used for analyses. The result showed that there was a decrease in the area of the forest landscape from 995.60 km2 in 1987 to 650.50 km2 in 2002. Then we examined the degree to which forest landscape conversion could be attributed to a set of factors identified as significant at broader scales, namely topography, distribution of the village clusters （centroids）, distance from villages （centroids）, and distance from forest edge （1987）. By using ＂spatial analysis＂ in Arc/gis 8.3, the correlation between forest landscape change and driving factors was constructed. This study found that forest landscape conversion in this region was largely explained by elevation, slope and proximity to village.

The Evolution of Landscape Patterns of and Optimization Measures for Urban Core Areas Against the Background of Urbanization: A Case Study of Yangling Demonstration Zone

Studying tiie urban landscape pattern plays a crucial role in scientific land use and management and in improving the urban ecological environment In this paper, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Fragstats, and other software were used to analyse the data of the fourth phase of land use in the core atea of Yangling Demonstration Zone. The results showed that： ① in the core area, the percentage of construction land incteased from 18.22% to 61.72%, and the percentage of agricultufal land decreased from 58.36% to 11.14%. And the fafm land was fragmented, and traffic connectivily was strengthened. The afea of garden land was reduced from 251.89 hm2 to 50.38 hm^2, and the landscape metric of forest land showed an inverted V-shaped curve. ②The year 2009 in four phases witnessed the greatest landscape fragmentation, both Edge Density （ED） and Ingest Patch Index （LPI） increased, and human interference enhanced the overall landscape complexity. Measures were fotmulated in terms of deaf development goals, optimized allocation of land resoutces, effective protection of ecological ted lines, and definite ecological responsibility, so as to optimize the urban landscape pattern.

Modeled Surface Observations for Spatial Analysis of Landscape Dynamics

Landscape dynamics is a geoecological characteristic that defines changes in a landscape spatial structure and function during an established time scale. In this kind of analysis, geoprocessing is an essential tool, because it combines several technologies that help in this work. However, the majority of landscape dynamic investigations do not consider the dimensionality of the data and the information to be used, which is projected not measured from modeled (real) surface observations, and presents underestimated results, mainly in irregular relief landscapes. Considering that, this paper intends to assess the difference between observations on modeled and planimetric surfaces on the interpretation of landscape dynamics. The study was conducted in the massif of Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) using land use and soil cover maps of different times and a digital elevation models (DEM) generated based on a triangular irregular. The results show an increase of dynamic areas values when observations were carried out on modeled surface, as well as the deforestation rate (17.57% or 0.13 km2/year). This survey showed higher values in comparison with observations on planimetric surface, characterizing more realistic interpretations of how the structural elements and analyses made from these are structured in the landscape.

Changing Landscapes in Xishuangbanna

The warm and wet Xishuangbanna is the only oasis on the desert belt on the Tropic of Cancer. Here is a sea of forests, one of the most beautiful forest areas in China. Growing here are more than 5,000 species of plants of higher order, including 341 rare species. Inhabiting in the forests are many rare wild animals, among them 109 have been listed for state protection. It is really worth the name＇, as the ＂Kingdom of Plants and Animals,＂

A landscape persistence-based methodological framework for assessing ecological stability

Ecological stability is a critical factor in global sustainable development,yet its significance has been overlooked.Here we introduce a landscape-oriented framework to evaluate ecological stability in the Qingzang Plateau(QP).Our findings reveal a medium-high stability level in the QP,with minimal changes over recent years.The driving factors vary across landscape types,with climate and anthropogenic factors emerging as crucial determinants.While anthropogenic factors are strong but unstable due to policy changes and economic development,climatic factors exert a consistent influence.Based on our results,we propose site-specific ecological conservation and restoration measures.The ecological stability assessment framework provides a practical tool to understand the link between environmental conditions and ecosystems.

Development of a large-scale remote sensing ecological index in arid areas and its application in the Aral Sea Basin

The Aral Sea Basin in Central Asia is an important geographical environment unit in the center of Eurasia.It is of great significance to the ecological protection and sustainable development of Central Asia to carry out dynamic monitoring and effective evaluation of the eco-environmental quality of the Aral Sea Basin.In this study,the arid remote sensing ecological index(ARSEI)for large-scale arid areas was developed,which coupled the information of the greenness index,the salinity index,the humidity index,the heat index,and the land degradation index of arid areas.The ARSEI was used to monitor and evaluate the eco-environmental quality of the Aral Sea Basin from 2000 to 2019.The results show that the greenness index,the humidity index and the land degradation index had a positive impact on the quality of the ecological environment in the Aral Sea Basin,while the salinity index and the heat index exerted a negative impact on the quality of the ecological environment.The eco-environmental quality of the Aral Sea Basin demonstrated a trend of initial improvement,followed by deterioration,and finally further improvement.The spatial variation of these changes was significant.From 2000 to 2019,grassland and wasteland(saline alkali land and sandy land)in the central and western parts of the basin had the worst ecological environment quality.The areas with poor ecological environment quality are mainly distributed in rivers,wetlands,and cultivated land around lakes.During the period from 2000 to 2019,except for the surrounding areas of the Aral Sea,the ecological environment quality in other areas of the Aral Sea Basin has been improved in general.The correlation coefficients between the change in the eco-environmental quality and the heat index and between the change in the eco-environmental quality and the humidity index were–0.593 and 0.524,respectively.Climate conditions and human activities have led to different combinations of heat and humidity changes in the eco-environmental quality of the Aral Sea Basin.However,human activities had a greater impact.The ARSEI can quantitatively and intuitively reflect the scale and causes of large-scale and long-time period changes of the eco-environmental quality in arid areas;it is very suitable for the study of the eco-environmental quality in arid areas.

Mid and late Holocene forest fires and deforestation in the subalpine belt of the Iberian range,northern Spain

The conversion of subalpine forests into grasslands for pastoral use is a well-knownphenomenon, although for most mountain areas the timing of deforestation has not been determined. The presence of charcoal fragments in soil profiles affected by shallow landsliding enabled us to date the occurrence of fires and the periods of conversion ofsubalpine forest into grasslands in the Urbión Mountains, Iberian Range, Spain. We found that the treeline in the highest parts of the northwestern massifs of the Iberian Range(the Urbión, Demanda, Neila, and Cebollera massifs) is currently between 1500 and 1600 m a.s.l., probably because of pastoral use of the subalpine belt, whereas in the past it would have reached almost the highest divides(at approximately 2100–2200 m a.s.l.). The radiocarbon dates obtained indicate that the transformation of the subalpine belt occurred during the Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Middle Ages. Forest clearing was probably moderate during fires prior to the Middle Ages, as the small size of the sheep herds and the local character of the markets only required small clearings, and therefore more limited fires. Thus, it is likely that the forest recovered burnt areas in a few decades; this suggests the management of the forest and grasslands following a slash-andburn system. During the Middle and Modern Ages deforestation and grassland expansion affected most of the subalpine belt and coincided with the increasing prevalence of transhumance, as occurred in other mountains in the Iberian Peninsula(particularly the Pyrenees). Although the occurrence of shallow landslides following deforestation between the Neolithic and the Roman Period cannot be ruled out, the most extensive shallow landsliding processes would have occurred from the Middle Ages until recent times.