Effects of Corridor Networks on Plant Species Composition and Diversity in an Intensive Agriculture Landscape

The development of modern agriculture has resulted in much homogenization of the landscape consisting of large patches of farmland,so small remnant non-crop habitats especially linear corridors play an important role in the conservation of species and the maintenance of ecosystem functions.However,little attention has been paid to the effects of corridors structural characteristics on the plant species restricted to such habitats.In this study,we selected three types of corridors including ditch,hedgerow and road,and analyzed their structural characteristics.The plant species presented in these corridors were investigated,and the species diversity,abundance and frequency were estimated.Moreover,spatial arrangements of corridors were classified into different types to discuss whether there were significant effects of corridor network on plant distribution.The results show that three types of corridors have different effects on plant species composition and diversity.The one-one combined corridor networks and total network associated by three corridors have more complex structural features than each single type of corridor.However,there is no strong correlation between the corridor networks with their plant species.We suggest that carrying out a pointed vegetation survey at corridor intersections to further test the relationships between structural features of corridor and plants is necessary.

Taking Agricultural Landscapes into the Development System of Scenic Spot —with the Detail Plan of Yanmen Mountain Scenic Spot in Zhaixing Mountain as a Study Case

As a kind of landscape resources, agricultural landscapes play a crucial role in rural tourism. It is a new attempt by taking agricultural landscapes into the development system of scenic spot for their mutual support and promotion. With the detail plan of Yanmen Mountain Scenic Spot in Zhaixing Mountain Scenic Area as a study case, the authors studied how to take agricultural landscapes into the development system of scenic spot.

Tourist preferences for agricultural landscapes:a case study of terraced paddy fields in Noto Peninsula,Japan

Many agricultural landscapes have been formed through the interaction and co-evolution of nature and people, and represent the living landscapes shaped over time through intensive and continuous human cultivation. Terraced paddy fields are being re-evaluated to take into account the multiple functions they fill beyond only rice cultivation, particularly their contribution to the national biodiversity strategy of Japan. Since the 1990 s, terraced paddy fields have been considered a representative cultural landscape of Japan and, at the same time, multi-stakeholder conservation activities have been conducted throughout Japan to reverse the increasing abandonment of terraces. Shiroyone Senmaida is an outstanding cultural landscape and a major tourist attraction in Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was designated through an initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) pilot site in 2011. It is important to clarify tourist preference for terraced paddy field landscapes to contribute to future policy making toward improved agricultural landscape conservation. A key finding of this study is that tourists visiting toenjoy the agricultural landscape are also concerned on the sustainability of the farming methods and preferred to maintain the naturalness of the landscape. Respondents with higher educational levels and greater concern for the biological and traditional farming knowledge aspects of the rice terraces were also more inclined to favor sustainable farming practices. Tourists preferred to maintain the naturalness and rurality of the agricultural landscape, and indicated that construction of excessive tourist facilities would cause the landscape to deteriorate. It was suggested that the local community and surroundings, including rural settlements, hills, and forests, should also be conserved together with the scenic terrace.

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.

Changes of local agricultural landscape patterns induced by land consolidation in hilly and mountainous Southwestern China

Land consolidation (LC), as a type of human disturbance, improves land production efficiency and changes landscape distribution through land parcel reallocation. The objective of this study was to comparatively analyze the changes of landscape patches before and after a land consolidation project (LCP) and the effects of land levelling, irrigation and drainage work and road engineering on the landscape structure. FRAGSTAT3.3 and buffer zone analysis were used to investigate those changes. The results suggest that the heterogeneity of landscape depressed, and tended to simplification after LC. Dry land was the most highly variable land use pattern, and the change of forestland was least due to its locations at a gradient larger than 25°. LC resulted in a more rational use of land, and could be an important step in promoting rural development in depressed and fragmented agricultural areas through unused land exploitation, small-patch combination, irrigation and water conservancy, and road construction. Land levelling leveled off the gradient field surface and decreased the slope. The fragmentized patches were much more incorporated with increasing slope. On the other hand, the ridge of a field became longer so that the length of field surface and area of patch were increased. Land levelling regulated, simplified and combined patches, so that the complexity degree was reduced. It is found that the buffer distance of 35 m was a turning point of human disturbance by irrigation and drainage systems, and patches presented flaky distribution when the buffer distance was smaller than 35 m. Meanwhile, the distance range between 25 m to 50 m was an impressible area for road engineering, which was sensitive to human actions, and the changes of all landscape metrics were larger than those in other buffer zones. In general, LC not only reallocated fragmented parcels, but also improved agricultural conditions.

Recreation of Agricultural Landscape for Children with Nature-deficit Disorder

Promoting human health is a basic value of landscape architecture. It is theoretically feasible to rebuild the link between children with nature-deficit disorder and nature via artificially-made natural environment. This paper explored the relationship between children's health and nature from the perspective of landscape architecture theories and practices. First, impact of nature-deficit disorder on children's health; second, basic appeals of children with nature-deficit disorder were sorted out; finally, specialized gardens for children with nature-deficit disorder under the instruction of the above theories were designed.

Rescuing agroforestry as strategy for agriculture in Southern Brazil

Knowledge about agricultural ecosystems, as well as about ecological and social interactions that occur in an agricultural context, is essential to promote a balanced environment for production. Incorporating the forest landscape into farming systems has promoted the development of integrated production systems such as agroforestry. However, many aspects of the relationship between farming and the forest landscape have changed since the modernization of agriculture introduced by the Green Revolution. The objectives of this review are：（1） to contribute to the understanding of the changes in cultivation strategies and in the dynamics of agricultural systems,particularly in the context of farming in Santa Catarina State, Brazil;（2） to contribute to the understanding of agroforestry systems as a strategy to reintroduce the element of forestry into agricultural production systems; and（3） to compile a list of forest plant species that could be used in agroforestry. The approach adopted in this manuscript seeks to highlight the potential of agroforestry systems to conserve natural resources and thereby to support agricultural development by connecting environmental conservation with income for farmers.

SWOT Analysis on the Development of Modern Ecological Land-scape Agriculture:A Case Study of Baiquan Ecological Park

With Baiquan Ecological Park in Yi County as the case,the basic conditions are analyzed from the aspects of area,population,natural resources,socio-economic and industrial development.SWOT analysis of the development of modern ecological landscape agriculture is carried out.It is pointed out that for developing modern ecological landscape agriculture in Western Qing Tombs region,it is necessary to give priority to protecting the ecological environment,highlight the characteristics and style of modern agriculture,consider the existing landscape elements,and comprehensively develop the integrated pattern of ecology,landscape and modern agriculture.

An Agent-Based Assessment of Land Use and Ecosystem Changes in Traditional Agricultural Landscape of Portugal

This paper presents an assessment of land use changes and their impacts on the ecosystem in the Montado, a traditional agricultural landscape of Portugal in response to global environmental change. The assessment uses an agent-based model (ABM) of the adaptive decisions of farmers to simulate the influence on future land use patterns of socio-economic attributes such as social relationships and farmer reliance on subsidies and biophysical constraints. The application and development of the ABM are supported empirically using three categories of input data: 1) farmer types based on a cluster analysis of socio-economic attributes;2) agricultural suitability based on regression analysis of historical land use maps and biophysical attributes;and 3) future trends in the economic and climatic environments based on the A1fi scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Model sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out prior to the scenario analysis in order to verify the absence of systematic errors in the model structure. The results of the scenario analysis show that the area of Montado declines significantly by 2050, but it remains the dominant land use in the case study area, indicating some resilience to change. An important policy challenge arising from this assessment is how to encourage next generation of innovative farmers to conserve this traditional landscape for social and ecological values.

Landscape eco planning and design: concepts, a framework approach and case study

s—In the paper, the three main principles of Landscape Ecology are put forward, that is, Holism Principles, Temporal spatial Scales Principles and Level Organization Principles, Eco cybernetic Principles and Mosaic Stable Principles. It is considered that landscape ecological planning & design (LEPD) is guided by landscape ecological theory, and its basic aim is to create a sustainable landscape ecological system (LES). Furthermore, a framework approach of LEDP is established, and a case study with Zhuolu Basin is taken with the concepts and the approach.

Flow or Fence: Learning, Preserving, and Redefining the Riverfront Cultural Landscape

The Chao Phraya River and the network of canals or “klongs” are the origin of Bangkok’s nick-name “Venice of the East”. Its amphibian nature of lower delta area where used to be covered by the sea around 5000 years ago provides a water-based settlement for the citizens. Rivers as an agricultural irrigation system are also used for daily consumption, transportation, and drainage channels. Bangkok was established in 1782 as the capital of Thailand by King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty. The location is on a flood plain delta of the Chao Phraya River with the same consideration as the up north old capital Ayutthaya;the river is performed as a natural defense against enemies and also provides a water-based settlement for the citizens. The worst flood in Thailand’s history occurred during the 2011 monsoon season;July to November;that became the severest flood disaster hit parts of the capital city of Bangkok and resulted in a total of 815 deaths and 65 of Thailand’s 77 provinces were declared flood disaster zones, and over 20,000 square kilometers (7700 square miles) of farmland was damaged. The most affected areas were the recent capital Bangkok and the old capital Ayutthaya. The major causes were not only from the natural disaster but also water management failures from the human disaster. The studies aimed to include the survey of after-flood areas, reviewing the history of the waterfront communities and their attitudes toward development and changes, then discussed threats and crisis to the cultural landscape, the cause and effects of the disaster, the theoretical framework of the best management practices and the resolutions models proposed by the involved authorities. Whilst, history also gives us a sense of identity and traditional wisdom, the paper tried to find a paradigm shift and invented best practices for future generation flood protection using “the meaning and spirit of cultural landscape” model.

Understanding Changing in Traditional Agricultural Landscapes： Towards a Framework

Since the second half of the 20th century in Italy, following farming conversion or abandonment, many traditional agricultural systems and the connected landscapes along with them have disappeared. We discuss a conceptual framework to understand and describe changing in agricultural landscapes. According to us, the traditionality of the agricultural landscape is an expression of the local coevolution between the social project of the farmer and the constraints made by the natural system. The paper focuses on defining a spatial-temporal analytical model based on both the morphological recognition of different typologies of elements which contribute to the environmental landscape mosaic and the dynamic observation of the transformations of the mosaic itself. We identify the natural, social and economic driving forces involved in defining the agricultural space using a transdisciplinary approach so that ecological, agronomics and socio-economical information must be integrated as a basis for land use planning and management. The research approach and the methodology are applied to a couple of case studies.

Exploration of Multi-modal Teaching Methods in Teaching of Agricultural Landscape Planning

Taking the teaching practice of agricultural landscape planning for example,this paper uses the multi-modal teaching idea for teaching design based on traditional lecture-style teaching,including multi-modal teaching materials,multi-modal teaching methods and multi-modal teaching evaluation. The results show that this method can effectively improve students' interest in learning,reinforce the theoretical basis of agricultural landscape planning theory,and improve agricultural landscape planning practical skills. It is the active exploration of multi-modal teaching model and useful complement to traditional classroom teaching.

Evaluation of Probability Distribution Functions for Modeling Forest Tree Diameters on Agricultural Landscapes in Ogun State, Nigeria

The use of probability distribution functions for describing tree diameter at breast height provides useful information for forest resource evaluation and quantification. A series of probability distribution functions have been widely developed and applied for managing forest trees in conventional forest reserves without much consideration for trees outside forest reserves. The aim of this study is to evaluate and propose a suitable probability distribution function for trees in Agricultural landscapes. The study examined 3-parameter lognormal, Lognormal, 3-parameter Gamma, Gamma, 3-parameter Weibull and Weibull distribution functions, using the Maximum Likelihood method for fitting tree diameter at breast height. Three hundred and thirty-two temporary farmlands were randomly selected from which stem diameter of all living trees, with diameter ≥ 10.0 cm, were measured. Results of the statistical analysis showed that the 3-parameter lognormal distribution gave a superior description of the stem diameter with the least values of Anderson Darling (1.627) and Akaike Information Criterion (5962.0) statistics. Hence, the 3-parameter lognormal distribution function was found suitable for the stem diameter of trees in Agricultural landscapes in the study area.

The effects of climate and land use change on the potential distribution and nesting habitat of the Lesser Adjutant in Nepal

Climate change and land use change pose a threat to the world’s biodiversity and have significant impacts on the geographic distribution and composition of many bird species,but little is known about how they affect threatened large-sized waterbird species that rely on agricultural landscapes.To address this gap,we investigated how climate and land use changes influence the distribution and nesting habitats of the globally vulnerable Lesser Adjutant(Leptoptilos javanicus) in Nepal.Between 2012 and 2023,we collected distribution data from 24 districts and nesting site information from 18 districts.In a nation-wide breeding survey conducted in 2020,we documented a total of 581 fledglings from 346 nests in 109 colonies.The ensemble model predicted a current potential distribution of 15%(21,637 km2) and a potential nesting habitat of 13%(19,651 km2) for the species in Nepal.The highest predicted current suitable distribution and nesting habitat was in Madhesh Province,while none was predicted in Karnali Province.The majority of this predicted distributional and nesting habitat falls on agricultural landscapes(>70%).Our model showed a likely range expansion of up to 15%(21,573 km2) for the distribution and up to 12%(17,482 km2) for the nesting habitat under SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the 2070s.The range expansion is expected to occur mainly within the current distribution and breeding range(Tarai and some regions of Siwalk),particularly in Lumbini and Sudurpashchim provinces,and extend to the northern portions(Siwalik and Mid-hill regions) in other provinces.However,the current Protected Areas and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas are inadequate for providing optimal habitats for the species.Although the model suggests range expansion,the use of such novel habitats is primarily contingent on the availability and protection of large-sized trees(particularly Bombax ceiba,observed in 65% of colonies) in agricultural regions where nesting occurs.Therefore,our research suggests that agricultural landscapes should be prioritized in management plans for the conservation of the Lesser Adjutant in Nepal.

The Impacts of Sugarcane Expansion on Wildlife in the State of Sao Paulo,Brazil

Brazil has become one of the top producers and exporters of food, fibre, and bionergy in the world.The expansion of livestock and soybean production in the Amazon basin appears to be independent of the sugarcane expansion in southeastern Brazil whereas the impact of sugarcane expansion over areas of soybean plantation in previous Cerrado biome is still unknown. However, the expansion of sugarcane production in the state of S?o Paulohas been shown to cause an increase in the local abundance of rodents and result in the emergence of infectious diseases such as hantaviruses and leptospirosis in humans. In addition, with an increase in the use of agrochemicals there will be an increase in euthrophication of watercourses and soil pollution. Considering that S?o Paulo has a population of approximately 40 million people, these local impacts are relevant. Environmental law should be improved and enforced in Brazil to ensure that sugarcane production is not only economically profitable but also environmentally responsible.

Measuring the Condition of Saline Wetlands Threatened by Agricultural Intensification

The saline wetlands,or'saladas',of Monegros Desert,NE Spain,contain biodiversity that depends on the estab- lishment of a prognostic monitoring system that can warn of approaching irreversible damage.In the context of a lack of existing biodiversity inventories for the saladas,we determined their state of conservation and vulnerability using seven physical indicators:escarpment continuity,cropping,stone dumping,size,water occurrence,distance to roads,and proximity to irrigated areas.These features were combined into three meaningful indexes,i.e.,conservation,current vulnerability,and future vulnerability,thus creating an assessment of the preservation or degradation of saladas in the context of encroaching agricultural irrigation projects.The proposed indexes produced consistent results and showed that a great number of the Monegros wetlands were threatened,regardless of their size or frequency of water occurrence.Only 20% of the saladas studied were classified as being in a good or very good conservation,whereas 50% were in bad or very bad shape.A high current vulnerability was found for 60% of the saladas.For saladas located in land to be irrigated, we predicted that 73% would have a high or very high future vulnerability.Currently,58% of the saladas were in bad or very bad condition and fully 65% of the saladas,variable in size,presented a bad or very bad prognosis.Our approach provides a monitoring strategy for the conservation of saline wetlands threatened by agricultural intensification,especially irrigation.

A research on development of agritourism in China-a case study of Beijing

Agritourism is a new kind of industry which combined agriculture with tourism and started from the 1970s with the development of agricultural economy and meeting the demand of touring consumption. It is an important way to exploit natural resources sufficiently, change the simplistic structure and promote the high efficient agriculture. It provides a new space for people to enjoy themselves and appreciate rural scenery. In light of its function, it can be classified into sightseeing, dietetics, shopping, recreation, leisure, health and vocationing. At present, most agritourism is concentrated at the suburbs of big cities, comparative developed regions along the seashore, scenic spots nationalities inhabited areas and regions of special agriculture. Beijing is a metropolis where tourism is comparatively well developed with advantageous conditions. Agricultural landscape is the theoretical base of agritourism. So it is important to construct agricultural landscape and artificial landscape is the premise to develop agritourism.

Identification of habitat requirements of farmland birds based on a hierarchical structured monitoring scheme

Agricultural landscapes are essential for the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, a negative trend continues to be observed in many rural areas for the most prominent indicator species group, the farmland birds. However, clear cause-effect relationships are rarely reported and sometimes difficult to deduce, especially from monitoring data which are based only on the detection of species and counts of the numbers of individuals. Because the identification of habitat preferences is a precondition for farmland bird biodiversity conservation efforts, a monitoring scheme for the simultaneous collection and analysis of bird and land use data was developed and tested. In order to assign the occurrence of bird species to land characteristics at various spatial scales and different land use and crop types, we applied a hierarchical structured sampling design. The spatial scales were ‘agricultural landscape', ‘agricultural landscape types', ‘field crops and other habitats' and ‘vegetation structures'. These scales were integrated with a novel concept, the ‘habitat matrix'(HM). This method was applied to farmland breeding bird abundances on 29 plots, each 1 km2 in size, by the use of the territory mapping method. The same plots were enlarged by a 100 m buffer and the sizes and location of habitats documented. Vegetation height, coverage and density were also recorded for all crop fields in the study area. We propose that this monitoring method facilitates the identification of scale dependent relationships between farmland bird habitat characteristics and bird abundance. This is demonstrated by the farmland bird species Corn Bunting(Emberiza calandra), Skylark(Alauda arvensis), and Whinchat(Saxicola rubetra). The breeding territories of these species reveal large differences within the various spatial scales ‘agricultural landscape', ‘agricultural landscape types' and ‘field crops'. Throughout the breeding season the abundances varied, dependent on the field crop and the development of vegetation structures(height, coverage, and density). HM-analysis led to the identification of specific habitat configurations preferred by individual bird species within the agricultural landscape. These findings indicate that the methodology has the potential to design monitoring schemes for the identification of cause-and-effects of landscape configuration, land use and land use changes on the habitat suitability and abundance of farmland birds.

Dynamic changes and transitions of agricultural landscape patterns in mountainous areas:A case study from the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Analyzing the agricultural landscape patterns in mountainous areas is critical to clarify the dynamic changes and development direction of agricultural landscapes.This also plays a significant role in the rational planning and management of agricultural land.A theoretical framework for agricultural landscape pattern transitions in mountainous areas is proposed to fill the gap of current research with an empirical study in the Caotangxi Watershed,Three Gorges Reservoir Area(TGRA),China.The transition characteristics of agricultural landscape patterns from 2000 to 2018 as represented by sloping farmland,abandoned land,and orchards are analyzed from a holistic-local perspective.The results indicate that the orchards expanded along river valleys,and abandoned land expanded at high elevations,which led to reduced sloping farmland.This phenomenon gives regional landscape differences at the holistic and local levels.Namely,it enhances the region’s holistic landscape diversity but causes fragmentation and aggregation of landscape patches in local areas.The agricultural landscape pattern transitions within the farming range in the study area are manifested primarily in four modes:sloping farmland-orchard conversion type(FOCT),comprehensive conversion type(CCT),partially abandoned type(PAT),and wholly abandoned type(WAT).Each transition mode reveals different development stages of the mountainous agricultural landscape patterns.In general,the agricultural landscape pattern transition is driven by socioeconomic factors in mountainous areas of the TGRA and is bidirectional.This attribute is expressed as the transition from the traditional grain-planting landscape with an even distribution to the eco-economic win-win orchard in valleys and transitions from sloping farmland to abandoned land in high-elevation areas.Overall,the results of this study reveal the uniqueness of agricultural landscape pattern evolutions in China’s mountainous areas in recent decades,which has enlightened the in-depth understandings of rural land use and agricultural ecosystems in mountainous areas of the TGRA,as well as improvements in rural developments and ecological environments.