We investigated the role of land use/land cover and agriculture practices on stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics in the Willow Slough watershed (WSW) from 2006 to 2008. The 415km² watershed in the northern Central Valley, California is covered by 31% of native vegetation and the remaining 69% of agricultural fields (primarily alfalfa, tomatoes, and rice). Stream discharge and weekly DOC concentrations were measured at eight nested subwatersheds to estimate the DOC loads and yields (loads/area) using the USGS developed stream load estimation model, LOADEST.

Various spectral data preprocessing approaches have been used to improve endmember extraction for urban landscape decomposition, yet little is known of their comparative adequacy for impervious surface mapping. This study tested four commonly used spectral data treatment strategies for endmember derivation, including original spectra, image fusion via principal component analysis, spectral normalization, and the minimum noise fraction (MNF) transformation.

Most of the current global land cover datasets and global scale land-use models use a classification of land cover based on the dominant land cover type within a distinct region or pixel. Such a classification disregards the diversity and intensity of human influence on land systems. In this paper we propose a novel way of classification and modeling land-use using a classification based on land-use systems (LUSs) that represent specific combinations of human-environment interactions. A cluster analysis was used to identify and map these LUSs.

Faecal Coliform (FC) bacteria were used as Faecal Indicator Organisms (FIOs) for assessment of microbiological pollution risk in two large, mixed land use catchments in Scotland. FC counts varied spatially in relation to land use and human population and resulting trophic status. These were highest in catchments with a high cover of improved pasture (which was assumed to be a proxy for cattle and sheep grazing densities) and significant human populations. FC counts were lowest in oligotrophic upland areas, where domesticated animal populations were low.

Land use and land cover (LULC) over Africa have changed substantially over the last 60 years and this change has been proposed to affect monsoon circulation and precipitation. This study examines the uncertainties of model simulated response in the African monsoon system and Sahel precipitation due to LULC change using a set of regional model simulations with different combinations of land surface and cumulus parameterization schemes.

Even though considerable parts of the global tropical forests are located in Africa, reliable data on African forest resources is limited. While this is widely recognized for tropical moist forests, it also holds for tropical dry forests. To partially fill the gap a forest inventory was carried out in Burkina Faso, West Africa. In this paper we present a methodological approach and sample based estimates of the tree and forest resources including estimates of (1) land cover classes, (2) species composition, and (3) above ground tree carbon stocks.

Earth observation based monitoring of change in vegetation phenology and productivity is an important and widely used approach to quantify degradation of ecosystems due to climatic or human influences. Most satellite based studies apply linear or polynomial regression methods for trend detections. In this paper it is argued that natural systems hardly react to human or natural influences in a linear or a polynomial manner. At shorter time-scales of few decades natural systems fluctuate to a certain extent in a non-systematic manner without necessarily changing equilibrium.

Land conversion in sub‐Saharan Africa has profound biophysical, ecological, political and social consequences for human well‐being and ecosystem services. Understanding the process of land cover changes and transitions is essential for good ecosystem management policy that would lead to improved agricultural production, human well‐being and ecosystems health. This study aimed to assess land cover transitions in a typical semi‐arid degraded agro‐ecosystems environment within the Pangani river basin in northern Tanzania.

Numerical studies on impacts of landscape fragmentation due to land use and land cover change (LUCC) on precipitation fields over the Ji-Paraná basin in the Amazon region are carried out using atmospheric Eta model. Experiments consider historical data about LUCC over the basin from 1978 to 2000 and compare simulations under LUCC conditions with simulations under pristine conditions. In agreement with previous observational studies, model results do not show statistically significant impacts on precipitation in the region.

Human‐induced land use and land cover (LUC) changes threaten the ecosystem services of the vulnerable tropical afro‐alpine vegetation. Several LUC change studies are available for the Ethiopian highlands, but relatively little is known about LUC change in the afro‐alpine zones. In this study, LUC changes between 1964 and 2012 were mapped for the afro‐alpine zone of Lib Amba Mountain, part of the Abune Yosef Mountains in North Ethiopia. Historical LUC was derived from georeferenced aerial photographs of 1964 and 1982, and the present LUC (2012) from Bing Map satellite imagery.

In the anthropogenic fire-disturbed ecosystem of the San Francisco Valley in the Andes of southeastern Ecuador, dense stands of an aggressive invasive weed, the southern bracken fern (Pteridium arachnoideum and Pteridium caudatum), dominate the landscape. To secure sustainable land management in the region, a comprehensive understanding of bracken spatial-distribution patterns and life cycle dynamics is crucial.