1,721,261 research outputs found
Landscape concepts and approaches foster learning about ecosystem services
No full textThe ecosystem services framework aims to encourage ecological sustainability through political-economic decisions. However, it fails to capture the complexity of social–ecological interactions. This is an obstacle for coping with current grand challenges through integrative knowledge production and collaborative learning. Landscape concepts and approaches, which emphasize human–environment interactions, governance and stewardship, can help overcome this obstacle. In particular, landscape concepts and approaches can help resolve the integrative and operational gaps encountered in the ecosystem services framework as a means of communicating evidence-based knowledge about the state and trends of ecosystems. The goal of this Special Issue is to address how different interpretations of landscape can support knowledge production about ES, and how applying landscape approaches on the ground can encourage more collaborative and sustainable land management alternatives. The effectiveness of the ecosystem services framework can be improved by (1) the use of landscape concepts to build bridges to different disciplines, arts and practice, as well as to build SMART sustainability indicators, and (2) the application of holistic landscape approaches for place-based knowledge co-production and collaborative learning across multiple governance levels. This forms the base for a research infrastructure integrating methods from the natural and social sciences through macroecology, comparative politics, and regional studies. While place-based research using landscape concepts can help develop more sustainable alternatives for land management, scaling up landscape approach initiatives towards landscape stewardship and fostering collaborations among initiatives are paramount challenges.PA acknowledges funding from EU Horizon 2020 for the research infrastructure project eLTER, the Swedish Research Council FORMAS (project number 2017:1342), the Lithuanian Science Council (project number P-MIP-17-107), and the 2018-19 Alter-Net High Impact Action. Additionally, funds have been provided by the PEGASUS (Grant agreement ID: 633814) and SUFISA (Grant Agreement: 635577) H2020 projects, and from the ICAAM-Universidade de de Évora annual funding program, including allowances for expenses, meetings and discussions. This work was also co-funded by National Funds through FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology-Portugal) under the project UID/AGR/00115/2019. We acknowledge constructive comments on the manuscript by I Aalders, N Fagerholm, A Rodriquez Sousa, M Spyra, A Vialatte, J Wu and C Quintas-Soriano
Multi-scale mapping of cultural ecosystem services in a socio-ecological landscape: A case study of the international Wadden Sea Region
Full text linkContext
The governance of international natural World Heritage sites is extremely challenging. In the search for effective multilevel governance there is a need to identify the community of people which have place attachment to the areas, i.e. ‘the community of fans’ at local to international levels.
Objectives
Focusing on the landscape of the international Wadden Sea coastal area in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark as a case study, we address three key questions: What is the spatial distribution of the community of fans? How does the size of this community relate to the overlapping communities of locals and actual visitors to the Wadden Sea coastal area? Which parts of the Wadden Sea coastal area are most appreciated by the community of fans, and how does this relate to its formal protection status?
Methods
We analysed 7650 respondents’ answers to a tri-lateral web survey (the standardized Greenmapper survey) conducted in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Results
We estimated that 14 million German, Dutch and Danish citizens can be regarded as the potential—national level—community of fans. The correlation between place or landscape attachment and distance was varied among the three countries. Furthermore, only 37% of the markers placed by fans of the Wadden Sea coastal area are within the protected UNESCO World Heritage limits, suggesting that a broader demarcation could be possible.
Conclusions
We discuss how the identification of fans can potentially contribute to more effective public involvement in the governance of valuable landscapes.This publication is part of the activities performed within the framework of the Wadden Sea Long-Term Ecosystem Research (WaLTER) Project, funded by the Dutch Waddenfonds and the Provinces of Noord-Holland and Friesland. The case study described in this paper was conducted with additional support of the Wadden Academy, Leeuwarden. Funding from FORMAS (2017:1342) to Per Angelstam is also acknowledged. We thank Minne Oostra for Greenmapper data handling. We thank Eelke van der Veen for supporting data work on Tables 1 and 2. We thank native speaker Susan Davis for improving the English
Ecological knowledge towards sustainable forest management : Habitat requirements of the Siberian flying squirrel in Finland
Full text linkAbstractMaintaining biodiversity in boreal forest landscapes in conjunction with forestry is a challenging task. This requires ecological understanding that is based on empirical research. In this thesis, I examined spatial and temporal occupancy patterns as well as predictability of the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans L.) in Finland. I used thematic maps which matched habitat requirements of the flying squirrel in forested landscapes and data on species presence and absence, which were gathered in suitable forest habitats. The results of this thesis provide applications for landscape management. First, the preferred habitat characteristics of the flying squirrel were linked to available forest data. In addition, some predictive habitat models could be used to estimate the distribution of the flying squirrel within a region. Second, based on a five year study the forests were classified as continuously occupied, continuously unoccupied and variable-occupancy patches. The dynamic occupancy pattern emphasizes the need for repeated surveys to also locate the seldom-used suitable habitats in a landscape. Third, a comparison of simulated future scenarios in long-term forest planning suggested that flying squirrel habitat might be maintained without considerable loss of timber in a landscape. Thus, a combination of ecological and economic goals in forestry planning is an encouraging alternative. Fourth, there were more polypore species in forests occupied by the flying squirrel. This suggests that conservation of the flying squirrel habitats would protect other naturally co-occurring species, and thus the flying squirrel could be assigned as an umbrella species in mature spruce-dominated forests. Based on these findings, I suggest that the flying squirrel could be used as one of the target species for forest management in boreal forest landscapes. Further research challenges are related to the examination of habitat thresholds and to the projection of future scenarios where ecological, economic and social aspects are combined to assist in complex decision making processes. Academic dissertation to be presented, with the assent of the Faculty of Science of the University of Oulu, for public defence in Kuusamonsali (Auditorium YB210), Linnanmaa, on November 28th, 2008, at 12 noonAbstract
Maintaining biodiversity in boreal forest landscapes in conjunction with forestry is a challenging task. This requires ecological understanding that is based on empirical research. In this thesis, I examined spatial and temporal occupancy patterns as well as predictability of the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans L.) in Finland. I used thematic maps which matched habitat requirements of the flying squirrel in forested landscapes and data on species presence and absence, which were gathered in suitable forest habitats.
The results of this thesis provide applications for landscape management. First, the preferred habitat characteristics of the flying squirrel were linked to available forest data. In addition, some predictive habitat models could be used to estimate the distribution of the flying squirrel within a region. Second, based on a five year study the forests were classified as continuously occupied, continuously unoccupied and variable-occupancy patches. The dynamic occupancy pattern emphasizes the need for repeated surveys to also locate the seldom-used suitable habitats in a landscape. Third, a comparison of simulated future scenarios in long-term forest planning suggested that flying squirrel habitat might be maintained without considerable loss of timber in a landscape. Thus, a combination of ecological and economic goals in forestry planning is an encouraging alternative. Fourth, there were more polypore species in forests occupied by the flying squirrel. This suggests that conservation of the flying squirrel habitats would protect other naturally co-occurring species, and thus the flying squirrel could be assigned as an umbrella species in mature spruce-dominated forests.
Based on these findings, I suggest that the flying squirrel could be used as one of the target species for forest management in boreal forest landscapes. Further research challenges are related to the examination of habitat thresholds and to the projection of future scenarios where ecological, economic and social aspects are combined to assist in complex decision making processes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Landscape responses of the Siberian flying squirrel (<em>Pteromys volans</em>) in northern Finland : The effect of scale on habitat patterns and species incidence
Full text linkAbstractSpatial structure of habitats has been found to affect the species abundance and distribution patterns in heterogeneous environments. In this thesis, I studied landscape responses of the Siberian flying squirrel in a boreal forest context in northern Finland. Studies were conducted at several spatial scales in order to identify landscape characteristics that are associated with the species occurrence at a local scale and its distribution patterns at a regional scale. Data on species presence and absence in forest areas were collected in the field. Habitat patterns in landscapes were analysed from satellite images and landscape metrics concerning landscape structure were quantified in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).Results of this study are in agreement with the general landscape ecological theory and findings in the field. In northern Finland, the distribution of the Siberian flying squirrel primarily follows the spatial extent of spruce-dominated forests but that its actual occurrence is dependent on the scale of observation and the habitat structure. At a home range scale the abundance of deciduous trees in old spruce forest increases the probability that a forest site is occupied by the species, whereas at a local scale the amount of such spruce forests and linkages between habitat patches play an important role. At a regional scale, an increase in open areas and the dominance of pine makes the habitat unsuitable and restricts the presence of the species.Findings of the present research forward practical forest management planning at a large scale and may help set general conservation goals for the Siberian flying squirrel. When managing the species in a complex network of habitat patches in heterogeneous landscapes, spatial dispersion of potential habitat patches as well as connecting habitat and their temporal development should be considered carefully. For this purpose, remote sensed images and GIS are valuable and useful tools. Satellite-image based landscape analysis is presently developing rapidly and hopefully this methodology will soon become a common practice in landscape ecological research and everyday forest management planning.Academic Dissertation to be presented with the assent of the Faculty of Science, University of Oulu, for public discussion in Kuusamonsali (Auditorium YB210), Linnanmaa, on October 12th, 2001, at 12 noon.Abstract
Spatial structure of habitats has been found to affect the species abundance and distribution patterns in heterogeneous environments. In this thesis, I studied landscape responses of the Siberian flying squirrel in a boreal forest context in northern Finland. Studies were conducted at several spatial scales in order to identify landscape characteristics that are associated with the species occurrence at a local scale and its distribution patterns at a regional scale. Data on species presence and absence in forest areas were collected in the field. Habitat patterns in landscapes were analysed from satellite images and landscape metrics concerning landscape structure were quantified in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Results of this study are in agreement with the general landscape ecological theory and findings in the field. In northern Finland, the distribution of the Siberian flying squirrel primarily follows the spatial extent of spruce-dominated forests but that its actual occurrence is dependent on the scale of observation and the habitat structure. At a home range scale the abundance of deciduous trees in old spruce forest increases the probability that a forest site is occupied by the species, whereas at a local scale the amount of such spruce forests and linkages between habitat patches play an important role. At a regional scale, an increase in open areas and the dominance of pine makes the habitat unsuitable and restricts the presence of the species.
Findings of the present research forward practical forest management planning at a large scale and may help set general conservation goals for the Siberian flying squirrel. When managing the species in a complex network of habitat patches in heterogeneous landscapes, spatial dispersion of potential habitat patches as well as connecting habitat and their temporal development should be considered carefully. For this purpose, remote sensed images and GIS are valuable and useful tools. Satellite-image based landscape analysis is presently developing rapidly and hopefully this methodology will soon become a common practice in landscape ecological research and everyday forest management planning
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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