1,721,005 research outputs found
An integrated ecological and cultural framework for landscape sensitivity assessment in Cyprus
No full textThe aim of the paper is to describe the development and implementation of an integrated framework for landscape sensitivity assessment in Cyprus, a biodiversity hotspot with high landscape diversity. Akamas peninsula, the western tip of the island covering an area of 230 km2, is under great pressure for development, notwithstanding it hosts 21 terrestrial habitats, four of which are priority at European level, in addition to 48 endangered plant species.
Following previous coarse scale landscape mapping on the island, a more detailed landscape map at 1:10,000 scale (Level III) was produced, appropriate for local planning purposes. Overall landscape sensitivity was evaluated as a function of ecological, cultural and visual sensitivity of the study area. 66 Land Description Units (LDUs) were mapped and 38 Landscape Types (LCTs) were identified for the Akamas peninsula. Ecological sensitivity assessment for Akamas determined that 85 % of the LDUs have high to very high sensitivity with those within Natura 2000 sites having the highest. Out of 66 LDUs, 35 % were of high or moderate cultural sensitivity and there were 32 LDUs with high overall landscape sensitivity i.e. when visual sensitivity was also considered. Based on the various degrees of sensitivity identified in this study, the task of policy makers is to establish a policy response for each landscape type based on the principles and practice of sustainability. In the Mediterranean, the development of an integrated assessment for landscape sensitivity is critically important at a time of rapid chang
A rapid qualitative methodology for ecological integrity assessment across a Mediterranean island's landscapes
No full textRapid qualitative field methods can be used to evaluate ecological integrity (EI) at a landscape level. This study
evaluates the EI of 63 landscape types (LCTs) in Cyprus derived from Landscape Character Mapping. Following a
stratified sampling, LCTs were evaluated using 209 Land Description Units (LDUs) i.e., homogeneous map en-
tities, sharing a similar pattern of natural and cultural elements. In every LDU, six ecological integrity (EI) in-
dicators were visually assessed consistently namely naturalness, habitat continuity, number of habitats,
dominant habitat type, management intensity and scale. TwoStep Cluster Analysis was employed to identify EI
categories, and Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA) to associate the individual indicators with
overall EI in the LDUs. Linear regressions were used to predict EI based on the most important indicators.
Forested and shrubland landscapes have consistently good EI with low variation, while urbanized and agricul-
tural landscapes have lower EI. There is great variation in the number of agricultural landscape types and their
EI. There are significant linear relationships between EI and naturalness, habitat continuity and intensity. The
novelty of this work lies with the fact that it provides the first island-wide study in the Mediterranean assessing EI
spatially through a small number of indicators. Results indicate that LCA can be an appropriate consistent and
inexpensive spatial framework for assessing EI, which can be directly associated with management intervention
to maintain or improve E
Can distribution modeling inform rare and endangered species monitoring in Mediterranean islands?
No full textPhlomis cypria ssp. occidentalis is one of the Red Data Book species of the island of Cyprus with restricted distribution, whose conservation status must be periodically assessed under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive. We used the known species occurrence records (120 geo-referenced points) and six environmental variables (bioclimatic and biophysical) within the maximum entropy distribution modeling, to predict the potential suitable habitat for the species. We constructed three models, one using three biophysical variables, the second using three bioclimatic variables and a third model where we pulled all six variables together. We also calculated the species extent of occurrence (EOO) using a Minimum Convex Polygon and its area of occupancy (AOO) using Range Tool. We compared the results between the three Species distribution models (SDMs) with those obtained from EOO and AOO mapping. Out of the three SDMs the smallest predicted area was by Model III (all variables) while the largest by Model II (bioclimatic variables only) which also predicts the largest area of actual AOO (66%). Although Model III predicts only 28% compared to the actual AOO area, 84% of its prediction is spatially located within the AOO. The methods employed herein, when used in combination, have a twofold importance for Mediterranean islands which have a high percentage of rare and endemics species since a) they may significantly improve our knowledge on distributional patterns and b) they can guide future monitoring activities. In addition, and since they require moderate computer literacy, they can be readily employed by conservation agencies
Human impacts on Quercus suber habitats in Sardinia: past and present
No full textQuercus suber L. is a species confined to the centre and western Mediterranean basin. On the island of Sardinia its distribution is limited mainly by soils. Apart from its economic significance to local communities, cork oak habitats are recognised as having both cultural and biodiversity value at a European level. Although traditionally associated with human activities these habitats are today under increasing threat. Among the problems that affect cork oak habitats on the island are soil erosion and loss of organic matter due to ploughing and seeding for pasture. Stock numbers have increased while grazing cattle have been replaced by sheep and are proven to be particularly damaging especially to cork oak regeneration. Although the species is a passive pyrophyte, frequent fires render the trees susceptible to fungal and defoliator attacks and destroy the understory leading to soil degradation and erosion. This paper provides a review of these threats and explores their link to the changes resulting from abandonment of traditional farming methods and different management systems used in Sardinia
The Antenna Network: A proposed scientific network based on MODIS data
No full textIn the field of remote sensing research an important achievement is the ability to receive data
directly as derived from satellite sensors, to select periods of data acquisition and therefore
to access a greater amount of inforrnation. That is the main reason why the TeleGIS laboratory
of the University of Cagliari decided to undertake this new activity with the aim to
make available to the scientific community and al1 the interested parties the data of MODIS
and AVHRR sensors (NASA 2005) covering the whole of the Mediterranean Basin (Fig. l)
and to face also new topics linked to data availability with high temporal and radiometric
resolution. The sensitivity of the sensor is such that it allows the reception even of signals
of low passes on the horizon and therefore extending the overall reception cover from the
Azores to Black Sea and from Nonvay to Mali. In this paper the development of the project
is presented together with the technical characteristics, the acquired data and the means
of access. Through the presentation of the project, an open invitation is addressed to the
scientific community in Italy, Europe and North Africa, in order to participate in a research
and training network aiming at exchanging experiences, data and contribute to a wider dissemination
of remote sensing research findings
Systematic Conservation Planning in a Mediterranean island context: The example of Cyprus
Full text linkCyprus’ biodiversity is under increasing pressure due to anthropogenic activities. TheNatura 2000 (N2K) sites under the Habitats Directive cover 10.4% of its island's land surface while designation has been hindered by a complex political situation. We used a comprehensive dataset of Red Data Book (RDB) plants for the island and applied systematic conservation planning (SCP) to, (i) assess whether plant conservation features are adequately represented in the current Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) of the N2K, (ii) evaluate the effectiveness of the protected areas designated for plants by assessing the solutions of SCP against five widely used criteria and iii) suggest alternative protected areas configurations following basic principles of SCP. We run two scenarios in Marxan, using different cost surface and Boundary Length Modifier (BLM) parameters, one for all Annex II plant species and one for RDB plants. Targets were set for all conservation features (CFs) on the basis of their endangered status and endemism. The total area required to satisfy the targets ranged from 2.23% to 5.46% of the island's area. Solutions with uniform cost achieve targets for the lowest cost but have the smallest overlap with the existing N2K (52.5–60.3%). Solutions with variable cost achieve significantly higher overlap with N2K (72.9–75.9%). The use of BLM reduces fragmentation and increases the number of irreplaceable PUs in both scenarios. The overlap of irreplaceable PUs with Critically Endangered species is high. Results corroborate that state-owned land provide protection to most threatened species, but there is a need for additional protected areas. Our findings provide a basis for improving the N2K network design in Cyprus to achieve biodiversity targets set for 2030, such as the increase of the land area providing legal protection to threatened plant species by considering our priority list of species and sites for future designation
Changing perceptions in Mediterranean geography: the role of geospatial tools
No full textGeography and Cartography have both their foundation in the Mediterranean. Recent advances in geospatial tools such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) have radically changed the way that we look at Mediterranean geographies. The shift from mapping to map analysis marks a turning point in geography as a discipline. This chapter is a review of the role of geospatial tools in changing perceptions and geographies in the Mediterranean. The first section deals with the nature of GIS and remote sensing and their basic principles. The second part focuses on mapping environmental perception, as con-fined to three main aspects: reconstructing the past, documenting the present and predicting the future. Reconstruction of the past includes the use of visualization techniques which simulate past landscapes or the direct identification of palaeo-features through remote sensing techniques. On documenting the present we dis-cuss the ways that GIS-based cartography creates new spatial representations. Predicting the future includes a range of applications from modelling species and vegetation distribution under environmental change to simulating future land-scapes under different land-use scenarios. The chapter provides examples in the Mediterranean where the above techniques have been applied and discusses some of the challenges that the application of geospatial analysis in the Mediterranean might face in the future
Fire disturbance induced landscape dynamics and severity patterns across spatio-temporal scale domains in Mediterranean pine forest landscapes
No full textAnalysing both spatio-temporal wildfire impacts on landscape dynamics and fire regime modifications over time is a prerequisite to adaptive fire management strategies, particularly in Mediterranean
environments. We reconstructed a 40-year (1981–2021) burned areas chronology and assessed fire severity at 30-m spatial resolution, using Landsat imagery, in the Special Area of Conservation
IT9130006 of the EU Natura 2000 Network encompassing a forest district composed of nine Pinus halepensis Mill. forest sites. We defined “landscapes” at different domains of scale by changing
the extent component of the scale in both the spatial (‘Special Area of Conservation’, ‘forest district’ and ‘forest site’) and temporal dimensions (1981–2021, vs 1981–1999 and 2000–2021 observation periods). In 40 years 41 wildfires occurred in the Special Area of Conservation and 24 in the forest district (35.2 % and 55.7 % of the area respectively), including 4 large infrequent events and 9
overlapping burned areas (9.63 % of the total burned area). We assessed the effect of the reconstructed sequence of events on the landscapes’ trajectory in a spatio-temporal stability/instability domain by means of two fire regime-derived parameters (fire size/landscape extent and return interval/recovery time). These were computed accounting for the cumulative effect of disturbances varying in size-severity and time-since-last-fire. A regime alteration was observed from the first to the second short observation period as well as distinct patterns of stability/instabilty conditions for individual forest sites and the overall forest district. Thus, overlooking the effect of fire history and regime modifications might be deceptive about landscape dynamics, representing a crucial issue for fire/forest management and planning
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