Article
Environmental Sciences
Hanni Jin, Jing Xu, Yu Peng, Jiaxun Xin, Nanyi Peng, Yanyi Li, Jijiao Huang, Ruiqiang Zhang, Chen Li, Yimeng Wu, Bingzhang Gong, Ronghui Wang
Summary: This study examines the relationship between plant species diversity and landscape patterns using a global standardized plant community database and land use and land cover maps. The results show that landscape patterns have a significant impact on plant diversity, particularly in terms of species richness and heterogeneity. It also found that plants adapt to landscape patterns through variations in functional traits. Therefore, the study recommends balancing the spatial structure of patch- and landscape-level patterns to enhance variation in functional traits and maintain global plant diversity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Geography
Pantea Lotfi, Mozhgan Ahmadi Nadoushan, Aliasghar Besalatpour
Summary: Cropland abandonment is a global concern that affects both socio-economic and ecological aspects. This study developed different spatial metrics to explore the patterns and causes of cropland abandonment in a highly water-deficient agricultural landscape in Central Iran. Using Landsat images, annual cropland layers were generated from 1982 to 2022, and areas with more than 5 consecutive years of fallow were classified as abandoned croplands. The results showed that cropland abandonment had a spatially and temporally uneven distribution, with most abandonment occurring on the periphery of active croplands. The spatial configuration of abandonment sheds light on the process and driving forces of cropland abandonment at different scales.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Yao Yao, Tao Cheng, Zhenhui Sun, Linlong Li, Dongsheng Chen, Ziheng Chen, Jianglin Wei, Qingfeng Guan
Summary: This study introduces the VecLI framework for computing 217 vector-based landscape indices and addresses the issue of inaccuracy in common methods through a parcel merging algorithm. Results show that VecLI's metrics are strongly correlated with Fragstats's, and provide a more realistic geographical pattern.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Min Kim, Kihwan Song, Jinhyung Chon
Summary: The study aimed to examine coastal landscape patterns related to flood vulnerability and support resilience strategies for coastal green infrastructure. Through multivariate regression analysis, key landscape patterns were identified, and strategies for green infrastructure planning were proposed based on these patterns.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Yanzhu Liu, Yanan Wang, Adams Wai Kin Kong
Summary: This paper investigates a new problem of salient object grading and proposes a pixel-wise ordinal classification method. Experimental results demonstrate that the method provides effective salient level predictions and offers comparable performance with state-of-the-art salient object detection methods in the traditional problem setting.
IMAGE AND VISION COMPUTING
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Liping Hou, Ke Lu, Xue Yang, Yuqiu Li, Jian Xue
Summary: This paper proposes a unified Gaussian representation called G-Rep for constructing Gaussian distributions for OBB, QBB, and PointSet, achieving a unified solution to various representations and problems. The proposed method utilizes Gaussian metrics to optimize the regression loss and align label assignment, resulting in excellent performance for arbitrary-oriented object detection.
Article
Ecology
Dimitri Justeau-Allaire, Gregoire Blanchard, Thomas Ibanez, Xavier Lorca, Ghislain Vieilledent, Philippe Birnbaum
Summary: This article introduces a new neutral landscape generator called FLSgen, which addresses the limitation of current approaches in producing large landscapes with controlled composition and fragmentation indices. FLSgen provides a high level of control over 14 landscape indices and allows for the generation of fine-grained artificial landscapes in a short amount of time. It expands the possibilities and potential applications of neutral landscape models.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Angela Hernandez-Moreno, Daniel P. Soto, Alejandro Miranda, Andres Holz, Dolors Armenteras-Pascual
Summary: This study evaluated the land cover dynamics in western Chilean Patagonia and found that there was a loss of approximately 32,600 ha of old-growth forest and a recovery of approximately 69,000 ha of second-growth forest following the fires. However, around 61% of the area could potentially remain as intact forest landscape after the fires. This study provides the first evidence of the landscape state in western Patagonia after more than six decades since the large-scale fires.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaobo Li, Liping Zhang, Pengfei Qi, Zhiwei Zhu, Jianuo Xu, Tiegen Liu, Jingsheng Zhai, Haofeng Hu
Summary: Polarization characteristics play a crucial role in various fields, but current polarimetric metrics have limited efficacy in high turbidity conditions. In this study, the use of indices of polarimetric purity (IPPs) is proposed as excellent metrics for object identification in scattering conditions. Imaging experiments on different objects under different turbidity levels demonstrate the superiority of IPPs in enhancing image contrast and improving discriminability, especially when combined with dehazing or enhancing algorithms.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sara K. K. Eide, Linn N. Leh, Katinka S. Eines, Ingunn Hovland, Marit By, Elise W. Ingvaldsen, Marthe Tinlund, Evan Emerita, Luciano A. Machado, Stian Bronner, Erlend B. Nilsen, Sam M. J. G. Steyaert
Summary: Litter pollution is a global environmental problem predominantly studied in relation to plastics in the marine environment. However, empirical knowledge about litter distribution and ecological impacts in terrestrial environments is limited. This study in central Norway found that land cover type affects the occurrence and abundance of litter, with high human activity areas having the most litter. Plastic is the most common litter material type, but its occurrence is related to land cover type. This knowledge can inform litter management in terrestrial landscapes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yiyun Luo, Jinnian Wang, Xiankun Yang, Zhenyu Yu, Zixuan Tan
Summary: This study proposed a semantic segmentation method based on pixel representation augmentation, which utilizes a cross-attention mechanism in the Transformer to achieve excellent performance, effectively addressing two key issues in the transfer process from natural image segmentation to land cover classification.
Article
Ecology
J. E. Zawadzka, J. A. Harris, R. Corstanje
Summary: This study aimed to sub-divide a high-resolution land cover map into patches with distinct spatial and thermal properties for urban LST research at micro-scales. The two-tiered unsupervised k-means clustering analysis successfully produced spatially distinct groups of patches with different thermal properties and spatial configurations for major land cover classes.
Article
Forestry
Chao Yang, Zhongyi Zhan, Shixiang Zong, Lili Ren
Summary: This study analyzed the relationship between landscape patterns, forest attributes, and populations of the Asian longhorned beetle. The results showed that landscape metrics and forest class metrics significantly influenced the beetle populations, while tree height and tree abundance were good predictors of beetle populations.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Ze Song, Xudong Kang, Xiaohui Wei, Shutao Li
Summary: Camouflaged object detection is always faced with the challenge of identifying object pixels embedded in the background. Existing deep learning methods lack the ability to effectively utilize the context information around different pixels. In this paper, a pixel-centric context perception network (PCPNet) is proposed to address this problem. PCPNet customizes personalized context for each pixel based on the automatic estimation of its surroundings. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of PCPNet in camouflaged object detection compared to other state-of-the-art methods.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL NETWORKS AND LEARNING SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
F. Mestre, B. Silva
Summary: The lconnect R package is a user-friendly tool for assessing landscape connectivity and prioritizing habitat patches, which helps understand and address the challenges in biodiversity conservation.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stephanie P. George-Chacon, David T. Milodowski, Juan Manuel Dupuy, Jean-Francois Mas, Mathew Williams, Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni
Summary: Machine learning was successfully used to upscale forest aboveground biomass from field data to remote sensing data, while uncertainty was effectively propagated and the relative contributions of each sensor were explored. Sentinel-2 outperformed ALOS-PALSAR in the model performance, but the combination of both sensors provided the best fit.
GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Cloe X. Perez-Valladares, Ana I. Moreno-Calles, Jean F. Mas, Alejandro Velazquez
Summary: This study used species distribution modeling to analyze the impact of social factors on the distribution of plant communities, using the palm-stands of Brahea dulcis in central-southern Mexico as a case study. The results showed that social factors had the greatest influence on palm-stand distribution, verifying a strong association with their presence. The research revealed the importance of social factors in palm-stand distribution, emphasizing the significance of long-standing human actions in forming palm-stands.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jonathan V. Solorzano, Yan Gao
Summary: This study aims to determine if the BFAST algorithm can improve the accuracy in detecting forest disturbances by using other components of the model. The results show that the support vector machines algorithm achieved the highest accuracy using the all-forest dataset.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jean-Francois Mas, Azucena Perez-Vega
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is characterized by clusters that evolve spatially and temporally as parallel epidemics. The gravitational distance model was found to be the best predictor for newly infected municipalities, although its predictive power varied over time. This study provides insights into modeling and predicting the epidemic's behavior in Mexico.
Article
Ecology
Stephanie P. George-Chacon, Jean Francois Mas, Juan Manuel Dupuy, Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni
Summary: Spatial information on forest age can be accurately assessed from Landsat time series, and the combination of stand age with chronosequence data can reduce the overestimation of aboveground biomass of recovering forests commonly found in remotely sensed data. The distribution of young forests in dry tropical forests in the Yucatan peninsula varies among different forest types, with lower producer accuracy values indicating a potential underestimation of young forest extensions.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Diana Ramirez-Mejia, Christian Levers, Jean-Francois Mas
Summary: The surging demand for commodity crops has led to rapid agricultural frontier expansion, especially in avocado production in Michoacan, Mexico. This study mapped the dynamics of avocado frontier and identified the leading determinants of expansion. Results showed that climate, accessibility, and land tenure were key factors explaining avocado expansion, and the expansion overlapped with priority sites for restoration, posing a conflict between conservation and economic revenues.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
David Garcia-Alvarez, Maria Teresa Camacho Olmedo, Hedwig Van Delden, Jean-Francois Mas
Summary: This paper examines the structural uncertainty of four common software packages used for Land Use Cover Change (LUCC) models and analyzes their options for uncertainty management. The study compares the models qualitatively and quantitatively, using Cape Town as a case study. The results show that each model conceptualizes the simulated system differently, leading to different outputs. The available options for uncertainty management, repeatability, and validation scores vary among the models, and there is a lack of communication of uncertainties across all models.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ronald C. Estoque, Rajarshi Dasgupta, Karina Winkler, Valerio Avitabile, Brian A. Johnson, Soe W. Myint, Yan Gao, Makoto Ooba, Yuji Murayama, Rodel D. Lasco
Summary: Forest ecosystems are crucial in addressing sustainability and social-ecological challenges, but global forest loss remains a significant issue. Based on data, the global forest area has declined by 81.7 million ha over the past 60 years, with forest loss outweighing forest gain. Forest decline has primarily occurred in lower income countries in the tropics, while forest gain has been observed in higher income extratropical countries. Economic growth is more strongly associated with net forest gain than with net forest loss. It is important to provide support to lower income countries, especially in the tropics, to help minimize forest losses and reduce dependence on imported tropical forest products.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Agustin Escobar-Lopez, Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni, Jean Francois Mas, Jorge Omar Lopez-Martinez
Summary: This research aimed to map coffee agroforestry systems (AFS) types in a mountainous region of Mexico using the changing spectral response patterns over the dry season as well as supplementary data. The results showed that the infrared and near-infrared bands from the Sentinel-2 scenes were particularly useful for discriminating coffee AFS.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Diana Laura Jimenez-Rodriguez, Yan Gao, Jonathan V. Solorzano, Margaret Skutsch, Diego R. Perez-Salicrup, Miguel Angel Salinas-Melgoza, Michelle Farfan
Summary: Forest degradation reduces biomass density, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and affects biodiversity and natural resources available for local communities. This study successfully mapped degraded forests in the dry tropics and identified the most relevant biophysical and socio-economic factors associated with such degradation.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ronald C. Estoque, Brian Alan Johnson, Rajarshi Dasgupta, Yan Gao, Toshiya Matsuura, Takeshi Toma, Yasumasa Hirata, Rodel D. Lasco
Summary: This paper discusses the limitations of the current global forest assessment workflow, and proposes enhancements such as sharing spatial data and including tree canopy cover estimates to overcome these issues, in order to achieve more meaningful forest monitoring and reporting.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jonathan Solorzano, Jean Francois Mas, J. Alberto Gallardo-Cruz, Yan Gao, Ana Fernandez-Montes de Oca
Summary: This study aimed to assess the potential of a spatio-temporal deep learning algorithm, U-Net 3D, combined with high-resolution satellite images to detect deforestation in a tropical rainforest in Southeast Mexico. The results showed that the algorithm performed well in detecting deforestation with a high accuracy.
ISPRS JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yan Gao, Jonathan V. Solorzano, Ronald C. Estoque, Shiro Tsuyuzaki
Summary: The tropical dry forest is rapidly disappearing as one of the most threatened ecosystems. Although shifting cultivation helps maintain forest coverage, it leads to lower density. This study investigated the dynamics of tropical dry forests and found an equilibrium between forest loss and gain under the influence of shifting cultivation. The topographic variable of slope and the anthropogenic variable of distance to roads were identified as factors affecting the occurrence of both forest loss and gain.
Article
Environmental Studies
Cynthia Simmons, Marta Astier, Robert Walker, Jaime Fernando Navia-Antezana, Yan Gao, Yankuic Galvan-Miyoshi, Dan Klooster
Summary: Despite deforestation being a continuing threat, forest transition has been observed in many nations, contributing to the regeneration of ecosystem services. This study focuses on the ongoing forest transition in the Patzcuaro watershed of Michoacan, Mexico, using remote sensing analysis to examine the land cover impacts of trade liberalization and the role of land tenure in forest cover dynamics. The results show an annualized forest transition of 20 ha, with most of it occurring on private land due to intensified farming practices with avocado plantations and cow-calf operations. Forest transitions are localized occurrences driven by various factors, highlighting the need for research into landscapes and drivers of land change at regional and local scales for effective policy-making.
Article
Forestry
Sadadi Ojoatre, Jos Barlow, Suzanne R. Jacobs, Mariana C. Rufino
Summary: This study evaluates the changes in a forest complex in Kenya and finds that within 20 years of disturbance, there is rapid recovery of aboveground biomass and carbon accumulation, and the species diversity remains high in these previously disturbed fragments.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Astor Torano Caicoya, Peter Biber, Miren del Rio, Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado, Catia Arcangeli, Robert Matthews, Hans Pretzsch
Summary: This study analyzed the effects of site and climate on the self-thinning line in Scots pine forests in Europe. The results showed that species tolerance, temperature, and precipitation influenced the slope of the self-thinning line. In terms of the intercept, latitude and radiation had compensating effects. Time did not show significant trends in the self-thinning line. The study highlights the need to adapt management strategies and models based on self-thinning to different latitudes. Climate change has not yet significantly impacted the self-thinning trajectory, but a continuous rise in temperature and high precipitation may accelerate the self-thinning process and result in increased biomass accumulation.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Haonan Zhang, Jianing Xu, Weiqi Meng, Zhonglin Li, Yanyan Ni, Weijie Li, Hao Chen, Xingshuo Zhang, Huanhuan Yuan, Zhi Wang
Summary: Secondary forests play a crucial role in ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity recovery. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying secondary succession in a restored secondary forest and found that deciduous tree species transition from diversity accumulators to repellents as they progress through different life history stages, while evergreen tree species can act as accumulators or remain neutral. The study also revealed the effects of density dependence on the mortality and regeneration of different tree species, and highlighted the importance of early-arriving tree species in facilitating the establishment and diversity of late-arriving counterparts.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Yierxiati Abulaiti, Zijian Huang, Guojiao Xie, Xiaojuan Zou, Qin Luo, Minhuang Wang, Qiong Yang, Ping Hu, Shixiao Yu
Summary: In this study, the resistance to pest infestation of native and exotic mangrove species was compared based on their traits and spectral reflectance. The results showed that exotic species exhibited higher resistance to pest infestation compared to native species.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Thomas Feiss, Vincent Robin, Delphine Aran, Joseph Levillain, Thierry Paul, Jean-Luc Dupouey
Summary: Fagus sylvatica L. is a competitive tree in European temperate deciduous forests, but often sporadic or absent in present-day stands where Quercus spp. are dominant. Through soil charcoal analysis in the Lorraine Plateau in France, the presence of Fagus and Quercus in mature Quercus stands was confirmed. Radiocarbon dating results indicated that historical forest management caused the replacement of Fagus by Quercus, starting from the Bronze Age.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Paula Halbig, Anne-Sophie Stelzer, Peter Baier, Josef Pennerstorfer, Horst Delb, Axel Schopf
Summary: The incidence of oak processionary moth in Central Europe has been increasing, posing severe threats to oak trees, humans, and animals. To address this issue, researchers have developed an online early warning system that provides phenological forecasts and decision support for the protection of oak trees and human health.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Jean-Baptiste Ndamiyehe Ncutirakiza, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury, Philippe Lejeune, Xavier Bry, Catherine Trottier, Frederic Mortier, Adeline Fayolle, Francois Muhashy Habiyaremye, Leopold Ndjele Mianda-Bungi, Gauthier Ligot
Summary: This study examines the influence of canopy structure on tropical tree growth using data collected through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and field measurements. The results show that combining UAV and field data can improve the prediction of tree diameter increment. Diameter at breast height and crown area are complementary predictors, and crown-based competition indices significantly enhance prediction models. The calibrated model at one site can accurately predict growth at another site.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Abebe Damtew, Emiru Birhane, Christian Messier, Alain Paquette, Bart Muys
Summary: Restoring degraded dryland requires a diverse mixture of trees and shrubs. Shading and species diversity can improve seedling survival and vitality. Shaded conditions led to higher seedling survival, vitality, and chlorophyll content, while increasing species richness improved seedling vitality in non-shaded conditions.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Francois Hebert, Isabelle Delisle, Marc Tremblay, Pascal Tremblay, Jean- Francois Boucher, Yan Boucher, Daniel Lord
Summary: Regeneration failures in the closed-crown boreal forest, resulting in the creation of open lichen woodlands, can be restored through clear-cutting, scarification, and natural seeding. Clear-cutting combined with scarification promotes seedling establishment, and scarification creates suitable microsites for germination. Seedling growth in lichen woodlands is higher when logging and scarification are combined, but lower compared to feather moss stands. Afforestation through natural seeding following scarification could be a cost-effective option for restoring lichen woodlands.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Bianca Wulansari Kassun, A. Maarit I. Kallio, Erik Tr Omborg, Meley Mekonen Rannestad
Summary: Mapping and analyzing forest ecosystem services in dry and mountain forests can provide valuable knowledge for sustainable forest management strategies.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Michael Premer, Eric Turnblom, Aaron Weiskittel
Summary: Managed forests serve as a natural climate change solution by sequestering carbon and storing it in harvested wood products, while also providing ecosystem services and wildlife habitat. This study focused on the stem sinuosity of juvenile coastal Douglas-fir and found that genetic improvement, silviculture practices, and local growing conditions can impact stem sinuosity. Factors such as tree spacing, vegetation control, and climate variables also affect the severity of stem sinuosity.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Bronwyn Lira Dyson, Rhea Herpel, Peter Karasch, Jorg Mueller, Dominik Thom, Claus Baessler
Summary: The study aimed to assess the effects of different forest management strategies, dead wood types, and microclimates on Fomes fomentarius. The results showed that the occupancy of Fomes fomentarius was lower in control stands, while the percent cover occupied on snags under a closed canopy was higher. Increasing the number of snags and maintaining dense forest canopies could enhance the presence of Fomes fomentarius as well as provide important microhabitats for various arthropods.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Di Liu, Chaofan Zhou, Xiao He, Xiangdong Lei, Huiru Zhang, Xianzhao Liu
Summary: Canopy structure plays a significant role in the distribution and growth of saplings. Traditional canopy metrics are inadequate in irregular stands. The innovative framework of canopy triangular units provides a comprehensive understanding of the canopy's three-dimensional attributes. Through this framework, we can analyze the differences in various triangular unit types and the spatial dispersion of saplings.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Amalia Valeria Ibanez Moro, Fabian Borghetti, Leonardo Galetto, Juan M. Cellini, Sandra J. Bravo
Summary: This study evaluated the size and persistence of soil seed banks (SSB) of six native woody species in dry subtropical forests of the western Argentine Chaco region. The results showed that SSB size was influenced by different sites and sampling years, and forest disturbances had varying effects on SSB.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Forestry
Stephanie Landry, Marc-Andre Villard, Gaetan Pelletier, Martin-Hugues St-Laurent
Summary: In many regions of the world, excessive browsing by ungulates has reached unsustainable levels, threatening biodiversity and forest regeneration. Moose, as ecological engineers, have severe impacts on forest structure and composition through overbrowsing. The distribution of forage and cover patches affects moose browsing pressure, and this relationship has been explored in conifer-dominated stands but not in hardwood-dominated landscapes.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)