Impacts of Land Use Change on Landscape Structure and Ecosystem Services at Local Scale: A Case Study in Central Portugal
, , , and | Dec 25, 2022
About this article
Published Online: Dec 25, 2022
Page range: 43 - 57
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0004
Keywords
© 2023 Adélia Nunes et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Synthesis of changes in land use and land cover in the Lousã municipality (1974–2018, by class in ha and (%).
| Land use and land cover | Social areas | Cultivated land | Olive grove | Deciduous forest | Pine woods | Eucalyptus | Invasive species | Shrubland | Water bodies | Total area in ha (%) 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social area | 24.2 (0.7) | 112.7 (3.1) | 117.9 (3.3) | 8.5 (0.2) | 35.0 (1.0) | – | 8.2 (0.2) | 1.7 (0.0) | 0.6 (0.0) | 308.9 (8.6) |
| Cultivated land | 33.2 (0.9) | 314.6 (8.7) | 165.0 (4.6) | 12.8 (0.4) | 28.0 (0.8) | – | – | 10.1 (0.1) | 4.9 (0.1) | 568.6 (15.8) |
| Olive grove | 1.7 (0.0) | 10.7 (0.3) | 46.2 (1.3) | – | 2.4 (0.1) | – | – | – | – | 61.0 (0.7) |
| Deciduous forest | 6.1 (0.2) | 111.3 (3.1) | 52.5 (1.5) | 61.1 (1.7) | 211.1 (5.9) | 1.0 (0.0) | – | 93.7 (2.6) | 1.3 (0.0) | 538.2 (14.9) |
| Pine woods | 2.2 (0.1) | 44.3 8 (1.2) | 41.1 (1.1) | 110.1 (3.1) | 809.4 (22.5) | 5.6 (0.2) | – | 340.2 (9.5) | 0.3 (0.0) | 1353.3 (37.6) |
| Eucalyptus | 1.7 (0.0) | 12.2 (0.3) | 0.3 (0.0) | 13.1 (0.4) | 314.3 (8.7) | 33.9 (0.9) | 9.9 (0.3) | 10.4 (0.3) | – | 395.9 (11.0) |
| Invasive species. | – | 10.0 (0.3) | 20.3 8 (0.6) | 5.0 (0.1) | 35.2 (1.0) | – | – | 21.3 (0.6) | – | 91.8 (2.6) |
| Shrubland | – | 2.3 (0.1) | 6.0 (0.2) | 17.9 (0.9) | 32.2 (0.9) | – | – | 198.8 (5.5) | 0.3 (0.0) | 257.6 (7.2) |
| Water bodies | – | 10.4 (0.3) | 1.5 (0.0) | – | 4.3 (0.1) | – | – | – | 8.4 (0.2) | 24.6 (0.7) |
| Total area in ha (%), 1974 | 69.2 (1.9) | 628.6 (17.5) | 450.9 (12.5) | 228.5 (6.3) | 1471.9 (40.9) | 40.5 (1.1) | 18.2 (0.5) | 676.3 (18.8) | 15.9 (0.4) | 3600 (100.0) |
| LULC change (%) | 346.5 | −9.5 | −86.5 | 135.5 | −8.0 | 877.8 | 405.6 | −96.4 | 54.4 | – |
Metrics and their units.
| Metrics | Units | Variable |
|---|---|---|
| Class area | [ha] | Class area is a measure of landscape composition, specifically, how much of the landscape is composed of a particular patch type. |
| Percentage of landscape | [%] | The percentage of the landscape comprised of a particular patch type/land use. |
| Number of patches | [No.] | Number of patches of corresponding patch type (class). |
| Median patch size | [ha] | Average area of patches of corresponding patch type (class). |
| Patch density | [No./100 ha] | Number of patches of corresponding patch type (class) per unit area. |
| Total edge | [m] | The sum of the lengths (m) of all edge segments in the landscape. |
| Edge density | [m ha−1] | The sum of the lengths (m) of all edge segments in the landscape, divided by the total landscape area (ha). |
| Mean patch edge | [m/Patch] | Average patch edge in each class, expressed in meters per ha. |
| Shannon diversity index | [–] | Shannon diversity index refers to the variety and abundance of different land cover types within a landscape. A low value means that the landscape is dominated by one land cover type. The value of the index tends to 1 when the land cover types present have roughly equal proportion or a high number of cover/use types actually being present. |
| Simpson's diversity index | [–] | Simpson's diversity index is a measure of diversity which takes into account the number of categories present as well as the relative abundance in each category. Ranges between 0 (no diversity) and 1 (infinite diversity). |
Harmonisation of land use/land cover classification systems.
| Agrarian Survey and Management Service, 1974 | Used classes | Land use and cover map of continental Portugal, 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Social areas | SA | Level 1 – Artificialised territories |
| Temporary and permanent crops, except olive groves (cultivated land) | CL | Level 2 – Temporary and permanent crops, except olive groves |
| Olive grove | OG | Level 3 – Olive groves |
| PW | Level 4 – Pine woods | |
| Eucalyptus | EU | Level 5 – Eucalyptus |
| Deciduous forests (oak, chestnut and other deciduous trees) | DF | Level 5 – Deciduous forests minus Eucalyptus and invasive forests |
| Shrubland | SL | Level 2 – Open forests, shrubland and herbaceous vegetation + Uncovered areas with slight vegetation |
| Invasive species (termed ‘acacias’) | IS | Level 5 – invasive species (classified as invasive forest species, according to Portuguese legislation, i.e. |
| Water bodies | WB | Level 1 – water bodies |
Main physical characteristics of the municipality of Lousã and studied areas.
| Parameter | Units | Western slope of the Serra da Lousã | River Ceira Basin | Lousã Basin | Municipality of Lousã |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum altitude | [m] | 1134 | 438 | 232 | 1195 |
| Minimum altitude | 348 | 105 | 82 | 60 | |
| Mean altitude | 748 | 197 | 135 | 326 | |
| Mean slope | [%] | 20 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
Estimate of the economic value for the different ecosystem services by land use category; mean economic value per ecosystem services adapted from Marta-Pedroso et al. (2014).
| Land use and land cover | Mean economic value per ecosystem services [€ ha−1 a−1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sediment retention | Carbon sequestration | Agricultural goods | Fibre | Biodiversity | |
| Social areas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cultivated land | 130 | −54 | 196 | 0 | 0 |
| Olive grove | 399 | −50 | 585 | 0 | 0 |
| Pine woods | 740 | 111 | 0 | 596 | 0 |
| Eucalyptus | 496 | −50 | 0 | 123 | 0 |
| Deciduous forest | 499 | 162 | 0 | 0 | 74 |
| Shrubland | 599 | 122 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Invasive spc. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
Changes in landscape composition and configuration in the three selected areas.
| Types of land cover and land use | Percentage of landscape | Number of Patches | Median Patch Size [ha] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 2018 | 1974 | 2018 | 1974 | 2018 | |
| Western slope of Serra da Lousã | ||||||
| Social areas | 0.9 | 0.1 | 3 | 1 | 3.6 | 17.0 |
| Cultivated land | 4.9 | 2.2 | 7 | 4 | 8.3 | 6.6 |
| Olive grove | 3.3 | – | 2 | – | 20.0 | – |
| Deciduous forest | 6.9 | 22.7 | 13 | 26 | 6.4 | 10.5 |
| Pine wood | 30.6 | 47.9 | 19 | 12 | 19.3 | 47.9 |
| Eucalyptus | – | 2.1 | – | 6 | – | 4.3 |
| Shrubland | 53.4 | 18.8 | 4 | 19 | 160.2 | 11.9 |
| Invasive species | – | 6.1 | – | 6 | – | 12.3 |
| River Ceira Basin | ||||||
| Social areas | 1.3 | 4.6 | 9 | 21 | 1.7 | 2.6 |
| Cultivated land | 9.7 | 8.4 | 22 | 36 | 5.3 | 2.8 |
| Olive grove | 8.5 | 2.4 | 6 | 6 | 17.0 | 4.7 |
| Deciduous forest | – | 12.5 | – | 30 | – | 5.0 |
| Pine wood | 72.9 | 42.3 | 7 | 36 | 125.0 | 14.1 |
| Eucalyptus | 3.3 | 24.9 | 2 | 34 | 20.0 | 8.8 |
| Shrubland | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1 | 7 | 35.6 | 3.1 |
| Invasive species | – | 1.0 | – | 7 | – | 1.9 |
| Water bodies | 0.44 | 0.68 | 1 | 1 | 15.9 | 24.5 |
| Lousã Basin | ||||||
| Social areas | 3.6 | 21.0 | 20 | 59 | 2.2 | 4.3 |
| Cultivated land | 38.0 | 36.0 | 20 | 94 | 15.5 | 4.6 |
| Olive grove | 26.0 | 2.7 | 20 | 14 | 14.0 | 2.3 |
| Deciduous forest | 12.0 | 9.7 | 1 | 26 | 145.0 | 4.5 |
| Pine wood | 19.2 | 22.5 | 4 | 23 | 57.6 | 11.8 |
| Eucalyptus | – | 5.9 | 1 | 19 | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| Shrubland | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Invasive species | 1.5 | 0.4 | 1 | 5 | 18.2 | 1.0 |