Volume 15 (2022): Issue 2 (September 2022)

This paper focuses on evaluating the functional connectivity of naturally valuable habitats within the territory of the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area (PLA). Analysis of functional connectivity was carried out for individual zones of classified nature preservation. The methodological approach that is applied is based on determining indicators for expressing the degree of the natural character of individual landscape segments (Nd), the distance to naturally valuable habitats (Dn), and a composite index Distance to Nature (D2N). The results for the individual zones and the PLA as a whole are mutually compared and consequently confronted with values for the territory of the entire Czech Republic. All three research questions, i.e. whether naturally valuable habitats prevail in the most valuable area in the first protected zone of the Jeseníky PLA, whether the distance to naturally valuable habitats in the first zone of the Jeseníky PLA is the shortest, and whether the territory of the Jeseníky PLA is better functionally interlinked when compared with the remaining territory of the Czech Republic (CR), were answered positively. The results highlight the need to assess the connectivity of natural habitats in the least protected zones of other PLAs in the Czech Republic and EU, to decide whether planning measures to support the ecological network are necessary.

Greater NOIDA evolved from 1991 with 101 villages to 2020 with 293 villages. This is an ideal case of rural to urban transformation in the immediate past. This transformation led to a decrease in recharging natural surfaces and an increase in impermeable surfaces. Along with the reduction in recharge areas, an increase in population has necessitated more and more extraction of groundwater resulting in an imbalance of water extraction and recharge. The result is depletion of groundwater levels in this area. The area is part of the wide Indo-Gangetic alluvium with sand, silt and clay layers resting on quartzite’s of Delhi Super Group. Geomorphological map prepared using digital elevation models of the area shows older and younger alluvial plains and active flood plains of the river Hindan. Time series analysis of key land use land cover classes shows that recharge areas were reduced from 77 % to 30 % from 2005 to 2019 and impervious surfaces have increased from 19 % to 65 % for the same period. Aquifers of the area are both phreatic and semi-confined. The aquifer parameters estimated through step drawdown test and long duration aquifer performance test indicates that the average coefficient of transmissivity of the area is 1752 m²/day and the average coefficient of storage is 4.84 x 10-4. Discharge of the wells shows a yield of 8 to 16 lps for a drawdown of 3 to 6 m. An attempt has been made to know the behaviour of groundwater levels during the same period as that of land use land cover. The results indicate a 74 % depletion in groundwater levels with an average annual depletion of 21 %. An interrelationship between urban growth and groundwater levels has been established in this study. This analysis indicates that as agriculture declined water levels also depleted and have a positive correlation of 0.852. On the contrary, as the built-up increased water level has depleted hence have a negative relationship with a correlation coefficient of -0.851. To make it a sustainable resource, these overexploited aquifers need careful participatory management by communities, Scientists, and policymakers.

Globally, urbanization changes land use/land cover (LULC) and alters ecosystem functions and services. Soil retention (SR) is a critical ecological service that is strongly related to LULC change. The topic of this study is assessment of LULC change on soil retention service (SRS) in a fragile seminatural-urbanized landscape of the Jajrood basin in Northern Tehran, Iran, from 2000 to 2020. To achieve the goal, the LULC maps and the other relevant datasets were imported into the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs tool (InVEST) using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Calibration and validation were performed using Goodness-of-fit test for observational and modeled data. The results revealed that LULC change had both negative and positive effects on SR. The built-up area increased dramatically by about 133 percent, while the rangeland shrunk by approximately 5 % during the twenty-year, leading to an increase in soil erosion and reducing SR. On the other hand, the agricultural and gardening activities expanded by 41 %, which caused an increment in SR. Due to the outgrowth of man-made areas compared to the other land uses, the overall SR decreased by about 17,000 tons. Moreover, the result indicated that slope, elevation, and land management factors, respectively, had the highest correlation with SRS. The finding of this research can provide insight to land use planners to protect the areas with high soil erosion.

The study was conducted at Babile Elephant Sanctuary (BES), to identify and document the list of woody species, and to analyze the diversity, richness, evenness, and population structural status of woody species. The diversity of plant species and population structure of woody species were analyzed from 60 quadrats, each with 20 m x 20 m for trees and 5 m x 5 m for shrubs and climbers, using systematic sampling methods with three levels of disturbances regime, namely, low disturbed (LD), moderately disturbed (MD) and heavily disturbed (HD) sites. Vegetation parameters such as diameter at breast height (DBH), richness, evenness, and density of woody species were recorded. Shannon Weiner Diversity Index was used to analysis vegetation diversity and evenness. A total of 61 woody species were identified in the study area that falls within 29 families and 38 genera of which 50.8 % were shrubs, 39.3 % were trees and the rest 9.83 % were climbers. Fabaceae was represented by the highest number of species (14 species = 22.90). The highest plant species richness was recorded from the low disturbed sites, followed by moderately disturbed and heavily disturbed sites respectively. The population density of vegetation was significantly higher in the MD site, followed by the LD site. The total basal area of LD, MD, and HD were 27.2, 19.8, and 11.2 m²/ha, respectively. LD site had significantly (P= 0.04) highest Shannon’s diversity index value (3.21) than the others two disturbance levels. This result suggests that the consequence of human-induced disturbance on woody species diversity and population structure appeared to be negative depending on the type and intensities of the disturbances.

This article presents a study of the historical dynamics of human impact on the landscapes of Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Information about the main historical and present-day anthropogenic impacts on landscapes was obtained from a various data sources and field research. These impacts include hunting, agriculture, grazing, logging, charcoal production, iron production, gold mining, stone quarry, reforestation, recreation. Five historical phases of anthropogenic impact on landscapes are recognized in our analysis: the Prehistoric phase, the Antiquity phase, the Mediaeval phase, the Ottoman phase and the Modern phase. The greatest anthropogenic impact was during the Ottoman phase, when the intensive agricultural and mining (iron and gold) activities contributed to a great landscape transformation and degradation. The functional purposes on the territory of Vitosha have undergone a radical change since 1934. The human impact on landscapes has gradually decreased and economic use gave way to conservation and recreation.

Mountainous ecosystems provide social, economic, and environmental services at different scales. Nonetheless, currently, they have been exposed to environmental degradation risks. This study was conducted to investigate woody plant species diversity and threats to the study forest. Systematic sampling was employed to collect vegetation data from fifty 400 m² sample plots along five transect lines. Vegetation and the environmental variables were recorded from each plot. Eighty randomly sampled households were selected for socioeconomic data. Descriptive statistics and ranking exercises were employed. The vegetation classification was performed using the R program version 2.15.2. The species diversity, richness, and evenness were computed. The result showed that five plant communities were recognized. A total of 99 woody plants belonging to 87 genera and 50 families were identified, of which 13 % were endemic. The total basal area of the study forest was 3.40 m2ha^-1, and the forest was characterized by a bell-shaped population structure identified by poor regeneration and recruitment. With increasing altitude, there was a significant decrease in human impacts, grazing, and the number of plant species. About 90 % of the informants disclosed deforestation as the major threat to forest cover change, whereas 84 % of them recommended forest restoration as a tangible measure. There was a high deforestation rate of the selected woody species (e.g., Arundinaria alpina) and high expansion of agriculture at the fringes of the forest. This requires promoting forest land rehabilitation activities, nature tourism, establishing partnerships with communities on the forest management, consolidating village-level institutions and developing livelihood alternatives for communities at the local governments and the community level to restore the degraded forest.

This study aims to explore environmental communication based on local wisdom in conserving forests in the Kenegerian Sentajo, Riau Province, Indonesia. This study uses a qualitative approach with an interactive model. Researchers interact and are directly involved in many community activities. The results indicate that environmental communication in forest conservation is based on the local wisdom of the community by using the term Rimbo Larangan. The main communicators and actors are the customary holders, the datuk penghulu and the ninik-mamak (elders) as the highest institutional holders of Kenegerian Sentajo customs. This institution is more powerful than formal government institutions. These traditional stakeholders play an important role in spreading the message to maintain the existence of forbidden forest (Rimbo Larangan). In addition, the community’s desire to maintain customary values has given rise to attitudes and behaviors of people who are aware and care about forest sustainability. This is supported by Islamic values which have encouraged public awareness to have morals or responsibility towards the environment. Some beliefs, storytelling, and myths also reinforce this rule which makes people afraid to break it. The research findings can be used by the community in improving practices of communicating, managing, making rules and redesigning forest for conservation areas that are managed based on indigenous peoples.