Yuanxiang Wei, Guizai Gao, D. Jie, Eline Naomi van Asperen, Lina Song, Meng Meng, Zhuo Yang, Niankang Chen, Jihuai Yu, Yuqiang Li
{"title":"Indication of coprophilous fungal spores for monitoring grazing intensity in the Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China","authors":"Yuanxiang Wei, Guizai Gao, D. Jie, Eline Naomi van Asperen, Lina Song, Meng Meng, Zhuo Yang, Niankang Chen, Jihuai Yu, Yuqiang Li","doi":"10.1177/03091333241258892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241258892","url":null,"abstract":"Coprophilous fungal spores are an emerging and potential proxies for indicating the long-term pastoral history. However, the indication of coprophilous fungal spores for dung and grazing intensity remains uncertain. In this study, in Horqin Sandy Land, 27 livestock dung samples and 33 surface soil samples were collected, and the indication of coprophilous fungal spores was discussed for the first time. The results showed that a total of 38 fungal spore types were recognized in the modern samples from the Horqin Sandy Land, including seven coprophilous fungal spore types. The coprophilous fungi assemblages vary in different dung types and may enable the diagnosis of specific livestock taxa. Coprophilous fungal spores, especially Sporormiella and Podospora are the most reliable dung indicators and can indicate the presence of herbivores. Moreover, some fungal spores, including Helminthosporium, Apiosordaria, HdV-104, and Glomus A were also potential indicators of grazing activities in the Horqin Sandy Land. On this basis, the concentration of coprophilous fungal spores may have the potential to be a quantitative indicator of grazing intensity. This study clarifies the indication of coprophilous fungal spores on dung and grazing intensity in the Horqin Sandy Land and provides a theoretical reference for further research on pastoral history in the region.","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"132 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141351503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Water conservation in the era of global climate change","authors":"M. Y. Yuzanni, Muh. Ricki Saprollah","doi":"10.1177/03091333241254316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241254316","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"30 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141118012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Amador-Cruz, B. Figueroa-Rangel, D. Jiménez-García, MA Mora-Ramírez, M. Olvera‐Vargas, Manuel E. Mendoza
{"title":"The ecological value of Neotropical forest landscapes through a multicriteria approach employing spatial models","authors":"F. Amador-Cruz, B. Figueroa-Rangel, D. Jiménez-García, MA Mora-Ramírez, M. Olvera‐Vargas, Manuel E. Mendoza","doi":"10.1177/03091333241248782","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241248782","url":null,"abstract":"Ecological value (EV) is a term used to characterize the biotic or abiotic elements of a landscape, excluding human influence. Significant criteria for EV estimation can be grouped into two categories: ecological properties (biodiversity and vulnerability) and functional/structural features (fragmentation, connectivity, and resilience). While various methodological frameworks exist for estimating these criteria, few studies integrate all five criteria, and even fewer compare their results with fieldwork data. The objective of this study was to devise a novel spatial modelling tool for EV estimation based on biodiversity, vulnerability, fragmentation, connectivity, and resilience, utilizing data from Neotropical montane forests in west-central Mexico. The model incorporated data on (i) biodiversity and vulnerability estimated through ecological niche models, (ii) fragmentation and connectivity using landscape spatial patterns, and (iii) resilience estimated through the inverse of the vegetation sensitivity index. The results were then compared with fieldwork data. Natural protected areas within the Neotropical montane forests of west-central Mexico exhibited high EVs; however, a substantial portion of these forests lack legal protection. In terms of vegetation types, cloud and semideciduous forests exhibited the highest EV, emphasizing the urgent need for legal protection of these vital ecosystems. The comparison process demonstrated a moderate to high correlation in some criteria between the spatial and fieldwork data, indicating that the spatial model robustly captured the landscape spatial patterns. The spatial modelling tool proposed in this study is not only practical but also reproducible and applicable globally. Its efficacy lies in combining ecological properties with the functional and structural features of the landscape, making it particularly suitable for delineating protected natural areas and contributing to landscape planning efforts.","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"39 31","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140657234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"More accurate less meaningful? Why quality indicators do not unveil the socio-technical practices inscribed into land use maps","authors":"Andreas Christian Braun","doi":"10.1177/03091333241248055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241248055","url":null,"abstract":"Remote sensing plays an important role for modern geography and environmental science. At the same time, it often stands on a weak epistemological foundation. Remote sensing results are mostly treated as strictly objective, context-independent artifacts. This vastly ignores the human practices that led to these results. Thus, remote sensing data are uncritically incorporated into (environmental) policy decision-making processes without understanding exactly how they were generated. Recent research has been critical of this. In a previous study, I showed that the accuracy of land use results can be increased by class aggregation, while the geographic or environmental meaning of the results suffers. I called this provocatively the “more accurate, less meaningful (MALM)” effect and showed that it exists regardless of the technical level of classification. In this study, I discuss the extent to which MALM can be remedied by choosing an appropriate quality indicator. I show that, to the largest extent conceivable, the quality indicator does not and cannot unveil the effects of socio-technical practices, which are materially inscribed into land use maps. Hence, quality indicators are unable to objectivize the effects of practices and values by the researchers. Consequently, they do not solve the MALM problem. On the contrary, I show that the explicit inclusion of geographic knowledge in quality addresses the MALM effect to the largest extent possible. This reinforces my claim that more attention needs to be paid to considering the values and practices behind remote sensing information. I discuss the results in a broad context and argue that and why critical remote sensing based on critical (physical) geography and science-and-technology studies is vital to better incorporate such results into policymaking.","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"40 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140667440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haiqing Yang, Leichao Bai, Wei Lv, Lei Wang, Yushu Zhou, Bin Zhang
{"title":"Factors controlling distribution of mountainous gullies at the regional scale: An example of the Yuanmou dry-hot valley (SW China)","authors":"Haiqing Yang, Leichao Bai, Wei Lv, Lei Wang, Yushu Zhou, Bin Zhang","doi":"10.1177/03091333241228147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241228147","url":null,"abstract":"The primary factors controlling regional gully distribution in mountainous areas are poorly understood. To investigate the spatial characteristics and controlling factors of mountainous gullies at the regional scale, kernel density (KD) estimation, semivariogram, and Geodetector methods were used based on 11 environmental factors of gullies in the Yuanmou dry-hot valley. The results show that (a) gullies are widely but unevenly distributed in the valley, with an average KD of 1.155 km/km2, and gully distribution displays spatial autocorrelation with environmental factors over diverse scales; (b) relief amplitude (Ra), landform type, and slope are the primary factors controlling gully distribution, and land use type, precipitation, and elevation are also important factors; and (c) a high risk of gully erosion occurs in areas with an elevation of more than 1437 m, slope greater than 15°, and Ra greater than 173 m, with grassland vegetation or luvisols and cambisols soil types. These results will not only help to understand the spatial pattern and formation mechanism of gullies at the macroscopic scale but also provide a scientific reference for regional gully management.","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"10 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139524507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Infilled lakes (Pampas) of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru: Inventory, sediment storage, and paleo outbursts","authors":"A. Emmer","doi":"10.1177/03091333241227799","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333241227799","url":null,"abstract":"Infilled lakes are a prevalent geomorphic feature in the intricate high mountain landscape of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Despite their apparent geomorphic, hydrological, and ecological importance, a systematic inventory of these areas has been lacking. This study presents an inventory of infilled lakes in the Cordillera Blanca. A total of 962 infilled lake polygons have been manually mapped, covering an area of nearly 90 km2 (the area of individual mapped polygons ranges from 0.001 km2 to 1.760 km2), more than double the area of existing lakes (40 km2) and the majority of flat areas (62% of areas with slope ≤5°). The study reveals that infilled bedrock-dammed lakes are the most common type (42%), while moraine-dammed lakes account for the majority of the infilled lake area (52%) and sediment volume (52% to 57%). Considering high uncertainty of infilled basins’ morphology, the estimated sediment volume of infilled lakes ranges between 0.9 km3 and 2.3 km3 (compared to 0.79 km3 to 1.15 km3 of water stored in existing lakes). The case study of Lake Aguascocha catchment reveals a mean sediment yield of 0.64 to 1.63∙106 m3∙km−2 during the past 10.7 ± 0.3 ka, that is, a mean annual sediment yield of 58.5 to 156.4 m3∙km−2∙yr−1. Furthermore, 65 locations where preserved geomorphic evidence indicates possible outburst floods in the past are identified. These areas are particularly important for understanding patterns of lake outburst occurrence on longer timescales than traditionally considered in lake outburst flood hazard studies. The dataset presented in this study is intended to serve as a basis for identifying sites suitable for further site-specific paleo-geographical, sedimentological, geochronological as well as broader mountain landscape evolution studies.","PeriodicalId":513324,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment","volume":"30 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139528743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}