A number of studies have dealt with the assessment of potential and actual desertification risk using composite indices. The Environmental Sensitivity Areas (ESA) approach, developed in the framework of MEDALUS project funded by the European Community, is one of the most used procedures to monitor land vulnerability to degradation in the Mediterranean region. The final output of this procedure is an index (ESI) composing four indicators of climate, soil, vegetation, and land management based on 14 elementary variables.

This study examined changes in never-harvested mixed conifer (MCF), spruce-fir (SFF), and quaking aspen forests (QAF) in Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP), Arizona, USA based on repeat sampling of two sets of vegetation study plots, one originally sampled in 1935 and the other in 1984. The 1935 plots are the earliest-known, sample-intensive, quantitative documentation of forest vegetation over a Southwest USA landscape. Findings documented that previously described increases in densities and basal areas attributed to fire exclusion were followed by decreases in 1935-2004 and 1984-2005.

Understanding how vegetation composition varies with season and interannual climate variability is important for any ecological research that uses vegetation data derived from surveys for the basis of inference. Misunderstanding this variation can influence land management and planning decisions, leading to poor implementation of biodiversity offsetting mechanisms, for example. We monitored plots (400 m²) grazed by livestock paired with adjacent ungrazed plots in derived native pastures four times a year over 2.5 years on the North‐West Slopes of New South Wales.

SUMMARYPrescribed burning in forestry is a valuable land management tool that has been extensively used in Australia, Eurasia, and North America. Nevertheless, fire is inherently dangerous and may impose risk upon humans, properties, and other natural resources. With the case of southern United States, the objective of this study is to assess the trend of administrative law reforms for forestry prescribed burning within the theoretical framework of management-based regulation.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics affect soil quality, agricultural productivity and atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Despite the need for spatial assessments of SOC content over time, reliable estimates from traditional field survey methods are limited by data availability; where measurements are often made at discrete point locations, at a coarse sample spacing or over a limited spatial extent.

From April to September 2014 the field experiment to determine responsiveness of plants to a depth of sowing and the economic and environmental value of dry matter yield on ecologically important and/or waterside areas was carried out in the valley of the river Pesnica (Zamarkova). The experiment was designed as split-plot with four replications. The plants treatments on main plots were: alfalfa (

In course of the research there were formulated the concepts, content and the main principles of territory organization in conditions of economy globalization. Bio-energetic approaches to its basing were suggested and their essence was shown. Methods of territory organization with the use of these approaches were presented. Indicators of estimation of territory organization variants and formulae for their calculation and developed the algorithm of territory organization were also shown.

This study investigates the micro-determinants of land use change usingcommunity, household and plot histories, an ethnographic method that constructs paneldata from systematic oral recalls. A 20-year historical timeline (1975-1995) isconstructed for the village of La Lima in central Honduras, based on a random sample of97 plots. Changes in land use are examined using transition analysis and multinomiallogit analysis.

Several of the major processes that result in N loss from soil (nitrification, ammonia volatilization, and denitrification) discriminate against ¹⁵N and fractionate the stable N isotopes, thus δ¹⁵N of ecosystem components has been suggested as an indicator of ecosystem N leakiness. This concept has been applied more successfully to native systems (primarily forest) than to managed systems where N inputs are greater and N cycling processes have potentially been modified.

Land management practices, invasive species expansion, and changes in the fire regime greatly impact the distribution of native plants in natural areas. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis), a keystone species in the Great Basin, has seen a 50% reduction in its distribution. For many dryland species, reestablishment efforts have focused on direct seeding but achieved only minor success due to irregular seed germination and poor survival.

Simulation models are widely used to assess the impacts of management and environmental variables on soil organic matter dynamics, to address questions on ecosystem sustainability and carbon cycling under global change. We tested the Century ecosystem model for two long-term experiments in north-eastern Italy: one (SF) comparing nutrient management treatments in small confined plots containing widely contrasting soil types (i.e., sandy, clay and peat) and the other (CR) involving a field study with crop rotation, nutrient, and management intensity variables.