#landuse — Public Fediverse posts

Carbon credits as currently structured are ineffective for funding peatland restoration - but if effective, they could be actively harmful.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/25148486261437571

#wetlands #GHG #conservation #carbonCredits #rewetting #rewilding #carbon #peatland #peatlands #landuse #land #landscape #carbonOffsets #UK #Britain

”When our rewilding program started, many big corporations offered us huge amounts of money if we certified carbon credits. We consulted with communities. But our answer was that we don’t sell nature.”

#climateFinance #wetlands #rewetting #prevention #deterrence #rewilding #Finland #Karelia #peatland #restoration #landUse #peatlands #nature #carbon #carbonSinks #CDR #wildfires #offsets #carbonOffsets #communities

A status on land use change worldwide:

"The area used for growing crops grew significantly from 2001 to 2024. Temporary crops (such as wheat, rice and maize) increased by 104 million ha, or 11 percent, reaching 1 081 million ha. Permanent crops (such as cocoa, oil palm and coffee) grew by 59 million ha, reaching 194 million ha in 2024, an increase of over 43 percent."

The leaders in cropland expansion were in Africa (+78 million ha) and South America (+35 million ha).
The leaders in cropland contraction were in Northern America (−26 million ha).

https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/fbfbe167-5026-4aa1-b985-2468507d5dc1

#FAO #foodSovereignty #agriculture #crops #land #landUse #LULUCF #trade #internationalTrade #cashCrops #exports

Impact Of Urbanization Driven Land Use And Land Cover Change On Ecological Environmental Quality In Rupandehi Nepal Assessed Using The Remote Sensing Ecological Index
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s44288-026-00650-y <-- shared paper
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https://kathmandupost.com/money/2026/02/18/rupandehi-s-continued-urban-sprawl-comes-at-a-cost-for-agriculture-in-the-periphery <-- shared media article
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H/T@ Gaurav Parajulim
“[The authors] studied how the ecological quality of Nepal's Rupandehi District has changed over three decades (1993–2023), using satellite imagery and the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) to track the health of the landscape year by year and to understand how urbanization-driven land use change has reshaped it.
What [they] found tells a nuanced story: as Butwal and Bhairahawa grew and built-up land expanded, ecological quality shifted in ways that a single number can't capture, some areas recovered, others declined, and the patterns rarely moved in a straight line…”
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“Rapid urbanization and population growth are major drivers of land use and land cover (LULC) change and can substantially alter ecological environmental quality (EEQ). This study assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC and their effect on EEQ in Rupandehi District, Nepal, over a 30-year period (1993–2023). Four ecological indicators representing greenness, wetness, dryness, and heat were derived from Landsat imagery in Google Earth Engine (GEE), and LULC was classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM). The Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) was then constructed from these indicators using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in ArcGIS Pro, and its spatial structure was examined using global and local spatial autocorrelation. The mean RSEI followed a non-linear trajectory, rising from 0.59 in 1993 to 0.635 in 2004, declining to 0.55 in 2013, and recovering to 0.67 in 2023, indicating an overall improvement in EEQ with a temporary mid-period decline. Over the same period, built-up areas expanded substantially and agricultural land declined, whereas forest cover fluctuated but showed a slight net increase by 2023, and barren land decreased markedly. Higher EEQ was concentrated in the forested northern hills, while lower values occurred in the urban centers of Butwal and Bhairahawa, closely matching the spatial pattern of LULC change. The results indicate that ecological quality reflects the combined influence of all land cover classes rather than any single class. This study provides a transferable and reproducible workflow for long-term ecological assessment based on openly available Landsat data, with the analysis code shared in a public repository, offering practical guidance for sustainable land management and environmentally responsible urban development...”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #RemoteSensing #GIS #RSEI #EnvironmentalMonitoring #Nepal #Research #GoogleEarthEngine #ArcGIS #EcologicalQuality #spatialautocorrelation #ecology #environment #earthobservation #RemoteSensingEcologicalIndex #landscape #urbanisation #urban #development #landuse #change #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal

Adherence to an adapted Planetary Health Diet (more fruits & #legumes; less #dairy, red #meat, animal fats & added #sugar) in China was linked to reduced GHG #emissions, water use & #landuse, as well as lower risk of all-cause mortality: doi.org/10.1007/s003... #environment #health #footprint

Busy Beavers - The Turbidity Signature Of Ecosystem Engineers At Work
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https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70661 <-- shared paper
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H/T @alan Puttock
“Beavers are the quintessential ecosystem engineers. In slow-flowing streams, they create complex wetlands with ponds by building dams and canals that can positively impact biodiversity, hydrology and water quality. These activities can interchangeably capture or release sediment along the watercourse. To date this has not been quantified at the resolution of rainfall events or beaver activity. This study used 15-min frequency, sustained monitoring upstream and downstream of a newly establishing beaver wetland to measure episodic changes in water turbidity at an event resolution. Monitoring showed no significant differences between upstream and downstream turbidity over 160 days when the first pair of beavers, known not to be building dams or canals, were resident. Shortly after introduction of another beaver pair, however, dam building, burrows and canal excavations were quickly observed, resulting in the creation of a complex beaver wetland between 2021 and 2024. Monitoring over 375 days during this period showed significant differences. Downstream turbidity was significantly higher overall than upstream: 13.1 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) compared to 4.2 NTU. Stochastic spikes in downstream turbidity during the study period not recorded upstream were associated with dam building and burrowing. Overall, there was no significant difference in turbidity loads, which was at least partially explained by a reduction in discharge downstream, particularly in higher flows, during the dam building period. This demonstrates a complex system with the trapping of influent sediment, the storing of water and the periodic release of beaver wetland sediment leading to net balance in loads. These results help provide context for other studies which have used temporally discrete sampling campaigns rather than continuous high-frequency monitoring. They provide a unique insight into the downstream impacts of a rapidly developing beaver wetland over its first three and a half years in a landscape that hasn't had beavers for over 400 years…"
#hydromorphic #water #hydrology #dam #beaverdam #waterquality #biodiversity #ecology #benefits #NatureBasedSolutions #Wetlands #Ecology #Biodiversity #EnvironmentalScience #Wildlife #Ecosystem #bioviversity #conservation #restoration #landscaperecovery #floodmanagement #FloodMitigation #flooding #energy #floodrisk #sustainability #wetlands #hydrography #dams #impoundment #deadwood #waterresources #landscapeengineer #benefits #vegetation #ecology #ecosystem #riversystemsstabilisation #naturalwaterregulation #resilience #valleysreborn #fisheries #invertebrates #extremeweather #floodflows #sediment #baseflow #drought #landmanagement #naturalsystems #landuse #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal

#Sugar is produced in high volumes and often consumed as empty calories in #confectionery products—40% of which in Europe, where related GHG #emissions are 3m tons CO₂eq and #landuse is 250k ha. Reallocation of land from sugar crops could improve #environment & human health: doi.org/10.1007/s410...

Land Use and Greenhouse Gas Em...

Mapping Multifunctionality In Remote Patagonian Forest Landscapes Reveals High-Value Ecosystems Beyond Protected Areas
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03515-x <-- shared paper
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H/T @Peter Potapov | Researcher at the World Resources Institute (WRI)
“This paper is] a strong example of multifunctionality analysis applied to conservation planning. The study mapped six ecosystem functions, including carbon storage, nutrient availability, water regulation, erosion control, habitat quality, and ecological connectivity. [The author] combined satellite data, field soil sampling, and spatial modeling for this comprehensive analysis.
Two findings stand out.
1. Old-growth forests had the highest multifunctionality index of any land cover type.
2. 78.5% of the top multifunctionality hotspots fall outside the region's protected areas, even though PAs already cover more than 54% of the territory.
Together, these results make a clear case for expanding conservation of the remaining Intact Forest Landscapes and primary forests in Patagonia and elsewhere…”
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“Remote forest landscapes provide critical references for understanding ecosystem functions (EFs) under low anthropogenic pressure, yet their capacity to sustain multiple EFs simultaneously remains poorly understood. [They] assessed landscape multifunctionality in western Patagonia by integrating satellite indicators, field data, and spatial modeling. Six EFs (carbon storage, nutrient availability, water regulation, erosion control, habitat quality, and ecological connectivity) were mapped, and their spatial relationships and hotspot distribution within and outside protected areas (PAs) were analyzed. Old-growth and secondary forests showed the highest functional performance. Strong synergies (ρ ≥ 0.6) between carbon storage and nutrient availability covered >50% of the landscape, whereas strong trade-offs (ρ ≤ –0.6) were spatially limited ( < 6%). Notably, 78% of multifunctionality hotspots occurred outside PAs, indicating that high-functional-value areas extend beyond formal conservation boundaries. These findings reveal spatial mismatches between multifunctionality and protection status and provide a replicable framework for integrating multifunctionality into conservation planning under global change…”
#Patagonia #chile #aysen #coyhaique #landcover #mapping #spatial #spatialpatterns #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #forest #vegetation #oldgrowth #secondgrowth #shrubland #grassland #steppe #ecosystem #habitat #nutrients #water #hydrology #erosion #multifunctionality #multifunctionalityanalysis #protectedareas #landuse #conservationplanning #conservation #ecology #carbonstorage #nutrientavailability #waterregulation #erosioncontrol #habitatquality #ecologicalconnectivity #remotesensing #satellite #earthobservation #modeling

Eager Beavers - Rodents Engineer Czech Wetland Project After Years Of Human Delay [ecosystem engineers]
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/11/beavers-save-czech-taxpayers-by-flooding-ex-army-training-site <-- shared technical media article
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver-engineered_dam_in_the_Czech_Republic <-- shared wiki technical page
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https://phys.org/news/2025-02-fine-beavers-czech-treasury-million.html <-- shared technical article
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https://youtu.be/GSTw8qmBP4Y?si=XK2Iy2pAltW91flj <-- shared video (Czech)
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H/T @ScienceGirl
"We don't expect any conflict with the beaver in the next 10 years," ~ Bohumil Fiser from the Czech Nature Conservation Agency
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“For seven years, planners struggled to complete a $1.2 million wetland restoration project in the Brdy region of the Czech Republic. The goal was to build a dam that would improve water management and bring back valuable wetland habitat, but the project remained trapped in a maze of permits and approvals.
Then a family of eight Eurasian beavers did what engineers had planned… without permits, machinery, or a budget.
The beavers built a network of dams in almost the exact area chosen for the proposed project, naturally restoring the wetland system officials had spent years trying to create. After seeing the results, authorities decided there was little point continuing with the original human-built dam.
Although some reports suggested the beavers completed the work overnight, experts say their construction likely took several weeks. The reason it seemed sudden is that the animals quietly worked away until their finished dams became impossible to miss.
Beavers are known as “ecosystem engineers” because their behaviour can reshape entire environments. By cutting trees and blocking streams, they create ponds and wetlands that support countless species, including fish, amphibians, insects, birds, and mammals.
Their wetlands also act as natural water reservoirs, helping during droughts, reducing flood risks, filtering water, storing carbon, and keeping landscapes wetter during wildfires…
Once heavily hunted across Europe, beaver populations have been recovering thanks to conservation efforts, proving that sometimes nature can solve problems humans spend years trying to fix…"
#water #hydrology #KlabavaRiver #Czech #BrdyRegion #protected #CzechRepublic #armytraining #military #beaver #Eurasianbeavers #dam #beaverdam #waterquality #restoration #biodiversity #crayfish #wetland #ecology #benefits #Beavers #NatureBasedSolutions #Wetlands #Ecology #Biodiversity #Agroforestry #EnvironmentalScience #Conservation #Wildlife #Ecosystem #bioviversity #conservation #restoration #landscaperecovery #EcosystemEngineers #nature #floodmanagement #FloodMitigation #flood #flooding #energy #floodrisk #sustainability #wetlands #hydrography #dams #impoundment #deadwood #waterresources #landscapeengineer #agriculture #benefits #vegetation #ecology #ecosystem #riversystemsstabilisation #naturalwaterregulation #resilience #drought #wildfire #valleysreborn #slowdetermination #fisheries #invertebrates #extremeweather #floodflows #sediment #baseflow #drought #landmanagement #naturalsystems #landuse #ecosystemengineers #watermanagement

Optical, Radar, And Hybrid Indices To Detect Farming Practices In Europe
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2026.115553 <-- shared paper
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“HIGHLIGHTS:
• [they] compare[d] Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series to detect farming practices.
• HyBRIS index is introduced, temporally weighting BSI and VH/VV into a daily index.
• Time-series minima and maxima are used to predict sowing, harvest, and tillage.
• Validation is performed across several years, crop types, and European locations.
• Phenology detection is improved compared to HRL-Cropland.
ABSTRACT: Arable farming practices dictate both crop cycles and soil dynamics, and are central to agriculture's environmental impact and its mitigation. Sowing and harvesting mark the beginning and end of the growing season, while tillage modifies soil structure during the dormant period. Although well-established methods exist for delineating the growing season using phenology and optical data, the detection of farming practices, particularly tillage, remains underexplored. This study investigates the strengths of radar and optical data to retrieve sowing, harvest, and tillage dates at the field level, and proposes a novel Hybrid Bare Soil Radar Index (HyBRIS). Based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, HyBRIS merges optical and radar data into a single index using a temporally weighted mean. Local minima and maxima of the time series are used to detect farming practices across European sites. Validation is carried out against a reference dataset comprising 238 fields in 11 EU countries, including 462 sowing, 374 harvest, and 388 tillage events covering more than 40 crop types over 8 years. Compared to the Copernicus High Resolution Layer Croplands product (HRL-Cropland), the proposed method based on HyBRIS time series improved sowing and harvest dates detection (MAE 26 and 23 days, respectively). Additionally, this method enabled tillage dates estimation during dormant periods (MAE = 28 days), but tended to overestimate the number of tillage events (producer's accuracy = 97%, user's accuracy = 70%). Incorporating soil moisture data is advised for reducing false positives. The results highlight the potential of optical, radar, and hybrid indices for monitoring agricultural management and supporting environmental stewardship…”
#Sowing #Harvest #tillage #tillagedetection #cropland #CroplandManagement #remotesensing #earthobservation #sentinel #Copernicus #cropland #satellite #optical #radar #sensor #landuse #landcover #landsurface #phenology #agricultural #monitoring #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #arable #farming #agriculture #soil #substrate #environment #sustainability #environmentalstewardship #growingseason #Europe #region #model #modeling

”When our rewilding program started, many big corporations offered us huge amounts of money if we certified carbon credits. We consulted with communities. But our answer was that we don’t sell nature.”

https://e360.yale.edu/features/tero-mustonen-interview?_hsenc=p2anqtz-8qjorrtilmbt14nt4u5r0mw9f2x-hsqsmrt7jgbvhkaktea_1-bgyaitudxi1aluczlc_w

#wetlands #rewetting #prevention #deterrence #rewilding #Finland #Karelia #peatland #restoration #landUse

The Growing Threat of Flooding on Transportation Infrastructure Across Texas Through 2100
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https://doi.org/10.1029/2026EF008207 <--shared paper
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H/T @Rakibul Ahasan
“[The researchers] modeled flood susceptibility across Texas at 30 m resolution and projected how it shifts through 2100. The headline is not just that flood risk grows, but that it moves, into places current planning and regulatory maps are not watching. The July 2025 Kerrville flooding sat squarely inside the kind of inland hazard expansion this model projects.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
● 95% of new flood exposure by 2100 is inland, away from the coast, shifting the resilience problem into interior river basins that planning has historically deprioritized.
● Where [they] benchmarked against FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, the model flags substantial hidden risk in rapidly urbanizing peri-urban areas, most notably in Greater Houston.
● Climate change alone expands the flood-susceptible footprint by 10–12% by 2100, before any new road or land-use development, so this is a conservative floor, not a ceiling.
● Half the state's roads and rail and 80% of its bridges already sit in flood-susceptible zones today.
● [They] accounted for both factor-importance and spatial-scale uncertainty, using a Monte Carlo weight-perturbation ensemble and multiscale analysis across nested neighborhoods.
The practical takeaway: this is a statewide screening layer, not a replacement for site-level hydraulic studies. It shows planners and policymakers where the gap between today's protection and tomorrow's risk is widest, and where unmapped peri-urban growth is walking into exposure that regulatory maps still call safe…”
#water #hydrology #hydrography #extremeweather #flood #flooding #Texas #TX #USA #transportation #infrastructure #humanimpacts #risk #hazard #cost #economics #floodsusceptibility #GIS #spatial #mapping #raster #elevation #modeling #model #spatialanalysis #planning #regulation #warning #Kerrville #hazardmapping #floodexposure #inland #coast #urban #urbanisation #development #growth #Houston #lowlying #climatechange #landuse #development #geostatstics #MonteCarlo #regionalscreening #naturalhazard #infrastructureresilience #floodmapping #hydrogeomorphology #geomorphometry #aginginfrastructure

The #EnvironmentalCost of #ArtificialIntelligence: #Carbon, #Water, and #LandFootprints

#AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.

Date Published 3 Jun 2026

UNU-INWEH Report: Aczel, M., Chamanara, S., Matin, M., Farsi, A., Marwala, T., Madani, K. (2026).

"This report, Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints, by the #UnitedNationsUniversity Institute for Water, Environment and Health ( #UNU - #INWEH ) on its 30th anniversary, examines one of the most underexplored consequences of AI’s rapid expansion: the environmental footprints of the energy required to power it. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in economies, public services, research, communication, and everyday life, it depends on a growing physical infrastructure of #datacenters, advanced #chips, #CoolingSystems, #ElectricityGrids, #WaterResources, land, and #CriticalMineral supply chains. The report shows that AI is not only a digital technology, but also a material system with measurable #EnvironmentalCosts.

"The report moves beyond a carbon-only lens by quantifying the carbon, water, and land footprints associated with the electricity used to train, deploy, and operate AI systems at scale. Its central finding is that AI’s environmental costs depend not only on how much electricity is used, but also on where that electricity is generated and which energy sources power it. Every kilowatt-hour used by AI carries carbon, water, and land implications, and these footprints do not always move in the same direction: low-carbon electricity is not automatically low-water or low-land. The report also shows that AI’s footprint is shaped by both major infrastructure trends, including the rapid growth of data centers, and everyday use patterns, including model choice, output length, modality, and the growing use of text, image, and video generation.

"Importantly, the report frames AI’s environmental footprint as a governance and justice challenge, not only a technical problem. The benefits of AI often flow across borders and sectors, while the environmental burdens of data center siting, electricity demand, water withdrawals, #LandUse, MineralExtraction, and #EWaste can be concentrated in specific communities and regions. To address these risks, the report calls for a responsible AI ecosystem grounded in transparency, efficiency by design, equity and #EnvironmentalJustice, lifecycle responsibility, global cooperation, and sustainable use. By making AI’s carbon, water, and land footprints visible and comparable, the report provides a practical basis for integrating AI into energy, climate, water, and land-use planning, ensuring that innovation advances without shifting environmental costs onto vulnerable communities."

Download PDF:
https://unu.edu/inweh/collection/environmental-cost-of-AIs-Enrgy-Use-Carbon-water-and-land-footprints

#AIBoom #Electricity #Hyperscale #BigTech #BigData #CarbonFootprint #EnvironmentalRacism #EnvironmentalDegradation #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #AIAgents #BotTraffic #GreenSpaces #Farmland #Prairies #Woodland #TechGiants #ProtectNature #NoDatacenters #EnergyConsumption #USPol #WorldPol #Datacentres
#DatacenterMoratoriums

#NoNaturalDisasters [UN]
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https://www.undrr.org/our-impact/campaigns/no-natural-disasters | https://www.nonaturaldisasters.com/ <-- shared technical articles
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#Resilience #ClimateAction #Governance #risk #hazard #riskassessment #naturalhazard #disaster #humanimpacts #engineeringgeology #NoNaturalDisasters #natural #nature #earthquake #storm #flood #flooding #tsunami #volcano #desertification #wildfire #fires #publicsafety #planning #policy #preparedness #ISO31000 #monitoring #buildingcodes #engineering #landuse #earlywarning #humanmaderisk #exposure #vulnerability #socioeconomic #ecosystems #habitat #livelihoods #farming #infrastructure #buildings #structures #industrial #cost #recovery #economics #homes #extremeweather #hurricane #tornado #resilience #sustainability #poverty #assessment #UNDRR #UN #riskreduction
@United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

National-Scale Field Delineation In Mozambique Refines Our Understanding Of Cropland Distribution, Field Size, And Deforestation Actors.
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https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae5cb4 <-- shared paper
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https://philipperufin.github.io/blog/mozfields-2023/ <-- shared associated technical article from one of the paper’s authors
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#foodsecurity #subsistence #smallholder #farms #farming #agriculture #crops #Mozambique #subSaharan #Africa #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #policy #planning #cropland #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #field #deforestation #countrywide #landuse #sustainability #delineation #satellite #SPOT #model #modeling #deeplearning #AI #machinelearning #survey #GeoAI #spatialdata

Detecting Land Use And Land Cover Changes And Quantifying Soil Erosion And Sediment Export Using GIS And Remote Sensing In The GERD Catchment, Ethiopia
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2026.100657 <-- shared paper
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https://infonile.org/en/2023/05/battling-for-survival-along-the-warming-source-of-the-blue-nile/ <-- shared technical media article
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https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65241-7_4 <-- shared technical book chapter
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https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8121020 <-- shared 2016 paper
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#landuse #landcover #RUSLE #model #soil #erosion #sedimentation #GERD #catchment #NorthAfrica #Ethiopia #AbbayBasin #sustainability #landmanagement #agriculture #farmland #foodsecurity #water #hydrogology #reservior #watermanagement #watersecurity #waterresources #catchment #GrandEthiopianRenaissanceDam #BlueNile #hydrography #impoundment #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #thematic #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #landsat #elevation #DEM #CHIRPS #rainfall #precipitation #LULC #AI #forest #grazing #grassland #field #crops #cropland #waterbodies #urban #biophysical #risk #hazard #mitigation #soilquality

What Shapes Earthquake Risk In Bangladesh? Geospatial Insights From Physical And Social Factors Using A Spatial Meta-Regression Approach
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-026-01089-4 <-- shared paper
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#EarthquakeRisk #GIS #Bangladesh #DisasterManagement #SEAsia #GIS #spatial #mapping #risk #hazard #earthquake #naturalhazard #urban #rural #infrastructure #publicsafety #model #modeling #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #geomorphology #geology #tectonics #social #cultural #demographics #fault #faulting #factoranalysis #seismichazard #model #modeling #socioeconomics #geophysics #remotesensing #geostatistics #landuse #framework #magnitude #engineering #buildingcode #mitigation #zoning #development #growth #vulnerability

Provisional Land Use Data From Water Year 2024 Is Now Available On [CA]DWR Atlas, CNRA Open Data, And SGMA Data Viewer For Public Use
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https://gis.water.ca.gov/app/CADWRLandUseViewer/?page=home <-- shared web-based CDWR datasets / map
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“The collected data is used by various federal, state, and local agencies, academic researchers and private consultants , and can help estimate the amount of water available for agriculture. Using this information, farmers can adapt and make decisions to better manage scarce water supplies more effectively.”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #California #download #opendata #water #hydrology #datause #datasharing #download #landuse #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #wateryear #DWRAtlas #statewide #CNRA #SGMA #publicdata #publicgood #usecase #crops #croplands #cropmapping #counties #countysurvey #CADWR #DWR #groundwater #irrigation #wateruse #watermanagement #federal #state #local #webmapping #agriculture #watersecurity #foodsecurity #watersupply
#CaliforniaDepartmentOfWaterResources

Map Reveals How America's Forests Have Changed Over Time
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https://www.newsweek.com/america-forests-change-over-time-2041291 <-- shared 2025 media article
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https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1005-2023 <-- shared 2023 paper
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7055086 <-- shared study datasets
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #copernicus #CONUS #USA #forest #model #modeling #landuse #landcover #change #forestland #agriculture #urban #development #cities #industry #vegetation #America #humanimpacts #settlement #decline #cropland #pasture #grassland #grazing #reforestation #deforestation #urbanization #conservation #ecosystems #logging #mining #railroad #infrastructure #forestcover #NLDI #farmland #colonial #LULC #census #climate #hydrology #biogeochemical

Geologically-Driven Migration of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War - A Feature Focusing on the Western Balkans
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https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13060178 <-- shared 2023 paper
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https://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/05/20/balkan-floods-expose-deadly-mines-from-1990s <-- shared 2014 media example
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[mechanics/process I know I (fortunately) don’t consider - but fascinating!]
#landmine #unexplodedordnance #explosiveordnance #abandonedexplosiveordnance #IED #improvisedexplosivedevice #military #minefield #war #publicsafety #flood #flooding #landslide #WesternBalkans #balkans #Bosnia #Herzegovina #Serbia #Croatia #stochastic #deterministic #model #modeling #war #battlefield #ordanance #injury #fatality #massmovement #landsurface #processes #engineeringgeology #geology #geology #soil #debrisflow #water #hydrology #risk #hazard #hydromorphology #morphology #geomorphometry #spatialanalysis #GIS #spatial #mapping #riskmapping #fieldsurvey #spatiotemporal #research #hazardmap #planning #polict #landuse #emergency #publichealth #riskmanagement

Sentinel-2 Based Estimates Of Rangeland Fractional Cover And Canopy Gap Class For The Western United States
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06160-9 <-- shared paper
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https://rangelands.app/products/rap10m/ <-- shared 10 metre Range Analysis platform overview
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[aside & totally anecdotal - I have ridden on the road in that last picture - near Sheridan, WY]
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #fedscience #fedservice #feddata #opendata #usecase #publicgood #rangeland #ecosystems #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #US #USA #vegetation #satellite #remotesensing #earthobservation #Sentenial #Sentenial2 #canopy #fractionalcover #canopygap #landcover #landuse #grass #pinyon #juniper #opendata #raster #USWest #WesternStates #landsurface #tools #fielddata #model #modeling #BLM #USDA #statistics #geostatistics #RangelandAnalysisPlatform
@USDA @BLM

Surface Water Transitions 1984–2022 - A Global Dataset at Annual Resolution
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06013-5 <-- shared paper
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#water #hydrology #hydrospatial #globe #global #remotesensing #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #GIS #spatial #mapping #watertransition #river #stream #lake #coast #coastal #landsat #timeseries #WCD #WTTD #OTSU #NDWI #landuse #landcover #NLDI #soil #vegetation #forest #urban #industrial #advance #recession #wetland #engineered #agriculture #floodplain #deforestration #reservior #delta #model #modeling #surfacewater #change #seasonal #climate #annual #historic #recenthistory #waterresources #watermanagement #watersecurity

Diversion Channels vs. Climate Change: Will Five Cities’ Flood Protection Strategy Be Enough?

Many of those reading this post may recall scenes from the disastrous floods that took place along the Red River of the North in 1997, 2009, and 2011. Cities like Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota were severely impacted by floodwaters due to snowmelt and ice jams along that northward flowing river. Further north along the same river, in Manitoba, Winnipeg has dealt with significant flooding on multiple occasions.

Part of the problem along this particular river valley is there is very little topographical change in this area, so when river levels run high, the floodwaters spread out far and wide across the northern prairie landscape. The limited grade change also tends to slow the speed of the river’s flow, which can add to the backup.

To address these costly and dangerous flooding problems along the Red River of the North, both Winnipeg and Grand Forks have developed enormous flood diversion channels around their urban area. Meanwhile, Fargo is close to completing its diversion channel. These three diversion systems are discussed below followed by other diversion channel programs established in Wichita, Kansas and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Red River Floodway – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada = 29 mile diversion channel

• Completed in 1968 for $63 million and enlargement completed in 2010 for $665 million
• Designated a National Historic Site in 2000
• Capacity of 140,000 cubic feet per second
• 2.7 billion cubic feet of Earth moved (more than the Suez Canal)

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English Coulee Diversion Channel – Grand Forks, ND, USA = 13 mile diversion channel for English Coulee and 8 miles of flood walls/levees along the Red River of the North

• The diversion channel for English Coulee bypassing Grand Forks was completed in 1990. Unfortunately, increasing the height of flood walls and levees was not completed until 2007.
• Total project cost was $409 million including the flood walls and levees on the Red River of the North.
• Flood protection was raised from 50 feet to 60 feet.
• Flood/stormwaters can be also pumped to the diversion channel from the city — up to 112,000 gallons per minute (= 250 cubic feet per second).
• Twenty miles of greenways trails

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Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project – Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN, USA = 30 mile diversion channel and 22 mile earthen embankment at the southern end of the complex

• To be completed in 2027 for $3.2 billion
• The Red River has reached flood stage in Fargo 60 times since 1902, including every single year between 1993 and 2011.
• Designed to withstand a 100-year flood and provide fightable protection against a 500-year flood.
• Capacity of 20,000 cubic feet per second.
• Other features will include levees, flood walls, stormwater lift stations, road improvements including raising grades, upstream mitigation, wetland mitigation, river restoration, a bike/walking trail, and related flood control projects in outer communities and in nearby Minnesota.

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Further to the south, Wichita, Kansas has faced similar issues with flooding from the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers. To limit future damage to life and property in the city, an enormous flood diversion project was completed here in 1959. This diversion channel is very visible to drivers along Interstate 235 around the west side of the city.

Wichita-Valley Center Floodway – Wichita, KS, USA = 18 mile diversion channel

• Completed in 1959 for $20 million
• Includes 50 miles of connecting channels, 100 miles of levees, and 150 control structures.
• The diversion channel has a flood carrying capacity twice that of the Arkansas River itself, while the Little Arkansas River portion around the town of Valley Center has a capacity of 55,000 cubic feet per second.

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In an altogether different context, Albuquerque, New Mexico can also face quick and devastating floods, but not from a flat terrain. Instead, the threat here is threefold – rapid snowmelt from the abutting Sandia Mountains flowing down into the city and the valley combined with urban stormwater runoff and heavy summer monsoon-season rains (yes, we have a monsoon season here) overwhelming the natural arroyos and dry stream beds. In Albuquerque, a network of diversion channels has been developed, with two primary ones (the North and South Diversion Channels) being the largest collectors and distributors of stormwater and floodwaters from natural arroyos and human made/enhanced channels.

North Diversion Channel – Albuquerque, NM, USA = 8.7 miles

• Completed in 1969 at a cost of $20.3 million
• Capacity of 44,000 cubic feet per second ~ equivalent to a 500-year flood event
• Collects flood/storm waters from 50 square miles and discharges it into the Rio Grande
• A bicycle/pedestrian trail runs along the top of the channel for its entire length.
• Passes through the heart of the city instead of around it.

South Diversion Channel – Albuquerque, NM, USA ~ 5.5 miles

• Completed in 1972 at a cost of $8.3 million and discharges into the Rio Grande
• A bicycle/pedestrian trail runs along the top of the channel for much of its length.

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As these five examples show, there are viable options for protecting life, limb, and property from devastating floods in urban areas. That being said, as the Earth’s climate continues to become warmer, bringing with it heavier rainfalls and stronger storms, even these diversion channels and their associated infrastructure may become overwhelmed by future weather events.

Therefore, addressing only the after-the-fact results of storms will not protect our communities as long as climate change is allowed to continue on its current trajectory. Humankind must also address the root causes of climate change, including the impacts we create by our individual and collective actions and activities. This includes making hard choices…frankly choices that highly-developed First World countries like the United States too often avoid making.

Furthermore, when nations ignore climate reality, these five cities, let alone many others across the planet, will need to upgrade their flood defenses over and over again. In this era of climate change, such efforts will not and cannot solve the problem alone. Humanity must find the “sustainable willpower” to effectively address climate change for the long term. In the end, future generations will be grateful that we did.

Peace!

#albuquerque #cities #climateChange #diversionChannels #environment #fargo #flooding #floodplain #floods #geography #grandForks #history #infrastructure #landUse #monsoonSeason #planning #rivers #stormwater #wichita #winnipeg

Cattle accounts for 36 percent of tree cover loss from agriculture

(Please read methodology notes in Alt text.)

#deforestation #landGrab #landUse #landUseChange #forests #forest #CO2 #emissions #carbon #carbonSinks #carbonSink #carbonFootprint #Paraguay #Brazil #Mercosur #beef #cattle #soy #soybeans #palmOil #rubber #Amazonia #Pantanal #Cerrado

💡 Nicht pauschal mehr, sondern an der richtigen Stelle bauen - Forschende von difu, ILS und IÖR fordern einen Kurswechsel in der Debatte um #Wohnungsbau und #Flächenverbrauch.

Kommentar im Open-Acess-Journal R&R 👉🏻 https://rur.oekom.de/index.php/rur/article/view/3425/6360

#Stadtplanung #Landuse #Raumentwicklung

@ilsforschung @ioew @BMWSB_Bund

Thirty Years Of The U.S. National Land Cover Database [NLCD] - Impacts And Future Direction
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https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.25-00121R2 <-- shared paper
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https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/annual-national-land-cover-database <-- shared #USGS Annual National Land Cover Database (open data)
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https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/annual-national-land-cover-database <-- get the open NLCD data
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #history #continuity #improvement #LandCover #Landuse #change #Landsat #NLCD #NationalLandCoverDatabase #earthobservation #remotesensing #landchange #monitoring #fedscience #publicgood #fedopendata #opendata #history #fedservice #MRLCC #USA #download #impervious #surface #forestcanopy #mosaics #accuracy #deeplearning #AI #research #landmanagement #agriculture #water #hydrology #cropland #biodiversity #conservation #urban #planning #publichealth #naturalhazard #assesment #risk #hazard #mitigation #national #nation #multiple #usecase
#USGS | #EROS

A New Geodatabase Of Fuel Treatments Across Federal Lands In The USA
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05859-z <-- shared paper
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https://nft.garphub.org/ <-- National Fuels Treatments Initiative (NFT) page
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“The National Fuels Treatments Initiative (NFT) is a collaborative, scalable data collection effort which aims to build a standardized map of nationwide fuels treatment locations occurring across all land ownership types…”
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#NationalFuelsTreatmentsInitiative #NFT #datacollection #fedscience #fedservice #opendata #fire #fuel #fedopendata #wildfire #bushfire #risk #hazard #damage #infrastructure #GIS #spatial #map #mapping #economics #publicgood #landownership #federalland #mitigation #technical #database #naturalhazard #infrastructure #residential #transportation #accessibility #portal #online #coordination #teatment #WildfireInteragencyGeodatabase #TWIG #nation #nationwide #management #landuse #landcover #policy #research #spatialdata
@DOI @USFS @USGS

Spectrum Of The Lakes - Using Satellite Remote Sensing To Unveil Water Color In Minnesota's Sentinel Lakes For Water Quality Monitoring
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https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2025.2509528 <-- shared paper
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https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fisheries/slice/index.html <-- shared DNR Sentinel Lakes monitoring programs
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#Satellite #RemoteSensing #hydrology #water #WaterColour #WaterQuality #Chromaticity #SentinelLakes #ecoregion #Minnesota #earthobservation #GIS #spatial #mapping #MidWest #US #waterresources #ecology #ecosystems #watersecurity #Landsat #OLI #surface #lake #waterbody #reflectance #tropic #wavelength #vegetation #catchments #vegetation #MDVW #forests #agriculture #farming #landuse #landcover #management #monitoring #protection

🚨 IÖR startet Forschungsdaten-Repositorium #ioerDATA.

Hochauflösende und gut dokumentierte Daten zu 🌐 Flächenverbrauch, 🌳 Stadtgrün, 🏨 Bauwerksbestand etc., kostenfrei und FAIR. Kuratiert und verwaltet durch das #IOER_FDZ. Mehr Infos 👉 https://www.ioer.de/presse/aktuelles/repositorium-ioer-data-gestartet

@smc_germany @a_tack @BKG @BMWSB_Bund @NFDI

#GeoData #SpatialData #ioerDATA #IOER_FDZ #Landuse #Flächenverbauch #Geoinformatics #Flächennutzung #Raumentwicklung #SustainabilityTransition

A New Tool To Characterise The Socio-Environmental Dimensions Of Urban Rivers: Urban River Socio-Environmental Index
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105388 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #EnvironmentalEvaluation #SocioEcosystem #SocialConnectivity #UrbanRiver #Indicators #RiverRestoration #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #water #hydrology #urban #stream #ecosystem #cities #residents #community #nature #humanimpacts #artifical #engineered #URBS #watershed #drainage #management #restoration #geomorphology #hydrogeomorphology #ecology #urbansprawl #interdisciplinary #biophysical #social #community #France #Paris #MorbrasRiver #macroinvertebrates #riparian #vegetation #reaches #typology #landscape #landuse #landcover #variety #blandscaping

Planning for cities with linear skylines

Shown below are some of the cities around the globe that have linear skylines. While these can be visually impressive, especially when set as a backdrop against the coastline or mountains, they also can be challenging from a planning and infrastructure perspective, unless they are adapted properly to address this unique urban landform.

Bear in mind, that linear skylines are not just a coastal or narrow valley phenomenon. Las Vegas is perfect example of an inland city with a very linear skyline that resulted in part due to how the city developed as a desert oasis along a single major corridor. Other examples may result from topographic settings like narrow mountain valleys, river valleys, peninsulas, or islands.

The length of linear skylines can tend to dissuade walking, as the distances between sites can be intimidating. Furthermore, if the focus is too concentrated, primary streets that run the length of the skyline, such as the Las Vegas Strip, can become overwhelmed by traffic and people.

That is why it is important to have viable and efficient alternatives — light rail, buses, bicycling routes, trollies, or as Las Vegas has developed, a monorail line. Safe crossings of busy thoroughfares is also needed. As the image are shows, overpasses or tunnels for pedestrians may be necessary. Otherwise, crosswalks must be set up to allow time for safe movement across the avenues.

In some ways, a linear design can be efficient when it comes to utilities, because they can be focused in a narrower area. However, they must constructed of sufficient size and scale to handle the concentrated needs for water, sewer, electricity, gas, etc. Otherwise, the streets and roads may be constantly torn up to increase capacity. Utility managers will also need to address verticality of the service area, to assure water pressure and other services are maintained at their highest levels.

Another important factor to consider is public safety, particularly from fire-fighting and emergency response standpoints. By their very nature, linear skylines tend to be more dense and as a result taller. This is very evident from the photos provided below. How public safety services address the inherently denser and taller structures is critically important for assuring public safety is always a top priority for avoiding potential tragedies.

Another factor to consider for tourist-oriented linear skyline is the variations between on and off-season. Any and all planning efforts will need to take this into account as the extent of impacts can fluctuate greatly over a calendar year.

What is likely to be the most linear (and perhaps vertical) skyline of them all is the controversial 106 mile long, new city of Neom being constructed in Saudi Arabia (see images above and below. How this project will eventually turn out and whether it will achieve the stated goals of livability and sustainability remains to be seen. If it is successful, it may be a defining development for the future. Otherwise, it could be a precautionary tale to avoid excepting very specialized circumstances.

As has been noted throughout this post, linear skylines can have their challenges. How effectively these are addressed will help determine whether or not the infrastructure and services can meet the concentrated demand. At the same time, the opportunities are not quite as apparent. To this retired planner, ambitious individual developments that are overly lengthy or excessively vertical may not achieve their “lofty” goals. Similarly, it remains to be seen how efficient and effective such a narrow, dense and lengthy urban form can be.

Peace!

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Las Vegas, Nevada – centered along the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard)

Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia and other beachfront cities – centered along the beachfront

Balneário Camboriú, Brazil

Miami Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Ocean City, Maryland

Cancun, Mexico

Grand Rapids, Michigan – the tallest buildings are centered along the Grand River

Pikeville, Kentucky – a very unique linear “semi-circle” in the Appalachian Mountains.

Danang, Vietnam – concentrated along both the river and along the coastline at My Khe Beach

#BalneárioCamboriú #Cancun #cities #coastlines #Danang #DaytonaBeach #downtown #geography #GrandRapids #history #landUse #LasVegas #linearSkylines #MiamiBeach #Neom #OceanCity #Pikeville #planning #skylines #SurfersParadise #topography #transit #transportation #travel #valleys #VirginiaBeach #walking #Yanjing

My thoughts on 'Neoliberal peri‐urban economies and the predicament of dairy farmers: a case study of the Illawarra region, New South Wales' (Ren Hu & Nicholas J. Gill, 2022).

This paper includes a very thorough literary review and insights into the perceptions and experiences of Illawara dairy farmers as the region is urbanised.

The paper is perhaps worth a read if you are concerned with land-use issues in rural communities.

https://joesilver.micro.blog/2025/03/25/my-commentary-on-the-paper.html

#Agriculture #UrbanPlanning #LandUse #Neolibralism #LandUseConflict #Illawara #AcademicCommunity

Fläche ist das zentrale Thema des Dresdner Flächennutzungssymposium #DFNS. Es führt jährlich Akteure aus Wissenschaft, Politik, Verwaltung und Planung zusammen. Vorträge, Poster, interaktive Workshops – Wir suchen Ihre Beiträge! 📅 Einreichungsfrist: 17. März 2025 Mehr erfahren 👉🏻 https://dfns2025.ioer.info/

@Leibniz_IfL @IRSErkner @ZALF_leibniz @ilsforschung @nfdi4earth @NFDI @BERD_NFDI @konsortswd

#DFNS #LandUse #Flächennutzung #Raumentwicklung

#Agriculture is a key driver of #landuse change and terrestrial #carbon & biodiversity loss. But its environment #footprint can be reduced by sustained #productivity growth: Globally, historic crop improvement (1961-2015) resulted net in less #cropland expansion, lower GHG #emissions, and more plant & animal species being saved from extinction (plus the higher #yields generally lowered commodity prices of staple crops): https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2404839122 #biodiversity #foodsecurity

Cropland Abandonment Between 1986 And 2018 Across The United States - Spatiotemporal Patterns And Current Land Uses
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https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad2d12 <-- shared paper
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https://www.agdaily.com/crops/study-30-million-acres-cropland-abandoned-since-1980s <-- shared media article
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #spatiotemporal #USA #spatialanalysis #crops #cropland #abandoned #remotesensing #landsat #imagery #CONUS #AI #USDA #OgallalaAquifer #GoogleEarthEngine #CNN #machinelearning #irrigation #ConservationReserveProgram #landuse #landcover #planning #management #economics

End Of An Era – Historic Landsat 7 Mission Takes Final Images
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https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/end-era-historic-landsat-7-mission-takes-final-images <-- shared USGS technical article
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #landsat #remotesensing #landsat7 #history #mission #landsat8 #landsat9 #landsatnext #imagery #satellite #landuse #water #hydrology #disasters #ecology #ecosystems #climatechange #deforestration #urbangrowth #wildfires #monitoring #agriculture #waterresources #change #forest #vegetation #snow #ice #glaciers
@USGS

Trajectories And State Changes Of A Grassland Stream And Riparian Zone After A Decade Of Woody Vegetation Removal
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https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2830 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #alternativestates #nutrients #riparian #zone #stream #discharge #thresholds #waterquality #woodyvegetation #Kansas #prairie #water #hydrology #landuse #landcover #changes #climatechange #streambed #ecosystem #impacts #humanimpacts #sediment #sedimentation #grassland #prairieland #terrestrial #aquatic #biomes #NEON

The Dunghutti people and sand mining

"Uncle Reg was among the many Indigenous people forcibly removed from a camp there at the time. He was six years old when his family's homes were bulldozed and burnt to make way for the sand mine. He said his family were told to "pack a bag and get out of here". We saw them drive up and push the houses over, pushed them to the ground and poured kerosene or diesel over them and set them alight....When the rutile sand mine later closed in 1985, the land became a dumping ground for rubbish and burnt-out cars."

"Uncle Cedric said he would like to have the land returned to his people, or to see them compensated for their loss of home and culture."

#mining #MineRehabilitation #LandUse #NSW #MidNorthCoast #CrescentHead #BackBeach #DunghuttiPeople #CarvedTrees #Kempsey

Our New study amazingly led by @DaijunLiu.
If you are interested in #alienspecies, #landuse change and the effects on local assemblages, don't miss out!
#bioinvasionsVIE
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RT @DaijunLiu
Our latest paper on NC @NatureComms is out: Thanks for all of co-authors. @FranzEssl1, @Bernd_le_ , @TimBlackburn66,@WayneDawsonEco, @sMarten_Winter, @AndyPurvisNHM, @HannoSeebens ,@JanPergl , @BioGeoKreft,@Ellie_E_Dyer ,@carlo_rondinini,@Weigelt_P
https://twitter.com/daijunliu/status/1646406368704831489

New #BLM #PublicLands rule proposal puts #conservation "on equal footing with other permitted uses for federal land — such as mining, grazing, or oil and gas permitting — that have historically taken precedence".

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indyexplains-how-a-new-blm-rule-could-make-conservation-a-higher-priority-in-the-west

#PublicLand #USDOI #EnvironmentalPolicy #LandUse #LCLUC

Proud to announce I will be hosting a session on #LandUseConflicts at this year's #EUGEO conference in Barcelona, together with my colleague Dr. Larissa Koch. 🥳

The #CallForPapers is open until March 31st: https://www.eugeobcn23.eu/sessions/?id=1209
Would appreciate some sharing - looking forward to exciting contributions!

@geography @politicalscience @sociology #conflict #landuse #ConflictManagement