To investigate the effect of arable land protection policies in China, a practical framework that integrates geographic information systems (GIS), soil quality assessment and landscape metrics analysis was employed to track and analyze arable land transformations and landscape changes in response to rampant urbanization within the Ningbo region (China) from 2005 to 2013. The results showed that...

In this study, statistical data on the national economic and social development, including the year-end actual area of arable land, the crop yield per unit area and 10 factors, were obtained for the period between 1980 and 2010 and used to analyze the factors driving changes in the arable land of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. The following areas of arable land, which represent d...

Rapid urban land expansion and the resulting arable land loss have put food security in China at risk. This paper investigates the characteristics and mechanism of arable land conversion in Beijing using a logistic model based on land-use data for 2001 and 2010. The results suggest that (1) arable land conversion tends to occur near built-up areas, city centers and major roads; (2) arable land ...

The spatial and temporal characteristics and driving factors analysis of regional land use are the core scientific problems in the research of ecological environment and human sustainable development. It is also an important basis for the government to formulate land management policy. Based on the land use maps of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, this article analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of l...

Crop condition assessment in the early growing stage is essential for crop monitoring and crop yield prediction. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)-based method is employed to evaluate crop condition by inter-annual comparisons of both spatial variability (using NDVI images) and seasonal dynamics (based on crop condition profiles). Since this type of method will generate false info...

European farmland biodiversity is declining due to land use changes towards agricultural intensification or abandonment. Some Eastern European farming systems have sustained traditional forms of use, resulting in high levels of biodiversity. However, global markets and international policies now imply rapid and major changes to these systems. To effectively protect farmland biodiversity, unders...

The effect of housing development and roads on the distribution of stone curlews in the Brecks. The effect of housing development and roads on the distribution of stone curlew 3 Summary We combine data describing the nest location of stone curlews with data on the locations of new housing, road data and traffic data to explore the effect of housing and roads on the spatial distribution of stone...

Strategies for conserving plant diversity in agroecosystems generally focus on either expanding land area in non-crop habitat or enhancing diversity within crop fields through changes in within-field management practices. In this study, we compare effects on landscape-scale species richness from such land-sharing or land-sparing strategies. We collected data in arable field, grassland, pasture,...

The rapid urbanization has exerted tremendous pressure on natural systems in mountains. As a measure of sustainable use of natural resources, ecological footprint is an important basis for judging whether the development of a country or region is within the biocapacity. Taking Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture as an example, this study comprehensively analyzes the impact of human activities on mou...

Diffuse phosphorus (P) export from agricultural land to surface waters is a significant environmental problem. It is critical to determine the natural background P losses from diffuse sources, but their identification and quantification is difficult. In this study, three headwater catchments with differing land use (arable, pasture and forest) were monitored for 3 years to quantify exports of d...