-
Reconciling nature conservation and traditional farming practices: a spatially explicit framework to assess the extent of High Nature Value farmlands in the European countryside
-
Over past centuries, European landscapes have been shaped by human management. Traditional, low intensity agricultural practices, adapted to local climatic, geographic, and environmental conditions, led to a rich, diverse cultural and natural heritage, reflected in a wide range of rural landscapes, most of which were preserved until the advent of industrialized agriculture (Bignal & McCracken 2000; Paracchini et al. 2010; Oppermann et al. 2012). Agricultural landscapes currently account for half of Europe’s territory (Overmars et al. 2013), with ca. 50% of all species relying on agricultural habitats at least to some extent (Kristensen 2003; Moreira et al. 2005; Halada et al. 2011). Due to their acknowledged role in the maintenance of high levels of biodiversity, low-intensity farming systems have been highlighted as critical to nature conservation and protection of the rural environment (Beaufoy et al. 1994; Paracchini et al. 2010; Halada et al.2011; Egan & Mortensen 2012).
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Forecasting the response of Earth’s surface to future climatic and land use changes: A review of methods and research needs
-
In the future, Earth will be warmer, precipitation events will be more extreme, global mean
sea level will rise, and many arid and semiarid regions will be drier. Human modifications of landscapes
will also occur at an accelerated rate as developed areas increase in size and population density. We now
have gridded global forecasts, being continually improved, of the climatic and land use changes (C&LUC)
that are likely to occur in the coming decades. However, besides a few exceptions, consensus forecasts do
not exist for how these C&LUC will likely impact Earth-surface processes and hazards. In some cases, we
have the tools to forecast the geomorphic responses to likely future C&LUC. Fully exploiting these models
and utilizing these tools will require close collaboration among Earth-surface scientists and Earth-system
modelers. This paper assesses the state-of-the-art tools and data that are being used or could be used to
forecast changes in the state of Earth’s surface as a result of likely future C&LUC. We also propose strategies
for filling key knowledge gaps, emphasizing where additional basic research and/or collaboration
across disciplines are necessary. The main body of the paper addresses cross-cutting issues, including the
importance of nonlinear/threshold-dominated interactions among topography, vegetation, and sediment
transport, as well as the importance of alternate stable states and extreme, rare events for understanding
and forecasting Earth-surface response to C&LUC. Five supplements delve into different scales or process
zones (global-scale assessments and fluvial, aeolian, glacial/periglacial, and coastal process zones) in
detail.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
USDA, Partners to Invest $720 Million in Large-Scale, Targeted Conservation Projects across the Nation
-
Regional Conservation Partnership Program Pools Together $220 Million Investment from USDA, up to $500 Million from Local Partners to Improve Water Quality, Soil Health, Habitat and More
Located in
News & Events
-
Enhancing Our Reach: Assistant Coordinators to Develop Focal-landscape Communities
-
Building on identified focal landscape cores from the Clemson team’s landscape conservation design research, the Cooperative is focusing initial implementation efforts by targeting two core areas for engagement and collaboration.
Located in
News & Events
-
Connecting the Connecticut: Partners create science-based blueprint for conserving New England’s largest river system
-
It started two years ago as an experiment in combining big data with a big conservation vision for the 11,250 square-mile Connecticut River watershed.
Located in
News & Events
-
Partners launch ‘Nature’s Network’ to guide conservation from Maine to Virginia
-
The North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) brought together partners from 13 states to develop a regional conservation design that can help communities work with nature to sustain wildlife and people throughout the Northeast.
Located in
News & Events
