Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Toward spatially polarized human pressure? A dynamic factor analysis of ecological stability and the role of territorial gradients in Czech Republic

  • Research
  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In light of global change, research on ecosystem dynamics and the related environmental policies are increasingly required to face with the inherent polarization in areas with low and high human pressure. Differential levels of human pressure are hypothesized to reflect development paths toward ecological stability of local systems vis à vis socioeconomic resilience. To delineate the latent nexus between socioeconomic development paths and ecological stability of local systems, we proposed a multidimensional, diachronic analysis of 28 indicators of territorial disparities, and ecological stability in 206 homogeneous administrative units of Czech Republic over almost 30 years (1990–2018). Mixing time-invariant factors with time-varying socio-environmental attributes, a dynamic factor analysis investigated the latent relationship between ecosystem functions, environmental pressures, and the background socioeconomic characteristics of the selected spatial units. We identified four geographical gradients in Czech Republic (namely elevation, economic agglomeration, demographic structure, and soil imperviousness) at the base of territorial divides associated with the increased polarization in areas with low and high human pressure. The role of urbanization, agriculture, and loss of natural habitats reflective of rising human pressure was illustrated along the selected gradients. Finally, policy implications of the (changing) geography of ecological disturbances and local development paths in Czech Republic were briefly discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Data were available from the authors upon reasonable request.

References

  • Allen, C. R., Angeler, D. G., Chaffin, B. C., Twidwell, D., & Garmestani, A. (2019). Resilience reconciled. Nature Sustainability, 2(10), 898–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angeler, D. G., & Allen, C. R. (2016). Quantifying resilience. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(3), 617–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antrop, M. (2005). Why landscapes of the past are important for the future. Landscape Urban Planning, 70, 21–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, M. P. (1985). Continuum concept, ordination methods, and niche theory. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 39–61.

  • Baho, D. L., Allen, C. R., Garmestani, A. S., Fried-Petersen, H. B., Renes, S. E., Gunderson, L. H., & Angeler, D. G. (2017). A quantitative framework for assessing ecological resilience. Ecology and Society, 22(3), 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajocco, S., De Angelis, A., & Salvati, L. (2012). A satellite-based green index as a proxy for vegetation cover quality in a Mediterranean region. Ecological Indicators, 23, 578–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajocco, S., Dragoz, E., Gitas, I., Smiraglia, D., Salvati, L., & Ricotta, C. (2015). Mapping forest fuels through vegetation phenology: The role of coarse-resolution satellite time-series. PLoS One, 10(3), e0119811.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajocco, S., Ceccarelli, T., Smiraglia, D., Salvati, L., & Ricotta, C. (2016). Modeling the ecological niche of long-term land use changes: The role of biophysical factors. Ecological Indicators, 60, 231–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, A., Körner, C., Brun, J. J., Guisan, A., & Tappeiner, U. (2007). Ecological and land use studies along elevational gradients. Mountain Research and Development, 27(1), 58–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biasi, R., Brunori, E., Smiraglia, D., & Salvati, L. (2015). Linking traditional tree-crop landscapes and agro-biodiversity in Central Italy using a database of typical and traditional products: A multiple risk assessment through a data mining analysis. Biodiversity and Conservation, 24(12), 3009–3031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bitterman, P., & Bennett, D. A. (2016). Constructing stability landscapes to identify alternative states in coupled social-ecological agent-based models. Ecology and Society, 21(3), 21.

  • Borer, E. T., Seabloom, E. W., Gruner, D. S., Harpole, W. S., Hillebrand, H., Lind, E. M., & Yang, L. H. (2014). Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation. Nature, 508(7497), 517–520.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boulangeat, I., Georges, D., Dentant, C., Bonet, R., Van Es, J., Abdulhak, S., & Thuiller, W. (2014). Anticipating the spatio-temporal response of plant diversity and vegetation structure to climate and land use change in a protected area. Ecography, 37(12), 1230–1239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brenkert, A. L., & Malone, E. L. (2005). Modeling vulnerability and resilience to climate change: A case study of India and Indian states. Climatic Change, 72(1), 57–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Capdevila, P., Stott, I., Beger, M., & Salguero-Gómez, R. (2020). Towards a comparative framework of demographic resilience. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(9), 776–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Anderies, J. M., & Abel, N. (2001). From metaphor to measurement: Resilience of what to what? Ecosystems, 4(8), 765–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, E. R. (2019). Properties and projects: Reconciling resilience and transformation for adaptation and development. World Development, 122, 70–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccarelli, T., Bajocco, S., Perini, L., & Salvati, L. (2014). Urbanisation and Land Take of High Quality Agricultural Soils – Exploring Long-term Land Use Changes and Land Capability in Northern Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research, 8(1), 181–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cecchini, M., Zambon, I., Pontrandolfi, A., Turco, R., Colantoni, A., Mavrakis, A., & Salvati, L. (2019). Urban sprawl and the ‘olive’ landscape: Sustainable land management for ‘crisis’ cities. GeoJournal, 84(1), 237–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin, F. S., III., Zavaleta, E. S., Eviner, V. T., Naylor, R. L., Vitousek, P. M., Reynolds, H. L., & Díaz, S. (2000). Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature, 405(6783), 234–242.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chelleri, L., Schuetze, T., & Salvati, L. (2015). Integrating resilience with urban sustainability in neglected neighborhoods: Challenges and opportunities of transitioning to decentralized water management in Mexico City. Habitat International, 48, 122–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cimini, D., Tomao, A., Mattioli, W., Barbati, A., & Corona, P. (2013). Assessing impact of forest cover change dynamics on high nature value farmland in Mediterranean mountain landscape. Annals of Silvicultural Research, 37(1), 29–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cinner, J. E., & Barnes, M. L. (2019). Social dimensions of resilience in social-ecological systems. One Earth, 1(1), 51–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciommi, M., Chelli, F. M., Carlucci, M., & Salvati, L. (2018). Urban growth and demographic dynamics in southern Europe: Toward a new statistical approach to regional science. Sustainability, 10(8), 2765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciommi, M., Chelli, F. M., & Salvati, L. (2019). Integrating parametric and non-parametric multivariate analysis of urban growth and commuting patterns in a European metropolitan area. Quality & Quantity, 53(2), 957–979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colantoni, A., Mavrakis, A., Sorgi, T., & Salvati, L. (2015). Towards a ‘polycentric’ landscape? Reconnecting fragments into an integrated network of coastal forests in Rome. Rendiconti Lincei, 26, 615–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colantoni, A., Grigoriadis, E., Sateriano, A., Venanzoni, G., & Salvati, L. (2016). Cities as selective land predators? A lesson on urban growth, deregulated planning and sprawl containment. Science of the Total Environment, 545, 329–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbelle-Rico, E., Crecente-Maseda, R., & Santé-Riveira, I. (2012). Multi-scale assessment and spatial modelling of agricultural land abandonment in a European peripheral region: Galicia (Spain), 1956–2004. Land Use Policy, 29(3), 493–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cudlín, O., Pechanec, V., Purkyt, J., Chobot, K., Salvati, L., & Cudlín, P. (2020). Are valuable and representative natural habitats sufficiently protected? Application of Marxan model in the Czech Republic. Sustainability, 12(1), 402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cudlín, O., Pechanec, V., Prokopová, M., & Cudlín, P. (2021). Assessing the Vulnerability to Land Degradation of (Not Only) Rural Landscapes Using the ESAI Index. Journal of Landscape Ecology, 14(3), 128–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cumming, G. S. (2011). Spatial resilience: Integrating landscape ecology, resilience, and sustainability. Landscape Ecology, 26(7), 899–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cushman, S. A., & McGarigal, K. (2019). Metrics and models for quantifying ecological resilience at landscape scales. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Marco, A., Proietti, C., Anav, A., Ciancarella, L., D’Elia, I., Fares, S., Fornasier, M. F., Fusaro, L., Gualtieri, M., Manes, F., Marchetto, A., Mircea, M., Paoletti, E., Piersanti, A., Rogora, M., Salvati, L., Salvatori, E., Screpanti, A., Vialetto, G., … Leonardi, C. (2019). Impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health, and implications for the National Emission Ceilings Directive: Insights from Italy. Environment International, 125, 320–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delfanti, L., Colantoni, A., Recanatesi, F., Bencardino, M., Sateriano, A., Zambon, I., & Salvati, L. (2016). Solar plants, environmental degradation and local socioeconomic contexts: A case study in a Mediterranean country. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 61, 88–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demšar, U., Harris, P., Brunsdon, C., Fotheringham, A. S., & McLoone, S. (2013). Principal component analysis on spatial data: An overview. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 103(1), 106–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Feliciantonio, C., Salvati, L., Sarantakou, E., & Rontos, K. (2018). Class diversification, economic growth and urban sprawl: Evidences from a pre-crisis European city. Quality & Quantity, 52, 1501–1522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donohue, I., Hillebrand, H., Montoya, J. M., Petchey, O. L., Pimm, S. L., Fowler, M. S., & Yang, Q. (2016). Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. Ecology Letters, 19(9), 1172–1185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, J. E. (2002). Biodiversity and ecosystem function: The consumer connection. Oikos, 99(2), 201–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duvernoy, I., Zambon, I., Sateriano, A., & Salvati, L. (2018). Pictures from the other side of the fringe: Urban growth and peri-urban agriculture in a post-industrial city (Toulouse, France). Journal of Rural Studies, 57, 25–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egidi, G., Quaranta, G., Salvia, R., Salvati, L., Včeláková, R., & Cudlín, P. (2022). Urban sprawl and desertification risk: Unraveling the latent nexus in a Mediterranean country. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 65(3), 441–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egli, L., Weise, H., Radchuk, V., Seppelt, R., & Grimm, V. (2019). Exploring resilience with agent-based models: State of the art, knowledge gaps and recommendations for coping with multidimensionality. Ecological Complexity, 40, 100718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erdogan, H. E., Pellikka, P. K., & Clark, B. (2011). Modelling the impact of land-cover change on potential soil loss in the Taita Hills, Kenya, between 1987 and 2003 using remote-sensing and geospatial data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32(21), 5919–5945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk, D. A., Watts, A. C., & Thode, A. E. (2019). Scaling ecological resilience. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fares, S., Bajocco, S., Salvati, L., Camarretta, N., Dupuis, J. L., Xanthopoulos, G., Guijarro, M., Madrigal, J., Hernando, C., & Corona, P. (2017). Characterizing potential wildland fire fuel in live vegetation in the Mediterranean region. Annals of Forest Science, 74, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feranec, J., Jaffrain, G., Soukup, T., & Hazeu, G. (2010). Determining changes and flows in European landscapes 1990–2000 using CORINE land cover data. Applied Geography, 30(1), 19–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrara, A., Salvati, L., Sateriano, A., & Nolè, A. (2012). Performance evaluation and cost assessment of a key indicator system to monitor desertification vulnerability. Ecological Indicators, 23, 123–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrara, A., Kelly, C., Wilson, G. A., Nolè, A., Mancino, G., Bajocco, S., & Salvati, L. (2016). Shaping the role of “fast” and “slow” drivers of change in forest-shrubland socio-ecological systems. Journal of Environmental Management, 169, 155–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrara, A., Kosmas, C., Salvati, L., Padula, A., Mancino, G., & Nolè, A. (2020). Updating the MEDALUS-ESA framework for worldwide land degradation and desertification assessment. Land Degradation & Development, 31(12), 1593–1607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 253–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C. S., & Walker, B. (2002). Resilience and sustainable development: building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 31(5), 437–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frondoni, R., Mollo, B., & Capotorti, G. (2011). A landscape analysis of land cover change in the municipality of Rome (Italy): Spatio-temporal characteristicks and ecological implications of land cover transition from 1954 to 2001. Landscape and Urban Planning, 100, 117–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galeotti, M. (2007). Economic growth and the quality of the environment: Taking stock. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 9(4), 427–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geri, F., Amici, V., & Rocchini, D. (2010). Human activity impact on the heterogeneity of a Mediterranean landscape. Applied Geography, 30(3), 370–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gladstone-Gallagher, R. V., Pilditch, C. A., Stephenson, F., & Thrush, S. F. (2019). Linking traits across ecological scales determines functional resilience. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34(12), 1080–1091.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hautier, Y., Niklaus, P. A., & Hector, A. (2009). Competition for light causes plant biodiversity loss after eutrophication. Science, 324(5927), 636–638.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson, J. A., Thomas, C. D., Cinderby, S., Cambridge, H., Evans, P., & Hill, J. K. (2011). Habitat re-creation strategies for promoting adaptation of species to climate change. Conservation Letters, 4(4), 289–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. (2001). Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems, 4(5), 390–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1–23.

  • Hughes, T. P., Carpenter, S., Rockström, J., Scheffer, M., & Walker, B. (2013). Multiscale regime shifts and planetary boundaries. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 28(7), 389–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iosifides, T., & Politidis, T. (2005). Socio-economic dynamics, local development and desertification in western Lesvos. Greece. Local Environment, 10(5), 487–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J. B. C., Kirby, M. X., & Berger, W. H. (2001). Historical overfishing and recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science, 293, 629–638.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jõgiste, K., Korjus, H., Stanturf, J. A., Frelich, L. E., Baders, E., Donis, J., & Vodde, F. (2017). Hemiboreal forest: Natural disturbances and the importance of ecosystem legacies to management. Ecosphere, 8(2), e01706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jongman, R. H. G. (2002). Homogenisation and fragmentation of the European landscape: Ecological consequences and solutions. Landscape and Urban Planning, 58, 211–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kairis, O., Karavitis, C., Salvati, L., Kounalaki, A., & Kosmas, K. (2015). Exploring the impact of overgrazing on soil erosion and land degradation in a dry Mediterranean agro-forest landscape (Crete, Greece). Arid Land Research and Management, 29(3), 360–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karamesouti, M., Detsis, V., Kounalaki, A., Vasiliou, P., Salvati, L., & Kosmas, C. (2015). Land-use and land degradation processes affecting soil resources: Evidence from a traditional Mediterranean cropland (Greece). CATENA, 132, 45–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keddy, P. A. (1989). Competition. Chapman and Hall.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kedziora, A. (2010). Landscape management practices for maintanance and enhancement of ecosystem services in a countryside. Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology, 10(2–4), 133–152.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kéfi, S., Rietkerk, M., Alados, C. L., Pueyo, Y., Papanastasis, V. P., ElAich, A., & De Ruiter, P. C. (2007). Spatial vegetation patterns and imminent desertification in Mediterranean arid ecosystems. Nature, 449(7159), 213–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kéfi, S., Domínguez-García, V., Donohue, I., Fontaine, C., Thébault, E., & Dakos, V. (2019). Advancing our understanding of ecological stability. Ecology Letters, 22(9), 1349–1356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, C., Ferrara, A., Wilson, G. A., Ripullone, F., Nolè, A., Harmer, N., & Salvati, L. (2015). Community resilience and land degradation in forest and shrubland socio-ecological systems: Evidence from Gorgoglione, Basilicata, Italy. Land Use Policy, 46, 11–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koerner, S. E., Avolio, M. L., La Pierre, K. J., Wilcox, K. R., Smith, M. D., & Collins, S. L. (2016). Nutrient additions cause divergence of tallgrass prairie plant communities resulting in loss of ecosystem stability. Journal of Ecology, 104(5), 1478–1487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosmas, C., Karamesouti, M., Kounalaki, K., Detsis, V., Vassiliou, P., & Salvati, L. (2016). Land degradation and long-term changes in agro-pastoral systems: An empirical analysis of ecological resilience in Asteroussia-Crete (Greece). CATENA, 147, 196–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavorel, S. (1999). Ecological diversity and resilience of Mediterranean vegetation to disturbance. Diversity and Distributions, 5(1–2), 3–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavorel, S., Colloff, M. J., Mcintyre, S., Doherty, M. D., Murphy, H. T., Metcalfe, D. J., & Williams, K. J. (2015). Ecological mechanisms underpinning climate adaptation services. Global Change Biology, 21(1), 12–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipský, Z., Demková, K., Skaloš, J., & Kukla, P. (2011). The influence of natural conditions on changes in landscape use: A case study of the Lower Podoubraví region (Czech Republic). Ekológia (bratislava), 30(2), 239–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, L., Wang, Z., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Shen, J., Qin, D., & Li, S. (2019). Trade-off analyses of multiple mountain ecosystem services along elevation, vegetation cover and precipitation gradients: A case study in the Taihang Mountains. Ecological Indicators, 103, 94–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Löw, J. (2005). Typologie české krajiny, Závěrečná zpráva projektu VaV 640/01/03 za roky 2003 – 2005. Löw a spol. s.r.o. & MŽP ČR, Brno.

  • Lu, N., Fu, B., Jin, T., & Chang, R. (2014). Trade-off analyses of multiple ecosystem services by plantations along a precipitation gradient across Loess Plateau landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 29(10), 1697–1708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, M. J., & Pickett, S. T. (1990). Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: An unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology, 71(4), 1232–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGarigal, K., Compton, B. W., Plunkett, E. B., De Luca, W. V., Grand, J., Ene, E., & Jackson, S. D. (2018). A landscape index of ecological integrity to inform landscape conservation. Landscape Ecology, 33(7), 1029–1048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, M. G. E., Bennett, E. M., & Gonzalez, A. (2013). Linking Landscape Connectivity and Ecosystem Service Provision: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps. Ecosystems, 16, 894–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, A. S., Furukawa, T., & Sasaki, T. (2013). Response diversity determines the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change. Biological Reviews, 88(2), 349–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nash, K. L., Allen, C. R., Angeler, D. G., Barichievy, C., Eason, T., Garmestani, A. S., & Sundstrom, S. M. (2014). Discontinuities, cross-scale patterns, and the organization of ecosystems. Ecology, 95(3), 654–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemec, K. T., Chan, J., Hoffman, C., Spanbauer, T. L., Hamm, J. A., Allen, C. R., & Shrestha, P. (2014). Assessing resilience in stressed watersheds. Ecology and Society, 19(1), 12.

  • Nickayin, S. S., Coluzzi, R., Marucci, A., Bianchini, L., Salvati, L., Cudlín, P., & Imbrenda, V. (2022). Desertification risk fuels spatial polarization in ‘affected’ and ‘unaffected’landscapes in Italy. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak, A., & Schneider, C. (2017). Environmental characteristics, agricultural land use, and vulnerability to degradation in Malopolska Province (Poland). Science of the Total Environment, 590, 620–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyström, M., & Folke, C. (2001). Spatial resilience of coral reefs. Ecosystems, 4(5), 406–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, T. H., Heard, M. S., Isaac, N. J., Roy, D. B., Procter, D., Eigenbrod, F., & Bullock, J. M. (2015). Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystem functions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 30(11), 673–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, R. V., Hunsaker, C. T., Jones, K. B., Riitters, K. H., Wickham, J. D., Schwartz, P. M., & Baillargeon, W. S. (1997). Monitoring environmental quality at the landscape scale: Using landscape indicators to assess biotic diversity, watershed integrity, and landscape stability. BioScience, 47(8), 513–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual-Hortal, L., & Saura, S. (2006). Comparison and development of new graph-based landscape connectivity indices: Towards the priorization of habitat patches and corridors for conservation. Landscape Ecology, 21(7), 959–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payne, R. J., Dise, N. B., Field, C. D., Dore, A. J., Caporn, S. J., & Stevens, C. J. (2017). Nitrogen deposition and plant biodiversity: Past, present, and future. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15(8), 431–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pechanec, V., Prokopova, M., Salvati, L., Cudlín, O., Prochazka, J., Samec, P., Vcelakova, R., & Cudlín, P. (2021). Moving toward the north: A country-level classification of land sensitivity to degradation in Czech Republic. CATENA, 206, 105567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pelorosso, R., Leone, A., & Boccia, L. (2009). Land cover and land use change in the Italian central Apennines: A comparison of assessment methods. Applied Geography, 29(1), 35–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrin, C., Nougarèdes, B., Sini, L., Branduini, P., & Salvati, L. (2018). Governance changes in peri-urban farmland protection following decentralisation: A comparison between Montpellier (France) and Rome (Italy). Land Use Policy, 70, 535–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plieninger, T. (2012). Monitoring directions and rates of change in trees outside forests through multitemporal analysis of map sequences. Applied Geography, 32(2), 566–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prăvălie, R., Săvulescu, I., Patriche, C., Dumitraşcu, M., & Bandoc, G. (2017). Spatial assessment of land degradation sensitive areas in southwestern Romania using modified MEDALUS method. CATENA, 153, 114–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinlan, A. E., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Haider, L. J., & Peterson, G. D. (2016). Measuring and assessing resilience: Broadening understanding through multiple disciplinary perspectives. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(3), 677–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Recanatesi, F., Clemente, M., Grigoriadis, E., Ranalli, F., Zitti, M., & Salvati, L. (2016). A fifty-year sustainability assessment of Italian agro-forest districts. Sustainability, 8(1), 32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reháčková, T., & Pauditšová, E. (2007). Metodický postup stanovenia koeficientu ekologickej stability krajiny (Methodical procedure for determining the coefficient of ecological stability of a landscape). Acta Environmentalica Universitatis Comenianae, 15(1), 26–38. [In Slowak].

    Google Scholar 

  • Resilience Alliance. (2010). Assessing resilience in social-ecological systems: workbook for practitioners (revised version 2.0) Resilience Alliance, Stockholm, Sweden. [online] URL: http:// www.resalliance.org/index.php/resilience_assessment. Accessed March 2023

  • Rockström, J., Gordon, L., Folke, C., Falkenmark, M., & Engwall, M. (1999). Linkages Among Water Vapor Flows, Food Production, and Terrestrial Ecosystem Services. Conservation Ecology, 3(2), 1–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rontos, K., Grigoriadis, E., Sateriano, A., Syrmali, M., Vavouras, I., & Salvati, L. (2016). Lost in protest, found in segregation: Divided cities in the light of the 2015 “Οχι” referendum in Greece. City, Culture and Society, 7(3), 139–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rontos, K., Vavouras, I., Ciommi, M. T., & Salvati, L. (2019). Two faces of the same coin? A comparative, global approach to corruption and socioeconomic development. Quality & Quantity, 53, 1875–1894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubio-Delgado, J., Schnabel, S., Gómez-Gutiérrez, Á., & Lavado-Contador, J. F. (2019). Temporal and spatial variation of soil erosion in wooded rangelands of southwest Spain. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 44(11), 2141–2155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rüdisser, J., Tasser, E., & Tappeiner, U. (2012). Distance to nature—a new biodiversity relevant environmental indicator set at the landscape level. Ecological Indicators, 15(1), 208–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sala, O. E., Stuart Chapin, F. I. I. I., Armesto, J. J., Berlow, E., Bloomfield, J., Dirzo, R., & Wall, D. H. (2000). Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100. Science, 287(5459), 1770–1774.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., & Serra, P. (2016). Estimating rapidity of change in complex urban systems: A multidimensional, local-scale approach. Geographical Analysis, 48(2), 132–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., & Zitti, M. (2008). Regional convergence of environmental variables: Empirical evidences from land degradation. Ecological Economics, 68(1–2), 162–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., & Zitti, M. (2009). Convergence or divergence in desertification risk? Scale-based assessment and policy implications in a Mediterranean country. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 52(7), 957–971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., Zitti, M., & Ceccarelli, T. (2008). Integrating economic and environmental indicators in the assessment of desertification risk: A case study. Applied Ecological and Environmental Research, 6(1), 129–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., Gemmiti, R., & Perini, L. (2012). Land degradation in Mediterranean urban areas: An unexplored link with planning? Area, 44(3), 317–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., Zitti, M., & Perini, L. (2016). Fifty years on: Long-term patterns of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy. Land Degradation & Development, 27(2), 97–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvati, L., Zitti, M., & Carlucci, M. (2017). In-between regional disparities and spatial heterogeneity: A multivariate analysis of territorial divides in Italy. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 60(6), 997–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Šarapatka, B., & Bednář, M. (2015). Assessment of potential soil degradation on agricultural land in the Czech Republic. Journal of Environmental Quality, 44(1), 154–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer, M., Carpenter, S. R., Dakos, V., & van Nes, E. H. (2015). Generic indicators of ecological resilience: Inferring the chance of a critical transition. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 46(1), 145–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, S., Kalantari, Z., Egidi, G., Gaburova, L., & Salvati, L. (2022). Urbanisation-driven land degradation and socioeconomic challenges in peri-urban areas: Insights from Southern Europe. Ambio, 51(6), 1446–1458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serra, P., Vera, A., Tulla, A. F., & Salvati, L. (2014). Beyond urban–rural dichotomy: Exploring socioeconomic and land-use processes of change in Spain (1991–2011). Applied Geography, 55, 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaloš, J., Weber, M., Lipský, Z., Trpáková, I., Šantrůčková, M., Uhlířová, L., & Kukla, P. (2011). Using old military survey maps and ortophotograph maps to analyse long-term land cover changes – Case study (Czech Republic). Applied Geography, 31, 426–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaloš, J., Berchová, K., Pokorný, J., Sedmidubský, T., Pecharová, E., & Trpáková, I. (2014). Landscape water potential as a new indicator for monitoring macrostructural landscape changes. Ecological Indicators, 36, 80–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaloš, J., Richter, P., & Keken, Z. (2017). Changes and trajectories of wetlands in the lowland landscape of the Czech Republic. Ecological Engineering, 108, 435–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smiraglia, D., Ceccarelli, T., Bajocco, S., Perini, L., & Salvati, L. (2016). Unraveling Landscape Complexity: Land Use/Land Cover Changes and Landscape Pattern Dynamics (1954–2008) in Contrasting Peri-Urban and Agro-Forest Regions of Northern Italy. Environmental Management, 56(4), 916–932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Standish, R. J., Hobbs, R. J., Mayfield, M. M., Bestelmeyer, B. T., Suding, K. N., Battaglia, L. L., & Thomas, P. A. (2014). Resilience in ecology: Abstraction, distraction, or where the action is? Biological Conservation, 177, 43–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thuiller, W. (2007). Climate change and the ecologist. Nature, 448(7153), 550–552.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman, D., Fargione, J., Wolff, B., D’Antonio, C., Dobson, A., Howarth, R., Schindler, D., Schlesinger, H., Simberloff, D., & Swackhamer, D. (2001). Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. Science, 292, 281–284.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tombolini, I., Colantoni, A., Renzi, G., Sateriano, A., Sabbi, A., Morrow, N., & Salvati, L. (2016). Lost in convergence, found in vulnerability: A spatially-dynamic model for desertification risk assessment in Mediterranean agro-forest districts. Science of the Total Environment, 569, 973–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trnka, M., Brázdil, R., Možný, M., Štěpánek, P., Dobrovolný, P., Zahradníček, P., & Žalud, Z. (2015). Soil moisture trends in the Czech Republic between 1961 and 2012. International Journal of Climatology, 35(13), 3733–3747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trnka, M., Balek, J., Štěpánek, P., Zahradníček, P., Možný, M., Eitzinger, J., Žalud, Z., Formayer, H., Turňa, M., Nejedlík, P., Semerádová, D., Hlavinka, P., & Brázdil, R. (2016). Drought trends over part of Central Europe between 1961 and 2014. Climate Research, 70, 143–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trumbore, S., Brando, P., & Hartmann, H. (2015). Forest health and global change. Science, 349(6250), 814–818.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G. (2010). Disturbance and landscape dynamics in a changing world. Ecology, 91(10), 2833–2849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G., Romme, W. H., Gardner, R. H., O’Neill, R. V., & Kratz, T. K. (1993). A revised concept of landscape equilibrium: Disturbance and stability on scaled landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 8(3), 213–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G. (1989). Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 171–197.

  • Van Eetvelde, V., & Antrop, M. (2009). Indicators for assessing changing landscape character of cultural landscapes in Flanders (Belgium). Land Use Policy, 26(4), 901–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Nes, E. H., & Scheffer, M. (2007). Slow recovery from perturbations as a generic indicator of a nearby catastrophic shift. The American Naturalist, 169(6), 738–747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Meerbeek, K., Jucker, T., & Svenning, J. C. (2021). Unifying the concepts of stability and resilience in ecology. Journal of Ecology, 109(9), 3114–3132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt, J. V., Safriel, U., Von Maltitz, G., Sokona, Y., Zougmore, R., Bastin, G., & Hill, J. (2011). Monitoring and assessment of land degradation and desertification: Towards new conceptual and integrated approaches. Land Degradation & Development, 22(2), 150–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. R. (2011). Integration of the study of natural and anthropogenic disturbances using severity gradients. Austral Ecology, 36(8), 916–922.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B., Kinzig, A., & Langridge, J. (1999). Plant attribute diversity, resilience, and ecosystem function: The nature and significance of dominant and minor species. Ecosystems, 2, 95–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B. H., Abel, N., Anderies, J. M., & Ryan, P. (2009). Resilience, adaptability, and transformability in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment, Australia. Ecology and Society, 14(1), 5.

  • Wang, D., Gong, J., Chen, L., Zhang, L., Song, Y., & Yue, Y. (2013). Comparative analysis of land use/cover change trajectories and their driving forces in two small watersheds in the western Loess Plateau of China. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 21, 241–252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Windsor, F. M., van den Hoogen, J., Crowther, T. W., & Evans, D. M. (2023). Using ecological networks to answer questions in global biogeography and ecology. Journal of Biogeography, 50(1), 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Q., Fowler, M. S., Jackson, A. L., & Donohue, I. (2019). The predictability of ecological stability in a noisy world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(2), 251–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, Y., Li, J., Zhou, Z., Ma, X., & Zhang, X. (2021). Response of multiple mountain ecosystem services on environmental gradients: How to respond, and where should be priority conservation? Journal of Cleaner Production, 278, 123264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zambon, I., Colantoni, A., Carlucci, M., Morrow, N., Sateriano, A., & Salvati, L. (2017). Land quality, sustainable development and environmental degradation in agricultural districts: A computational approach based on entropy indexes. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 64, 37–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zambon, I., Benedetti, A., Ferrara, C., & Salvati, L. (2018). Soil matters? A multivariate analysis of socioeconomic constraints to urban expansion in Mediterranean Europe. Ecological Economics, 146, 173–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zavaleta, E. S., & Chapin, F. S., III. (2010). Resilience frameworks: Enhancing the capacity to adapt to change. In D. Cole & L. Yung (Eds.), Beyond naturalness: Rethinking park and wilderness stewardship in an era of rapid change (pp. 142–158). Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., He, X., Gao, J., & Wang, L. (2019). Latitudinal and climate effects on key plant traits in Chinese forest ecosystems. Global Ecology and Conservation, 17, e00527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, 17. Listopadu 50, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Vilém Pechanec & Tereza Pohanková

  2. Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Lipová 9, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Marcela Prokopová, Ondřej Cudlín, Renata Včeláková, Lenka Štěrbová, Jan Purkyt, Radek Plch, Kateřina Jačková & Pavel Cudlín

  3. Department of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance, Sapienza University of Rome, Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, I-00161, Rome, Italy

    Luca Salvati

Authors
  1. Vilém Pechanec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marcela Prokopová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luca Salvati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ondřej Cudlín
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Renata Včeláková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Tereza Pohanková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lenka Štěrbová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jan Purkyt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Radek Plch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Kateřina Jačková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Pavel Cudlín
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Vilém Pechanec: data collection and analysis;

Marcela Prokopová: data collection and analysis;

Luca Salvati: writing – initial manuscript;

Ondřej Cudlín: writing – revisions;

Renata Včeláková: GIS elaboration, literature review;

Tereza Pohanková: data collection and analysis;

Lenka Štěrbová: data collection and analysis;

Jan Purkyt: writing – revisions;

Radek Plch: writing – revisions;

Kateřina Jačková: project technical supervision, literature review;

Pavel Cudlín: writing – initial manuscript.

All authors contributed equally to the study, from introduction to methodology, from writing to literature review, from mapping to graphical analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Salvati.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Nothing to declare. All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on “Ethical responsibilities of Authors” as found in the Instructions for Authors and are aware that with minor exceptions, no changes can be made to authorship once the paper is submitted.

Consent for publication

All authors agree on submitting the present version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 316 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pechanec, V., Prokopová, M., Salvati, L. et al. Toward spatially polarized human pressure? A dynamic factor analysis of ecological stability and the role of territorial gradients in Czech Republic. Environ Monit Assess 195, 819 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11391-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11391-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation