Envisioning Present and Future Land-Use Change under Varying Ecological Regimes and Their Influence on Landscape Stability

0510957 - ÚVGZ 2020 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Prokopová, Marcela - Salvati, Luca - Egidi, G. - Cudlín, Ondřej - Včeláková, Renata - Plch, Radek - Cudlín, Pavel
Envisioning Present and Future Land-Use Change under Varying Ecological Regimes and Their Influence on Landscape Stability.
Sustainability. Roč. 11, č. 17 (2019), č. článku 4654. E-ISSN 2071-1050
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) LO1415
Research Infrastructure: CzeCOS II - 90061
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : agro-forest landscape * species richness * seminatural grasslands * management-practices * change trajectories * cultural landscape * ecosystem function * plant-communities * soil degradation * cropping systems * disturbances * landscape structure * desertification * resilience * Europe
OECD category: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)
Impact factor: 2.576, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/17/4654

Climate change plays an important role in shaping ecological stability of landscape systems. Increasing weather fluctuations such as droughts threaten the ecological stability of natural and anthropogenic landscapes. Uncertainty exists regarding the validity of traditional landscape assessment schemes under climate change. This commentary debates the main factors that threaten ecological stability, discussing basic approaches to interpret landscape functioning. To address this pivotal issue, the intimate linkage between ecological stability and landscape diversity is explored, considering different approaches to landscape stability assessment. The impact of land-use changes on landscape stability is finally discussed. Assessment methodologies and indicators are reviewed and grouped into homogeneous classes based on a specific nomenclature of stability aspects which include landscape composition, fragmentation and connectivity, thermodynamic and functional issues, biodiversity, soil degradation, and ecological disturbance. By considering land-use change as one of the most important factors underlying climate change, individual components of landscape stability are finally delineated and commented upon. In this regard, specific trajectories of land-use change (including agricultural intensification, land abandonment, and urbanization) are investigated for their effects on ecological stability. A better understanding of land-use impacts on landscape stability is crucial for a better knowledge of processes leading to land degradation.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0301417