The Steady-state Mosaic of Disturbance and Succession across an Old-growth Central Amazon Forest Landscape
PNAS, 28 January 2013
Jeffrey Q. Chambers, Robinson I. Negron-Juarez, Daniel Magnabosco Marra, Alan Di Vittorio, Joerg Tews, Dar Roberts, Gabriel H. P. M. Ribeiro, Susan E. Trumbore, and Niro Higuchi
“Old-growth forest ecosystems comprise a mosaic of patches in different successional stages, with the fraction of the landscape in any particular state relatively constant over large temporal and spatial scales. The size distribution and return frequency of disturbance events, and subsequent recovery processes, determine to a large extent the spatial scale over which this old-growth steady state develops. Here, we characterize this mosaic for a Central Amazon forest by integrating field plot data, remote sensing disturbance probability distribution functions, and individual-based simulation modeling. Results demonstrate that a steady state of patches of varying successional age occurs over a relatively large spatial scale, with important implications for detecting temporal trends on plots that sample a small fraction of the landscape. Long highly significant stochastic runs averaging 1.0 Mg biomass⋅ha−1⋅y−1 were often punctuated by episodic disturbance events, resulting in a sawtooth time series of hectare-scale tree biomass. To maximize the detection of temporal trends for this Central Amazon site (e.g., driven by CO2 fertilization), plots larger than 10 ha would provide the greatest sensitivity. A model-based analysis of fractional mortality across all gap sizes demonstrated that 9.1–16.9% of tree mortality was missing from plot-based approaches, underscoring the need to combine plot and remote-sensing methods for estimating net landscape carbon balance. Old-growth tropical forests can exhibit complex large-scale structure driven by disturbance and recovery cycles, with ecosystem and community attributes of hectare-scale plots exhibiting continuous dynamic departures from a steady-state condition.”
Mapping Invasion and Eradication of Feral Goats in the Alcedo Region of Isabela Island, Galapagos
International Journal of Remote Sensing, Volume 34, Issue 7, 2013
Laura Brewington
“We conducted a time series analysis using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data product over the Alcedo volcano region of Isabela Island in the Galápagos to determine vegetation changes before, during, and after a feral goat invasion and eradication project. Enhanced vegetation index (EVI) values for the Alcedo region of Isabela Island were analysed from 2000 to 2010 with respect to the presence of a large population of goats that was eradicated between 2004 and 2006. This study finds large-scale, seasonal vegetation pattern changes between 2000 and 2005, and 2005 and 2010. Statistically significant EVI decreases prior to and during eradication in zones where goats were present in high numbers and increases following eradication in zones with lower goat density are found. EVI appears to have changed little over the entire study period, though earlier imagery would likely reveal stronger positive post-eradication trends. Because EVI primarily reveals greenness and little about vegetation composition and structure, we find that long-term in situ vegetation monitoring is also needed to obtain a meaningful assessment of the effects of invasion and eradication at the species level.”
Representation of Ecological Systems within the Protected Areas Network of the Continental United States
PLOS ONE, 23 January 2013
Jocelyn L. Aycrigg, Anne Davidson, Leona K. Svancara, Kevin J. Gergely, Alexa McKerrow, and J. Michael Scott
“If conservation of biodiversity is the goal, then the protected areas network of the continental US may be one of our best conservation tools for safeguarding ecological systems (i.e., vegetation communities). We evaluated representation of ecological systems in the current protected areas network and found insufficient representation at three vegetation community levels within lower elevations and moderate to high productivity soils. We used national-level data for ecological systems and a protected areas database to explore alternative ways we might be able to increase representation of ecological systems within the continental US. By following one or more of these alternatives it may be possible to increase the representation of ecological systems in the protected areas network both quantitatively (from 10% up to 39%) and geographically and come closer to meeting the suggested Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% for terrestrial areas.
Percent area of ecological systems by protection status. Protection status designations are lands managed to maintain biodiversity (A) and lands managed to maintain biodiversity and multiple-use (B) for the continental US. Percent area is based on the area of each ecological system within each protection status divided by the total area of each ecological system.
“We used the Landscape Conservation Cooperative framework for regional analysis and found that increased conservation on some private and public lands may be important to the conservation of ecological systems in Western US, while increased public-private partnerships may be important in the conservation of ecological systems in Eastern US. We have not assessed the pros and cons of following the national or regional alternatives, but rather present them as possibilities that may be considered and evaluated as decisions are made to increase the representation of ecological systems in the protected areas network across their range of ecological, geographical, and geophysical occurrence in the continental US into the future.”
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Droughts in Semi-Arid Regions by Using Meteorological Drought Indices
Atmosphere 2013, 4, 94-112
Alireza Shahabfar and Josef Eitzinger
“Six meteorological drought indices including percent of normal (PN), standardized precipitation index (SPI), China-Z index (CZI), modified CZI (MCZI), Z-Score (Z), the aridity index of E. de Martonne (I) are compared and evaluated for assessing spatio-temporal dynamics of droughts in six climatic regions in Iran.
Spatial distribution of monthly drought indices with the best correlation to standardized precipitation index (SPI) for January, February, March and April.
“Results indicated that by consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the mentioned drought predictors in Iran, the Z-Score, CZI and MCZI could be used as a good meteorological drought predictor. Depending on the month, the length of drought and climatic conditions of the region, they are an alternative to the SPI that has limitations both because of only a few available long term data series in Iran and its complex structure.”
- Read the paper [PDF]
Journal of Maps, Volume 8, Issue 4, December 2012, pages 349-353
Yuxia Huang & Pamela Meyer
“A 2010 Health Needs Assessment for 15 counties of the Coastal Bend in the state of Texas indicates limited access to health care services and health insurance coverage is a main potential barrier to health care for some segments of the Coastal Bend population. The purpose of this paper is to obtain geographical sight of the health insurance coverage. The hypothesis is that the health insurance coverage by racial and ethnic groups would vary spatially. Data came from the local hospital systems and included 145,669 patient visits from 1 September 2007 through 31 August 2009. A series of maps were produced showing financial class categories for both Hispanics and Whites adults by combining the cross-tabulations of patient data and estimated population both at the zip code level. The maps show that the health insurance coverage disparities vary spatially within zip codes in the Coastal Bend. Moreover, Hispanic and White adult patients do not follow the same pattern of spatial distribution.”
URISA Invites Comments on its GIS Capability Maturity Model
URISA invites experienced GIS professionals of all kinds – particularly those with management experience – to review and comment on a draft GIS Capability Maturity Model (GCMM).
The GIS Capability Maturity Model is intended primarily to define the components of an effective GIS operation, as well as to identify the characteristics of a well-managed and mature GIS. The model was originally developed in 2009 and adopted as a URISA initiative in 2010. In 2011 and 2012 it was used to inform development of the Geospatial Management Competency Model by URISA. URISA’s GIS Management Institute conducted an internal review/revision process from October 2012 through March 2013. This process resulted in the version of the model now offered for public review.
Links to the draft GCMM and an online questionnaire for reviewers are available at http://www.urisa.org/GMI_GCMM_PublicReview. The questionnaire will remain open through May 31, 2013. After the public review period, URISA’s GIS Management Institute will review all comments received, make appropriate changes, and publish a fully authorized peer-reviewed version of the model.
[Source: URISA press release]
URISA’s GIS in Public Health Conference Program Announced
URISA is pleased to announce its Fourth GIS in Public Health Conference. The conference will take place in Miami, Florida, June 17-20, 2013 and is chaired by long-time program committee member, Jason K. Blackburn, PhD, Emerging Pathogens Institute & Department of Geography at the University of Florida. This biennial conference has been previously presented in New Orleans (2007), Providence (2009) and Atlanta (2011) and was established to provide an open and participatory forum for advancing the effective use of spatial information and geographic information system technologies across the domains of public health, healthcare and community health preparedness.The educational program was developed through a peer review of submissions received through a Call for Presentations. The broad conference theme for the 2013 event is: Geospatial tools for understanding health issues related to the environment, human population, and animal populations and the intersections of the three.
Preconference courses will be taught on Monday, June 17:
- An Overview of Open Source GIS Software
- Detecting Clusters of Adverse Health Outcomes using SaTScan™
- Geospatial Data Collection for Micro-Environments and Multiple Time Periods: The Use of Spatial Video
Mei-Po Kwan
The conference is honored to welcome Mei-Po Kwan (Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) as the opening keynote speaker. She will address GIS Methods for Analyzing GPS Data: Applications in Neighborhood and Health Research.
Dozens of speakers from across the globe will discuss such topics as:
- Preparing for the Future: Are Caribbean Countries Positioned to Manage the Increase in Non-communicable Illnesses?
Patricia Boda, PhD, Associate Professor, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN - GIS for Community Air Quality: A Spatial Model of Diesel Exhaust
Jill Schulte, Research Assistant, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Julie Fox, PhD, Senior Fellow, University of Washington, Seattle, WA - HealthGIS for Reaching the Unreached Population
Paban Kumar Ghimire, Deputy Director, Department of Health Services, Nepal - Macro Mapping of Dengue Virus Vector
Lynette Akong, Bsc, Msc, Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, Trinidad and Tobago - Spatial Modeling of Malaria Parasitemia in Young Children in Tanzania
Rebecca Stallings, MHS Biostatistics Graduate Student, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO - Comparing Primary Care Service Areas to Estimated Drive Times
Sean Finnegan, MS, Research and GIS Data Manager, American Academy of Family Physicians, Washington, DC - Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Monitoring Industrial Wastes for Amman City
Raina Qutieshat, PhD, Lecturer, Balqa Applied University, Jordan - Using Geospatial Mapping to Address the Burden of Diabetes in Durham County, NC
Benjamin Strauss, MS, GIS Analyst, Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, Ann Arbor, MI
Nicole Sandberg, MURP, GIS Analyst, Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, Ann Arbor, MI - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in India: GIS is The Tool for Epidemiological Studies
Arun Sharma, MD, Professor, University College of Medical Sciences, India
Marilyn O’Hara, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL - Small-Area Geographies of Mental Health in England
Nick Bearman, Associate Research Fellow in GIS, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, United Kingdom
The poster session is an important feature of the conference, with nearly 30 participants demonstrating their research on such important topics as:
- Does Place Make a Difference for Texas’ Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survival
Deborah Vollmer Dahlke, MPAff, Director, Texas Life Science Foundation, Austin, TX - Spatial Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in Central Java & Yogyakarta Provinces, Indonesia
Triwibowo Ambar Garjito, Health Epidemiologist and Molecular Biologist, Vector and Reservoir Diseases Research Center, Indonesia - Bayesian Spatial Analysis of Teenage Pregnancy Rates in a Brazilian State
Daiane Leite da Roza, Universidade de São Paulo, BrazilKazakhstan Health Study : The - Study of the Determinants of Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Population
Leila Utepova, MPH, Researcher, Center for Life Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Alibek Kossumov, PhD, Senior Researcher, Center for Life Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Dr. Andrew Curtis, Director of the GIS Health and Hazards Lab at Kent State University will provide the closing keynote address on Thursday, June 20.
Early registration discounts are available until May 15 and sponsorship opportunities are plentiful.
For specific conference details and participation options, visithttp://www.urisa.org/2013health
[Source: URISA press release]
