Ebook: Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security

The assessment of land use and land cover is an important activity for cont- porary land management. Human land-use practices are the most significant factors influencing environmental management at local, regional, national, and global scales. In the past, environmental policies have often reflected a reactive response to environmental perturbations with management efforts focused on short-term, local-scale problems such as pollutant abatement. Currently, environmental management philosophy is evolving toward examination of critical environmental problems over larger spatial scales and assessment of the cumulative risk resulting from multiple problem sources. Today’s environmental managers, urban planners, and decision-makers are increasingly expected to examine environmental and economic problems in a larger geographic context that crosses national boundaries and scientific disciplines. Secondly, cont- porary policy-makers have also been challenged on how they view security. The conventional definition of national security has been expanded to include environmental threats resulting from resource scarcity and overpopulation and it is recognized that environmental factors may have an impact in creating conflict and world instability. Thus the working definition of security has been broadened beyond relying on militaristic aspects alone and has evolved to include the environment. In 1969, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) partly in response to examine the link between environmental issues and security. CCMS was created for the purpose of addressing problems affecting the environment of the member nations and the quality of life of their citizens.

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This book focuses on the relationship between environmental security and landscape assessment, identifying the main driving forces that threaten environmental security at local, national, and international levels. It stems from the last five years of the Pilot Study Project on Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment sponsored by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society.

Our growing understanding of environmental change, stress, and degradation has increased the role of environmental condition as a key determinant of security. Now, the relationship between environment and security is a common interest shared by the scientific and policymaking communities.

In this volume, environmental security is examined from the perspective of landscape sciences. This approach is particularly suitable because landscapes comprise the abiotic and biotic ecological structures and processes of an area and their interrelations with socio-economic components.

Readers have the chance to explore the concept of environmental security from subjective and objective perspectives.

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This book focuses on the relationship between environmental security and landscape assessment, identifying the main driving forces that threaten environmental security at local, national, and international levels. It stems from the last five years of the Pilot Study Project on Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment sponsored by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society.

Our growing understanding of environmental change, stress, and degradation has increased the role of environmental condition as a key determinant of security. Now, the relationship between environment and security is a common interest shared by the scientific and policymaking communities.

In this volume, environmental security is examined from the perspective of landscape sciences. This approach is particularly suitable because landscapes comprise the abiotic and biotic ecological structures and processes of an area and their interrelations with socio-economic components.

Readers have the chance to explore the concept of environmental security from subjective and objective perspectives.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Front Matter....Pages 19-19
Contributions of Landscape Sciences to the Development of Environmental Security....Pages 1-17
Landscape Ecology and Environmental Security: basic concepts and regional applications for the Medit....Pages 21-42
Landscape management for environmental security: some perspectives of adaptive management approaches....Pages 43-56
The policy framework GMES as a guideline for the integration of environmental security research and landscape sciences....Pages 57-73
Front Matter....Pages 75-75
Investigating landscape patterns in protected areas using aster images....Pages 77-92
Quantifying and Qualifying Urban Green by Integrating Remote Sensing, GIS, and Social Science Method....Pages 93-105
Allometric scaling as an indicator of ecosystem state: a new approach....Pages 107-117
Front Matter....Pages 119-120
Deriving the spatial traits of organized land structures....Pages 121-130
Landscape monitoring as a tool in improving environmental security....Pages 131-141
Landscapes of the natural park “Vepssky Forest”....Pages 143-154
Multi-temporal coastal zone landscape change detection using remote sensing imagery and in situ data....Pages 155-164
Landscape character as a framework for the assessment of environmental change....Pages 165-174
Front Matter....Pages 175-176
An ecohydrological approach for the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services....Pages 177-207
Environmental quality and landscape-hazard assessment in the Yantra River Basin, Bulgaria....Pages 209-224
The influence of catchment land cover on phosphorus balance for large freshwater systems....Pages 225-235
The use of scenario analysis to assess future landscape change on watershed condition in the pacific northwest (USA)....Pages 237-261
Cross-European landscape analyses: illustrative examples using existing spatial data....Pages 263-316
Front Matter....Pages 317-318
Demographic impacts on landscape change – a conceptual view of global demographic trends....Pages 319-328
Land use impacts of demographic change – lessons from Eastern German urban regions....Pages 329-344
The consequences of demographic change in Rhineland-Palatinate: scenarios of landscape consumption for settlement and transportation areas....Pages 345-356
Front Matter....Pages 317-318
Landscape, demographic developments, biodiversity, and sustainable land use strategy: a case study on karaburun peninsula izmir, turkey....Pages 357-368
Indication of the State of the Environment with GIS and People: a Case Study and planning tool for mulfingen, a municipality in South Germany....Pages 369-381
Environmental security as related to scale mismatches of disturbance patterns in a panarchy of social-ecological landscapes....Pages 383-398
Fostering ecosystem services’ security by both objective and subjective analyses: the case of a natural protected area in Southern Italy....Pages 399-411
Environmental assessing of reindeer herding in changing landscapes on different scales....Pages 413-427
Front Matter....Pages 429-430
The contribution of quality assessment of eroded agricultural soil on hilly-undulating landscapes to sustainable community development....Pages 431-451
Nuclear safety and its impact on the level of environmental security in Ukraine....Pages 453-459
Environmental impact assessment as a tool for environmental restoration: the case study of Copsa-Mica area, romania....Pages 461-474
Landscape approaches to assess environmental security: summary, conclusions, and recommendations....Pages 475-486
Back Matter....Pages 487-497

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This book focuses on the relationship between environmental security and landscape assessment, identifying the main driving forces that threaten environmental security at local, national, and international levels. It stems from the last five years of the Pilot Study Project on Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment sponsored by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society.

Our growing understanding of environmental change, stress, and degradation has increased the role of environmental condition as a key determinant of security. Now, the relationship between environment and security is a common interest shared by the scientific and policymaking communities.

In this volume, environmental security is examined from the perspective of landscape sciences. This approach is particularly suitable because landscapes comprise the abiotic and biotic ecological structures and processes of an area and their interrelations with socio-economic components.

Readers have the chance to explore the concept of environmental security from subjective and objective perspectives.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Front Matter....Pages 19-19
Contributions of Landscape Sciences to the Development of Environmental Security....Pages 1-17
Landscape Ecology and Environmental Security: basic concepts and regional applications for the Medit....Pages 21-42
Landscape management for environmental security: some perspectives of adaptive management approaches....Pages 43-56
The policy framework GMES as a guideline for the integration of environmental security research and landscape sciences....Pages 57-73
Front Matter....Pages 75-75
Investigating landscape patterns in protected areas using aster images....Pages 77-92
Quantifying and Qualifying Urban Green by Integrating Remote Sensing, GIS, and Social Science Method....Pages 93-105
Allometric scaling as an indicator of ecosystem state: a new approach....Pages 107-117
Front Matter....Pages 119-120
Deriving the spatial traits of organized land structures....Pages 121-130
Landscape monitoring as a tool in improving environmental security....Pages 131-141
Landscapes of the natural park “Vepssky Forest”....Pages 143-154
Multi-temporal coastal zone landscape change detection using remote sensing imagery and in situ data....Pages 155-164
Landscape character as a framework for the assessment of environmental change....Pages 165-174
Front Matter....Pages 175-176
An ecohydrological approach for the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services....Pages 177-207
Environmental quality and landscape-hazard assessment in the Yantra River Basin, Bulgaria....Pages 209-224
The influence of catchment land cover on phosphorus balance for large freshwater systems....Pages 225-235
The use of scenario analysis to assess future landscape change on watershed condition in the pacific northwest (USA)....Pages 237-261
Cross-European landscape analyses: illustrative examples using existing spatial data....Pages 263-316
Front Matter....Pages 317-318
Demographic impacts on landscape change – a conceptual view of global demographic trends....Pages 319-328
Land use impacts of demographic change – lessons from Eastern German urban regions....Pages 329-344
The consequences of demographic change in Rhineland-Palatinate: scenarios of landscape consumption for settlement and transportation areas....Pages 345-356
Front Matter....Pages 317-318
Landscape, demographic developments, biodiversity, and sustainable land use strategy: a case study on karaburun peninsula izmir, turkey....Pages 357-368
Indication of the State of the Environment with GIS and People: a Case Study and planning tool for mulfingen, a municipality in South Germany....Pages 369-381
Environmental security as related to scale mismatches of disturbance patterns in a panarchy of social-ecological landscapes....Pages 383-398
Fostering ecosystem services’ security by both objective and subjective analyses: the case of a natural protected area in Southern Italy....Pages 399-411
Environmental assessing of reindeer herding in changing landscapes on different scales....Pages 413-427
Front Matter....Pages 429-430
The contribution of quality assessment of eroded agricultural soil on hilly-undulating landscapes to sustainable community development....Pages 431-451
Nuclear safety and its impact on the level of environmental security in Ukraine....Pages 453-459
Environmental impact assessment as a tool for environmental restoration: the case study of Copsa-Mica area, romania....Pages 461-474
Landscape approaches to assess environmental security: summary, conclusions, and recommendations....Pages 475-486
Back Matter....Pages 487-497
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