Showing papers in "Geografisk Tidsskrift-danish Journal of Geography in 2013"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assessed land-use change (1973-2007) in the Nameri Tiger Reserve (NTR) in Assam, India using Landsat imageries.
Abstract: Land-use/land-cover change is an important agent of ecological degradation in tropical areas where forests are under threat from the pressure of human activities. This study assesses land-use change (1973–2007) in the Nameri Tiger Reserve (NTR) in Assam, India using Landsat imageries. Dense forests decreased sharply while open forest increased marginally. The increases in the degraded and open forest categories occurred at the expense of dense forests, which decreased at an average annual rate of 288 ha year−1, or at 0.56% annually. The number of patches in the NTR landscape recorded a fivefold increase indicating a high degree of fragmentation of the habitat. While the number of patches of the dense forests increased by 338% from 270 in 1973 to 1138 in 2007 at an annual rate of increase of 9.9% per annum, their mean patch area declined from 19.09 to 12.82 ha. Both class- and patch-level changes corroborate the trend of fragmentation with a consistent increase in the number of smaller patches. Encroachmen...
38 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare land management units, identified in recent agronomic literature, with the aim to facilitate the understanding of farming practices between agronomy and geography.
Abstract: Agriculture faces big challenges, such as feeding a growing population and providing an increasing amount of biomass for energy production. Land is, however, a limited resource and intensification of agricultural practices is deprecated because of the negative impacts on natural resources. Effective answers should therefore be fostered by the development of smarter spatial configurations of agricultural activities. The improvement of farming systems therefore requires agronomy to interact with geography and other disciplines that deal with spatially-explicit aspects of agricultural land management. Different research approaches have supported agronomy in the development of a landscape approach and in this paper we focus on the interactions with geography fostering the enhancement of a common language about the way farming practices are observed and understood by the two disciplines. For this purpose, we compare land management units, identified in recent agronomic literature, with the aim to facilitate fu...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the importance of local and central governments in promoting sustainable urban agriculture is examined through participatory action research, which examines the cases of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Copenhagen, Denmark to understand stakeholder interactions, as well as present and future barriers to the conservation of existing urban agriculture and future initiatives.
Abstract: As a multifunctional activity and land use, urban agriculture supports a range of objectives, from urban greening to food security. However, it is often left out of urban policy. As a result of the highly contextual and cross-cutting nature of urban agriculture, there are relatively few comprehensive and formalized regulatory tools to draw from. Different cities around the world are now deciding how to fit urban agriculture into the urban agenda; however, in many places urban agriculture continues to operate in the absence of legitimization due to its relatively mobile and dynamic nature. This article looks at the importance of local and central governments in promoting sustainable urban agriculture. Through participatory action research, it examines the cases of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Copenhagen, Denmark to understand stakeholder interactions, as well as present and future barriers to the conservation of existing urban agriculture and future initiatives. The findings suggest that municipal recogniti...
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems, and assess the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index.
Abstract: The high nature value (HNV) concept, proposed by the European Environment Agency, recognizes that specific farming systems support high biodiversity levels, mainly as a result of extensive management practices. The Portuguese montado is one of the most significant HNV systems in southern Europe. However, considering the great complexity characterizing these systems both in land management and in landscape structure, a specific context-oriented methodology to assess which montado areas are likely to be classified as HNV farmland is needed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems. The proposed methodology was tested through a local case study in a montado area in southern Portugal, assessing the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index. Results show that in similar montado areas different land management strategies v...
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined regional integration in the Oresund Region over time, and analyzed research collaboration between actors from the Danish and Swedish sides, with a specific emphasis on the biotech industry.
Abstract: The topics of regional innovation systems (RIS) and cross-border regions attract increasing attention, but few studies combine the themes. Further, the existing empirical studies of cross-border innovation and knowledge creation analyse one case at one point in time, thus, making it difficult to assess the progress of integration in the regions, as well as the effect of cross-border innovation policies. Consequently, important questions are left unanswered, including the central research question of this paper: does the sudden removal of significant physical barriers directly impacts collaboration activity in cross-border innovation systems? This paper examines regional integration in the Oresund Region over time. It deals with a specific part of the RIS, as it analyses research collaboration between actors from the Danish and Swedish sides, with a specific emphasis on the biotech industry. Scientific collaboration constitutes an important element of a RIS, particularly in research-intensive sectors. The ...
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a micro-sociological study carried out in a municipality close to Pisa, where two types of landscape coexist: an urbanised lowland including areas of mechanised agriculture and a hilly area preserving traditional Mediterranean elements, which was abandoned during the rural outmigration and is currently being restored and managed by hobby farmers.
Abstract: After the Second World War, modern agriculture and urbanisation have contributed to the vanishing of many traditional landscapes. Over the last years, agricultural restructuring, changes in farms’ structure and crisis in modern agriculture have led to an increasingly diverse set of relationships between land management and land ownership. This is especially true in peri-urban areas, where farmlands are often converted from commercially driven agriculture to various and highly dynamic land uses. This paper presents a micro-sociological study carried out in a municipality close to Pisa, where two types of landscape coexist: an urbanised lowland including areas of mechanised agriculture and a hilly area preserving traditional Mediterranean elements – such as terraces and ancient wine caves – which was abandoned during the rural outmigration and is currently being restored and managed by hobby farmers. Unlike lowland landowners, hobby farmers frame their “dwelling” on moral discourses and see the upland as a ...
20 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors developed a new method to calculate regional accessibility with geography information system (GIS), using the Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed rail (SNHR) as an example.
Abstract: In this paper, we develop a new method to calculate regional accessibility with geography information system (GIS), using the Shanghai–Nanjing high-speed rail (SNHR) as an example. We calculated the indexes of normal accessibility, average accessibility and weighted average accessibility before and after SNHR was put into service. We also calculated the changes of the indexes. The results showed that the values of all the indexes decreased and that regional accessibility was improved by SNHR. But, the reduction degrees were not the same in all different places. In addition, we discussed the potential impact of accessibility changes. Accessibility changes will promote sustainable development and regional cooperation. At the same time, as the imbalance of accessibility changes, the gap of competitiveness levels between regions along the line and edge regions will be expanded.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop a methodology which recognizes and regionalizes the three dimensions underlying rural multifunctionality, namely production, consumption and protection as initially conceptualized by Holmes (2006, 2012), which are linked to socioeconomic dynamics, which vary across space and may act as a stimulus or a constraint on the multifunctional transition.
Abstract: In recent decades, rural Europe has experienced major transitions, impelled by multiple drivers at varying scales, leading to increasingly differentiated modes of rural occupance. There is a need to monitor the multiple forces driving these transitions, so as to ensure that rural support and development policies are well targeted. In this paper, we develop a methodology which recognizes and regionalizes the three dimensions underlying rural multifunctionality, namely production, consumption and protection as initially conceptualized by Holmes (2006, 2012). In our approach, these three dimensions are linked to socio-economic dynamics, which vary across space and may act as a stimulus or a constraint on the multifunctional transition. For the municipalities in Alentejo, southern Portugal, we construct an appropriate set of indicators for conveying the four (production, protection, consumption and socio-economic) dimensions studied. Results show that with a robust set of spatial indicators the different dime...
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare two commonly used methods in small Danish streams to improve the physical condition: re-meandering and passive restoration through cease of maintenance, and compare the in-stream habitats through analysis of the measured physical parameters and by applying a habitat model.
Abstract: Modification and channelization of streams and rivers have been conducted extensively throughout the world during the past century. Subsequently, much effort has been directed at re-creating the lost habitats and thereby improving living conditions for aquatic organisms. However, as restoration methods are plentiful, it is difficult to determine which one to use to get the anticipated result. The aim of this study was to compare two commonly used methods in small Danish streams to improve the physical condition: re-meandering and passive restoration through cease of maintenance. Our investigation included measurement of the physical conditions in 29 stream reaches covering four different groups: (1) re-meandered streams, (2) LDC streams (the least disturbed streams available), (3) passively restored streams (>10 years stop of maintenance) and (4) channelized and non-restored streams. The in-stream habitats were compared through analysis of the measured physical parameters and by applying a habitat model. ...
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the relationship between infrastructure development and housing market development, focusing on major new infrastructure linking previously separate housing markets, and find that increased accessibility in the more central region led to an increase in house prices, whereas increased accessibility on the more peripheral region subdued the house prices.
Abstract: This paper assesses the relationship between infrastructure development and housing market development, thereby focusing on major new infrastructure linking previously separate housing markets. This is often the case when bridges or tunnels provide for new connections in island regions or delta areas. Empirical evidence is presented for a case in the Netherlands: the construction of the Westerschelde Tunnel. This tunnel resulted in rather dramatic changes in accessibility and centrality. The tunnel connects the previously separate central and peripheral housing markets of southern Zeeland, and turns out to have a different impact on both areas. On the basis of the hedonic regression method, we found – quite unexpectedly and in marked contrast with the literature – that the increased accessibility in the more central region led to an increase in house prices, whereas increased accessibility in the more peripheral region subdued the house prices, all other things being equal. This was not due to less demand...
6 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Hansen et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the street grid of two Medieval-founded market-towns in Denmark and proposed that a deliberate planning has taken place, and that the first town layout has preconditioned a social and economic segregation, evidenced by 17th and 18th century documents.
Abstract: Viggo Hansen, 1976; The pre-industrial city of Denmark. A study of two Medieval founded market-towns. Geografisk Tidsskrift 75: 51–57. Kobenhavn, juni 1, 1976. Medieval times saw the foundation of a great manu market-towns in North Europe, including Denmark. The paper studies the street grid of two of these and propose, that a deliberate planning has taken place, and that the first town layout has preconditioned a social and economic segregation, evidenced by 17th and 18th century documents.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Two mathematical models are suggested, converted into FORTRAN IV, and used for an estimation of potential productivity in Ghana and the concept of potential crop production is elaborated.
Abstract: Stromgaard, Peter: Potential Crop Production—illustrated by an example from West Africa, Geografisk Tidsskrift, 77: 6—12, Kobenhavn, June 1, 1978. Different ways of describing and modelling the process of primary production are compared, and the concept of potential crop production is elaborated. Two mathematical models are suggested, converted into FORTRAN IV, and used for an estimation of potential productivity in Ghana.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a model for climate, ocean, and sea ice modeling based on the Computational Physics and Methods (CPSM) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LNL).
Abstract: Glaciology and Climate Change Laboratory, Center for Scientific Studies/Centro de Estudios Cientificos (CECs), Valdivia, Chile; Climate, Ocean, and Sea Ice Modeling Group, Computational Physics and Methods, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA; Faculty of Science and Technology, Sogn og Fjordane University College, Sogndal, Norway; Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Humlum et al. as discussed by the authors described three localities with lateral moraines of a typical layered structure with alternating zones of high and low block content; the origin of the structure is discussed.
Abstract: Humlum, Ole: Genesis of Layered Lateral Moraines: Implications for Palaeoclimatology and Lichenometry. Geografisk Tidsskrift 77:65–72. Kobenhavn, June 1, 1978. From the eastern Alps, three localities are described with lateral moraines of a typical layered structure with alternating zones of high and low block content; the origin of the structure is discussed. Attention is drawn to the potential palaeoclimatic significance, and difficulties in connection with lichenometric dating are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate a methodology to establish data for analysing the geographical patterns in the economic performance of farms, using population-based agricultural register data on physical activity levels with sample-based farm economic accounts data.
Abstract: The objective of the paper is to demonstrate a methodology to establish data for analysing the geographical patterns in the economic performance of farms. The methodology combines population-based agricultural register data on physical activity levels with sample-based farm economic accounts data. Using a least-squares approach, the method estimates economic figures for each farm in the population conditional on farm size, land allocation and number of different types of livestock. The method is used for describing the spatial patterns in economic returns to agriculture, using Denmark as an illustrative example. Economic contribution/hectare is relatively stronger in western parts of the country. This is associated with high livestock density in these areas, but the high livestock density also poses future economic challenges to farms in these areas to a higher extent than in the rest of Denmark.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Christiansen, Sofus, et al. as mentioned in this paper showed that the traditional bisettlement-based cultivation strategy is a rational means to diminish the journey-to-work problem.
Abstract: Christiansen, Sofus: Work and journey to work in subsistence agriculture—a case of cultivation of scattered areas on Rennell Island (Mugaba). Geografisk Tidsskrift 76: 84–88, june 1, 1977. In subsistence agriculture, area and work are usually the most important production factors. Total cultivation work is shown to be greatly increased, if journeying to work is augmented, as when cultivated areas are scattered. Formulae are devised for the increase of total work caused by transport. On Rennell Island (Mugaba) the traditional bisettlement-based cultivation strategy is demonstrated to be a rational means to diminish the journey to work problem.