Suitability evaluation of urban construction land in Pendik district of Istanbul,Turkey

Urban land suitability analysis is a complex process that requires geo-physical and environmental information and relevant expertise to analyse and interpret the information. This paper focuses on the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCA) for the assessment of potential suitability of urban development in Pendik district located in eastern Istanbul, Turkey. Various factors, including geo-physical attributes, accessibility, built-up area and infrastructure, vegetation, and green and blue amenities, were used for the land-use suitability assessments. Two different approaches (a deterministic and a fuzzy modelling approach) were utilised to evaluate the suitability of land uses for residential, industrial/commercial and recreational developments. Standardisation of values and unification of scales in map layers were done using the traditional deterministic approach in the first model, whereas fuzzy logic was used in the second model for the same purpose. AHP weighted the sub-criteria in the first model, and the fuzzy AHP method was used in the second model. The map layers were overlaid using the weighted linear combination for both cases using the GIS software. The final stage of the suitability assessment process consisted of a sensitivity analysis of the selected factors and their associated weights. The integration of fuzzy logic, fuzzy AHP and GIS is an advanced methodology and can improve suitability evaluations compared with those of alternatives based on traditional approaches. From our findings, we note that suitable lands for urban development are mainly located in the central and southern parts of the case study area. Our results also highlight how the spatial distribution of suitability classes vary with the selected model utilised for suitability assessment. The methodologies described in the paper can be extended to similar contexts, both locally and internationally.     

Modelling and Mapping Agricultural Output Values Using Farm Specific Details and Environmental Databases

Ongoing concerns regarding the economic losses associated with the CAP and the negative environmental impacts of present land use have led to calls for land use change and consequent efforts to identify areas which are, from both a financial and social perspective, most appropriate for such conversion. This paper develops and applies an output value modelling methodology in which site-specific biophysical factors are combined with farm level data in order to predict input usage and, subsequently, farm profit. The spatial analytic capabilities of a geographical information system (GIS) are used to combine the variety of data employed to permit analysis of a large study area (the entirety of Wales) and yield models of both the market and shadow value of output from the two principal agricultural sectors of the area: dairying and sheep farming. The GIS is then used to produce readily interpretable maps of these values across the study area. The resulting maps are highly compatible both with value maps of alternative land uses given in the recent literature and with approaches to policy formulation currently under development by a range of UK agencies. Such maps may be used to assist estimation of the extent and location of farming response to land use policy change.     

Wind power planning in France (Aveyron), from state regulation to local planning

The development of wind energy in France presents an exemplary case of contrast between the policy instrument and its effectiveness in terms of installed wind power capacity. After 7 years of one of the highest feed-in tariffs in the world, the installed capacity in France is still very low. This is notably due to a diffuse pattern of administrative landscape protection which impacts on the construction of wind power potential. In turn, the pace of wind power development can be understood only by looking in more detail at the way in which landscape is dealt with in local planning processes. This paper examines the question using the case of Aveyron in southern France. We follow the shifting ways in which landscape is enrolled in wind power planning, in a context where new planning instruments favor an incipient decentralization in wind power policy. The case points to a change in both the networks and the concepts involved in the design of landscape representations that underlie the construction of wind power potential. We show that this change has been forced by the far-reaching and decentralized visual impacts of wind power technology, suggesting that technology is recomposing the social as part of its development process and questioning the very meaning and perception that is given to landscape.     

Wind power planning in France (Aveyron), from state regulation to local planning [Erratum,paper published in Land Use Policy 26 (2009) 744–754]

The development of wind energy in France presents an exemplary case of contrast between the policy instrument and its effectiveness in terms of installed wind power capacity. After 7 years of one of the highest feed-in tariffs in the world, the installed capacity in France is still very low. This is notably due to a diffuse pattern of administrative landscape protection which impacts on the construction of wind power potential. In turn, the pace of wind power development can be understood only by looking in more detail at the way in which landscape is dealt with in local planning processes. This paper examines the question using the case of Aveyron in southern France. We follow the shifting ways in which landscape is enrolled in wind power planning, in a context where new planning instruments favor an incipient decentralization in wind power policy. The case points to a change in both the networks and the concepts involved in the design of landscape representations that underlie the construction of wind power potential. We show that this change has been forced by the far-reaching and decentralized visual impacts of wind power technology, suggesting that technology is recomposing the social as part of its development process and questioning the very meaning and perception that is given to landscape.     

Public participation in defining landscape planning scenarios and landscape quality objectives (LQO): Landscape Guidelines for Galicia (NW Spain) case study

Since the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2000, greater importance has been given to citizen participation in landscape policies and, specifically, in defining landscape quality objectives (LQO). Although the task of identifying and defining LQO is undertaken by professionals, the ELC provides for a compulsory public consultation. In most cases, no clear relationship between the results of public participation and the resulting definition of LQO and planning scenarios has been found. The objective of the present study is therefore to propose a methodology for designing landscape planning scenarios and defining LQO by the systematic, objective and quantified analysis of the results of a public participation process and taking advantage of the capacity of a Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) to capture public perception of landscape. The results of a picture-based survey and of the assessment of more than two thousand landscape scenes through the PPGIS allowed us to calculate indices of satisfaction and of the level of intervention required for each landscape type and area. From the values of these indices, four types of landscape planning scenarios were identified (protection, planning and management focused on protection and on planning), and the LQO for each landscape type and area were determined according to the resulting scenario. Application of the proposed methodology to the Landscape Guidelines for Galicia revealed information about the public perception of each landscape type and the preferred measures for landscape improvement involving protection, management and planning.     

A stochastic dominance approach to program evaluation with an application to child nutritional status in Kenya

Most existing program evaluation methods examine the average impact of a program. This necessarily overlooks the potential for different program impacts over different parts of the distribution of the variable of interest. To overcome this limitation, we develop a novel methodology for program evaluation which combines stochastic dominance with difference-in-differences methods. We use this new method to evaluate the impact of a large decentralization program in Kenya on changes in child nutritional status, where one's primary concern is about sharp adverse (i.e., negative) changes. Using standard difference-in-differences regression as a baseline, we find , no statistically or practically significant mean impact. In contrast, our stochastic dominance estimations reveal that project expenditures have had different impacts on different parts of the distribution. In particular, they are associated with less deterioration in children's nutritional status among the worst-off children, indicating that the program effectively functions as a nutritional safety net.     

Toward integrated water and agricultural land management: Participatory design of agricultural landscapes

One of the great challenges of developing sustainable water management is to integrate water and land use issues, and to favor stakeholders’ involvement in the process of designing a solution to the specific issues of water basins. This study aims to help reach these objectives: we present the outcomes of a methodology that aims to design, with stakeholders of a watershed facing quantitative water management issues, alternative agricultural landscapes that they each consider as potential solutions. Our design approach combines (1) facilitation of participatory workshops for designing changes in cropping systems and their spatial distributions at the landscape level with (2) formalization of these alternatives in a GIS. The formalized alternatives provide precise information about fields, farms and areas concerned by the designed changes. We present two sample results of this methodology implemented in a 840 km² irrigated landscape located in a water-deficient watershed in southwestern France. We discuss how our design approach may be useful for a wider design-and-assessment methodology involving researchers and stakeholders with conflicting interests. We show that our co-design approach provides fertile ground for the emergence of salient, credible and legitimate change options.     

景观生态风险信息系统的概念、方法和步骤

景观生态风险信息系统（LERIS）是将景观生态学理论和3S技术相结合进行风险分析的现代规划管理系统。它通过对自然景观、人文因素矣风险源的全面调查，将所需的各类信息进行方便快速的采集、处理和管理等，利用GIS对景观生态状况和潜在风险进行分析、模拟和预测，从而为管理部门的决策提供科学的依据。LERIS在资源和环境的管理和规划领域具有广阔的应用前景。结合实例介绍了景观生态风险信息系统概念、方法和步骤，以期引起国内同仁的进一步关注。     

Comparing the environmental impacts of pasture-based and confinement-based dairy systems in Nova Scotia (Canada) using life cycle assessment

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of dairy systems in Nova Scotia was conducted to compare environmental impacts of typical pasture and confinement operations. Data on material and energy inputs and outputs of these systems were obtained from local researchers and industry, and life cycle impacts in 11 categories were quantified. Use of concentrate feeds, N fertilizers, transport fuels and electricity were dominant contributors to environmental impacts. Somewhat surprisingly, grazing cows for five months per year (typical of pasture systems in Nova Scotia) had little effect on overall environmental impact. Scenario modelling suggests, however, that prolonged grazing is potentially beneficial. Compared with total confinement, a seven-month grazing scenario performed better in seven of the environmental impact categories evaluated with greatest potential improvements associated with acidification potential, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity and fresh water ecotoxicity. In contrast, land use was the only category in which an increased reliance on pasture is predicted to result in a marked increase in environmental impact.     

Global models applied to agricultural and trade policies: a review and assessment

The continuing process of global integration bears implications for farmers and related supplying and processing industries in all parts of the world, but also for the rest of the world economy. An assessment of agricultural and trade policy impacts is bound to be complex and is often supported by quantitative modeling analysis. This article provides an assessment of the present state of applied modelling in the area of trade and agricultural policies. We provide in this paper a comparative assessment of alternative modelling approaches, considering a total of 16 partial equilibrium and general equilibrium models. The assessment includes theoretical modelling foundations, datasets employed and institutional aspects, such as model maintenance and dissemination of results. A typology of models is provided by structuring the assessment along a clear set of evaluation criteria.     

In landscape management all of us have something to say. A holistic method for landscape Preservability evaluation in a Mediterranean region

Landscape assessment methods have traditionally valued the landscape through a panel of experts with little or no participation of the population. However, after the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), the perception and the participation of the population has played an increasingly important role in landscape evaluation and planning. In this regard, the goal of this paper is to develop a model able to evaluate and integrate both the objective and subjective landscape factors into a new concept: the Preservability. This model, as well as selecting and classifying the landscape attributes according to the bio-geographic features of the study area i.e., Ricote Valley (Region of Murcia, Spain), includes two online surveys: one to assess the populatiońs landscape preferences and the other to obtain the specific weight of each objective and subjective landscape factor from a panel of experts. These landscape factors were incorporated into a GIS. To obtain the best model, the Preservability was assessed from three different approaches: objective, objective-weighted and weighted. The final results demonstrate how the Preservability weighted method returns different thresholds appropriate to the landscape attributes, the population’s perceptual preference and the protected areas. The different thresholds allows for priority areas to be identified for protection, as well as the adoption of appropriate management and planning strategies according to the landscapes characteristics, current state and uniqueness.     

Assessing forest management strategies using a contingent valuation approach and advanced visualisation techniques: A Portuguese case study

The assessment of alternative forest management strategies should account not only for the private benefits to forest landowners but also for the ecological, environmental and economic benefits valued by society. There are a number of empirical valuation methods that may contribute to that assessment. These methods involve several steps: data acquisition, model specification and estimation. In this paper, this approach is illustrated in the context of a survey regarding alternative management strategies for a forest area in Central Portugal by implementing a contingent valuation experiment where an advanced landscape visualisation technique is employed to generate the visual information conveyed in the valuation scenarios. Several econometric model specifications are considered as well as alternative approaches to handle zero willingness to pay values and protest responses. The results obtained suggest the potential of the proposed approach for an effective comparison of alternative forest management strategies.     

横向一体化陆基海水养殖经济潜力的评价

本文是Stuart W.Bunting,Muki Shpigel发表于Aquaculture 2009年294期43～51页"Evaluating the economic potential of horizontally integrated land-based marine aquaculture"一文的译文。原作者通过研究得出:生物经济模型有助于横向一体化水产养殖系统的优化,帮助澄清情况,找出关键制约因子和具有针对性的研究及发展重点。生物经济模型的其他横向一体化战略,例如对虾与贝类、海藻和红树林湿地一体化养殖,可以说明这种做法在经济上可行并满足生态无害和对社会负责。同时,生物经济模型应辅以市场分析,包括消费者评估、质量安全评估、伦理审查、环境影响评估以及与利益相关者的共同评估。     

Welfare effects of maize technologies in marginal and high potential regions of Kenya

This paper describes the findings of a study that used a multi‐market model to assess the potential impact of improved maize technologies on the welfare of various types of rural and urban households in Kenya. The modelling results indicate that technologies developed for high potential regions are likely to have more profound aggregate impacts on maize production and lead to greater reductions in import demand (if prices are controlled) or maize prices (if maize prices are flexible). Technology adoption in high potential regions is likely to have substantially greater positive impacts on aggregate real incomes, but inferior income distributional outcomes compared to technology adoption in marginal regions.     

Cap towards 2020 and the cost of political choices: The case of Emilia-romagna region

The paper assesses the different schemes of regionalisation and greening implementation according to both the preliminary proposals presented to the Trilogue and the CAP Reform adopted on 16 December 2013. The objective is to compare the different potential impacts on production (land use) and on the economic revenue of farm holders in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy). The assessment is performed by a regional positive mathematical programming (PMP) model and is carried out for single farms appearing in the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data. Sampling weights are used to make the simulation results consistent with the production structure of the region. The findings confirm a big weakening in what would have been the impact of the Commission’s proposal. In terms of lower gross margin incurred by farmers for fulfilling the greening requirements in the final CAP scenario, the model estimates a reduction corresponding to 20 €/ha. The greatest economic effects of the new CAP appear to be mainly due to the redistribution of direct payments.     

文登市乡村景观评价

乡村景观评价是乡村旅游开发和乡村景观规划设计的基础和前提,景观评价既关系到旅游资源的开发前景又影响乡村景观规划与乡村景观的可持续发展。该文以文登市为例,采用模糊网络分析模型(FANP模型)、径向基函数网络模型(RBF模型)和GIS、RS空间分析技术,选择社会效应、生态质量和美感效果3大类及相应的指标,建立了文登市乡村景观的评价指标体系,从定量的角度分析了文登市乡村景观格局变化情况及其乡村景观的等级。结果表明:2006~2009年,文登市乡村景观格局的单元特征指数和整体特征指数都发生了明显的变化;两种模型评价得到的文登市乡村景观的值分别为3.35、3.28,对应的等级均为优秀,但是其乡村景观在美感效果方面的提升空间较大。因此,文登市在乡村旅游开发过程中,要注重乡村景观再造,进一步提升乡村景观的美感效果,实现乡村旅游发展与景观等级提升的双赢。     

Mixed integration of individual background,attitudes and tastes for landscape management

This paper discusses the design and analysis of a choice experiment regarding preferences for possible transformations of a mountain landscape traditionally used for grazing. Visual impacts related to changing a mountain landscape associated with a new ski resort development are evaluated versus an option with less environmental impact, such as a health spa or “no development”. A multi-level latent class framework is applied to simultaneously obtain those groups of people who choose similarly and are grouped locally, but are also defined by their location, assuming that their choices are representative of what they like and would choose. Groups from the mountains are classified into one specific grand class. Some individuals who live in urban areas have attitudes and beliefs similar to those who live in the mountains, and they also are classified into that same grand class. The model also identifies seven lower-level groups of individuals, each with their own structure of preferences.     

内陆水产养殖业的现状与趋势:基于金乡县的调查

在内陆水域面积较少地区,水产养殖业处于一种边缘地位。本文通过对金乡县这一典型的内陆县水产养殖业发展现状与开发模式的调研,深入分析了水产养殖业在内陆经济发展中的困境及其产生的主客观原因,进而提出了利用内陆水产品市场需求潜力巨大的有利条件,克服制约因素,推动水产养殖业在内陆经济发展中发挥更大作用的对策与建议。     

基于DPSIR模型的市域土地空间配置优化——以天津市为例

研究目的：探索适合城市地域土地空间配置优化的综合定量研究方法,为相关规划与决策提供参考。研究方法：驱动力—压力—状态—影响—响应（DPSIR）模型, GIS空间分析法,综合适宜性评价与景观健康评价。研究结果：基于DPSIR模型分析天津市域土地利用的主要压力与影响因素,评价其综合适宜性状态,基于此划定经济发展优先、生态保护优先和协调发展三个土地空间配置方案,并对三个方案进行景观健康影响评价,发现以协调发展方案进行城市建设对未来景观生态健康的影响最小,因此建议选择协调方案作为天津市域土地空间配置优化和功能分区的首选方案。研究结论：基于DRSIR模型进行市域土地空间配置优化研究,不仅有助于研究者针对不同城市土地利用特点选择评价内容与指标,而且可定量化评价土地空间配置方案的潜在生态影响,在一定程度上减少土地空间配置优化方案选择中的人为主观因素,为合理利用土地资源提供科学依据。