Army bases and battle fields are areas of high pollution due to the chemicals released there. Soils in these areas suffer from these uses of the land, and ecosystem services are affected. Although, ...in the 20th century, the production of bombs and the locations of battle fields and army bases were widespread, there is little research on the impact of war on nature. Moreover, there is a need to rehabilitate the disturbed soils. The contents and ecological risks of Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cr in the topsoil from a post-military area (north-eastern Poland) were investigated. In addition, a vegetation experiment was performed with the technique of aided phytostabilization on soils from the study area. The novelty of this study is the assessment of the usefulness of soil amendments (chalcedonite, limestone, activated carbon) in heavy metal (HM) phytostabilization in contaminated soils from post-military areas. Soil samples were also examined for pollution quantification indicators, including the index of geoaccumulation (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), and degree of contamination, and subjected to the Ostracodtoxkit test. The mean contents of the tested HMs were higher than those stipulated in soil environmental quality standards. The highest Igeo (7.38) and CF (346) values were those of Cr and Zn, respectively. The highest increase in soil pH was observed after the application of limestone to the soil. The greatest reduction in Cu, Ni, and Cd contents was caused by addition of limestone. The contents of HMs in Festuca rubra were higher in its roots than in its above-ground parts.
Display omitted
•Soils from military areas might cause a number of negative environmental impacts.•Green remediation of HMs in soils from military areas with Festuca rubra•Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr were present in the soil samples at relatively high levels.•Limestone and chalcedonite had a positive impact on Heterocypris incongruens growth.•Chalcedonite and limestone can be an alternative soil amendments to activated carbon.
Context
The paper studies the possibilities of how the cultural explosion theory and path dependence approach could be used for exploring landscape (change). The former is an approach (not theory) ...used in humanities and social sciences to study the processes that happen when culture changes rapidly—how new cultural processes are created and how the past ones are integrated or forgotten. The latter is an approach developed also in social sciences, mostly economy, to study how the current decisions are dependent on the past decisions.
Objectives
To demonstrate the possibilities the two theoretical approaches might offer.
Methods
We discuss the ways landscape change could be analysed using, first, cultural explosion theory and, second path dependence approach, and demonstrate this on the example of the post-Soviet military areas.
Results
Both approaches are indeed useful in understanding landscape change. The demo case on military landscapes allows for distinguishing three different development paths for the future of the areas: set-aside, active use, and neglect. Similarly three different ways of relating with the past are found: ignorance and oblivion; acknowledging the past; and making use of the past.
Conclusions
Landscapes have time boundaries and these two analytical tools in fact help us to navigate through these boundaries, understand better the trajectories of change and the importance (or the lack of it) of the past.
Attributing the extent of changes in vegetation cover which are the result of human actions or of climate variability is challenging. The Negev Desert, bordered by two countries and the Palestinian ...Authority and crossing three climate zones, provides a natural laboratory for unveiling the impact of land practices on natural vegetation. Desert vegetation on both sides of the border was traditionally subject to herds grazing and bush gathering, but in recent decades; grazing policy, military training areas, and nature protection have excluded traditional uses. We used remotely sensed derived proxies of vegetation (the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and surface albedo from satellite images inside and outside of the large exclosures to estimate the anthropogenic impact on vegetation cover in the past four decades, and ultimately isolate the effect of traditional land uses on vegetation cover. Our results showed that the cross-border differences in land use led to a significant impact on vegetation cover outside the exclosed areas. These cross-border differences were more pronounced in the semi-arid - arid climate regions and decreased in the hyper-arid climate region. Exclosures provide a natural experiment which enables us the testing of the factors driving changes in natural vegetation.
•We analyzed the impact of exclosures (borders and army bases) on desert vegetation.•We quantified proxies of vegetation cover using time series of MODIS and Landsat.•Cross-fence differences in traditional land use significantly impacted vegetation.•Cross-fence differences decreased in the hyper-arid climate region.
Agricultural intensification resulted in substantial loss of farmland biodiversity. Semi-natural habitats may be viewed as potential buffers of these adverse impacts, but a rigorous assessment of ...their capacity for supporting farmland biodiversity is lacking. In this study, we explored conservation potential of two different types of semi-natural habitats for birds in intensively-used agricultural landscapes – farmland hedges (i.e., linear strips of shrubby and tree vegetation) and open scrubland (i.e., scattered shrubs and abandoned orchards). Specifically, we tested whether the abundance and species richness of birds differ between these habitats considering various species traits, such as habitat affinity (i.e., forest, farmland and urban species), diet specialization (i.e., animal eaters, plant eaters, and omnivores) and conservation status (Species of European Conservation Concern). We found that open scrubland hosted on average 37.9 bird species and 122.6 individuals per 1 km2 of the transect, whereas farmland hedges hosted only 19 species and 61.8 individuals per 1 km2 of the transect. However, results have substantially changed if we considered the area of suitable habitat into account. More specifically, open scrubland hosted more bird species and individuals when we considered open habitat species and the area of open habitats, whereas farmland hedges had higher species diversity and individuals of woodland bird species when we considered the area of woodland habitats. Similarly, analyses of habitat affiliations of individual species corresponded to the whole-community patterns; and revealed that several woodland bird species were mainly associated with farmland hedges (e.g., Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos and Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla), whereas the open scrubland was preferred by open habitat bird species (e.g., Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, Quail Coturnix coturnix and Skylark Alauda arvensis). These results demonstrate that semi-natural habitats, both open scrubland and farmland hedges, have large potential for promotion and conservation of bird communities within intensively used agricultural landscapes, as both may have represented suitable habitats for species with different ecological requirements. Therefore, management measures focused on the enlargement of the area of these habitats, in combination with suitable management (e.g., regulating the progress of natural succession in open scrubland; increasing structural diversity of existing farmland hedges), may substantially contribute to bird conservation within agricultural landscapes.
Biota play major roles in soil function and are highly sensitive to any disturbances including land degradation. However, it is not fully understood which organisms and what parameters can be useful ...in assessing soil quality. To fill this research gap we searched for good indicators of changes in environmental quality that could help to assess land degradation. Next to indicators using physical and chemical parameters, biological agents can also provide a lot of information. To obtain such knowledge we compared the soil quality of former military sites, which differed mainly in the texture, nutrients and organic carbon content based on fauna and vegetation indices. Among the fauna indices were Collembola and Acari abundance, Soil Biological Quality index (QBS‐ar), decomposition rate and feeding activity. The Ellenberg index was used as a vegetation indicator, in which the response to pH, nutrients, and moisture was analysed. The experiment was conducted at 2 former military sites in the Czech Republic. Site 2 was characterised by higher nutrient content and a more compact soil structure in comparison to site 1. It was found that almost all fauna and vegetation indices showed better soil quality in site 2. The significant changes were indicated by the Collembola abundance, QBS‐ar index and feeding activity, as well as response to pH considering vegetation indicators. Finally, we conclude the usefulness of biological indicators for monitoring the quality of soil, which can be adopted when making decisions concerning land use.
Soil sealing for urban and infrastructure development constitutes the most intense form of land degradation and affects all ecosystem services. Researchers and policy makers have become aware of this ...fact and call for limiting development and compensating for new soil sealing with unsealing measures. In a literature review, we found that the state of research about the impacts of soil sealing is far more advanced than about the potential and prerequisites of unsealing. In practice, soil restoration after mining and construction activities as well as redevelopment or renaturation of abandoned industrial sites are increasingly important issues, but systematic research on the success of soil unsealing and restoration is rare. In particular, the development of soils and vegetation after unsealing and restoration measures as well as their potential to provide ecosystem services need more detailed investigation.
In 3 case studies, we demonstrate that replacing a sealed surface with soil to restore ecosystem services is always beneficial for humans and nature. An indicator‐based mapping approach revealed the potential performance of different ecosystem services at former industrial sites in Switzerland. When unsealed sites are transformed to pioneer habitats, the intended vegetation may successfully be regained, but landscape connectivity is hardly enhanced due to increased overall landscape fragmentation. Our investigations show that with the techniques currently applied, the soil physical parameters in a restored agricultural soil developed favourably for crop growth within 15 years. However, unsealed soils are anthropogenic soils with reduced multifunctionality, and protecting natural soil against sealing is always the better option.
U posljednje vrijeme u Hrvatskoj sve se vise istražuju tla urbanih, industrijskih i vojnih prostora. S obzirom da urbani stanovnici provode znatan dio vremena na tim tlima, njihove značajke postale ...su iznimno bitne pa ih je nužno poznavati i uvažavati, naročito s aspekta potencijalnog onečišćenja i mogućeg štetnog utjecaja na zdravlje ljudi i životinja. Pri tome se postavlja pitanje njihove klasifikacije, s obzirom da se do nedavno u postojećim klasifikacijskim sustavima Republike Hrvatske takvim tlima nije pridavala značajnija pozornost. Cilj ovog rada je predložiti način razvrstavanja tala u urbanim, industrijskim i vojnim prostorima, uvažavajući pri tome postojeću strukturu klasifikacije tala Hrvatske (Husnjak, 2014.). Za izradu ovoga rada korišteni su postojeći podaci istraživanja tala u urbanim, industrijskim i vojnim prostorima Republike Hrvatske, temeljem čaga su utvrđene značajke tih tala. Sva tla unutar navedenih prostora, predlaže se razvrstati u skupinu prirodnih, antropogenih ili tehnogenih i tehničkih antropogenih tala. Prirodna tla nastala su u skladu s pedogenetskim čimbenicima i procesima, dok su antropogena tla meliorirana prirodna tla isključivo u funkciji poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Ova tla bi trebalo razvrstavati prema spomenutoj klasifikaciji tala Hrvatske. Tehnogena i tehnička antropogena tla su novonastala tla isključivo zbog intenzivne tehnološke i tehničke djelatnosti čovjeka izvan poljoprivrede. Predlaže ih se razvrstati u red terestričkih tala, odnosno u razred tehnogenih ili u razred tehničkih tala. U razred tehnogenih tala, pripadaju uz tla deponija i tla flotacijskih materijala, jos dva nova tipa tla: tlo industrijskog kompleksa i tlo vojnog kompleksa. Spomenuta tla nerijetko cine tzv. ,,Brownfield" zemljišta. U razred tehnickih tala predlaze se uvrstiti pet novih tipova tala: tlo parka, tlo igrališta, tlo zona za rekreaciju, tlo stambenog okoliša i tlo prometnog okoliša. Za navedene tipove tala daju se detaljni i jasni kriteriji za njihovu podjelu na nize pedosistematske jedinice.
In recent years, soils of urban industrial and military areas have been increasingly researched in Croatia. Given that urban residents spend a considerable amount of time on these soils, soil characteristics have become extremely important. It is essential to know and appreciate those soils, especially in terms of potential contamination and possible harmful effects on human and animal health. This raises the question of those soils classification considering that, until recently, such soils have not received much attention in the existing Croatian soil classification systems. The aim of this paper is to propose a method of soil classification in urban, industrial and military areas, respecting the existing structure of soil classification of Croatia (Husnjak, 2014). For the preparation of this paper, the existing soil survey data form urban areas, industrial and military complexes were used, on the basis of which the properties of these soils were determined. All soils within urban, industrial and military areas are suggested to be classified as natural or anthropogenic or technological and technical anthropogenic soils. Natural soils were formed according to pedogenetic factors and processes, while anthropogenic soils are meliorated natural soils only for the purpose of agricultural production. This soils are proposed to be classified according to the existing Croatian soil classification. Technological and technical soils are newly formed soils solely due to the intensive human activity outside of agriculture. It is proposed to classify those soils in the order of terrestrial soils, and in the classes of technogenic or technical soils. Also, in the class of technogenic soils, it is proposed to include two new soil types in addition to landfill and flotation materials: the soil of industrial complexes and the soil of military complexes. The mentioned soils often form so-called Brownfield land. Lastly, five new soil types are proposed to be included in the class of technical soils: park soils, playground soils, soils of recreation zone, residential environment soils and traffic environment soils. For these soil types, detailed and clear criteria are proposed for the separation into lower pedosystematic units.
The objective of this study was to test a method for analysing long-term structural changes in non-forest wood elements, using a newly developed classification system and relevant landscape ...characteristics. Although these non-forest wood elements are biotopes that have positive effects for the ecological stability of the landscape little is known about their long-term dynamics. The newly developed knowledge of the historical impact of various landscape management practices on non-forest wood elements can be applied in landscape planning procedures (e.g. planning ecological networks) in order to ensure relevant landscape management in the future. The method was applied in two contrasting study sites, Honbice (244
ha) and Krida (268
ha), located in east Bohemia and north Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. The study was based on old cadastral maps (from 1839 to 1843), black and white aerial photographs (from 1938, 1950, 1966, 1975 to 2006) and field control data from 2006. At the Honbice study site, the proportion of non-forest wood elements increased from 2.0 to 2.9% of the study site, due to large plantations of scattered vegetation in the open landscape. On the other hand, more than half of the wood vegetation in the village was cut down between 1966 and 2006. In addition, the relative length of the tree alleys decreased from 0.021
km
ha
−1 to 0.018
km
ha
−1 between 1950 and 1966. At the Krida study site, there was a significant increase in non-forest vegetation (from 2.4 to 8.2%), due to abandonment of the landscape (former military area). As the village disappeared, the total amount of scattered vegetation grew, due to the natural succession process. The relative length of the tree alleys decreased from 0.009
km
ha
−1 to 0.005
km
ha
−1. The method that was applied and based on the analysis of long-term structural changes in non-forest wood elements, using a (newly developed) classification system and relevant landscape characteristics has proved to be a suitable procedure for making a detailed description of long-term structural changes in non-forest wood elements in the landscape. The detailed classification system can be used most efficiently when it is applied to rather small territories. Some characteristics display a similar ability to describe changes in non-forest wood structures (e.g. relative length, proportion of the category).
One of the characteristic features of the transformation processes taking place in the post-communist countries of Central Europe is the emergence of unused buildings and sites – so-called ...brownfields. These can be divided into several kinds, according to their original function. One of these is also the so-called military brownfield. Most of such areas were transferred, after the most necessary clean-up, to municipalities, which approached and still approach their further utilization highly individually, in connection with the character of the site as well as that of the municipality itself. Equally individual is the respective successfulness or unsuccessfulness of the revitalization of post-military areas as measured by differing indicators. The functions which revitalized former military areas have acquired are varied. One of the most common is the production function (e.g. industrial zones), residential function (housing zones), production-residential (a mix of production and housing) and production-servicing (a mix of production and services). The following contribution will first analyze demilitarization in the Czech Republic from the point of view of systemic changes in the Czech military doctrine; in the second part case studies are introduced, illustrating the transformational changes in selected settlements, caused by the loss of their military function.
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