Assignment 1 – Landscape Ecology and GIS

OUR ARTICLE

With the consideration of preserving and enriching biodiversity in fragmented landscapes, debates have arisen on the influence of habitat connectivity in comparison to area. Previous studies in this field have produced mix evidence. So, given the gap in knowledge, Thiele et al. (2018) sought to determine whether habitat area or habitat connectivity played a greater role in plant species richness. They predicted that linear connectivity would have a more positive effect on species richness, and took into account that connectivity of an area may be correlated with area and that different species had diverse habitat preferences and dispersal patterns. Their investigation is specifically of “the relative importance of connectivity and area for plant species richness of open linear landscape elements (LLE) in intensively used agricultural landscapes” (Thiele et al., 2018, p. 2).

The results showed that connectivity is more important than area for species richness in LLE, especially for plant species that are confined to semi-natural habitats. This shows that connectivity effects are group specific rather than universal to all plants. Species richness did not increase with area, but rather had a negative effect in some cases. The positive effect of connectivity is suspected to be attributed to increased dispersal activity due to higher connections in the LLE network and quicker accumulation of species on plots. This means that the density of continuous connections serves as an important function of habitat corridors to improve local species richness. These findings are crucial as more and more land in these areas are converted into agricultural land use and native plant habitats become increasingly fragmented.

Along with its findings, this paper shines light onto the use of GIS, coupled with field sampling and statistical analysis, in landscape ecology and the examination of diversity patterns. This paper extends the discussion to include the importance of its findings in land use planning, landscape design, agro-environment schemes, and climate action efforts such as green infrastructure, by stating that conserving present LLEs and adding additional narrow LLEs will provide the greatest sustainability of plant species both locally and regionally (Thiele et al., 2018, p. 8). Therefore, this paper conveys that GIS analysis is crucial, and much more information can be inferred through GIS analysis than the map itself. The same set of results can be used in a multitude of fields. For this reason, and because the paper provided thorough explanations of its argument, procedure, and results in both technical and non-technical manners, it earns a rating of 9.

ANOTHER ARTICLE PRESENTED

In our class presentations, one of the other groups presented on Abadie et al.’s (2017) article which looks at land use and land cover change and its long-term effects on landscape ecology. The objective of the research was to characterize land use and cover transitions in the Mediterranean since the 1860’s and assess its effects on the biophysical and socioeconomic drivers on a forest stand. Overall, they found that there were shifts in drivers of land cover and land use change along with forest recovery. These were driven mainly by socioeconomic factors with forest recovery occurring in steep sloped areas due to shifts in traditional practices.

 

REFERENCES

Abadie, J., et al. (2017). Forest recovery since 1860 in a Mediterranean region: drivers and implications for land use and land cover spatial distribution. Landscape Ecology, 33(2), pp. 289-305.

Thiele, J., Kellner, S., Buchholz, S., & Schirmel, J. (2018). Connectivity or area: what drives plant species richness in habitat corridors? Landscape Ecology, 1-9.

~~~

Assignment 2 – Health Geography and GIS

OUR ARTICLE

Geographical Information Science is multi-faceted, and is becoming more prevalent in the field of health and medicine, under the term Health Geography. Here, we explore an example of such. Being a globally known epicentre for the occurrence and spread of HIV, South Africa expresses a need for greater HIV research and prevention. In that regard, this paper by Tanser et al. (2009) attempts to identify areas greatest in need of intervention and create geographical prioritization by analyzing the varying levels of HIV infection within the study area of KwaZulu-Natal, rural South Africa. Using the two spatial analytical techniques of Gaussian kernel and Kulldorff spatial scan statistic, clusters of HIV infections were discovered, revealing micro-graphical patterns of the disease spread.

These results show that because the spread and severity of HIV varies across the region due to social, economic, and geographical aspects associated with the locations of high risk and high prevalence areas, targeted invention would be more successful than generalized intervention.

Overall, we give this paper a rating of 10 due to it’s concise and understandable use of the GIS techniques. The authors properly articulated their steps, and provided rationale as to why each spatial analysis technique was chosen and the results produced. Additionally, the results of this analysis furthers the overarching research surrounding HIV, and can definitely be widely implemented.

ANOTHER ARTICLE PRESENTED

One of the class presentations that interested me was Burnett et al.’s (2001) research on environmental justice in Hamilton, Canada. They proposed two research questions: (1) Are populations with lower socioeconomic status more likely to be exposed to higher levels of particular air pollution in Hamilton as compared to those in higher socioeconomic statuses? (2) How much does the association between levels of particulate air pollution and socioeconomic status correlate given different statistical models? Their analysis included the use of kriging to interpolate data taken from monitoring stations to get an estimate of pollution values. Exposure estimates were also related to census tracts using ordinary least squares. They determined that low income, residential values and unemployment rates were significant predictors for exposure rates. The results showed the importance of spatial autocorrelation and spatial statistics techniques.

 

 

REFERENCES

Burnett, R. T., et al. (2001). A GIS-environmental justice analysis of particulate air pollution in Hamilton, Canada. Environment and Planning A., 33(6), pp. 955-973.

Tanser, F., et al. (2009). Localized spatial clustering of HIV infections in a widely disseminated rural South African epidemic. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(4), pp. 1008-1016.

~~~

Assignment 3 – Crime Analysis and GIS

OUR ARTICLE

The use of maps in studying crime has been traced back to the New York Police Department in the 18^th century (Balogun, Okeke & Chukwukere, 2014). This is useful in determining the spatial attributes attached to certain crimes. Since crime is a prevalent part in our society, being able to it map out is integral to its hotspot analysis. As technology develops, nations have adopted GIS software to aid in the process, however, some of the developing nations still use outdated file systems. Balogun, Okeke & Chukwukere (2014) have found that several problems arise when using traditional “pin on maps” which include: the ability to make and access timely updates; the ability to manipulate data; the occupation of large amounts of space; and the difficulty in reading maps with several layers of different crime types. Therefore, their work seeks to find a better way to manage crime by further exploring GIS.

Balogun, Okeke & Chukwukere (2014) found that police public relations were very poor, leading to low numbers of reported crimes and suspects. This leaves numerous hotspots for crime and vulnerable citizens. With that said benefits derived from GIS technology become a way to combat this problem. Creating a geodatabase for crime analysis becomes a means to reduce redundancy in data and maximize operations in the field by increasing police presence where they are needed. We would rate this paper a 7 because while it provided a lot of background information for the uses of GIS in crime analysis, the methodology of the study was very vaguely laid out. Also, the data collection method could have been biased depending on who it was distributed and how the questions were phrased.

ANOTHER ARTICLE PRESENTED

A particularly interesting article that was presented was written by Lundrigan and Canter (2001). They say that growing evidence suggests that the locations in which murders are committed may be guided by an implicit rationality. This has led to predictions that the majority of crimes would be committed around a criminal’s residence with slight distribution based on the person’s day to day patterns of mobility. As a criminal continues to be successful, overtime, their range of domain will increase. Through examining the sites of United States and United Kingdom crimes, it was found that rational choice and routine activity, as predicted, explained spatial patterns of murder cases.

 

REFERENCES

Balogun, T.F., Okeke, H., & Chukwukere, C.I. (2014). Crime Mapping in Nigeria Using GIS. Journal of Geographic Information System, 6, 453-466.

Lundrigan, S., & Canter, D. (2001). Spatial patterns of serial murder: an analysis of disposal site location choice. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 19(4), pp. 595-610.