Land use change is one of the most important anthropogenic factors affecting terrestrial ecosystems, causing habitat loss, fragmentation, and interactions with other components of global change, such as biological invasions of non-native species. In southern California, population growth and economic expansion are the primary drivers of land use change, and the population is expected to double ...

The general intent of these studies is to assess whether or not a slope is considered to be stable and, if not, to provide a “safe” set-back distance from the slope crest behind which structures and other facilities can be constructed. Unstable slopes and the land located between the unstable slope and the set-back line are called “Hazard Lands.” In a broad sense, Hazard Lands are those at risk...

The purpose of the present work is to create a tool able to simplify the analysis of atmospheric phenomena in lower atmosphere; with specific application to up-slope winds on sloping terrain and the evaporation of water vapor from the vegetation. Models of atmospheric processes occurring close to the ground and GIS display a point of contact since most of the input variables of lower atmosphere...

Landslides are among the most damaging natural hazards in mountainous regions. In this study, landslide hazard zonation was conducted in the Baba Heydar Watershed using logistic statistical regression to determine landslide hazard areas. First, a landslide inventory map was prepared using aerial photograph interpretation and field surveys. Next, ten landslide conditioning factors including alti...

[1] The phase of precipitation is important for weather forecasts, land hydrology and remote sensing. To quantify the temperature and pressure dependence of snow frequency (F, in %) when precipitation occurs, we have analyzed 3-hourly weather reports of surface air temperature (Ts, C) and pressure (Ps), and snow and rain occurrences from over 15,000 land stations and available ship observations...

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and land cover products are primary inputs for hydrologic models of surface runoff that affects infiltration, erosion, and evapotranspiration. DEM and land cover play important role in determining the runoff characteristics of specific catchment areas. Recently, at local level, a number of data sources have been used to derive land cover products for high resolut...

This paper demonstrates how the power form of the Species–Area Relationship (SAR) can be used to set conservation targets for land classes using biodiversity survey data. The log-transformation of the power model is a straight line; therefore, if one knows the average number of species recorded per survey site and can estimate the true species number present in the land class, using EstimateS s...