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This article argues that it is relevant to apply the complex adaptive system approach to urbanized deltas. On the basis of this, it discusses some important planning issues related to these areas: adapting them to changing circumstances, synchronizing the various sectors in the areas, and organizing collective action to realize this. The paper also suggests how planners can be er deal with these issues: by systematically exploring uncertainties related to future trends and disruptive events, by thinking through the impacts of each sector on other sectors and the area as a whole, and by making joint visions and identifying strategic projects not only among public actors but also with private and civic actors. The approach presented, integrating social, ecological and physical aspects of systems, is relevant for planners as well as scientists.

Since 2002, the European Commission has employed the instrument of ex-ante impact assessments (IA) to help focus its policy-making process on implementing sustainable development. Scientific tools should play an essential role of providing the evidence base to assess the impacts of alternative policy options. To identify the contribution of research funding for IA tool development, this paper analysed the variety of IA tools designed in projects funded by European Framework Programmes (FPs) 6 and 7. The paper is based on project information available on the European Cordis website, individual project websites and a verification of the results by the project coordinators. We analysed the projects from the interests of IA practitioners as tool users (European policy and impact areas addressed by the tools, jurisdictional application levels and tool categories). Out of the 7.781 projects funded in FP6 and FP7, 203 could be identified that designed tools for the IA process. Nearly half of them applied to environmental, agricultural and transport policy areas. Within these areas, the tools primarily addressed environmental impact areas, less economic and least social impact areas. The IA tools focused on European policies. Models represented the largest tool category, whereas approximately half of the tools could not be clearly categorized. Concerning our analysis criteria, the tool descriptions available on the internet were often unclear and thus may limit the application potential of the tools because of a mismatch of technical terms and categorisation criteria between tool providers and tool users. Future IA tools require a joint political and scientific typology and a narrowing of the gaps, e.g., with view to multi-jurisdictional application and a clear reference to the steps of the IA process.

The regularity of the community size-spectrum, i.e., the fact that the total ecosystem biomass contained in logarithmically equal body size intervals remains constant, is a striking characteristic of marine ecosystems. Community size-spectrum models exploit this feature to represent marine ecosystems with two measures: the slope and the intercept (height) of the community spectrum. Size-spectrum models have gain popularity over time to model the properties of fish communities, whether to investigate the impact of fishing, or embedded into end-to-end models to investigate the impact of climate. We review the main features and state of the art developments in the domain of continuous size-spectrum models. The community spectrum emerges from a balance between size-selective predation, growth and biomass dissipation. Further to these basic components, reproduction and various causes of mortality have been introduced in recent studies to increase the model's realism or simply close the mass budget of the spectrum. These different processes affect the stability of the spectrum and affect the predictions of the size-spectrum models. A few models have also introduced a representation of life-history traits in the community size-spectrum. This allows accounting for the diversity of energy pathways in food webs and for the fact that metabolism is both size- and species-specific. The community-level metabolism therefore depends on the species composition of the community. The size-spectrum's regularity at the community level can serve as a conceptual basis for building theories of marine ecosystems’ functioning. It is also used as indicator of anthropogenic and natural disturbances. The mechanistic nature of size-spectrum models as well as their simple and aggregated representation of complex systems makes them good candidates as a strategic management tool. For instance, for testing the impact of different fishing management actions or for projecting marine ecosystem's states under various climate change scenarios.

GPS technology is widely used to produce detailed data on the movement of people. Analysing massive amounts of GPS data, however, can be cumbersome. We present a novel approach to processing such data to aid interpretation and understanding of the aggregated movement of visitors in natural recreational areas. It involves the combined analysis of two kinds of movement patterns: ‘Movement Suspension Patterns’ (MSPs) and ‘Generalized Sequential Patterns’ (GSPs). MSPs denote the suspension of movement when walkers stop at a place, and are used to discover places of interest to visitors. GSPs represent the generalized sequence in which the places are visited, regardless of the trajectory followed, and are used to uncover commonalities in the way that people visit the area. Both patterns were analysed in a geographical context to characterise the aggregated flow of people and provide insights into visitors’ preferences and their interactions with the environment. We demonstrate the application of the approach in the Dwingelderveld National Park (The Netherlands).

In the last decade policy makers have increasingly recognized the need to include people's perceptions in methods for describing landscape quality. At the same time, a third wave of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become available that make it technically possible to model landscape quality in a realistic manner. However, as there is often a mismatch between science and policy, it remains unclear to what extent perception-based models developed by scientists can be useful to policy makers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness to policy making of a GIS-based procedure for describing perceived landscape openness. To this end, a workshop was organized which was attended by eight Dutch policy makers who acted as representatives of their province (region). The Group Decision Room (GDR) technique was used to elicit the policy makers' evaluations of the procedure in an anonymous and reliable manner. The procedure was presented to the policy makers using cases from their own province, which they assessed using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that policy makers rated the procedure as being highly relevant to policy making, scientifically credible, usable by policy makers and feasible to implement in the policy making process. They especially appreciated the flexibility and transparency of the procedure. The policy makers concluded that the procedure would be of most value for monitoring landscape changes and for analysing impacts on landscape openness in land use scenario studies. However, they requested guidelines for proper implementation of the various options in the procedure. In general, the current study shows that explicit and transparent evaluation of the usefulness of GIS-based tools can aid integration at the science-policy interface and help to ensure that both scientists and policy makers are informed of interrelated options and requirements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper presents and discusses a procedure for measuring landscape openness, which is an important characteristic of the visual landscape. The procedure aims to ensure the quality of descriptions of landscape openness while being flexible enough to produce descriptions suitable for various purposes. Geo-data and a Geographic Information System (GIS) are used to develop the procedure, which consists of five steps: 1) select road network and apply sampling strategy; 2) merge terrain and topographic datasets and create contour lines; 3) identify visual limitations; 4) compute visible space; and 5) select and calculate variables. The procedure is applied to a case study to illustrate the possibilities. The paper includes a discussion of the realism, generality, precision and sensitivity of the procedure. The balance between a high degree of realism and a high degree of generality ensures a procedure which can be used by policy-makers and planners for a wide range of purposes at various levels.

As a response to the growing interest in assessing Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) the Multi-view SDI assessment framework has been proposed. The Multi-view SDI assessment framework collects multiple assessment approaches and methods with the aim to assess many different aspects of SDI in a comprehensive and unbiased way. Despite the potential strengths of the framework, its complex design raises concerns about its usability and applicability for SDI assessment. In this article we evaluate the application of the Multi-view SDI assessment framework. In addition, we ask the potential users of the framework to evaluate its applicability to assess SDIs. The results show that the framework could be applied to 21 National SDIs. Evaluation of the application process reveals that the completeness of assessment data and time needed to measure indicators depends strongly on the assessment methods used. It is recommended to use those methods that need less time to measure assessment indicators. The results also show that a significant part of the measurements could not be done due to survey questions not being filled in by the respondents. The results also show that the users tend to agree with the applicability of the Multi-view SDI assessment framework to assess SDIs

In the last decade efforts have been carried out by the scientific community aimed at building integrated frameworks to support the decision-making process when sustainability issues are addressed. This paper proposes a further advancement in integrated assessment procedures by setting up an operational multi-scale and transparent framework, which comprises the assessment of European regions in terms of sustainability, and the identification of the impact that policy options might have on the sustainability of these regions. The framework is designed for use in ex ante sustainability impact assessment of policy scenarios on multifunctionality of land use and integrates economic, environmental and social issues across a variety of sectors (agriculture, forestry, transport, tourism and energy). The proposed method provides a conceptual framework applicable at different scales (European, regional), and takes into account the great variability of European regions. The described methodology is based on linear additive models to weight and aggregate selected indicators to a set of land use functions identified to describe the goods and services provided by the different land uses that summarise the most relevant economic, environmental and social issues of a region. The framework is designed to allow the evaluation of impacts at an international scale (e.g. the European Union), or on selected regions. The aggregation framework can be used to evaluate the impact that policy options have on the sustainability of multifunctional land use systems with competing demands. A conceptual envelope, called the “trade-off evaluation space”, delineates all possible developments in the functions of the land. The sustainability limits identify the subset of ‘acceptable’ policy options within the trade-off evaluation space, so that the distance of each land use function from sustainability limits can be estimated and trade-offs between the different functions of the multifunctional land use system can be identified. The proposed methodology is adaptable to different contexts: if the assumption is taken that all land use functions are equally weighted the framework can be used to analyse policy cases and take decisions on policy options at the European or regional level. However, at the local-scale the framework can also be applied through a participatory approach and the distribution of weights can be rediscussed with local stakeholders. In both cases the proposed system can be used as a tool for discussion among all interested parties.

Land cover and land use are important information sources for environmental issues. One of the most important changes at the Earth's surface concerns land cover and land use. Knowledge about the location and type of these changes is essential for environmental modeling and management. Remote sensing data in combination with additional spatial data are recognized as an important source of information to detect these land cover and land use changes. In this paper, we introduce the Dutch multi-date land use database (LGN). Today there are six versions of the LGN database (LGN1–LGN6) based on satellite imagery of respectively 1986, 1992/1994, 1995/1997, 1999/2000, 2003/2004 and 2007/2008. With the completion of LGN6 a time-series of land use databases covering 20 years became available. The different databases were produced according to different methodologies. The resulting inconsistencies for monitoring land use changes and possible solutions are the main themes of this paper. Emerging user requirements, increased data availability and technical improvements lead to methodological differences between the LGN5 and LGN6 Dutch land use database. Monitoring of land use changes by integrating independent spatial datasets results in a mixture of real and methodological changes. A methodology is applied to detect real land use changes for a limited number of land use monitoring classes. The detected real changes have a high probability (almost 95%) that they are real changes. Next to these real changes, differences exist between LGN5 and LGN6, i.e. so-called methodological land use changes, being the result of methodological adaptations over time.

International audience; BIOPRESS (Linking Pan-European land cover change to pressures on Biodiversity'), a European Commission funded Global Monitoring for Environment and Security' project, produced land cover change information (19502000) for Europe from aerial photographs and tested if this information is suitable for monitoring habitats and biodiversity. The methods and results related to the land cover change work are summarised. Changes in land cover were established through 73 window and 59 transect samples distributed across Europe. Although the sample size was too small and biased to represent the spatial variability observed in Europe, the work highlighted the importance of method consistency, the choice of nomenclature and spatial scale. The results suggest different processes are taking place in different parts of Europe: the Boreal and Alpine regions are dominated by forest management; abandonment and intensification are mainly encountered in the Mediterranean; urbanisation and drainage are more characteristic of the Continental and Atlantic regions.

European landscapes have been shaped over the centuries by processes related to human land use, which are reflected in regionally distinct landscape patterns. Since landscape pattern has been linked to biodiversity and other ecological values of the landscapes, this paper explores landscape pattern as a tool for ecological sustainability assessments at the regional (Austrian Cultural Landscapes), national (Austria) and European (European Union + Norway, Switzerland) level with focus on agricultural landscapes. A set of landscape metrics served as a basis to assess naturalness and geometrisation of Austrian and European landscapes as a proxy for their sustainability. To achieve an accurate spatially explicit assessment, we applied a spatial reference framework consisting in units that are homogeneous in biophysical and socio-economic contexts, adapted the regional approach for its application at European level, and developed relative sustainability thresholds for the landscape metrics. The analyses revealed that several landscape metrics, particularly the “Number of Shape Characterising Points” showed a high correlation with the degree of naturalness. The sustainability map of Austria based on an ordinal regression model revealed well-known problem regions of ecological sustainability. At the European level, the relative deviation from the average pattern showed clearly the simplification processes in the landscapes. However, a better spatial resolution of land cover data would add to the refinement of pattern analysis in regions and therefore the assessment of sustainability. We recommend the combination of information of different scales for the formulation and implementation of sustainability policies.

In arid regions, an oasis plays an important role. It is nearly the only support of living and economic development for the local people. In recent years, the recession of the oasis areas appeared to be significant in Northwest China. It caused a series of environmental problems and part of the area even became the source of sandstorms. In this article, the long-term vegetation change of the Ejina Oasis, which is located in the downstream area of the Heihe River basin, was analyzed based on remote sensing data. The quantitative relationship between the runoff of the Heihe River and the vegetation change of the Ejina Oasis from 1989 to 2006 was established using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) time-series. The vegetation growth of the Ejina Oasis depends on the runoff of the Heihe River. The time lag of the impact of the runoff on the vegetation of the Ejina Oasis is 1 year. The smallest water amount that can sustain the demand of the eco-environment of the Ejina area was estimated. The result can serve as a reference for decision-making processes at the government level, finally allowing for a better allocation of water resources in the Heihe River basin.

Recent trends in European seasonal weather conditions and related crop water requirements, crop water consumption and crop water deficits were studied using the Crop Growth Monitoring System of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission for the period 1976–2005. Soft wheat was selected as a typical winter crop. Sugar beet was selected as a typical spring/summer crop. First we analyzed the spatial and temporal variation of the average seasonal mean temperature and the average seasonal estimated global radiation, subsequently the spatial and temporal variation of the simulated seasonal water requirement, water consumption and water deficit of wheat and sugar beets were studied. We found that the weather pattern changes are not uniformly distributed across Europe. A seasonal dependence was found. The impacts of the changing weather patterns differ per crop and per region. In various European regions the wheat water requirement showed a downward trend which can be attributed to a shorter growing season as a result of higher temperatures in spring. This downward trend can also be attributed to a lower evaporative demand in winter and spring as a result of diminishing global radiation values. Only a limited number of regions showed an upward trend. For sugar beets the Mediterranean regions of France and Spain showed a downward trend in the water requirement which can be attributed to a lower evaporative demand due to reduced solar radiation in summer and autumn. Large areas with an upward trend in the water requirement are spread across the rest of Europe. These upward trends can be attributed to higher temperatures in summer and autumn. The regional trend patterns in actual crop water consumption and water deficit are less distinct than found for the crop water requirements. Changes in these variables can be attributed to the combined effect of variations in crop water requirements and rainfall.

Data sharing over the internet is increasingly efficient and increasingly anonymous. This growing anonymity makes it difficult for data users to exchange feedback: interesting ideas, innovations, ancillary data, concerns about data quality, etcetera. For data producers not knowing the end-users makes it more difficult to collect end-user feedback and tailor the production process to users needs. Feedback can be exchanged through social networks, in other words contacts with other users. Very little is known about such social networks in the case of data sharing. In this paper we present an analysis of the social networks associated with two land cover datasets. We found that most users have zero to two links to other users and virtually no links to users in other her organisations. Without these links, it seems almost impossible to identify users of a particular dataset. Internet technology can help but is currently not used to enhance exchange of feedback within the user community.

The CORINE land cover (CLC) data derived from satellite images for the period of the 1990s and 2000 (± one year) provide information about land cover changes for a substantial part of Europe. Availability of these data can contribute to new approaches to the assessment of the European landscape, for instance in the context of environmental and economic accounting, diversity, modelling of its properties, etc. These possibilities are given by the fact that land cover reflects the biophysical state of the real landscape. The paper contains information about frequency and areas of CLC and their changes in the period 1990–2000, but above all in the processes – flows (LCF) that take place in the European landscape. Results of statistical analysis and maps demonstrate the frequency and rate (by two values: one above and another below the mean LCF rates) of the following processes: urbanisation (LCF1), intensification of agriculture (LCF2), extensification of agriculture (LCF3), afforestation (LCF4), deforestation (LCF5) and construction of water bodies (LCF6). LCF1 was most conspicuous in the Netherlands (2.1% of total country's area), LCF2 in Ireland (3.3%), LCF3 in the Czech Republic (over 3.5%), LCF4 in Portugal (over 4%), LCF5 in Portugal (over 3.5%) and LCF6 in the Netherlands and Slovakia (over 0.1%). The overall area of identified land cover changes in 24 European countries in the period 1990–2000 was around 88,000 km2 which equals 2.5% of their total area. Details presented concerning the LCF frequency and rate will certainly contribute to the overall awareness and anticipation of possible developments in the European landscape.

Many kinds of text documents (e.g. newspapers, reports and letters) provide a potential source of geo-referenced information that is often underutilized. In interaction design, the use of dynamic icons and animation plays an important role in creating a sense of interactivity and feedback with virtual worlds. This paper shall focus on developing an interaction design approach for improving information retrieval from text sources as well as their interpretation. To this end, the Gertrude Mapper prototype is presented as a particle system based on an interaction design approach developed by a designer and a cartographer. The resulting prototype may be contemplated in the context of computer art, but it also has a practical aim: to help historians enhance their intuition through the visual exploration of unstructured text in a set of business letters. These letters were obtained from Simon Ruiz's archive. The prototype is available at http://www.dyncoopnet.eu/gertrude

Remote sensing of water quality in inland waters requires reliable retrieval algorithms, accurate atmospheric correction and consistent method for uncertainty estimation. In this paper, the GSM semi-analytical inversion model is modified for inland waters to derive inherent optical properties (IOPs) and their spectral dependencies from air and space borne data. The modified model was validated using two data sets from the Veluwe and the Vecht Dutch lakes. For the Veluwe lakes, the model was able to derive a linear relationship between measured concentrations and estimated IOPs with R2 values above 0.7 for chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and up to 0.9 for suspended particulate matters (SPM). In the Vecht lakes, the modified model derived accurate values of IOPs. The R2 values were 0.89 for Chl-a and up to 0.95 for SPM. The RMSE values were 0.93 mg m−3 and 0.56 g m−3 for Chl-a and SPM respectively. Finally, the IOPs of the Veluwe lakes are derived from multi-spectral, ocean color and hyperspectral airborne data. Inversion-uncertainties of the derived IOPs were also estimated using a standard nonlinear regression technique. The study shows that inversion-uncertainties of remote sensing derived IOPs are proportional to water turbidity.

The increasing complexity of spatial planning issues and pressure from citizens to takepart in designing and deciding on spatial plans result in a need for improved methods to aidcommunication between governmental actors and citizens. These developments put high demands onparticipatory Planning Support Systems (PSS); instruments that can aid planners in doing theirplanning tasks. By using the accessibility of the internet, e-participation offers opportunities as a PSS.Although many advantages are attributed to participatory PSS, its use in the planning practice remainsmarginal until now. It is argued here that this is partly caused by the lack of empirical studies thatdemonstrate potential benefits and problems when applying PSS. This paper provides guidelines fororganizations that contemplate on using a participatory PSS. In order to do so, a framework isdeveloped, identifying obstacles that could block effective participation in a PSS. Three planningprocesses are evaluated to investigate the importance of these obstacles. It is demonstrated that,although e-participation has potential as PSS, the lack of political will blocks effective participationand a more profound link between the citizen input and the decision-making is needed

The MARS project (Monitoring Agriculture with Remote Sensing) was initiated by the European Commission (EC) in 1988 as a research programme in which three Directorates were involved: DG-Agriculture, Eurostat and the Joint Research Centre (JRC)

The study and analysis of human mobility patterns and their relationship with the environment can provide us with a better understanding of certain aspects of human behaviour. New, ubiquitous and non-intrusive devices have made it easier to place sensors in mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or even clothing, providing us with relatively low cost means of gathering highly detailed data on the movement of people and the environments in which they move. However, new spatio-temporal models and geovisualization techniques need to be developed to handle the large volumes of data generated by these technologies, and to detect, analyse and visualize mobility patterns so as to understand the interplay between human mobility and the environment, while at the same time maintaining the individuals’ right to privacy. The findings from such studies will help to lay the foundations for more sustainable human mobility

The spatial distribution of vegetation in the Qilian Mountain area was quantified with remote sensing data. The MODIS NDVI values for June, July, August and September are the best indicators for the vegetation growth during a year in this area and thus were used in this study. The results obtained by analysing NDVI data for seven years from 2000 to 2006 clearly indicated that elevation and aspect, as a proxy for precipitation and temperature, are two very important factors for the vertical distribution of vegetation in Qilian Mountain area. In the Qilian Mountain area the vegetation growth is optimal between the elevations of 3200 m and 3600 m, with NDVI values larger than 0.50 and a peak value of >0.56 around 3400 m. It is the combination of plentiful precipitation and suitable land surface temperature that provides less soil moisture stress and thus suitable conditions for vegetation growth in this range of elevations. The optimal vegetation growth is found in the shady slope between NW340° to NE70° with the largest NDVI value (>0.56) within the elevation range of 3200 m and 3600 m. The methodology developed in this study should be useful for similar ecological studies on vegetation distribution.

The evolution of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has witnessed an important step towards achieving interoperability through the communication, exchange, cooperation and sharing of resources between systems. The main developments in interoperability include the use of standards for transfer and exchange of geographical information, the integration of different data types up to the development of comprehensive interoperability models. This article aims to review the main advances in interoperability of GIS and provide a basis to identify the future research issues in this field. It first considers the various points of view from which interoperability can be defined and then examines the concept of interoperability itself. An overview is provided on how interoperability can be modelled by discussing the main aspects that directly have an effect on how interoperability levels have been created according to different contexts and purposes of use. It also points out the significant advances in terms of measures that can determine the ability of a GIS to interoperate with other systems, predict the resources needed for successful interoperation, and discover techniques useful to achieving interoperability. We conclude with some suggestions where the research will go next

in Information Technology & Tourism isnn nr 1098-3058

Evapotranspiration (ET) plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and it is essential to estimate ET accurately for the evaluation of available water resources. This is most important in arid and semi-arid regions. In this paper, the long-term changes in daily ET in the semi-arid Zhangye Basin in northwest China and its impact factors were studied. The spatial distribution of ET was assessed by using the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS). Cloud-free National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced (NOAA) Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) September images over the Zhangye Basin from 1990 to 2004 were used in combination with SEBS to estimate ET at a spatial resolution of 1.1 km. This daily ET was converted to a monthly ET (for September) using daily pan evaporation values from a meteorological station in the study area. Spatial aggregation of all pixels yielded the total monthly ET for the whole study area. Subsequently, the monthly ET was extrapolated to annual ET values using the pan evaporation data. The results were validated with ground-based measurements on the water balance for the whole Zhangye Basin. The annual ET increased gradually from 23.7×108 m3 in 1990 to 26.9×108 m3 in 2004 for the Zhangye Basin. The main cause appeared to be change in vegetation.

In 2020 moet 10 procent van de brandstoffen voor vervoer in Europa uit biomassa komen. Hoeveel ruimte vraagt dat, en welke plekken in Europa lenen zich het best voor de teelt?

Dit artikel beschrijft een aantal resultaten van het BSIK-RGI project "Goed omgaan met onzekere objecten". Doel van dit project is opstellen en ontwikkkelen van richtlijnen, methodieken en instrumenten om op een goede manier om te gaan met onzekere objecten in de ruimtelijke planvorming

Het project GeoLoketten wil geo-informatie in Nederland optimaal toegankelijk maken via webservices. In het kader van het innovatieprogramma Ruimte voor Geo-informatie worden daarvoor methoden en technieken ontwikkeld. Innoveren moet je leren, maar dit leertraject bleek bijzonder dynamisch. Al is de geosector nog zo snel, de ict-wereld achterhaalt haar wel

Uncertainty in spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall in regional crop yield simulations comprises a major fraction of the error on crop model simulation results. In this paper we used an Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) to assimilate coarse resolution satellite microwave sensor derived soil moisture estimates (SWI) for correcting errors in the water balance of the world food studies (WOFOST) crop model. Crop model simulations with the EnKF for winter wheat and grain maize were carried out for Spain, France, Italy and Germany for the period 1992–2000. The results were evaluated on the basis of regression with known crop yield statistics at national and regional level. Moreover, the EnKF filter innovations were analysed to see if any systematic trends could be found that could indicate deficiencies in the WOFOST water balance. Our results demonstrate that the assimilation of SWI has clearly improved the relationship with crop yield statistics for winter wheat for the majority of regions (66%) where a relationship could be established. For grain maize the improvement is less evident because improved relationships could only be found for 56% of the regions. We suspect that partial crop irrigation could explain the relatively poor results for grain maize, because irrigation is not included in the model. Analyses of the filter innovations revealed spatial and temporal patterns, while the distribution of normalised innovations is not Gaussian and has a non-zero mean indicating that the EnKF performs suboptimal. The non-zero mean is caused by differences in the mean value of the forecasted and observed soil moisture climatology, while the excessive spread in the distribution of normalised innovations indicates that the error covariances of forecasts and observations have been underestimated. These results clearly indicate that additional sources of error need to be included in the simulations and observations.

Foliage and soil temperatures are key variables for assessing the exchanges of turbulent heat fluxes between vegetated land and the atmosphere. Using multiple-view-angle thermal-infrared (TIR) observations, the temperatures of soil and vegetation may be retrieved. However, particularly for sparsely vegetated areas, the soil and vegetation component temperatures in the sun and in the shade may be very different depending on the solar radiation, the physical properties of the surface, and the meteorological conditions. This may interfere with a correct retrieval of component temperatures, but it might also yield extra information related to canopy structure. Both are strong reasons to investigate this phenomenon in some more detail. To this end, the relationship between the TIR radiance directionality and the component temperatures has been analyzed. In this paper, we extend the four-stream radiative transfer (RT) formalism of the Scattering by Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves model family to the TIR domain. This new approach enables us to simulate the multiple scattering and emission inside a geometrically homogenous but thermodynamically heterogeneous canopy for optical as well as thermal radiation using the same modeling framework. In this way top-of-canopy thermal radiances observed under multiple viewing angles can be related to the temperatures of sunlit and shaded soil and sunlit and shaded leaves. In this paper, we describe the development of this unified optical-thermal RT theory and demonstrate its capabilities. A preliminary validation using an experimental data set collected in the Shunyi remote sensing field campaign in China is briefly addressed

De sterke stijging van de temperatuur sinds 1988 leidt tot grote zichtbare veranderingen in de Nederlandse natuur. Het groeiseizoen is enkele weken langer geworden. Een groot aantal warmteminnende soorten breidt zich uit of vestigt zich. Het is nog grotendeels onduidelijk hoe natuur en landschap gaan veranderen als gevolg van verwachte temperatuurstijgingen tot 2,8 graden Celcius in de komende veertig jaar. In dit artikel nadere aandacht voor vogels, planten, vlinders, mossen, achteruitgang van soorten in relatie tot temperatuurveranderingen

This paper provides results from a worldwide impact assessment of spatial data clearinghouses. Its aim is to assist policy makers in their task of evaluating whether or not investment in setting up and maintaining these establishments is justified. To achieve this objective a procedure was devised for the comprehensive and systematic evaluation of sustainable development within the worldwide clearinghouse population. The assessment procedure entailed a survey undertaken by clearinghouse coordinators. A range of economic, social, and environmental indicators was chosen to evaluate the relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of clearinghouses. This paper also presents the results of complementary analyses that were carried out to assess the significance of the impacts recorded. They were also used to assess the objectivity of the responses of the coordinators. The results of these assessments reveal that clearinghouses provide mainly positive impacts. In addition, the results also indicate the significance of clearinghouses as relevant facilities for enhancing spatial data accessibility, providing efficient means of accessing spatial data, and the effective promotion of data use and distribution. Finally, the results could be used to justify present investments and to support future investments in the clearinghouse system.

Nu de digitalisering en informatisering van onze samenleving snel toenemen, ontstaat de vraag of de overheid haar geo-informatiebeleid moet aanpassen en deze informatie ook vrij beschikbaar moet stellen aan burgers en organisaties zodat maatschappelijke (en economische) ontwikkelingen niet worden geremd. Onduidelijk is echter welke maatschappelijke effecten kunnen worden verwacht indien de overheid dit doet. In dit artikel worden de resultaten van een korte verkennende studie gepresenteerd. Kortom: de toegang van burgers en overheden tot geo-informatie

We present a land cover change detection methodology in the framework of the IMAGE and CORINE Land Cover 2000 (I&CLC2000) project managed jointly by the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy. The generated data layers CLC2000 (land cover for the year 2000) and CLC90/2000-changes (land cover changes between the years 1990–2000) cover 29 European countries with a total area of about 4.5 million square kilometers at scale 1:100 000. The variants of computer aided visual interpretation of satellite images referred to as updating and backdating were applied in the I&CLC2000 project. This makes use of the revised CLC90 data layer and the Landsat ETM satellite images from 2000 (±1 year) for generation of the CLC 2000 data layer. The CLC90/2000-changes data layer is generated by the overlay of the CLC90 and CLC2000 data layers with the change area of minimum 5 ha. This approach may overestimate and underestimate identified land cover changes in some specific situations described in the paper. As an example of land cover change, identification obtained by applying the updating method in the case of the Netherlands is presented. An area of 1681 km 2 of land cover change was identified for the period 1986–2000. Backdating was a suitable methodological tool applied to the land cover inventory in Slovakia for the years 1970–2000 (3156 km 2 of land cover changes were identified). Thematic accuracy of derived data layers is ⩾85% and the geometric accuracy is better than 100 m. The CLC methodology and results are widely used in several other projects and are of relevance to policies in land management, nature conservation and water management.

Parameterizations of aerodynamic resistance to heat and water transfer have a significant impact on the accuracy of models of land – atmosphere interactions and of estimated surface fluxes using spectro-radiometric data collected from aircrafts and satellites. We have used measurements from an eddy correlation system to derive the aerodynamic resistance to heat transfer over a bare soil surface as well as over a maize canopy. Diurnal variations of aerodynamic resistance have been analyzed. The results showed that the diurnal variation of aerodynamic resistance during daytime (07:00 h–18:00 h) was significant for both the bare soil surface and the maize canopy although the range of variation was limited. Based on the measurements made by the eddy correlation system, a comprehensive evaluation of eight popularly used parameterization schemes of aerodynamic resistance was carried out. The roughness length for heat transfer is a crucial parameter in the estimation of aerodynamic resistance to heat transfer and can neither be taken as a constant nor be neglected. Comparing with the measurements, the parameterizations by Choudhury et al. (1986), Viney (1991), Yang et al. (2001) and the modified forms of Verma et al. (1976) and Mahrt and Ek (1984) by inclusion of roughness length for heat transfer gave good agreements with the measurements, while the parameterizations by Hatfield et al. (1983) and Xie (1988) showed larger errors even though the roughness length for heat transfer has been taken into account.

River floodplains are becoming increasingly subject to multifunctional land-use. In this contribution, we are linking imaging spectrometer derived products with a dynamic vegetation model to improve the simulation and evaluation of scenarios for a river floodplain in the Netherlands. In particular, we are using airborne HyMap imaging spectrometer data to derive Leaf Area Index (LAI), spatial distribution of Plant Functional Types (PFT), and model dominant species abundances as input for the ecological model. We use the dynamic vegetation model (DVM) SMART2-SUMO to simulate vegetation succession under scenarios of changing abiotic conditions and management regimes. SMART2 is a soil chemical model whereas SUMO describes plant competition and resulting vegetation succession, We validate all remote sensing derived products and the DVM calibration independently using extensive field sampling. We conclude that the dynamic vegetation models can be successfully initialized using imaging spectrometer data at currently unprecedented accuracy. However, all efforts undertaken for validation in this contribution may significantly exceed capacities for national or continental scale application of the proposed method.

In het kader van de natte en droge infrastructuur, is duurzame gebiedsontwikkeling een complex samenspel tussen Rijkswaterstaat, provincies, gemeenten, waterschappen, marktpartijen en andere organisaties. ‘Deze partijen hebben verschillende belangen en werken vanuit hun eigen terrein aan een duurzame leefomgeving.’ Om dit proces te faciliteren is er binnen Rijkswaterstaat de tool Omgevingswijzer ontwikkeld, met als doel de verschillende belangen overzichtelijk in kaart te brengen en zo tot een duurzame oplossing te komen voor het gebied. Dit rapport is het resultaat van een eerste verkenning naar de toegevoegde waarde van data voor omgevingsmanagers om in gesprek te gaan/raken met belanghebbenden en zo een duurzame oplossing na te streven. Hierbij is gekeken in hoeverre de integratie van ruimtelijke datasets kan worden gebruikt als onderbouwing of objectivering voor effecten op de huidige duurzaamheidsthema’s en/of het bijdraagt bij het formuleren van duurzaamheidsambities.

In het kader van de natte en droge infrastructuur, is duurzame gebiedsontwikkeling een complex samenspel tussen Rijkswaterstaat, provincies, gemeenten, waterschappen, marktpartijen en andere organisaties. ‘Deze partijen hebben verschillende belangen en werken vanuit hun eigen terrein aan een duurzame leefomgeving.’ Om dit proces te faciliteren is er binnen Rijkswaterstaat de tool Omgevingswijzer ontwikkeld, met als doel de verschillende belangen overzichtelijk in kaart te brengen en zo tot een duurzame oplossing te komen voor het gebied. Dit rapport is het resultaat van een eerste verkenning naar de toegevoegde waarde van data voor omgevingsmanagers om in gesprek te gaan/raken met belanghebbenden en zo een duurzame oplossing na te streven. Hierbij is gekeken in hoeverre de integratie van ruimtelijke datasets kan worden gebruikt als onderbouwing of objectivering voor effecten op de huidige duurzaamheidsthema’s en/of het bijdraagt bij het formuleren van duurzaamheidsambities.

Thesis Summary Spatial information in public consultation within Environmental Impact Assessments Angela N. Mwenda Established in the United States of America in 1970, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an interdisciplinary approach that considers the anticipated impacts of development on the environment, and proposes timely mitigation of these impacts to the extent possible. Since then, EIA has continued to be established in countries worldwide, with modifications being made to suit regional and local requirements. Essential to EIA is an attempt to balance environmental concerns with social, economic and other human needs, which has led to partnership with society, to the extent that public participation is deeply incorporated into EIA. Also central to the EIA process is information related to the natural and human environment. Sources of this information, particularly those that contain spatial elements, are valuable due to their ability to provide information on location. Sources of spatial information are numerous, and may include photographs, maps, satellite images, orthophotographs, verbal descriptions, animations, and virtual reality, among others. Despite its innovative presentation of project-relevant information and communication function during public participation, debate exists on the value of spatial information to EIA. For example, high levels of visual realism may hinder the interpretation of spatial information, while high costs, and technical demands may cause certain types of spatial information to be inaccessible to a large number of stakeholders. These challenges are not unique to any one country, and have also been observed in developing countries, where, in addition to a deficiency of information, less developed and poorly enforced legislative, administrative, institutional and procedural frameworks for EIA intensify the challenges. For example, despite an official recommendation for the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya, whether this happens, and the extent, was largely undocumented. In view of this observation, an investigation into the use and status of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya was considered. The main objective of this research was to establish whether spatial information is used in public participation within EIA, and if so, the extent of its use. Three specific sub-objectives were developed, namely: to confirm the presence and extent of public participation within EIA in Kenya; to establish the extent to which spatial information is used in EIA in Kenya; and to evaluate, using case studies, the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya. Combined methods of surveys and case studies were used to address the sub-objectives earlier developed. In response to the first sub-objective, namely, to confirm the presence and extent of public participation within EIA in Kenya, five dimensions for the evaluation of public participation within EIA were identified from legal and best practice requirements. These five dimensions were: notification, participation methods, venue, language used, and type of participants, which were then constituted into a Consultation and Public Participation Index (CPPI), developed within this research to analyze a sample of 223 EIA Study Reports submitted to the Environment Authority between 2002 and 2010. EIA Study Reports record activities during the EIA Study Stage, where public participation activities are most intensive, hence their choice as a source of data for the survey. Following analysis of the five dimensions presented in the CPPI, public participation was found to be relatively low, with the highest score of 1.65 out of a possible score of 5. The dimensions of ‘participation methods’ and ‘type of participants’ scored the highest, followed by ‘venue’, ‘notification’, and ‘language used’, in that order. Variations within the dimensions was also evident during the study period. Despite a 95% mention of public participation in the EIA Study Reports, the low CPPI scores were attributed to gaps in reporting and limited choices per dimension. In response to the second sub-objective, namely, to establish the extent to which spatial information is used in EIA in Kenya, survey methods similar to those used to address the first sub-objective were employed, where a sample of 434 EIA Study Reports submitted to the Environment Authority between 2002 and 2013 were analyzed for the presence/absence of spatial presentations, levels of visual realism exhibited, and content presented in the spatial presentations. Almost all (95%) of the EIA Study Reports sampled displayed a variety of spatial presentation types, with preference for the combined use of spatial presentations with low and high levels of visual realism. On the content, information depicting a combination of project location and project activities/details was most popular. In response to the third sub-objective, namely, to evaluate, using case studies, the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya, two case studies were conducted, the first in Katani, in the Eastern Province of Kenya, and the second in Kericho, in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Both case studies were based on a conceptual framework developed in this research to assess the interplay between EIA, public participation, spatial information and type of participants. In both studies, EIA stages was limited to the EIA Study stage, levels of public participation was limited to ‘inform’, and categories of participants was limited to ‘affected persons’. Seven aspects of spatial information were deemed relevant to public participation, namely: availability, accessibility, content, appropriateness, language, translation, and technical support. In the first case study, all the seven aspects were evaluated, using a cadastral map, where it was established that the requirements for accessibility, language, translation and technical support were met, but those for availability were unsatisfactory, and unconfirmed for content and appropriateness. Out of the 7 aspects of spatial information that were deemed relevant to public participation, the second case study was limited to the aspect of ‘content’, and specifically distance perception. It was argued that distance perception is critical when determining potential benefits or threats from a proposed project. Three types of spatial presentations with different levels of visual realism were used, namely a topographic map, overlay map and aerial map. From this case study, preference was noted for topographic maps, indicating that higher levels of visual realism in spatial presentations were not always preferred. On whether maps improve distance perception, the results indicated that they encourage Euclidian distance perception. The unique point of the case studies was that they were conducted in ‘real-life’ settings, similar to those in which actual EIAs are carried out, as opposed to highly controlled and laboratory-like set ups. Two main innovations are evident: the consultation and public participation index (CPPI) and the conceptual framework developed in this research. The CPPI brought together, for the first time dimensions that are specifically relevant to public participation within EIA, that is, notification, participation methods, venue, language used, and type of participants. These dimensions offer the opportunity for deeper and more structured analysis of public participation within EIA, and the opportunity to improve practice. The second innovation, the conceptual framework, brought together the elements of EIA, public participation, spatial information and types of participants. The novelty of this conceptual framework was the combination of these elements and their placement within the framework of EIA, which will encourage in-depth investigation on their quality and effectiveness to EIA. Still related to the conceptual framework was the emphasis on ‘affected persons’, who often face direct impacts from development projects, yet are often not included in EIA public participation activities due to their low socio-economic status and challenges in accessing them, e.g. poor infrastructure and insecurity. It is due to their increased stake in any decision made that we specifically sought their opinions in this research.

Thesis Summary Spatial information in public consultation within Environmental Impact Assessments Angela N. Mwenda Established in the United States of America in 1970, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an interdisciplinary approach that considers the anticipated impacts of development on the environment, and proposes timely mitigation of these impacts to the extent possible. Since then, EIA has continued to be established in countries worldwide, with modifications being made to suit regional and local requirements. Essential to EIA is an attempt to balance environmental concerns with social, economic and other human needs, which has led to partnership with society, to the extent that public participation is deeply incorporated into EIA. Also central to the EIA process is information related to the natural and human environment. Sources of this information, particularly those that contain spatial elements, are valuable due to their ability to provide information on location. Sources of spatial information are numerous, and may include photographs, maps, satellite images, orthophotographs, verbal descriptions, animations, and virtual reality, among others. Despite its innovative presentation of project-relevant information and communication function during public participation, debate exists on the value of spatial information to EIA. For example, high levels of visual realism may hinder the interpretation of spatial information, while high costs, and technical demands may cause certain types of spatial information to be inaccessible to a large number of stakeholders. These challenges are not unique to any one country, and have also been observed in developing countries, where, in addition to a deficiency of information, less developed and poorly enforced legislative, administrative, institutional and procedural frameworks for EIA intensify the challenges. For example, despite an official recommendation for the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya, whether this happens, and the extent, was largely undocumented. In view of this observation, an investigation into the use and status of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya was considered. The main objective of this research was to establish whether spatial information is used in public participation within EIA, and if so, the extent of its use. Three specific sub-objectives were developed, namely: to confirm the presence and extent of public participation within EIA in Kenya; to establish the extent to which spatial information is used in EIA in Kenya; and to evaluate, using case studies, the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya. Combined methods of surveys and case studies were used to address the sub-objectives earlier developed. In response to the first sub-objective, namely, to confirm the presence and extent of public participation within EIA in Kenya, five dimensions for the evaluation of public participation within EIA were identified from legal and best practice requirements. These five dimensions were: notification, participation methods, venue, language used, and type of participants, which were then constituted into a Consultation and Public Participation Index (CPPI), developed within this research to analyze a sample of 223 EIA Study Reports submitted to the Environment Authority between 2002 and 2010. EIA Study Reports record activities during the EIA Study Stage, where public participation activities are most intensive, hence their choice as a source of data for the survey. Following analysis of the five dimensions presented in the CPPI, public participation was found to be relatively low, with the highest score of 1.65 out of a possible score of 5. The dimensions of ‘participation methods’ and ‘type of participants’ scored the highest, followed by ‘venue’, ‘notification’, and ‘language used’, in that order. Variations within the dimensions was also evident during the study period. Despite a 95% mention of public participation in the EIA Study Reports, the low CPPI scores were attributed to gaps in reporting and limited choices per dimension. In response to the second sub-objective, namely, to establish the extent to which spatial information is used in EIA in Kenya, survey methods similar to those used to address the first sub-objective were employed, where a sample of 434 EIA Study Reports submitted to the Environment Authority between 2002 and 2013 were analyzed for the presence/absence of spatial presentations, levels of visual realism exhibited, and content presented in the spatial presentations. Almost all (95%) of the EIA Study Reports sampled displayed a variety of spatial presentation types, with preference for the combined use of spatial presentations with low and high levels of visual realism. On the content, information depicting a combination of project location and project activities/details was most popular. In response to the third sub-objective, namely, to evaluate, using case studies, the use of spatial information during public participation within EIA in Kenya, two case studies were conducted, the first in Katani, in the Eastern Province of Kenya, and the second in Kericho, in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Both case studies were based on a conceptual framework developed in this research to assess the interplay between EIA, public participation, spatial information and type of participants. In both studies, EIA stages was limited to the EIA Study stage, levels of public participation was limited to ‘inform’, and categories of participants was limited to ‘affected persons’. Seven aspects of spatial information were deemed relevant to public participation, namely: availability, accessibility, content, appropriateness, language, translation, and technical support. In the first case study, all the seven aspects were evaluated, using a cadastral map, where it was established that the requirements for accessibility, language, translation and technical support were met, but those for availability were unsatisfactory, and unconfirmed for content and appropriateness. Out of the 7 aspects of spatial information that were deemed relevant to public participation, the second case study was limited to the aspect of ‘content’, and specifically distance perception. It was argued that distance perception is critical when determining potential benefits or threats from a proposed project. Three types of spatial presentations with different levels of visual realism were used, namely a topographic map, overlay map and aerial map. From this case study, preference was noted for topographic maps, indicating that higher levels of visual realism in spatial presentations were not always preferred. On whether maps improve distance perception, the results indicated that they encourage Euclidian distance perception. The unique point of the case studies was that they were conducted in ‘real-life’ settings, similar to those in which actual EIAs are carried out, as opposed to highly controlled and laboratory-like set ups. Two main innovations are evident: the consultation and public participation index (CPPI) and the conceptual framework developed in this research. The CPPI brought together, for the first time dimensions that are specifically relevant to public participation within EIA, that is, notification, participation methods, venue, language used, and type of participants. These dimensions offer the opportunity for deeper and more structured analysis of public participation within EIA, and the opportunity to improve practice. The second innovation, the conceptual framework, brought together the elements of EIA, public participation, spatial information and types of participants. The novelty of this conceptual framework was the combination of these elements and their placement within the framework of EIA, which will encourage in-depth investigation on their quality and effectiveness to EIA. Still related to the conceptual framework was the emphasis on ‘affected persons’, who often face direct impacts from development projects, yet are often not included in EIA public participation activities due to their low socio-economic status and challenges in accessing them, e.g. poor infrastructure and insecurity. It is due to their increased stake in any decision made that we specifically sought their opinions in this research.

Stratifications are made to divide environmental gradients into convenient units and then to use these as areas in which objects and variables might have relatively consistent characteristics. Statistical classification is a useful approach for obtaining this insight into complex environmental patterns and help to simplify heterogeneity. Traditional classifications of the environment are mostly subjective and based on expert knowledge. They are largely intended for descriptive purposes. Present day techniques now allow for continent wide statistically based environmental stratifications that can be applied consistently throughout Europe. Such environmental stratifications can provide the basis for assessment and monitoring biodiversity, land cover and land use and be a starting point for reporting on the European environment. The stratification presented here allows upscaling and downscaling, if needed to reach specified objectives. It can be applied in environmental reporting. Its application as a framework for land cover estimation is elaborated using Portuguese Land cover data.

Het project Omgaan met Onzekere Planobjecten bij monitoring en analyse van ruimtelijk beleid (GeO3) heeft in januari 2005 een hoge urgentie gekregen. Het project kon direct van start gaan; het bestrijkt drie jaar; het omvat een budget van 600.000 euro; penvoerder is Alterra; het consortium bestaat verder uit: DURP, TDKadaster, Nexpri, ESRI, TU Delft, Ravi, Nirov e.a.

Het RGI project GEOboer richt zich op de ontsluiting en uitwisseling van geo-informatie tussen het agrarisch bedrijf, de overheid en dienstverleners. In dit artikel wordt een overzicht gegeven van geomatica toepassingen op bedrijfsniveau, waarbij ook het belang van standaardisatie wordt onderstreept

Een golfbaan in Drenthe heeft na hevige regenval, oktober 1998, langdurig onder water gestaan. Begin 2005 werd Alterra verzocht om modelmatig feitelijk aan te tonen, dat de inundatie het gevolg was van de regenbuien. Geconcludeerd wordt, dat de golfbaan 18 tot 23 dagen onder water moet hebben gestaan; door eerdere regenval stond het golfterrein al onder water; als de hevige buien van eind oktober niet gevallen waren, zou er slechts van 4 dagen wateroverlast sprake zijn geweest

Na jarenlange aarzelende discussies over NGII komt de ontwikkeling ervan nu eindelijk goed op gang. De vraag 'waarheen met GNII' dient per land beantwoord te worden. Vanuit het programma 'ruimte voor geo-informatie' wordt een aanzet gegeven voor discussie. Dit artikel dient als een aanzet tot discussie