Effects of environmental protection policies on fragile areas of a watershed occupied by agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado

Identification of Ecological Hotspots Using the Eco-track: Case of Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India

Ecological conservation and sustainable land management are vital endeavors in the face of rising anthropogenic pressures and habitat deterioration. Accurate and effective evaluation techniques are essential for identifying regions that are of ecological relevance and concern. The present research introduces an innovative approach using geospatial tools to detect natural hotspots and deficits within a landscape. The research incorporates six essential ecological parameters, namely spatial variability, vegetation health, road network connectivity, fragmentation, biological richness, and habitat areas, obtained from existing literature studies. These parameters indicate the overall health of ecosystems and the extent of biodiversity present, which are crucial for developing effective strategies for ecological planning. The research project aims to use geospatial applications to identify the "ecological rich", "ecological moderate" or "ecological deficit" areas in the study area and to establish a model framework for automating the geospatial analysis. The resulting map offers a comprehensive and practical depiction of the ecological condition of the landscape, facilitating decision-makers in strategically allocating resources for conservation and restoration initiatives. The importance of this research resides in its capacity to streamline and automate what was previously a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure. This innovative approach empowers conservationists, land managers, and policymakers with a powerful tool "Eco-track' to identify and prioritize ecological hotspots and deficits, ultimately fostering more effective and targeted efforts in preserving the natural heritage.

Multicriteria spatial model to prioritize degraded areas for landscape restoration through agroforestry

Reconciling the restoration of ecosystem services within agricultural landscapes is an effort that has been advancing within degraded areas restoration through agroforestry systems. However, to contribute to the effectiveness of these initiatives, it is essential to integrate landscape vulnerability and local demands to better highlight in which areas the implementation of agroforestry systems should be prioritized. Thus, we developed a spatial hierarchization methodology as a decision support tool as an active strategy for agroecosystem restoration. The proposed method constitutes a spatial indicator of priority areas to guide agroforestry interventions, including resource allocation and public policies for payment for environmental services. The methodology consists of Multicriteria Decision Analysis implemented in GIS software by combining input datasets based on biophysical conditions, environmental and socioeconomic aspects, that integrated promotes an assessment of the environment fragility, the pressures and responses to land use dynamic; a strategy for landscape restoration and conservation of the natural habitats, and multiple specific scenarios for decision making regarding the agricultural and the local actors demands. The output of the model provides the spatial distribution of areas suitable for the implementation of agroforestry systems, sorted into four priority levels (Low, Medium, High, and Extreme priority). The method is a promising tool proposal for territorial management and governance and subsidizes future research on the flows of ecosystem services.•Assessment of the environment fragility and the pressures and responses to land use dynamic.•Strategy for landscape restoration and conservation of remaining natural habitats.•Multiple specific scenarios for decision making regarding the agricultural and the local actors demands.