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Historical baselines of forest conditions provide reference states to assess how forests have changed through time. In California, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) provides tree inventory data between 1872 and 1884 at 93.2‐km2 (36 mi2) resolution. Although these data provide a spatially extensive record of settlement‐era forest conditions, reconstructions using PLSS data have been limited and controversial in western landscapes. Recent improvements in the application of plotless density estimators (PDE) have made reconstructions more accurate and robust. The purpose of this study was to use PDE to reconstruct the settlement‐era forest conditions in Six Rivers National Forest—a floristically diverse temperate forest in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California—to quantify differences with modern conditions. Records of fires and harvests were used in conjunction with the PLSS data to understand the influence of forest management during the previous century. The contemporary forest in Six Rivers contains three times more trees than in the settlement era with a comparable increase in tree basal area. Forest composition during the settlement era was predominantly Douglas‐fir (34.4%), pine (24.2%), and oak (21.9%) by basal area. Contemporary forests support more Douglas‐fir (45.2%) and a similar amount of pine (26.1%), while oaks have decreased by more than half (9.3%). These increases in tree abundance occurred despite extensive, mid‐century timber harvesting in Six Rivers. Although large fires have burned in Six Rivers between 2000 and 2019, far fewer fires occurred during the twentieth century. Our results suggest that effective fire suppression contributed to the densification of the contemporary forests in Six Rivers.

The accuracy of methods for reconstructing parameters (e.g., tree density) of historical forest structure from General Land Office (GLO) survey data has not been thoroughly assessed. Past simulation and statistical assessments of plotless density estimators have focused on minimizing estimation error, but not congruent with the specific data available in the GLO surveys. Most GLO reconstruction studies do not reconstruct absolute measures of density, basal area, or diameter-class distributions, key measures used for forest restoration. We tested the accuracy of a suite of plotless density estimators and other survey methods to accurately reconstruct forest attributes using both a field-based modern calibration and a cross-validation with tree-ring reconstructions. In addition to the common distance estimators, we developed several Voronoi-based plotless density estimators that can be used with GLO data. Estimators were assessed using modern survey and plot data collected in the same location and spatial arrangement as the original survey locations in three geographically distinct areas. Results showed that Voronoi-based density estimators were superior to distance-based estimators. Data need to be pooled across locations. Voronoi estimators yielded more accurate measures of density and basal area and can be used at smaller pooling levels without sacrificing much accuracy. At spatial extents of 260 and 520 ha (3- and 6-corner pools), relative mean absolute error (RMAE) averaged 29%% and 22%%, respectively, for density estimates in all three study areas. To estimate basal area as accurately (i.e., 23%%), data must be pooled to 780 ha (9-corner pool). Composition and diameter-class distributions also required larger pooling areas to achieve accurate results. In the cross-validation, accuracy of density and basal area were both superior to accuracy in the modern calibration, and RMAE for density and basal area at all pooling levels averaged 16.6%% and 15.7%%, respectively. Composition and diameter-class distribution estimates were lower in accuracy. Voronoi-based methods can accurately estimate historical forest parameters across large landscapes and are accurate at finer scales (e.g., 260 ha, 3-corner pool) than previously thought possible. GLO reconstructions complement tree-ring reconstructions but can provide more spatially comprehensive estimates of the historical range of forest variability, facilitating landscape-level restoration.

Increasing land ownership fragmentation in the United States is causing concerns with respect to its ecological implications for forested landscapes. This is especially relevant given that human influence is one of the most significant driving forces affecting the forest landscape. A method for generating realistic land ownership maps is needed to evaluate the effects of ownership fragmentation on forest landscapes in combination with other natural processes captured in forest process models. Ownership patterns from human activities usually generate landscape boundary shapes different from those arising from natural processes. Spatial characteristics among ownership types – e.g., private, public ownership – may also differ. To address these issues, we developed the Fragmented Land Ownership Spatial Simulator (FLOSS) to generate ownership patterns that reflect the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) shapes and various patch size distributions among different types of ownership (e.g., private, public). To evaluate FLOSS performance, we compared the simulated patterns with various ownership fragmentation levels to the actual ownership patterns in the Missouri Ozarks by using selected landscape indices. FLOSS generated landscapes with spatial characteristics similar to actual landscapes, suggesting that it can simulate different levels of ownership fragmentation. This will allow FLOSS to serve as a feasible tool for evaluating forest management applications by spatially allocating various management scenarios in a realistic way. The potentials and limitations of FLOSS application are discussed.

Fitis a book about architecture and society that seeks to fundamentally change how architects and the public think about the task of design. Distinguished architect and urbanist Robert Geddes argues that buildings, landscapes, and cities should be designed to fit: fit the purpose, fit the place, fit future possibilities. Fit replaces old paradigms, such as form follows function, and less is more, by recognizing that the relationship between architecture and society is a true dialogue--dynamic, complex, and, if carried out with knowledge and skill, richly rewarding. With a tip of the hat to John Dewey,Fitexplores architecture as we experience it. Geddes starts with questions: Why do we design where we live and work? Why do we not just live in nature, or in chaos? Why does society care about architecture? Why does it really matter?Fitanswers these questions through a fresh examination of the basic purposes and elements of architecture--beginning in nature, combining function and expression, and leaving a legacy of form. Lively, charming, and gently persuasive, the book shows brilliant examples of fit: from Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia and Louis Kahn's Exeter Library to contemporary triumphs such as the Apple Store on New York's Fifth Avenue, Chicago's Millennium Park, and Seattle's Pike Place. Fitis a book for everyone, because we all live in constructions--buildings, landscapes, and, increasingly, cities. It provokes architects and planners, humanists and scientists, civic leaders and citizens to reconsider what is at stake in architecture--and why it delights us.

Of the two major classes of boundaries, metes and bounds and general land office (GLO), GLO retracements probably provide the greater number of guidelines that are more positive for the retracing surveyor. This chapter is dedicated solely to the GLO (Public Land Survey (PLS)) system of boundary creation, which is unique mainly to the United States. Before boundaries can be redefined or relocated, they must first be created. The chapter describes and explains various methods of creating boundaries. It talks about a set of eight principles regarding surveys and manuals for surveyors including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manual. The chapter explains how the early surveyors prepared their work so that the modern‐day retracement surveyor can know what to look for by research and where to look for the evidence of the original survey, or, as the courts state, the footsteps left by the original surveyors.

This chapter contains sections titled: General Original Surveys Retracement Surveys Preserving the Evidence in Words: A Case Study Reference to Plats in Descriptions

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Study area Sample design Sample preparation and chemical analysis Results and discussion Conclusions Acknowledgements References

Historical land use can influence forest species composition and structure for centuries after direct use hás ceased. In Wisconsin, USA, Euro-American settlement in the mid-to late 1800s was accompanied by widespread logging, agricultural conversion, and fire suppression. To determine the maximum magnitude of change in forest ecosystems at the height of the agricultural period and the degree of recovery since that time, we assessed changes in forest species composition and structure among the (1) mid-1800s, at the onset of Euro-American settlement; (2) 1930s, at the height of the agricultural period; and (3) 2000s, following forest regrowth. Data sources included the original U.S. Public Land Survey records (mid-1800s), the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory (1930s), and U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data (2000s). We derived maps of relative species dominance and tree diameters for the three dates and assessed change using spatial error models, nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination, and Sørenson distance measures. Our results suggest that since the mid-1800s, hemlock and white pine have declined in absolute area from 22% to 1%, and the proportion of medium (25-<50 cm) and large-diameter (≥ 50 cm) trees of all species has decreased from 71% to 27% across the entire state. Early-suceessional aspen-birch is three times more common than in the mid-1800s (9% vs. 3%), and maple and other shade-tolerant species are increasing in southern areas formerly dominated by oak forests and savannas. Since the peak agricultural extent in the 1930s, species composition and tree size in northern forests have shown some recovery, while southern forests appear to be on a novel trajectory of change. There is evidence of regional homogenization, but the broad north-south environmental gradient in Wisconsin constrains overall species composition. Although the nature of the future forests will be determined in part by climate change and other exogenous variables, land use is likely to remain the driving factor.

Diversified farms have received considerable attention for their potential to contribute to environmentally sustainable, resilient, and socially just food systems. In response, some governments are building new forms of public support for social-ecological services through the creation of mediated markets, such as targeted public food procurement programs. Here, we examine the relationship between farmer participation in Brazil’s National School Feeding Program and farm diversification and household autonomy, as key indicators of farm household resilience. We hypothesized that two key features of the food procurement program—structured demand for diversified food products, and a price premium for certified organic and agroecological production—would increase farm-level agrobiodiversity and the use of agroecological practices. We designed a comparative study between family farmers who do, and do not, participate in Brazil’s National School Feeding Program in the plateau region of Santa Catarina in Southern Brazil. We used semi-structured surveys to collect data on farm agrobiodiversity, management practices, and farm household autonomy, and we conducted land use history assessments. Here, we suggest for the first time that the National School Feeding Program played a role in driving the following: (1) transitions on family farms from low agrobiodiversity, input-intensive farming systems to diversified farming systems (i.e., horticultural production) and (2) a significant increase in the cropped area under diversified farming systems. This transition was supported by making horticultural production an economically viable alternative to field crops typically linked to volatile, unpredictable markets. The convergence of public policies supporting mediated markets, increased farm household autonomy, and farm diversification represents an integrated mechanism with the potential to enhance food system resilience.

1. Despite urbanization being a major driver of land-use change globally, there have been few attempts to quantify and map ecosystem service provision at a city-wide scale. One service that is an increasingly important feature of climate change mitigation policies, and with other potential benefits, is biological carbon storage. 2. We examine the quantities and spatial patterns of above-ground carbon stored in a typical British city, Leicester, by surveying vegetation across the entire urban area. We also consider how carbon density differs in domestic gardens, indicative of bottom-up management of private green spaces by householders, and public land, representing top-down landscape policies by local authorities. Finally, we compare a national ecosystem service map with the estimated quantity and distribution of above-ground carbon within our study city. 3. An estimated 231 521 tonnes of carbon is stored within the above-ground vegetation of Leicester, equating to 3.16 kg C m⁻² of urban area, with 97.3% of this carbon pool being associated with trees rather than herbaceous and woody vegetation. 4. Domestic gardens store just 0.76 kg C m⁻², which is not significantly different from herbaceous vegetation landcover (0.14 kg C m⁻²). The greatest above-ground carbon density is 28.86 kg C m⁻², which is associated with areas of tree cover on publicly owned/managed sites. 5. Current national estimates of this ecosystem service undervalue Leicester's contribution by an order of magnitude. 6. Synthesis and applications. The UK government has recently set a target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, from 1990 levels, by 2050. Local authorities are central to national efforts to cut carbon emissions, although the reductions required at city-wide scales are yet to be set. This has led to a need for reliable data to help establish and underpin realistic carbon emission targets and reduction trajectories, along with acceptable and robust policies for meeting these goals. Here, we illustrate the potential benefits of accounting for, mapping and appropriately managing aboveground vegetation carbon stores, even within a typical densely urbanized European city.