Landscape structure and biodiversity of woody plants in the agricultural landscape

Agricultural landscapes in urban environments by the example of Christchurch, New Zealand

“…If we compare New Zealand family backyards with those European ones [Bihuňová and Kubišta 2007], we arrive at the conclusion that there is a similar trend in using the family gardens and backyards for recreational purposes, although the selected urban production garden pattern confirms that there is also another approach aiming at foodself-supply of households which agrees with the findings of Tóth and Feriancová [2013]. Concerning the farmland structure and the production type, the large-scale agriculture around Christchurch differs in two basic attributes from the Central European cases [Supuka et al 2013a] -1) there is a higher occurrence of shelterbelts and other types of non-forest woody vegetation on New Zealand farmlands; 2) the dominant form of agriculture around Christchurch is animal farming, while crop farming has a much lower share than in Europe. The analysed lifestyle blocks around Christchurch stand for a specific form of suburbanization and urban sprawling on high-quality farmland, which agrees with the findings of Andrew and Dymond [2013].…”

Species composition and diversity of non-forest woody vegetation along roads in the agricultural landscape

“…Based on the findings of the field research and according to several national and international policy documents -the Slovak National Act No. 543/2002 on Nature and Landscape Protection, the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the European Landscape Convention and authors Kurz et al (2011), Sitzia et al (2013), Supuka et al (2013), it is necessary, that native plant species are enhanced in the landscape, since they significantly impact the regional and local landscape identity, character and visual design. It is therefore highly recommended that regionally suitable native woody plant species are preferred to non-native woody plant species, as required by the Slovak National Act No.…”

“…The woody component along field edges often provides the only permanent elements of structural and biological diversity in landscapes that have lost much of their naturalness in the process of urbanisation and intensification of agriculture (Sitzia et al 2013). Non-forest woody vegetation formations are purposefully designed elements in cultural landscapes, which have been created in order to support optimal and efficient land use (Kurz et al 2011;Supuka et al 2013;Demková & Mida 2014), they have an indispensable position in our landscape, since they participate in the comprehensive formation of the landscape character, especially in scarcely forested flatlands with dominance of light and dry soils. Furthermore, they protect the landscape against erosion; function as bio-corridors and linkages between landscape sections; regulate the climate, including wind movement; prevent expansion of dust and noise and affect the radiation, temperature and moisture regimes of air and soil (Lampartová et al 2015).…”

“…According to Schaefer (1991) and Kuhn et al (1991), trees are essential in sustainable agricultural systems to provide continuous and long-term crop and resource protection and a wide range of valuable benefits. Our landscapes are exposed to conti-nuously increasing effects of the changing climate (Brandle et al 2004), including drought risk that threatens not only forests (Hlásny et al 2014) but also agricultural landscapes (Supuka et al 2013). Melo et al (2013) state that climate has become warmer and more arid in the adjacent lowlands of Slovak Carpathians, e.g.…”

Viburnum tinus L. as a new Mediterranean element for central Europe urban landscapes

“…Every landscape is changing in the course of the historic development and this is expressed mainly by its character and the areal share 3 of secondary landscape structure components, Landscape as a territorial system of physical and biological elements is extremely rich in its diversity and represents not only natural but also anthropogenic cultural heritage [2]; [3]; [4]. According to [5] the ability of woody plants to cold harden is promoted in early autumn in leaves where sugars and other protective substances accumulate, proteins are rearranged, the cells become less turgid and the central vacuole is divided into many small vacuoles.…”