Topographic Exposure and its Practical Applications

Mikita, Tomáš; Klimánek, Martin

doi:10.2478/v10285-012-0022-3

Cited by 27 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(9 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…By using an altitude angle of 58 hillshade additionally represents the potential wind exposure from a given direction (Boose et al 1994, Mikita andKlimánek 2010). Using this tool and wind speed and direction data for Denmark we created a map of potential wind exposure for all Denmark.…”

Section: Appendix Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Citation: Moeslund, J. E., L. Arge, P. K. Bøcher, T. Dalgaard, M. V. Odgaard, B. Nygaard, and J.-C. Svenning. 2013.Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region. Ecosphere 4(7):91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00134.1Abstract. Topography is recognized as an important factor in controlling plant distribution and diversity patterns, but its scale dependence and the underlying mechanisms by which it operates are not well understood. Here, we used novel high-resolution (2-m scale) topographic data from more than 30500 vegetation plots to assess the importance of topography for local plant diversity and distribution patterns across Denmark, a 43000 km 2 lowland region. The vegetation data came from 901 nature conservation sites (mean size ¼ 0.16 km 2 ) distributed throughout Denmark, each having an average of 34 plots (five-meter radius) per site. We employed a variety of statistical measures and techniques to investigate scale dependence and mechanistic drivers operating within the study region. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression modeling scaled at different spatial resolutions (2 3 2, 10 3 10, 50 3 50, 100 3 100 and 250 3 250 m) was used to identify the horizontal resolution yielding the strongest vegetation-topography relationships. Using data scaled at this resolution, we quantified local (within-site) and regional (among sites) relationships between elevation, mechanistic topographic factors (slope, heat index, potential solar radiation, wind exposure, wetness index) and 10 vegetation measures representing species composition, richness and functional composition (average plant preferences along key environmental niche axes). We also investigated how overall site-level environmental characteristics affect the strength of these local relationships. Topography exerted the strongest effects at the 10 3 10 m horizontal resolution scale. Elevation exerted the strongest influence on vegetation, followed by slope and wetness. Topography generally affected all vegetation measures and exhibited the strongest local relationships with the main species-compositional gradient, the main functional gradient and the plant's average soil moisture preference. The strength of these relationships was strongly influenced by habitat and site-level average moisture conditions, with the strongest relationships found in wet habitats. Our findings show that finescale topography can strongly influence local vegetation patterns across a wide range of habitat types even in low-relief lowland regions. Notably, topography exhibited a consistently strong relationship with the main local floristic and functional compositional gradients. While a plurality of underlying mechanisms may contribute to the relationship between topography and vegetation patterns, topographically controlled soil moisture exerts primary control on the relationship.

show abstract

Section: Appendix Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 'Hillshade' tool (Spatial Analyst, ArcGIS 10, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California, USA) was used to represent topographically controlled wind exposure according to methods described by Mikita and Klimánek (2010). See Appendix B for details.…”

Section: Vegetation and Topographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With regard to the transfer of airborne pollutants, particular attention was given in the analysis to air currents and relief. The analysis was conducted using the topographic exposure method (Mikita and Klimanek, 2010).…”

Section: Methodological Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to consider the influence of the surrounding relief in addition to wind direction, GIS analysis was carried out to determine the topographic exposure (TE), which reflects the degree of exposure or isolation of the locality from air currents caused by the local topography, i.e. from the properties of the relief, such as its height, extension and separation (Mikita and Klimanek, 2010). To ensure greater precision, this is calculated on the basis of 16 directions.…”

Section: S O C I O L O G I J a I P R O S T O Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Issue of Landfill Location: Example of the Tarno Site (Zagreb County, Croatia)

Buzjak

Vuk²,

Jakovčić

2015

Sip

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Considering the growing problem of waste disposal, this paper analyses the spatial distribution, legal and sociological framework, and relevant environmental components of existing waste landfills in Zagreb County (geological, hydrogeological and geomorphological features of the locations, climate). In addition to potential ecological and health consequences, waste disposal often has complex social and economic consequences for the surrounding locations. Therefore, these environmental aspects were also used to analyse the justification of decision to select the location Tarno as a potential county waste management centre. This is an interesting case since it aroused negative reactions from political structures and the local population of the nearby Town of Ivanić Grad. In addition to the environmental parameters, the topographic exposure index of the wider area was determined. This is based on the characteristics of the wind rose in order to identify areas of maximum exposure to the negative impact of odour due to the prevailing air currents. Special attention was paid to the buffer zone up to 3000 m from the location of potential landfill sites. Considering the strong resistance towards the selection of this location for a county waste management centre, the attitudes of local residents, their level of knowledge and their awareness of the issue were also examined. The existence of the NIMBY syndrome and YIAMBY was also tested.

show abstract

“…A landscape can be broken down into localities differently affected by passing large weather events - largely determining the local mesoclimate. Topographic exposure has been defined as a geomorphometric feature that is characterised by its degree of protection by the surrounding landscape [12], [13]. The geomorphometry of a landscape can be assessed by means of digital elevation models (DEM) in the GIS (Geographical Information System) environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Hurricane Exposure and Wind Speed on a Mesoclimate Scale: A Case Study from Cusuco NP, Honduras

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High energy weather events are often expected to play a substantial role in biotic community dynamics and large scale diversity patterns but their contribution is hard to prove. Currently, observations are limited to the documentation of accidental records after the passing of such events. A more comprehensive approach is synthesising weather events in a location over a long time period, ideally at a high spatial resolution and on a large geographic scale. We provide a detailed overview on how to generate hurricane exposure data at a meso-climate level for a specific region. As a case study we modelled landscape hurricane exposure in Cusuco National Park (CNP), Honduras with a resolution of 50 m×50 m patches. We calculated actual hurricane exposure vulnerability site scores (EVVS) through the combination of a wind pressure model, an exposure model that can incorporate simple wind dynamics within a 3-dimensional landscape and the integration of historical hurricanes data. The EVSS was calculated as a weighted function of sites exposure, hurricane frequency and maximum wind velocity. Eleven hurricanes were found to have affected CNP between 1995 and 2010. The highest EVSS’s were predicted to be on South and South-East facing sites of the park. Ground validation demonstrated that the South-solution (i.e. the South wind inflow direction) explained most of the observed tree damage (90% of the observed tree damage in the field). Incorporating historical data to the model to calculate actual hurricane exposure values, instead of potential exposure values, increased the model fit by 50%.

show abstract

Topographic Exposure and its Practical Applications

Cited by 27 publications

References 8 publications

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

The Issue of Landfill Location: Example of the Tarno Site (Zagreb County, Croatia)

Modelling Hurricane Exposure and Wind Speed on a Mesoclimate Scale: A Case Study from Cusuco NP, Honduras

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About