| 1. |
- Adolf, Carole, et al.
(författare)
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The sedimentary and remote-sensing reflection of biomass burning in Europe
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : WILEY. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 27:2, s. 199-212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: We provide the first European-scale geospatial training set relating the charcoal signal in surface lake sediments to fire parameters (number, intensity and area) recorded by satellite moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. Our calibration is intended for quantitative reconstructions of key fire-regime parameters by using sediment sequences of microscopic (MIC from pollen slides, particles 10-500 mu m) and macroscopic charcoal (MAC from sieves, particles > 100 mu m). Location: North-south and east-west transects across Europe, covering the mediterranean, temperate, alpine, boreal and steppe biomes. Time period: Lake sediments and MODIS active fire and burned area products were collected for the years 2012-2015. Methods: Cylinder sediment traps were installed in lakes to annually collect charcoal particles in sediments. We quantitatively assessed the relationships between MIC and MAC influx (particles/cm(2)/year) and the MODIS-derived products to identify source areas of charcoal and the extent to which lake-sediment charcoal is linked to fire parameters across the continent. Results: Source area of sedimentary charcoal was estimated to a 40-km radius around sites for both MIC and MAC particles. Fires occurred in grasslands and in forests, with grass morphotypes of MAC accurately reflecting the burned fuel-type. Despite the lack of local fires around the sites, MAC influx levels reached those reported for local fires. Both MIC and MAC showed strong and highly significant relationships with the MODIS-derived fire parameters, as well as with climatic variation along a latitudinal temperature gradient. Main conclusions: MIC and MAC are suited to quantitatively reconstructing fire number and fire intensity on a regional scale. However, burned area may only be estimated using MAC. Local fires may be identified by using several lines of evidence, e.g. analysis of large particles (> 600 mu m), magnetic susceptibility and sedimentological data. Our results offer new insights and applications to quantitatively reconstruct fires and to interpret available sedimentary charcoal records.
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| 2. |
- Ferrara, Vincenza, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Change and Persistence in an Olive Landscape of Sicily. Geospatial Insights Into Biocultural Heritage
- 2024
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Ingår i: Human Ecology. - 0300-7839 .- 1572-9915.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intercropping landscapes characterised by the presence of certain plant features are usually considered traditional landscapes, important for their biocultural heritage. In recent decades, olive agroforestry systems previously widespread throughout Sicily have transitioned to monocultures alongside the disappearance of other tree species. To analyse the dynamics of land use, we combine mathematical representations and oral narratives of spatial change, focussing our case study on a rural area of inner Sicily, Cozzo del Lampo, characterised by a high presence of century-old olive trees. By using local geonarratives in combination with the results of change detection analysis using historical aerial images spanning 50 years (1955 - 2005), we gain insights into the relationality of people and places over time, highlighting how biocultural heritage is correlated to both local culture and ecology, and demonstrating the value of ecological perspectives to understand past and current human actions. The active engagement of the local population in the interpretation of their own (past-present) practices is key to access new ecological knowledge.
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| 3. |
- Ferrara, Vincenza, et al.
(författare)
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Scaffolding geospatial epistemic discomfort : a pedagogical framework for cross-disciplinary landscape research
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of geography in higher education. - 0309-8265 .- 1466-1845. ; , s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current environmental crises call for an integrated knowledge of landscapes and their ecosystems in a broader sense. This article presents a pedagogical framework for cross-disciplinary landscape research at postgraduate level. The framework is grounded in the use of geospatial epistemic discomfort as a creative force to develop and enhance inquiry skills able to cross and merge disciplinary boundaries. Developed within the Erasmus+ KA2 project “CROSSLAND”, the pedagogical framework is based on the scaffolding of epistemic discomfort through four key didactic elements: 1) cross-disciplinary group work and open-ended assignment, 2) in-field inquiry as pre-training on space-time, 3) replacement of traditional lectures by student-led seminars, 4) GIS labs centred on the exploration of cross-disciplinary portfolios of geospatial approaches and methods given as worked-out examples. Main results from the evaluation of the framework implementation in a Summer School show how learning cross-disciplinarity happened thanks to a scaffolding that allowed, first and foremost, the socialisation of different conceptualisations of space. While students felt at ease with geospatial epistemic discomfort, we can conclude that spatial cognitive processes are powerful in improving abilities beyond the spatial domain.
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| 4. |
- Ferrara, Vincenza, et al.
(författare)
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Scaffolding geospatial epistemic discomfort : a pedagogical framework for cross-disciplinary landscape research
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of geography in higher education. - : Routledge. - 0309-8265 .- 1466-1845.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current environmental crises call for an integrated knowledge of landscapes and their ecosystems in a broader sense. This article presents a pedagogical framework for cross-disciplinary landscape research at postgraduate level. The framework is grounded in the use of geospatial epistemic discomfort as a creative force to develop and enhance inquiry skills able to cross and merge disciplinary boundaries. Developed within the Erasmus+ KA2 project “CROSSLAND”, the pedagogical framework is based on the scaffolding of epistemic discomfort through four key didactic elements: 1) cross-disciplinary group work and open-ended assignment, 2) in-field inquiry as pre-training on space-time, 3) replacement of traditional lectures by student-led seminars, 4) GIS labs centred on the exploration of cross-disciplinary portfolios of geospatial approaches and methods given as worked-out examples. Main results from the evaluation of the framework implementation in a Summer School show how learning cross-disciplinarity happened thanks to a scaffolding that allowed, first and foremost, the socialisation of different conceptualisations of space. While students felt at ease with geospatial epistemic discomfort, we can conclude that spatial cognitive processes are powerful in improving abilities beyond the spatial domain.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Ferrara, Vincenza, et al.
(författare)
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The green granary of the Empire? Insights into olive agroforestry in Sicily (Italy) from the Roman past and the present
- 2023
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Ingår i: Italian Journal of Agronomy. - : PAGEPRESS PUBL. - 1125-4718 .- 2039-6805. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Groves with ancient olive trees (Olea europaea L.) could be considered remnants of old agroforestry systems. Anything but static, these agro-ecosystems have undergone drastic transformational processes in Mediterranean countries, where abandonment or intensification have been observed far more than continuity, expansion or renaissance, leading to environmental degradation of rural areas. Starting from this assumption and inspired by historical ecology and historical geography, we consider centuries-old olive trees as living archives of human-nature interactions and are thus proxies of past agroforestry. Our aim is to better understand what has driven dynamics of change and persistence, happening today as well as in the past. We first travel backward in time, looking at the ecology of land management systems during the Roman period (ca 200 BC-400 AD) and late Antiquity (ca AD 400-700). The special focus is the island of Sicily, the granary of the Empire, well known as a region where cereal production increased around the latifundia economy. We reconstruct the diversity of land tenure and the ecology of such complex systems, by combining records from Roman agriculturalists and palaeoenvironmental evidence of the past. We then zoom out, to look at today’s management practices in olive groves, thus drawing a parallel between Antiquity and today. Our work provides valuable insights into the correlation between certain organisation models, ecological strategies and adaptation capacity over the long term, clearly showing that human and nature dimensions are interconnected. Such entanglement may be a key element for ensuring these agroecosystems resilience. All elements that may contribute to the re-invention of sustainable forms of their management, for the present and the future.
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