Version 1
: Received: 10 October 2024 / Approved: 11 October 2024 / Online: 11 October 2024 (14:23:00 CEST)
How to cite:
Kuntzman, J.; Brom, J. From Fields to Microclimate: Assessing the Influence of Agricultural Landscape Structure on Vegetation Cover and Local Climate in Central Europe. Preprints2024, 2024100891. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0891.v1
Kuntzman, J.; Brom, J. From Fields to Microclimate: Assessing the Influence of Agricultural Landscape Structure on Vegetation Cover and Local Climate in Central Europe. Preprints 2024, 2024100891. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0891.v1
Kuntzman, J.; Brom, J. From Fields to Microclimate: Assessing the Influence of Agricultural Landscape Structure on Vegetation Cover and Local Climate in Central Europe. Preprints2024, 2024100891. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0891.v1
APA Style
Kuntzman, J., & Brom, J. (2024). From Fields to Microclimate: Assessing the Influence of Agricultural Landscape Structure on Vegetation Cover and Local Climate in Central Europe. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0891.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Kuntzman, J. and Jakub Brom. 2024 "From Fields to Microclimate: Assessing the Influence of Agricultural Landscape Structure on Vegetation Cover and Local Climate in Central Europe" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0891.v1
Abstract
Agricultural intensification through simplification and specialisation has homogenised diverse landscapes, reducing their heterogeneity and complexity. While the negative impact of large, simplified fields on biodiversity is well-documented, the role of landscape structure in mitigating and stabilising climate is becoming increasingly important. Despite considerable knowledge of landscape cover types, the understanding of how landscape structure influences climatic characteristics remains limited. To explore this further, we studied an area along the Czech-Austrian border, where socio-political factors have created stark contrasts in landscape structure, despite similar topography. Using Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) data, we analysed the landscape structure on both sides, and processed eight Landsat 8 and 9 OLI/TIRS scenes from the 2022 vegetation season to calculate vegetation indices (NDVI, NDMI) and microclimatic features (surface temperature, albedo, and energy fluxes). Our findings reveal significant differences between the two regions. Czech fields, with their larger, simpler structure and lower edge density, experience more extreme temperatures and fluctuating energy fluxes, while Austrian fields exhibit greater stability. These patterns are consistent across landscape classes, with Austria’s finer landscape structure providing higher stability throughout the vegetation season. In light of climate change and biodiversity conservation, these results emphasise the need to protect and restore landscape complexity to enhance resilience and environmental stability.
Keywords
landscape structure; microclimate; energy fluxes; farmland; stability; Landsat
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
