Search results for "Spatial heterogeneity"
showing 10 items of 71 documents
Exploratory spatial data analysis of the distribution of regional per capita GDP in Europe, 1980-1995
2000
The aim of this paper is to study the dynamics of European regional per capita product over time and space. This purpose is achieved by using the recently developed methods of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis. Using a sample of European regions over the 1980-1995 period, we find strong evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation in per capita GDP throughout the period. The detection of clusters of high and low per capita products during the period is an indication of the persistence of spatial disparities between European regions. This analysis is finally refined by the investigation of the spatial pattern of regional growth. Key words:exploratory spatial data analysis; distributi…
The influence of geography on the spatial agglomeration of production in the European Union
2012
Abstract We investigate the relative impact of geographic features on the location of production in the European Union. Specifically, we attempt to quantify how much of the spatial pattern of GDP can be attributed to exogenous first-nature elements alone and how much can be derived from endogenous second-nature factors. In order to disentangle both effects empirically, we control for second-nature factors. A method based on the decomposition of the per capita GDP variance is applied to a panel of 1,171 European NUTS 3 regions for 2006. We demonstrate that variable and model misspecifications may bias results unless proper allowance is made for spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogenei…
Assessment of inputs to land surface processes models derived from hyperspectral multiangular data
2002
Global Models of the Earth - Atmosphere System describe the role of the terrestrial biosphere using increasingly complex Land Surface Models (LSM). These models mimic the exchange of energy, water and carbon between the land and the atmosphere, with emphasis on the role of terrestrial vegetation. Literature shows a clear trend towards fully interactive LSM-s, i.e. accounting for the dynamic response of vegetation to weather and climate. The latter may not be limited to biomass accumulation and address slower changes in vegetation type and composition. Improving the performance of such models require addressing two broad questions: Can we measure vegetation properties with the accuracy requi…
Spatial patterns of woody plant and bird diversity: functional relationships or environmental effects?
2008
Aim To understand cross-taxon spatial congruence patterns of bird and woody plant species richness. In particular, to test the relative roles of functional relationships between birds and woody plants, and the direct and indirect environmental effects on broad-scale species richness of both groups. Location Kenya. Methods Based on comprehensive range maps of all birds and woody plants (native species > 2.5 m in height) in Kenya, we mapped species richness of both groups. We distinguished species richness of four different avian frugivore guilds (obligate, partial, opportunistic and non-frugivores) and fleshy-fruited and non-fleshy-fruited woody plants. We used structural equation modelli…
The global distribution of frugivory in birds
2009
Aim To examine patterns of avian frugivory across clades, geography and environments. Location Global, including all six major biogeographical realms (Afrotropics, Australasia, Indo-Malaya, Nearctic, Neotropics and Palaearctic). Methods First, we examine the taxonomic distribution of avian frugivory within orders and families. Second we evaluate, with traditional and spatial regression approaches, the geographical patterns of frugivore species richness and proportion. Third, we test the potential of contemporary climate (water–energy, productivity, seasonality), habitat heterogeneity (topography, habitat diversity) and biogeographical history (captured by realm membership) to explain geo…
Disentangling the effects of area, energy and habitat heterogeneity on boreal forest bird species richness in protected areas
2009
Aim One of the few general laws in ecology is that species richness is a positive function of area. However, it has been proposed that area would merely be a proxy for energy. Additionally, habitat heterogeneity has been found to be an important factor determining species richness. Yet the relative importance of those relationships is little known, and it is still unclear how they are brought about. We aimed to dissect which factors drive the species richness of boreal forest birds, and to identify the most probable mechanisms. Location Forested protected areas in Finland. Methods Using bird line census data collected in 104 protected areas, we ran simultaneous autoregressive models to e…
Hydrology is reflected in the functioning and community composition of methanotrophs in the littoral wetland of a boreal lake
2010
In lake ecosystems a major proportion of methane (CH4) emissions originate from the littoral zone, which can have a great spatial variability in hydrology, soil quality and vegetation. Hitherto, spatial heterogeneity and the effects it has on functioning and diversity of methanotrophs in littoral wetlands have been poorly understood. A diagnostic microarray based on the particulate methane monooxygenase gene coupled with geostatistics was used to analyse spatial patterns of methanotrophs in the littoral wetland of a eutrophic boreal lake (Lake Kevaton, Eastern Finland). The wetland had a hydrology gradient with a mean water table varying from −8 to −25 cm. The wettest area, comprising the h…
Self-Organization Pathways and Spatial Heterogeneity in Insulin Amyloid Fibril Formation
2009
At high temperature and low pH, the protein hormone insulin is highly prone to form amyloid fibrils, and for this reason it is widely used as a model system to study fibril formation mechanisms. In this work, we focused on insulin aggregation mechanisms occurring in HCl solutions (pH 1.6) at 60 degrees C. By means of in situ Thioflavin T (ThT) staining, the kinetics profiles were characterized as a function of the protein concentration, and two concurrent aggregation pathways were pointed out, being concentration dependent. In correspondence to these pathways, different morphologies of self-assembled protein molecules were detected by atomic force microscopy images also evidencing the prese…
Influence of landscape composition and diversity on contaminant flux in terrestrial food webs: a case study of trace metal transfer to European black…
2012
13 pages; International audience; Although understanding the influence of the spatial arrangement of habitats and interacting communities on the processes of pollutant flux and impacts is critical for exposure and risk assessment, to date few studies have been devoted to this emergent topic. We tested the hypothesis that landscape composition and diversity affect the transfer of trace metals to vertebrates. Bioaccumulation of Cd and Pb in blood and feathers of European blackbirds Turdus merula (n=138) was studied over a smelter-impacted area (Northern France). Landscape composition (type and occurrence of the different habitats) and diversity (number of different habitat types and the propo…
Dynamical heterogeneities of rotational motion in room temperature ionic liquids evidenced by molecular dynamics simulations
2018
Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been shown to exhibit spatial heterogeneity or structural heterogeneity in the sense that they form hydrophobic and ionic domains. Yet studies of the relationship between this structural heterogeneity and the ∼picosecond motion of the molecular constituents remain limited. In order to obtain insight into the time scales relevant to this structural heterogeneity, we perform molecular dynamics simulations of a series of RTILs. To investigate the relationship between the structures, i.e., the presence of hydrophobic and ionic domains, and the dynamics, we gradually increase the size of the hydrophobic part of the cation from ethylammonium nitrate (EA…