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Abstract:Understanding the processes of land use and land cover changes (LUCC) and the associated driving forces is important for achieving sustainable development. This paper presents the LUCC in Portugal at the regional level (NUTS II) from 1995 to 2010 and discusses the main driving forces and implications associated with these LUCC. The main objectives of this work are: (a) to quantify the land use and land cover (LUC) types (level I of LUC cartography) by NUT II in Portugal for the years 1995, 2007 and 2010; (b) to assess the spatio-temporal LUCC; and (c) to identify and discuss the main driving forces of LUCC and corresponding implications based on correlations and Principal Components Analysis. The results revealed large regional and temporal LUCC and further highlighted the different and sometimes opposite time trends between neighboring regions. By associating driving forces to LUCC, different influences at the regional level were observed, namely LUCC into agriculture land derived from the construction of dams (Alentejo region), or the conversion of coniferous forest into eucalypt forest (Centre region) associated with increased gross value added (GVA) and employment in industry and forestry. Temporal differentiation was also observed, particularly in the settlements that expanded between 1995 and 2007 due to the construction of large infrastructures (e.g., highways, industrial complexes, or buildings), which is reflected on employment in industry and construction and respective GVA. However, certain LUCC have implications, particularly in energy consumption, for which different behavior between regions can be highlighted in this analysis, but also on land-use sustainability.

Aims:  To assess the presence of viral pathogens in bathing water samples and to evaluate the interdependency of bacterial indicator counts and viral detection. Methods and Results:  Bathing water samples of 16 beaches collected along a Portuguese Coastal area were screened for the hepatitis A virus (HAV) and norovirus genogroup I (NVGI) using RT‐PCR technique. Bacteriological water quality was also assessed, according to European regulations. HAV and NVGI were detected in 95% and 27% of the water samples, respectively, whereas bacteriological quality was good in all but one sample, according to current water quality regulations. Conclusions:  All water samples would be considered of excellent quality according to the most recent European regulations. No relationship between viral detection and regulatory‐based bacterial indicators was found. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The current results reinforce the importance of increased surveillance for pathogenic viruses in bathing waters.

-Portuguese territory has experienced relevant land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in recent decades. The revision of existing land use and land cover (LUC) datasets and the production of new datasets have allowed us to better understand LUCC over time. This study furthers that analysis by using the most recent LUC datasets, which cover the entirety of the Portuguese continental area from 1990 to 2012 and presents innovative knowledge that aids in the understanding of LUC dynamics within that period. This study shows that the trends that have induced spatial variations within different LUC classes have changed over time, revealing different spatial and temporal dynamics of those LUCC in the Portuguese territory. The main LUCC are related to reductions in forests and certain types of agricultural areas and increases in urban areas, but the main LUCC assume different dynamics when taken at the regional scale (nUts ii). future tendencies of LUCC were also estimated using Cellular automata-Markov (Ca-Markov), and the results show the increasing and decreasing tendencies of the LUC types previously mentioned. The areas of LUC datasets with different properties were compared, and large area discrepancies were observed for some LUC classes. These assessments provide relevant results for the evaluation and understanding of LUCC for Portuguese planning processes in the near future.Keywords: Land use and land cover (LUC); LUC geoinformation properties; LUC changes (LUCC); LUCC projection; mainland Portugal. e a produção de nova cartografia vem permitir o estudo das alterações de UOs ao longo do tempo. este estudo apresenta avanços na análise destas alterações (de 1990 a 2012) utilizando a cartografia mais recente para o território português (cobertura integral), mas também um conhecimento inovador que ajuda a perceber essas alterações. as tendências de variação espacial dos vários tipos de UOs não são constantes ao longo do tempo, revelando as diferentes dinâmicas espaciais e temporais destas alterações no território em análise. sobressai a redução de área florestal e de determinados tipos de áreas agrícolas, e o aumento das áreas urbanas. no entanto, as variações observadas assumem diferentes dinâmicas a nível regional (nUts ii). as futuras alterações de UOs foram estimadas através de autómatos celulares (Ca-Markov), revelando os resultados tendência para o aumento e redução dos tipos de UOs anteriormente referidos. a área de UOs foi comparada com outra cartografia de UOs (com diferentes propriedades), observando-se grande discrepância de área em algumas classes de UOs. estas avaliações são importantes para se compreender as alterações de uso e ocupação do solo relevantes para o planeamento do território em Portugal num futuro próximo.

Multiple land use and land cover (LUC) datasets are available for the analysis of LUC changes (LUCC) in distinct territories. Sometimes, different LUCC results are produced to characterize these changes for the same territory and the same period. These differences reflect: (1) The different properties of LUC geoinformation (GI) used in the LUCC assessment, and (2) different criteria used for vector-to-raster conversion, namely, those deriving from outputs with different spatial resolutions. In this research, we analyze LUCC in mainland Portugal using two LUC datasets with different properties: Corine Land Cover (CLC 2006 and 2012) and LUC official maps of Portugal (Carta de Ocupação do Solo, COS 2007 and 2010) provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the General Directorate for Territorial Development (DGT). Each LUC dataset has undergone vector-to-raster conversion, with different resolutions (10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 m). LUCC were analyzed based on the vector GI of each LUC dataset, and with LUC raster outputs using different resolutions. Initially, it was observed that the areas with different LUC types in two LUC datasets in vector format were not similar—a fact explained by the different properties of this type of GI. When using raster GI to perform the analysis of LUCC, it was observed that at high resolutions, the results are identical to the results obtained when using vector GI, but this ratio decreases with increased cell size. In the analysis of LUCC results obtained with raster LUC GI, the outputs with pixel size greater than 100 m do not follow the same trend of LUCC obtained with high raster resolutions or using LUCC obtained with vector GI. These results point out the importance of the factor form and the area of the polygons, and different effects of amalgamation and dilation in the vector-to-raster conversion process, more evident at low resolutions. These findings are important for future evaluations of LUCC that integrate raster GI and vector/raster conversions, because the different LUC GI resolution in line with accuracy can explain the different results obtained in the evaluation of LUCC. The present work demonstrates this fact, i.e., the effects of vector-to-raster conversions using various resolutions culminated in different results of LUCC.