The merging of human activity and natural change: temporal and spatial scales of ecological change in the Kokemäenjoki river delta, SW Finland

Urbanization linked with past agricultural landuse patterns in the urban fringe of a deltaic Asian mega-city: a case study in Bangkok

“…The deltaic environment continues to change rapidly, not only because of the natural sediment supply process, but also as a result of human action (Ojala and Louekari, 2002). Paddy field cultivation was the predominant agricultural landuse in monsoonal Asian deltas.…”

The temporal and social dimensions of river rehabilitation: towards a multi-dimensional research perspective.

“…Mostly, such driving forces initiate irreversible processes, which may be continuous processes (`forcing functions'), but also suddenly occurring disturbances (`major events'). The impact of such disturbances is determined by their severity, frequency, duration, spatial scale and points of interaction in space and time within the system (Ojala & Louekari 2002). …”

“…It may also help us to acknowledge that these interactions have not only led to an impairment of the ecological functioning of river systems, but that they have also yielded additional values, including a/o cultural-historical ones. Scientific reviews describing longterm historical society±river ecosystem relationships are scarce, especially those describing these relationships not only in terms of ecological decline but also in terms of cultural assets (Andersen et al 1996;Brown 2002;Large & Petts 1996;Lenders 2003;Ojala & Louekari 2002;Poudevigne et al 2002;Shallat 2000). These publications indicate that the genesis of river landscapes is often, if not always, a spatio-temporally unique process with extensive human influences that reach back as far as the last Ice Age (see e.g.…”

“…Human influence, however, has also led to a growing complexity due to an ever-increasing societal appeal for river system services, such as transport, waste water disposal and drinking water supply (Smits et al 2000b). Present river systems can, therefore, not be merely considered as ecosystems in the traditional biological sense, but should be considered as ecosocial complexes (Haila 1999;Lenders 2003;Ojala & Louekari 2002). These ecosocial complexes can only be fully understood when they are studied within an ecological context senso latu, including social, economic and culturalhistorical patterns and processes.…”

Assessment of land cover relocation incorporating the effects of human activity in typical urban and rural catchments for the design of management policies

“…Cultivated environments have changed rapidly, not only because of the natural nutrient supply process but also as a result of human activity (Galloway et al, 2003;Albiac, 2009;Carpenter et al, 2009;Grimm et al, 2009;Butchart et al, 2010;Ojala and Louekari, 2002;Mouri et al, 2011a;Lewin et al, 2014;Qianyi et al, 2014). Historically, human settlements were located only on relatively high-level micro-landforms suitable for industrial and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and most of the back marshes were treated as wasteland.…”