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A Gis Suitability Model Evaluating Habitat Characteristics Influencing Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Lodge Site Selection And Lodge Occupancy In Central Adirondacks, New York, Amanda K. Jacobs

Theses - ALL

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) represents a quintessential example of an "ecosystem engineer." Yet the species' landscape-scale impacts on hydrology, geomorphology, and ecosystem ecology are not uniformly distributed through landscapes or time. Understanding beaver lodge site selection and lodge fidelity through time can help to predict where the greatest effects of beaver activity may occur. In this research project, I seek to understand the relationships between beaver habitat suitability, the habitat variables that currently define suitable areas, and lodge occupancy over time. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model habitat suitability, I use hydrologic, vegetative, and physiographic variables to …

Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two, Lillian Smith

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Transportation of debris within water systems is a prominent occurrence which has been linked to natural and artificial processes including wind, rain, and littering. This pilot study established methods to determine if a trail system is a good implementation to achieve recreation and connectivity goals laid out in the City of Lynchburg’s Tyreeanna & Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Plan. Blackwater Creek watershed, which contains an established trail system, and Fishing Creek watershed, containing a non-established trail system, were the two locations where this study’s methods were conducted. Use of the Virginia GIS Open Access Portal was essential in delineating the boundary …

Use Of Consumer Grade Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (Suas) For Mapping Storm Damage In Forested Environments, James Dewey Cox

Theses and Dissertations

Storm damages to forested environments pose significant challenges to landowners, land managers, and conservationists alike. Damage scope and scale assessments can be difficult, costly, and time consuming with conventional pedestrian survey techniques. Consumer grade sUAS technology offers an efficient, cost-effective way to accurately assess storm damage in small to moderate sized survey areas (less than 10 km²). Data were collected over a 0.195 km² area of damaged timber within the Kisatchie National Forest in Central Louisiana using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone. Collected imagery was processed into an orthomosaic using Agisoft Metashape Professional with a resulting ground sampling distance …

Using A Geospatial Analysis Tool To Visualize Water Impairments And Engage Stakeholders In The San Bernardino National Forest, Jovany Estrada

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

High quality water is an important resource that is integral to supporting environmental and human health. It is essential for economic, social and environmental purposes. Impairments to water resources can be attributed to anthropogenic sources that are associated with terrestrial activities including urban development and agricultural activities. Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is an approach that can be used to include community input to improve water management strategies. In the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) area in southern California, there are disadvantaged communities that can benefit from a CBPR study to increase water quality in the area. A geovisualization tool will …

Urban Forests And Their Potential To Combat Food Insecurity: Analyzing Street Trees In Baltimore, Md For Their Edibility, Victoria Bearden

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

Food insecure environments, in which residents lack consistent access to nutritious food materials, can occur in urban settings. Literature on urban forests suggests that trees can provide a range of provisioning ecosystem services, including edible uses. We consider this to determine if street trees in Baltimore, Maryland have the potential to provide nutritious food materials to address food insecurity in Healthy Food Priority Areas (HFPA), designated by Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Our analysis utilizes the Plants For a Future database and the geospatial hotspot analysis tool in Esri’s ArcMap to determine the edible quality ratings (EQR) of …

Changes To Maine's Winter Weather, Alexander Ingalls

Undergraduate Theses

The properties of winter weather in Maine are examined using several forms of analysis to illustrate changes in winter weather patterns over the past 40 years. While previous studies have determined several ways that climate change affects the entire state, this study seeks to better understand the impact of these changes in five specific regions. The resulting analyses shows how certain atmospheric variables such as precipitation, temperature, and snowfall vary in magnitude and location across the state and over time. The results suggest these changes have different consequences for different areas of the state.

Safe Water For All: A Multi-Modal Approach To North Alabama's Water Resources, Elijah Walker

Theses

Environmental degradation is a destructive force produced by the human disturbance of pollution. It is a phenomenon that gradually evolves landscapes over time resulting in irreversible outcomes. Environmental degradation physically affects spaces’ resources, objects, and inhabiting humans. This study observes the impacts of pollution beyond physical boundaries and how it affects human identity/sense of place through the utilization of geographic information systems. Specifically, it examines cultural identity developed through human experiences and connections to landscapes containing water resources. Following, pollution contaminates water resources disrupting experiences and connections thus causing the cultural identity to disappear. The case study applied to this …

Evaluating Remote Economic Benefits Of Watershed-Scale Acid Mine Drainage Restoration, Rachel E. Pell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In 2011, the West Virginia Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation Program (WVAML) implemented a watershed-scale restoration project in Three Fork Creek, a 103 square-mile watershed in rural West Virginia impaired by acid mine drainage (AMD). This was accomplished through the installation of four in-stream lime dosers in 2011. Due to the great capital investment in the restoration of Three Fork Creek and an interest in applying this watershed-scale approach to other watersheds throughout West Virginia, it is of great interest to demonstrate the successes of this remediation. It has already been demonstrated that the watershed has visibly improved and is …

Environmental Racism In Baltimore: A Geographical Study Into The Connections Between Environmental Toxins And Public Health, Genevieve Block

Honors Theses

An investigation into the relationship between environmental toxins and environmental racism in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Municipal Solutions To Climate Change ; A Case Study Of Stream Daylighting In Suffolk County, New York, Madison Hrysko

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

During the 1950’s and 1960’s Suffolk County, New York experienced rapid urbanization and development. To pave way for infrastructure, hydrological modifications were made to the land including the burial of naturally flowing streams. Daylighting streams is the nature-based process of bringing buried streams back to the surface. In turn, restoring ecosystem services, increasing local resilience to climate change impacts, and expanding biodiversity. Minimal research has been done using GIS technology alongside a set of criteria to select best fit streams for daylighting. This thesis aims to fill that gap by identifying best and second-best fit streams for daylighting in Suffolk …

Lake Huron Shoreline Analysis, Shubham Satish Nandanwar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lake Huron is a popular tourist destination and is home to several businesses and residents. Since the shoreline is dynamic and is subject to change over the years due to several factors such as a change in water level, soil type, human encroachment, etc., these locations tend to encounter floods due to increased water levels and wind speed. This causes erosion and loss to the properties along the shoreline.

This study is based on two areas of interest named Pinery Provincial Park and Sauble Beach which are located on the shoreline of Lake Huron where Pinery Provincial Park is a …

Re-Modeling The Interior: Spatial Methods And Policy Revisions To Improve Inventory And Designation Of Blm’S Areas Of Critical Environmental Concern, Amy H. Katz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages a vast amount of public land in the western United States, most of which they currently manage for multiple uses. Specific conservation and management of these lands could mitigate climate change impacts and contribute to the global initiative to conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. Particularly, the agency can achieve this through more effective administration of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), a designation that is prioritized under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). To do so requires updated regulations that set clear parameters around inventory and designation, …