Digital Commons Network^™

Socioeconomic Geographies And Municipal Decision Making Of New York's Climate Smart Communities Program, Stephen Corbisiero

Digital and Data Studies Student Scholarship

Nearly all of New York’s residents live in a municipality designated as a Climate Smart Community, but few are familiar with one of the state’s major legislative accomplishments. The initiative allows municipalities to earn points toward a climate smart certification by implementing sustainable technologies in their communities, which in turn makes them eligible for increased grant funding from New York State. As climate change begins to have a greater impact on human and natural life, investing in green infrastructure has never been more important. New York’s Climate Smart Communities program is widespread, but adoption rates vary greatly throughout the state …

"The Trees Act Not As Individuals"--Learning To See The Whole Picture In Biology Education And Remote Sensing Research, Rebeka A.F. Greenall

Theses and Dissertations

To increase equity and inclusion for underserved and excluded Indigenous students, we must make efforts to mitigate the unique barriers they face. As their knowledge systems have been historically excluded and erased in Western science, we begin by reviewing the literature on the inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in biology education and describe best practices. Next, to better understand how Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHPI) students integrate into the scientific community, we used Social Influence Theory as a framework to measure NHPI student science identity, self-efficacy, alignment with science values, and belonging. We also investigated how students …

Preparation Of Curve Number Grid Map Of Rawanduz River Basin In Kri Using Gis Techniques, Israa D. Ahmed, Jehan M. Fattah Sheikh Suleimany

Polytechnic Journal

The study is being conducted with the goal of applying various models and techniques for catchment delineation and providing the opportunity to determine the Curve Numbers (CN) for the Rawanduz river basin (2956 Km2), which is located in the northeastern section of Iraq, Kurdistan region, by utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS). Satellite data (Landsat 8 OLI) for 2020 was utilized to build land cover classes, with a classification accuracy of 90% and a Kappa index of 86.18%. The hydrologic soil map for the region is digitized from the Iraqi soil map. In specifically, Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) is technique …

Drought Vulnerability Modeling Over Mandawa Watershed, Northern Iraq, Using Gis-Ahp Techniques, Zhyan A. Ahmed, Jehan M. Fattah Sheikh Suleimany

Polytechnic Journal

Drought is among the most severe natural calamities induced by lack of water, having a negative implication on water resources and agriculture in the affected area. Drought types and severity vary by location, so understanding the spatial distribution can aid in developing measures to overcome this natural hazard. In this study, the areas vulnerable to droughts in the Mandawa watershed in the Kurdistan region of Iraq were determined by employing seven associated factors: rainfall, temperature, LULC, surfaceslope, soil texture, elevation, and distance to rivers. Satellite imagery of Landsat 8 OLI for 2021was employed to create the Land Use and Land …

Applications Of Urban Land Evaluation And Site Assessment (Ulesa) In Chesterfield County, Virginia, Emily Hastings

Theses and Dissertations

Urban and suburban agriculture is increasing in popularity across the United States. However, many of these farms are short-lived due to a combination of human factors (e.g., managerial, economic, cultural) and environmental or spatial factors (e.g., zoning, soil quality, distance to markets). Geospatial analysis, in the form of suitability modeling, could aid in locating suitable sites for these activities. Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) is a suitability modeling technique that generates a score for agricultural land use in traditionally rural spaces. This research explores adapting this method to encompass the complexities of placing diverse, in-ground agriculture in urban and …

Computer-Based Forage Management Tools: Historical, Current, And Future Applications, David B. Hannaway, C. Daly, D. F. Chapman, B. B. Baker, A. S. Cooper

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Forage management has been an important human activity since the beginning of civilization. By comparison, the personal computer has been available only in the immediate past. The software developed to deal with the complexity of climate, soil, plant, animal, and socioeconomic factors has seen huge changes in a few decades. Mainframe computers facilitated numerical calculations for exploring relationships among dozens of variables. Personal computers opened the door for more individual scientist creativity and routine communication. Web-based communication globalised the option for multidisciplinary teams to tackle problems. Forage-related computer applications abound, allowing farmers, ranchers, and others to more effectively manage the …

Combining Historic Records And Multi-Criteria Habitat Suitability Analysis For The Potential Reintroduction Of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens Rafinesque) Into Tributaries Of Lake Erie, Kylie P. Wirebach, Christopher Pennuto, Dimitry Gorsky

Biology Theses

Predicting the location and quality of habitat for imperiled species is an increasingly important application of modeling technology. The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is a widely-extirpated fish of the Laurentian Great Lakes whose recovery is dependent on the availability and connectivity of suitable stream habitat today. This is especially true in Lake Erie, where the largest Lake Sturgeon fishery was once found. I predicted that modern habitat suitability would be dependent on land use legacies from the past 200 years, with western Lake Erie tributaries having less suitable habitat compared to the eastern Lake Erie tributaries. I developed a multi-criteria …

Geospatial Assessment Of Groundwater Quality With The Distinctive Portrayal Of Heavy Metals In The United Arab Emirates, Imen Ben Salem, Yousef Nazzal, Fares M. Howari, Manish Sharma, Jagadish Kumar Mogaraju, Cijo M. Xavier

All Works

Groundwater is a valuable resource, and its quality is critical to human survival. Optimal farming and urbanization degraded groundwater reserves. This research investigates and reports the spatial variability of selected heavy metals developed in the Liwa area of the United Arab Emirates. Forty water samples were collected from existing wells and analyzed for different elements. Principal components analysis was applied to a subgroup of the data set in terms of their usefulness for determining the variability of groundwater quality variables. Geographic information systems were used to produce contour maps to analyze the distribution of heavy metals. Ordinary kriging was used …

Synthesis Of A Multimodal Ecological Model For Scalable, High-Resolution Arboviral Risk Prediction In Florida, Sean P. Beeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) represent the two greatest endemic arboviral risks to the state of Florida. Currently, no approved human vaccine exists for the prevention of either virus. In the absence of a vaccine, effective disease surveillance is paramount for public health. In Florida, WNV and EEEV sentinel chicken surveillance is conducted by mosquito control programs operated at the county, municipality, or special taxing district level. This program was implemented in 1978 following human outbreaks of St. Louis Encephalitis virus (SLEV) that occurred between 1959 and 1977, with initial sentinel coops placed in proximity …

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

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

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.

Assessment Of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaevaâ D.K. Bailey) Forest Communities Using Geospatial Technologies, David Richard Burchfield

Theses and Dissertations

Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey) is a keystone species of the subalpine forest in the Great Basin and western Colorado Plateau ecoregions in Utah, Nevada, and California. Bristlecone pine is also the world's longest-lived non-clonal organism, with individuals occasionally reaching ages up to 5,000 years old. Because of its longevity, bristlecone pine contains an important proxy record of climate data in its growth rings. Despite its ecological and scientific importance, bristlecone pine's distribution and associated environmental drivers are poorly understood. Geospatial technologies, including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and spatial modeling techniques …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

Soil Erosion Modelling: A Global Review And Statistical Analysis, Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Dinesh Panday, 64 More Co-Authors

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensively reviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and 2017.We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the regions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv) how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To perform this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. The resulting database, named ‘Global Applications of Soil Erosion …

Spatial And Temporal Determinants Associated With Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Activity In Florida, Kristi M. Miley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is considered the most pathogenic mosquito-borne illness in the United States. Human mortality has been estimated to range between 35 to 75%, with horses experiencing mortality rates greater than 90%. A large number of EEEV cases occur in Florida. Though we have come a long way since the first human infection was identified in the 1930s, there is still much to learn regarding the virus’s ability to maintain transmission year-round in Florida. Phylogenic studies support that Florida may serve as the geographic reservoir for EEEV. This research investigated spatiotemporal and ecological variables associated with risk …

The Effects Of Elevation On Foraging Behavior Of Bats In Southern Appalachia, Victoria Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are limited studies on bat activity in higher elevations in the Appalachian region. Levels of bat activity were compared in south central Appalachia at low (< 914.4 m) and high (> 1, 524 m) elevations in open, forest edge, and riparian habitats. Additionally, habitat suitability was modeled for a common species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). The study started May 27^th 2019, and sites were monitored biweekly until October 2^nd 2019. Six species and one genus were recorded during the study. Species from the Myotis genus were grouped together because of similar call characteristics. Results show that species were significantly more …

Flooding, Landslides, Wildfires, Air Pollution, And Income: Risk In California, Brittany Bondi, Alyssa J. Kaewwilai

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

California is infamously known for its likelihood of environmental hazards such as flooding, landslides, air pollution, and forest fires which can be attributed to the natural climate of the area as well as anthropologically influenced climate change. Air pollution also poses potential threats and dangers to the civilians of California as increasing populations and uses of fossil fuels continue to contribute to the growing issue of climate change. The goal of this study was to examine and analyze the geospatial trends environmental hazards in California such as landslides, air pollution, flooding, and forest fires. A weighted test, zone and slope …

Precision Agriculture Gis Technologies For Mississippi, 1st. Edition, Amelia A.A. Fox

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Publications and Scholarship

Precision agriculture is meant to improve on-farm efficiency in hopes of ultimately increasing profitability while also protecting the environment. However, this difficult process almost always includes the proper management and interpretation of data. Therefore, it is imperative that those individuals involved in making such decisions are educated on these processes. In a data-driven world, this textbook is a great resource for those wanting to learn how to utilize their data in hopes of making better informed on-farm decisions.

Of Fire, Mammals, And Rain: Mechanisms Of Plant Invasions, Tara Boyce Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

Biological invasions are driving environmental state changes on a global scale. Exotic plant species must be successful at passing several abiotic and biotic filters to establish and disrupt the native plant community assembly. Understanding where exotic plants are on a regional scale and being able to characterize how exotic plants are generally interacting with their environment is crucial information for exotic species management (chapter 1). In the western United States human-related activities are augmenting the spread of exotic plant species by increasing the ignitions of wildfire. Wildfire can lead to nutrient pulses through the removal of intact native communities and …

Developing High Resolution Baseline Coast Resource Maps Using World View 2 Imagery For A Coastal Village In Fiji, Ashneel Ajay Singh, Anish Maharaj, Michelle Kumar, Priyatma Singh, Sanjay Singh, Frank Muller-Karger, Matthew James Mccarthy, Lionel Joseph, Herve Damlamian, Zulfikar Begg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

In Fiji, like most Pacific Island countries, there have been numerous reports of degradation of coastal resources, including adverse changes in abundance and stock distribution of numerous aquatic species associated with the coastal habitat. To develop effective management plans, assessment of existing coastal resources is pertinent. High spatial resolution satellite imagery, combined with geographic information systems allow for efficient and synoptic mapping of coastal resources to provide a baseline for developing effective and improved management plans. The purpose of this study was to develop a baseline habitat map of the intertidal benthic cover in Komave Village, Coral Coast, Sigatoka, Fiji. …

Modeling Coastal Vulnerability For Insight Into Mangrove And Coral Reef Conservation Efforts In Cuba, Maria Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

Cuba’s expansive coral reefs and mangrove habitats provide a variety of ecosystem services to coastal communities including nursery grounds for fisheries, shoreline stability, and storm and flood protection. While Cuba’s coastal habitats are some of the most preserved in the Caribbean, they are under increasing threat of degradation from the impacts of climate change, increased tourism, and coastal development. With the goal of sustainable development, Cubans need to assess the storm and flood protection benefits these coastal habitats provide, and integrate this information into future expansion and management plans within the National Protected Areas System (SNAP). Using the open source …

Developing A Nearshore Geospatial Framework For Recovery Assessment And Planning, Jennifer Burke, Stacy Vynne

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

As part of the Beach Strategies project developed by the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP), Puget Sound Partnership, ESRP, and Coastal Geologic Services (CGS) developed a geospatial framework to integrate nearshore data for analyses. The Beach Strategies project developed a geodatabase to inform restoration and protection planning. The Nearshore Geospatial Framework was designed as a companion structure to the Beach Strategies data to facilitate consistent and scalable units of analysis across the region-wide dataset. The framework is a series of consistent polygons with variable characteristics in both aquatic and inland areas of the nearshore. The polygon structures include variable …

Assessment Of Vegetation Response To Wildfire At Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico: Case Study Of The Las Conchas Fire, Gladys Valentin-Gonzalez

Geography ETDs

In the past couple of decades, there has been an increase in the occurrence of wildfire events in the United States. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that over 73,000 wildfires on average occur annually in the U.S., burning about 7.3 million acres of land. Bandelier National Monument, in northern New Mexico, has been affected by several wildfires in the past 40 years, one of the most recent being the Las Conchas Fire in 2011, which burned over 60,700 hectaresin Bandelier National Monument and Valles Caldera National Preserve. This research explores a remote-sensing based assessment of vegetation response to and recovery …

Seasonal Resource Selection And Habitat Treatment Use By A Fringe Population Of Greater Sage-Grouse, Rhett Boswell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Movement and habitat selection by Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus uropasianus) is of great interest to wildlife managers tasked with applying conservation measures for this iconic western species. Current technology has created small and lightweight GPS (Global Positioning Systems) transmitters that can be attached to sage-grouse. Using GIS software and statistical programs such as Program R, land managers can analyze GPS location data to assess how sage-grouse are geospatially interacting with their habitats. Within the Panguitch Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) thousands of acres of land have been restored or manipulated to enhance sage-grouse habitat; this usually involves removal of pinyon pine …

Greening The Gateway Cities: Summer Internship With The Clark University Human Environment Regional Observatory (Hero) And Massachusetts Department Of Conservation And Recreation (Dcr), Zhiwen Zhu

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This report provides a detailed account of my internship experience with the Clark University Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in the summer of 2017. This internship concerns the urban tree health assessment in three ‘Greening the Gateway’ cities in Massachusetts. During the internship, I conducted tree survey field work, database management, mapping, tree survey data analysis and urban tree plantation benefits microclimate simulation. During the internship I worked with the professors and students at Clark University and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the staff from Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Worcester Tree …

Evaluating The Ecological Status Of The Introduced Nile Monitor (Varanus Niloticus) In Florida: Forecasting Presence And Population Expansion Using Computational Geographic Information Systems, Noah G. Cohen

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large, carnivorous lizard that has become a notorious invasive species in Florida, USA. Initially released in the 1980s from the pet trade, the species has since established at least three breeding populations and spread throughout much of southern Florida. While current control efforts have failed to eradicate V. niloticus, it is important to attain a better understanding of its invasive dynamics to guide and inform better control strategies. In this study, available georeferenced records of V. niloticus in Florida were compiled and linked to a habitat classification map to evaluate ecotype preferences. Factored …

Assessing Phosphorus Sources With A Gis-Based Phosphorus Risk Index In A Mixed-Use, Montane Watershed, Josiah A. Johns

Theses and Dissertations

Elevated phosphorus (P) loading of freshwater lakes and reservoirs often results in poor water quality and negative ecological effects. Critical source areas (CSA) of P in the watershed can be difficult to identify and control. A useful concept for identification of a CSA is the P risk index (P Index) that evaluates the P risk associated with distinct source and transport pathways. The objectives of this study were to create a GIS model that adapts the Minnesota (MN) P Index for use at the watershed scale in a mixed-use, mountain environment, and to evaluate its effectiveness relative to field-based assessment. …

Understanding The Past, Present, And Future Of Land Conservation In South Carolina, Nicole Berson

Graduate Theses

Urbanization poses a significant challenge for many ecosystems in the United States. However, monitoring its impacts requires extensive data and this lack of up-to-date information makes understanding the impacts of urbanization difficult to assess. One area that has seen tremendous growth is the Interstate 85 (I-85) corridor between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA, which is known as “The Boom Belt.” Unfortunately, due to limited resources from conservation and state agencies, data on land use change and its impacts in this area have not been updated since the early 1990s. To investigate how urbanization is impacting this region, I conducted a …

The Effect Of Site Characteristics On The Reproductive Output Of Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria), Justin P. Kermack

ETD Archive

Ranunculus ficaria L., an ephemeral perennial invasive plant brought over from Europe, is becoming widespread throughout the Northeastern United States. This herbaceous buttercup is able to create extensive dense mats that limit native species growth. Taking advantage of an early growing season and rapid reproduction rates, this species can create dense monocultures, which threatens native communities and ecosystems. Elimination of native spring ephemerals results in decreased biodiversity. A better understanding of how R. ficaria responds to site characteristics is needed to prioritize management efforts toward high-risk sites.

Ranunculus ficaria abundance and reproductive output (seed, bulbil and tuber production rates) were …

Using Geospatial Analysis For High School Environmental Science Education: A Case Study Of The Jane Goodall Institute's Community-Centered Conservation Approach, Madison G. Vorva

Pomona Senior Theses

Given my experiences as a young conservation advocate, I saw a need to teach students the importance of interconnectedness, cultural awareness and systems-thinking skills through a spatial lens. I believe these skills are required for holistic, equitable and sustainable conservation decision-making in local and international contexts. This thesis uses geospatial tools to teach conservation ecology vocabulary and concepts from high school environmental science curriculum in two online resources. The purpose of my lesson plan is to show students how conservationists address complex conservation and land-use challenges using the Jane Goodall Institute’s community-centered conservation approach as a case-study. My hope is …

What Should Go In A Wildlife Professional’S Geospatial Toolbox? (Response Data), William Bean, Ryan C. Baumbusch, Brooke Berger, Matthew Delheimer, Lee J. Hecker, Matthew Lau, Megan C. Milligan

Research Data Sets

Geospatial tools have become a critical component to most wildlife studies and management questions. With a diversity of approaches available, current and future wildlife professionals deserve guidance on the most important tools to answer these questions. Younger professionals may be expected to know a separate set of skills from those required further on in their career. We conducted an online survey and a year-long search of job advertisements to identify the most important geospatial approaches, techniques, programs, and ancillary skills for wildlife professionals. We provide the results of these 2 efforts so that wildlife professionals interested in geospatial tools can …