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Comparing Coastal Storm Impact To Decadal Change In Barrier Island Ecosystems, Philip A. Tuley
Comparing Coastal Storm Impact To Decadal Change In Barrier Island Ecosystems, Philip A. Tuley
Theses and Dissertations
Highly dynamic coastal systems respond to disturbance events with a combination of topographic and vegetative changes. Sea level rise impacts on barrier islands have been quantified, but storm effects on vegetation are limited. Here we quantified barrier island vegetation change in response to an isolated storm event and compared to long-term periods. We hypothesized that disturbance-resisting areas with high woody vegetation cover and/or high foredune elevation would experience minimal transitions after a storm event, whereas disturbance-reinforcing areas with low vegetation cover and low foredune elevation would experience greater transitions between ecosystem states after a storm event. Patterns of dissonance were …
Valuing Natural Space And Landscape Fragmentation In Richmond, Va, Lee Wyatt Carpenter
Valuing Natural Space And Landscape Fragmentation In Richmond, Va, Lee Wyatt Carpenter
Theses and Dissertations
Hedonic pricing methods and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) were used to evaluate relationships between sale price of single family homes and landscape fragmentation and natural land cover. Spatial regression analyses found that sale prices increase as landscapes become less fragmented and the amount of natural land cover around a home increases. The projected growth in population and employment in the Richmond, Virginia region and subsequent increases in land development and landscape fragmentation presents a challenge to sustaining intact healthy ecosystems in the Richmond region. Spatial regression analyses helped illuminate how land cover patterns influence sale prices and landscape patterns that …
Reforestation Of Red Spruce (Picea Rubens) On The Cheat Mountain Range, West Virginia, Justin Madron
Reforestation Of Red Spruce (Picea Rubens) On The Cheat Mountain Range, West Virginia, Justin Madron
Theses and Dissertations
The (Plethodon nettingi) Cheat Mountain Salamander is a rare and endangered species that relies heavily on (Picea rubens) Red Spruce for habitat. P. rubens communities on the Cheat Mountain range in West Virginia have been disturbed by fires and logging, and regeneration of P. rubens stands are central to the survival of the P. netting. A supervised and unsupervised landscape classification of three Landsat images over the past 26 years was conducted to analyze change in P. rubens communities on Cheat Mountain Range. Change detection results revealed that from 1986-2012 a 52% growth increase of P. rubens stands, 18% loss, …
Spatial Patterns Of Herbaceous And Woody Recruitment In A Recently Restored Mixed Tidal Regime Freshwater Wetland, James B. Deemy
Spatial Patterns Of Herbaceous And Woody Recruitment In A Recently Restored Mixed Tidal Regime Freshwater Wetland, James B. Deemy
Theses and Dissertations
Ecological restoration of a converted wetland was characterized within a recently drained impoundment along the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Colonizing vegetation was assessed over three growing seasons in both tidal and non-tidal environments. Study objectives were to (1) examine geospatial relations of recruitment patterns among colonizing species over three growing seasons, (2) quantify species composition and potential differences between extant species cover and soil seed banks across restored and natural wetland habitats and (3) assess geospatial patterns to develop a GIS model of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum L.) recruitment. The two most common native colonizing species during …