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Hydrological Characterization Of A Riparian Vegetation Zone Using High Resolution Multi-Spectral Airborne Imagery, Osama Zaki Akasheh Dec 2008

Hydrological Characterization Of A Riparian Vegetation Zone Using High Resolution Multi-Spectral Airborne Imagery, Osama Zaki Akasheh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Middle Rio Grande River (MRGR) is the main source of fresh water for the state of New Mexico. Located in an arid area with scarce local water resources, this has led to extensive diversions of river water to supply the high demand from municipalities and irrigated agricultural activities. The extensive water diversions over the last few decades have affected the composition of the native riparian vegetation by decreasing the area of cottonwood and coyote willow and increasing the spread of invasive species such as Tamarisk and Russian Olives, harmful to the river system, due to their high transpiration rates, …


Soil Moisture Responses In Traditional And Drought Adapted Landscapes In The Intermountain West, James Gregory Dec 2008

Soil Moisture Responses In Traditional And Drought Adapted Landscapes In The Intermountain West, James Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water conservation in the Intermountain West will be an important issue in the future as population and demand for limited water resources increases. In Utah, outdoor water use accounts for up to 60% of total per capita water use with 67% of that outdoor water being used to irrigate non native plant species to maintain a uniform green appearance. The objective of this study was to measure intra landscape changes in soil water potential during a 21.5 day dry down from DOY 215 to 236.5 in the summer of 2005 and 2006. Four, 2 x 2 replicated traditional and drought …


Decadal-Scale Changes On Coral Reefs In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Thaddeus Allen Nicholls Dec 2008

Decadal-Scale Changes On Coral Reefs In Quintana Roo, Mexico, Thaddeus Allen Nicholls

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 1988 data on coral reef community composition were collected from two areas, Akumal and Chemuyil, Quintana Roo, Mexico, ranging from 5-35m depth. These areas were revisited in 2005 and data were collected by the same methods and at the same depths as in 1988. Data from 1988 and 2005 were compared to determine if the coral reefs had undergone significant changes, and what specific changes had occurred. Chi-square analysis determined that community composition data collected in 1988 are significantly different from data collected in 2005 at all sites and depths within the categories of corals, gorgonians, sponges, and macroalgae. …


Ecology, Problem Framing And Local Land Use Controls: A Case Study Of Socio-Ecological Governance In Franklin County, Idaho, Alissa Salmore May 2008

Ecology, Problem Framing And Local Land Use Controls: A Case Study Of Socio-Ecological Governance In Franklin County, Idaho, Alissa Salmore

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

Due to the continuity of energy and material flows, the persistence of an ecological network necessarily includes a linking of ecological units from local and immediate to regional and broad-ranging scales. Humans are an integral part of ecosystems acting as resource consumers and agents of change, and all systems can be considered combined 'socio-ecological' systems. Where environmental and social systems lack coordination, mismatches between the temporal, spatial or functional scales at which these systems operate lead to resource use inefficiencies and the loss of ecosystem components and functioning. This case study of Franklin County, Idaho documents a recent land use …