Life Sciences Commons^™

Land Cover Data For The Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands, 2010-2011 Arcgis V10.3 Geodatabase, Gregory A. Carter, Carlton P. Anderson, Kelly L. Lucas, Nathan L. Hopper

Land Cover Data for the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands, 2010-2011

Land cover on the Mississippi-Alabama barrier islands was surveyed in 2010-2011 as part of continuing research on island geomorphic and vegetation dynamics following the 2005 impact of Hurricane Katrina. Results of the survey include sub-meter GPS location, a listing of dominant vegetation species and field photographs recorded at 375 sampling locations distributed among Cat, West Ship, East Ship, Horn, Sand, Petit Bois and West Dauphin Islands. The survey was conducted in a period of intensive remote sensing data acquisition over the northern Gulf of Mexico by federal, state and commercial organizations in response to the 2010 Macondo Well (Deepwater Horizon) …

The Mexican Water Forest: Benefits Of Using Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess Changes In Land Use And Land Cover, Maria F. Lopez Ornelas

Master's Projects and Capstones

In the past 30 years, anthropogenic activities like urbanization, agriculture, road fragmentation and deforestation have resulted in changes in the land use and land cover (LULC) in the Mexican Water Forest. Due to the important ecosystem services, and the natural resources this forest provides, in Mexico, it has become increasingly necessary to use new technologies and tools to support the planning, implementation and integration of forest management and conservation plans, as well as ecological and socioeconomic analysis of this ecosystem. Remote Sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been a true technological and methodological revolution in the acquisition, management …

Fire And Fuels: Vegetation Change Over Time In The Zuni Mountains, New Mexico, Luke Wylie

Master's Theses

The Zuni Mountains are a region that has been dramatically changed by human interference. Anthropogenically, fire suppression practices have allowed a buildup of fuels and caused a change in the fire-adapted ponderosa pine ecosystem such that the new ecosystem now incorporates many fire-intolerant species. As a result, the low-severity fires that the ecosystem once depended on to regenerate the forest are much reduced, and these low-severity fires are now replaced by crown-level infernos that threaten the forest and nearby towns. In order to combat these effects, land managers are implementing fuel reduction practices and are striving to better understand the …

A Model Of The Effects Of Deforestation On Local Climate In The North Cascades, Monica R. H. Jasper

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Changes in areal extent of land cover types may lead to alterations in the surface energy budget that contribute to anthropogenic climate forcing. This study examines the effects of deforestation in the Cascade Range on local temperature. Temperature sensors were installed in 14 forest stands, taking measurements for one year. Estimated tree age, circumference, and species were recorded to calculate stand density index. Satellite imagery was used to calculate shade fraction from spectral mixture analysis, which is a proxy for canopy structure and density. These data were used to construct seasonal cycles of temperature to model variation with stand density …

Developing The Framework For A Risk Map For Mite Vectored Viruses In Wheat Resulting From Pre-Harvest Hail Damage, Anthony L. Nguy-Robertson, Arthur Zygielbaum, Anthony J. Mcmechan, Gary L. Hein, Stephen N. Wegulo, Abby R. Stilwell, Travis M. Smith

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

There is a strong economic incentive to reduce mite-vectored virus outbreaks. Most outbreaks in the central High Plains of the United States occur in the presence of volunteer wheat that emerges before harvest as a result of hail storms. This study provides a conceptual framework for developing a risk map for wheat diseases caused by mite-vectored viruses based on pre-harvest hail events. Traditional methods that use NDVI were found to be unsuitable due to low chlorophyll content in wheat at harvest. Site-level hyperspectral reflectance from mechanically hailed wheat showed increased canopy albedo. Therefore, any increase in NIR combined with large …

How Could Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas) Be Used For Ecohydrological And Ecosystem Research? Experiences Of First Operations With Uas In River Flood Plains Of Northern Mongolia, Jürgen Hofmann, Martin Oczipka, Thomas Rutz, Hauke Dämpfling

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

This paper proposes the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as a method for monitoring biotic resources and ecohydrological systems in river floodplains.

Small scale mapping based on LANDSAT and SRTM or ASTER data is of limited applicability since a spatial resolution of 30 to 90 m is not sufficient to meet the demands of habitat mapping and large scale 3D -modelling. Newer satellites like WorldView2 and SENTINEL (space mission from European Space Agency within the Copernicus Programme) could be an option to gain a 0.5 m resolution, but the availability of image data is limited.

UAS allow the collection …

Spatiotemporal Variability Of Plant Phenology In Drylands: A Case Study From The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, Naomi Robin Luna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With global change, which includes climate change, there is a sense of urgency to understand how shifts in climate will affect ecosystems. Although several studies have improved understanding of how and why some ecosystems respond, most studies have not explored simultaneous responses of different land cover types throughout a given region. Dryland ecosystems, such as the Chihuahuan Desert, appear to respond to climate variability and currently make up about 40% of global land surface area. It is expected that drylands will expand to cover 60% of land surface area on earth by mid-century making this ecosystem more critical to global …

Anthropogenic Influence On Blackfin Sucker (Thoburnia Atripinnis) Distribution, In The Upper Barren River System, Kentucky And Tennessee, Christa Rose Hurak

Online Theses and Dissertations

We evaluated the effects of land use and cover on endemic blackfin sucker (Thoburnia atripinnis) catch per unit effort and abundance within the Upper Barren River (UBR) system, a priority conservation area, in south-central Kentucky. Anthropogenic impacts have rendered T. atripinnis a “species of greatest conservation need” by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. This study focused on determining if land use surrounding blackfin sucker sampling sites and certain physicochemical parameters could be impacting their inhabitance at these sites. Data collection and ground truthing occurred between September 2015 and June 2016. ArcGIS was used to extract land use …