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Articles 1 - 11 of 11
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Automated Tree Mortality Detection Using Ubiquitously Available Public Data, Michael T. Huggins
Automated Tree Mortality Detection Using Ubiquitously Available Public Data, Michael T. Huggins
Master's Theses
Understanding the dynamic interplay between fire severity, topography, and tree mortality, is crucial for predicting future forest dynamics and enhancing resilience against climate change-induced wildfire regimes. This thesis develops a multi-sensor approach for automated estimation of tree mortality, then applies it to examine trends in tree mortality over a six-year period across a fire affected study site in the Trinity River basin in Northern California. The Random Forest model uses publicly available USGS 3D Elevation Program Lidar (3DEP) and NAIP imagery as inputs and is likely to be easily adaptable to other landscapes. The model had a Receiver Operating Characteristic …
Fire Effects On Soil Organic Matter In The Creek Fire, Gracie E. Doolin
Fire Effects On Soil Organic Matter In The Creek Fire, Gracie E. Doolin
Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects
Wildfires have increased in frequency and severity over the past few decades due to the increased concertation of CO2 emissions from anthropogenic influence. Soil carbon (C) sequestration has been identified as a climate change mitigation strategy; however, the influx of large-scale wildfires has accelerated landscape processes such as erosion, reducing soil aggradation, and soil C and nitrogen (N) protection. This trend is highlighted by the Creek Fire that occurred in September 2020 and burned 379,895 acres in the Sierra National Forest. This research is designed to close the knowledge gap regarding the impact of burn severity on soil organic matter …
Analysis And Installation Of A Demonstration Agroforestry Orchard For Californian Mediterranean Plant Communities, Brandon Hurd
Analysis And Installation Of A Demonstration Agroforestry Orchard For Californian Mediterranean Plant Communities, Brandon Hurd
Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects
Climate-appropriate agroforestry can provide low-input food security and ecosystem services for local Californian Mediterranean climates, while conserving natural resources (e.g., water, nitrogen, etc.). This project showcases a variety of agroforestry methods for five common plant communities of California and other analogous Mediterranean climates at the CAFES Experimental Farm on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Plant community species and their ethnobotanical uses were analyzed to mimic and incorporate aspects of native flora. Agricultural plants were also characterized to represent each of the five selected plant communities. GIS was used to assess the project site for soil, slope, and …
Quantifying The Environmental Performance Of A Stream Habitat Improvement Project, Cody Morse
Quantifying The Environmental Performance Of A Stream Habitat Improvement Project, Cody Morse
Master's Theses
River restoration projects are being installed worldwide to rehabilitate degraded river habitat. Many of these projects focus on stream habitat improvement (SHI), and an estimated 60%of the 37,000 projects listed in the National River Restoration Science Synthesis Program focus on SHI for salmon and trout species. These projects frequently lack a sufficient monitoring program or account for the environmental costs associated with SHI. The present study used life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques and topographic effectiveness monitoring to quantify environmental costs on the basis of geomorphic change. This methodology was a novel approach to assessing the cost-benefit relationship of SHI. To …
Investigating Meter Scale Topographic Variation As A Factor Of Monterey Pine (Pinus Radiata) Growing Conditions At Kenneth Norris Rancho Marino Reserve, Cambria, Ca, William J. Meyst
Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences
Endemic Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) is limited to three locations in California due to its unique ecological requirements. This project was conducted to investigate spatial growth patterns ofMonterey pine over complex ground surfaces. The coastal hills of Rancho Marino Reserve, Cambria, were surveyed using four 150-m transects to quantify and record ground surface features and growing conditions ofMonterey pine. Changes in elevation of each transect were measured using an Abney level. Linear ground surfaces were found at 86% (344 of 400) of survey nodes. Convex ground surfaces were found at 10.5% of survey nodes (42 of 400). Of …
The Imperative Of Conserving California's Foothill Oak Woodlands, Lauren Phillips
The Imperative Of Conserving California's Foothill Oak Woodlands, Lauren Phillips
Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
Mortality Assessment Of Redwood And Mixed Conifer Forest Types In Santa Cruz County Following Wildfire, Steve R. Auten
Mortality Assessment Of Redwood And Mixed Conifer Forest Types In Santa Cruz County Following Wildfire, Steve R. Auten
Master's Theses
On August 12, 2009, the Lockheed Fire ignited the west slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains burning approximately 7,819 acres. Foresters and other land managers were left with challenging decisions on how to evaluate tree mortality. Big Creek Lumber Company, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)’s Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR), and other resource professionals familiar with this region teamed up to develop a method for evaluating damage and thereby mortality for redwood, California nutmeg, live oak, tanoak, California bay, Pacific madrone, big leaf maple, Douglas-fir, Monterey pine, and knobcone pine. Quantitative damage criteria were used to design …
Simulated Effects Of Varied Landscape-Scale Fuel Treatments On Carbon Dynamics And Fire Behavior In The Klamath Mountains Of California, Kevin J. Osborne
Simulated Effects Of Varied Landscape-Scale Fuel Treatments On Carbon Dynamics And Fire Behavior In The Klamath Mountains Of California, Kevin J. Osborne
Master's Theses
I utilized forest growth model (FVS-FFE) and fire simulation software (FlamMap, Randig), integrated through GIS software (ArcMap9.3), to quantify the impacts varied landscape-scale fuel treatments have on short-term onsite carbon loss, long-term onsite carbon storage, burn probability, conditional flame length, and mean fire size. Thirteen fuel treatment scenarios were simulated on a 42,000 hectare landscape in northern California: one untreated, three proposed by the US Forest Service, and nine that were spatially-optimized and developed with the Treatment Optimization Model in FlamMap. The nine scenarios developed in FlamMap varied by treatment intensity (10%, 20%, and 30% of the landscape treated) and …
Utilization Of Geographic Information System For Research, Management, And Education In The Natural Resources Management Department At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, David In Yun
Master's Theses
Geographic Information System (GIS) is “an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information” (ESRI, 1997a). The Natural Resources Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, hereafter NRM, was one of the early users of GIS technology. Although GIS was primarily used as an educational tool, it was also used for cataloging and displaying resource information for management planning and research projects. As the computing technology advanced, GIS became more powerful and easier to use. NRM faculty and …
Fire: Ecology & Prevention, Justin R. Frey
A Comparison Of Lidar Generated Channel Features With Ground-Surveyed Channel Features In The Little Creek Watershed, Ryan M. Hilburn
A Comparison Of Lidar Generated Channel Features With Ground-Surveyed Channel Features In The Little Creek Watershed, Ryan M. Hilburn
Master's Theses
Detecting change in stream channel features over time is important in understanding channel morphology and the effects of both natural and anthropogenic influences. Channel features historically, and now currently, are being measured using a variety of ground survey techniques. These surveys require substantial time commitments and funding to complete. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is an airborne laser mapping technology that holds promise to provide an alternative to ground-based survey methods. For this study, ground surveys were used to verify the accuracy of data collected using airborne LiDAR. Fifty nine cross-sectional profiles were surveyed in the Little Creek watershed at …