Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Post Wildfire Vegetation Response To The Wildland-Urban Interface: A Case Study Of The Station Fire, Angelo C. De Guzman, Raju Bista, Parveen K. Chhetri

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

In the past, wildfires served as a method for mother nature to promote biodiversity and to help maintain a functioning ecosystem. However, climate change alters the fire regime, significantly impacting vegetation recovery. Human disturbances and increased land use and land cover heighten vegetation disruption and abundance after a fire. Wildland-urban interface (WUI) – the region where the vegetation intermingles with the roads, houses, and human-made structures – threatens vegetation and the human population. Overall vegetation recovery after the Station Fire of 2009 spread through the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County was observed using Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Normalized Difference …

Snow-Albedo Feedback In Northern Alaska: How Vegetation Influences Snowmelt, Lucas C. Reckhaus

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates how the snow-albedo feedback mechanism of the arctic is changing in response to rising climate temperatures. Specifically, the interplay of vegetation and snowmelt, and how these two variables can be correlated. This has the potential to refine climate modelling of the spring transition season. Research was conducted at the ecoregion scale in northern Alaska from 2000 to 2020. Each ecoregion is defined by distinct topographic and ecological conditions, allowing for meaningful contrast between the patterns of spring albedo transition across surface conditions and vegetation types. The five most northerly ecoregions of Alaska are chosen as they encompass …

Vegetation Land Cover/Use Dynamics And Their Effects In Mbulu And Karatu Districts In The North-Eastern Highlands Of Tanzania, Leonia John Raphael

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Vegetation Land Cover/Land Use dynamics (VLC/LU) are the result of complex and compound interactions between the human (cultural, socioeconomic, and political) and the physical environment at different spatial scales. The present study assesses the spatial distribution of VLC/LU dynamics from 1987 to 2015 in the North-Eastern highlands of Tanzania using both qualitative (in-depth interviews and focus group discussions) and quantitative techniques (spatio-temporal analysis through GIS). The qualitative approach was used to elicit information on the main drivers of VLC/LU changes by land users as transitions occurred with time. The spatio-temporal analysis was used to assess the systematic vegetation land losses, …

Measuring And Modeling Of Urban Growth And Its Impacts On Vegetation And Species Habitats In Greater Orlando, Florida, Sunhui Sim, Victor Mesev

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

Urban growth is widely regarded as an important driver of environmental and social problems. It causes the loss of informal open space and wildlife habitats. Timely and accurate assessments of future urban growth scenarios and associated environmental impacts are crucial for urban planning, policy decision, and natural resource management. In this study, five distinct scenarios ("no constraints", "compact development", "transit-oriented development", "agriculture protection" and "environmental protection" scenarios) were tested on Greater Orlando, Florida, along with conservation objectives and projections for future land use/cover from development demands. The study examined the consequences of alternative scenarios of urban growth on potential habitat …

Evaluating Drought In The United States Using The Emissivity Difference Vegetation Index, Hanisha Hirani

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As monitoring vegetation and crops becomes increasingly important due to climate change, there arises the need for a monitoring scheme that places more weight on water availability as an indication of vegetation health and vitality. The Emissivity Difference Vegetation Index (EDVI) is the first step towards that type of monitoring scheme. With the potential for diurnal studies, there are applications towards agriculture monitoring, wildfire monitoring, and much more. EDVI is a synergetic product retrieved from microwave, visible, and infrared satellite measurements, as well as reanalysis. Since microwave measurements are more sensitive to vegetation water content, EDVI has the potential to …

Land Systems Of The Kimberley Region, Western Australia, A L. Payne, N Schoknecht

Technical Bulletins

The Land Systems of the Kimberley Region Report describes and maps the landscapes, soils and vegetation of the Kimberley region. This report is a consolidation of surveys carried out by different organisations, across different areas of the Kimberley, since the 1940s. The Kimberley region, as defined in this bulletin, covers 330 070km². The report categorises the Kimberley region into 111 land systems. Under each land system, the report identifies the vulnerabilities of those areas, and provides recommendations on how to achieve sustainable use. The report also publishes pasture types for the entire region and the grazing potential for each pasture, …

Vegetation Classification And Mapping Of Homestead National Monument Of America, Project Report, Kelly Kindscher, Hayley Kilroy, Jennifer Delisle, Quinn Long, Hillary Loring, Kevin Dobbs, Jim Drake

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Homestead National Monument (HOME) was created at the to celebrate the significance of the Homestead Act of 1862 which granted 160 acres of free land to claimants and was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. The National Monument encompasses 184 acres in Gage County, west of Beatrice, Nebraska. This unique site also hosts the oldest prairie restoration in the National Park system, and the second-oldest tallgrass prairie restoration known. This park unit also has a small remnant of native tallgrass prairie and remnants of bur-oak forest.

A three-year …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, P A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

Vegetation Identification Based On Satellite Imagery, Vamsi K.R. Mantena, Ramu Pedada, Srinivas Jakkula, Yuzhong Shen, Jiang Li, Hamid R. Arabnia (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Automatic vegetation identification plays an important role in many applications including remote sensing and high performance flight simulations. This paper presents a method to automatically identify vegetation based upon satellite imagery. First, we utilize the ISODATA algorithm to cluster pixels in the images where the number of clusters is determined by the algorithm. We then apply morphological operations to the clustered images to smooth the boundaries between clusters and to fill holes inside clusters. After that, we compute six features for each cluster. These six features then go through a feature selection algorithm and three of them are determined to …

Spatial And Temporal Expression Of Vegetation And Atmospheric Variability From Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Bat Guano In The Southern United States, Christopher M. Wurster, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Michael I. Bird

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Stable isotopes of faeces contain information related to the animals feeding ecology. The use of stable isotope values from subfossil faeces as a palaeoenvironmental indicator depends on how faithfully the animal records their local environment. Here we present insectivorous bat guano δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values from a precipitation gradient across the southern United States and northern Mexico to compare with local vegetation and climate. We find δ¹³C values to be an excellent predictor of expected C₄/CAM vegetation, indicating that the bats are non-selective in their diet. Moreover, we find bat guano δ …

Ozone Damage Potential To Loblolly Pine Ecosystems In Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, Diane Marie Styers

Geosciences Theses

Atlanta is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the southeastern United States and is the only area in the region currently listed in “serious” 1-hour ozone nonattainment. Despite its exceedance history, impacts on Atlanta’s urban forests have not been the focus of any major studies. The purpose of this study was to examine air pollution damage to vegetation using a foliar-injury survey on Stone Mountain. The objectives of this project included 1) establishing that pollution transport from Atlanta to Stone Mountain occurs, 2) determining the magnitude of ozone concentrations near Stone Mountain and 3) assessing sensitive plant species on …

Is Degradation A Major Problem In Semi-Desert Environments Of The Gobi Region In Southern Mongolia?, Karsten Wesche, Vroni Retzer

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

This paper tests predictions derived from the non-equilibrium theory of rangeland science. Data were collected in livestock enclosures situated in the relatively moist desert steppes of the Gobi Gurvan Saykhan region of southern Mongolia from 2000 to 2003. Plant community composition and species’ richness in enclosures showed clear differences between years, but these were equally strong in ungrazed controls. Thus, changes were mainly attributed to differences in precipitation between years as opposed to grazing, as no significant effects thereof were detected. This was also confirmed by data on above-ground standing biomass. This changed tremendously over the years, with differences between …

Environmental Adaptations Of The Gobi Desert Plants In Mongolia: An Example Of C4-Plants, Ts. Tsendeekhuu, Clanton Candler Black

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

This paper presents the results of our studies on the ecological adaptations and geographical distribution of plants with C4-photosynthesis in Mongolia using ¹³C isotope discrimination.

Previous studies identified about 80 C4-species in 8 families in the Mongolian flora. Our investigations lead to the identification of four additional species, which can be regarded as C4-plants. Orostachys spinosa (-16.26‰ ¹³C), O. thyrsiflora (-16.86‰ ¹³C), O. fimbriata (-16.15‰ ¹³C), and Euphorbia humifusa (-23.29‰ ¹³C). However, as the discrimination level for Euphorbia humifusa is very similar to that of C3-plants it may be switching between C3 and C4 types …

Registros De Sedimentos Lacustres De La Vegetación Del Holoceno Y Historia Del Fuego En El Páramo De Costa Rica. (Lake-Sediment Records Of Holocene Vegetation And Fire History In The Costa Rican Páramos), Sally P Horn, Brandon L. League

Geography Publications and Other Works

We examined pollen, pteridophyte (ferns and fern-allies) spores, and charcoal in a 5.6 m long sediment core from Lago de las Morrenas 1, and charcoal in a 1.1 m long sediment core from Lago Chirripó, to reconstruct postglacial vegetation and fire history in the Chirripó páramo. Lago de las Morrenas 1, the largest lake in the Valle de las Morrenas of Chirripó National Park, is presently surrounded by treeless páramo vegetation and has apparently been so since deglaciation approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Pollen spectra suggest no pronounced changes in vegetation since ice retreat. Pollen percentages for Gramineae and other …

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Pilbara Region, Western Australia, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, A L. Payne, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Pilbara region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia between 1995 and 1999, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about 181 723 km². Seven …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find Area, Western Australia, A L. Payne, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, H J. Pringle, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1992 and 1993, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area’s natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of Rangelands In The North-Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia, H J. Pringle, S A. Gilligan, A M E Van Vreeswyk

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the north-eastern Goldfields, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1988 and 1990, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about 100 …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Murchison River Catchment, Western Australia, Peter James Curry, A L. Payne, K A. Leighton, P Hennig, D A. Blood

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Murchison River catchment and surrounds, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture between 1985 and 1988, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed by field work during 1985-88 …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of Rangelands In The Ashburton River Catchment, Western Australia, A A. Mitchell, A L. Payne, W F. Holman

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of rangelands in the Ashburton River catchment, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1976 and 1978, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of Rangelands In The Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, A L. Payne, G F. Spencer, P J. Curry

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of rangelands in the Carnarvon Basin, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1980 and 1982, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers …

How To Make A Natural Resources Inventory, Community Natural Resources Inventory Project

Maine Collection

A Handbook How to Make a Natural Resources Inventory for Your Community

Prepared by: James F. Connors, Sterling Dow III & Dean B. Bennett

Community Natural Resources Inventory Project (Title I, Higher Education Act), The University of Maine at Portland - Gorham (Project Sponsor) and The Maine Association of Conservation Commissions (Project Co-Sponsor), 1975.

"This handbook is published as a result of a grant from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare under the Higher Education Act, Title I. No official endorsement by the U.S. Office of Education should be inferred."

Contents: Preface / Introduction / …