Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating Land Cover Change And Opportunities For Bioenergy Crop Development On Surface Mine Sites In West Virginia, U.S.A., Kenzie D. Kohrs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Surface mining can impact land cover, forests, and water quality. Current reclamation strategies include revegetation with herbaceous species due to the ease and speed of cover establishment. Herbaceous and woody biomass crops have been used in various studies to reclaim surface mines and act as an alternative to nonrenewable energy sources. The objectives of this study were to quantify the state of vegetation growth on former surface mines in West Virginia over a 9-year period and identify suitable acreage for bioenergy production. During 2011 to 2020, we found that over 40,000 acres had been converted to forest and 40,000 acres …

Modeling Current And Future Saltmarsh Distribution In Arcata Marsh, Madeline Kay Mcnerthney

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Saltmarsh habitat is vulnerable to Sea Level Rise (SLR) and requires long-term management plans for communities to continue to benefit from their ecosystem services. This study analyzed the variation of above-ground vegetation biomass throughout I Street Marsh, using multiple variables, including classified vegetative community types, elevation and remote sensing indexes comprised of both visual (Red, Green, Blue) and non-visual (Red Edge, Near Infrared) bands. Plant community types were classified using a cluster analysis, and distinguished three communities, based on dominant species: Salicornia, Spartina, and a mixed type (diverse floristic makeup, with no dominant species). Above-ground biomass was significantly higher in …

Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two, Lillian Smith

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Transportation of debris within water systems is a prominent occurrence which has been linked to natural and artificial processes including wind, rain, and littering. This pilot study established methods to determine if a trail system is a good implementation to achieve recreation and connectivity goals laid out in the City of Lynchburg’s Tyreeanna & Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Plan. Blackwater Creek watershed, which contains an established trail system, and Fishing Creek watershed, containing a non-established trail system, were the two locations where this study’s methods were conducted. Use of the Virginia GIS Open Access Portal was essential in delineating the boundary …

Use Of Consumer Grade Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (Suas) For Mapping Storm Damage In Forested Environments, James Dewey Cox

Theses and Dissertations

Storm damages to forested environments pose significant challenges to landowners, land managers, and conservationists alike. Damage scope and scale assessments can be difficult, costly, and time consuming with conventional pedestrian survey techniques. Consumer grade sUAS technology offers an efficient, cost-effective way to accurately assess storm damage in small to moderate sized survey areas (less than 10 km²). Data were collected over a 0.195 km² area of damaged timber within the Kisatchie National Forest in Central Louisiana using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone. Collected imagery was processed into an orthomosaic using Agisoft Metashape Professional with a resulting ground sampling distance …

Multi-Criteria Evaluation Model For Classifying Marginal Cropland In Nebraska Using Historical Crop Yield And Biophysical Characteristics, Andrew Laws

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Marginal cropland is suboptimal due to historically low and variable productivity and limiting biophysical characteristics. To support future agricultural management and policy decisions in Nebraska, U.S.A, it is important to understand where cropland is marginal for its two most economically important crops: corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max). As corn and soybean are frequently planted in a crop rotation, it is important to consider if there is a relationship with cropland marginality. Based on the current literature, there exists a need for a flexible yet robust methodology for identifying marginal land at different scales, which …

Using A Geospatial Analysis Tool To Visualize Water Impairments And Engage Stakeholders In The San Bernardino National Forest, Jovany Estrada

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

High quality water is an important resource that is integral to supporting environmental and human health. It is essential for economic, social and environmental purposes. Impairments to water resources can be attributed to anthropogenic sources that are associated with terrestrial activities including urban development and agricultural activities. Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is an approach that can be used to include community input to improve water management strategies. In the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) area in southern California, there are disadvantaged communities that can benefit from a CBPR study to increase water quality in the area. A geovisualization tool will …

Land Cover Classification And Change During Mine Reclamation In Northeast Florida Using Multispectral Imagery, Daniel Burow, Robert Brown, Alexis Caldwell, Patrick Hunter, Jett-Ramy Kaddour, Alexander Kingma, Justin Kozicki, Blake Neal, Abigail Neff, Rylan Randolph, Devon Tanner, Isaiah Vahos

Sustainability Conference

Titanium is commonly used in the aerospace industry because it is lightweight and durable in extreme temperatures. The Green Cove Springs Mine, near Green Cove Springs, Florida, was used for mining and processing titanium and other minerals from 1972 until 2009. Since then, the mine area is being reclaimed, or rehabilitated and restored to its natural state, as required by Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulations. In this study, we use high-resolution multispectral satellite and aerial imagery obtained from 2016 to 2022 to examine land cover (LC) changes at the Green Cove Springs Mine during this reclamation period. We use …

Leveraging Land Easements For Grassland Bird Habitat Conservation, Amy N. Marigliano, Hayden E. Dubniczki, Sarah W. Westrick

Student Publications

In addressing the decline of North American grassland bird populations, it is important to consider the various interdisciplinary approaches that can be employed in their conservation. OECMs, or “other effective area-based conservation measures” encompass a wide array of strategies which can be leveraged to conserve natural landscapes and species. Land easements implemented by the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC) are an example of one such strategy. The LCAC seeks primarily to preserve the rural character of Adams County but has more recently turned their focus toward environmental conservation. In partnering with the Land Conservancy, this case study aimed to …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

A Karst Feature Prediction Model For Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska Based On High Resolution Lidar Imagery, Alexander Lyles

Master's Theses

Investigation into surface karst formation is significant to hazard prediction, hydrogeologic drainage, and land management. Southeast Alaska contains over 600,000 acres of mapped carbonate bedrock, and some of the fastest recorded karst dissolution in the world. The objectives of this study are to develop and compare multiple semi-automated models to map and delineate karst features from bare-earth LiDAR imagery using ArcGIS Desktop 10.7, and to apply a preliminary geostatistical analysis of sinkhole morphometric parameters to highlight potential spatial patterns of karst evolution on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. A semi-automated approach of mapping karst features provides a dataset that minimizes …

An Investigation Into Historical And Contemporary Breeding Occurrence Of The Ferruginous Hawk In Kansas, Erica Clark

Master's Theses

The Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) is the largest Buteo species occurring in grasslands, nesting along bluffs, buttes and isolated trees. In Kansas, the Ferruginous Hawk is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, Tier II. A previous study on Ferruginous Hawks nesting in Kansas during the years of 1979 to 1987, with sporadic visits from the 1990s to 2000, revealed that the most productive nesting territories were inaccessible to predators, placed on rocky ledges and the surrounding landscape was over 50% rangeland. I revisited 82 of the 111 historic nest territories in the summers of 2019 and …

Using Uav And Traditional Remote Sensing Data To Detect Vegetation Vigor And Monitor Stream Morphology In A Desert Riparian Ecosystem, Jordan Bradley Adair

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Mono Lake is a terminal lake in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The streams that feed Mono Lake support a unique desert riparian ecosystem. Rush Creek was the stream of interest for this study. The objective of this research is to determine if remotely sensed imagery can be used to determine vegetation vigor and measure stream morphologic features in a desert riparian area. The goals were to evaluate different sources of remotely sensed imagery to make these determinations. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to monitor vegetation vigor along Rush Creek. Google Earth imagery and UAV derived imagery …

A Look At Land Cover Classification Methods In Northern California With The Use Of High Spatial Resolution Geospatial Data, Lucila Corro

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Land use and land cover (LULC) mapping plays a vital role in understanding the state of the world, showing us a visual representation of the natural and anthropogenic features covering our planet. Northern California in the United States is home to many critical habitats that provide for a variety of endemic and some threatened and engendered species, making it an area of particular concern to better understand and monitor. There is a greater need to identify specific methods for vegetation modeling in Northern California due to its unique species; to do this we examined two case studies with the following …

Satellite-Based Phenology Analysis In Evaluating The Response Of Puerto Rico And The United States Virgin Islands' Tropical Forests To The 2017 Hurricanes, Melissa Collin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The functionality of tropical forest ecosystems and their productivity is highly related to the timing of phenological events. Understanding forest responses to major climate events is crucial for predicting the potential impacts of climate change. This research utilized Landsat satellite data and ground-based Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data to investigate the dynamics of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands’ (PRVI) tropical forests after two major hurricanes in 2017. Analyzing these two datasets allowed for validation of the remote sensing methodology with field data and for the investigation of whether this is an appropriate approach for estimating forest …

Evaluation Of A Low-Cost Uas And Phenocams For Measuring Grapevine Greenness, Timothy J. Hoheneder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Unpersoned aerial systems (UAS) could provide winegrowers with the potential to monitor vineyard productivity with ultra-high-resolution imagery and low operational costs. This ability could prove particularly valuable in the challenging cool-climate viticultural areas of Appalachia. Especially in this mountainous region of increasingly variable microclimates, there could be of great value from an ability to use UAS-measured greenness to monitor wine grape phenology and predict harvest quality and quantity. In this study, I assess how UAS-measured greenness relates to three complementary measures of field-based: leaf angle measurements, phenocam measured greenness, and leaf spectral measurements of greenness. After correlating these field-based measures …

Species Distribution Modeling For Arid Adapted Habitat Specialists In Zion National Park, Sam Driver, Daniel R. Unger, David L. Kulhavy, Chris M. Schalk

Student Publications

The Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) and Jones’ waxy dogbane (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii) are habitat specialists with historical ranges in the desert southwest and specifically, Zion National Park (ZION). The machine learning method, MaxEnt, constructed species distribution models (SDMs) in ZION for the two study species at 30 m and 900 m spatial resolutions using climate, topographic, and remotely sensed data. Additionally, 900 m forecasting models were constructed to observe the shifts in suitable habitat for the years 2050 and 2070, based off two representative concentration pathway scenarios. Results indicate promising predictive power for both high …

Statistical Analysis Of Land Cover Conversion Trends In Northwest Ohio, Chaska Mcgowan

Honors Projects

Agricultural land in the U.S. is abundant but not infinite. Change in cropland impacts national and local economies and the natural environment. The Black Swamp Conservancy (BSC), a non-profit land trust in Perrysburg, Ohio, is committed to preserving agricultural and natural lands in the Northwest Ohio region for future generations. This project was designed in collaboration with the BSC to illustrate the spatial distribution of land cover change within their sixteen-county service area in Northwest Ohio and to find a list of factors associated with land cover change in the region. The primary data source was the National Land Cover …

Comparing Rusle Ls Calculation Methods Across Varying Dem Resolutions, Amanda Moody

All Master's Theses

Soil erosion is a global problem that reduces land productivity and causes environmental degradation. Soil erosion models, such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), are used to estimate the severity and distribution of erosion. The topographic factor (LS), which combines slope length and angle, is an important part of RUSLE. This work compared two methods of L calculation, the grid cumulation (GC) and the contributing area (CA) methods, and two methods of S calculation, the neighborhood (NBR) and maximum downhill slope (MDS) methods. These were compared across digital elevation models (DEMs) of 1, 5, 10, and 30m resolutions. …

Gaps In Protection Of Important Ocean Areas: A Spatial Meta-Analysis Of Ten Global Mapping Initiatives, Natasha J. Gownaris, Christine M. Santora, John B. Davis, Ellen K. Pikitch

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

To safeguard biodiversity effectively, marine protected areas (MPAs) should be sited using the best available science. There are numerous ongoing United Nations and non-governmental initiatives to map globally important marine areas. The criteria used by these initiatives vary, resulting in contradictions in the areas identified as important. Our analysis is the first to overlay these initiatives, quantify consensus, and conduct gap analyses at the global scale. We found that 55% of the ocean has been identified as important by one or more initiatives, and that individual areas have been identified by as many as seven overlapping initiatives. Using our overlay …

Identification Of Mined Areas That May Contribute To Water Quality Degradation At Hobet Coal Mine, West Virginia, Brian P. Murphy

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Wildfire Exposure To Critical Habitat Of Endangered And Threatened Species In California, Kristin Butcher

Master's Theses

Researchers, fire ecologists and wildlife managers are concerned about impact to endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat due to the projected increase in future wildfires. Wildfires have been studied in California for the last six decades and have been increasing at an alarming rate since the 1980’s. In this study, I use the 2018 spatial dataset for critical habitat of federally endangered and threatened species located in the state boundaries of California and compare it to a spatial dataset for wildfires that have occurred over the span of 32 years (1984 to 2016). Trends are derived from spatial …

Development Of Digital Bathymetry Maps For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo Using Sonar And Remote Sensing Techniques, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Jorge Gonzalez

Publications and Research

This article presents an improved algorithm for optimization and development of a digital bathymetric model (DBM) for Lake Azuei (LA) (Haiti) and Lake Enriquillo (LE) (Dominican Republic) using the ANUDEM method. Both sonar data and contour lines of the lakes’ layout extracted using Landsat imagery were compiled for bathymetry development. We show that the performance of the ANUDEM method was strongly dependent on the density and irregularity of the spatial distribution of the data. Changing the resolution of the output grids and deriving auxiliary topographically corrected contours improved the ANUDEM performance and minimized the systematic errors of the method. Statistical …

Predicting Spawning Habitat For Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus Kisutch), Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha), And Steelhead (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Using Geospatially Constructed Stream Morphology From High-Resolution Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Model And Field Survey Data In The Indian Creek Watershed, Mendocino County, California, Justin Patrick Bissell Mr.

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Restoration of anadromous salmonid habitat is of primary importance to the economic, historical, and cultural geography of the Pacific Northwest. Derivation and use of geospatial habitat models as guides to pinpoint key areas where limited restoration funding can be cost-effectively employed is of great importance. To this purpose, 1 meter resolution lidar-derived Digital Elevation Model data was acquired for the Indian Creek and neighboring watersheds in Mendocino County, California, and used together with field-acquired geomorphic stream data to geospatially model stream widths, depths, and streambank morphology. These geospatial covariates were field-verified in selected locations and then used in conjunction with …

Using Lidar To Approximate Keystone Structure And Evaluate Management Practices In Potential Habitats Of The Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis), Brandyn Balch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Keystone structure is the spatial structure required by a given species, at a scale that is determined by that species’ needs and mobility. The endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis, hereafter KBB) has a keystone structure that incorporates trees and bushes to provide the mixture of sun and shade required to fulfil its life functions. Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a potentially invaluable tool for characterizing keystone structures. However, lidar has yet to be utilized to evaluate structural suitability of KBB habitats. Therefore, I investigated the use of lidar for characterizing critical attributes of KBB habitat structure, …

Developing A Nearshore Geospatial Framework For Recovery Assessment And Planning, Jennifer Burke, Stacy Vynne

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

As part of the Beach Strategies project developed by the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP), Puget Sound Partnership, ESRP, and Coastal Geologic Services (CGS) developed a geospatial framework to integrate nearshore data for analyses. The Beach Strategies project developed a geodatabase to inform restoration and protection planning. The Nearshore Geospatial Framework was designed as a companion structure to the Beach Strategies data to facilitate consistent and scalable units of analysis across the region-wide dataset. The framework is a series of consistent polygons with variable characteristics in both aquatic and inland areas of the nearshore. The polygon structures include variable …

Assessing The Impacts Of Toxic Mixtures Over A Broad Geographic Scale: Challenges And First Steps, David Hugh Baldwin, Julann A. Spromberg, Jessica I. Lundin, Cathy A. Laetz, Nathaniel L. Scholz

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Assessing the risks posed by chemical mixtures is a complex process. Ideally, details are available on exposure (e.g. which chemicals and what concentrations) and effects (e.g. mechanisms of action and toxicity data). This can be challenging even for a single location and time such as a lab or field site. Ecological risk assessments often need to cover much larger scales such as an entire watershed or a wide-ranging species. This increase in scale substantially increases the complexity. Thousands of chemicals in use lead to potential environmental mixture exposures, including pesticide runoff and municipal wastewater discharges. At the landscape scale the …

Watershed Management Tools: Hazardous Site Case History, Reference Stream Analysis, And Gis Analysis Of Fire Risk, Patrick Doyle

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

My portfolio explores some tools that are used to protect or assess watershed health and the experiences and lessons I learned during my time in the Environmental Studies program. The first piece in my portfolio is a case study that looks at the history of pollution ad cleanup of the kraft pulp mill along the Clark Fork River. In my study, I look closely at the EPA’s investigation of the site and the community’s reaction to the findings. In my second piece, I describe my field and lab experience working for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. During this time, …

Assessing Spatio-Temporal Patterns Of Forest Decline Across A Diverse Landscape In The Klamath Mountains Using A 28-Year Landsat Time-Series Analysis, Drew S. Bost

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rates of tree mortality in California and the Pacific Northwest have greatly increased in recent years, driven largely by pest and pathogen outbreaks as well as the effects of hotter, warmer droughts. While there have been a multitude of regional-scale assessments of mortality and forest decline, landscape-level studies are necessary to better identify forests that are most vulnerable to decline and to anticipate future changes. This need is particularly notable in the remote and little-studied mountains of northwest California, which are renowned for their diverse, heterogeneous vegetation types. A recent observation of elevated levels of Shasta red fir (Abies …

Seasonal Resource Selection And Habitat Treatment Use By A Fringe Population Of Greater Sage-Grouse, Rhett Boswell

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

Movement and habitat selection by Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus uropasianus) is of great interest to wildlife managers tasked with applying conservation measures for this iconic western species. Current technology has created small and lightweight GPS (Global Positioning Systems) transmitters that can be attached to sage-grouse. Using GIS software and statistical programs such as Program R, land managers can analyze GPS location data to assess how sage-grouse are geospatially interacting with their habitats. Within the Panguitch Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) thousands of acres of land have been restored or manipulated to enhance sage-grouse habitat; this usually involves removal of pinyon pine …

Predicting Northern Bobwhite Habitat In Semiarid Rangeland Using Landsat Imagery, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Multiple studies have attempted to model northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) distribution using classified remotely sensed imagery in combination with pattern recognition software. These models tend to be more accurate in humid subtropical regions. To identify bobwhite habitat in subhumid and semiarid rangeland, we performed our own classification on 4 LANDSAT scenes of Clay County, Texas, from July and December 2015. Stands of mature little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) provide excellent bobwhite nesting cover and could be identified using LANDSAT imagery. Habitat was scored from 0 to 1.0 based on estimated range health, presence of little bluestem, and …