Geography Commons^™

A Statistical Analysis Of The Distribution Of Roads Salt In Blueberry Farm Soils Of Van Buren County, Michigan, Melissa M. Kovach

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to compare and analyze the leaching of road salt (sodium chloride) in soils of blueberry farms. Due to recent events in Ottawa County, Michigan, road salt is increasingly being blamed for blueberry production loss. Sodium chloride is harmful because once a significant amount of salt enters the soil profile the salt is unable to be flushed out, and reduces the chance for nutrients to reach the plant for effective growth. This study tested the farms' soils for salinity before winter (October 2005), during winter (March 2006) and after winter (May 2006) to determine if …

An International Corridor In The Making?: Immigrant-Owned Entrepreneurial Establishments In Birmingham, Alabama, Paul N. Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

Immigration is changing the U.S. South in unprecedented ways. The South is no longer nearly the exclusive domain of whites and blacks as Hispanics and Asians comprise increasingly influential minorities in towns and cities throughout the region. Immigrants, many of whom are recent arrivals, are choosing to start entrepreneurial business ventures rather than go to work for someone else. This research examines immigrant-owned entrepreneurial establishments along two business corridors in metropolitan Birmingham, Alabama. It answers the following questions: (1) Why is an international corridor developing as opposed to a single group ethnic enclave? (2) What initially brought immigrant-entrepreneurs to Birmingham, …

The Spatial Form Of Post Apartheid Cape Town, Elizabeth Rebekah Trail

Masters Theses

This thesis deals with the urban form of Cape Town, South Africa in the years following the end of apartheid. The apartheid government created a city that was racially segregated, and over the last twelve years the new democratic government has passed much legislation in an attempt to correct the distorted layout. The national and local policies call for compact sustainable cities that reintegrate the historically disadvantaged people and help bring them out of poverty. To see how effective the policies were in directing growth, I tracked development trends in Cape Town by using GIS to map the results of …

Fields With Dreams: The Distribution Of Farmland With Publicly-Funded Conservation Easements In Pennsylvania, Amy Sue Hill

Masters Theses

Conservation easements have played an increasingly significant role in the American movement to preserve farmland from urban development. Conservation easements are legal instruments that enable a landowner to sell his right to develop his property to an outside party, typically a government entity or a private land conservancy. The distribution of conservation easements used to preserve farmland is highly variable. Conservation easements often are found in regions where productive farmland and intense development pressure collide. Conservation easements are most common in places where both public and private sectors give strong financial and political support for conservation.

This thesis analyzes the …

The Impact Of A One-Half Day Environmental Education Program On Elementary Students, David C. Pagel

Masters Theses

The hypothesis of this research is that elementary students benefit from the Kalamazoo Nature Center's (KNC) one-half day inquiry program, based upon data collected using a Likert scale instrument. The earth science inquiry program at KNC is intended to enhance student attitude about the natural environment. There are two primary components to the research. First, data were collected through a pre-/post-survey from elementary students who participated in the Kalamazoo Nature Center's one half-day environmental education program. The survey was based on the Test of Science Related Attitudes (Fraser, 1981). Second, data were analyzed to assess student attitudes and beliefs before …

A Paleoecological History Of West Pond On Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas, Based On Pollen And Charcoal Analysis Of Lake Sediments, Allison Jean Stork

Masters Theses

West Pond (26.2˚ N, 77.2˚ W, ca. 5 m elevation) is a shallow, alkaline pond within the pine rocklands and karst topography of Great Abaco Island, the Bahamas. For parallel core sections recovered from the pond in 2003 reveal marl sediments overlying peat deposits with a paleosol at the base. A radiocarbon date on a fragment of wood of Pinus caribaea Morelet from the paleosol indicates that the sediment record at West Pond spans the last ~2100 years.

Pollen grains preserved in the West Pond sediments indicate significant environmental change at the site. While pine pollen accounts for 85-99% of …

The Olde Town Of Segovia And Its Aqueduct: Preservation And Tourist Management, Rose Ann Switt

Masters Theses

The city of Segovia, Spain is known for its Acueducto (Aqueduct), the Alcazar Castle, its Catedral (Cathedral), la Casa de la Moneda de Segovia (the House of Money of Segovia), and over 60 additional historical buildings, monuments, and protected vistas. This abundance qualified the city for designation in 1986 as a World Heritage site under guidelines established by the United Nations Education and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Site status is coveted by city and regions around the world, but little research conducted in Spain has been recorded in English to determine if receiving this status actually affects …

Preparing For The Onset Of Hemlock Mortality In Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Assessment Of Potential Impacts To Riparian Ecosystems, Scott Wesley Roberts

Masters Theses

Currently the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsuga) is spreading across forests in eastern North America, causing the decline and mortality of the eastern hemlock and the Carolina hemlock. Investigation into the impact of hemlock mortality on ecosystem processes has only recently begun and is not yet fully understood. The loss of hemlock from riparian forests in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) could reasonably be expected to result in significant alterations to stream environments. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of riparian hemlock stands on stream conditions and estimate possible impacts from hemlock loss …

Spatiotemporal Modeling Of Shorebird Habitat Availability At Rankin Wildlife Management Area, Tennessee, Matthew D. Smith

Masters Theses

This study examines spatiotemporal patterns of shorebird stopover habitat availability at Rankin Wildlife Management Area (Rankin Bottoms) on the Douglas Reservoir, Tennessee, USA. Rankin Bottoms is a key stopover site for fall migrating shorebirds traveling through the Tennessee River Valley (TRV). In the TRV, the majority of shorebird habitats consist of mudflats created along reservoirs in the fall as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) lowers reservoir levels to prepare for winter and spring rains. Occasional changes to the annual reservoir management cycle enacted by TVA have affected the timing of mudflat exposure and thus the timing of availability of stopover …

Analysis Of Factors Affecting Zebra Mussel (Dreissena Polymorpha) Abundance In Gull Lake, Michigan, Ryan P. Miller

Masters Theses

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) proliferation has become a serious problem in the Great Lakes Basin. This study uses bathymetry, vegetation distribution, and substratum data to assess their relationship with zebra mussel measurements in Gull Lake, Michigan. Different statistical tests were performed in order to investigate the relationship between the variables and to infer any significance among the variables in relation to zebra mussel abundance. Dreissena polymorpha data include 16 sites on Gull Lake, collected in July of 1999. Vegetation, substratum, and bathymetric datasets were obtained and analyzed by using Geographic Information Science (GIS) techniques.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) …

Spatial Analysis Of Nitrate Contamination Of Groundwater In Dodge County, Wisconsin, Jacob Andrew Maas

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to identify the primary variables that lead to high nitrate levels in Dodge County, Wisconsin. Trend surface analysis was used to identify which land use/land cover and aquifer characteristics are responsible for increased nitrate levels. A kriging model with residuals from the trend surface analysis, were then applied to estimate the spatial distribution of nitrate levels in the entire study area. Cross-validation was conducted to assess the uncertainty of the kriging model in the analysis.

The result from the trend surface analysis showed that, soil depth to bedrock, agriculture, urban, barren and shrub land, …

The Relationship Between Landcover And Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Strikes In Kalamazoo, County, Michigan, Zachary J. Newton

Masters Theses

Lightning strike point data, collected by the National Lightning Detection Network™ in June, July, and August of 1993, was used in conjunction with geographic information systems (GIS) to examine the distribution of lightning strikes within and among landcover and geologic classes in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

Quadrat analysis results showed that the lightning strike pattern did not follow a random distribution and exhibited a tendency for clustering when mapped with kernel density. A chi-square analysis showed there was a statistically significant relationship among landcovers, geology, and lightning strikes. Two t-tests were used to evaluate the data, one that corrected for location …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Assess Risk For Elevated Blood Lead Levels In Children In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Amatun Noor

Masters Theses

Lead-based paint is the major source of childhood lead poisoning for children under six in the United States and was commonly used in pre-1950 homes. The main objective of this study for Kalamazoo County, Michigan is to identify risk homes to for public health workers, and determine common socioeconomic factors from the US Census that can be used to identify relative risk across census tracts. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is applied to locate the risk homes of 485 children provided at the aggregate level by the Michigan Department of Community Health. Independent variables were derived from the U.S. 2000 …

The Globalization Of The Food Retail Sector In Southern Mexico, Alexandra Teachout

Masters Theses

The practices and policies of transnational corporations have now taken hold in the geo-economy, and the effects of globalization can be seen worldwide. Current research trends in economic geography focus on these policies and their transformations with regards to specific sectors. These theories predict and explain how transnational corporations should act, interact, and influence host countries. This foreign presence in host countries not only influences the corporate sector, but creates unique changes and challenges for producers and consumers. Consequently, the need to understand how the evolution of the global space affects the transformation of the local space, as well as …