Digital Commons Network^™

Object-Based Crop Classification With Landsat-Modis Enhanced Time-Series Data, Qingting Li, Cuizhen Wang, Bing Zhang, Linlin Lu

Faculty Publications

Cropland mapping via remote sensing can provide crucial information for agri-ecological studies. Time series of remote sensing imagery is particularly useful for agricultural land classification. This study investigated the synergistic use of feature selection, Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) segmentation and decision tree classification for cropland mapping using a finer temporal-resolution Landsat-MODIS Enhanced time series in 2007. The enhanced time series extracted 26 layers of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and five NDVI Time Series Indices (TSI) in a subset of agricultural land of Southwest Missouri. A feature selection procedure using the Stepwise Discriminant Analysis (SDA) was performed, and 10 optimal …

Beyond Bivariate Correlations: Three-Block Partial Least Squares Illustrated With Vegetation, Soil, And Topography, Daehyun Kim, Thomas J. Dewitt, Cesar S. B. Costa, John A. Kupfer, Ryan W. Mcewan, J. Anthony Stallins

Geography Faculty Publications

Ecologists, particularly those engaged in biogeomorphic studies, often seek to connect data from three or more domains. Using three-block partial least squares regression, we present a procedure to quantify and define bi-variance and tri-variance of data blocks related to plant communities, their soil parameters, and topography. Bi-variance indicates the total amount of covariation between these three domains taken in pairs, whereas tri-variance refers to the common variance shared by all domains. We characterized relationships among three domains (plant communities, soil properties, topography) for a salt marsh, four coastal dunes, and two temperate forests spanning several regions in the world. We …

Lithium In Drinking Water And Suicide Mortality: Interplay With Lithium Prescriptions, Marco Helbich, Michael Leitner, Nestor D. Kapusta

Faculty Publications

Background: Little is known about the effects of lithium intake through drinking water on suicide. This intake originates either from natural rock and soil elution and/or accumulation of lithium-based pharmaceuticals in ground water. Aims: To examine the interplay between natural lithium in drinking water, prescribed lithium-based pharmaceuticals and suicide in Austria. Method: Spatial Bayesian regressions for males, females and pooled suicide mortality rates were estimated. Results: Although the expected inverse association between lithium levels in drinking water and suicide mortality was confirmed for males and for total suicide rates, the relationship for females was not significant. The models do not …

The Industrial Impact On Wetlands In Jinja And The Nexus Of Industry, Wetlands, And Community (A Rights-Based Sustainable Development Approach), Ranger Ruffins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Uganda is a beautiful country filled with an extensive amount of natural resources, one of the most profound being wetlands. It is said that these wetlands are a crucial source of food and water for almost 3 million people (NEMA, 2012 and Oguttu et.al, 2008). They also provide many more invaluable socioeconomic benefits for the country. As Uganda experiences increasing development as well as a rapidly increasing population, the wetlands become increasingly necessary, at the same time they become increasingly threatened. It is written in the 1995 Ugandan constitution that Ugandan policy is aimed at ensuring sustainable development for the …

Animals As Neighbours: The Past And Present Of Commensal Animals By Terry O'Connor, Derek Woods

The Goose

Review of Terry O'Connor's Animals as Neighbours: The Past and Present of Commensal Animals.

Throughfall Nutrients In A Degraded Indigenous Fagus Orientalis Forest And A Picea Abies Plantation In The Of North Of Iran, Parisa Abbasian, Pedram Attarod, Seyed Mohammad Moein Sadeghi, John T. Van Stan, Seyed M. Hojjati

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: Faculty Publications

Aim of study: The objective of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of TF (throughfall) in an indigenous, but degraded, stand of Fagus orientalis and Picea abies plantation.

Area of study: Forests of Kelar-Dasht region located in Mazandaran province, northern Iran.

Material and Methods: TF measured by twenty collectors that were distributed randomly underneath each stand. For 21 storms sampled in 2012 (August-December) and 2013 (April-June), we analyzed pH, EC, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, NO3-, and P of gross rainfall (GR) and TF.

Main results: Cumulative interception (I) for F. orientalis and P. abies were 114.2 mm and …

Avian Diversity Across Three Distinct Agricultural Landscapes In Guadalupe, Chiriquí Highlands, Panama, Jarred Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Deforestation of tropical forest for agricultural purposes threatens habitat loss of native species. The value of various agricultural landscapes in conserving avian populations is useful in determining diversity-conscious development plans. However, generalized results from regionalscale studies cannot be implemented to insular avian habitats. This study serves as the only current avian diversity study of the Chiriquí Highlands. To determine the effect of agricultural land use within an insular avian habitat, I compared avian diversity and site population similarity in Guadalupe, Chiriquí Highlands of the Talamanca Range, Panama. I hypothesized that avian diversity is greatest at forest edge followed by forest …

Geographic Assessment Of The Perception Of Nature Reserves And National Parks In Kuwait, Meshari S. Alenezi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arabian Gulf countries have passed strict laws to preserve their environment. Kuwait has a strong history with preserving natural areas. The ecological value and richness of Kuwait's ecosystems have increased since the nature reserves were built. This research has evaluated the perceptions that Kuwaitis have of the design, creation, and development of nature reserves in Kuwait. It involved the use of survey instruments (questionnaires) and interviews with respondents of both urban and rural communities. Data from these surveys and interviews analyzed regarding perceptions of nature reserves' needs, sizes, functions, and future plans.

The results of examinations (surveys) demonstrate that …

Water Resources And The Historic Wells Of Barbuda: Tradition, Heritage And Hope For A Sustainable Future, Rebecca Boger, Sophia Perdikaris, Amy E. Potter, John Mussington

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: Faculty Publications

The island of Barbuda has a relatively unique history, land tenure and geography. Unlike its Caribbean counterparts, the island is not suited to large-scale agriculture due to its arid climate and relatively thin soils. Instead, the enslaved and eventually free people of Barbuda developed a complex herding ecology centered on common land ownership. As a result, carefully designed historic wells are strategically located around the island. With the challenges brought about by climate change, an interdisciplinary, international team led by the Barbuda Research Complex is investigating the state of existing water and food resources and examining how the availability and …

Assessing Landscape Change In Highland Peru With An Emphasis On Tree Cover Change, 1948-2012, Timothy Guy Sutherlin

Master's Theses

Tree cover change was examined around three cities in the central Andes of Peru, 1948-2012, using repeat photography, remote sensing, and ethnographic methods. Forest transition theory provided a framework to study the causes of the changes observed. The repeat photography results show that there were more trees on the landscape in 2012 than there were in 1948. There were increases in smaller groupings of trees visible in the photography that were associated with smallholder intensification in the form of new woodlots, field borders and dooryard trees. The remote sensing results show there was a significant increase in larger patches of …

Convergence Of Dune Topography Among Multiple Barrier Island Morphologies, Jackie Ann Monge

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Wave-dominated and mixed tidal and wave energy barrier islands are assumed to have characteristic dune topographies that link to their macroscale form. However, there has been no systematic attempt to describe the linkage between barrier island macroscale form and dune topography. The goal of this thesis was to investigate how dune topographies correspond to a number of barrier island morphologies found along the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast. Macroscale process-form variables were used to classify 77 islands into seven morphologic clusters. Islands from each cluster were selected and sites characteristic of the range of dune topographies within islands were characterized using …

For Logs, For Traditional Purposes And For Food: Identification Of Multiple-Use Plant Species Of Northern Amazonia And An Assessment Of Factors Associated With Their Distribution, Anthony Ravindra Cummings

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the multiplicity of uses associated with tree and palm species of the Rupununi, Southern Guyana and the factors associated with their distribution. As tropical forests continue to decline the most significant response has been to understand the implications for the carbon cycle, with the impacts on forest dwelling peoples and wildlife, inadequately addressed. Multiple-use plants, individual species which at their most critical level provide food for wildlife, non-timber forest products and are commercially logged, provide a suitable lens for appreciating additional ecosystem services that may be compromised as tropical forests decline. I completed a plant inventory in …

The Use Of The Ostracode Cyprideis Americana (Sharpe) As A Proxy For Salinity In Bahamian Lake Systems, Rachel E. Bowles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Ostracodes, bi-valved crustaceans, are potentially excellent proxies for salinity.They are abundant, react to changes in salinity, and secrete low-magnesium calcite shells that preserve information about their host water chemistry. Changes in valve trace element concentration, stable isotope composition, and sieve pore shape values have been linked to changes in salinity. This study analyzed the response of the euryhaline ostracode, Cyprideis americana, to salinity in six lakes from two Bahamian islands across two seasons. The purpose of this work was to determine which compositional and morphological variables in C. americana are the most useful for paleosalinity reconstructions.Ostracode and water samples were …

Landscape Configuration And Urban Heat Island Effects: Assessing The Relationship Between Landscape Characteristics And Land Surface Temperature In Phoenix, Arizona, John Patrick Connors, Christopher S. Galletti, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The structure of urban environments is known to alter local climate, in part due to changes in land cover. A growing subset of research focuses specifically on the UHI in terms of land surface temperature by using data from remote sensing platforms. Past research has established a clear relationship between land surface temperature and the proportional area of land covers, but less research has specifically examined the effects of the spatial patterns of these covers. This research considers the rapidly growing City of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. To better understand how landscape structure affects local climate, we explored …

Uncovering The Structures In Ecological Networks: Multiple Techniques For Multiple Purposes, Peng Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Ecosystem structure and function are the product of biological and ecological elements and their connections and interactions. Understanding structure and process in ecosystems is critical to ecological studies. Ecological networks, based on simple concepts in which biological and ecological elements are depicted as nodes with relationships between them described as links, have been recognized as a valuable means of clarifying the relationship between structures and process in ecosystems. Ecological network analysis has benefited from the advancement of techniques in social science, computer science, and mathematics, but attention must be paid to whether the designs of these techniques follow ecological principles …

Global Trends In Seasonality Of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (Ndvi), 1982-2011, J. Ronald Eastman, Florencia Sangermano, Elia A. Machado, John Rogan, Assaf Anyamba

Geography

A 30-year series of global monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery derived from the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI3g archive was analyzed for the presence of trends in changing seasonality. Using the Seasonal Trend Analysis (STA) procedure, over half (56.30%) of land surfaces were found to exhibit significant trends. Almost half (46.10%) of the significant trends belonged to three classes of seasonal trends (or changes). Class 1 consisted of areas that experienced a uniform increase in NDVI throughout the year, and was primarily associated with forested areas, particularly broadleaf forests. Class 2 consisted of areas experiencing …

Eco-Epidemiology Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, Patrick Vander Kelen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is an alphavirus with high pathogenicity in both humans and horses. Florida continues to have the highest occurrence of human cases in the USA, with four fatalities recorded in 2010. Unlike other states, Florida supports year-round EEEV transmission. This research uses Geographic Information Science (GIS) to examine spatial patterns of documented sentinel seroconversions and horse cases in order to understand the relationships between habitat and transmission intensity of EEEV in Florida. Sentinel sites were categorized as enzootic, periodically enzootic, and negative based on the amount of chicken seroconversions to EEEV. Sentinel sites were analyzed …

Assessing The Impacts Of Dams On Nutrient And Sediment Loading In The Kalamazoo River Using The Soil And Water Assessment Tool (Swat), Daniel Henry Serfas

Masters Theses

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the Kalamazoo River Watershed in order to evaluate the impacts that several dams within a superfund site "Area of Concern" have on the sediment, nutrients, and streamflow of the system. It was hypothesized that the SWAT model could be used to recreate the watershed in hopes of estimating the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that would result from the removal of the dams. The model would then be used to evaluate dam removal scenarios to come up with a best management practice (BMP).

The model was calibrated, however, during …

Geospatial Examination Of Lithium In Drinking Water And Suicide Mortality, Marco Helbich, Michael Leitner, Nestor D. Kapusta

Faculty Publications

Background: Lithium as a substance occurring naturally in food and drinking water may exert positive effects on mental health. In therapeutic doses, which are more than 100 times higher than natural daily intakes, lithium has been proven to be a mood-stabilizer and suicide preventive. This study examined whether natural lithium content in drinking water is regionally associated with lower suicide rates.Methods: Previous statistical approaches were challenged by global and local spatial regression models taking spatial autocorrelation as well as non-stationarity into account. A Geographically Weighted Regression model was applied with significant independent variables as indicated by a spatial autoregressive model.Results: …

An Alternate Approach To Ecosystem Mapping: Fusing Orthophotography With Landsat Etm+ Data For A Object-Based Classification, South Eastern Arkansas., David Mcfee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining representative sampling of biologically rich and rare ecosystems has become an important means to preventing biodiversity loss. A limitation in indentifying and quantifying ecosystems is the cost of obtaining high resolution imagery necessary for a high resolution land cover assessment. This research shows how free, different resolution imagery (orthoimages and LANDSAT ETM+) could be combined to produce a hybrid dataset with enhanced spectral, spectral and temporal properties, and processed to obtain a object-based classification of land cover of bottomland and pine hardwood forest in south eastern Arkansas. Three classification techniques were evaluated: 1) a human derived, rule based method, …

Parochlus Kiefferi (Garrett, 1925) In Nebraska (Diptera: Chironomidae), Barbara Hayford

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

A rare species of nonbiting aquatic midge, Parochlus kiefferi (Garrett, 1925), was discovered in Squaw Creek in the Pine Ridge of northwest Nebraska. Parochlus is a genus of midge found throughout the Southern Hemisphere and is only represented by this one species in the Northern Hemisphere. The typical North American species distribution of P. kiefferi includes high alpine and northern latitude streams, so the collection of P. kiefferi from a low elevation and low-latitude stream in Nebraska represents a range extension for the species. A survey for P. kiefferi from 83 samples from 53 stream sites in northern Nebraska yielded …

Gathering In The City: An Annotated Bibliography And Review Of The Literature About Human-Plant Interactions In Urban Ecosystems, Rebecca J. Mclain, L. P. Buttolph, Melissa R. Poe, K. Macfarland, J. Hebert, N. Gabriel, Patrick T. Hurley, Laura Brody, Martina Dzuna, Marla R. Emery, S. Charnley

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

The past decade has seen resurgence in interest in gathering wild plants and fungi in cities. In addition to gathering by individuals, dozens of groups have emerged in U.S., Canadian, and European cities to facilitate access to nontimber forest products (NTFPs), particularly fruits and nuts, in public and private spaces. Recent efforts within cities to encourage public orchards and food forests, and to incorporate more fruit and nut trees into street tree planting programs indicate a growing recognition among planners that gathering is an important urban activity. Yet the academic literature has little to say about urban gathering practices or …

Nesting In The Clouds: Evaluating And Predicting Sea Turtle Nesting Beach Parameters From Lidar Data, Kristina H. Yamamoto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans' desire for knowledge regarding animal species and their interactions with the natural world have spurred centuries of studies. The relatively new development of remote sensing systems using satellite or aircraft-borne sensors has opened up a wide field of research, which unfortunately largely remains dependent on coarse-scale image spatial resolution, particularly for habitat modeling. For habitat-specialized species, such data may not be sufficient to successfully capture the nuances of their preferred areas. Of particular concern are those species for which topographic feature attributes are a main limiting factor for habitat use. Coarse spatial resolution data can smooth over details that …

Long-Term Research On Biodiversity In West Khentey, Northern Mongolia, Michael Mühlenberg

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

Biodiversity is studied at ecosystem, community, and species level around Khonin Nuga, where the University Goettingen supports a research station since 15 years (established 1997 in cooperation with the National University of Mongolia). In that period 39 scientists have been involved and 67 students graduated with theses (7 PhD) about field work at that station. Inventories started at 1998 for several taxa and are now compiled in a book, which will be printed 2012 in Ulaanbaatar. It covers fungi, lichens, plants, several insect groups, spiders, crustaceans, and all vertebrate classes. For all taxa adequate experts proved the species lists. Because …

First Stable Isotope Analysis Of Asiatic Wild Ass Tail Hair From The Mongolian Gobi, Micha Horacek, Petra Kaczensky, Merina Burnik Sturm

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

Stable isotope analysis has become a powerful tool to study feeding ecology, water use or movement pattern in contemporary, historic and ancient species. Certain hair and teeth grow continuously, and when sampled longitudinally can provide temporally explicit information on dietary regime and movement pattern. In an initial trial, we analysed a tail sample of an Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) from the Mongolian Gobi. We found seasonal variations in H, C, and N isotope patterns, likely being the result of temporal variations in available feeds, water supply and possibly physiological status. Thus stable isotope analysis shows promise to …

Land Abandonment And Wild Ungulates: Maintaining Open Spaces In Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, Joan M. Welch, Josep Vila Subiros, Diego Varga Linde

Geography & Planning Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Heterogeneity In Residential Yard Care: Evidence From Boston, Miami, And Phoenix, Edmund M. Harris, Colin Polsky, Kelli L. Larson, Rebecca Garvoille, Deborah Martin, Jaleila Brumand, Laura Ogden

Geography

The management of residential landscapes occurs within a complex socio-ecological system linking household decision-making with ecological properties, multi-scalar human drivers, and the legacy effects of past management. Conventional wisdom suggests that resource-intensive turf grass yards are the most common landscaping outcome, resulting in a presumed homogeneous set of residential landscaping practices throughout North America. We examine this homogenization thesis through an interview-based, cross-site study of residential landscape management in Boston, Phoenix, and Miami. Counter to the homogeneity thesis, we find that yard management practices often exhibit heterogeneity, for example, in groundcover choice or use of chemical inputs. The degree of …

Mangroves, Mudbanks And Seawalls: Political Ecology Of Adaptation To Sea Level Rise In Suriname, Ravic Nijbroek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand how global discourses of sea level rise (SLR) and mangrove ecology influence national climate change adaptation policy to reduce coastal vulnerability in Suriname. A majority of the Surinamese population lives along the low elevation coastal zone and is highly exposed to projected SLR. Failure by the international community to reach agreement on climate change mitigation means that vulnerable coastal communities must adapt. The Suriname coast is predominantly shaped by mudbanks and mangroves which together provide protection against coastal erosion and trap sediments resulting in coastal accretion. Knowledge claims of mangrove ecology and utility in SLR …

The Ecology Of San Luis Obispo: A Children's Book, Heidi Van Campen

Social Sciences

San Luis Obispo is one of the most loved places in the world by its residents and visitors. Located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo is the heart of California's Central Coast. However, this paper is not about the present-day cities or residents. It is an ecological history; the story of life and land over time.

Historians tend to treat nature as the setting for history, rather than a participant. Ecology is a history written knowing that we shape our environment and it shapes us.

This is a story of the ecology of San Luis Obispo.

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 39, 2010-2011, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology