Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2009

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 121 - 150 of 271

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Public Perception Of Crime In Transit In The Greater Houston Area, Ignacio Barrera May 2009

Public Perception Of Crime In Transit In The Greater Houston Area, Ignacio Barrera

Theses (Pre-2016)

Transit agencies strive to provide an efficient, secure and safe service to their patrons. Such characteristics not only serve to create loyalty of patrons, they also can help in improving ridership. Crimes related to transit service are an increasing concern for transit officials and transit operating companies worldwide. This study was focused on the perception of crime or fear of crime. A survey is used to capture these views and is administered to transit riders at various locations on the network. A deeper understanding of people's perception regarding crime in the public transportation system will help transit officials in their …


Understanding Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation By Soil Microbial Communites: The Concentration And Distribution Of Aromatic Dioxygenase Genes, Inigo Walker Howlett May 2009

Understanding Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation By Soil Microbial Communites: The Concentration And Distribution Of Aromatic Dioxygenase Genes, Inigo Walker Howlett

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The ability to individually identify and enumerate bacterial genes in the environment is an important development in the field of microbial ecology. Researchers are now able to quantify and map populations and communities, the presence of which could only be inferred until recently. Knowledge of this ecology is critical to understanding microbial responses to environmental pollutants, thereby contributing information useful in devising and monitoring bioremediation strategies. The following thesis therefore compares two aromatic dioxygenase genes, nidA and nahAc, which confer the ability for the bacteria carrying the genes to metabolize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), persistent pollutant byproducts of coal coking. …


Judge, Jury, And Executioner: Organizational Factors That Affect Police Use Of Lethal Force, Mikaela Cooney May 2009

Judge, Jury, And Executioner: Organizational Factors That Affect Police Use Of Lethal Force, Mikaela Cooney

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

There currently exists an empirical gap in our knowledge of organizational factors as they relate to police use of lethal force. As a result of waning interest in macrolevel policing studies over the last three decades, the majority of our understanding of lethal force is derived from studies that specifically focus on microlevel factors (such as officer race or suspect behavior). The present study examined the relationship between organizational variables and the number of self-reported instances of lethal force by law enforcement officers. Departmental variables, jurisdictional characteristics, and the number of lethal force incidents reported annually were collected from law …


Vegetation Characteristics Of Wyoming Big Sagebrush Communities Historically Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass In Northeastern Great Basin, Usa, Justin Rodney Williams May 2009

Vegetation Characteristics Of Wyoming Big Sagebrush Communities Historically Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass In Northeastern Great Basin, Usa, Justin Rodney Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn.) is one of the most commonly seeded grass species in the western United States and dominates thousands of hectares in the Great Basin. Although many degraded Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) plant communities have been seeded with crested wheatgrass, successional pathways, influence of soil attributes, and cultivation history on the vegetation of these communities have not been fully characterized. I sought to identify community phases, vegetative differences, and soil attributes that explain variation among 35 Wyoming big sagebrush communities historically seeded with crested wheatgrass. All communities were more than …


Seed Banks Of Sagebrush Communities Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass, Kevin L. Gunnell May 2009

Seed Banks Of Sagebrush Communities Seeded With Crested Wheatgrass, Kevin L. Gunnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn.) is one of the most commonly seeded exotic species in the western United States. Although many degraded Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) plant communities have been seeded with crested wheatgrass during rehabilitation efforts, seed banks of these communities have not been characterized. I sought to characterize and explain the variation among 33 seeded communities in the northeastern Great Basin. Hierarchical clustering and principal components analysis identified four possible seed bank categories in these communities. Seed bank categories varied from high to low crested wheatgrass dominance. The crested wheatgrass-dominated category …


Effects Of Targeted Grazing And Prescribed Burning On Fire Behavior And Community Dynamics Of A Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum)-Dominated Landscape, Joel M. Diamond May 2009

Effects Of Targeted Grazing And Prescribed Burning On Fire Behavior And Community Dynamics Of A Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum)-Dominated Landscape, Joel M. Diamond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of using targeted grazing and prescribed burning as tools to reduce fire hazards and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominance on rangelands in the northern Great Basin. A field study, with four grazing-burning treatments (graze and no-burn, graze and burn, no-graze and burn, and no-graze and no-burn), was conducted on a B. tectorum-dominated site near McDermitt, Nevada from 2005-2007. Cattle removed 80-90% of standing biomass in grazed plots in May 2005 and 2006 when B. tectorum was in the boot (phenological) stage. Grazed and ungrazed plots were burned in October 2005 and …


Consequences Of Vegetation Change On The Dynamics Of Labile Organic Matter And Soil Nitrogen Cycling In A Semiarid Ecosystem, Toby D. Hooker May 2009

Consequences Of Vegetation Change On The Dynamics Of Labile Organic Matter And Soil Nitrogen Cycling In A Semiarid Ecosystem, Toby D. Hooker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sagebrush-dominated ecosystems are being transformed by wildfire, rangeland improvement techniques, and exotic plant invasions. These disturbances have substantial effects on the composition and structure of native vegetation, but the effects on ecosystem C and N dynamics are poorly understood. To examine whether differences in dominant vegetation affect the quantity and quality of plant organic matter inputs to soil, ecosystem C and N pools and rates of plant turnover were compared among historically grazed Wyoming big sagebrush, introduced perennial crested wheatgrass, and invasive annual cheatgrass communities. Since low soil moisture during the summer may inhibit the microbial colonization of plant detrital …


Application Of Electrified Fladry To Decrease Risk Of Livestock Depredation By Wolves (Canis Lupus), Nathan J. Lance May 2009

Application Of Electrified Fladry To Decrease Risk Of Livestock Depredation By Wolves (Canis Lupus), Nathan J. Lance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wolf (Canis lupus) predation on livestock can cause economic and emotional hardships for livestock producers, complicating the balance of wolf conservation with other human interests. New management tools that decrease risk of predation may offer additional flexibility or efficiency for both livestock producers and management agencies. I examined 1) the efficacy of electrified fladry compared to fladry at protecting a food source from wolves in captivity, 2) the efficacy of electrified fladry for reducing wolf use of pastures and preventing depredations, and 3) the applicability of electrified-fladry. In captivity I tested the reaction from 15 groups (46 wolves) …


Evaluation Of Macroinvertebrates As A Food Resource In The Assessment Of Lotic Salmonid Habitat, Nicholas P. Weber May 2009

Evaluation Of Macroinvertebrates As A Food Resource In The Assessment Of Lotic Salmonid Habitat, Nicholas P. Weber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Criteria used to characterize lotic salmonid habitat are often based on observed correlations between physical habitat characteristics and salmonid abundances. A focus on physical habitat features ignores other habitat components, such as an adequate supply of food that set the physiological limitations on salmonid growth and survival. This study outlines the development of a habitat assessment approach that focuses on how invertebrate food availability interacts with stream temperatures to determine salmonid growth potentials. Abundances of benthic and drifting invertebrate communities, stream temperatures, and juvenile steelhead trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) summer growth rates and abundances were measured within 10 …


The Ants Of South Carolina, Timothy Davis May 2009

The Ants Of South Carolina, Timothy Davis

All Dissertations

The ants of South Carolina were surveyed in the literature, museum, and field collections using pitfall traps. M. R. Smith was the last to survey ants in South Carolina on a statewide basis and published his list in 1934. VanPelt and Gentry conducted a survey of ants at the Savanna River Plant in the 1970's. This is the first update on the ants of South Carolina since that time.
A preliminary list of ants known to occur in South Carolina has been compiled. Ants were recently sampled on a statewide basis using pitfall traps. Two hundred and forty-three (243) transects …


Roosting And Foraging Ecology Of Forest Bats In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Joy O'Keefe May 2009

Roosting And Foraging Ecology Of Forest Bats In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Joy O'Keefe

All Dissertations

Although most bats in the southeastern United States depend on forests for roosting and foraging, we know little about the ecological requirements of bats that live in this region. The objective of this study was to use radio telemetry, acoustic sampling, Akaike's information theoretic procedures, occupancy modeling, and discriminant function analyses to: 1) examine multi-scale roost-site selection for three forest bat species [eastern pipistrelles (Perimyotis subflavus), eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis), and northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis)], 2) test the effects of timber harvest on bat foraging ecology in riparian areas, and 3) compare and relate methods of assessing vegetative …


Comparative Genomics And Molecular Evolution: New Genomic Resources For The Hymenoptera And Evolutionary Studies On The Genes Of The Nasonia Vitripennis Hox Complex., Monica Munoz-Torres May 2009

Comparative Genomics And Molecular Evolution: New Genomic Resources For The Hymenoptera And Evolutionary Studies On The Genes Of The Nasonia Vitripennis Hox Complex., Monica Munoz-Torres

All Dissertations

Research on insects, the most successful group from all metazoans on earth, has important societal, as well as scientific benefits. Insects occupy a wide range of roles, which have an effect on human life either because the former pose serious threats to public health and commercial crops as well as in some cases represent the only way to propagate food resources. Despite their tremendous importance, insect genomics remained an uneven territory dominated by studies in the Drosophila group and the mosquitoes. This dissertation attempts to: 1) report on advances in the development and characterization of genomic tools for species of …


Managing The Mission Through Times Of Adversity: What Leads To Highly Reliable Performance?, Kathleen Roche May 2009

Managing The Mission Through Times Of Adversity: What Leads To Highly Reliable Performance?, Kathleen Roche

Student Scholarship

During times of severe economic adversity, nonprofit managers must lead their organizations and carry out their charitable missions to ever-growing and needier constituencies despite unpredictable endowment erosion, fewer contributions, less staff, and the most severe funding cuts most of them have ever experienced, or are prepared for. We propose research to explore which leadership skills and styles are most helpful and if reliance upon traditionality is a good indicator of endurance. By capturing the experiences of nonprofit leaders as they manage under conditions of duress, we will relate these factors to research about high reliability organizations, which have been found …


Quantile Regression: An Education Policy Research Tool, Edward B. Reeves, Jesse Lowe Apr 2009

Quantile Regression: An Education Policy Research Tool, Edward B. Reeves, Jesse Lowe

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Ordinary least squares regression is often used in education policy research. Unfortunately, OLS regression coefficients may mislead. In OLS models, the coefficients express the conditional mean relations among the variables. Still, what if this estimate of central tendency in the conditional distribution fails to convey important information about the distribution? Quantile regression is a statistical technique that allows variation in the conditional distribution to be examined. Therefore, it can be used to check the validity and applicable range of OLS coefficients. Following the method of Koenker and Hallock (2001), we compare OLS and quantile regression results, examining variables related to …


Regional And Seasonal Diet Of The Western Burrowing Owl In South Central Nevada, Derek B. Hall, Paul D. Greger, Jeffrey R. Rosier Apr 2009

Regional And Seasonal Diet Of The Western Burrowing Owl In South Central Nevada, Derek B. Hall, Paul D. Greger, Jeffrey R. Rosier

Western North American Naturalist

We examined diets of Western Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) based on contents of pellets and large prey remains collected year-round at burrows in each of the 3 regions in south central Nevada (Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Transition region). The most common prey items, based on percent frequency of occurrence, were crickets and grasshoppers, beetles, rodents, sun spiders, and scorpions. The most common vertebrate prey was kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.). True bugs (Hemiptera), scorpions, and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) occurred most frequently in pellets from the Great Basin Desert region. Kangaroo rats …


Assessing Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum) Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Using Rapd And Microsatellite Molecular Markers, Michael C. Ashley, William S. Longland Apr 2009

Assessing Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum) Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Using Rapd And Microsatellite Molecular Markers, Michael C. Ashley, William S. Longland

Western North American Naturalist

Two molecular marker systems, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and microsatellites, were used to evaluate population diversity and differentiation in 4 northern Nevada Bromus tectorum populations. From 80 RAPD primers, we found 16 (20%) that yielded 165 strong repeatable bands. Of those bands, 60 (35.8%) were polymorphic. Of those, 21 met data-pruning guidelines for final analysis. RAPD variation was moderate (x̄ = 0.363, sx̄ = 0.022), ranging from 0.312 to 0.404. Microsatellite variation was similar (x̄ = 0.234, sx̄ = 0.051) but varied more widely, ranging from 0.009 to 0.551. All populations were out of Hardy-Weinberg …


Relationship Between Cheatgrass Coverage And The Relative Abundance Of Snakes On Antelope Island, Utah, Lucas K. Hall, John F. Mull, John F. Cavitt Apr 2009

Relationship Between Cheatgrass Coverage And The Relative Abundance Of Snakes On Antelope Island, Utah, Lucas K. Hall, John F. Mull, John F. Cavitt

Western North American Naturalist

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive annual known to negatively impact many shrub-dependent organisms; however, relatively little research has examined how it affects snake communities. Bromus tectorum is abundant at Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, and could be a possible threat to snake populations. Study sites representing different B. tectorum coverage percentages were established to measure relative abundance of snakes. Snakes were captured from June to September 2005 primarily by using funnel traps attached to drift-fence arrays. Linear regression revealed a negative relationship between B. tectorum coverage (%) and the relative abundance of the Great Basin …


De Novo Establishment Of Wild-Type Song Culture In The Zebra Finch, Olga Feher, Haibin Wang, Sigal Saar, Partha P. Mitra, Ofer Tchernichovski Apr 2009

De Novo Establishment Of Wild-Type Song Culture In The Zebra Finch, Olga Feher, Haibin Wang, Sigal Saar, Partha P. Mitra, Ofer Tchernichovski

Publications and Research

What sort of culture would evolve in an island colony of naive founders? This question cannot be studied experimentally in humans. We performed the analogous experiment using socially learned birdsong. Culture is typically viewed as consisting of traits inherited epigenetically, via social learning. However, cultural diversity has species-typical constraints1, presumably of genetic origin. A celebrated, if contentious, example is whether a universal grammar constrains syntactic diversity in human languages2. Oscine songbirds exhibit song learning and provide biologically tractable models of culture: members of a species show individual variation in song3 and geographically separated groups have local song dialects 4,5. Different …


A Rational Choice Approach To Professional Crime Using A Meta-Synthesis Of The Qualitative Literature, Douglas J. Wholl Apr 2009

A Rational Choice Approach To Professional Crime Using A Meta-Synthesis Of The Qualitative Literature, Douglas J. Wholl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 18th century, rational choice models have been applied extensively to criminological research, theory, and policy in an effort to understand crime and criminality. Over the past few decades, the rational choice perspective has attempted to integrate theoretical concepts, operational measures, and research findings from contemporary studies within the psychology, sociology and criminology disciplines, which have attempted to re-operationalize what was already conceptualized in the expected utility model (i.e., individuals choose to engage in criminal activity if the expected utility of crime exceeds that of all other behavioral options) by incorporating additional factors (e.g., a broader range of …


Miti Iko Wapi Ii ?, Taylor Tully Apr 2009

Miti Iko Wapi Ii ?, Taylor Tully

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vegetative communities within the savannah ecosystem oscillate between grassland and woodland states. Research has found that ecological perturbations resulting from elephants, fire, other herbivores and humans have a significant influence on the oscillation of vegetative communities. Understanding these forces and how they interplay to influence vegetative dynamics states is essential to a developing any effective conservation management program. A previous study, in 2003, was conducted to establish baseline data on vegetative community structure, elephant damage and fire damage within Ndarakwai Ranch. (Hamilton and Downing 2003). However, the study drew few definitive conclusions and suggested further research. This study was a …


Review Of The Natural History Of The Handsome Fungus Beetles (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae), F. W. Shockley, K. W. Tomaszewska, J. V. Mchugh Apr 2009

Review Of The Natural History Of The Handsome Fungus Beetles (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae), F. W. Shockley, K. W. Tomaszewska, J. V. Mchugh

Insecta Mundi

The literature pertaining to natural history of Endomychidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) is reviewed. One hundred fungal host records are provided for 32 endomychid species. Twenty-three records of endomychid yeast endosymbionts are compiled. Summaries are also presented for feeding preferences, interactions with natural enemies, non-lethal symbiotic relationships, and pest activity within the family. Unusual endomychid behaviors and habitats are reviewed, with particular attention to gregariousness and defensive strategies within Endomychidae.


Why Museums Matter: A Tale Of Pinworms (Oxyuroidea: Heteroxynematidae) Among Pikas (Ochotona Princeps And O. Collaris) In The American West [Critical Comment], Eric P. Hoberg, Patricia A. Pilitt, Kurt Galbreath Apr 2009

Why Museums Matter: A Tale Of Pinworms (Oxyuroidea: Heteroxynematidae) Among Pikas (Ochotona Princeps And O. Collaris) In The American West [Critical Comment], Eric P. Hoberg, Patricia A. Pilitt, Kurt Galbreath

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Permanent and well-supported museum or natural history collections provide a solid foundation for the process of systematics research through creation of an empirical record which validates our understanding of the biosphere. We explore the role of museums in ongoing studies of the complex helminth fauna characteristic of pikas (Ochotona spp.) in the American west. These studies address the taxonomy for pinworms of the Labiostomatinae and the problems associated with the absence of adequate type series and vouchers and with misidentifications in original descriptions. We demonstrate that the types for Labiostomum (Labiostomum) coloradensis are identical to some specimens …


Gst Polymorphism And Excretion Of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amine And Isothiocyanate Metabolites After Brassica Consumption, Susan E. Steck, James R. Hébert Apr 2009

Gst Polymorphism And Excretion Of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amine And Isothiocyanate Metabolites After Brassica Consumption, Susan E. Steck, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Brassica vegetable intake has been associated with decreased risk and well-done meat intake has been associated with increased risk of cancers at multiple organ sites in epidemiologic studies. Experimental studies suggest a role of modulation of phase I and phase II metabolizing enzymes as one mechanism for these associations. Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are carcinogens formed in meat that has been cooked to well-done and at high temperatures. Phase I metabolizing enzymes catalyze the activation of HAAs, and phase II metabolizing enzymes serve to detoxify the active carcinogens. The glutathione S-transferase (GSTs) are a family of phase II metabolizing enzymes …


Environmental Remediation Full-Scale Implementation: Back To Simple Microbial Massive Culture Approaches, Agung Dhamar Syakti, Mohamad Yani Apr 2009

Environmental Remediation Full-Scale Implementation: Back To Simple Microbial Massive Culture Approaches, Agung Dhamar Syakti, Mohamad Yani

Makara Journal of Technology

Using bioaugmentation and biostimulation approach for contaminated soil bioremediation were investigated and implemented on field scale. We combine those approaches by culturing massively the petrophilic indigenous microorganisms from chronically contaminated soil enriched by mixed manure. Through these methods, bioremediation performance revealed promising results in removing the petroleum hydrocarbons comparatively using metabolite by product such as biosurfactant, specific enzymes and other extra-cellular product which are considered as a difficult task and will impact on cost increase.


Differential Response Of Amp Activated Protein Kinase (Ampk) And Hsp70 To Temperature Stress In The Gastropod, Nucella Lapillus, Emily Zimmermann Apr 2009

Differential Response Of Amp Activated Protein Kinase (Ampk) And Hsp70 To Temperature Stress In The Gastropod, Nucella Lapillus, Emily Zimmermann

All Theses And Dissertations

Populations of the gastropod Nucella lapillus are polymorphic for shell color, with light-colored shells predominating on warmer, wave-protected shores and dark-colored shells limited primarily to cooler, wave-exposed shores. During thermal stress, darker shells attain higher body temperatures than lighter shells. These results suggest that heat stress may determine field distribution patterns. However, there is currently little evidence of physiological consequences of thermal stress in these organisms. Following the guiding hypothesis that heat stress leads to cellular energy depletion, we explored whether the central energy regulator AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) is activated by heat stress. We compared this response in both …


Darwin's Contemplative Vision, Douglas E. Christie Apr 2009

Darwin's Contemplative Vision, Douglas E. Christie

Theological Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.


Historical Review Of Elk–Agriculture Conflicts In And Around Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada, Ryan K. Brook Apr 2009

Historical Review Of Elk–Agriculture Conflicts In And Around Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada, Ryan K. Brook

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Conflicts between elk (Cervus elaphus) and farmers have been occurring since the 1880s when agriculture began around what is now Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP). Initially, the conflicts were related to low elk numbers caused primarily by unregulated harvest of elk. The creation of RMNP in 1930 and the associated ban on hunting allowed elk numbers to reach critically high levels. Since farming began, elk have been associated with considerable damage to fences and crops around RMNP, with annual damage often >$240,000. Hunting on agricultural lands has been the most common approach to mitigating elk impacts, despite its limited success. …


A Review Of The Potential Of Fertility Control To Manage Brushtail Possums In New Zealand, Weihong Ji Apr 2009

A Review Of The Potential Of Fertility Control To Manage Brushtail Possums In New Zealand, Weihong Ji

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) were introduced into New Zealand from Australia in the mid-1800s and became a major invasive pest. They damage native biodiversity by browsing and predation, and they are a disease risk to the livestock industry by acting as vectors of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Management of possums includes their eradication from some offshore islands and control by trapping, shooting, and poisoning on the mainland. Possums have been eradicated successfully from some islands and greatly reduced in abundance in other areas of high conservation value or where they are infected with TB. However, possums are still at …


Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, 2008-2009, John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson Mar 2009

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, 2008-2009, John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2008-2009


Introduction To Ecological Landscaping: A Holistic Description And Framework To Guide The Study And Management Of Urban Landscape Parcels, Loren B. Byrne, Parwinder Grewal Mar 2009

Introduction To Ecological Landscaping: A Holistic Description And Framework To Guide The Study And Management Of Urban Landscape Parcels, Loren B. Byrne, Parwinder Grewal

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Urbanized ecosystems and urban human populations are expanding around the world with potentially negative environmental outcomes. A challenge for achieving sustainable urban social-ecological systems is understanding how urbanized landscapes can be designed and managed to minimize negative effects. To this end, an interdisciplinary Ecological Landscaping conference was organized to examine the interacting sociocultural and ecological causes and consequences of landscaping practices and products. A theme of the conference was that scientific principles are important for guiding the development of sustainable landscaping practices and the public policies. To introduce this special issue of Cities and the Environment which contains articles from …