The overexploitation of coastal ecosystems continues to threaten global biodiversity and fisheries. This has prompted international conservation commitments, such as the Convention of Biological Diversity’s Aichi Target 11, to improve the coverage and integrity of marine protected area (MPA) networks worldwide. As reflected in Target 11, MPA networks need to be both ecologically representative and socially equitable. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) is an effective and efficient process for designing MPA networks to achieve biodiversity targets at minimal impacts to society. However, SCP has rarely been used effectively to develop MPA networks in developing nations. Three key challenges contribute to this ‘research-implementation’ gap: (1) SCP research concepts and tools are biased towards developed countries, (2) complete and high-quality datasets are lacking in developing countries, and (3) socioeconomic complexities and needs of stakeholders tend to be oversimplified. In working towards addressing these challenges, this thesis focuses on Sogod Bay as a Philippines case study to examine the following overarching research question “How can systematic conservation planning be applied as a framework for designing MPAs to achieve national biodiversity objectives in a manner that is socially equitable and accommodating to the needs of coastal communities?”. To help answer this question, the thesis addresses three research objectives: 1. Develop and document strategies for incorporating dimensions of equity (recognition, procedural, and distributive) for stakeholders and coastal communities in the planning stages of SCP. 2. Investigate how recognition and procedural equity can impact the systematic design of MPA plans in terms of biodiversity representation, spatial efficiency, and distributive equity for fisher stakeholder groups and communities. 3. Evaluate and compare MPAs designed using a SCP approach with more conventional planning approaches in terms of their impacts on representation and social equity. Objective one and two were assessed in Chapter two of this thesis. The findings of this chapter demonstrate how equity considerations can be integrated in the planning stages of SCP though consulting with local partners; integrating science-driven and participatory approaches; recognizing the key stakeholder groups of MPAs (recognition equity); engaging with representatives of each stakeholder group and community to inform MPA planning processes (procedural equity), and distributing costs of MPAs fairly across all stakeholder groups and communities (distributive equity). Additionally, the chapter demonstrates how inadequate inclusion of stakeholders and/or the variations between communities can disproportionately impact some fishers and communities more than others. Objective three was achieved through the findings of Chapter three, which investigated impacts on representation and equity from MPA plans derived under a SCP approach and two conventional planning approaches. MPAs planned and selected by communities resulted in inadequately representation and unfair distributions of costs across fisheries and community. A donor-assisted approach that used local knowledge to select MPAs resulted in a plan with near-optimal representation but was inequitable for fisheries and communities. The SCP approach was the only approach to produce a representative and equitable MPA plan, thus highlighting the utility of SCP for achieving the representation and equity aspects of Target 11. / Graduate

Resumo: O relevo condiciona o movimento da água e a variabilidade dos atributos do solo, por isso é importante mapear os compartimentos do relevo para compreender os processos pedológicos e os fatores da erosão. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a variabilidade espacial dos atributos do solo, erosão e suscetibilidade magnética de uma vertente do município de Gilbués-PI, considerado o município brasileiro de maior área contínua de desertificação. Amostras de solo foram coletadas em uma transeção de 2.750 metros na vertente e, em três malhas, a intervalos regulares de 25 e 10 metros, respectivamente. No total, foram coletadas 451 amostras na profundidade de 0,00 - 0,20 m. As amostras foram submetidas a análises granulométricas e químicas e suscetibilidade magnética (SM). Para estimar a erosão, utilizou-se da Equação Universal de Perda de Solo (EUPS). Os resultados foram submetidos às análises estatística e geoestatística, e sugerem que a suscetibilidade magnética seja um atributo eficiente no entendimento das relações de causa e efeito da variabilidade espacial dos atributos do solo e dos fatores da erosão, no contexto da relação solo-relevo / Abstract: The movement of water in the landscape affects the variability of soil attributes, so it is important to map the compartments of relief to understand the processes and the factors of soil erosion. The objective was to study the spatial variability of soil properties, erosion and magnetic susceptibility of a slope in Gilbués, PI, Brazilian town, considered the most continuous area of desertification. Soil samples were collected in a transect of 2750 meters on the slope, and three stitches at regular intervals of 25 and 10 meters respectively. In total 451 samples were collected at a depth from 0.00 to 0.20 m. The samples were subjected to mechanical and chemical analysis. The magnetic susceptibility (MS). To estimate the erosion, we used Equation Universal Soil Loss (USLE). The results were subjected to statistical analysis and geostatistics. The results suggest that magnetic susceptibility is an attribute efficient in understanding the relationship between cause and effect of spatial variability of soil properties and erosion factors in the context of a soil-relief / Orientador: José Marques Júnior / Coorientador: Gener Tadeu Pereira / Banca: Adeodato Arí Cavalcante Salviano / Banca: Zigomar Menezes de Souza / Banca: Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra / Banca: Marcos Omir Marques / Doutor

Em planejamento de conservação aquática, abordagens quantitativas são realizadas ao longo de varias unidades de paisagem. Muitas vezes, as divisões internas como unidades de planejamento são definidas subjetivamente e condicionadas á disponibilidade de dados físicos y biológicos. Bacias hidrográficas como unidades de planejamento são subdividas e classificadas com base em contextos geológicos e climáticos, fisiográficos e biogeográficos que seguem escalas espaciais hierárquicas como subbacias, trechos e segmentos de rios até macro/micro habitats. Reconhecem-se fatores de grande escala espacial e temporal como condicionantes da expressão de padrões e processos (físicos e biológicos) a escalas menores e de maneira hierárquica. Mais além, existe uma interdependência destes (padrões e processos) operando através de múltiplas escalas. Na construção de abordagens de planejamento mais flexíveis e gerais, bacias e subbacias têm sido apontadas como escalas apropriadas de captura de fatores que influenciam (direta ou indiretamente) padrões biológicos observados a escalas menores. No entanto, a resolução espacial de subbacias como unidades de classificação poderia afetar os padrões encontrados? Poderia afetar também processos de planejamento de conservação? Neste contexto, analisamos a classificação de subbacias aninhadas em seis níveis hierárquicos de refinamento espacial com base em atributos topográficos da paisagem (altitude, declividade, formas de terreno, vegetação pretérita, posição de subbacias na rede, etc.) dentro da Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Taquari Antas no Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil (26000 km2). Através de uma abordagem quantitativa e análises multivariadas (ordenação e agrupamento), obtivemos basicamente o mesmo padrão espacial de organização através da hierarquia. Determinamos até oito tipos ou grupos de subbacias, influenciadas principalmente por altitude e declividade combinadas com diferentes formas de terreno e vegetação. Foram diferenciadas subbacias de planalto e planície nos extremos, e subbacias do curso principal superior, curso médio e áreas de transição desde morros altos, para morros em vales de rios encaixados, até áreas de encostas abertas e morros em planícies. Classificações com base em níveis hierárquicos de subbacias são importantes no sentido de obter alvos gerais para planejamento de conservação (como subunidades ecorregionais aquáticas). Desta maneira se contribui ao processo de geração de procedimentos e ferramentas de classificação mais flexíveis para planejamento de conservação aquática e com maior confiabilidade. / In freshwater conservation planning, quantitative classification approaches are performed across several landscape units. In general, internal divisions as planning units are subjective and depend on previous knowledge and information available. Usually, river basins are subdivided and grouped based on geology, climate, physiography and biogeographical context, following hierarchical spatial scales, such as sub-basins, reaches, segments, and macro-habitats. There is consensus that factors operating at great spatial and temporal scales constrict processes and patterns (physical and biological) expressed at finer scales, following a hierarchical organization. Furthermore, the interpendence between physical and biological patterns and processes (geomorphology, hydrology, ecology) is recognized to act at multiple scales. Towards more flexible and general planning approaches, basins and sub-basins are pointed as scales that capture the large scale factors that influence (directly or indirectly) the biological patterns observed at lower scales. Does the spatial resolution (area) of sub-basin division used to perform the classification affect the pattern obtained? Can this subject affect the conservation planning process? We analyzed the classification on Taquari Antas river basin (south Brazil) (26000 km2) along six spatially nested sub-basin classification, based on physiographic attributes. Through a quantitative approach and multivariate analyses (cluster and ordination), we obtained basically the same spatial pattern of organization across the hierarchy. The eight sub-basin types or groups where most influenced by elevation and slope, combined with landform classes and original vegetation. Extreme gradients of these attributes express plain region in the plateau and floodplains in lower gradient rivers. Between these extremes, the mainstem river and main tributaries where classified in four distinct groups of subbasins, based on the continuum of physiographical factors. Classifications based on nested hierarchical levels of sub-basins are important to get general coarse targets for freshwater conservation planning. These work contribute to the process of generating more flexible hierarchical classification frameworks for freshwater conservation planning.

Submitted by HYGOR EVANGELISTA SIQUEIRA null (hygorsiqueira@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-02-19T01:23:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Hygor_Evangelista Siqueira.pdf: 4249598 bytes, checksum: ad19b53ebd27b8f49ff21f3b8da791e9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-02-19T18:32:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 siqueira_he_me_jabo.pdf: 4249598 bytes, checksum: ad19b53ebd27b8f49ff21f3b8da791e9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-19T18:32:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 siqueira_he_me_jabo.pdf: 4249598 bytes, checksum: ad19b53ebd27b8f49ff21f3b8da791e9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A incidência de acidentes que ocorrem no transporte rodoviário de produtos perigosos (TRPP) tem sido motivo de preocupação quanto aos riscos de contaminação do solo e da água, com possíveis reflexos na saúde e ao meio ambiente. Objetivou-se neste trabalho verificar a vulnerabilidade ambiental dos recursos hídricos na Área de Proteção Ambiental do rio Uberaba (APA) e na área de de influência das rodovias. A condição de risco e fragilidade que o ambiente se encontra foi determinado utilizando a modelagem multicritério de parâmetros morfométricos e de ocupação do solo, e a análise dos dados foi realizada em plataforma de sistema de informação geográfica (SIG). Os fatores intervenientes selecionados para análise foram: densidade de drenagem, declive, classes de solos, distância das linhas de água e o uso e ocupação dos solos. Foi possível avaliar de forma conjunta os diferentes planos de informação e gerar a partir do multicritério a vulnerabilidade dos recursos hídricos interceptados por rodovias na APA. Os fatores declividade do terreno e classe de solo são os mais importantes no diagnóstico de áreas com maior vulnerabilidade ambiental. / The incidence of accidents occurring in the transport of dangerous goods (TDG) is a concern about the risks of soil and water contamination, with possible impacts on health and the environment. The aim of this work is to verify the environmental vulnerability of water resources and in the area of influence of the State highway at the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of the Uberaba River Watershed. The condition of risk and fragility that the environment is nowdays was determined using the multi-criteria modeling of the morphometric parameters and land use, and the data analysis was carried out in a geographic information system platform (GIS). The intervening factors selected for analysis were: drainage density, slope, soil classes, distance from the drainage net and the land use. It was possible to evaluate jointly the different plans and generate information from multiple criteria vulnerability of water resources intercepted by road at the APA. The factors slope and soil type are the most important to located the greater environmental vulnerability areas.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-08-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:25:32Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_hl_dr_jabo.pdf: 1073359 bytes, checksum: f9e5565fdd5bb9bdd49f43f7a067da22 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O relevo condiciona o movimento da água e a variabilidade dos atributos do solo, por isso é importante mapear os compartimentos do relevo para compreender os processos pedológicos e os fatores da erosão. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a variabilidade espacial dos atributos do solo, erosão e suscetibilidade magnética de uma vertente do município de Gilbués-PI, considerado o município brasileiro de maior área contínua de desertificação. Amostras de solo foram coletadas em uma transeção de 2.750 metros na vertente e, em três malhas, a intervalos regulares de 25 e 10 metros, respectivamente. No total, foram coletadas 451 amostras na profundidade de 0,00 - 0,20 m. As amostras foram submetidas a análises granulométricas e químicas e suscetibilidade magnética (SM). Para estimar a erosão, utilizou-se da Equação Universal de Perda de Solo (EUPS). Os resultados foram submetidos às análises estatística e geoestatística, e sugerem que a suscetibilidade magnética seja um atributo eficiente no entendimento das relações de causa e efeito da variabilidade espacial dos atributos do solo e dos fatores da erosão, no contexto da relação solo-relevo / The movement of water in the landscape affects the variability of soil attributes, so it is important to map the compartments of relief to understand the processes and the factors of soil erosion. The objective was to study the spatial variability of soil properties, erosion and magnetic susceptibility of a slope in Gilbués, PI, Brazilian town, considered the most continuous area of desertification. Soil samples were collected in a transect of 2750 meters on the slope, and three stitches at regular intervals of 25 and 10 meters respectively. In total 451 samples were collected at a depth from 0.00 to 0.20 m. The samples were subjected to mechanical and chemical analysis. The magnetic susceptibility (MS). To estimate the erosion, we used Equation Universal Soil Loss (USLE). The results were subjected to statistical analysis and geostatistics. The results suggest that magnetic susceptibility is an attribute efficient in understanding the relationship between cause and effect of spatial variability of soil properties and erosion factors in the context of a soil-relief

Em planejamento de conservação aquática, abordagens quantitativas são realizadas ao longo de varias unidades de paisagem. Muitas vezes, as divisões internas como unidades de planejamento são definidas subjetivamente e condicionadas á disponibilidade de dados físicos y biológicos. Bacias hidrográficas como unidades de planejamento são subdividas e classificadas com base em contextos geológicos e climáticos, fisiográficos e biogeográficos que seguem escalas espaciais hierárquicas como subbacias, trechos e segmentos de rios até macro/micro habitats. Reconhecem-se fatores de grande escala espacial e temporal como condicionantes da expressão de padrões e processos (físicos e biológicos) a escalas menores e de maneira hierárquica. Mais além, existe uma interdependência destes (padrões e processos) operando através de múltiplas escalas. Na construção de abordagens de planejamento mais flexíveis e gerais, bacias e subbacias têm sido apontadas como escalas apropriadas de captura de fatores que influenciam (direta ou indiretamente) padrões biológicos observados a escalas menores. No entanto, a resolução espacial de subbacias como unidades de classificação poderia afetar os padrões encontrados? Poderia afetar também processos de planejamento de conservação? Neste contexto, analisamos a classificação de subbacias aninhadas em seis níveis hierárquicos de refinamento espacial com base em atributos topográficos da paisagem (altitude, declividade, formas de terreno, vegetação pretérita, posição de subbacias na rede, etc.) dentro da Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Taquari Antas no Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil (26000 km2). Através de uma abordagem quantitativa e análises multivariadas (ordenação e agrupamento), obtivemos basicamente o mesmo padrão espacial de organização através da hierarquia. Determinamos até oito tipos ou grupos de subbacias, influenciadas principalmente por altitude e declividade combinadas com diferentes formas de terreno e vegetação. Foram diferenciadas subbacias de planalto e planície nos extremos, e subbacias do curso principal superior, curso médio e áreas de transição desde morros altos, para morros em vales de rios encaixados, até áreas de encostas abertas e morros em planícies. Classificações com base em níveis hierárquicos de subbacias são importantes no sentido de obter alvos gerais para planejamento de conservação (como subunidades ecorregionais aquáticas). Desta maneira se contribui ao processo de geração de procedimentos e ferramentas de classificação mais flexíveis para planejamento de conservação aquática e com maior confiabilidade. / In freshwater conservation planning, quantitative classification approaches are performed across several landscape units. In general, internal divisions as planning units are subjective and depend on previous knowledge and information available. Usually, river basins are subdivided and grouped based on geology, climate, physiography and biogeographical context, following hierarchical spatial scales, such as sub-basins, reaches, segments, and macro-habitats. There is consensus that factors operating at great spatial and temporal scales constrict processes and patterns (physical and biological) expressed at finer scales, following a hierarchical organization. Furthermore, the interpendence between physical and biological patterns and processes (geomorphology, hydrology, ecology) is recognized to act at multiple scales. Towards more flexible and general planning approaches, basins and sub-basins are pointed as scales that capture the large scale factors that influence (directly or indirectly) the biological patterns observed at lower scales. Does the spatial resolution (area) of sub-basin division used to perform the classification affect the pattern obtained? Can this subject affect the conservation planning process? We analyzed the classification on Taquari Antas river basin (south Brazil) (26000 km2) along six spatially nested sub-basin classification, based on physiographic attributes. Through a quantitative approach and multivariate analyses (cluster and ordination), we obtained basically the same spatial pattern of organization across the hierarchy. The eight sub-basin types or groups where most influenced by elevation and slope, combined with landform classes and original vegetation. Extreme gradients of these attributes express plain region in the plateau and floodplains in lower gradient rivers. Between these extremes, the mainstem river and main tributaries where classified in four distinct groups of subbasins, based on the continuum of physiographical factors. Classifications based on nested hierarchical levels of sub-basins are important to get general coarse targets for freshwater conservation planning. These work contribute to the process of generating more flexible hierarchical classification frameworks for freshwater conservation planning.

O crescimento dos sistemas de áreas protegidas nas últimas décadas é considerado um dos maiores esforços da humanidade para conter a atual crise da biodiversidade. No entanto, a cobertura da superfície global por áreas protegidas é um indicador simplificado, sendo necessário ir mais além e avaliar se os sistemas de áreas protegidas representam os diferentes componentes da biodiversidade e processos ecológicos e se estão sendo geridos de forma efetiva para garantir a manutenção da biodiversidade no longo prazo. O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi realizar uma análise da efetividade de gestão e representatividade biológica do sistema de unidades de conservação (UCs) no Estado do Tocantins, avaliando como os diferentes níveis de gestão de áreas protegidas podem interferir nos processos de planejamento sistemático da conservação. Os resultados indicaram a existência de lacunas significativas na implementação das áreas protegidas existentes, apesar do desempenho relativamente bom em alguns elementos. As quatro ameaças mais importantes para o sistema de UCs avaliado foram: infraestrutura, queimadas descontroladas, caça e pecuária. A análise da distribuição de 109 espécies de vertebrados e plantas indicou a presença de padrões biogeográficos claros na biota do Tocantins, que coincidem com padrões relatados por outros autores para alguns grupos taxônomicos. No entanto, lacunas significativas foram observadas tanto na proteção das espécies, quanto na representação dos elementos bióticos identificados. Para testar os impactos dos baixos valores de efetividade e altos valores de ameaças das UCs no planejamento do sistema, reduzimos o estado de conservação das áreas protegidas em 25% e 50%. Isso resultou em acréscimos de 250.000 ha e 590.000 ha, respectivamente, no sistema de áreas protegidas, necessário ao cumprimento das metas de conservação. A representatividade dos sistemas de áreas protegidas depende da persistência da biodiversidade dentro dessas áreas, que é reconhecidamente comprometida por níveis elevados de ameaça associados à efetividade de gestão incipiente. Portanto, sugerimos que o estado de conservação da biodiversidade dentro das áreas protegidas seja incorporado a exercícios de planejamento sistemático de conservação. A definição de prioridades para a criação de novas áreas protegidas deve fazer parte de um planejamento integrado, que aborde também a consolidação de áreas protegidas existentes e estratégias mais amplas para mitigar os efeitos dos fatores principais da perda de biodiversidade fora das reservas. / The growth of protected areas (PAs) in the last decades is considered one of the humanity\'s best efforts to refrain the current crisis of biodiversity. However, the global PA coverage is a simplified indicator; it is necessary to go further and assess whether PA systems represent the different components of biodiversity and ecological processes and are being managed effectively to ensure the maintenance of their values in the long term. The main goal of this study was to analyze the management effectiveness and representation of PA system in Tocantins State, assessing how the different levels of PA management may impact the systematic conservation planning process. Results indicated the existence of significant gaps in the implementation of Tocantins PAs, despite the relatively good performance found in some elements. The four most important threats to the PAs evaluated were: infrastructure, uncontrolled fires, hunting and cattle ranching. Analysis of the distribution of 109 vertebrates and plants indicated that selected species represent biogeographical patterns of Tocantins biota and that there are significant gaps in the protection of the species and biotic elements in the current PA system. In order to test for the effects of detected low management effectiveness and high levels of threat, we reduced the conservation status of protected areas by 25% and 50%. This resulted in an increase in the conservation area network needed to achieve targets of around 250,000 ha and 590,000 ha, respectively. Our results strongly indicate that the representation of PA systems depends on the persistency of biodiversity inside PAs, which are known to be impacted by high levels of threat associated to poor management effectiveness. Therefore, we advocate that biodiversity status within PAs should be incorporated in systematic conservation planning exercises. The definition of priority areas for the establishment of new reserves should be part of an integrated planning process that addresses both the consolidation of existing protected areas and broader strategies to mitigate the effects of major drivers of biodiversity loss outside reserves.

Em planejamento de conservação aquática, abordagens quantitativas são realizadas ao longo de varias unidades de paisagem. Muitas vezes, as divisões internas como unidades de planejamento são definidas subjetivamente e condicionadas á disponibilidade de dados físicos y biológicos. Bacias hidrográficas como unidades de planejamento são subdividas e classificadas com base em contextos geológicos e climáticos, fisiográficos e biogeográficos que seguem escalas espaciais hierárquicas como subbacias, trechos e segmentos de rios até macro/micro habitats. Reconhecem-se fatores de grande escala espacial e temporal como condicionantes da expressão de padrões e processos (físicos e biológicos) a escalas menores e de maneira hierárquica. Mais além, existe uma interdependência destes (padrões e processos) operando através de múltiplas escalas. Na construção de abordagens de planejamento mais flexíveis e gerais, bacias e subbacias têm sido apontadas como escalas apropriadas de captura de fatores que influenciam (direta ou indiretamente) padrões biológicos observados a escalas menores. No entanto, a resolução espacial de subbacias como unidades de classificação poderia afetar os padrões encontrados? Poderia afetar também processos de planejamento de conservação? Neste contexto, analisamos a classificação de subbacias aninhadas em seis níveis hierárquicos de refinamento espacial com base em atributos topográficos da paisagem (altitude, declividade, formas de terreno, vegetação pretérita, posição de subbacias na rede, etc.) dentro da Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Taquari Antas no Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil (26000 km2). Através de uma abordagem quantitativa e análises multivariadas (ordenação e agrupamento), obtivemos basicamente o mesmo padrão espacial de organização através da hierarquia. Determinamos até oito tipos ou grupos de subbacias, influenciadas principalmente por altitude e declividade combinadas com diferentes formas de terreno e vegetação. Foram diferenciadas subbacias de planalto e planície nos extremos, e subbacias do curso principal superior, curso médio e áreas de transição desde morros altos, para morros em vales de rios encaixados, até áreas de encostas abertas e morros em planícies. Classificações com base em níveis hierárquicos de subbacias são importantes no sentido de obter alvos gerais para planejamento de conservação (como subunidades ecorregionais aquáticas). Desta maneira se contribui ao processo de geração de procedimentos e ferramentas de classificação mais flexíveis para planejamento de conservação aquática e com maior confiabilidade. / In freshwater conservation planning, quantitative classification approaches are performed across several landscape units. In general, internal divisions as planning units are subjective and depend on previous knowledge and information available. Usually, river basins are subdivided and grouped based on geology, climate, physiography and biogeographical context, following hierarchical spatial scales, such as sub-basins, reaches, segments, and macro-habitats. There is consensus that factors operating at great spatial and temporal scales constrict processes and patterns (physical and biological) expressed at finer scales, following a hierarchical organization. Furthermore, the interpendence between physical and biological patterns and processes (geomorphology, hydrology, ecology) is recognized to act at multiple scales. Towards more flexible and general planning approaches, basins and sub-basins are pointed as scales that capture the large scale factors that influence (directly or indirectly) the biological patterns observed at lower scales. Does the spatial resolution (area) of sub-basin division used to perform the classification affect the pattern obtained? Can this subject affect the conservation planning process? We analyzed the classification on Taquari Antas river basin (south Brazil) (26000 km2) along six spatially nested sub-basin classification, based on physiographic attributes. Through a quantitative approach and multivariate analyses (cluster and ordination), we obtained basically the same spatial pattern of organization across the hierarchy. The eight sub-basin types or groups where most influenced by elevation and slope, combined with landform classes and original vegetation. Extreme gradients of these attributes express plain region in the plateau and floodplains in lower gradient rivers. Between these extremes, the mainstem river and main tributaries where classified in four distinct groups of subbasins, based on the continuum of physiographical factors. Classifications based on nested hierarchical levels of sub-basins are important to get general coarse targets for freshwater conservation planning. These work contribute to the process of generating more flexible hierarchical classification frameworks for freshwater conservation planning.

Supporting a growing human population while avoiding biodiversity loss is a central challenge towards a sustainable future. Ecosystem services are benefits that people derive from nature. People have drastically altered the earth’s land surface in the pursuit of those ecosystem services that have been ascribed market value, while at the same time eroding biodiversity and non-market ecosystem services. The science required to inform a more balanced vision for land-cover change in the future is rapidly developing, but critical questions remain unanswered regarding how to quantify ecosystem services and ascribe value to them, and how to coordinate efforts to safeguard multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity together. This dissertation addresses several of these challenges using Vermont as a model landscape. Specifically, we begin by estimating the economic value of flood mitigation ecosystem services and show that the externalized value of ecosystem services can be quite high. Second, we assess the role of demand from human beneficiaries in shifting the spatial distribution of ecosystem services, and address the biodiversity and human wellbeing implications of that shift. Third we analyze the tradeoffs and synergies inherent in pursing multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity through conservation, and show that overall ecosystem service conservation is more likely to boost biodiversity outcomes than to undermine them. Finally, I implement statewide scenarios of land-cover change and flood risk in order to assess our ability to quantify ecosystem service outcomes and identify spatial priorities for the future despite land-cover change dynamics that are complex and unpredictable.

The Upper Salinas Headwaters Conservation Plan is an effort to understand the cultural and ecosystem resources in the region, develop tools for conservation planning, and suggest a strategy and plan of action for implementation of those strategies. The plan covers a 218 square mile area between the Santa Lucia and the La Panza mountain ranges, south of Atascadero and east of the City of San Luis Obispo. The Conservation Area consists of rugged terrain made up of vast-relatively untouched open space. The area consists of several different vegetative communities including oak savannah grasslands, mixed hardwood and oak stands, shrubland, wetland and riparian corridors. The region is host to a number of land uses predominantly agriculture (mainly cattle ranching), some urban development, outdoor recreation, and a few mining operations. Approximately fifty-five percent of the acreage within the Conservation Area is designated public land (federal, state, and county), while the remaining acreages are dominantly private lands with Rural or Agriculture designations. Places of interest within the Conservation Area include the Upper Salinas River, Santa Margarita Reservoir, the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, and the town of Pozo. The region that contains the Conservation Area has been identified as having significant ecological resources (migratory corridors, important/rare vegetation communities, and a system of tributaries critical to Salinas River water quality and supply downstream.) The recognition of this important area has come from the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition statewide landscape priorities, The Nature Conservancy, the South Coast Wildlands Program, and a countywide report completed for The Conservancy by Catherine Lambert in 2007, which utilized Geographic information Systems (GIS) to assess ecosystem attributes and growth pressure parameters. The region containing the Conservation Area received a moderate to high combined score as a result of the assessment, suggesting a need for conservation efforts and resources from the Conservancy. The Conservation Area is based roughly on the shape of the subwatersheds that make up part of the larger Upper Salinas watershed. Several headwater tributaries flow into the Salinas River; a river utilized by several municipalities and agricultural operations as it flows north to Monterey Bay. Land use changes in the region can negatively affect water quality and supply downstream as well as degrade important habitat for fish and wildlife. Projected urban develop pressures from the City of Atascadero and an increase in more intensive agricultural production places increasing pressure on both local ranching operations and the regional ecosystem. The large amount of contiguous public land presents an opportunity for a conservation strategy aimed at creating expansive public-private protected lands that will ensure long-term protection of agricultural, hydrological, and wildlife resources. This conservation plan was developed primarily using GIS information from The Conservancy and data used with permission from the County of San Luis Obispo. GIS maps were created and utilized along with aerial photos from Google Earth to analyze the landscape for the following: vegetation communities stream flow direction and order types of development land ownership/parcel data agricultural soils geology existing protected areas conservation potential potential project sites for restoration/enhancement The GIS maps, aerial photo analysis, and information collected from interviews with several family ranchers are intended to be used as decision-support tools for future conservation projects in the region. However, for this plan, strategic and implementation recommendations are suggested in the form of long-term conservation agreements, land use management and restoration/enhancement techniques based on analysis of the information that was collected. The conservation strategy of this plan emphasizes the utilization of existing protected landscapes, primarily public land, along with the establishment of partnerships with private landowners within the Conservation Area to develop large contiguous tracts of protected land in the headwaters region of the Salinas River. The ranching heritage in the region, diversity of habitat and wildlife, sensitivity of hydrological resources, moderate to high levels of development potential from urban development, and more intensive agricultural production makes the Conservation Area in the Upper Salinas Watershed an essential target for conservation efforts.