Many North American urban dwellers find lakeshore cottaging to be an attractive activity. On a typical summer weekend in most North American cities large numbers of cottagers make automobile trips ranging in length from only a few miles to several hundred miles in order to reach their cottages. Many cottagers from the Greater Vancouver area travel greater distances to reach their cottages than do cottagers from other large cities. A large portion of these distant cottage areas were developed in the nineteen sixties and early seventies when personal transportation was very inexpensive. The mid nineteen seventies have been the scene of substantial increases in energy costs with subsequent rises in the cost of transportation. When the possibility of further energy price increases is considered it appears that there is a distinct possibility of these distant cottages experiencing a drastic decline in use. This would have a number of implications for planners in British Columbia with one of the most important being the increase in demand for cottaging (or similar activities) close to Vancouver. In order to determine the magnitude of the response of cottagers to transportation cost increases questionnaires were mailed to four different groups of cottagers who resided in Greater Vancouver. Three of these groups consisted of cottagers who owned cottages on the British Columbia mainland at varying distances from Vancouver (the cottages of the first group were located about seventy miles from Vancouver while the third group's cottages were located about 330 miles from Vancouver). The fourth group consisted of Vancouver cottagers who owned cottages on Vancouver Island. The data collected measured responses to recent gasoline price increases, responses to ferry fare increases, and cottagers' anticipated responses to future gasoline price increases. It was found that cottagers had responded to both the ferry fare increases and gasoline price increases with reductions in the use of their cottage. The data was also used to estimate the effect of future gasoline price increases on cottage use. The study reveals that the costs of reaching distant cottages is presently at a level such that further increases could severely curtail the use of these cottages. These findings can be considered in conjunction with estimated future trends for energy prices to determine the magnitude of the effect of transportation costs on cottaging at a given time. This result could then be used to plan for alternative opportunities closer to Vancouver. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Orientador: Saulo Philipe Sebastião Guerra / Resumo: O aumento da área plantada com florestas vem movimentando o setor de desenvolvimento de máquinas e equipamentos, que buscam inovar o mercado com novas soluções para a silvicultura. Sendo assim, novas alternativas surgem para a operação de plantio, com opções totalmente mecanizadas, a fim de aumentarem o rendimento e também agregarem funções em uma mesma operação. Com isso, avaliou-se uma plantadora tripla automatizada, que possui um sistema de georreferenciamento que controla sua movimentação e os locais a serem plantados. Foram mensurados os rendimentos operacionais em dois diferentes espaçamentos entre plantas, 3,5 x 1,8m e 3,5 x 2,3 m, sendo as mudas recém-plantadas avaliadas quanto à qualidade do plantio e seus espaçamentos aferidos como forma de avaliar o sistema de georreferenciamento. Após estas avaliações, realizou-se a análise econômica da operação, utilizando o modelo COST Action FP 0902. Os tratamentos adotados foram os espaçamentos entre plantas, adotando-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado para análise dos rendimentos operacionais. Enquanto que para a análise qualitativa do plantio foram verificados a profundidade do plantio, a posição da muda em relação a cova e número de mudas por cova, bem como os espaçamentos entre plantas para cada tratamento. Considerando a análise dos rendimentos operacionais, houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os tratamentos para o mesmo rendimento, e também entre os rendimentos para o mesmo tratamento. Os valores... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The increase in the planted area with forests has been moving the sector for the development of machinery and equipment, which seeks to innovate the market with new solutions for forestry. Thus, new alternatives appear for the planting operation, with fully mechanized options, to accelerate the yield and also add functions in the same operation. Thereby, an automated triple planter was evaluated, which has a georeferencing system that controls its movement and the spots to be planted. Yields were measured in two different spacing between plants, 3.5 x 1.8 m and 3.5 x 2.3 m, with the newly planted seedlings were evaluated for planting quality and their spacing measured as a way to evaluate the georeferencing system. After these evaluations, an economic analysis of the operation was carried out, using the COST Action FP 0902 model. The treatments adopted were the spacing between plants, adopting a completely randomized design for the analysis of the yields. While for the qualitative analysis of the planting, the planting depth was verified, the position of the seedling in relation to the pitch and the number of seedlings per pitch, as well as the spacing between plants for each treatment. Considering the analysis of the yields, there was a statistically significant difference between treatments for the same yield, and also between yields for the same treatment. The average values calculated for the yield without refilling were 893 seedlings hour-1 and 703 seedlings hour-1 for t... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor