The rangelands or semi-arid and arid regions of Western Australia occupy about 87 percent of the land area. Pastoral grazing of managed livestock, mainly sheep and cattle, occurs over much of this area, with an increasing proportion being allocated to the state conservation estate. Rangeland monitoring began at the local scale in the 1950s and since then has been closely tied to the needs of the pastoral industry. By 1992 a regional-scale, ground-based system was in place after two decades of trialling precursor techniques. The state-wide pastoral monitoring programme, known as the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), helps to monitor the state’s natural vegetation and soil resources. Change in soil and vegetation attributes through time, in response to climatic conditions, herbivore grazing, fire and other natural and anthropogenic drivers in the rangelands is known as change in range condition or range trend. When range condition is used in an ecological context, as it is in this research, an improving trend implies an improvement in ecological integrity or ecosystem health. In contrast, a declining trend implies a reduction in integrity, otherwise known as natural resource degradation. The principal objective of this study is to produce a regional-scale, long-term quantitative assessment of range condition change in the southern rangelands of Western Australia, using WARMS transect data. Previous analyses of the WARMS database have examined selected vegetation parameters, but this study is the first to calculate a single integrated range condition index. The assessment covers an area of approximately 760,000 km2, stretching southeast from the southern Pilbara region through the Gascoyne-Murchison and Goldfields regions to the Nullarbor region on the Great Australia Bight. / WARMS is designed to provide data and information for assessing regional and long-term changes in rangeland ecological condition. It consists of two principal parts: (1) numerous permanent field monitoring sites and (2) a large relational database. By the end of 2006, there were 980 WARMS sites located on 377 pastoral leases (stations) in the southern rangelands of Western Australia. Average lease size is 202,190 ha and the largest is 714,670 ha. The total area occupied by leases (pastoral plus leases converted to the conservation estate) is approximately 76,250,000 ha. WARMS sites are at an average density of 2.6 sites per lease or 1 site per 77,780 ha of pastoral rangeland. Field-recorded metrics include 11 soil surface parameters and four plant parameters (location on belt-transect, species, height and maximum canopy extent). The field data collection protocol has remained essentially unchanged since 1992 and new field data are captured at each site on a 5-year cycle. This is the most extensive quantitative, ground-based rangeland monitoring system in Australia. This assessment of range condition is based a suite of soil and vegetation indices derived from the WARMS transect field metrics. Seven basic indices have been derived and algorithmically combined into three higher-order indices, one for each of three components of ecological integrity: composition, function and structure. The three indices are then combined into an overall index of ecological health called the Shrubland Range Condition (SRC) Index. In addition, the indices have been assigned to particular time-slices based on the field acquisition date of their component metrics, allowing the calculation of change through time. / The combination of the hierarchical index framework, the use of time-slices and GIS mapping techniques provided a suitable analysis platform for the elucidation of spatial and temporal change in rangeland ecological integrity or health at WARMS sites. The nature of change in the SRC Index and the landscape function, vegetation structure and vegetation composition sub-indices has enabled possible causes to be inferred. The patterns of range condition and change are complex at all landscape scales. However, based on analysis of the WARMS sites, range condition is considerably more variable, in space and time, in the northern parts of the southern rangelands compared to the southern parts, with the exception of the Nullarbor region. Through time, the Ashburton and Gascoyne regions consistently demonstrate the largest area (site clusters) of change and the greatest magnitude of change. For many areas, range trend has fluctuated markedly between improvement and decline since the mid-1990s. However, there are two large clusters of sites which show continuing decline through more than two decades. The legacy of historical degradation and ongoing poor land stewardship (principally through over-stocking) is hindering the widespread recovery in range condition, despite more than a decade of good rainfall seasons. An uncommon exception to this sad story is a group of sites located in the upper region of the Gascoyne catchment, where there has been almost continuous improvement over the same period. This work also provides empirical evidence of a fundamental difference in the behaviour of surface water-flows in different catchment types. / Using the Landscape Function Factor (LFF), there is conspicuous regional differentiation of sites located in exorheic catchments from those located in endorheic-arheic catchments. In general, sites located in the coastal draining exorheic catchments exhibit greater rates of soil erosion compared to sites located in the other internally draining catchment types; the different erosional regimes are probably related to the nature of the ultimate and local base-levels associated with each catchment type. This has important implications for the long-term management of the rangelands of Western Australia.

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, housing diverse biota and serving important functions as nursery habitat and feeding grounds. However, nearly 70% of coastal wetlands, including 21% of the salt marshes in Texas, have been lost since 1950, due primarily to coastal development and declines in water quality. Restoration of wetlands is essential to reestablish lost functions, but there is no standard method to assess the ecological health of restored salt marshes in Texas. Numerous recent salt marsh restoration projects in Galveston Bay have made it an ideal model system to develop and implement an ecosystem health assessment, known as a rapid assessment method (RAM). In this study, I modified an established RAM, the Mid-Atlantic Tidal Fringe Assessment, to compare the ecological health of representative reference salt marshes to restored marshes around Galveston Bay. I measured 14 biotic and abiotic characteristics at 12 restored and 6 reference sites around Galveston Bay, and then grouped those measurements into four functional groups: landscape/site characteristics, hydrology, wildlife habitat, and soil characteristics. I then developed a scoring system (minimum 0, maximum 100) to summarize the overall health of each site. Most of the restored salt marshes in this study scored lower than reference marshes. The average reference site score was 81.8 and the average restored site score was 69.7. Functional group values for landscape/site characteristics, soil, and wildlife habitat were significantly lower in restored than in reference sites. In particular, restored sites had more hydrological modifications, more fill material, and fewer macrobenthos than reference wetlands. The Galv-RAM effectively and efficiently identified restoration successes and weaknesses. With this information, management agencies can address restoration shortcomings by adapting management goals. The Galv-RAM will streamline monitoring protocols and facilitate long-term examination of restored wetland health. As a result, management decisions can be modified based on the scores received in different categories or variables to improve and or meet the goals of the project.

The relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world has become discordant. Many of the harmful effects of this relationship, such as unsustainable forestry practices and oil spills, are easily visible. Conversely, much of the harm, such as the effects of climate change, is subtle and difficult to perceive. Landscape architecture, as a discipline and practice, is well-suited to lead a shift toward a healthier relationship between human and non-human nature. This practicum seeks to make various climate change-related phenomena within Manitoba landscapes visible. Conceived as tourist destinations, three distinct landscapes likely to undergo dramatic climate change-induced alterations are identified. For each site an intervention is proposed highlighting these changes. Thus, a global phenomenon is made visible at a local scale.

The relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world has become discordant. Many of the harmful effects of this relationship, such as unsustainable forestry practices and oil spills, are easily visible. Conversely, much of the harm, such as the effects of climate change, is subtle and difficult to perceive. Landscape architecture, as a discipline and practice, is well-suited to lead a shift toward a healthier relationship between human and non-human nature. This practicum seeks to make various climate change-related phenomena within Manitoba landscapes visible. Conceived as tourist destinations, three distinct landscapes likely to undergo dramatic climate change-induced alterations are identified. For each site an intervention is proposed highlighting these changes. Thus, a global phenomenon is made visible at a local scale.

L’insuffisance rénale chronique (IRC) est une pathologie entraînant des complications sur la santé. Au stade terminal, le patient doit avoir recours à un traitement curatif. La qualité de vie s’en retrouve altérée et l’identité de la personne en est malmenée. L’activité physique adaptée (APA), ancrée dans un programme d’éducation thérapeutique du patient, va octroyer de nouveaux rôles. Nous nous intéressons à 10 patients IRC qui bénéficient d’un programme d’APA durant 6 mois. La pensée systémique de la santé nous permet d’évaluer les effets de cette prise en charge globale sur les dynamiques identitaires des patients. Le recours à la méthode mixte nous donne l’occasion de combiner des mesures quantitatives et qualitatives. Le programme APA se centre sur le patient qui devient acteur et prend alors possession d’une identité propre qui fluctue au même rythme que la maladie. L’APA va alors servir de support et de fil d’Ariane, comme une ligne constante dans cet état mouvant. / Chronickidneydisease (CKD) leads to health complications. At the end-stage, CKD patients need to undergo curative treatment. Adapted physical activity (APA) implemented through a therapeutic patient education programme, gives them new roles. This study examines 10 CKD patients involved in an APA programme for 6 months. Systemic thinking in health enables us to evaluate the effects of global patient care on their identity dynamics. A mixed-method approach gives us the opportunity to combine quantitative and qualitative measurements. The APA programme focuses on patients who play an active role and take ownership of their own identity. Reconstruction of individual identity is continuous. It fluctuates in relation with the disease. APA acts as a support for patients, guiding them as a steady guideline through their shifting condition.

<p> Measurements of soil atmosphere, soil physical parameters, coliform levels and ionic levels were made at 15 soil sites along Ancaster and Grindstone Creeks in winter, 1972-73 and July, 1973. Multivariate analysis of the data indicated large fluxes of septic effluent resulted in soil fabric alterations, anaerobosis, and elevated coliform, nitrate, chloride and sodium levels. According to ecological and health criteria, these hydromorphic soils have very serious limitations as processors and absorbers of septic effluent. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

L'objectif principal de cette thèse était d'étudier la dynamique spatiale et temporelle de la structure des communautés de poissons du fleuve Mékong en aval et du grand lac Tonlé Sap au Cambodge. Les deux systèmes sont fortement liés et caractérisés par les systèmes d'inondation pulsés. À l'aide d'approches multivariées sur des bases de données piscicoles, environnementales et des traits fonctionnels des taxons étudiés, j'ai pu mettre en évidence : * les gradients longitudinaux des caractéristiques physicochimiques des eaux et l'importance relative des facteurs environnementaux dans la structuration des communautés de poissons à large échelle ; * la structure temporelle des communautés de poissons qui est fortement liée aux traits fonctionnels des taxons et déclenchée par les crues occasionnées du système * la structure de base du réseau trophique et l'état écologique du système d'inondation pulsé qui est perturbé par la pression anthropique. Ces résultats ont démontré leurs valeurs quant à leurs potentiels de transferts vers la compréhension écologique et la gestion durable des ressources de pêches dans le système d'inondation pulsé en Asie tropicale en relevant que : * la connectivité entre le fleuve Mékong et le lac Tonlé Sap est indispensable pour les poissons pour compléter leurs cycles de vie, et la conservation devrait prioritairement s'effectuer au milieu du Mékong où se trouve la plus forte diversité. * dans le système d'inondation pulsé, la structure temporelle des communautés dépend des dynamiques des crues, donc l'aménagement des cours d'eau est à éviter au maximum. * la compréhension bioécologique complète des communautés et leurs relations trophiques sont primordiales pour la mise en place des plans de gestion et de conservation à long terme. / The main objective of the thesis was to study the spatial and temporal dynamics of fish community structure in Lower Mekong river basin and Tonle Sap Great Lake in Cambodia. These two systems are strongly connected to each other and characterised by flood pulse system. By using the multivariate approaches on the fish, environmental and fish functional traits data sets, I am able to highlight: * the longitudinal gradients of physicochemical characteristics of water and the relative importance of environmental factors in explaining the large scale patterns of fish community; * the temporal structure of fish community, which is strongly linked to functional traits of fish and trigged by the pulse dynamics of the system; * the baseline trophic structure model and ecological health assessment of flood pulse system, which is disturbed by anthropogenic pressure. These results have demonstrated their values as well as their potentials to transfers toward an ecological understanding and sustainable fisheries resource management of the flood pulse system in tropical Asia by suggesting: * the connectivity between Mekong river and Tonle Sap lek is essential for fish to complete their life cycle and also the conservation should be done in the middle part of Lower Mekong river where containing the highest diversity; * in flood pulse system, the temporal structure of fish community strongly depend on the dynamics of pulses; therefore any river development must be strictly prohibited; * complete bio-ecological understanding of communities and their trophic relationships are crucial to the establishment of long-term management and conservation plans.