Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to extract elevation information (such as tree height) from stereo satellite imagery (IRS-I C), to scrutinise the performance of the DTM (Digital Terrain Model) tools as provided by the LH (LeicalHelava) Systems' softcopy system, and subsequently to perform a feasibility study on the application of a practically viable forest inventory design. A softcopy photogrammetry workstation (LH Systems DPW 770), IRS-I C stereo panchromatic satellite imagery, and digital aerial photography at a scale of 1:30000 (scanned at 15 micrometers) was used. The study was conducted over various sites in the Sabie area (province of Mpumalanga) in South Africa, where extensive man made forests with pine and eucalypts are to be found. The extraction of stand parameters such as tree height was performed manually, semi-automatically, and automatically. In addition, the compartment area was determined using a GIS tool. The Digital Surface Models (DSM), representing the canopy structure of the stands, was extracted from the IRS-I C imagery and validated through a comparison of the resulting contours with the corresponding contours generated by aerial photogrammetric methods. Due to the coarse spatial resolution of the IRS-IC imagery (5m) and the suboptimal BIH (BaselHeight) ratio (0.57), only objects featuring a height exceeding 20m could be manually measured with confidence. Furthermore, only the edges of the compartments proved to be suitable for the determination of tree heights (i.e. with a sufficiently large parallax difference and image contrast). The manual determination of tree heights in the IRS-I C imagery yielded accuracies of about 95% compared to the height values of the aerial photographs and the ground data. The application of image enhancement techniques had severe effects on the accuracy of the IRS-IC stereo model, resulting in deviations of about -57m from the 'true' value. It was observed that image matching was only a problem where features changed their appearance (e.g. clearfelled or burnt areas) during the acquisition period of the stereo pair of the satellite imagery. LH Systems' Adaptive Automatic Terrain Extraction (AATE) tool performed very well for the creation of digital terrain and surface models when using digital aerial photography with a high scanning rate. In contrast, the automatic creation of canopy surface models from various forest compartments did not yield any useful results when applied to IRS-l C imagery. AATE could not model the canopy structure properly. The coarse spatial resolution of the satellite imagery in conjunction with the sparse post spacing (20m) and matching errors are most likely to be responsible for this poor performance. Two-phase sampling and the Hugershoff method were chosen for automatically derived height values to be evaluated for possible application in forest inventory. Unfortunately, neither for the determination of the regression estimator for the first method, nor for the calculation of timber volume after application of the Hugershoff method could any useful result be obtained. This is mostly due to the fact that image matching errors and blunders (resulting in tree heights of -885m) were not properly accounted for in the terrain extraction software. However, the outcomes for the manual measurement of tree heights performed on the satellite imagery show that under optimal conditions accuracies can be achieved similar to those for the height determination in small scale aerial photographs, but at lower cost. The obtained height values can then be used for the calculation of timber volume according to Eichhorn's law. Keywords: AATE, blunders, digital photogrammetry, DPW770, forest inventory, Hugershoff IRS-l C, matching error, remote sensing, satellite imagery, two-phase sampling / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: N GANGBAARHEIDSTIIDIE VIR BOSINVENTARIS MET BEHULP VAN STEREO SATELLIETBEELDE MET GEBRUIK VAN SAGTEKOPIE FOTOGRAMMETRIESETEGNOLOGIE: Die doel van hierdie studie was om elevasie inligting (soos boomhoogtes) uit stereo satellietbeelde (IRS-I C) te ontrek, en die DTM (Digitale Terrein Modelle) funksies van die LH Systems se sagtekopie sisteem te evalueer en 'n ondersoek in te stel na praktiese toepassing van die tegnologie in bosvoorraadopname. 'n Sagtekopie fotogrammetriese werkstasie (LH Systems DPW 770), IRS-I C stereo panchromatiese satellietwaarneming en digitale lugfotografie is gebruik. Die studie is uitgevoer oor verskeie areas in die Sabie omgewing (Mpumalanga, Suid-Afrika), waar daar ekstensiewe mensgemaakte woude voorkom met denne en Eucalyptus soorte. Die ekstraksie van opstandparameters soos boomhoogte is uitgevoer met die hand, as ook met semi-outomatiese en outomatiese metodes. Die digitale oppervlakmodelle (wat die kroondakstrukture van die opstande voorstel) was vanaf die IRS-I C beelde onttrek en gevalideer deur vergelyking van die resulterende kontoere met die korresponderende kontoere wat deur lugfotogrammetriese metodes gegenereer is. As gevolg van die growwe ruimtelike resolusie van die IRS-IC waarneming (Sm) en die suboptimale BIH verhouding (0.57) kan slegs voorwerpe met 'n hoogte van meer as 20m met vertroue met die hand gemeet word. Slegs die rande van die vakke is bruikbaar vir die berekening van boomhoogtes (d.w. s. met 'n voldoende paralaksverskil en 'n sterk beeldkontras ). Boomhoogtes wat met die hand bepaal is vanaf IRS-I C beelde is 95% akkuraat in vergelyking met die hoogtewaardes verkry vanaf die lugfoto's en die veldmetings. Die toepassing van beeldverbeteringstegnieke het duidelike invloede op die akkuraatheid van die IRS-IC stereomodel met afwykings van ongeveer -57m vanaf die "werklike" waardes. Daar is ook waargeneem dat beeldooreenstemming slegs 'n probleem is waar terreinvorme se voorkoms verander het (weens afkappings of brande) gedurende die verkrygingsperiode waarin die stereo paar van die satellietbeelde verkry is. LH Systems se Aanpassende Outomatiese Terrein Onttrekkings (Adaptive Automatic Terrain Extraction - AATE) instrument het goed gevaar tydens die gebruik van digitale lugfotografie met Inhoë skanderingstempo. In kontras hiermee het die outomatiese skepping van kroondakoppervlakmodelle van verskeie plantasievakke geen nuttige resultate gelewer wanneer dit op IRS-I C beelde toegepas is nie. Die growwe ruimtelike resolusie van die satellietbeelde tesame met die wye paalspasïering (20m) en passingsfoute is waarskynlik vir hierdie swak resultate verantwoordelik. Twee-fase proefueming en die Hugershoff metode was gebruik vir die bepaling van outomaties afgeleide hoogtewaardes vir evaluering van moonlike toepassing in bosvoorraadopnames. Geen bruikbare resultate kon verkry word vir die vasstelling van die regressieskatter vir die eersgenoemde metode of vir die berekening van die houtvolume volgens die Hugershoff metode nie. Dit is meestal as gevolg van beeld-- ooreenkomsfoute en flaters, (wat tot boomhoogtes van -885m gelei het) wat nie voldoende in ag geneem word in die terreinekstraksie sagteware nie. Die resultate vir die handgemete ('manual') boomhoogtebepaling wat uitgevoer is op die satellietbeelde (op die sagtekopie werkstasie DPW 770), toon dat akkuraathede soortgelyk aan daardie vir hoogte bepaal op klein-skaal lugfotos onder optimale toestande verkry kan word, maar goedkoper. Die hoogtewaardes wat verkry is kan gebruik word vir die berekening van houtvolume volgens die wet van Eichhorn. Sleutelwoorde: AATE, afstandswaarneming, bosvoorraadopnames, digitale fotogrammetrie, DPW770, flaters, Hugershoff, IRS-! C, satellietbeelde, twee-fase proefueming

Since the creation of the first reserve in 1997, a conservation plan allowed the development of a network of Forest Nature Reserves in Tanzania over the years. Nowadays the network comprises 20 declared reserves (and two reserves in the process of being announced), each characterized by various management plans, ecoregions, threat levels, budgets, and sizes. Despite improvements in the number of reserves declared, management efficacy and participation of local communities, some threats are still impacting the biodiversity level of the reserves, these include a lack of funding for management, deficiencies in terms of equipment and personnel, and lack of benefits to the local communities. Thus, our objective was to use the data collected previously, to evaluate and improve this network of Forest Nature Reserves. To accomplish this, first, the parameters significantly related to the biodiversity value of the reserves were identified, and second, the taxonomic groups (among amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) poorly covered by the reserves and the location of possible gap(s) in the network were detected. To complete the first objective, we achieved some descriptive analysis, using Microsoft Excel and R, and for the second objective, we used the spatial software QGIS, to perform a gap analysis and build species richness maps. Our results demonstrated that ecoregions were the most important factor being significantly related to the biodiversity index of the reserves, with the Eastern Arc Mountains being the most valuable forest in terms of its biodiversity amount. In addition, the gap analysis revealed that the proportion of Tanzanian endemic gap amphibian and reptile species was higher than in other taxa in the network, showing a conservation bias. Secondly, the species richness maps identified gap areas, where other types of small, protected areas were found, which could be upgraded in the future to capture additional endemic/threatened species. To conclude, despite an improvement in the development of the protected areas over time in Tanzania, there are still some weaknesses in the network that should be considered in the future.

Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act and the National Forest Management Act, the Forest Service has been required to give individuals and organizations access to the decision-making process. However, the Forest Service has been confronted with a greater than anticipated level of dissatisfaction with the Land Management Plans. Because the appeals of the plans are an expense to the Forest Service, both in monetary terms and the frustration which has been generated, the relationship between the participation process and the number of appeals has. come under question. This study proposes that, because public participation and the resolution of appeals are expenses to the Forest Service, the relationship between the two should be analyzed in a cost-benefit analysis framework. However, before an optimal level of public participation can be determined, the relationship between public participation and conflict must be analyzed. Through survey and econometric techniques, the public participation process which occurred during round one of planning and the significance of a number of variables to the probability for conflict were observed. The study described the public participation process which occurred on the National Forests. The results suggest a positive relationship between public participation and the number of existing appeals. Further research is needed, however, to determine the number of appeals which were either avoided or generated due to the public participation process. / Master of Science

Poucos ambientes terrestres deixaram de sofrer algum nível de interferência humana. As populações pré-históricas tiveram um papel importante na formação de determinadas paisagens e, como conseqüência, suas ações contribuíram para as características das paisagens atuais. Na Amazônia, tais transformações antropogênicas são inferidas por indícios de: (1) queimadas; (2) assentamentos; (3) ilhas de florestas manejadas; (4) diques em formatos geométricos; (5) terra preta; (6) campos elevados; (7) redes de transporte e comunicação; (8) estruturas para manejo da água e da pesca; entre outros. A partir da colonização européia no século XVI, a ocupação humana na região começou a receber novas influências. As relações com os recursos naturais estabelecidas pelas populações pré-colombianas foram muito pouco consideradas. A introdução de novas ferramentas e o choque cultural provocado pelos colonizadores alterou o nível de mobilização da energia do meio para as atividades produtivas humanas, ocasionando mudanças nos modos de vida das populações. A partir de meados do século XX, a implantação dos programas institucionais de colonização deu origem a uma nova motivação para a transformação das paisagens, pela qual a extração dos produtos florestais passou a ser uma atividade secundária, para dar lugar a uma lógica de supressão da floresta para introdução de novos elementos, que seriam produzidos para atender a um contexto externo. Além disso, o espaço passou a ser delimitado em propriedades privadas, que só seriam reconhecidas em função da supressão da floresta para dar início às atividades produtivas. Dessa forma, houve um crescimento exponencial na escala espaço-temporal das transformações das paisagens. Por meio da complementação e do confronto das perspectivas evolutivas, históricas e sociais, o presente trabalho se propôs a caracterizar as diferentes dinâmicas de ocupação nas paisagens amazônicas. O período estudado abrange desde a chegada do ser humano até os dias de hoje, buscando entender como o desenvolvimento da organização social e das tecnologias foi capaz de modificar as paisagens no passado e como o faz atualmente. Os dados foram analisados em função de um seqüenciamento temporal. Três dinâmicas de ocupação distintas foram caracterizadas e nomeadas em função dos diferentes níveis de transformação da paisagem, ao longo dos contextos históricos do período de estudo: Dinâmica da Diversificação (9000 a.C. e 1600 d.C.); Dinâmica da Simplificação (1600 d.C. e 1960 d.C.) e Dinâmica da Supressão (a partir de 1960 d.C.). Como uma das conclusões, assumiu-se que o conceito de paisagem depende da existência de dois elementos: natureza e humanidade. Enquanto esses dois elementos coexistirem, a paisagem sempre estará presente, independente de suas qualidades. Dessa forma, nos 11000 anos de convivência entre a humanidade e a floresta amazônica, não foi a sustentabilidade da paisagem que foi ameaçada e sim a sustentabilidade das próprias sociedades que dependem dela. Esse complexo cenário ecológico, social e econômico ao qual a Amazônia está atualmente submetida, tem como principal característica a presença de 85% das áreas ainda em bom estado de conservação. Tal proporção confere ao Brasil a responsabilidade de desenvolver novas técnicas de gestão ambiental que considerem as especificidades regionais, combinando o desenvolvimento econômico do país com a conservação da mais importante floresta tropical do mundo. / In this planet, very few environments are free from anthropogenic disturb. The prehistoric populations used to play significant roles for the formation of some kind of landscapes; the consequences of their actions contributed to the present landscape characteristics. At the Amazon, these transformations are inferred from anthropogenic vestiges, such as: (1) burned areas in the forest; (2) human settlements; (3) managed forest islands; (4) geometrical ditches; (5) dark soils; (6) raised fields; (7) transportation and communication networks; (8) water and fish management structures; among others. The established ways of natural resources uses by pre- Columbian population were looked to down since European colonization in the sixteenth century. The introduction of new tools and cultural shock given by European settlers changed the level of energy necessary to human productive activities, changing the population ways of life. From the middle of the twentieth century, the diffusion of institutional settlement programs led to new motivations for landscape transformation, through which the extraction of forest products has become secondary activity, and give rise to a logic of forest suppression and introduction of new production lines to external context. Furthermore, the land was delimited as private properties, which would only be recognized after forest removal in order to start productive activities. Therefore, there was an exponential growth in space-time scale of landscape transformations. Through complementation and interface among evolutionary, historical and social perspectives, this work has proposed to characterize the different settlement dynamics in the Amazon landscapes, since the arrival of human beings up to now, in order to understand how the development of social organization and technologies was able to change the landscapes in the past, and how they do it today. The data were analyzed as a temporal sequencing. Three distinct settlement dynamics were characterized and nominated considering different levels of landscape transformation, along the historical contexts of the studied periods in this work: (1) Dynamic of Diversification (9000 BC to 1600 AD); (2) Dynamic of Simplification (1600 AD to 1960 AD); and (3) Dynamic of Suppression (from 1960 AD on). A conclusion was assumed that landscape concept depends on the existence of two elements: nature and mankind. While these two elements coexist, the landscape will always be present, despite their characteristics. Thus, in 11000 years of coexistence between mankind and Amazon forest it was not threatened the landscape sustainability, but the sustainability of the societies themselves. This complex ecological, social and economical situation which Amazon is currently undergoing has as main characteristic the presence of 85% of this area in good conservation conditions. Such ratio gives to Brazil the responsibility to develop new environmental management techniques that consider the regional specificities, matching sustained economic development of the nation and conservation of the most important tropical forest of the world.

This study was designed to capture the complexity of man-to-forest relationships in the endangered, world-renowned tropical rain forests of the Congo Basin in Africa. Their biological complexity and integrity have been challenged by human development and new knowledge is urgently needed to save these forests and the people dependent on them. The scope of the study was enormous because of the complexity of the resource, the diversity of forest-dependent people and actors. The major benefit of this research was in accessing and exposing new and quantitative information in remote settlements of the region by applying innovative methodologies and analytical techniques. These included: 1. The definition of forest-dependency based on detailed annual inventories of sources of households’ incomes, their statistical ranking and interpretation with logistic regressions, and the Kuznets ratio and Gini coefficients as introduced by the World Bank; 2. critical appraisal of the international parks in the region based on auto-financing principles and tested with contingent valuation and tax maximization techniques, such as Laffer’s curves, and leading to the development of new conservation models of financial self-sufficiency and a new formula for practical park management; 3. the critique of poaching by explaining and exposing food insecurities, especially deficient supplies of animal protein and associated malnutrition among the rural poor; 4. assessment of housing inadequacy among forest dwellers and its impact on forest regeneration and resources; 5. clarification of the impacts of timber logging by accessing detailed unpublished information from timber companies; 6. the introduction of survey-based valuation techniques as essential prerequisites to policy formulation and the sustainable management of forests; 7. proposing a flow chart that embraced the resources and stakeholders through the flow of market values and services for further exploration. Contrary to traditional beliefs; the results showed that both poor and wealthy households are equally dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods with no significant difference in consumed forest products between the 25% higher income earners and the 25% lower income households. Forests contribute over 57% of wage income in the region and forest-derived income is of a higher total value than any other source, including agriculture. Among forest foods, wild fruit and bushmeat are by far the most important. Therefore, the clearing of forests for agriculture or instituting conservation policies that completely keep local people away from forests will result in constrained access to resources of immense importance to local livelihoods. However, the findings contradict the commonly propagated views that timber harvesting in the region is directly responsible for deforestation, the loss of forest structure and biodiversity. It was shown that the harvesting of saplings and poles for housing may endanger forest regeneration and species composition of forests neighbouring the villages. The desired financing of national parks should be through internally generated revenues, requiring deliberate investments in facilities and infrastructure. The necessity to satisfy the basic needs of the forest-dependent people remains urgent. The complexity of man-to-forest relationships is beyond one study and needs to be further expanded on, in our quest to sustainable forest management based on participatory principles. Such management needs to provide for and be supported by various stakeholders including the local communities, state agencies, donors, NGOs, and commercial conglomerates. Moreover, the need to understand forest values beyond market principles is required in order to translate the concept of sustainable forest management from a theoretical concept in the Congo Basin to one that can reduce conflicts, deforestation, poverty and famine.

This creative project consists of the design of a Master Plan for the Mbaracaju Forest Reserve, a 143,000 acre site in eastern Paraguay which is part of the devastated Atlantic Forest , an area requiring urgent conservation action. This creative project adresses site inventory and analysis, programming, land uses, site specific facility development guidelines, and three Master Plan Alternatives. The Master Plan seeks to support environmental preservation, sustainable development, and environmental education. The hypothesis of this project is that preservation and environmentally sound use of the Reserve are possible through a Master Plan that responds to the sensitivity of the various areas and its management, and to an activities program oriented towards global preservation. The Incorporation of the traditional inhabitants of the land as active participants in the Master Plan will serve as an example for Paraguay and for the world. This Master Plan, which will promote environmental preservation and biological diversity, will benefit the inhabitants of the Reserve, of Paraguay, and from around the world. For this report to the Graduate Office at Ball State University there are included the major aspects of the Master Plan. It is important to clarify that the whole report, which has 200 pages, is available in the lybrary of the College of Architecture and Planning. / Department of Landscape Architecture

Poucos ambientes terrestres deixaram de sofrer algum nível de interferência humana. As populações pré-históricas tiveram um papel importante na formação de determinadas paisagens e, como conseqüência, suas ações contribuíram para as características das paisagens atuais. Na Amazônia, tais transformações antropogênicas são inferidas por indícios de: (1) queimadas; (2) assentamentos; (3) ilhas de florestas manejadas; (4) diques em formatos geométricos; (5) terra preta; (6) campos elevados; (7) redes de transporte e comunicação; (8) estruturas para manejo da água e da pesca; entre outros. A partir da colonização européia no século XVI, a ocupação humana na região começou a receber novas influências. As relações com os recursos naturais estabelecidas pelas populações pré-colombianas foram muito pouco consideradas. A introdução de novas ferramentas e o choque cultural provocado pelos colonizadores alterou o nível de mobilização da energia do meio para as atividades produtivas humanas, ocasionando mudanças nos modos de vida das populações. A partir de meados do século XX, a implantação dos programas institucionais de colonização deu origem a uma nova motivação para a transformação das paisagens, pela qual a extração dos produtos florestais passou a ser uma atividade secundária, para dar lugar a uma lógica de supressão da floresta para introdução de novos elementos, que seriam produzidos para atender a um contexto externo. Além disso, o espaço passou a ser delimitado em propriedades privadas, que só seriam reconhecidas em função da supressão da floresta para dar início às atividades produtivas. Dessa forma, houve um crescimento exponencial na escala espaço-temporal das transformações das paisagens. Por meio da complementação e do confronto das perspectivas evolutivas, históricas e sociais, o presente trabalho se propôs a caracterizar as diferentes dinâmicas de ocupação nas paisagens amazônicas. O período estudado abrange desde a chegada do ser humano até os dias de hoje, buscando entender como o desenvolvimento da organização social e das tecnologias foi capaz de modificar as paisagens no passado e como o faz atualmente. Os dados foram analisados em função de um seqüenciamento temporal. Três dinâmicas de ocupação distintas foram caracterizadas e nomeadas em função dos diferentes níveis de transformação da paisagem, ao longo dos contextos históricos do período de estudo: Dinâmica da Diversificação (9000 a.C. e 1600 d.C.); Dinâmica da Simplificação (1600 d.C. e 1960 d.C.) e Dinâmica da Supressão (a partir de 1960 d.C.). Como uma das conclusões, assumiu-se que o conceito de paisagem depende da existência de dois elementos: natureza e humanidade. Enquanto esses dois elementos coexistirem, a paisagem sempre estará presente, independente de suas qualidades. Dessa forma, nos 11000 anos de convivência entre a humanidade e a floresta amazônica, não foi a sustentabilidade da paisagem que foi ameaçada e sim a sustentabilidade das próprias sociedades que dependem dela. Esse complexo cenário ecológico, social e econômico ao qual a Amazônia está atualmente submetida, tem como principal característica a presença de 85% das áreas ainda em bom estado de conservação. Tal proporção confere ao Brasil a responsabilidade de desenvolver novas técnicas de gestão ambiental que considerem as especificidades regionais, combinando o desenvolvimento econômico do país com a conservação da mais importante floresta tropical do mundo. / In this planet, very few environments are free from anthropogenic disturb. The prehistoric populations used to play significant roles for the formation of some kind of landscapes; the consequences of their actions contributed to the present landscape characteristics. At the Amazon, these transformations are inferred from anthropogenic vestiges, such as: (1) burned areas in the forest; (2) human settlements; (3) managed forest islands; (4) geometrical ditches; (5) dark soils; (6) raised fields; (7) transportation and communication networks; (8) water and fish management structures; among others. The established ways of natural resources uses by pre- Columbian population were looked to down since European colonization in the sixteenth century. The introduction of new tools and cultural shock given by European settlers changed the level of energy necessary to human productive activities, changing the population ways of life. From the middle of the twentieth century, the diffusion of institutional settlement programs led to new motivations for landscape transformation, through which the extraction of forest products has become secondary activity, and give rise to a logic of forest suppression and introduction of new production lines to external context. Furthermore, the land was delimited as private properties, which would only be recognized after forest removal in order to start productive activities. Therefore, there was an exponential growth in space-time scale of landscape transformations. Through complementation and interface among evolutionary, historical and social perspectives, this work has proposed to characterize the different settlement dynamics in the Amazon landscapes, since the arrival of human beings up to now, in order to understand how the development of social organization and technologies was able to change the landscapes in the past, and how they do it today. The data were analyzed as a temporal sequencing. Three distinct settlement dynamics were characterized and nominated considering different levels of landscape transformation, along the historical contexts of the studied periods in this work: (1) Dynamic of Diversification (9000 BC to 1600 AD); (2) Dynamic of Simplification (1600 AD to 1960 AD); and (3) Dynamic of Suppression (from 1960 AD on). A conclusion was assumed that landscape concept depends on the existence of two elements: nature and mankind. While these two elements coexist, the landscape will always be present, despite their characteristics. Thus, in 11000 years of coexistence between mankind and Amazon forest it was not threatened the landscape sustainability, but the sustainability of the societies themselves. This complex ecological, social and economical situation which Amazon is currently undergoing has as main characteristic the presence of 85% of this area in good conservation conditions. Such ratio gives to Brazil the responsibility to develop new environmental management techniques that consider the regional specificities, matching sustained economic development of the nation and conservation of the most important tropical forest of the world.