Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-150)

München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2004.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science)) - Rhodes University, 2007.

Freie University, Diss., 2005--Berlin. / Dateiformat: zip, Dateien im PDF-Format. Parallelt.: Minimal invasive Chirurgie der Zehengelenke mit Hilfe der C-Bogen-Technik. Erscheinungsjahr an der Haupttitelstelle: 2005.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The burgeoning problem of alien plant invasions in South Africa necessitates effective decision-making based on an understanding of the complex processes that govern these invasions. Due to the spatial nature of the problem, this study explored the use of Geographic Information Systems and spatial models for predicting the spread of alien vegetation and assessing the effectiveness of clearing strategies. The Spatially Explicit Individual Based Simulation (SEIBS) model was identified as a potentially useful tool for alien plant management. This thesis documents the further investigation and development that was necessary before recommendations could be made regarding the future use of the model. The landscape version of the SEIBS model was adapted to allow for the convenient input and output of spatial data, making it possible to simulate invasions in different areas. An ArcView extension was developed in order to facilitate the pre- and post-processing of the spatial data required and created by the model. Changes were also made to the fire routine of the model. The new version of the model was called Clear. A series of model tests for Pinus pinaster were conducted to assess the sensitivity of the Clear model to spatial resolution, initial spatial fragmentation and heterogeneity. These tests revealed that the model was sensitive to changes in resolution and needed to be reparameterised when using different resolutions. The initial level of fragmentation was shown to have a major influence on the invasion rate. Although greater levels of spatial heterogeneity with respect to vegetation age did not significantly affect the spread rate, it did increase the effectiveness of clearing strategies based on clearing juvenile or sparse vegetation. Based on these tests, it is concluded that the model can be readily applied to different areas, provided the influence of spatial characteristics is understood and accommodated. The Clear model was shown to be a useful tool for evaluating clearing strategies and for investigating invasion rates. It is recommended that the model be introduced to a wider audience, in order to obtain user feedback and further improve the accessibility of the model. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die toenemende probleem van uitheemse indringerplante in Suid Afrika, noodsaak effektiewe besluitneming wat gebaseer is op 'n begrip van die ingewikkelde prosesse wat indringing beheer. As gevolg van die ruimtelike geaardheid van die probleem, is die gebruik van Geografiese Inligtingstelsels en ruimtelike modelle vir die voorspelling van die verspreiding van indringerplante en die evaluasie van die effektiwiteit van opruimingstrategieë in hierdie studie ondersoek. Die Spatially Explicit Individual Based Simulation (SEIBS) model is as 'n moontlike geskikte hulpmiddel vir die bestuur van uitheemse indringerplante geïdentifiseer, alhoewel verdere ondersoeke en ontwikkeling nodig was voordat aanbevelings vir die gebruik van die model gemaak kon word. Vir hierdie studie is die landskapweergawe van die SEIBS model aangepas om die maklike toevoer en afvoer van ruimtelike data te fasiliteer. 'n ArcView uitbreiding is ontwikkel om met die voor- en naprosessering van ruimtelike data, wat deur die model gebruik en geskep is, te fasiliteer. Veranderinge is ook aan die vuur sub-roetine van die module gemaak. Die nuwe weergawe van die model word Clear genoem. 'n Reeks toetse is vir Pinus pinaster gedoen om die sensitiwiteit van die Clear model te toets teenoor ruimtelike resolusie, aanvanklike vlak van versnippering en vlak van heterogeniteit. Vanuit die toetse het dit geblyk dat die model sensitief was ten opsigte van verandering in resolusie en dat die model se parameters verstel moes word wanneer verskillende resolusies gebruik word. Daar is ook gewys dat die die vlak van aanvanklike versnippering 'n groot impak op die verspreidingstempo het. Alhoewel hoër vlakke van ruimtelike heterogeniteit teenoor plantegroei nie 'n merkbare impak op die verspreidingstempo gehad het nie, het dit wel die effektiwiteit van opruiming-strategieë, gebaseer op die opruiming van jong of yl verspreide plante, verbeter. Die gevolgtrekking wat uit die toetse gemaak kan word is dat die model geredelik op verskillende areas toegepas kan word, op die voorwaarde dat die invloed van ruimtelike eienskappe in ag geneem word en in berekening gebring word. Dit word aanbeveel dat die model wyer bekendgestel word om sodoende gebruikersterugvoer te bekom.

Orientador: Ana Maria Rodrigues Cassiolato / Banca: Katia Luciene Maltoni / Banca: Luiz Antonio Graciolli / Banca: Eliane de Lima Jacques / Banca: José Luiz Lorenz Silva / Resumo: Este trabalho foi realizado em dois remanescentes de Cerrado sentido restrito conhecidos por Reserva do Exército e Parque Municipal Capivaras; e numa área urbanizada denominada Vila Piloto, localizados no Município de Três Lagoas - MS. Nesta última foi realizado o levantamento de plantas ruderais. Nas três áreas fez-se o levantamento da diversidade florística e coletou-se amostras de plantas em fase jovem para verificação de colonização micorrízica arbuscular. Amostras compostas de solo também foram coletadas para contagem de esporos e análise das características químicas do solo. A área de Reserva do Exército mostrou um total de 397 espécies, distribuídas em 241 gêneros e 70 famílias. Das 44 espécies submetidas à análise de colonização micorrízica, 17 tiveram muito alta, 18 alta, oito baixa e uma ausente. O Parque Capivaras exibiu 449 espécies, distribuídas em 277 gêneros e 96 famílias. Das 44 espécies submetidas à análise de colonização micorrízica, 22 tiveram muito alta, 15 alta, uma baixa e seis ausente. Para a Vila Piloto foram identificadas 344 espécies distribuídas em 201 gêneros e 61 famílias, três espécimes determinados apenas em nível de gênero, das 344 espécies 281 são nativas do Brasil e 76 são típicas de cerrado ou cerradão. Das 50 espécies de plantas ruderais escolhidas para verificação da colonização micorrízica, 27 exibiram colonização muito alta, três alta, duas média, onze baixa e sete espécies não apresentaram colonização micorrízica. Os solos das áreas estudadas se apresentam com teores médios para alumínio e matéria orgânica. A média de esporos por 100g de solos foi de 53 para o Exército e 48 para o Parque Capivaras, permitindo sugerir que as áreas estão em equilíbrio. Para a Vila Piloto os resultados da amostragem do solo para os dois pontos coletados revelaram uma fertilidade que pode ser ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research was accomplished in two restricted sense cerrado remnants, one of them known as the Military Reserve and the other the Municipal Park of Capivaras. The other area was in an urbanized region named Vila Piloto, located in Três Lagoas - MS County, where a floristic survey of ruderal plants was made. In all three areas, a survey of floristic biodiversity was done and samples of young plants were collected to verify arbuscular mychorhizal colonization. Soil samples were also taken for counting spores and for analyzing its chemical characteristics. The Military Reserve displayed a total of 397 species, distributed in 241 genera and 70 families. Of the 44 species submitted to mychorrhizal colonization analyses, 17 were very high, 18 high, eight low and one absent. The Capivaras Park displayed 449 species, distributed in 277 genera and 96 families. Of the 44 species submitted to the mychorhizal colonization analysis, 22 had very high, 15 high, one had low and six had no colonization. For Vila Piloto, 344 species were identified and distributed in 201 genera and 61 families, and three specimens determined only in the genus level. Of the 344 species, 281 are natives to Brazil and 76 are typical of Cerrado or Cerradão. Fifty species from ruderal plants were chosen for verification of the mychorhizal colonization, of which 27 species displayed very high colonization, three high, two medium, eleven low and seven species did not present mychorhizal colonization. The soil of the studied area has medium content for aluminum and organic material. The average number of spores per 100g of soil was 53 for the Reserve and 48 for the Park, suggesting that the areas were in equilibrium. The results from Vila Piloto soil samples collected from two points revealed a fertility that can be considered higher than the typical Cerrado and an average number of FMA spores of 152 per 100g of dry soil ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

In this thesis I investigated various factors that might affect species diversity and the relations between predator/parasitoid and host, using mainly insects as a model group. These factors were agricultural practices, landscape composition, climate change and invasive species.

Methods of non-invasive vascular imaging of thoracic vessels are briefly introducted in the first part of the thesis. Benefits and limitations of CT angiography and MR angiography of the thoracic aorta, pulmonary vessels, great thoracic veins and cardiac vessels are discussed. The main part of the thesis is concerning to pulmonary veins imaging in cohort of patients with atrial fibrilation, who underwent radiofrequency ablation of the pulmonary veins. Aim of the study was to confirm the CT angiography as suitable method of pulmonary veins imaging, to find out frequency of atypical pulmonary veins anatomic arrangement and to measure pulmonary veins diameter in our cohort, including comparison between both sexes. The main purpose of the study was to compare the diameter of pumonary veins before and after the radiofrequency ablation and discover frequency and severity of iatrogenic pulmonary vein stenoses after the procedure. The group of patients planned for biventricular stimulation implantation is presented finally. CT angiography of coronary sinus and his branches was performed before the procedure. Aim of this work was to evaluate whether the CT angiography is proper method for cardiac venous system visualisation and wheather is it possible to choose patients suitable for implantation of left ventricle...

Exotic plant species pose a great risk to restoration success in post-agricultural bottomlands, but little information exists on their dynamics during early succession of actively restored sites. Compositional trends of exotic plants may be similar to those published for natives in other systems, with an early peak in herbaceous richness followed by a decline as woody species establish. I established 16 sites in an 18-year chronosequence (1991-2008) of restored forests, with an additional four mature sites for comparison, within the Cypress Creek NWR, Illinois. Within each site, I identified all vascular plant species and quantified soil texture, total soil C, total soil N, and canopy openness at three strata (1.5m, 1.25m, & 0.75m). Trends in exotic assemblages were significantly correlated with canopy openness at all strata (all p < 0.0001). Richness of exotic herbaceous species and native herbaceous species were related to stand age consistent with a non-linear Weibull regression model (R2 = 0.543, p = 0.005; R2 = 0.483, p = 0.013, respectively). Average percent herbaceous species cover also showed a similar reduction in overall abundance for both native and exotic plants but followed an exponential decay model (R2 = 0.3777, p = 0.0039; R2 = 0.3003, p = 0.0124, respectively). Woody native richness over time conformed to a logistic model (R2 = 0.404, p = 0.012). Woody exotic plants exhibited no discernible relationship with stand age, although they were in sites of all ages. My results indicate that herbaceous exotic species exhibit successional trends similar to natives and therefore may not pose a lasting threat to restoration projects in these floodplain forests. In contrast, woody exotic species can establish earlier or later in succession, persist under closed canopy conditions, and may pose a lasting threat. Thus, bottomland restorations and mature forests are quite vulnerable to exotic plants even after canopy closure.

Historically, the tallgrass prairie (TGP) was the largest ecosystem in North America, but today only about 10-15% of the original extent exists today. Some areas have experienced more extreme loss, for example in the state of Illinois less than 0.01% of high-quality native tallgrass prairie remains. Non-native invasive species are a recent phenomenon that threatens the integrity of surviving TGP communities. Ecotypes of dominant C4 grasses are the basis of numerous cultivars, many of which are utilized in prairie restorations. In this study, the effects of three invasive species (Bromus inermis, Schedonorus phoenix, and Poa pratensis) on two lowland (`Alamo' and `Kanlow') and three upland (`Blackwell', `Cave in Rock', and `Trailblazer') cultivars of the dominant C4 grass Panicum virgatum were tested. Two simple pair-wise greenhouse experiments were established in which cultivars were sown as a monoculture or as a mixture of the cultivars with one of three invasive species. Pots were subjected to one of two water treatments with three replicates of each treatment combination. Response variables (height, number of leaves, tiller density, and biomass) and resources (soil moisture, soil pH, soil electrical conductivity, and light intensity) were measured. The greenhouse studies showed that response variables were affected by the presence of invasive species and that the time of growth affected resource levels. Resources are allocated to different areas (i.e growth and reproduction) when competition and stress are implemented on the dominant species. This study was the first to experimentally test for the presence of the physiological stress marker, trigonelline, in a prairie grass. Trigonelline was highest in upland cultivars under low moisture and highest in lowland cultivars under low moisture treatments. The results of these greenhouse studies suggest that invasive species may differentially affect cultivars of Panicum virgatum that may be sown in a prairie restoration. Performance of the P. virgatum cultivars was dependent on the timing of growth, the pot size, the invasive species, as well as soil moisture level. Therefore, when choosing a cultivar source for restoration, resources (i.e. soil moisture) should be looked into to maximize the output of the cultivar.