The Green Swamp Preserve is a large geographic area that has sustained many changes since Europeans settled in Florida. There has been little published research on the impacts of anthropogenic activity on this system. This thesis research seeks to document more recent changes in the Green Swamp and to evaluate the effects of various human activities on the system. The study period is from 1985 to 2015. For this time period changes in land use and landcover were examined using neural network classifications. Changes in vegetation health were evaluated by examining Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Green Vegetation Index differences. Field site visits were made to document current conditions at thirty sample locations within the study area. Changes in land use and landcover and vegetation health were evaluated in relation to anthropogenic activities such as proximity to pollution sources, conservation lands and restoration sites. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine if statistically significant clustering occurred in these changes and if present geographically weighted regressions were performed to determine if a significant spatial relationship existed between the clustering and the various human activities. WAP data showed an overall decline in wetland health at the assessment sites and showed a trend of lower wetland health at sites within 2 Km of pollution sources, specifically petroleum tank contamination sites and state roads. The statistically significant clustering identified in land use landcover changes from 1985 to 2015 were in relation to changes from field, forested and wetland landcover types to built environments. Spatial relationships were identified between the proximity of petroleum tank contamination sites, state roads and solid waste facilities and clustering of NDVI decreases from 1985 to 2015. NDVI increases in the study area from 1985 to 2015 also showed statistically significant clustering in relation to conservation lands and lands purchased by the Southwest Florida Water Management District for environmental protection. These preliminary findings suggest that human activities may have influenced changes in the health of the Green Swamp. Further, more extensive research is suggested to confirm these findings.

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Land degradation is a great threat to the Beshlo Catchment in Blue Nile Basisn, not merely as an environmental issue, but also a social and economic problem. In Gedalas Watershed (one of the micro catchments of Beshelo), land degradation, mediated by both biophysical and socio-economic drivers, is among the major environmental sustainability and social-economic development threats in the area. The threat is manifested in depletion of natural vegetations, water, soil and other natural resources; disruption of ecosystem functions, processes, integrity, and services. Given its particular vulnerability, watershed management activities have been in operation since the mid-1970s. Recently, the idea of Sustainable land management through integrated watershed development program has been initiated with the objective of reducing land degradation risks and ensuring food security at both the nationwide and family circle. Despite these investments and efforts, real evidences of success and failures of such efforts were not satisfactory explored. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to analyze the existing status and future prospects of sustainable land management and evaluates its implication on the environmental integrities and the local livelihoods specific to Gedalas watershed. For this effect, the study investigated the dynamics, deriving forces and implications of LULC, soil erosion and soil fertility status of the watershed, current status of watershed management practices, pertinent challenges and opportunities for practicing land management technologies and approaches that might help meet the sustainability requirements of SLM practices. In addition, the study explored factors that determine the willingness of farming households to undertake SLM practice. As the study carried in the coupled human-environment system of rural landscapes, interdisciplinary geographical approaches which integrats social and natural science methodologies were employed to deal with issues of land degradation-and-rehabilitation status comprehensively. The general findings of the study show that though it would be dificult to measure all the composite aspects of land degradation, some of the parameters considered in this study revealed that land degradation is a perpetuating challenge in the watershed. It is evidenced from the overall undesirable land use/cover changes i.e transition of 21.25% of Afro/sub alpine landscapes, 17.59% of the grasslands and 8% of shrub lands to either to cultivated land or settlement areas over the 1973–2017 period, which have unintended negative socio-ecological repercussions on the watershed; high annual mean soil loss value (which range from 37t/ha/year average values to 393 t/ha/yr soil loss rates on water courses) that exceed threshold level and a wide gap between the need for SLM and the actual achievement of SLM practices,including limited adherence to the idea behind contemporary land management policies and implementation principles and approaches. The study further revealed the presence of opportunities as well as a myriad of challenges that need to be tackled in order to achieve sustainable land management goals. The study colcludes that, though, some encouraging progresses have been observed in the SLM project sites; land degradation has remained a problem in the watershed. This calls for strenuous efforts to promote and assist wide scale adoption of SLM practices that address the pervasive land degradation problem and achieve land degradation neutrality as highlighted in sustainable development goals. / Department of Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)