Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjamas dviejų vėjo jėgainių parkų keliamas triukšmas. Analizuojami triukšmo susidarymo ypatumai vėjo jėgainių parkų viduje bei sklaida parko išorėje. Vertinamos infragarso bei žemo dažnio garso dažninės charakteristikos vėjo jėgainių parkų aplinkoje. Darbą sudaro 4 skyriai. Pirmajame skyriuje apžvelgiama garso fizikinė prasmė, triukšmo šaltiniai, problema bei keliamo triukšmo poveikis žmonėms. Antrajame skyriuje aprašomi tyrimo objektai bei eksperimentinė vėjo jėgainių keliamo triukšmo tyrimų metodika. Trečiajame skyriuje pateikiami dviejų vėjo jėgainių parkų keliamo triukšmo tyrimų rezultatai bei analizė. Dviejų vėjo jėgainių parko Anužių kaime bei šešių vėjo jėgainių parko „Liepynė“ Kretingos rajone. Ketvirtajame skyriuje pateikiamas vėjo jėgainių parkų keliamo triukšmo modeliavimo rezultatai taikant „CadnaA“ modeliavimo programą. Taip pat pateikiamos bendros išvados, rekomendacijos, literatūros sąrašas ir publikacijų sąrašas šio darbo tema. Darbo apimtis – 103 p. teksto be priedų, 72 iliustr., 5 lent., 84 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. / In this master analyzing of noise dispersion around two wind farms. Analyzing the noise generation and dissemination characteristics of wind farms within and outside the park. Assessed infrasound and low frequency sound frequency response in the places around of wind farms. The master consists of 4 chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of sound physical meaning, sources of noise, the problem and the noise impact to people. The second section describes the objects of research, experimental wind noise research methodology. The third section presents the research results and analysis of two wind parks. Wind farm of two wind turbines in Anužiai village and wind farm of six wind turbines in „Liepynė“ Kretingos district. The fourth section describes the modeling results of wind park using simulation program „CadnaA“ . Also provides an overall conclusion, recommendations, bibliography and list of publications of this master. The volume of master – 103 pages text without attachments, 72 pictures, 5 tables, 84 references.

Darbe nagrinėta Šalčios upė, jos tyrimui buvo pasirinkti 24 vandens mėginių ėmimo taškai, kuriuose nustatytos tokių biogeninių medžiagų koncentracijos: amonio azoto, nitratų azoto, nitritų azoto, pH ir bendrojo fosforo. Pagal gautus duomenis iš hidrometeorologijos tarnybos nustatyta debito priklausomybė nuo klimato veiksnių. Atsižvelgiant į fizines-geografines sąlygas ir įvertinus maksimalius metinius kritulius bei vienos liūties kritulius, nustatytas susidarančio nuotėkio pobūdis. Išanalizavus gautus natūrinių tyrimų rezultatus, nustatyti veiksniai, lemiantys didžiausią upės vandens taršą. Pagal gautus duomenis nustatyta upės ekologinė būklė. Darbą sudaro 6 dalys: įvadas, mokslinės literatūros apžvalga, tyrimo objektas ir metodika, tyrimų rezultatai, išvados, literatūra. Darbo apimtis: 69 p. teksto be priedų, 34 iliustracijos, 9 lentelės, 65 literatūros šaltiniai. / The scientific literature related to the issue and research methodology is discribed in this master work. In the work was analyzed Šalčia’s River, there were selected 24 sampling points where was detected concentrations of these nutrients: ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, pH, and total phosphorus. According to the data obtained from the Hydrometeorological Service there were determined flow dependence on climatic factors. In view of the physical-geographical conditions and the evaluation of the maximum annual rainfall and the rainfall of a storm there were generated runoff patterns. The analysis of the results obtained during the experimental helped to determine the factors leading to maximum river water pollution. According to the data obtained there was found ecological status of the river. The work consists of six parts: introduction, literature review, research and methodology, results, conclusions and references. Work size: 69 p. text, 34 figures, 9 tables, 65 references.

Degalinės yra vienas iš pavojingesnių aplinkos taršos šaltinių, nes jų aplinkoje į atmosferą išsiskiria įvairūs tiek aplinkai, tiek žmogaus sveikatai pavojingi teršalai. Šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti oro taršos lygį degalinės aplinkoje bei gretimose jos teritorijose, pasirinkus tipišką priemiesčio degalinę. Tyrime buvo nustatinėjamos azoto dioksido, sieros dioksido, benzeno, formaldehido, bei kietųjų dalelių koncentracijos aplinkos ore. Atlikus tyrimus nustatyta, kad didžiausios lakiųjų organinių junginių bei dujų koncentracijos yra degalinės operatoriaus darbo vietoje, kur azoto dioksido (2,03 ppm), benzeno (1,52 ppm) ir formaldehido (1,43 ppm) koncentracijos ore viršijo didžiausias leidžiamas koncentracijas darbo aplinkoje. Degalinėje, lauke visų tirtų lakiųjų organinių junginių ir dujų koncentracijos viršijo ribines vertes aplinkos ore. Taip pat nustatyta, kad už degalinės teritorijos teršalų koncentracija ore padidėja likus 100 m iki degalinės. Kietųjų dalelių tyrimai parodė, kad degalinės aplinkoje daugiausiai vyrauja 0,3 – 0,5 µm dydžio dalelės. Taip pat degalinės teritorijoje, lauke buvo viršyta didžiausia leidžiama kietųjų dalelių koncentracija aplinkos ore. / A petrol station is one of the most dangerous sources which are known to contribute greatly to the pollution of the environment due to normal pollutants they emit into atmosphere. The aim of the research is to assess the level of the pollution in the surroundings of a particular city petrol station as well as in the territory of the nearly by petrol stations. A research has been carried out to measure the amount of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde and particulate matters concentrations in the air. After carrying out the research it was found out that the largest concentration of volatile organic compounds and gases was discovered in the working place of the operator of the petrol station where the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (2,03 ppm), benzene (1,52 ppm) and formaldehyde (1,43 ppm) in the air exceeded all the limits allowed in working places. The concentration of gases and volatile organic compounds in the station and outside it exceeded the marginal value of in the air. Research also proved that the concentrations of pollutants increase in its amount 100 m around the petrol station. The test on particulate matters shoved that the prevailing size of the particulate matters was about 0,3 – 0,5 µm and their concentration highly exceeded the permitted amounts in the territory of the petrol station.

People spend major part of their life indoors – at home or in other public or private indoor environments. Clean air in the living environment is very important for the public health. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is largely dependent on the outdoor air quality, due to the continuous indoor air mixing with the ambient air. However, air pollutants in buildings are strongly linked to building indoor factors as well (emissions from building structure, fabrics, coating, furnishing, ventilation system, food preparation, occupant activities etc.). Building renovation is mostly based on economic aspects – performing cost-effective refurbishment actions assuming further savings in energy costs, without taking into account possible changes in air quality conditions. Therefore, a natural question arises whether it will be possible to ensure a comfortable and healthy living for occupants. There is a lack of methodologically robust intervention studies that support the improvement of energy efficiency measures by means of improved IAQ. It is also important to improve the knowledgebase in order to support the implementation of the related policies in Europe. In this context, overview of the results from before and after intervention measurements and emissions from building materials were presented, and the implications on IAQ were discussed. The results of the research provide data for the technical and administrative measures for the improvement of IAQ in residential buildings. / Žmonės įprastai praleidžia didžiąją dalį savo laiko patalpose - namuose ar kitų valstybinių ir privačių patalpų aplinkoje. Švaraus oro užtikrinimas gyvenamojoje aplinkoje yra labai svarbus visuomenės sveikatai. Oro teršalai patalpose yra glaudžiai susiję su pastato viduje vykstančiais procesais (emisijos iš pastato konstrukcijos, apdailos medžiagų, buitinių cheminių priemonių, ventiliacijos sistemos, maisto ruošos, gyventojų aktyvumo ir t.t.). Dėl nuolatinio vidaus oro maišymosi su išorės aplinkos oru, patalpų oro kokybė yra taip pat smarkiai įtakojama išorės oro kokybės. Pastatų renovacija daugiausia yra grindžiama ekonominiu aspektu. Atliekant ekonominius pastatų atnaujinimo veiksmus, paremtus didesniu energijos sąnaudų taupymu, neatsižvelgiama į galimus oro kokybės pokyčius. Todėl kyla natūralus klausimas ar po šių procesų pavyks užtikrinti patogią ir sveiką gyvenseną. Šiuo metu yra stygius metodologiškai stiprių mokslinių tyrimų, kurie nagrinėja energijos efektyvumo priemonių didinimo įtaką patalpų oro kokybei. Atsižvelgiant į tai, šiame darbe yra aptariami gauti rezultatai iš oro kokybės tyrimų daugiabučiuose pastatuose jų eksploatacijos metu bei aerozolio dalelių emisijos iš statybinių medžiagų pastato statybos ir atnaujinimo metu. Taip pat parengtos rekomendacijos daugiabučių pastatų atnaujinimui ir eksploatacijai, užtikrinant sveiką patalpų oro kokybę. Tyrimo rezultatai suteikia svarbios informacijos tiek techninėms, tiek ir administracinėms priemonėms, skirtoms... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Research and evaluation of effect of traditional (iron salts) and alternative iron source (ochre) on anaerobic digestion of sludge mixture process have been made in dissertation. Research has been made in two European countries: Lithuania and Sweden. Sludge mixture used for the experiments was from biological phosphorus removal plants; ochre originated from groundwater treatment plants. Case study, laboratory and pilot-scale experiments have been made for the complex evaluation of impact of ochre on sludge digestion process. Standard and specific methodics were used for the evaluation of results. Based on results technology for using of ochre for the improving of the anaerobic digestion process at the treatment plants with biological phosphorus treatment has been proposed. / Disertacijoje nagrinėjamas ir vertinamas tradicinio (geležies druskų) ir alternativaus geležies šaltinio (geležies paplavų) poveikis anaerobinio dumblo mišinio pūdymo procesui. Tyrimai buvo atlikti dviejose Europos Sąjungos šalyse: Lietuvoje ir Švedijoje. Tyrimams dumblo mišinys imtas iš biologinio fosforo šalinimo įrenginių; geležies paplavos – iš požeminio vandens gerinimo įrenginių. Siekiant kompleksiškai įvertinti geležies paplavų įtaką dumblo pūdymo procesui, buvo atlikti natūriniai, laboratoriniai ir pusiau gamybiniai tyrimai. Darbe panaudotos standartinės ir specifinės pūdymo proceso kokybės nustatymo metodikos. Remiantis gautais rezultatais buvo pasiūlyta technologinė geležies paplavų panaudojimo dumblo apdorojimo ūkyje, skirta nuotekų valymo įrenginiams su biologiniu fosforo šalinimu.

Disertacijoje nagrinėjamas ir vertinamas tradicinio (geležies druskų) ir alternativaus geležies šaltinio (geležies paplavų) poveikis anaerobinio dumblo mišinio pūdymo procesui. Tyrimai buvo atlikti dviejose Europos Sąjungos šalyse: Lietuvoje ir Švedijoje. Tyrimams dumblo mišinys imtas iš biologinio fosforo šalinimo įrenginių; geležies paplavos – iš požeminio vandens gerinimo įrenginių. Siekiant kompleksiškai įvertinti geležies paplavų įtaką dumblo pūdymo procesui, buvo atlikti natūriniai, laboratoriniai ir pusiau gamybiniai tyrimai. Darbe panaudotos standartinės ir specifinės pūdymo proceso kokybės nustatymo metodikos. Remiantis gautais rezultatais buvo pasiūlyta technologinė geležies paplavų panaudojimo dumblo apdorojimo ūkyje, skirta nuotekų valymo įrenginiams su biologiniu fosforo šalinimu. / Resarch and evaluation of effect of traditional (iron salts) and alternative iron source (ochre) on anaerobic digestion of sludge mixture process have been made in dissertation. Research have been made in two European countries: Lithuania and Sweden. Sludge mixture used for the experiments was from biological phosphorus removal plants; ochre originated from groundwater treatment plants. Case study, laboratory and pilot-scale experiments have been made for the complex evaluation of impact of ochre on sludge digestion process. Standard and specific methodics were used for the evaluation of results. Based on results technology for using of ochre for the improving of the anaerobic digestion process at the treatment plants with biological phosphorus treatment have been proposed.

This study was conducted in two shires of Laidley and Gatton in the Lockyer Valley in 1986. The research method used was a self-administered mail questionnaire sent to four hundred primary producers. The response rate received was 49.5 percent which is quite reasonable for a random sample of a non-specific interest group. The study area was divided into six zones based on the 198 respondents’ assessment of the enterprise from which they derived major income. The main approach of this project was a situational analysis o the Lockyer Valley. Central to this research was identification of the pressure and extent of problems relating to several aspects of land use, notably soil erosion, weed infestation; availability and quality of water and more general community-based problems. The characteristics of farm households, the role of family members in decision-making and tasks related to farm as well as home, were also included in this study. The Lockyer Valley is a major production area of vegetables as well as a mixed farming area. Natural pasture, which was extensively found in Zone 6, was largely used for cattle grazing. Generally, rural women were better educated than their husbands, and the ratio of educational level of husband and wife was higher than previous research findings. A large number of producers and their wives have taken off-farm work, and women tended to spend more time in off-farm employment. Only 6.1 percent of producers’ children had completed tertiary education and the majority of all sons were working on the farm. Partnership was found to be the major type of property ownership and inter-generational transfer of the property was the future plan. The producers who were from a non-farm upbringing and who had already taken up off-farm work intended to leave their properties at some time in the future. With the running of the farm business , 35 percent of rural women worked full-time in partnership with their husbands, and 42 percent worked part-time. However, 23 percent of rural women were homemakers and were not involved in running the farm business. The association between decision-making of husband and wife and situational factors such as ownership, involvement in farm tasks, record-keeping, education, on-farm upbringing and age were analysed. Joint involvement of wives in decision-making was to be related to ownership, farm tasks and record-keeping. However, husbands were more likely to take a major role in decision-making if they were more educated and had an on-farm upbringing. Age was found to be a factor affecting joint decision-making, although this result conflicted with findings of earlier research. The opinions of the farm community in identifying the problems of the specific small area in the Lockyer Valley were revealed. Lantana was the most severe weed problem in the whole catchment. The catchment area also had problems with wattle. The recommended control method of lantana was replacement by improved pasture, but it was adopted by few primary producers. Soil erosion in the form of gullies, bank erosion, sheet erosion, salinity and flooding were some of the problems perceived by the local community. Regular ‘slash and burn’ was practised by most of the producers. This is one of the causes of land degradation. Bore, creek and river, and dam were the main water sources for farm supply and irrigation. Only 60 percent of bored had adequate water supply and good water quality. Farm dam and creek/river sources were less reliable due to the inadequate availability of water. Consequently, operators at about half the cropped farms had to stop growing some vegetables which were previously commercially successful. Within the context of farm family needs, emphasis was placed on conservation of water, because of the erosion and water problems. The community’s opinion on community development activities emphasised the involvement of farm families. Finally, suggestions for the extension program which should be emphasised on rural development by means of community participation were included. The bases for further studies was also provided in this report.

This study was conducted in two shires of Laidley and Gatton in the Lockyer Valley in 1986. The research method used was a self-administered mail questionnaire sent to four hundred primary producers. The response rate received was 49.5 percent which is quite reasonable for a random sample of a non-specific interest group. The study area was divided into six zones based on the 198 respondents’ assessment of the enterprise from which they derived major income. The main approach of this project was a situational analysis o the Lockyer Valley. Central to this research was identification of the pressure and extent of problems relating to several aspects of land use, notably soil erosion, weed infestation; availability and quality of water and more general community-based problems. The characteristics of farm households, the role of family members in decision-making and tasks related to farm as well as home, were also included in this study. The Lockyer Valley is a major production area of vegetables as well as a mixed farming area. Natural pasture, which was extensively found in Zone 6, was largely used for cattle grazing. Generally, rural women were better educated than their husbands, and the ratio of educational level of husband and wife was higher than previous research findings. A large number of producers and their wives have taken off-farm work, and women tended to spend more time in off-farm employment. Only 6.1 percent of producers’ children had completed tertiary education and the majority of all sons were working on the farm. Partnership was found to be the major type of property ownership and inter-generational transfer of the property was the future plan. The producers who were from a non-farm upbringing and who had already taken up off-farm work intended to leave their properties at some time in the future. With the running of the farm business , 35 percent of rural women worked full-time in partnership with their husbands, and 42 percent worked part-time. However, 23 percent of rural women were homemakers and were not involved in running the farm business. The association between decision-making of husband and wife and situational factors such as ownership, involvement in farm tasks, record-keeping, education, on-farm upbringing and age were analysed. Joint involvement of wives in decision-making was to be related to ownership, farm tasks and record-keeping. However, husbands were more likely to take a major role in decision-making if they were more educated and had an on-farm upbringing. Age was found to be a factor affecting joint decision-making, although this result conflicted with findings of earlier research. The opinions of the farm community in identifying the problems of the specific small area in the Lockyer Valley were revealed. Lantana was the most severe weed problem in the whole catchment. The catchment area also had problems with wattle. The recommended control method of lantana was replacement by improved pasture, but it was adopted by few primary producers. Soil erosion in the form of gullies, bank erosion, sheet erosion, salinity and flooding were some of the problems perceived by the local community. Regular ‘slash and burn’ was practised by most of the producers. This is one of the causes of land degradation. Bore, creek and river, and dam were the main water sources for farm supply and irrigation. Only 60 percent of bored had adequate water supply and good water quality. Farm dam and creek/river sources were less reliable due to the inadequate availability of water. Consequently, operators at about half the cropped farms had to stop growing some vegetables which were previously commercially successful. Within the context of farm family needs, emphasis was placed on conservation of water, because of the erosion and water problems. The community’s opinion on community development activities emphasised the involvement of farm families. Finally, suggestions for the extension program which should be emphasised on rural development by means of community participation were included. The bases for further studies was also provided in this report.

A diversidade beta pode ser definida como a mudança na composição de espécies entre locais em uma determinada área geográfica. Quantificar a contribuição relativa dos diferentes fatores que a afetam é essencial para entender como é mantida a diversidade das comunidades. Nosso estudo tem foco na vegetação lenhosa da região do Alto Camaquã, sul do Brasil (ca.30-31° S, 52-54° W), que está inserida no bioma Pampa e é caracterizada por ampla heterogeneidade ambiental com mosaicos de floresta e campo naturais. Com o objetivo de responder quais fatores tem mais influência na estruturação da comunidade de plantas lenhosas dessa região, distribuímos sistematicamente 60 unidades amostrais onde foram levantadas todas as espécies de plantas lenhosas. Primeiramente particionamos a diversidade beta através de RDA parcial e verificamos que as variáveis ambientais – que incluem variáveis climáticas, topográficas e edáficas – explicaram 28,4% da variação na composição de espécies, a distância geográfica explicou 16,6%, 14,7% foi compartilhado entre os dois componentes e 40,3% permaneceu não explicado. Com isso ficou claro que fatores determinísticos são mais importantes na estruturação das comunidades lenhosas. Em uma posterior análise de árvore de regressão multivariada, as variáveis climáticas foram selecionadas como as mais influentes. Além disso, a região de estudo é uma das mais bem conservadas do Estado. Portanto, em um segundo momento, investigamos a influência de fatores adicionais na diversidade beta das comunidades lenhosas, considerando o histórico de 300 anos de presença de manejo com pecuária familiar do Alto Camaquã. A partir de dados de um zoneamento agroecológico, exploramos a influência das diferentes tipologias de pecuária sobre dois estratos das comunidades de plantas lenhosas, plântulas e adultos, controlando o efeito da variação climática através de correlações matriciais. Encontramos que o manejo não está relacionado com o turnover de espécies de plântulas, contudo explica 12% da variação da diversidade beta de arbóreas. Concluímos, portanto, que a heterogeneidade climática da região gera heterogeneidade ambiental, sendo esta a principal determinante da diversidade das comunidades, apesar de processos neutros também influenciarem, em menor proporção. A presença do manejo não afeta de forma equitativa a comunidade de plantas lenhosas, contribuindo para a heterogeneidade florística da região. / Beta diversity can be defined as the shift in species composition among sites in a geographical area of interest. Quantifying the relative contributions of different processes that affect beta diversity is essential for understanding how diversity is maintained in communities. Our study focuses on the woody vegetation of the Alto Camaquã region, southernmost Brazil (c. 30-31° S, 52-54° W), which is within the domain of the Pampa biome and presents wide environmental heterogeneity showing natural forest-grassland patches. Aiming to answer which factors are most influential in the structuring of the woody plant communities, we systematically placed 60 sampling plots throughout the study area for vegetation survey. We partitioned beta diversity through partial RDA and verified that the environmental variables - which include climatic, topographic and edaphic variables - explained 28.4% of the variation in species composition, geographic distance accounted for 16.6%, 14.7% was shared between the two components and 40.3% of the variation remained unexplained. The deterministic processes are clearly the most important in structuring the woody communities. Further analysis using multivariate regression tree selected the climatic variables as the most influential. The study region shows a well conserved physiognomy, regardless of its 300-years history of land use for family cattleraising; hence in a second moment we investigated additional factors affecting diversity patterns of the plant communities surveyed, starting from available agroecological zoning data for land management. We explored the effect of the different typologies of family cattle-raising over two strata of the woody vegetation community, seedling and adult plants, controlling the effect of climate heterogeneity using matrix correlations (partial Mantel tests). We found that land management is not correlated with the species turnover of seedlings, yet explains 12% of the variation in the adult plants beta diversity. We concluded, hence, that climatic heterogeneity creates habitat heterogeneity, being the main determinant of community diversity, although neutral processes are also influent. Land management does not affect the woody plant community evenly, thus contributing to the floristic heterogeneity of the region.

A diversidade beta pode ser definida como a mudança na composição de espécies entre locais em uma determinada área geográfica. Quantificar a contribuição relativa dos diferentes fatores que a afetam é essencial para entender como é mantida a diversidade das comunidades. Nosso estudo tem foco na vegetação lenhosa da região do Alto Camaquã, sul do Brasil (ca.30-31° S, 52-54° W), que está inserida no bioma Pampa e é caracterizada por ampla heterogeneidade ambiental com mosaicos de floresta e campo naturais. Com o objetivo de responder quais fatores tem mais influência na estruturação da comunidade de plantas lenhosas dessa região, distribuímos sistematicamente 60 unidades amostrais onde foram levantadas todas as espécies de plantas lenhosas. Primeiramente particionamos a diversidade beta através de RDA parcial e verificamos que as variáveis ambientais – que incluem variáveis climáticas, topográficas e edáficas – explicaram 28,4% da variação na composição de espécies, a distância geográfica explicou 16,6%, 14,7% foi compartilhado entre os dois componentes e 40,3% permaneceu não explicado. Com isso ficou claro que fatores determinísticos são mais importantes na estruturação das comunidades lenhosas. Em uma posterior análise de árvore de regressão multivariada, as variáveis climáticas foram selecionadas como as mais influentes. Além disso, a região de estudo é uma das mais bem conservadas do Estado. Portanto, em um segundo momento, investigamos a influência de fatores adicionais na diversidade beta das comunidades lenhosas, considerando o histórico de 300 anos de presença de manejo com pecuária familiar do Alto Camaquã. A partir de dados de um zoneamento agroecológico, exploramos a influência das diferentes tipologias de pecuária sobre dois estratos das comunidades de plantas lenhosas, plântulas e adultos, controlando o efeito da variação climática através de correlações matriciais. Encontramos que o manejo não está relacionado com o turnover de espécies de plântulas, contudo explica 12% da variação da diversidade beta de arbóreas. Concluímos, portanto, que a heterogeneidade climática da região gera heterogeneidade ambiental, sendo esta a principal determinante da diversidade das comunidades, apesar de processos neutros também influenciarem, em menor proporção. A presença do manejo não afeta de forma equitativa a comunidade de plantas lenhosas, contribuindo para a heterogeneidade florística da região. / Beta diversity can be defined as the shift in species composition among sites in a geographical area of interest. Quantifying the relative contributions of different processes that affect beta diversity is essential for understanding how diversity is maintained in communities. Our study focuses on the woody vegetation of the Alto Camaquã region, southernmost Brazil (c. 30-31° S, 52-54° W), which is within the domain of the Pampa biome and presents wide environmental heterogeneity showing natural forest-grassland patches. Aiming to answer which factors are most influential in the structuring of the woody plant communities, we systematically placed 60 sampling plots throughout the study area for vegetation survey. We partitioned beta diversity through partial RDA and verified that the environmental variables - which include climatic, topographic and edaphic variables - explained 28.4% of the variation in species composition, geographic distance accounted for 16.6%, 14.7% was shared between the two components and 40.3% of the variation remained unexplained. The deterministic processes are clearly the most important in structuring the woody communities. Further analysis using multivariate regression tree selected the climatic variables as the most influential. The study region shows a well conserved physiognomy, regardless of its 300-years history of land use for family cattleraising; hence in a second moment we investigated additional factors affecting diversity patterns of the plant communities surveyed, starting from available agroecological zoning data for land management. We explored the effect of the different typologies of family cattle-raising over two strata of the woody vegetation community, seedling and adult plants, controlling the effect of climate heterogeneity using matrix correlations (partial Mantel tests). We found that land management is not correlated with the species turnover of seedlings, yet explains 12% of the variation in the adult plants beta diversity. We concluded, hence, that climatic heterogeneity creates habitat heterogeneity, being the main determinant of community diversity, although neutral processes are also influent. Land management does not affect the woody plant community evenly, thus contributing to the floristic heterogeneity of the region.