This thesis was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts. / Man, in earning a living, seeks to establish a satisfactory working relationship with the natural environment through the use of land in some manner. Adopting this geographical thesis, the following study is an attempt to examine and explain the relationship by describing and accounting for the nature, distribution, and areal differences of land use in South Dumfries Township. Information for the text was obtained through observation and interviews while in the field. This was supplemented by library research and map work. Statistical data were obtained from the Dominion Census Reports, planimetric measurements,and township assessment figures. The subject matter has been divided into three chapters, each of which has been subdivided into sections. The physical setting of the township is discussed in Chapter I. Chapter II concerns agricultural land use in the township, whereas, Chapter III is given to a discussion of the various non-agricultural land uses. The final section of the text contains a summary of the work and a synthesis of the factors which have affected man's relationship with the natural environment provided by the Township of South Dumfries. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

No abstract provided. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Freshwater fungi are vital to the aquatic food web, essential for nutrient cycling, energy flow, and ecosystem regulation. Their distribution is particularly contingent upon agricultural runoff, which can carry agrochemicals capable of influencing the freshwater mycobiota and potentially impacting the ecosystem services which they provide. While such impacts are well documented for freshwater bacterial communities, fungal communities are critically understudied. Here, we address this research gap by assessing the impact of anthropological and environmental perturbations on the freshwater mycobiota in the agriculturally dominated South Nation River basin in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We undertook biweekly water sampling from 2016-2021, complemented by rich ancillary data including water properties, hydrology, weather conditions, and fungal ITS2 metabarcoding. Our study yielded 6,571 Operational Taxonomic Units from 503 water samples, spanning 15 fungal phyla, dominated by Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Chytridiomycota. Agricultural land use decreased the mycobiota alpha diversity and distinct fungal communities were observed at agricultural ditch and mixed-use sites compared to the forested site. Notably, river discharge emerged as a predominant influencer of both alpha and beta diversity, likely transporting fungi via precipitation, especially from plant-rich catchment basins. Intriguingly, environmental data only explained a fraction of fungal community variation, underscoring the significance of unmeasured factors such as fungicide application, alongside stochastic community assembly processes. This work highlights the complex interplay of factors influencing the freshwater fungal community in agriculturally impacted watersheds and shows the need for further investigation for a more comprehensive understanding of the freshwater fungal ecology.

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<p> Two basic assumptions of the H. A. Wood Land Use Classification for the American Tropics are examined. </p> <p> First, the nature of the relationship between the level of technology, climatic characteristics, economic output, and labour requirements is examined for individual crops using data acquired from the Ecuadorian government. </p> <p> Second, the author examines the extent to which it is possible to separate, and accurately identify, the Wood Land Use Systems on aerial photographs. Photographs were interpreted from both the Sierra and coastal regions of Ecuador and later field checked by the author with the aid of the Ministerio de Agricultura. </p> <p> Through analysis, certain assumptions of the classification have been verified, and some modifications have been suggested. </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The objective of this research was to investigate the nature of landowner supply-response behavior as it related to the land conversion process in the rural-urban fringe. Emphasis was placed on the derivation of the farmer's dynamic supply-response curve of agricultural land for urban uses since the nature of this curve has important implications for land-use policy alternatives in fringe areas. It was argued that the aggregate land market approach to land use policy analysis in the rural-urban fringe is generally inappropriate for practical and theoretical reasons. Consequently, a disaggregated micro model based on the proprietary land unit was developed to explain the land conversion process. The theoretical model is composed of three cost and two demand components. The interaction of these components results in a dynamic supply-response curve of agricultural land for urban uses which is discontinuous over a wide range for many classes of landowners. The theoretical model was tested through discriminant analyses of data collected from a study area where there exists heavy urban demand for agricultural land. The data included information on landowners over time, physical characteristics of the tracts of land, transfer information and· various demand variables. Results of the empirical analyses provided support for the hypotheses incorporated into the theoretical model. Specifically, empirical evidence was found to support the hypotheses that (1) individual farmers' supply response curves are discontinuous over a wide range, (2) farmers' fixed capital investment is a primary cause of the discontinuity, (3) farmers with less fixed capital investment will generally have more elastic supply-response curves which are discontinous over a smaller range, and (4) speculators' supply-response curves will generally be highly elastic and continuous. Various implications of the theoretical model for land-use policy analysis and land-use patterns in the rural-urban fringe are discussed. Particular attention was given to an analysis of Virginia's use-value assessment program based on the theoretical model. It was found that such a program will not "save" agriculture in fringe areas but will raise land price and subsidize speculative activities. Such a program might be more successful in achieving its stated goals if it were implemented in areas on the outlying edge of the rural-urban fringe. / Ph. D.

Over the past decade the movement of natural gas drilling operations toward more suburban and urban communities has created unique policy challenges for municipalities. Municipal response is manifest in a variety of institutional arrangements, some more enabling than others regarding citizen access to public hearings. This observation lead to the main research question, “How are variations in citizen participation affecting policy outcomes?” The argument is made that institutions affecting citizen participation, in turn affect policy outcomes. If the general public is given access to public hearings, their preferences for longer setbacks will be taken into account and the approved gas wells will have greater distances from neighboring residences – effectively providing for greater safety. Given the paucity of research on the topic of natural gas drilling, the research first begins with the presentation of a theoretical framework to allow for analysis of the highly complex topic of gas well permitting, emphasizing the rule-ordered relationships between the various levels of decision making and provides a typology of collective action arenas currently used by Texas municipalities. The research uses paired case studies of most similar design and employs a mixed methods process for the collection, analysis and interpretation of the municipal level gas well permitting process. The investigation includes a complete census of 185 approved gas wells from four North Texas cities between the years 2002-2012; 20 interviews comprised of city officials and drilling operators; and archival records such as gas well site plans, ordinances, on-line government documents and other public information. The findings reveal that zoning institutions are associated with a 15% longer gas well setback than siting institutions and institutions without waivers are associated with a 20% longer gas well setback than institutions with waiver rules. The practical implications suggest that citizen participation has a positive effect on public safety within gas well permitting decisions.