In 1998, hairy prairie-clover was listed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and subsequently afforded protection under the Species at Risk Act in 2004. Hairy prairie-clover, being a habitat specialist species confined to areas of sparsely vegetated to bare sand, may provide an indication of the loss of a once viable natural mixed-grass prairie and sand dune landscape indicative to southern Saskatchewan. Therefore, critical habitat identification for hairy prairie-clover is of particular concern, not only to provide conservation efforts for this particular species, but also for bare sand and sand dune environments which are some of the most sensitive landscapes on the prairies. The goal of this thesis is to identify and spatially delineate areas of critical habitat for hairy prairie-clover within the range of a known metapopulation in the Dundurn sand hills south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This research was divided into two specific objectives: 1) to investigate the spatial relationship between bare sand habitat for hairy prairie-clover and other land cover classes, and 2) to study the relationship between habitat configuration and hairy prairie-clover occurrence.<p> To achieve the first objective, the desired output was a land cover classification of the study site at an appropriate spatial and temporal resolution. Wavelet analysis revealed that the optimum spatial resolution for bare sand identification and delineation in the study site was between 2-5 m. Analysis of field spectroradiometer measurements throughout the growing season concluded that the early and late growing seasons were best for spectrally discriminating between land cover classes. A multi-resolution, multi-temporal land cover classification using object-oriented methods resulted in an overall classification accuracy of 79% with a users and producers accuracy of 85% for bare sand. Grassland comprised the matrix of the area covering 45.5% of the study site. Aspen and shrub were the most dominating landscape elements comprising 25.5% and 19.2% of the study site respectively. Bare sand made up only 6.0% of the study site while juniper was the least persistent class comprising only 2.7% of the study site.<p> The desired output from objective two was a critical habitat landscape mosaic for hairy prairie-clover. Patch scaled metrics were calculated for bare sand patches identified in the land cover classification from objective one. Binary logistic regression was used to identify which metrics could explain and predict hairy prairie-clover occurrences. Results showed that almost 29% of the variation in bare sand patch occupancy could be explained by the size, shape, and degree of isolation of a sand patch as well as the amount of vegetation on a sand patch in the early growing season. Based on these variables, 18.8% of sand patches in the study site were predicted to be unsuitable hairy prairie-clover habitat, 45.7% were predicted to be marginally unsuitable, 32.7% were predicted to be suitable, and 2.8% were predicted to be marginally suitable. Overall prediction accuracy was about 61% with 80% of occurrences and 54% of non-occurrences being correctly predicted.

In 1998, hairy prairie-clover was listed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and subsequently afforded protection under the Species at Risk Act in 2004. Hairy prairie-clover, being a habitat specialist species confined to areas of sparsely vegetated to bare sand, may provide an indication of the loss of a once viable natural mixed-grass prairie and sand dune landscape indicative to southern Saskatchewan. Therefore, critical habitat identification for hairy prairie-clover is of particular concern, not only to provide conservation efforts for this particular species, but also for bare sand and sand dune environments which are some of the most sensitive landscapes on the prairies. The goal of this thesis is to identify and spatially delineate areas of critical habitat for hairy prairie-clover within the range of a known metapopulation in the Dundurn sand hills south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This research was divided into two specific objectives: 1) to investigate the spatial relationship between bare sand habitat for hairy prairie-clover and other land cover classes, and 2) to study the relationship between habitat configuration and hairy prairie-clover occurrence.<p> To achieve the first objective, the desired output was a land cover classification of the study site at an appropriate spatial and temporal resolution. Wavelet analysis revealed that the optimum spatial resolution for bare sand identification and delineation in the study site was between 2-5 m. Analysis of field spectroradiometer measurements throughout the growing season concluded that the early and late growing seasons were best for spectrally discriminating between land cover classes. A multi-resolution, multi-temporal land cover classification using object-oriented methods resulted in an overall classification accuracy of 79% with a users and producers accuracy of 85% for bare sand. Grassland comprised the matrix of the area covering 45.5% of the study site. Aspen and shrub were the most dominating landscape elements comprising 25.5% and 19.2% of the study site respectively. Bare sand made up only 6.0% of the study site while juniper was the least persistent class comprising only 2.7% of the study site.<p> The desired output from objective two was a critical habitat landscape mosaic for hairy prairie-clover. Patch scaled metrics were calculated for bare sand patches identified in the land cover classification from objective one. Binary logistic regression was used to identify which metrics could explain and predict hairy prairie-clover occurrences. Results showed that almost 29% of the variation in bare sand patch occupancy could be explained by the size, shape, and degree of isolation of a sand patch as well as the amount of vegetation on a sand patch in the early growing season. Based on these variables, 18.8% of sand patches in the study site were predicted to be unsuitable hairy prairie-clover habitat, 45.7% were predicted to be marginally unsuitable, 32.7% were predicted to be suitable, and 2.8% were predicted to be marginally suitable. Overall prediction accuracy was about 61% with 80% of occurrences and 54% of non-occurrences being correctly predicted.

Denna avhandling studerar befästningar i deras landskapssammanhang. Den undersöker vilka faktorer som bidragit till byggandet av befästningar, var de finns och förhållandet mellan bosättning och befästningar. Fokus ligger på stadsborgen från 1600-talet e.Kr. Jönköping, Kristianstad och Göteborgs samt förhistoriska befästningar i Jönköpings och Skåne län samt Göteborgs kommun. Litteraturstudier, kartstudier, Geografiska Informationssystem (GIS) och fältbesök används för att sätta befästningarna i ett sammanhang. Visuella analyser (Viewshed) skapas för att ytterligare visualisera befästningarna i deras landskapsmiljö och för att bedöma de faktorer som bidrar till deras konstruktion och förhållande till bebyggelse. Resultaten visar att det finns många olika faktorer som påverkar placering och konstruktion av befästningar. Befästningslinjer, försvarsbarhet, tillgång till vatten, hur attacker genomförs, kommunikativa-social-politiska-ekonomiska-religiösa och landskapsfaktorer kan alla ha spelat en roll i motiveringen för befästningsbyggandet. Det finns möjligen fler faktorer som påverkar läget. Ett absolut svar kanske inte är möjligt eftersom vi inte kan redogöra för de otaliga effekterna i det förflutna. Resultaten indikerar också att även om det finns tydliga kopplingar mellan 1600-talets stadsfort och deras tillhörande bebyggelse, finns det inget tydligt samband mellan de förhistoriska befästningarna och bebyggelsen i fråga. Förhistoriska ringfort sticker ut eftersom det finns tydliga tecken på bosättningsaktivitet på två av platserna som ingår i denna studie. En skarp kontrast uppstår mellan ringborgen och de andra förhistoriska befästningarna som beaktas i denna studie, eftersom endast en plats har säkra bevis för bosättningsverksamhet inom sig när man betraktar bergsborgen. Det är uppenbart att endast detaljerad utgrävning och undersökning kommer att kunna belysa om bosättningsverksamhet förekom vid förhistoriska befästningar (Bergsfortifikationer/Ringfort), och riktade studier kan också kunna utöka vår förståelse av deras exakta funktion och motivationen bakom deras landskapspositionering. Den siktbaserade analysen tyder på att de bebyggelser som kan vara samtida med de förhistoriska befästningarna har ett lågt rumsligt förhållande till forten. Dessutom verkar det som om sikten på vissa platser kanske inte har varit den huvudsakliga faktorn för platsernas placering i landskapet, och på vissa platser verkar potentialen för kontroll över en betydande kommunikationsväg vara inflytelserik för platsplaceringen.

The wet zone – the lagg – that tends to form at the edge of ombrotrophic peatlands is believed to play an important role in promoting and maintaining the health of bog systems. The lagg is well-recognized by peatland scientists, yet empirical knowledge is surprisingly limited, and most of the characteristics associated with this ecotone come from qualitative observations. Understanding the role played by the lagg, and the potential impact its disturbance might have on the integrity of a raised bog system, is valuable for sustainable land management and peatland restoration science alike. This thesis explores and documents the basic ecohydrological characteristics of the lagg in the context of the neighbouring natural landscapes, and discusses the spatial properties of various types of laggs by exploring airborne LiDAR datasets to detect and position the ecotone. The specific objectives are 1) to describe the form and abiotic controls of the laggs and margins of bog peatlands, 2) to propose a conceptual model in cross-section of the “bog-lagg-mineral land” transition, 3) to explore the potential of data derived from aerial LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to detect and locate laggs and lagg boundaries, and 4) to consider the spatial distribution of laggs around raised bog peatlands. Data were collected along 10 transects located within 6 relatively undisturbed bogs of the New Brunswick eastern lowlands, Canada. Each transect consisted of 4-6 wells, straddling the ombrotrophic bog and the adjacent mineral land, and of 3 nested piezometers in the center of each lagg. These instruments were used to monitor the position of the water table, to measure hydraulic gradient, hydraulic conductivity, and for water sampling. Dissimilarity analysis (edge-detection, split moving window) and similarity analysis (cluster, k-means) were used to test the delineation capacity of five variables derived from the LiDAR dataset; ground elevation (topography), vegetation height, topographic wetness index, and spatial frequency of both vegetation and ground LiDAR returns. The major abiotic control of the lagg appears to be topography. Two geomorphological categories were identified; confined and unconfined. The importance of topography is through the affect it has on water flow rates and direction, which in turn affect water chemistry, and most likely nutrient transport and availability, hence vegetation characteristics. Dissimilarity analysis of the five variables derived from LiDAR data revealed that some indicators were better at predicting the bog-lagg boundary (e.g. vegetation height), and others at finding the lagg-mineral land boundary (e.g. topography). In contrast, the similarity analysis gave more decisive influence to the topographic wetness index. When the lagg was confined between the bog and the adjacent upland, it took a linear form, parallel to the peatland’s edge. However, when the adjacent mineral land was flat or even sloping away, the lagg spatial distribution was discontinuous and intermittent around the bog. Our results confirms that laggs can take many forms, while suggesting two broad geomorphological categories from which they can more easily be studied and understood and highlight the potential offered by LiDAR technology in predicting their likely location around a raised bog. The results and conclusion from this research further our understanding of the goals to be achieved for ecological restoration, and favor sustainable management inclusive of the margins or bog peatlands.

The cairns on Gotland have been one of the most studied aspects regarding the Bronze Age on the island. Most attention has been directed to how they were built and to whom they belong. My study will focus on Ullviarrojr, which is a so-called crater cairn, and the area around the cairn. Ullviarrojr is among the few large cairns on the Island over 35 meter in diameter and the area around it show very few other archaeological remains. The closest ancient remains are around 400 metres away in an almost circle shape. By making a landscape analysis regarding the area around the cairn and an archive study I want to understand its relationship to the Bronze Age landscape. I have consulted unpublished works and made site visits and interviewed the current landowner to get an overview of if there are additional archaeological remains in the area of if remains have been destroyed and taken away. My study will provide some new information on an area that has not been examined in detail, which would help future studies to understand the cairns and the area around cairns.

The understanding of how different parts of a landscape contribute to streamflow by storing and releasing water has long been a central issue in hydrology. Knowledge about what controls streamflow dynamics across landscapes can further our understanding of how catchments store and release water, facilitate predictions for ungauged catchments, and improve the management of water quality and resources. This thesis makes use of data from the Krycklan catchment in northern Sweden. Streamflow data from 14 catchments (0.12 - 68 km2) with variable landscape characteristics such as topography, vegetation, wetland cover, glacial till soils and deeper sediment soils were used to investigate spatial patterns and controls on runoff. The differences in specific discharge (discharge per unit catchment area) between nearby catchments were large at the annual scale, and have the same magnitude as predicted effects of a century of climate change or the observed effects of major forestry operations. This variability is important to consider when studying the effects of climate change and land use changes on streamflow, as well as for our understanding of geochemical mass balances. Streamflow from different catchments was strongly related to landscape characteristics. The distribution of wetland areas had a particularly strong influence, with an annual specific discharge 40-80% higher than catchments with high tree volume on till soils. During drier periods, catchments with deeper sediment soils at the lower elevations of Krycklan had a higher base flow compared to both forested till and wetland catchments. This pattern was reversed at high flows. The storages releasing water to streams in downstream sediment areas were able to maintain base flow for longer periods and were less influenced by evapotranspiration compared to the more superficial till and wetland systems. The results of this thesis have led to a better understanding of the landscape wide patterns of streamflow during different seasons and time scales. The strong associations to landscape characteristics and variable spatial patterns with season and antecedent conditions form the basis for a conceptual understanding of the processes and spatial patterns that shape the heterogeneity of streamflow responses in boreal catchments. / Hur olika delar av landskapet påverkar vattenbalansen och bidrar till avrinning har länge varit en central fråga inom hydrologin. Kunskap om vad som styr avrinningsdynamiken i ett landskap kan öka vår förståelse av hur olika delar av landskapet bidrar till avrinning, hur avrinningsområden lagrar vatten och bildar avrinning, underlätta prognoser för avrinningsområden utan vattenföringsmätningar och förbättra hanteringen av vattenkvaliteten och vattenresurser. Denna avhandling använder data från Krycklans avrinningsområde i norra Sverige. Vattenföringsdata från 14 delavrinningsområden (0.12 - 68 km2) med olika landskapskarakteristik såsom topografi, vegetation och jordarter, användes för att undersöka rumsliga mönster hos avrinningen över olika tidsperioder samt hur landskapet påverkar variabiliteten. Skillnaderna i specifik avrinning (avrinning per areaenhet) mellan närliggande avrinningsområden var stor för årliga värden, och är i samma storleksordning som effekterna av stora skogsavverkningar samt av förutspådda effekter av det kommande seklets förväntade klimatförändringar. Denna variation är viktig att ta hänsyn till när man studerar hur klimatförändringar och ändrad markanvändning påverkar avrinningen, liksom för vår förståelse av geokemiska massbalanser. Avrinning från olika områden var starkt relaterad till deras landskapsegenskaper. Förekomsten av våtmarker hade ett särskilt starkt inflytande. Områden med en stor andel våtmarker hade 40-80% högre årlig specifik avrinning än områden med hög trädvolym på moränjordar. Under torrare perioder hade områden med djupare sedimentjordar hög avrinning jämfört med både områden med skog på morän och med våtmarker. Under höga flöden var detta mönster omvänt. De vattenlager som bidrar till avrinning i sedimentområden kan upprätthålla basflöde under längre tidsperioder och påverkas mindre av evapotranspirationen än de ytligare flödessystemen i morän och våtmarker. Avhandlingen har givit en bättre förståelse av avrinningens rumsliga variation under olika årstider och i olika tidsskalor. Det starka sambandet mellan landskapskarakteristik och avrinningens varierande mönster under olika årstider och lagringsförhållanden utgör en grund för en begreppsmässig förståelse av de processer och rumsliga mönster som skapar heterogeniteten i flödesrespons i boreala områden.

Orientador: José Eduardo Zaine / Resumo: Os sistemas aquíferos brasileiros tem sofrido intensas intervenções antrópicas, as quais expõem o geossistema a degradação, principalmente no que remete-se as águas subterrâneas, com a superexplotação, ao déficit de recarga e a contaminação, tornando a disponibilidade qualiquantitativa da água para o abastecimento de múltiplos usos reduzida gradativamente. Dentre os fatores que desencadearam esse cenário de crise hídrica, temos o planejamento urbano e rural desconexos das necessidades geoambientais, impactando diversos sistemas aquíferos brasileiros, dentre os quais podemos citar: o Itapecuru (PA), o Serra Grande (PI), o Urucuia (BA) e o Guarani (SP, MG, GO, MT, MS, PR, SC e RS), os quais estão localizados em áreas de expansão agropecuária, agroindustrial e de crescimento demográfico. Desta forma, ferramentas e diretrizes que possam auxiliar na geoconservação das águas subterrâneas são essenciais para a manutenção do geossistema, possibilitando que esse recurso atenda as atuais e as futuras gerações. Neste contexto, temos a geodiversidade funcional, que permite avaliar os recursos subterrâneos integrando-os a uma série de características geoambientais que condicionam a qualidade e a quantidade das águas subterrâneas em diferentes paisagens. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver um índice de geoconservação da geodiversidade funcional, tendo como área de aplicação as sub-bacias Água Quente e Água Fria, São Carlos-SP integrantes do Sistema Aquífero Guarani. Para tant... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Brazilian aquifer systems have undergone intense anthropogenic interventions, which expose the geosystem to degradation, especially in what refers to groundwater, overexploitation, recharge deficit and contamination, making the water availability quantitative for water supply. multiple uses gradually reduced. Among the factors that triggered this scenario of water crisis, we have urban and rural planning disconnected from geoenvironmental needs, impacting several Brazilian aquifer systems, among which we can mention: Itapecuru (PA), Serra Grande (PI), Urucuia ( BA) and Guarani (SP, MG, GO, MT, MS, PR, SC and RS), which are located in agricultural, agroindustrial and demographic growth areas. In this way, tools and guidelines that can assist in the geoconservation of groundwater are essential for the maintenance of the geosystem, allowing this resource to meet current and future generations. In this context, we have the functional geodiversity, which allows to evaluate the subterranean resources integrating them to a series of geoenvironmental characteristics that condition the quality and quantity of groundwater in different landscapes. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop a functional geodiversity geoconservation index, using the Água Quente and Água Fria sub-basins, São Carlos-SP, which are members of the Guarani Aquifer System. For this, it was based on a bibliographical review, exposing the main concepts for the development of the theoretical-methodological st... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

<p>The aim of this work is to take the first step into a development process, with the intention to find a way of making prehistoric soil fertility a variable in archaeological landscape analysis. A pilot study is performed on the Mälar basin area, where four topographical and geological factors are reclassified and then combined, resulting in a map which expresses a relative indication of agriculture potential. The map is then compared to the distribution of Migration Period graves and gold finds. This, however, does not mean that the technique is tied to a certain prehistoric period. Because the work is intrinsically experimental, the technique as a whole is finally discussed and evaluated, and suggestions of improvements and further studies are made.</p>

<p>The aim of this work is to give an example of how archaeoacoustics can broaden our understanding of archaeological remains and to further contribute to the almost non-existing research of ringing stones. With a theoretical discussion about sound from three different perspectives and by means of using different kinds of analysis, this essay will show that there are unknown relations between the three known ölandic ringing stones and the cultural landscape of Öland. Possible patterns in the placement of the stones and the possibility of the sound in this soundscape will be investigated. The essay will also suggest a resonant stone typology and discuss the necessity of one. Finally, the intention is also to shed new light upon the discussion on what the uses of the ringing stones might have been.</p>

The aim of this work is to take the first step into a development process, with the intention to find a way of making prehistoric soil fertility a variable in archaeological landscape analysis. A pilot study is performed on the Mälar basin area, where four topographical and geological factors are reclassified and then combined, resulting in a map which expresses a relative indication of agriculture potential. The map is then compared to the distribution of Migration Period graves and gold finds. This, however, does not mean that the technique is tied to a certain prehistoric period. Because the work is intrinsically experimental, the technique as a whole is finally discussed and evaluated, and suggestions of improvements and further studies are made.