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Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 V465 / Master of Landscape Architecture

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the goals, possibilities and rationales that could be found in the discussions concerning the digging of ditches by governmental subsidiaries in order to drain the peat bogs of late nineteenth century Sweden. A further aim was to look at the effect on the landscape on a local level i.e. Släthults moss in Bäckaby parish, Småland in the south eastern part of Sweden. </p><p>In order to be able to explain the connections between politics and landscape changes in a local population and its deciding bodies, influenced by ideas, science and production, a quadruple helix model developed from a triple helix model by Björn-Ola Linér was used. As a model of environmental history, three step thought was used, borrowed from Donald Worster. </p><p>The three steps are firstly nature itself, working without human intervention, in this study, the bog; secondly, the socioeconomic level, here the village and landowners and thirdly, human ideas, culture etc., in this case the parliament. </p><p>Primary sources were used and critically evaluated. Statements and arguments expressed by the members of the parliament were collected and divided into five main groups. Other materials were relatively scarce even though the planning itself was in force and acted as a starting point. </p><p>The study has shown how ideas, utility and scientific results affected a local landscape through the landowners themselves, supported by governmental subsidiaries administrated by a regional bureaucracy. The digging of ditches in the peat bogs was not a way to gain agricultural land; it was supposed to be a way to make the local climate better. In fact, projects where not even entitled to subsidies if the digging of the ditches positively affected agricultural land because of a difficulty in identifying the actual eneficiaries. </p><p>The study context suggests that subsidiaries rather were a way to help the people and strengthen the state by bypassing a local democracy. During this period, the Swedish state transformed from pro free trade to prorotectionism which implied, among other things a conflict between the old conglomerate of parts that constituted the whole and the new thought of a responsible central governing body. There are similarities between the reasoning around the ditch digging in Sweden and that of Linth Valley, Switzerland. The landowner in this case appeared to have wished to make the area better and invest in the land, something that might have been a way to get a better price for it. The area was sold as a farm thirteen years later. There seem to have been two other people directly interested in the project, the head of Bäckaby municipality and the responsible bureaucrat. The first had areas of land which benefited directly from the ditch digging and was said to have been the inspiration. The second was still in his learning period and seems, according to the material, to be eager to finish his education. The focal point of this study was the changing of a landscape for what seems to be political rather than absolutely practical reasons, such as obtaining agricultural land. This change has, in some sense, been reversed but the landscape has now turned into forest, from what was probably a rather flat open space. To get a glimpse of the situation today from a relevant point of view, the environmental programme of the social democrats is presented in one chapter, something meant to point ahead.</p>

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2010. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 20, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-42).

The purpose of this study was to examine the goals, possibilities and rationales that could be found in the discussions concerning the digging of ditches by governmental subsidiaries in order to drain the peat bogs of late nineteenth century Sweden. A further aim was to look at the effect on the landscape on a local level i.e. Släthults moss in Bäckaby parish, Småland in the south eastern part of Sweden. In order to be able to explain the connections between politics and landscape changes in a local population and its deciding bodies, influenced by ideas, science and production, a quadruple helix model developed from a triple helix model by Björn-Ola Linér was used. As a model of environmental history, three step thought was used, borrowed from Donald Worster. The three steps are firstly nature itself, working without human intervention, in this study, the bog; secondly, the socioeconomic level, here the village and landowners and thirdly, human ideas, culture etc., in this case the parliament. Primary sources were used and critically evaluated. Statements and arguments expressed by the members of the parliament were collected and divided into five main groups. Other materials were relatively scarce even though the planning itself was in force and acted as a starting point. The study has shown how ideas, utility and scientific results affected a local landscape through the landowners themselves, supported by governmental subsidiaries administrated by a regional bureaucracy. The digging of ditches in the peat bogs was not a way to gain agricultural land; it was supposed to be a way to make the local climate better. In fact, projects where not even entitled to subsidies if the digging of the ditches positively affected agricultural land because of a difficulty in identifying the actual eneficiaries. The study context suggests that subsidiaries rather were a way to help the people and strengthen the state by bypassing a local democracy. During this period, the Swedish state transformed from pro free trade to prorotectionism which implied, among other things a conflict between the old conglomerate of parts that constituted the whole and the new thought of a responsible central governing body. There are similarities between the reasoning around the ditch digging in Sweden and that of Linth Valley, Switzerland. The landowner in this case appeared to have wished to make the area better and invest in the land, something that might have been a way to get a better price for it. The area was sold as a farm thirteen years later. There seem to have been two other people directly interested in the project, the head of Bäckaby municipality and the responsible bureaucrat. The first had areas of land which benefited directly from the ditch digging and was said to have been the inspiration. The second was still in his learning period and seems, according to the material, to be eager to finish his education. The focal point of this study was the changing of a landscape for what seems to be political rather than absolutely practical reasons, such as obtaining agricultural land. This change has, in some sense, been reversed but the landscape has now turned into forest, from what was probably a rather flat open space. To get a glimpse of the situation today from a relevant point of view, the environmental programme of the social democrats is presented in one chapter, something meant to point ahead.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / As unidades de paisagem do litoral cearense possuem um grande valor paisagÃstico, entretanto vÃm sendo utilizadas de forma incorreta, principalmente nas Ãltimas dÃcadas, comprometendo a sustentabilidade ecolÃgica dos ecossistemas e provocando mudanÃas nas caracterÃsticas dos ambientes naturais, bem como no modo de vida das comunidades tradicionais. Nesse contexto, a criaÃÃo de Ãreas de ProteÃÃo Ambiental està sendo vislumbrada como uma alternativa para controlar essas mudanÃas e manter as relaÃÃes ecolÃgicas estabelecidas entre os seres vivos e o ambiente fÃsico. A pesquisa, pois, teve o objetivo de elaborar um diagnÃstico da APA do EstuÃrio do Rio MundaÃ, localizada na costa oeste do estado do Cearà e propor medidas de gestÃo integrada. Para isso, o estudo abrangeu a anÃlise das condiÃÃes geoecolÃgicas da Ãrea, dos usos a que està sendo submetida e dos efeitos decorrentes dessa utilizaÃÃo, por influÃncia de fatores de ordem ambiental e social. O referencial teÃrico utilizado foi o da geoecologia das paisagens, que ofereceu as condiÃÃes de realizar a anÃlise do espaÃo geogrÃfico, a partir da junÃÃo de procedimentos tÃcnicos contemporÃneos das ciÃncias ambientais, como: i) anÃlise do Ãndice de CondiÃÃo de Vida e Moradia (ICV-MO); ii) anÃlise da qualidade da Ãgua, na qual foi realizado um diagnÃstico da situaÃÃo atual do sistema estuarino; iii) tÃcnicas cartogrÃficas, que possibilitaram a realizaÃÃo da anÃlise espaÃo-temporal da APA, verificando a dinÃmica atuante, assim como os usos realizados. A APA possui sistemas ecolÃgicos de grande importÃncia natural e econÃmica para a regiÃo em que estÃo inseridos, mas que vÃm sendo, entretanto, explorados e ocupados de forma incorreta, gerando diversos impactos ambientais e causando degradaÃÃo, tanto pelas intervenÃÃes humanas sem planejamento ambiental como pela falta de cumprimento da legislaÃÃo vigente. Verificou-se que as mudanÃas significativas na paisagem da APA nos Ãltimos cinquenta e quatro anos foram causadas por intensa dinÃmica ambiental e por prÃticas sociais e econÃmicas que contrariam a legislaÃÃo brasileira, tais como ocupaÃÃo indevida da Ãrea de manguezal, mineraÃÃo ilegal nas dunas, deposiÃÃo inadequada de resÃduos sÃlidos e atividades de carcinicultura no leito do rio. Todavia, concluiu-se que a Ãrea do estuÃrio do rio MundaÃ, apesar de apresentar problemas ambientais, sociais e estruturais, ainda mantÃm um ambiente propÃcio ao desenvolvimento com qualidade, desde que sejam revistos a funcionalidade e os objetivos da APA para a adoÃÃo e o exercÃcio de planos de gestÃo e de fiscalizaÃÃo de forma apropriada e contÃnua. / The landscape units of the coastal zone of the Brazilian state of Cearà have considerable scenic value, but have been exploited inadequately, especially in recent decades. This process has affected the ecological sustainability of the local ecosystems and provoked profound changes in the characteristics of both natural environments and the lifestyle of local traditional communities. In this context, the creation of environment protection areas (known as APAs in Brazil) is considered to be a practical alternative for the control of these changes and the management of the ecological relationships established between living organisms and the physical environment. The objective of the present study was thus to provide a diagnosis of the APA of the estuary of the Mundaà River, located in western CearÃ, and propose measures for the integrated management of the area. The study includes the analysis of the geo-ecological conditions of the area, the forms in which it is being exploited, and the effects of this use, based on the evaluation of both social and environmental factors. The study was based on a landscape geo-ecological approach, which offers a baseline for the analysis of geographic space, derived from the integration of modern technical environmental science procedures, such as (i) the analysis of the Living and Dwelling Conditions Index (ICV-MO); (ii) analysis of water quality, based on a diagnosis of the current situation of the estuarine system; (iii) cartographic techniques, which permitted the development of a spatial-temporal analysis of the APA, the identification of the current dynamics, and the types of land use practiced in the area. The APA encompasses ecological systems that have considerable natural and economic value for the region in which they are located, but which are currently being exploited and occupied inadequately. This has generated a variety of environmental impacts and caused degradation, not only through the lack of environmental planning, but also disrespect for the current legislation. A number of significant changes were identified in the landscape of the APA over the past 54 years, which have been caused by the intense dynamics of the natural environment, as well as social and economic practices, which have ignored Brazilian legislation, such as the gratuitous occupation of mangroves, illegal mining of dunes, inadequate disposal of solid waste, and shrimp farming in the river bed. Despite the environmental, social, and structural problems identified during the present study, the present study concluded that the estuary of the Mundaà River can still be developed satisfactorily, as long as the objectives and operation of the APA can be adapted to include continuous management and monitoring procedures appropriate to the characteristics of the area.

D.Phil. / Land cover changes associated with growing human populations and expected changes in climatic conditions are likely to accelerate alterations in hydrological phenomena and processes on various scales. Subsequently, these changes could significantly influence the quantity and quality of water resources for both nature and human society. Documenting the distribution of land cover types within the Shire River catchment is the foundation for applications in this study of the hydrology of the Shire catchment. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between the measured land cover changes and hydrological regimes in the Shire River Catchment in Malawi. Maps depicting land cover dynamics for 1989 and 2002 were derived from multispectral and multi-temporal Landsat 5 (1989) and Landsat 7 ETM+ (2002) satellite remote sensing data for this catchment. Other spectral-independent data sets included the 90-m resolution Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM), Geographical Information System (GIS) layers of soils, geology and archived land cover. Core image-derived data sets such as individual Landsat bands, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Principal Components Analysis and Tasseled Cap transformations were computed. From generated composite images, land cover classes were identified using a maximum likelihood algorithm. Eight land cover classes were mapped. A hierarchical multispectral shape classifier with an object conditional approach determined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) legend structure was used to map land cover variables. LCCS was used as a basis for classification to achieve legend harmonization within Africa and on a global scale. Flexibility of the hierarchical system allowed incorporation of digital elevation objects, soil and underlying geological features as well as other available geographical data sets. This approach improved classification accuracy and can be adopted to discriminate land cover features at several scales, which are internally relatively homogeneous.In addition to compatibility with the FAO/LCCS classification system, the derived land cover maps have provided recent and improved classification accuracy, and added thematic detail compared to the existing 1992 land cover maps. Fieldwork was conducted to validate the land cover classes identified during classification. Accuracy assessment was based on the correlation between ground reference samples collected during field exercise and the satellite image classification. The overall mapping accuracy was 87%, with individual classes being mapped at accuracies of above 77% for both user and producer accuracy. The combination of Landsat images, vector data and detailed ground truthing information was used successfully to classify land cover of the Shire River catchment for years 1989 and 2002.

Various methods and techniques were used to examine soil-landscape relationships for residual and colluvial soils of Virginia. Soil micromorphology indicated that although some BC and C horizons in the field appeared structureless, evidence of pedogenic process was observed. These were designated as either BCt, BC, or CB horizons depending on the amount of oriented clay and the rates of change with depth of clay, DCB extractable Fe, and sand contents. Soil variability was examined for the overall study, as well as within toposequences, pedons, and individual horizons. Most of the overall variability was attributed to differences between study sites or between horizons, with minimal amounts due to landscape position. Substantial lateral variability occurred within horizons indicating a strong need for subsampling within horizons of the same pedon. Lithologic discontinuities were found to be difficult to recognize without obvious field evidence. Reconstruction analysis was used to examine soil and saprolite formation. Summit and backslope soils were found to be essentially the same in both morphology and degree of profile development. Sand weathering and clay eluviation/illuviation were the major soil forming processes occurring within these soils. Footslope soils were less developed than associated summit and backslope soils, with both depositional and pedologic processes contributing to soil formation and development. Thickness of saprolite was found to decrease. from the summit to the footslope. Thicker saprolite at the summit was apparently related to the greater stability of the summit position compared to the backslope and footslopes. A bucket auger was modified to obtain undisturbed samples of deep saprolite for reconstruction analysis. Saprolite reconstruction indicated that between 20 and 36 % of the mass of the partially weathered rock, which is the precursor to saprolite, is lost during saprolite formation. Most of these losses were either Al or Si. Initial soil formation was shown to occur at a faster rate than saprolite formation, but after substantial profile development, soil formation is reduced to a rate below that of saprolite formation, and saprolite accumulates below the solum. Reconstruction analysis was found to be a valuable tool in studying soil-landscape relationships. / Ph. D.

The Influence of Land Cover and Its Change on Distribution and Species Composition of Raptors in the Czech Republic Abstract Bird species diversity and distribution in relation to a variety of factors have been the subject of numerous works. So far, none of these studies have dealt with an individual order of birds, and this is why I decided to undertake this type of research. The main theme of my work is the extent to which land cover and particularly its perpetual changes influence the local species of raptors. In the introductory part, I outline the character of the changes on the territory of the Czech Republic in the years 1970-2000 and describe their influence on the distribution and diversity of raptors. An analysis of historical and current data concerning the above mentioned period follows, the chief objective being to evaluate all the aspects of dependence of raptors on the past and present state of the landcover in the Czech Republic. The dependence of diversity of raptors on the diversity of land cover has been proved.