Grazing is widely used as a tool in conservation management. Many plant communities of conservation importance are dependent on grazing for their existence, maintenance of species diversity and other valued characteristics. Plant community response to grazing depends on many factors, including site productivity and dominant plant species; setting appropriate grazing levels can therefore be challenging. The problems are magnified when more than one species or plant community is the target of conservation goals as they may need different levels of grazing. Where multiple plant communities are present in a mosaic, grazing pressure on the higher productivity community (usually the more attractive to herbivores) can affect the utilisation of the lower productivity communities: grazing on the less productive community is elevated in close proximity (a few metres) to the productive community. This increases the possibility of conflict in managing grazing for the conservation of both communities as low productivity communities can sustain only low levels of grazing. Less well studied are the effect of community layout at larger spatial scales (100s – 1000s of metres) and the effect of vegetation pattern on grazing on the productive community. It is also not well known how the spatial pattern of grazing is affected by changes in herbivore density. I investigated the consequences of the spatial pattern of plant communities and changing herbivore density for grazing patterns on a complex multi-community mosaic and assessed the probable consequence for conservation of these plant communities. The plant mosaic comprised a mixture of species-rich grassland and several less productive communities, primarily heaths and bogs; the main grazers were red deer (Cervus elaphus). The grassland needs higher grazing levels than the others to meet management goals. I used small scale experiments to investigate the effects of reducing grazing on grassland and how the effects varied within the grassland community. Elimination of grazing caused a rapid switch from short, herb-rich grassland towards a graminoid dominated, less diverse sward, as expected. The degree of change in diversity and herb cover was dependent on productivity. Experimental reduction in grazing had mixed consequences for grassland in relation to conservation goals due to pre-existing variation in intensity of grazing on the grassland. The condition of areas of initially heavily grazed and short vegetation improved, whilst taller grasslands deteriorated. Analysis of large-scale datasets was used to investigate the influence of spatial pattern of community types and differences in large scale deer density on the distribution of grazing. There was increased grazing pressure on less productive plant communities where grassland was abundant within 1km and this was fairly consistent across communities and across different grazing indicators. There was an effect on grazing levels on grassland, but the explanatory power was generally lower and the effect less consistently present across indicators of grazing. Sward height and litter depth measures from one dataset indicated heavier grazing with more grassland present nearby (250m); however, lower grazing pressure was indicated by sward height and a combined grazing index when there was more grassland in a more distant zone (500-1000m). Deer density had limited power to explain large scale variation in impacts, probably due to the coarse scale of the information available and correlation with other variables. This limited the ability to thoroughly test the consequences of changes in deer density on the spatial pattern of impacts or investigate whether there was an interaction between deer density and spatial pattern. The inherent conflict in conservation management of grazed communities of different productivities is increased by the influence of the spatial distribution of plant communities on the distribution of grazing; conservation management goals need to account for this and identify a suitable trade-off.

No description available.

Peat moorlands represent a nationally significant carbon store. Wildfires in peat moorlands release CO2 into the atmosphere, reducing the carbon store and burn into the seed bank preventing vegetation recovery. Burned areas of bare peat remain, known as ‘burn scars’ which are eroded by freeze thaw and desiccation, then weathered by precipitation and wind to cause discolouration of the water supply. A technique for the systematic monitoring of peat moorland burn scars is essential for informing land management and moorland restoration. Satellite data enables peat moorland burn scars to be monitored at the landscape scale for operational services e.g. European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). However, in the UK cloud is highly problematic for optical satellites and thermal data provides only a short window of opportunity for active fire detection. This thesis provides a unique line of enquiry by exploring the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) intensity and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) coherence for burn scar characterisation and persistence, using a multi-temporal and multi-sensor approach for degraded peat moorland. The Peak District National Park (PDNP) was selected because it is a marginal moorland environment, which experiences high rates of peat erosion and will experience more wildfires, based on future projections of increased temperature, due to global warming. Initial SAR intensity results for the Bleaklow 2003 burn scar showed a clear post-fire increase of 7 dB for burned peat bog when acquired under wet conditions. Post-fire, dry − wet InSAR pairs were characterised by vegetation removal caused by combustion within the burn scar area, whereas wet − wet InSAR pairs characterised the burn scar, but also degraded peat moorland caused by previous wildfires blurring the new burn scar perimeter. Intensity differed significantly with slope for the PDNP 2003 wildfires, reducing the effectiveness of the technique for characterising burn scars on slopes facing away from the sensor, although these wildfires showed no significant difference on coherence for the inland bare ground class. When using coherence as a burn scar discriminator, this research found that it is essential to acquire InSAR pairs immediately post-fire with B⊥ < 550 m. Using a combination of intensity and coherence data a multi-difference colour composite was produced and an ISODATA classification applied. Results were reclassified to produce a burned area map with an overall map accuracy of 94% and Kappa Coefficient of 0.69 covering the Bleaklow and Kinder 2003 burn scars. Burn scars < 6 km2 provided a persistently higher burned area intensity signal for up to six months after the wildfire but only 2 − 3 months for coherence. The smaller Edale burn scar (0.10 km2) was characterised by 2 − 3 dB greater intensity for the burned area over a year after the wildfire. The Edale 2008 case study showed that L-band PALSAR data is less sensitive to characterising peat moorland burn scars compared to C-band data. This study therefore strongly recommends C-band data for peat moorland burn scar characterisation and monitoring. Future research will explore the new C-band Sentinel-1 data which offers improved spatial resolution and repeat-pass time.

A modernidade, a globalização econômica, as mudanças climáticas, os organismos geneticamente modificados, a recente crise econômica mundial, são temas de atualidade com abrangência global que, aparentemente, só podem ser tratados pelas altas classes políticas, econômicas e acadêmicas, sem levar em conta a opinião e percepção dos grupos sociais mais vulneráveis. Esses fenômenos globais, além de muitos outros de abrangência nacional e local, são potenciais fontes de riscos para a sociedade contemporânea, especialmente para os grupos sociais mais vulneráveis, os quais sentem mais rápido e com maior severidade os efeitos negativos de tais riscos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo pretende analisar os riscos socioambientais em comunidades rurais altamente vulneráveis. O local de pesquisa é a Região do Páramo, localizada no centro-oeste da Colômbia, no departamento de Antioquia, municípios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño e Sonsón. Nesta região se localiza o ecossistema Páramo, declarado em 1995 como área de proteção especial pelas autoridades ambientais locais. Nela habitam agricultores e grupos sociais com marcada pobreza econômica, isolados dos principais centros de desenvolvimento do País e com baixa presença e apoio institucional. Além disso, nos últimos anos, o confronto político-militar que afeta a Colômbia também os têm afetado significativamente. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar as percepções e formas de adaptação a riscos socioambientais dos agricultores da Região do Páramo, e observar quais os fatores socioambientais que influíam e tinham a ver com essas percepções e formas de adaptação. O trabalho de campo baseou-se em metodologias qualitativas, entre elas se destacam o diário de campo, a revisão documental, a leitura da paisagem, a entrevista semiestruturada com 22 agricultores; igualmente utilizou-se o software N-Vivo para a organização e análise dos resultados. A teoria cultural dos riscos de Mary Douglas e a Teoria da Sociedade do Risco de Ulrich Beck foram as norteadoras da pesquisa. Encontrou-se, na Região do Páramo, três tipos de agricultores, os cafeeiros, extrativistas e diversificados. A análise dos resultados permitiu evidenciar diferenças importantes nas percepções de risco e nas formas de adaptação entre esses três grupos de agricultores. Na medida em que aumentava a dependência das atividades agrícolas pelos fatores de mercado e pelos elementos do sistema natural, aumentava a quantidade e diversidade de riscos percebidos pelos agricultores. Da mesma maneira, identificou-se que as percepções de riscos e, em menor grau as formas de adaptação, estavam muito influenciadas pelo tipo e forma de relacionamento entre os agricultores e as diferentes instituições que marcam presença na Região. / Modernity, economic globalization, climate changes, genetically-modified organisms, and the recent global economic crisis are present-day matters that, apparently, can only be handled by academic, political, and economical high-classes, disregarding the opinions and perception of the most vulnerable social groups. Such global phenomena, in addition to many others that affect both the local and regional contexts, could eventually become sources of risk for modern society, and especially for the most vulnerable social groups. These groups are the ones that experience these risks and their negative effects more rapidly and closely. Based on those reasons, the present study intends to analyse the socio-environmental risks in highlyvulnerable rural communities. The geographical area in which this research was conducted is a moorland region located in central western Colombia, in the province of Antioquia, and more precisely in four towns called Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño, and Sonsón. The moorland ecosystem located in this region was declared a special-management area by local environmental authorities in 1995. The region is inhabited by drastically impoverished farmers and social groups, and it is isolated from Colombia’s main development centres, thus having a weak institutional presence. In addition to these conditions, the political-military conflict Colombia has been going through has also drastically affected the inhabitants of the region in the last few years. The main objectives of the present study include analysing how farmers from the moorland region perceive and adapt to socio-environmental risks, as well as identifying the socio-environmental factors that influence and relate to those perceptions and ways of adaptation. The fieldwork was based on qualitative methodologies, the most salient being the use of a field journal, desk review, reading of the landscape, and semi-structured interviews to 22 farmers. N-Vivo software was used for organizing and analysing the results. Our research work has been based on Mary Douglas’ Cultural Theory of risk, as well as on Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory. Three kinds of farmers were identified in the moorland region: coffee growers, extractors and those who perform diversified tasks. The analysis of the results allowed us to identify salient differences in risk perception and adaptation among these three groups. As dependency to agricultural activities, market-related factors, and natural-system elements increases, so do the quantity and diversity of the risks perceived by farmers. Likewise, it was found that risk perception and, to a minor extent, the forms of adaptation, were highly influenced by the kind of relation farmers have with the institutions that are present in that region. / La modernidad, la globalización económica, los cambios climáticos, los organismos genéticamente modificados, la reciente crisis económica mundial, son temas de actualidad con influencia mundial que, aparentemente, sólo puede ser tratados por las altas clases políticas, económicas y académicas, sin tener en cuenta la opinión y percepción de los grupos sociales más vulnerables. Esos fenómenos globales, además de muchos otros de impacto nacional y local, son fuentes potenciales de riesgos para la sociedad contemporánea, especialmente para los grupos sociales más vulnerables, los cuales sienten más rápido y con mayor severidad los efectos negativos de tales riesgos. En ese sentido, el presente estudio pretende analizar los riesgos socioambientales en comunidades rurales altamente vulnerables. El área de investigación es la Región del Páramo, localizada en el centro-oeste de Colombia, en el Departamento de Antioquia, municipios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño y Sonsón. En esa región se localiza el ecosistema Páramo, declarado en 1995 como área de manejo especial por las autoridades ambientales locales. En ella habitan agricultores y grupos sociales con marcada pobreza económica, aislados de los principales centros de desarrollo del país y con baja presencia institucional. Además, en los últimos años, el conflicto político militar por el que atraviesa Colombia, también los ha afectado significativamente. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar las percepciones y formas de adaptación a riesgos socioambientales de los agricultores de la Región del Páramo, y observar cuales factores socioambientales influyen y tienen que ver con esas percepciones y formas de adaptación. El trabajo de campo se apoyó en metodologías cualitativas, entre ellas se destacan el diario de campo, la revisión documental, la lectura del paisaje, la entrevista semi-estructurada con 22 agricultores; igualmente se utilizó el software N-Vivo para la organización y análisis de los resultados. La Teoría Cultural de los Riesgos de Mary Douglas y la Teoría de la Sociedad del Riesgo de Ulrich Beck orientaron la investigación. Se identificó, en la región del Páramo, tres tipos de agricultores, los cafeteros, extractores y diversificados. El análisis de los resultados permitió evidenciar diferencias importantes en las percepciones de riesgo y en las formas de adaptación entre esos tres tipos de agricultores. En la medida en que aumentaba la dependencia de las actividades agrícolas de los factores de mercado y de los elementos del sistema natural, aumentaba la cantidad y diversidad de riesgos percibidos por los agricultores. De la misma manera, se identificó que las percepciones y, en menor grado las formas de adaptación, estaban bastante influenciadas por el tipo de relación entre los agricultores y las diferentes instituciones que hacen presencia en la región.

A modernidade, a globalização econômica, as mudanças climáticas, os organismos geneticamente modificados, a recente crise econômica mundial, são temas de atualidade com abrangência global que, aparentemente, só podem ser tratados pelas altas classes políticas, econômicas e acadêmicas, sem levar em conta a opinião e percepção dos grupos sociais mais vulneráveis. Esses fenômenos globais, além de muitos outros de abrangência nacional e local, são potenciais fontes de riscos para a sociedade contemporânea, especialmente para os grupos sociais mais vulneráveis, os quais sentem mais rápido e com maior severidade os efeitos negativos de tais riscos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo pretende analisar os riscos socioambientais em comunidades rurais altamente vulneráveis. O local de pesquisa é a Região do Páramo, localizada no centro-oeste da Colômbia, no departamento de Antioquia, municípios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño e Sonsón. Nesta região se localiza o ecossistema Páramo, declarado em 1995 como área de proteção especial pelas autoridades ambientais locais. Nela habitam agricultores e grupos sociais com marcada pobreza econômica, isolados dos principais centros de desenvolvimento do País e com baixa presença e apoio institucional. Além disso, nos últimos anos, o confronto político-militar que afeta a Colômbia também os têm afetado significativamente. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar as percepções e formas de adaptação a riscos socioambientais dos agricultores da Região do Páramo, e observar quais os fatores socioambientais que influíam e tinham a ver com essas percepções e formas de adaptação. O trabalho de campo baseou-se em metodologias qualitativas, entre elas se destacam o diário de campo, a revisão documental, a leitura da paisagem, a entrevista semiestruturada com 22 agricultores; igualmente utilizou-se o software N-Vivo para a organização e análise dos resultados. A teoria cultural dos riscos de Mary Douglas e a Teoria da Sociedade do Risco de Ulrich Beck foram as norteadoras da pesquisa. Encontrou-se, na Região do Páramo, três tipos de agricultores, os cafeeiros, extrativistas e diversificados. A análise dos resultados permitiu evidenciar diferenças importantes nas percepções de risco e nas formas de adaptação entre esses três grupos de agricultores. Na medida em que aumentava a dependência das atividades agrícolas pelos fatores de mercado e pelos elementos do sistema natural, aumentava a quantidade e diversidade de riscos percebidos pelos agricultores. Da mesma maneira, identificou-se que as percepções de riscos e, em menor grau as formas de adaptação, estavam muito influenciadas pelo tipo e forma de relacionamento entre os agricultores e as diferentes instituições que marcam presença na Região. / Modernity, economic globalization, climate changes, genetically-modified organisms, and the recent global economic crisis are present-day matters that, apparently, can only be handled by academic, political, and economical high-classes, disregarding the opinions and perception of the most vulnerable social groups. Such global phenomena, in addition to many others that affect both the local and regional contexts, could eventually become sources of risk for modern society, and especially for the most vulnerable social groups. These groups are the ones that experience these risks and their negative effects more rapidly and closely. Based on those reasons, the present study intends to analyse the socio-environmental risks in highlyvulnerable rural communities. The geographical area in which this research was conducted is a moorland region located in central western Colombia, in the province of Antioquia, and more precisely in four towns called Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño, and Sonsón. The moorland ecosystem located in this region was declared a special-management area by local environmental authorities in 1995. The region is inhabited by drastically impoverished farmers and social groups, and it is isolated from Colombia’s main development centres, thus having a weak institutional presence. In addition to these conditions, the political-military conflict Colombia has been going through has also drastically affected the inhabitants of the region in the last few years. The main objectives of the present study include analysing how farmers from the moorland region perceive and adapt to socio-environmental risks, as well as identifying the socio-environmental factors that influence and relate to those perceptions and ways of adaptation. The fieldwork was based on qualitative methodologies, the most salient being the use of a field journal, desk review, reading of the landscape, and semi-structured interviews to 22 farmers. N-Vivo software was used for organizing and analysing the results. Our research work has been based on Mary Douglas’ Cultural Theory of risk, as well as on Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory. Three kinds of farmers were identified in the moorland region: coffee growers, extractors and those who perform diversified tasks. The analysis of the results allowed us to identify salient differences in risk perception and adaptation among these three groups. As dependency to agricultural activities, market-related factors, and natural-system elements increases, so do the quantity and diversity of the risks perceived by farmers. Likewise, it was found that risk perception and, to a minor extent, the forms of adaptation, were highly influenced by the kind of relation farmers have with the institutions that are present in that region. / La modernidad, la globalización económica, los cambios climáticos, los organismos genéticamente modificados, la reciente crisis económica mundial, son temas de actualidad con influencia mundial que, aparentemente, sólo puede ser tratados por las altas clases políticas, económicas y académicas, sin tener en cuenta la opinión y percepción de los grupos sociales más vulnerables. Esos fenómenos globales, además de muchos otros de impacto nacional y local, son fuentes potenciales de riesgos para la sociedad contemporánea, especialmente para los grupos sociales más vulnerables, los cuales sienten más rápido y con mayor severidad los efectos negativos de tales riesgos. En ese sentido, el presente estudio pretende analizar los riesgos socioambientales en comunidades rurales altamente vulnerables. El área de investigación es la Región del Páramo, localizada en el centro-oeste de Colombia, en el Departamento de Antioquia, municipios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño y Sonsón. En esa región se localiza el ecosistema Páramo, declarado en 1995 como área de manejo especial por las autoridades ambientales locales. En ella habitan agricultores y grupos sociales con marcada pobreza económica, aislados de los principales centros de desarrollo del país y con baja presencia institucional. Además, en los últimos años, el conflicto político militar por el que atraviesa Colombia, también los ha afectado significativamente. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar las percepciones y formas de adaptación a riesgos socioambientales de los agricultores de la Región del Páramo, y observar cuales factores socioambientales influyen y tienen que ver con esas percepciones y formas de adaptación. El trabajo de campo se apoyó en metodologías cualitativas, entre ellas se destacan el diario de campo, la revisión documental, la lectura del paisaje, la entrevista semi-estructurada con 22 agricultores; igualmente se utilizó el software N-Vivo para la organización y análisis de los resultados. La Teoría Cultural de los Riesgos de Mary Douglas y la Teoría de la Sociedad del Riesgo de Ulrich Beck orientaron la investigación. Se identificó, en la región del Páramo, tres tipos de agricultores, los cafeteros, extractores y diversificados. El análisis de los resultados permitió evidenciar diferencias importantes en las percepciones de riesgo y en las formas de adaptación entre esos tres tipos de agricultores. En la medida en que aumentaba la dependencia de las actividades agrícolas de los factores de mercado y de los elementos del sistema natural, aumentaba la cantidad y diversidad de riesgos percibidos por los agricultores. De la misma manera, se identificó que las percepciones y, en menor grado las formas de adaptación, estaban bastante influenciadas por el tipo de relación entre los agricultores y las diferentes instituciones que hacen presencia en la región.

A modernidade, a globalização econômica, as mudanças climáticas, os organismos geneticamente modificados, a recente crise econômica mundial, são temas de atualidade com abrangência global que, aparentemente, só podem ser tratados pelas altas classes políticas, econômicas e acadêmicas, sem levar em conta a opinião e percepção dos grupos sociais mais vulneráveis. Esses fenômenos globais, além de muitos outros de abrangência nacional e local, são potenciais fontes de riscos para a sociedade contemporânea, especialmente para os grupos sociais mais vulneráveis, os quais sentem mais rápido e com maior severidade os efeitos negativos de tais riscos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo pretende analisar os riscos socioambientais em comunidades rurais altamente vulneráveis. O local de pesquisa é a Região do Páramo, localizada no centro-oeste da Colômbia, no departamento de Antioquia, municípios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño e Sonsón. Nesta região se localiza o ecossistema Páramo, declarado em 1995 como área de proteção especial pelas autoridades ambientais locais. Nela habitam agricultores e grupos sociais com marcada pobreza econômica, isolados dos principais centros de desenvolvimento do País e com baixa presença e apoio institucional. Além disso, nos últimos anos, o confronto político-militar que afeta a Colômbia também os têm afetado significativamente. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar as percepções e formas de adaptação a riscos socioambientais dos agricultores da Região do Páramo, e observar quais os fatores socioambientais que influíam e tinham a ver com essas percepções e formas de adaptação. O trabalho de campo baseou-se em metodologias qualitativas, entre elas se destacam o diário de campo, a revisão documental, a leitura da paisagem, a entrevista semiestruturada com 22 agricultores; igualmente utilizou-se o software N-Vivo para a organização e análise dos resultados. A teoria cultural dos riscos de Mary Douglas e a Teoria da Sociedade do Risco de Ulrich Beck foram as norteadoras da pesquisa. Encontrou-se, na Região do Páramo, três tipos de agricultores, os cafeeiros, extrativistas e diversificados. A análise dos resultados permitiu evidenciar diferenças importantes nas percepções de risco e nas formas de adaptação entre esses três grupos de agricultores. Na medida em que aumentava a dependência das atividades agrícolas pelos fatores de mercado e pelos elementos do sistema natural, aumentava a quantidade e diversidade de riscos percebidos pelos agricultores. Da mesma maneira, identificou-se que as percepções de riscos e, em menor grau as formas de adaptação, estavam muito influenciadas pelo tipo e forma de relacionamento entre os agricultores e as diferentes instituições que marcam presença na Região. / Modernity, economic globalization, climate changes, genetically-modified organisms, and the recent global economic crisis are present-day matters that, apparently, can only be handled by academic, political, and economical high-classes, disregarding the opinions and perception of the most vulnerable social groups. Such global phenomena, in addition to many others that affect both the local and regional contexts, could eventually become sources of risk for modern society, and especially for the most vulnerable social groups. These groups are the ones that experience these risks and their negative effects more rapidly and closely. Based on those reasons, the present study intends to analyse the socio-environmental risks in highlyvulnerable rural communities. The geographical area in which this research was conducted is a moorland region located in central western Colombia, in the province of Antioquia, and more precisely in four towns called Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño, and Sonsón. The moorland ecosystem located in this region was declared a special-management area by local environmental authorities in 1995. The region is inhabited by drastically impoverished farmers and social groups, and it is isolated from Colombia’s main development centres, thus having a weak institutional presence. In addition to these conditions, the political-military conflict Colombia has been going through has also drastically affected the inhabitants of the region in the last few years. The main objectives of the present study include analysing how farmers from the moorland region perceive and adapt to socio-environmental risks, as well as identifying the socio-environmental factors that influence and relate to those perceptions and ways of adaptation. The fieldwork was based on qualitative methodologies, the most salient being the use of a field journal, desk review, reading of the landscape, and semi-structured interviews to 22 farmers. N-Vivo software was used for organizing and analysing the results. Our research work has been based on Mary Douglas’ Cultural Theory of risk, as well as on Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory. Three kinds of farmers were identified in the moorland region: coffee growers, extractors and those who perform diversified tasks. The analysis of the results allowed us to identify salient differences in risk perception and adaptation among these three groups. As dependency to agricultural activities, market-related factors, and natural-system elements increases, so do the quantity and diversity of the risks perceived by farmers. Likewise, it was found that risk perception and, to a minor extent, the forms of adaptation, were highly influenced by the kind of relation farmers have with the institutions that are present in that region. / La modernidad, la globalización económica, los cambios climáticos, los organismos genéticamente modificados, la reciente crisis económica mundial, son temas de actualidad con influencia mundial que, aparentemente, sólo puede ser tratados por las altas clases políticas, económicas y académicas, sin tener en cuenta la opinión y percepción de los grupos sociales más vulnerables. Esos fenómenos globales, además de muchos otros de impacto nacional y local, son fuentes potenciales de riesgos para la sociedad contemporánea, especialmente para los grupos sociales más vulnerables, los cuales sienten más rápido y con mayor severidad los efectos negativos de tales riesgos. En ese sentido, el presente estudio pretende analizar los riesgos socioambientales en comunidades rurales altamente vulnerables. El área de investigación es la Región del Páramo, localizada en el centro-oeste de Colombia, en el Departamento de Antioquia, municipios de Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño y Sonsón. En esa región se localiza el ecosistema Páramo, declarado en 1995 como área de manejo especial por las autoridades ambientales locales. En ella habitan agricultores y grupos sociales con marcada pobreza económica, aislados de los principales centros de desarrollo del país y con baja presencia institucional. Además, en los últimos años, el conflicto político militar por el que atraviesa Colombia, también los ha afectado significativamente. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar las percepciones y formas de adaptación a riesgos socioambientales de los agricultores de la Región del Páramo, y observar cuales factores socioambientales influyen y tienen que ver con esas percepciones y formas de adaptación. El trabajo de campo se apoyó en metodologías cualitativas, entre ellas se destacan el diario de campo, la revisión documental, la lectura del paisaje, la entrevista semi-estructurada con 22 agricultores; igualmente se utilizó el software N-Vivo para la organización y análisis de los resultados. La Teoría Cultural de los Riesgos de Mary Douglas y la Teoría de la Sociedad del Riesgo de Ulrich Beck orientaron la investigación. Se identificó, en la región del Páramo, tres tipos de agricultores, los cafeteros, extractores y diversificados. El análisis de los resultados permitió evidenciar diferencias importantes en las percepciones de riesgo y en las formas de adaptación entre esos tres tipos de agricultores. En la medida en que aumentaba la dependencia de las actividades agrícolas de los factores de mercado y de los elementos del sistema natural, aumentaba la cantidad y diversidad de riesgos percibidos por los agricultores. De la misma manera, se identificó que las percepciones y, en menor grado las formas de adaptación, estaban bastante influenciadas por el tipo de relación entre los agricultores y las diferentes instituciones que hacen presencia en la región.

Moore besitzen weltweit eine große Bedeutung für den Natur- und Klimaschutz. Sie dienen als Lebensraum für eine Vielzahl an Pflanzen- und Tierarten sowie als Kohlenstoffsenken. Aufgrund intensiver land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Nutzung weist die Mehrheit der Moorgebiete jedoch hochgradige Schäden auf, durch welche sie in ihrer Funktionalität beeinträchtigt werden. Um die charakteristischen Biotopeigenschaften wiederherzustellen, laufen derzeit zahlreiche Moorschutzprogramme, unter anderem in der deutsch-tschechischen Grenzregion im Osterzgebirge. Damit die Auswirkungen der durchgeführten Schutz- und Renaturierungsmaßnahmen auf die Vegetationsstruktur verfolgt und kontrolliert werden können, erfolgt in dieser Region regelmäßig eine stereoskopische Luftbildinterpretation der Moorflächen. Derartige manuelle Auswertungen sind jedoch mit einem hohen Arbeitsaufwand verbunden, weswegen eine Automatisierung der Prozesse angestrebt wird. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Verfahren präsentiert, mit welchem die Vegetationsstrukturen der Moore bei Satzung teilautomatisch klassifiziert werden können. Unter Verwendung von digitalen Luftbildern und einem digitalen Geländemodell lassen sich verschiedene Gras-, Baum- und Bodenarten voneinander trennen und lokalisieren. Für die Unterscheidung der einzelnen Klassen werden sowohl pixel- als auch objektbasierte Merkmale in die Datenanalyse einbezogen. Aufnahmen der Satelliten WorldView-2 und Sentinel-2A wurden ebenfalls auf ihr Auswertepotential hin untersucht, allerdings ohne zufriedenstellende Ergebnisse. Die Automatisierung von Monitoring-Prozessen für Moorschutzgebiete ermöglicht eine Objektivierung des Analyseverfahrens und stellt eine zeit- und kostengünstige Alternative zur stereoskopischen Bildinterpretation dar. / Moorlands are of worldwide importance for nature and climate protection. They serve as a habitat for a variety of plant and animal species, as well as carbon sinks. Most of the moorlands show significant damage from intense agricultural and silvicultural use, affecting the functionality of many. Currently, several moorland protection programs are running to restore the habitats’ characteristic features, such as that in the Czech-German border region in The Eastern Ore Mountains. Using stereoscopic image interpretation, the moorlands in this region are regularly monitored to observe the influence of executed protection and renaturation measures on the local vegetation structures. However, such manual evaluations require high labor costs. Therefore, the automation of this process is sought. The master thesis at hand presents a procedure enabling the semi-automatic classification of vegetation structures in the moorlands nearby Satzung, Germany. Different grass, tree and soil types can be distinguished and localized using digital aerial imagery and a digital terrain model. For the distinction between different object classes, pixel- and object-based features are taken into consideration. Satellite images acquired by WorldView-2 and Sentinel-2A were also tested for their classification suitability, but without satisfactory results. The automation of monitoring processes for protected moorlands facilitates the externalization of the data analysis and represents a time- and cost-efficient alternative to stereoscopic image interpretations.

Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) measured within water bodies have been increasing on a global scale over the last two decades. Changes in temperature and rainfall have been shown to increase the production and export of DOC from catchments with peat soils in the UK (Freeman et al., 2001). However it is not clear whether increases in DOC concentrations are caused by production increases induced by temperature changes or by a greater incidence of high flows induced by rainfall changes. Increases in both temperature and rainfall have been predicted in Scotland over the next few decades (Kerr et al., 1999) which may further increase current DOC concentrations and exports. The implications of this include both a decrease in water quality and an increase in mobility of metals in upland water bodies. The overall aim of the thesis is to determine if the relationship between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and discharge has changed over a 20 year period in small stream catchments in Scotland, in order to better understand the role of hydrology, in driving changes in DOC concentration. To achieve this streams draining two coniferous forest sites and one moorland site were monitored intensively between June 2004 and February 2006. Analysis of the relationship between DOC and discharge, within the catchments, identified the importance of the amount of precipitation falling on the catchment, antecedent precipitation and season, on the concentration of DOC that was measured within the stream. Models were then developed using variables to represent these drivers in terms of both the production (seasonal sine values and 14 day average temperatures) and movement (log of discharge (log Q), days since previous storm event and rising or falling stage) of DOC. In the Ochil Hills catchment, the best predictive model, used 4 hour average discharge and 1 day average 30cm soil temperatures (R2= 0.88). In the Duchray and Elrig catchments, the best predictive models produced used discharge and seasonal sine values; the strength of the model was greater in the Elrig (R2= 0.80) than the Duchray (R2= 0.48) catchment. The strength of the regression models produced highlighted the importance of precipitation in the movement of DOC to the stream and temperature variables representing production in the surrounding catchment. To determine if dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations had changed within the three study catchments, since previous research was conducted at the same sites in the early 1980s and 1990s (Grieve, 1984a; Grieve, 1994), then regression analysis conducted in the previous research was repeated, so changes in the DOC and discharge relationship could be identified. Analysis of the Ochil Hills regression equations identified higher log of discharge and lower temperature and seasonal sine values in the present study (2004-06), when compared to the previous study (1982-83). This suggests that more DOC is now available for movement from the soil, and that the difference between winter and summer DOC production has decreased, potentially because of increasing temperatures. This would explain the limited increase in DOC concentration within the Ochil Hills stream. In the Duchray and Elrig streams, a large increase in DOC was identified at all discharges when all the models produced were compared between the two sampling periods (1989-90 and 2004-06). The increasing trend in DOC concentrations is too large to have been produced by change in temperature alone and it is suggested that the measured reduction in acidic deposition has resulted in the increased DOC concentrations measured in the Duchray and Elrig. The results from this research have identified that concentrations of DOC have increased in Scottish streams over the last 20 years and that the increases in DOC have been induced, potentially by temperature changes in climate. However, changes in temperature are not the only driver of this change as the reduction in acidic deposition is potentially more important, specifically in areas with base poor geology such as the Duchray and Elrig catchments.

Moore besitzen weltweit eine große Bedeutung für den Natur- und Klimaschutz. Sie dienen als Lebensraum für eine Vielzahl an Pflanzen- und Tierarten sowie als Kohlenstoffsenken. Aufgrund intensiver land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Nutzung weist die Mehrheit der Moorgebiete jedoch hochgradige Schäden auf, durch welche sie in ihrer Funktionalität beeinträchtigt werden. Um die charakteristischen Biotopeigenschaften wiederherzustellen, laufen derzeit zahlreiche Moorschutzprogramme, unter anderem in der deutsch-tschechischen Grenzregion im Osterzgebirge. Damit die Auswirkungen der durchgeführten Schutz- und Renaturierungsmaßnahmen auf die Vegetationsstruktur verfolgt und kontrolliert werden können, erfolgt in dieser Region regelmäßig eine stereoskopische Luftbildinterpretation der Moorflächen. Derartige manuelle Auswertungen sind jedoch mit einem hohen Arbeitsaufwand verbunden, weswegen eine Automatisierung der Prozesse angestrebt wird. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Verfahren präsentiert, mit welchem die Vegetationsstrukturen der Moore bei Satzung teilautomatisch klassifiziert werden können. Unter Verwendung von digitalen Luftbildern und einem digitalen Geländemodell lassen sich verschiedene Gras-, Baum- und Bodenarten voneinander trennen und lokalisieren. Für die Unterscheidung der einzelnen Klassen werden sowohl pixel- als auch objektbasierte Merkmale in die Datenanalyse einbezogen. Aufnahmen der Satelliten WorldView-2 und Sentinel-2A wurden ebenfalls auf ihr Auswertepotential hin untersucht, allerdings ohne zufriedenstellende Ergebnisse. Die Automatisierung von Monitoring-Prozessen für Moorschutzgebiete ermöglicht eine Objektivierung des Analyseverfahrens und stellt eine zeit- und kostengünstige Alternative zur stereoskopischen Bildinterpretation dar. / Moorlands are of worldwide importance for nature and climate protection. They serve as a habitat for a variety of plant and animal species, as well as carbon sinks. Most of the moorlands show significant damage from intense agricultural and silvicultural use, affecting the functionality of many. Currently, several moorland protection programs are running to restore the habitats’ characteristic features, such as that in the Czech-German border region in The Eastern Ore Mountains. Using stereoscopic image interpretation, the moorlands in this region are regularly monitored to observe the influence of executed protection and renaturation measures on the local vegetation structures. However, such manual evaluations require high labor costs. Therefore, the automation of this process is sought. The master thesis at hand presents a procedure enabling the semi-automatic classification of vegetation structures in the moorlands nearby Satzung, Germany. Different grass, tree and soil types can be distinguished and localized using digital aerial imagery and a digital terrain model. For the distinction between different object classes, pixel- and object-based features are taken into consideration. Satellite images acquired by WorldView-2 and Sentinel-2A were also tested for their classification suitability, but without satisfactory results. The automation of monitoring processes for protected moorlands facilitates the externalization of the data analysis and represents a time- and cost-efficient alternative to stereoscopic image interpretations.