One of the principles regarding our knowledge about life on earth is that no organism can be fully understood without taking into account its surrounding environment. This study examines the extent to which ecosystem-focused field studies may be associated with students' academic performance and potential to contribute to the advancement of science and conservation. Pilot studies conducted in Panama and California established methods used in this project from 1993-2003. Two hundred and sixty-seven students conducted field studies in either Kenya or Costa Rica. Students worked in cognitive apprenticeships, in which research staff trained each student to conduct field research. At the conclusion of their fieldwork, the research staff assessed the students written field reports. The students' reports were then sorted according to the extent to which their studies were ecosystem-focused. Data analysis through nonparametric, Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests revealed no significant difference in academic performance on field study reports, in regards to whether the studies were narrow in scope (species-specific) or broad (ecosystem-focused). Marginal significance was revealed between ecosystem-focused studies and the potential for students' fieldwork to contribute to the advancement of science and conservation. Also addressed in the data were injuries, disease, and potential hazards, which were influenced by prudent and decisive leadership. Successful field studies require consideration of the content, context, and design of the intended field projects. Many of the solutions to environmental problems on the planet will come from the working hands of teachers and students that conduct explorations in the field. / Life Sciences in Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

Submitted by Maria Dulce (mdulce@ndc.uff.br) on 2014-01-29T18:06:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Medrado, Joana-Tese-2013.pdf: 4446067 bytes, checksum: 6afc4b2013fd2cc463ae99c29c5f02c3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-01-29T18:06:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Medrado, Joana-Tese-2013.pdf: 4446067 bytes, checksum: 6afc4b2013fd2cc463ae99c29c5f02c3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Esta tese investiga o processo de industrialização da pecuária no Brasil Central entre os anos de 1898 e 1928 quando são instalados os frigoríficos no Brasil e quando acontecem as principais importações de reprodutores bovinos da Índia (realizadas por criadores fluminenses e mineiros do Triângulo) gerando polemica com aqueles criadores que defendiam as raças europeias ou a seleção genética do gado bovino nacional. Tais incrementos tecnológicos e produtivos - que fortaleceram o mercado de carne e o mercado de reprodutores em um contexto de aumento das demandas por este alimento no mercado interno e externo - foram os elementos consagrados na escassa historiografia sobre o tema, para definir os marcos da modernização rural brasileira em uma clara adoção do "viés tecnológico" e da "ética do melhoramento". Para recontar essa história reavaliamos o conceito de modernização rural reperiodizando o debate. Analisamos o pensamento sobre o tema no final do século XVIII com a disseminação de livros e manuais sobre o "melhoramento das economias rústicas", para entender o que havia de continuidade e ruptura com o ideal de uma "fazenda moderna" no alvorecer do século XX, baseada nos saberes da zootecnia, veterinária e agronomia gestados ao longo do XIX. Mais do que um avanço de saberes zootécnicos ou resposta automática às demandas do mercado, a mudança no sistema criatório de pastoreio para pecuária reflete uma conjugação de fatores, dentre os quais a disputa por poder entre as elites rurais que queriam voz e espaço no Estado republicano. Nesse sentido vincularam a defesa da pecuária aos seus projetos de nação e modernização rural. / This dissertation investigates the process of industrialization of livestock in central Brazil between the years of 1898 and 1928, when refrigerators are installed in Brazil and when happen the main imports of breeding cattle from India (conducted by “fluminense” farmers and “mineiros” from the Triangle), generating controverse with those the creators who defended the European breeds or the genetic selection in national cattle. Such technological and productive development – which strengthened the market of meat and cattle breeding in a context of increased demands for this food in domestic and foreign markets – were established as the principal elements in the historiography researches on the subject, used to define the milestones of rural modernization in Brazil reflecting a clear option for “technological bias” and “ethic of improvement” as the principal references. To retell this story, we reevaluate the concept of rural modernization, reviving the discussion. We analyze the thinking on the subject, started in the late eighteenth century – with the spread of books and manuals about “improving economies rustic” – to understand continuity and rupture with the ideal of a “modern farm” as the beginning of twentieth century, improved with the knowledge of animal husbandry, veterinary and agronomy gestated during the 1900s. More than a zootecnic knowledge advance or an automatic response to market demands, the change in the system of breeding livestock (pastoreio to pecuária) reflects a combination of factors, such as the power struggle between the rural elites who wanted to be politically represented in the Republic. Accordingly, the connected the defense of their livestock to their national projects, including rural modernization.

Evelyn Jephson Cameron (1868-1928) was born to a wealthy merchant family outside London. At the age of twenty-five, she moved to Terry, Montana to raise horses and homestead with her husband, Ewen Cameron. Evelyn Cameron recorded their time in eastern Montana in her daily diary entries, which span over thirty-five years from 1893 to 1928. She became a self-taught professional photographer, and made thousands of photographs with large-format cameras of the people in the towns of Terry, Fallon, and Marsh. She photographed the landscape, birds, and other animals she kept as pets or encountered in the wild. She wrote in her private diary nearly every day, offering a first-person point of view of life for women in the late nineteenth-century in the American West. This thesis focuses on three particular aspects of Cameron’s life. The first chapter focuses on spaces or mediums that Cameron had access to that offered her autonomy and privacy, things which were often difficult for women to find at this time. These spaces and mediums include her photography, her diary, and her darkroom, all of which gave her different sorts of calm or control. The second chapter delves into Cameron’s photographic portraits of herself and other women, looking into how women portrayed themselves and others in the American West. Cameron depicted herself as a part of the natural world, and she also did so when capturing other women. The final chapter analyzes Cameron’s identity as a Montanan, from her conscious choice to move there to her refusal to return to Britain permanently. She gained American citizenship in 1918 and took living in Montana seriously. Her diary reveals a deep awareness of the natural world and records accomplishments and events that help to build and strengthen her relationship with her chosen home. / Graduate / 2018-08-25

The broad scope and intent of this thesis is to contribute to the body of research and writing about the loss of agricultural land due to development and the transformation of rural agricultural communities. At the more specific level, through interviews and secondary research, this thesis considers municipal land use planning in Alberta under the revised 1995 Municipal Government Act in the Municipal District (MD) of Pincher Creek No. 9, where cattle ranching, wildlife, and now, acreages vie for land resources. The critical questions addressed are: What are the conflicts between ranching and habitat conservation, and conversely, what opportunities do they share? What role can and does a municipality play in promoting sustainable ranching and conservation through its land use policy and jurisdiction? Set in southwest corner of Alberta, the MD of Pincher Creek is endowed with a remarkable history of ranching, ample resource wealth, and a unique climate and topography that supports a spectacular, rich, diverse ecosystem. Within the past few years, private agricultural land near Waterton Lakes National Park and the Castle River wilderness in the MD has come under speculative and development pressure predominantly for country residences, often retirement homes, and for tourism interests. Recent Municipal Act amendments have delegated substantially more land use control to rural municipalities, as a result the MD of Pincher Creek has more authority to make decisions that shape its future community profile, to mediate between competing land use interests, and to impact local ranching and habitat. The thesis analysis explores how the best practices of ranching or "sustainable ranching" can help to conserve and enhance habitat and how ranchers' attitudes can evolve to be more tolerant of wildlife. This thesis also explores and supports the efforts of a budding local land trust, SALTS, which plans to protect local agricultural land and habitat through conservation easements. Finally, the thesis concludes by envisioning ways the MD government can encourage habitat preservation, conservation easements, sustainable and economically viable ranching, as well as the control and direction of country residential development, all with a view to ensuring that future economic development opportunities remain available for local residents. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Indivíduos, populações e espécies tendem a usar e selecionar habitats de modo não-aleatório. Consequentemente, a perda e a degradação de habitats geram impactos distintos sobre os organismos dependendo de seus atributos. Os efeitos da perda de habitat são claros – os organismos são eliminados ou desalojados por falta de habitat ou baixo sucesso reprodutivo. As consequências da degradação de habitat são mais sutis, e resultam na incapacidade de um ecossistema sustentar determinadas espécies. Como a perda e a degradação de habitat reduzem a disponibilidade de nichos, espera-se que táxons ecologicamente especializados e com requerimentos estreitos de nicho sejam mais propensos à extinção que generalistas. Organismos que são negativamente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat em geral exibem porte muito grande ou muito pequeno, baixa mobilidade, baixa fecundidade, reduzido recrutamento e estreitos requerimentos de nicho. Campos temperados constituem ambientes particularmente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat. No sudeste da América do Sul, como em muitas outras regiões do planeta, a expansão da agricultura e silvicultura são os principais responsáveis pela perda de habitat campestre. Os remanescentes de vegetação natural são usados para criação de gado, estando sujeitos à degradação pelo sobrepastejo, pisoteio e técnicas de manejo. Avaliar como a perda e degradação de habitat afetam a diversidade de organismos campestres é vital para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de conservação e manejo. A presente tese tem por objetivo investigar como a degradação e perda de habitat induzidas pela pecuária e silvicultura afetam a diversidade e a composição das comunidades de aves. Inicialmente, exploramos as relações entre variáveis de habitat e a composição da comunidade de aves num gradiente de altura da vegetação determinado por pastejo em campos litorâneos do Rio Grande do Sul. Posteriormente, avaliamos como variações no relevo interagem com variáveis de habitat e afetam a diversidade de aves em áreas de pecuária na Campanha gaúcha. Finalmente, avaliamos de que forma a perda de habitat resultante do estabelecimento de plantações industriais de celulose em áreas de campo afeta a composição de comunidades de aves campestres. Nossos resultados demonstram que a degradação de habitat decorrente do manejo de gado em campo nativo afeta a comunidade de aves de forma diferencial. Aves adaptadas a campos ralos ou generalistas tendem a ser beneficiadas pelo pastejo, ao passo que as espécies associadas à vegetação alta e densa são desfavorecidas. As variações na topografia reduzem os impactos da degradação de habitat nos campos. Essas variações interagem com o habitat e afetam de forma diferencial os distintos componentes da diversidade. Por outro lado, a perda de habitat decorrente da silvicultura gera um impacto de maior magnitude, alterando a composição das comunidades de aves e favorecendo aves não-campestres. Nesse contexto, impedir que novas áreas de campo nativo sejam convertidas em plantações de árvores passa a ser imperativo. Embora o manejo do gado aumente a diversidade em nível de paisagem ao criar um mosaico de manchas de vegetação de alturas distintas, maior atenção deve ser dada à manutenção e recuperação de formações densas de herbáceas de grande porte. Isso somente pode ser assegurado através de mudanças no regime do pastejo ou do desenvolvimento de técnicas de manejo alternativas. / Individuals, populations and species tend to select habitats in a non-random way. Consequently, habitat loss and degradation will have different impacts on organisms according to their traits. The effects of habitat loss are straightforward – organisms are eliminated or displaced because of the inexistence of adequate habitat or of low breeding success. Effects of habitat degradation are more subtle and result in the reduction of the capacity of an ecosystem to support some subsets of species. Since habitat loss and degradation reduce niche availability, ecologically specialized taxa with narrow niche requirements are expected to be more extinction prone than habitat generalists. Temperate grasslands have been strongly impacted by habitat loss and degradation. In southeastern South America, the expansion of agriculture and industrial pulpwood plantations are the main sources of habitat loss. Remnants of natural grassland vegetation are used for livestock ranching, being subject to habitat degradation from overgrazing, trampling and inadequate management techniques. The evaluation of how habitat loss and degradation affect the diversity of grassland organisms is vital for the development of management and conservation techniques. The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate how habitat degradation and loss related to cattle ranching and pulpwood plantations affect the diversity and composition of bird communities. We began by exploring the relationship between habitat variables and the composition of the bird community along a gradient of vegetation height determined by grazing in coastal grasslands of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. We then assessed how variations in the relief interact with habitat variables e affect the diversity of birds in rangelands of the Campanha gaúcha. Finally, we evaluated how habitat loss related with grassland afforestation for pulpwood plantations affects the composition of grassland bird communities. Our results demonstrate that habitat degradation resulting from livestock ranching in natural grasslands affects bird communities in a differential way. Birds adapted to stunted grasslands or habitat generalists tend to benefit from grazing, whereas tall-grass specialists are negatively affected. Variations in topography are responsible for reducing the impacts of habitat degradation in grasslands. These variations interact with habitat and have a differential effect on distinct components of diversity. On the other hand, the magnitude of the impact of habitat loss from afforestation is larger, altering the composition of bird communities and favoring a series of non-grassland species. In this sense, protecting remaining grasslands from afforestation is imperative. Although cattle ranching increases diversity at the landscape level by creating a mosaic of vegetation patches of different height, more attention should be given in maintaining and recovering dense formations of tall grassland plants. This can only be achieved by changing grazing regimes or developing alternative management techniques.

A research journey involving people, cattle, and the landscape in rural Okhombe in the western part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal and lying at the foot of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountain Range, South Africa, is the focus of this work. Using action research involving community members as co-researchers, it investigates why a rotational resting system for communal cattle grazing collapsed within six months of its launch. Despite having been designed in a participatory manner, the rotational resting system was not applied by cattle keepers. As a backdrop to the concern around the rotational resting system, it is necessary to understand how the current landscape of Okhombe was shaped. The history of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Region over the past two hundred years was, therefore, explored. Four historical episodes were distinguished: economic expansion, nature conservation efforts, colonial and apartheid legislation, and encounters between people all left their imprint on the landscape. Digitized maps of aerial photographs of Okhombe, taken between 1945 and 2004, showed how Government intervention changed people’s multifunctional use of the landscape to concentrated settlements and cropping fields in the valley and cattle grazing on the mountain slopes. A survey in Enhlanokhombe, one of the sub-wards of Okhombe, further investigates how cattle keepers use the rangeland commons, and what determines these practices. People are keeping fewer cattle than in the past. A 24% decrease in cattle numbers was recorded between 2001 and 2008. Cattle keepers perceive stock theft as the most important threat. Yet, figures of stock losses showed that cattle disease resulting in death is an equally pressing problem. The decline in authority of traditional leaders and the view that herding is a family task have compounded the dominant management practice of continuous grazing by cattle. Rotational resting was found to be unsuited to the majority of cattle keepers who want to keep a close watch on their herds as they graze on the lower hill slopes. People in Okhombe disagreed about the condition of the range and what comprised appropriate grazing management. A community initiative has emerged to form cattle patrols to address stock theft. If successful, it may further enhance collective action. The concern with communal grazing management investigated in this research and in the Okhombe Landcare project, of which it was part, aimed to reverse land degradation and overgrazing. An analysis of digitized maps of Okhombe taken in the period between 1945 and 2004, however, showed that soil erosion did not increase rapidly as is commonly assumed by conventional rangeland scientists and extension staff. Rather, an increase in bare soil coincided with a period of drought. The focus of the Okhombe Landcare project on combatting soil erosion and rehabilitate degraded lands was underpinned by a particular interest in and need to conserve the uKhahlamba Drakensberg as a near-pristine wilderness landscape which provides marketable ecosystem goods and services. As such, cattle keeping in Okhombe can be described as being embedded in a social-ecological system comprising a series of nested, self-organizing subsystems which are interconnected. Sub-systems include the cattle production system, cattle grazing management practices, the wider ecosystem, and government policies and regulations. A spatial-temporal and systemic approach is proposed to make meaningful, policy-related decisions regarding communal rangeland management in the future. Such an approach would enable cattle keepers, other rangeland users, and outside stakeholders, such as extension workers and policy makers, to respond effectively to changes in the landscape by taking into consideration and balancing a complex set of biophysical, socio-political, and economic variables. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Indivíduos, populações e espécies tendem a usar e selecionar habitats de modo não-aleatório. Consequentemente, a perda e a degradação de habitats geram impactos distintos sobre os organismos dependendo de seus atributos. Os efeitos da perda de habitat são claros – os organismos são eliminados ou desalojados por falta de habitat ou baixo sucesso reprodutivo. As consequências da degradação de habitat são mais sutis, e resultam na incapacidade de um ecossistema sustentar determinadas espécies. Como a perda e a degradação de habitat reduzem a disponibilidade de nichos, espera-se que táxons ecologicamente especializados e com requerimentos estreitos de nicho sejam mais propensos à extinção que generalistas. Organismos que são negativamente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat em geral exibem porte muito grande ou muito pequeno, baixa mobilidade, baixa fecundidade, reduzido recrutamento e estreitos requerimentos de nicho. Campos temperados constituem ambientes particularmente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat. No sudeste da América do Sul, como em muitas outras regiões do planeta, a expansão da agricultura e silvicultura são os principais responsáveis pela perda de habitat campestre. Os remanescentes de vegetação natural são usados para criação de gado, estando sujeitos à degradação pelo sobrepastejo, pisoteio e técnicas de manejo. Avaliar como a perda e degradação de habitat afetam a diversidade de organismos campestres é vital para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de conservação e manejo. A presente tese tem por objetivo investigar como a degradação e perda de habitat induzidas pela pecuária e silvicultura afetam a diversidade e a composição das comunidades de aves. Inicialmente, exploramos as relações entre variáveis de habitat e a composição da comunidade de aves num gradiente de altura da vegetação determinado por pastejo em campos litorâneos do Rio Grande do Sul. Posteriormente, avaliamos como variações no relevo interagem com variáveis de habitat e afetam a diversidade de aves em áreas de pecuária na Campanha gaúcha. Finalmente, avaliamos de que forma a perda de habitat resultante do estabelecimento de plantações industriais de celulose em áreas de campo afeta a composição de comunidades de aves campestres. Nossos resultados demonstram que a degradação de habitat decorrente do manejo de gado em campo nativo afeta a comunidade de aves de forma diferencial. Aves adaptadas a campos ralos ou generalistas tendem a ser beneficiadas pelo pastejo, ao passo que as espécies associadas à vegetação alta e densa são desfavorecidas. As variações na topografia reduzem os impactos da degradação de habitat nos campos. Essas variações interagem com o habitat e afetam de forma diferencial os distintos componentes da diversidade. Por outro lado, a perda de habitat decorrente da silvicultura gera um impacto de maior magnitude, alterando a composição das comunidades de aves e favorecendo aves não-campestres. Nesse contexto, impedir que novas áreas de campo nativo sejam convertidas em plantações de árvores passa a ser imperativo. Embora o manejo do gado aumente a diversidade em nível de paisagem ao criar um mosaico de manchas de vegetação de alturas distintas, maior atenção deve ser dada à manutenção e recuperação de formações densas de herbáceas de grande porte. Isso somente pode ser assegurado através de mudanças no regime do pastejo ou do desenvolvimento de técnicas de manejo alternativas. / Individuals, populations and species tend to select habitats in a non-random way. Consequently, habitat loss and degradation will have different impacts on organisms according to their traits. The effects of habitat loss are straightforward – organisms are eliminated or displaced because of the inexistence of adequate habitat or of low breeding success. Effects of habitat degradation are more subtle and result in the reduction of the capacity of an ecosystem to support some subsets of species. Since habitat loss and degradation reduce niche availability, ecologically specialized taxa with narrow niche requirements are expected to be more extinction prone than habitat generalists. Temperate grasslands have been strongly impacted by habitat loss and degradation. In southeastern South America, the expansion of agriculture and industrial pulpwood plantations are the main sources of habitat loss. Remnants of natural grassland vegetation are used for livestock ranching, being subject to habitat degradation from overgrazing, trampling and inadequate management techniques. The evaluation of how habitat loss and degradation affect the diversity of grassland organisms is vital for the development of management and conservation techniques. The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate how habitat degradation and loss related to cattle ranching and pulpwood plantations affect the diversity and composition of bird communities. We began by exploring the relationship between habitat variables and the composition of the bird community along a gradient of vegetation height determined by grazing in coastal grasslands of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. We then assessed how variations in the relief interact with habitat variables e affect the diversity of birds in rangelands of the Campanha gaúcha. Finally, we evaluated how habitat loss related with grassland afforestation for pulpwood plantations affects the composition of grassland bird communities. Our results demonstrate that habitat degradation resulting from livestock ranching in natural grasslands affects bird communities in a differential way. Birds adapted to stunted grasslands or habitat generalists tend to benefit from grazing, whereas tall-grass specialists are negatively affected. Variations in topography are responsible for reducing the impacts of habitat degradation in grasslands. These variations interact with habitat and have a differential effect on distinct components of diversity. On the other hand, the magnitude of the impact of habitat loss from afforestation is larger, altering the composition of bird communities and favoring a series of non-grassland species. In this sense, protecting remaining grasslands from afforestation is imperative. Although cattle ranching increases diversity at the landscape level by creating a mosaic of vegetation patches of different height, more attention should be given in maintaining and recovering dense formations of tall grassland plants. This can only be achieved by changing grazing regimes or developing alternative management techniques.

Indivíduos, populações e espécies tendem a usar e selecionar habitats de modo não-aleatório. Consequentemente, a perda e a degradação de habitats geram impactos distintos sobre os organismos dependendo de seus atributos. Os efeitos da perda de habitat são claros – os organismos são eliminados ou desalojados por falta de habitat ou baixo sucesso reprodutivo. As consequências da degradação de habitat são mais sutis, e resultam na incapacidade de um ecossistema sustentar determinadas espécies. Como a perda e a degradação de habitat reduzem a disponibilidade de nichos, espera-se que táxons ecologicamente especializados e com requerimentos estreitos de nicho sejam mais propensos à extinção que generalistas. Organismos que são negativamente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat em geral exibem porte muito grande ou muito pequeno, baixa mobilidade, baixa fecundidade, reduzido recrutamento e estreitos requerimentos de nicho. Campos temperados constituem ambientes particularmente afetados por perda e degradação de habitat. No sudeste da América do Sul, como em muitas outras regiões do planeta, a expansão da agricultura e silvicultura são os principais responsáveis pela perda de habitat campestre. Os remanescentes de vegetação natural são usados para criação de gado, estando sujeitos à degradação pelo sobrepastejo, pisoteio e técnicas de manejo. Avaliar como a perda e degradação de habitat afetam a diversidade de organismos campestres é vital para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de conservação e manejo. A presente tese tem por objetivo investigar como a degradação e perda de habitat induzidas pela pecuária e silvicultura afetam a diversidade e a composição das comunidades de aves. Inicialmente, exploramos as relações entre variáveis de habitat e a composição da comunidade de aves num gradiente de altura da vegetação determinado por pastejo em campos litorâneos do Rio Grande do Sul. Posteriormente, avaliamos como variações no relevo interagem com variáveis de habitat e afetam a diversidade de aves em áreas de pecuária na Campanha gaúcha. Finalmente, avaliamos de que forma a perda de habitat resultante do estabelecimento de plantações industriais de celulose em áreas de campo afeta a composição de comunidades de aves campestres. Nossos resultados demonstram que a degradação de habitat decorrente do manejo de gado em campo nativo afeta a comunidade de aves de forma diferencial. Aves adaptadas a campos ralos ou generalistas tendem a ser beneficiadas pelo pastejo, ao passo que as espécies associadas à vegetação alta e densa são desfavorecidas. As variações na topografia reduzem os impactos da degradação de habitat nos campos. Essas variações interagem com o habitat e afetam de forma diferencial os distintos componentes da diversidade. Por outro lado, a perda de habitat decorrente da silvicultura gera um impacto de maior magnitude, alterando a composição das comunidades de aves e favorecendo aves não-campestres. Nesse contexto, impedir que novas áreas de campo nativo sejam convertidas em plantações de árvores passa a ser imperativo. Embora o manejo do gado aumente a diversidade em nível de paisagem ao criar um mosaico de manchas de vegetação de alturas distintas, maior atenção deve ser dada à manutenção e recuperação de formações densas de herbáceas de grande porte. Isso somente pode ser assegurado através de mudanças no regime do pastejo ou do desenvolvimento de técnicas de manejo alternativas. / Individuals, populations and species tend to select habitats in a non-random way. Consequently, habitat loss and degradation will have different impacts on organisms according to their traits. The effects of habitat loss are straightforward – organisms are eliminated or displaced because of the inexistence of adequate habitat or of low breeding success. Effects of habitat degradation are more subtle and result in the reduction of the capacity of an ecosystem to support some subsets of species. Since habitat loss and degradation reduce niche availability, ecologically specialized taxa with narrow niche requirements are expected to be more extinction prone than habitat generalists. Temperate grasslands have been strongly impacted by habitat loss and degradation. In southeastern South America, the expansion of agriculture and industrial pulpwood plantations are the main sources of habitat loss. Remnants of natural grassland vegetation are used for livestock ranching, being subject to habitat degradation from overgrazing, trampling and inadequate management techniques. The evaluation of how habitat loss and degradation affect the diversity of grassland organisms is vital for the development of management and conservation techniques. The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate how habitat degradation and loss related to cattle ranching and pulpwood plantations affect the diversity and composition of bird communities. We began by exploring the relationship between habitat variables and the composition of the bird community along a gradient of vegetation height determined by grazing in coastal grasslands of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. We then assessed how variations in the relief interact with habitat variables e affect the diversity of birds in rangelands of the Campanha gaúcha. Finally, we evaluated how habitat loss related with grassland afforestation for pulpwood plantations affects the composition of grassland bird communities. Our results demonstrate that habitat degradation resulting from livestock ranching in natural grasslands affects bird communities in a differential way. Birds adapted to stunted grasslands or habitat generalists tend to benefit from grazing, whereas tall-grass specialists are negatively affected. Variations in topography are responsible for reducing the impacts of habitat degradation in grasslands. These variations interact with habitat and have a differential effect on distinct components of diversity. On the other hand, the magnitude of the impact of habitat loss from afforestation is larger, altering the composition of bird communities and favoring a series of non-grassland species. In this sense, protecting remaining grasslands from afforestation is imperative. Although cattle ranching increases diversity at the landscape level by creating a mosaic of vegetation patches of different height, more attention should be given in maintaining and recovering dense formations of tall grassland plants. This can only be achieved by changing grazing regimes or developing alternative management techniques.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Formal systems of environmental management and certification for activities associated with extensive land use, relate mainly to forestry. The emergence of forest certification largely originates from the issue of tropical deforestation and the associated boycott campaigns against tropical timber. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, a new set of international norms were set in the form of Forest Principles. These were non-binding and together with international initiatives, such as the Tropical Forestry Action Programme and the International Tropical Timber Organisation have failed to decrease deforestation. New efforts to encourage sustainable forestry through forest certification were made by Non Governmental Organisations which collaborated with the private sector in developing new policy instruments. They followed the trend of eco-labelling in an attempt to link green consumers to producers whose aim it is to improve management practices. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was established. The FSC system relies on forest management principles and criteria approved by itself and is based on performance standards. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) also developed a management standard based on the principle of continuous improvement. ISO developed the ISO 14001 standard for the certification of Environmental Management Systems which is applicable to any industry concerned with the environment. From questionnaire surveys carried out among a sample of private game ranch owners/managers in the Northern Province, current standards of management were established. It was found that private owners/managers rely mostly on their own experience and knowledge. Information about management on game ranches is rarely available and only major concerns and most visible problems are attended to. Guidelines with standards for an Environmental Management System (EMS) according to the ISO 14000 series were drawn up from the results of the surveys and a literature review. A checklist of principles and criteria which could be used for the certification process was also developed. The final objective is to attain quality game ranch management which is environmentally sensitive, socially aware/beneficial and economically viable. This is crucial for the conservation and preservation of the natural systems in South Africa in which private land owners playa major role. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Formele omgewingsbestuursisteme en sertifisering vir aktiwiteite wat geassosieer word met ekstensiewe grondbenutting, word hoofsaaklik gekoppel met bosbou. Die konsep van sertifisering het tot stand gekom as gevolg van die omstredenheid rondom ontbossing en die gassosieerde sanksies teen tropiese hout. By die Verenigde Nasies Konferensie oor Omgewing en Ontwikkeling in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 is 'n nuwe stel internasionale norme daargestel in die vorm van Bosbeginsels. Hierdie was nie-bindend en saam met internasionale inisiatiewe soos die Tropiese Bos Aksie Program en die Internasionale Tropiese Hout Organisasie het hulle gefaal om ontbossing te verminder. Nuwe pogings om volhoubare bosboupraktyke aan te moedig is aangewend nadat Nie-Regering Organisasies en die privaatsektor saamgewerk het om nuwe beleidsinstrumente te ontwikkel. Hulle het die neiging vir die "eko-etiket" nagevolg in 'n poging om omgewingsbewuste verbruikers in kontak te bring met produseerders wat gemoeid is met verbeterde bestuurspraktyke. Die Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) het tot stand gekom en hulle sisteem sluit bosbestuursbeginsels en kriteria in wat deur hulleself goedgekeur is en gebaseer is op werkverrigtingstandaarde. Die Internasionale Standaarde Organisasie (ISO) het ook 'n bosbestuurstandaard opgestel gebaseer op die beginsel van kontinue verbetering. ISO het die ISO 14001 standaard opgestel vir Omgewingsbestuursisteme wat van toepassing gemaak kan word op enige industrie wat gemoeid is met die omgewmg. Na afhandeling van vraelys opnames onder privaat wildsplaas eienaars/bestuurders, is daar vasgestel wat die standaard van bestuur tans in die Noordelike Provinsie is. Privaat eienaarsIbestuurders maak meestal staat op hulle eie ondervinding en kennis. Inligting oor die bestuur van die wildsplase is nie geredelik beskikbaar nie en slegs die mees sigbare en grootste probleme word bestuur. 'n Riglyn met standaarde vir 'n Omgewingsbestuursisteem volgens ISO is opgestel vanaf resultate van die opnames en 'n literatuurstudie asook 'n "Checklist" wat beginsels en kriteria insluit wat gebruik kan word in die sertifiseringsproses is ook ontwerp. Die finale doel is om kwaliteit bestuur te bewerkstellig wat omgewingsensitief, sosiaal bewus/voordelig en ekonomies lewensvatbaar is. Laasgenoemde is uiters belangrik aangesien privaat grondeienaars 'n sleutelrol speel in die bewaring en preservering van die natuurlike sisteme in Suid-Afrika.

The Texas Constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of Texas public land in exchange for construction of the monumental red granite Capitol that continues to house Texas state government today. The Capitol project and the land went to an Illinois syndicate led by men influential in business and politics. Austin's statehouse is a recognizable symbol of Texas around the world. So too, the massive Panhandle tract given in exchange -- what became the "fabulous" XIT Ranch -- has come to, for many, symbolize Texas and its role in the nineteenth century cattle boom. After finding sales prospects for the land, known as the Capitol Reservation, weak at the time, backed by British capital, the Illinois group, often called the Capitol Syndicate, turned their efforts to cattle ranching to satisfy investors until demand for the land increased. The operation included a satellite ranch in Montana to which two-year-old steers from Texas were sent for fattening, often "over the trail" on a route increasingly blocked by people and settlement. Rather than a study focused on ranching operations on the ground -- the roundups, the cattle drives, the cowboys -- this instead uncovers the business and political side of the Syndicate's ranching operation, headquartered in Chicago. The operation of the XIT Ranch looked more like other Gilded Age businesses employing armies of clerks, bookkeepers, and secretaries instead of how great western ranches have been portrayed for years in popular literature and media. The XIT Ranch existed from 1885 to 1912, yet from Texas to Montana the operation left a deep imprint on community culture and historical memory.