Thesis (M. Inst. Agrar. (Soil Science))--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Includes bibliographical referencess.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

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Interpretation of large-scale color infrared and color aerial photography can be a labor and cost-effective means for inventorying and monitoring rangelands while maintaining accuracy. Ground measurements of vegetation cover at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument were taken in 1975 and 1984. Large-scale (1:1200) color and color infrared aerial photo estimates were compared to these ground measurements through regression and correlation to check photo accuracy. Relationships between photo estimates and ground measurements of total vegetation and shrub cover were strong when using either film type. Color infrared photo estimates corresponded better with ground measurements for both tree cover and cactus cover than color photo estimates. Large-scale aerial photography is also useful for determining some of the causes of vegetation change. Evidence gathered from both sets of photos suggested that vegetation change at OPCNM was largely the result of domestic livestock removal and short-term climatic fluctuations.

This dissertation addresses issues in non-market valuation related to preference uncertainty and to the divergence between willingness to accept (WTA) and willingness to pay (WTP) in contingent valuation method. The contributions are two fold. First, the dissertation contributes to development in non-market valuation by comparing emerging approaches addressing preference uncertainty in the standard contingent valuation framework and by introducing a promising approach, the fuzzy random utility maximization model. Further, the study provides empirical support for the observed divergence between WTA and WTP using a simultaneous equation regression model. Second, the dissertation provides policy implications. The non-market valuation model was calibrated with a survey of western Canadian landowners in 2000 to determine their willingness to accept compensation for planting trees to mitigate climate change. WTA values were then used to analyze the cost effectiveness of sequestering carbon by converting agricultural land to forestry. While estimates of WTA are less than foregone agricultural values, average costs of creating carbon credits still exceed their projected value under a C02-emissions trading scheme. Another results from the survey of Nevada ranchers that asked about WTP for public forage and WTA compensation to part with grazing rights indicate that ranch size, public grazing allotment, financial distress, and long term commitment to ranching are all significant influences on the disparity between WTA and WTP, which gives valuable information to ranch policy.

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Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Botany, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-120).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Environmental Biology, 2002. / Accompanying CD-ROM inside back cover, includes Appendices. Bibliography: leaves 242-266.

Thesis (Ph. D., Environmental Science)--University of Idaho, May 2007. / Major professor: Maxine Dakins. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.