Forest fires are an increasing concern under climate change. Substantially increased fire vulnerability could become a reality for many areas, including the Rocky Mountains. Forest fire hazard was examined in the upper North Saskatchewan and St. Mary watersheds for the period of 1960 to 2100. Ensemble climate scenarios were chosen to represent a wide range of possible future climates. The GENGRID meteorological model and the Canadian Forest Fire Weather index System were combined to assess possible changes in forest fire hazard in the Rocky Mountains. A wind model was developed to estimate daily wind speed variation with elevation. It was found that under most climate scenarios, fire hazard is predicted to increase. If future temperatures are warm, as expected, it could offset future precipitation increases, resulting in greater severity of fire weather and an in increase the number of days per year with high fire hazard. / xiii, 130 leaves ; 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1988. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Within a restricted geographical area of British Columbia, a detailed examination was conducted in I960 and 1961 of 9-lakes having similar morphometric and climatic influences, but exhibiting a wide dissolved nutrient range (50 to 1460 ppm). Attempts were made to relate total dissolved solids as well as other chemical and physical indices, to biological factors indicating or influencing lake productivity. Measurements were made of standing crops of plankton, bottom fauna and fish as well as hypolimnial oxygen deficits, sedimentation rates and gross primary productivity. Standing crops of plankton appeared related to oxygen deficits and perimeter to area ratios. Furthermore, total dissolved solid content correlated with gross primary productivity estimates based on Light and Dark Bottle techniques. Total dissolved solid content of lakes was not correlated with standing crops of plankton, bottom fauna or fish. Ranking of selected physical or chemical indices of productivity failed to agree with ranking based on standing crops or other biological measurements of productivity. A number of possible factors which interact to modify the expression of primary correlates of productivity are discussed. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

A wide area assessment of forecast changes in wintertime synoptic conditions over western North America is combined with a meso-scale alpine hydrometeorology model to evaluate the joint impact(s) of forecast climate change on snowpack conditions in an alpine watershed in the southern Canadian Rockies. The synoptic analysis was used to generate long-term climate time series scenarios using the CCCma CGCM1. An alpine hydrometerology model is used to predict changes in wintertime precipitation at the watershed scale. A mass balance snow model is utilized to predict the overall snow accumulation throughout a watershed. A vapour transfer model has been incorporated in the snow model to estimate snow volumes more accurately. The synoptic analysis and GCM output forecasts a modest increase in both winter precipitation and temperatures in the study area, resulting in a decline of winter snow accumulations, and hence an expected decline in spring runoff. / ix, 87 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1960 N53

The size of elk herds in Eastern Oregon has become a controversial issue. Trade-offs exist between the numbers of elk and domestic livestock on a given area of land, and also between elk and commercial timber harvesting policies. Disputes arise from differing views as to proper use of the natural resource base, specifically, public forested and grazing lands. Economic comparisons between elk and alternative uses of the land are complicated by the non-market nature of the elk resource, as this necessitates using a method to value the resource which may not be familiar to many decision makers. The objectives of this thesis were: (1) to analyze the demand for antlerless elk tags in eastern Oregon and to use the analysis to examine alternative pricing policies for allocating these antlerless tags, (2) to evaluate alternative elk management strategies from an economic perspective, and (3) to optimize societal benefits from the land base over time. Objective (1) was met by using the travel cost method. Results indicate that state hunting revenues would rise substantially if tag prices were increased so as to equilibrate quantities demanded and supplied. Objective (2) was met by using a computer simulation model to ascertain the impacts of harvesting and management policies upon the herd's stability and productivity. The results, placing emphasis on the antlerless animals, indicate that a slight reduction in current herd levels is economically desirable. This result is caused in part by the decreasing returns to scale from the elk herd as measured by total harvest per 1000 summer adult elk. Limitations of these conclusions with respect to bull elk demand are documented. Finally, objective (3) is met by formulating the dynamic relationships between elk, domestic livestock, and timber as a system of dynamic Lagrangian multipliers. This allows optimal inter-temporal allocation of resources by discounting future returns from these resources and equating marginal benefits of present and future use. The decision rules are examined, and economic implications of the multipliers are discussed. Although a theoretical model, some data is discussed, as are directions for future research. / Graduation date: 1983

The most prominent cause of habitat fragmentation is intensification of human land use. Negative effects of large-scale forest fragmentation have been documented in most vertebrate classes. The inherent problem in directly documenting effects lies in our ignorance of historical community structure. Information from this study provides baseline data on vertebrates within threatened habitat. This privately-owned block of uninterrupted forest has never been systematically surveyed by biologists. Changes in ownership have placed the integrity of this interior forest habitat in doubt. This research may provide the foundation for long-term studies of the effects of fragmentation within forests of the Southern Appalachians. A total of 50 visits were made between April 1998 and July 2000. Documentation of 109 species of vertebrates was established, representing 4 reptile species, 19 amphibian species, 72 bird species, and 12 mammal species. Although no procedure for documenting fishes was implemented, 2 species from this class were identified.

There have been major changes to the farming practices across Canterbury in the past 50 years, with the biggest changes seen in the previous two decades. These changes in farming practices, namely dairy farming and irrigation, have lead to declining water quality in the region. The changes that have been experienced on the Canterbury plains are now being seen in the hill and high country settings, such as the Hakataramea Valley. This study found that the waterways in the Hakataramea Valley are susceptible to nutrient enrichment following a rainfall event that caused soil runoff. Wind erosion also occurrs in the valley and was believed to be the major source of nutrient transport in the waterways, however, this was proven to be not as significant as soil runoff. The valley showed a range in water quality, with the river generally being of a higher quality than the tributaries. One tributary in particular stood out as being lower in quality than the others, this was Rocky Point stream. It was identified that the tributary catchments that had extensive farming systems and no irrigation present (Grampians Stream and Rocky Point Stream) were of a lower quality than the tributary that had irrigation (Padkins Stream). This was due to the fact that waterways in this catchment were fenced, and on farm stockwater systems were in place, stopping stock from accessing the waterway. The OVERSEER modelling of the future scenarios presented showed that if the agriculture in the valley was to continue to develop and intensify, the water quality would decline. If the valley became completely irrigated this decline could potentially be large enough to result in a level that would become unsafe for recreational use and human and animal consumption. The future of the Hakataramea Valley and its waterways depends on improved management processes that focus on specific areas of the catchment and the catchment as a whole.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 1952. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-170). Also available online as part of: Our roots/Nos Racines.

[No abstract available] / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate