A study of the microclimate of erosion control treatments was carried out in two habitat types in a semiarid southeastern Utah, salt desert shrub area. The soils are highly eroded Mancos shale and support a low density of salt desert shrub species which offers little protection against high intensity summer convectional rainstorms. Gully plugs and contour furrows had been installed by the Bureaus of Reclamation and Land Management to prevent runoff of soil laden water which results from these summer rainfalls. Formerly this sediment was carried to the Colorado River and deposited in Lake Powell. The purpose to t he study was to measure some parameters that influenced establishment and survival of seedlings which would stabilize the structures and increase the productivity of the area. Mature, indigenous species close to the structures had greater vigor and provided a larger, more constant seed source. This seed source was important since original seedlings of introduced grasses have failed to establish and stabilize the structures . Following favorable late winter and early spring precipitation, high numbers of seedlings emerged, but few survived into mid-summer. Those that did survive were found only at or near the high water line of the gully plugs and in the bottom of contour furrows. To aid in the explanation of the differential seedling survival, soil surface moisture following rainstorms, physical and chemical soil characteristics, net radiation, soil surface temperature, and evaporation were investigated. Sampling of the 15 centimeter soil surface in the environs of the structures showed that two days after either heavy or light rainfalls, essentially no available water remained on the sloping throw positions of the structures. The bottom of the gully plugs remained flooded for several days. As a result, the seedlings were drowned. Only at the high water line of the gully plugs and in the bottom of furrows was there enough water to support seedling growth in summer. Runoff water from summer storms carried fine material into the structures, which covered and destroyed seedlings, plus lowered infiltration and permitted much of the water to be lost through evaporation. The runoff water also carried salts brought to the surface by the desert shrubs or by the upward movement of water during evaporation from the soil surface. Sampling of soil in the environs of the structures showed no substantial build up of salt, indicating that leaching had occurred, or still was occurring. This does not mean that a build up will not result in the future. Seasonal salt distribution showed that lowest salinity levels did not always coincide with springtime when seedlings generally emerged. Established seedlings were also exposed to a harsh environment of high soil surface temperatures (over 60 C) and high soil water evaporation rates that were detrimental to their survival. In summary, the study showed that the erosion control structures have created a microenvironment much different from the undisturbed soil, which only permits the establishment of species with much different tolerances from the indigenous species.

This study examined the effects of habitat parameters, disturbances and predation on the reproductive success of golden eagles (Aguila chrysaetos), ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and prairie falcons (Falco mexicanus) in the desert area southwest of the Great Salt Lake in northwestern Utah. The prairie falcon was the only species examined that had a normal reproductive output during the study years of 1984-1986. The prairie falcon was better able to utilize the avian prey species which were very difficult for the larger and slower raptor species to capture. During the reproductive period prairie falcons used Townsend ground squirrel (Sperrnophilus townsendii) heavily. The golden eagles, ferruginous, and red-tailed hawks were not able to obtain sufficient numbers of their primary prey species, the cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus nuttallii) and black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), to allow for a normal reproductive output. These prey species were at the low point of their cyclic population pattern. Disturbance to raptors was not an important factor on this remote study area. Predation, primarily terrestrial mammals, did have a negative effect on reproductive success; however, it was not a major consideration due to lack of predator access on most of the cliff nesting sites of the golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, and prairie falcon. Predation appeared to have a greater impact on the ferruginous hawk nesting success as their nest sites were normally accessable to mammalian predators. Raptor nest site exposure was unimportant to nesting raptors. The nest exposure was very similar to the exposure ratio of the available cliff sites.

An unsupervised classification was applied to continuous biophysical variables in an attempt to delineate ecoregional boundaries in the desert southwest. Output was then compared with ecoregions delineated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Forest Service at the national level. An attempt was made to use the same biophysical variables for input into the unsupervised classification as was emphasized by the various agencies with their ecoregional classifications at the desert level. Major constraints included data availability at such a large study area, data resolution, and data that were continuous. This eliminated categorical data such as vegetation type, geology type, or soil texture. The aim of the study was to develop a more objective and repeatable approach to identifying self-similar geographic regions.

Title supplied by cataloguer. / Lacks title page and contents. / Includes bibliographical references. / 17 items : / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / A collection of 17 of the author's publications including a manuscript copies of chapters 4-8 of The vegetation of South Australia (published Adelaide : Govt. Printer, 1937); and,Time factors in photosynthesis; and copies of papers reprinted from various journals; all submitted as the author's Doctor of Science thesis / Thesis (D.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, 1934

In the past, cities and their food system were spatially interwoven. However, rapid urbanization and the creation of industrialized agriculture have physically isolated and psychologically disconnected urban residents from the landscape that sustains them. Cities can no longer feed themselves and must rely on a global hinterland. Vital growing, preserving, and cooking knowledge has been lost, while negative health, economic, and environmental effects continue to develop from this separation. Low-income neighborhoods have significantly been affected where a lack of income and mobility pose barriers to adequate food access. Architects have addressed food issues individually, but have yet to take an integrative approach that meaningfully engages urban citizens with all processes of the food system. Urban planners have recently taken a holistic design approach to food issues through the development of the community food system concept. By applying this idea to an architectural program I have designed a Community Food Center for the Five Points Neighborhood in East Knoxville, TN. Spatially compressing and layering food activity spaces preserves the majority of the landscape on site for food production. The kitchen, dining room, market, and garden increase access to healthy food while serving as community gathering spaces, and the business incubator kitchens provide economic opportunities. The whole facility acts to educate and engage people in the growing, harvesting, preserving, cooking, sharing, and composting of food. Cities cannot sustain themselves by only providing spaces for consumption. Architects must challenge the accepted relationships between food system spaces and strive to reincorporate productive landscapes and spaces dedicated to transforming raw ingredients into a variety of architectural programs. Although the Five Points Community Food Center is site specific, the concept of integrating multiple food activities into a single architectural entity can be used as a tool for place making by expressing a local identity through food culture while improving the social and economic fabric.

This thesis establishes the basic images of the gazelle in ancient Egyptian art and their meaning. A chronological overview of the categories of material featuring gazelle images is presented as a background to an interpretation. An introduction and review of the characteristics of the gazelle in the wild are presented in Chapters 1-2. The images of gazelle in the Predynastic material are reviewed in Chapter 3, identifying the desert hunt as the main setting for gazelle imagery. Chapter 4 reviews the images of the gazelle in the desert hunt scenes from tombs and temples. The majority of the motifs characteristic for the gazelle are found in this context. Chapter 5 gives a typological analysis of the images of the gazelle from offering processions scenes. In this material the image of the nursing gazelle is given particular importance. Similar images are also found on objects, where symbolic connotations can be discerned (Chapter 6). References to healing and regeneration are found, particularly in relationship to the context of the objects. The gazelle is found in a divine context in a limited material (Chapter 7). A discussion of these sources sees a focus on the gazelle as representative for the desert mountains as the setting for death and rebirth. This relates to the gazelle as a feminine image with a connection to the models of female divinity (Chapter 8).

Community food security (CFS) is a new, community-based, collaborative approach to achieving food security. CFS seeks to merge social justice and environmental sustainability goals in the pursuit of food-secure communities. The Good Food Market (GFM) is a new CFS initiative wherein a subsidized community food market operates in a food desert. Through a qualitative case study approach, I examine and evaluate the programmatic design of The Stop’s Good Food Market, and explore its contribution to community food security. The research is framed within a larger study of food security. Research findings are based on semi-structured and structured interviews with GFM coordinators and customers, as well as participant observation and literature reviews.

For more than two centuries, humans have been spewing “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and the development of land, causing the planet’s surface temperature to increase at an accelerated rate. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues that the world is facing today, and in order to combat the effects of climate change, it is necessary to adopt the use of more renewable technology, namely solar energy. The United States' best region for solar development is the Mojave Desert, and many large-scale projects are being built or proposed to be built in the area. However, the deployment of solar technology in the Mojave Desert comes with significant ecological, socioeconomic, and political impacts. This paper is intended to provide an overview of the issues surrounding solar development in the Mojave Desert.

Food insecurity is defined as “a household‐level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA Economic Research Service 2009). Low‐income households tend to be food insecure for many reasons. The first and most obvious would be the access to monetary resources. If a household does not have a sufficient income, it is difficult to keep an adequate amount of food for all household members at all times. Another reason would be that many low‐income households cannot afford a car and/or do not have easy access to public transportation or reliable private transportation.

In the current context of escalating climate catastrophes paralleled with depleting energy resources, degrading fresh water supplies and diminishing agricultural lands, there is an increasing preoccupation with the prospects of a fast approaching ecological global crisis. Arid regions, which under normal circumstances are places of acute extremes, are afflicted by these trends more profoundly. Dryland ecosystems are places where survival hangs on a most fragile equilibrium, therefore any anomaly or scarcity can be detrimental to their viability. Alternatively, due to their unique ecosystem properties, not available in other more moderate environments, deserts can represent places of immeasurable potential for a prosperous subsistence. The Negev desert accounts for two thirds of the land area of Israel and is employed as a case study for this exploration. The thesis investigates the following four narratives: FERTILE VISIONS dissects the ethos of blooming the desert and the inherent contradictions of realized utopias. EPHEMERAL FLOWS constructs a broad framework of the Negev’s ecosystem, while mapping the operating forces and their affect on the system’s stability. VITAL SIGNS curates a catalogue of strategies, systems and technologies in the fields of water management, solar energy and controlled environments. Their juxtaposition starts to suggest plausible hybrids. Finally, EFFECTIVE TERRAINS defines design strategies for new models of desert living, based on integrated infrastructural systems. It envisions a prototype for a community planned through the synthetic interweaving of the existing desert ecosystem with water, energy and agricultural production.