No description available.

In the savanna woodlands of Southern Africa, locally know as miombo, carbon cycling is poorly quantified and many of the key processes remain obscure. For example, seasonal constraints on productivity and leaf display are not well understood. Also, fire is known to be a key process, with around 50% of the annual global area burned occurring in Africa, but detailed understanding of its ecological effects is lacking. Land use change and woodland degradation are changing the structure and functioning of these tropical woodlands, which cover 2.7 million km2 of Southern Africa and provide ecosystem services which support the livelihoods of over 100 million people. In this thesis I quantify the major carbon stocks of the woodlands in Nhambita Regulado, Gorongosa District in Sofala Province, Mozambique. I also examine processes that affect these stocks, including fire and clearance for agriculture. Furthermore, I quantify the seasonal cycle of leaf display, and its relationship to climate. I conducted a series of experimental burns and found that fire intensity was strongly related to rates of top-kill and root stock mortality. Top-kill rates decreased as tree diameter increased up to 10 cm DBH. After this point increased size did not affect top-kill rates, possibly because of accumulated wounds and rottenness. I then extrapolated these results to long term predictions of tree populations and carbon stocks by modelling the interactions of fire, mortality and tree growth. The model was able to successfully predict woody vegetation structure at two sites with known fire regimes, including a 50-year fire experiment in Marondera, Zimbabwe. The results show that annual fires in miombo suppress all woody vegetation. Low intensity fires every 2.5 years are required to maintain observed stem biomass in Nhambita. High intensity fires lead to high top-kill rates (12%), even among large stems. Manipulating fire intensity rather than frequency seems to be the most practical approach to limiting degradation by fire in these ecosystems. Using a three year time series of hemispherical photographs of the tree canopy, combined with satellite data, I find that tree leaf phenology is not directly related to seasonal rainfall patterns, both in Nhambita and across Southern Africa. Pre-rain green-up is the dominant phenology, from the semi arid savannas of the south of the continent to the wet miombo of the Congo basin. Wet miombo woodlands have longer periods of green-up before rain onset (mean 60 days) compared with dry miombo (37 days). Green up-dates show little interannual variability but large spatial variability. The importance of pre-rain green-up in determining how these ecosystems will respond to changing rainfall patterns is unknown, but is an important area for future study. I quantified carbon stocks in the Nhambita woodlands in the soil (69% of total carbon stocks of 111 tC ha-1), tree stems (19%) and roots (8%) as well as other smaller pools. An allometric relationship between root and stem biomass and stem diameter was developed, and used to evaluate the uncertainties in stem carbon estimation at plot and landscape scale. We find that the uncertainty (95% confidence intervals) at plot scale can be quite large (60% of the mean) but this is reduced to around 25% at landscape scale. Strategies for effective inventories of miombo woodland are presented. Using a chronosequence of abandoned farmland, we estimate that stem biomass recovers from clearance after around 30 years of abandonment. Changes in soil carbon stocks are less well understood and need further work. This thesis concludes by outlining further work needed to model the carbon cycle of these woodlands, as well as discussing the implication of pre-rain green-up for satellite observations of land cover changes and biomass mapping.

This study makes an examination of a training programme in an institution for the mentally handicapped. It outlines the history of this institution and traces the development of the training programme through its various stages, with special reference to the contribution which social work has made to the rehabilitative programme. The study makes an appraisal of this institution's existing programme in light of accepted principles and standards of practice, derived from an examination of relevant professional medical and social material in the field. Material studied included reports of the medical director of The Woodlands School, reports of the Provincial Supervisor of Psychiatric Social Work, and articles written in professional periodicals and books on the subject. Other material was obtained by personal observation of The Woodlands School's programme and by personal interviews with various staff members. The case material was obtained from the case records of the Social Service Department of The Woodlands School. These records cover a two-year period, 1951 through 1953. The conclusions of this study indicate that the services for the training and education of the mentally handicapped are seriously lacking in British Columbia with particular reference to social services. It is recommended that both lay and professional groups in British Columbia reassess their current programmes for the mentally handicapped in light of existing standards so that a more adequate understanding of needs in this area may be at their disposal. The need for greater expansion of rehabilitation services for the mentally handicapped is stressed. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-195).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1998. / Abstract. Includes annotated bibliographical references.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-195).

5 pp. / Pine Bark Beetles, Cypress Bark Beetles / Hosts, description and life cycle of the pinon ips and signs of infection. Management practices include maintaining tree health, sanitation and chemical sprays. Thinning is the long term solution to stressed stands. Many ecological factors are significant when managing for pinon ips.

Revised; Original Published: 2006 / 5 pp.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Charles Barden / Spring Creek, Headwaters Robideux Creek, and Snipe Creek are sub-watersheds located within the Big Blue River Watershed, which drains to the Tuttle Creek Reservoir impoundment. This reservoir had a very high monetary investment since the beginning; unfortunately the lifespan for this marvel of engineering is declining rapidly due to high sedimentation rates. One of the programs for slowing the sedimentation process is the removal of highly erodible lands from agricultural production. This thesis work aimed to gather more knowledge on the natural riparian areas, to help the stakeholders of Kansas to improve their riparian woodland management decisions. The objective of the study was to characterize the structure and composition of natural riparian woodlands in three sub-watersheds of the Tuttle Creek Watershed. Data was collected using a representative sample design. Plot dimensions for mature tree data collection were 50ft by 30ft. For regeneration smaller, circular plots were used. Data analysis was completed with SAS 9.3. Results showed that trees per acre (TPA) differed significantly between Spring Creek and Snipe Creek, with Snipe Creek having the highest number of TPA. Quadratic mean diameter (QMD) also differed significantly in these two watersheds, with Spring Creek having the highest quadratic mean diameter. A different set of species was found in each watershed, with American elm (Ulmus americana) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) being found in high numbers in all areas. Regeneration data showed hackberry to be present in high numbers of both seedlings and saplings. Seedlings exhibited more species diversity than saplings. High economic value species were present in the natural riparian woodlands but in low numbers. Species of moderate economic value were predominant in terms of BA, TPA, and regeneration. Human impact on the riparian areas in the sub-watersheds was noticeable, both from livestock and forest management. Also invasive species were found in the riparian woodlands such as garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and stinging nettles (Urtica diotica). Riparian areas have a great potential for improvement and management in the three sub-watersheds.

The impetus for this research was the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires resulting from the accumulation of fuels across the West. Guided by the priorities, goals, and guiding principles outlined by the national fire plan (NFP), the objective was to identify those areas within a pinyon-juniper woodland-dominated landscape with the highest hazard of catastrophic wildfire. The intent was to help managers prioritize proactive fuels management efforts outside of the wildland urban interface (WUI). Based on a management paradigm, constraints were placed on the data collection, analysis, and model development. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to create a hazard assessment at a landscape scale in Tintic Valley, Utah. Hazard categories were a classification of fuels based on crown cover of pinyon-juniper trees, utilizing remotely sensed data. The data set consisted of digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ) images from 1993. The methods were developed in three phases. Phase One resulted in a hazard assessment protocol. In Phase Two, data layers were created to further divide the hazard categories into more tractable management units. Phase Three, through the retrospective examination of recent wildfires, indicated the limitations and utility of the assessment technique. The protocol presented provides a relatively fast, inexpensive, and timely hazard classification technique for pinyon-juniper woodlands at a watershed level. It is intended to be used for coarse-scale assessments of fuel hazards for strategic planning purposes. While not appropriate for fire behavior predictions, this assessment can focus managerial efforts for additional tactical planning.