This dissertation examines the development of tourism in Muskoka in the Canadian Shield region from 1860 to 1945. Three key themes are examined: the tourists, the resorts and projected image of the area. When taken together, they provide insight into the origin and evolution of the meanings attached to tourist destinations in the Canadian Shield. The Muskoka Lakes region provides the venue in which continuity and change in each of these elements of the tourism landscape are explored. This dissertation uses previously underutilized primary source materials ranging from hotel ledgers, financial reports, personal correspondence, period brochures, guidebooks, and contemporary newspaper articles to reconstruct the Muskoka tourist experience over an extended period of time. The volume of literature pertaining to American tourism history significantly outweighs similar work conducted on Canadian destinations. This dissertation, therefore, begins with an overview of key works related to the historical development of tourism in the United States followed by a survey of corresponding Canadian literature. The lack of an analytical structure in many tourist historical works is identified as a methodological gap in the literature. A framework is developed to guide data acquisition. Utilizing this framework, the tourists, resorts and images that were projected of Muskoka are examined through five stages of development, from the opening of the region to tourists to the immediate postwar era. The findings from this analysis are used to build an understanding of the changes and continuities in the meanings, or essence, of the Canadian Shield tourist experience. While significant changes are observed in the nature of the tourists, the form and function of tourist lodgings, and the content of projected images, the meaning of the Canadian Shield tourist experience exhibits substantial continuity. From the beginning of tourist development, two opposing perspectives emerge: those of the insider and the outsider. Insiders were thought to be more unpretentious, cognizant of tradition, with a greater sense of belonging in the landscape than the outsiders who were perceived to be pretentious, conscious of societal norms, and a threat to the established traditions of the resort region. The meanings of the destination are informed by the dialogue and tensions between these two perspectives on what a Canadian Shield vacation experience should entail. These meanings, which reflect perceptions of a lifestyle that has been and is continuously under threat from outside forces, persists throughout the stages of tourism development in Muskoka and can be observed in the contemporary period.

abstract: This dissertation creates models of past potential vegetation in the Southern Levant during most of the Holocene, from the beginnings of farming through the rise of urbanized civilization (12 to 2.5 ka BP). The time scale encompasses the rise and collapse of the earliest agrarian civilizations in this region. The archaeological record suggests that increases in social complexity were linked to climatic episodes (e.g., favorable climatic conditions coincide with intervals of prosperity or marked social development such as the Neolithic Revolution ca. 11.5 ka BP, the Secondary Products Revolution ca. 6 ka BP, and the Middle Bronze Age ca. 4 ka BP). The opposite can be said about periods of climatic deterioration, when settled villages were abandoned as the inhabitants returned to nomadic or semi nomadic lifestyles (e.g., abandonment of the largest Neolithic farming towns after 8 ka BP and collapse of Bronze Age towns and cities after 3.5 ka BP during the Late Bronze Age). This study develops chronologically refined models of past vegetation from 12 to 2.5 ka BP, at 500 year intervals, using GIS, remote sensing and statistical modeling tools (MAXENT) that derive from species distribution modeling. Plants are sensitive to alterations in their environment and respond accordingly. Because of this, they are valuable indicators of landscape change. An extensive database of historical and field gathered observations was created. Using this database as well as environmental variables that include temperature and precipitation surfaces for the whole study period (also at 500 year intervals), the potential vegetation of the region was modeled. Through this means, a continuous chronology of potential vegetation of the Southern Levantwas built. The produced paleo-vegetation models generally agree with the proxy records. They indicate a gradual decline of forests and expansion of steppe and desert throughout the Holocene, interrupted briefly during the Mid Holocene (ca. 4 ka BP, Middle Bronze Age). They also suggest that during the Early Holocene, forest areas were extensive, spreading into the Northern Negev. The two remaining forested areas in the Northern and Southern Plateau Region in Jordan were also connected during this time. The models also show general agreement with the major cultural developments, with forested areas either expanding or remaining stable during prosperous periods (e.g., Pre Pottery Neolithic and Middle Bronze Age), and significantly contracting during moments of instability (e.g., Late Bronze Age). / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geography 2011

In the Central Andes, the processes of physical, demographic and sociocultural urbanization have diverse impacts on smallholders who live on the periurban interface between city and countryside. How is urban growth perceived by campesinos who live on the outskirts of mountain cities? How do urban people who live on the new peripheries perceive the impacts of urban growth on smallholders? Using the intermediate city of Huancayo—the most important Andean city of the Central Peruvian sierra—as a case in point, the present study analyzes the quantitative growth of built-up land as well as the change in land cover around the city between 1988 and 2008. Moreover, the study explains the positive and negative impacts as perceived by smallholders living on the outskirts of Huancayo, and reveals the opinions of urbanites from nearby residential zones. The results indicate that urbanites are empathetic toward smallholders; a fact that proves the strong rural–urban interaction in Andean intermediate cities and bears great potential for social inclusion and sustainable development in the periurban zones of Huancayo. / En los Andes centrales, los procesos de la urbanización física, demográfica y sociocultural tienen múltiples impactos en los campesinos que viven en la interfaz periurbana que se encuentra entre la ciudad y el campo. ¿Cómo es visto el crecimiento urbano por parte de  campesinos que viven en las afueras de las ciudades de montaña? ¿Qué percepción tiene la población urbana en las nuevas periferias de los impactos que tiene el crecimiento urbano en los campesinos? Tomando el ejemplo de la ciudad intermedia de Huancayo, la urbe andina más importante de la sierra central del Perú, el presente estudio analiza el crecimiento cuantitativo del área urbana y el cambio la cobertura de suelo en la zona rural-urbana entre 1988 y 2008. Además, en el estudio se explica qué impactos positivos y negativos fueron percibidos por campesinos que viven en las afueras de Huancayo y se revela qué opinión tienen los habitantes urbanos de las zonas residenciales vecinas. Los resultados indican que los habitantes urbanos son empáticos hacia los campesinos. Ello prueba la fuerte relación rural-urbana en las ciudades intermedias andinas y encierra un gran potencial para la inclusión social y el desarrollo sostenible de las zonas periurbanas en Huancayo.

Early land survey records can be used to reconstruct the historical distribution and abundance of tree species prior to the large-scale impact of industrialized societies. Comparing these records to current vegetation patterns enables an examination of the shifts that have occurred in plant communities since the arrival of European settlers in North America. I used presettlement (1859-1874) land survey records from southeastern Vancouver Island and Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada to reconstruct the relative abundance and density of tree species in these areas. I then collected equivalent vegetation data from the same points in the modern landscape, which enabled me to compare the two points in time and identify the changes in large-scale vegetation patterns that have occurred since European settlement. My results show a significant increase in the relative abundance of maple (Acer macrophyllum) and cedar (Thuja plicata), and a corresponding decrease in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii). Furthermore, there has been a considerable increase in tree density in undeveloped areas. The 1859 records indicate that at least one third of the land surveyed was made up of prairies or open “plains,” while a combination of open woods and forests made up the remaining two thirds. Based on comparable density measures from 2007, prairies and plains now represent less than 5% of the undeveloped landscape, while forests comprise nearly 90%. These changes are likely due to a combination of factors that have been influenced by European settlement, most notably logging and fire suppression. The suppression of fire has led to an infilling of trees into previously open areas and has led to the rapid decline of the open prairie and savanna habitat types once common in this area. The results of this study can inform conservation efforts throughout the study area, particularly those involving the restoration of prairie or savanna habitats. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

Gray hawks became established in the San Pedro River (SPR) valley in the mid-1900s following landscape changes that created habitat for them. The population of gray hawks along the SPR is at the northern edge of the species’ range, and its growth has been documented periodically since the 1970s. A study in the 1990s quantified gray hawk diet and habitat use in this area, and found that gray hawks hunt primarily in mesquite, eat mostly lizards, and that their productivity is positively correlated with the percentage of mesquite in their territories. The gray hawk population along the SPR has nearly doubled since the initial study was conducted, and pairs now nest in areas that contain little or no mesquite. Our main objectives were to determine whether: a) diet and habitat requirements have changed for gray hawks along the SPR since the population has as expanded, and b) productivity has declined as the population has expanded into habitats of potentially lower quality. We used nest cameras to document prey deliveries, and ESRI ArcGIS to quantify vegetation types within estimated home ranges of gray hawks. We compared productivity of gray hawk pairs in the 1990s and the 2010s, as well as the current productivity of pairs in territories that had been occupied by gray hawks in the 1990s (original territories) and those that only became occupied after the original study was completed (new territories). We found that that gray hawks used a wider variety of vegetation types, such as nest trees surrounded by grasslands, and consumed a wider variety of prey than they did in the 1990s, and that productivity remained constant over time. Like many populations at the edge of their range, the gray hawks that initially settled in the San Pedro River valley likely had access to only a portion of the resources that are common at the center of the species’ range, and therefore appeared to have a narrower set of diet and habitat requirements than the species as a whole. Areas that are currently being used by gray hawks for nesting (e.g., nest trees surrounded by grasslands) were likely unsuitable in the 1990’s because they were being used for agriculture and grazing. The two chapters of this thesis will be submitted to journals for publication and therefore contain overlapping information.

The transition to a low carbon future is necessary to ensure humanity’s sustainable future, yet the expanding introduction of renewable energy technologies (RETs) is a central driver for transformations in rural landscapes worldwide. Introducing renewable energy (RE) infrastructures in rural landscapes raises concerns about the reduced naturalness and attractiveness of such landscapes for tourism and recreation as well as the transformation of people-place bonds as established through people’s interactions with and experiences in the surrounding landscapes. Few have examined how landscape transformation resulting from RE developments reshapes land users’ bonds with places. Furthermore, previous research has primarily relied on crosssectional quantitative data. This study addresses that literature gap and uses the Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) framework and the evolutionary theory of place attachment as theoretical underpinnings to examine how individuals perceive and experience evolving landscapes. By exploring individuals’ perceptions of and affective bonds with physical landscapes, this study provides a holistic understanding of the bonds that different groups of people may have with a certain place and how these bonds are manifested in the context of RE development and RET-related place change. In-depth interviews with private landowners and recreationists from the municipality of Mönsterås, Sweden, and observations in the Åby-Alebo wind park allow for the coconstruction of narratives reflecting individual accounts of meaning-making processes. The findings demonstrate that place attachment was evident in respondents’ descriptions of how they make a place meaningful to themselves through personal experiences and (recreational) practices. Along with landscape changes, for some individuals, meanings towards and bond with place evolved as well. The discussion shows that the emotional relationship to place reflects respondents’ particular journey in the world and over time. The study also highlights that differences in how recreationists and landowners bond with places is manifested in a changing context, disclosing the relationality of place attachment along social, practical, and temporal contextual factors. This points to encouraging possibilities for discussing the reconceptualization of humanity’s transition towards a low carbon future and fostering more sustainable landscape management in rural recreation areas.

Fire exclusion has defined 20th century forestry practices in North America and produced many unintended consequences. In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the removal of fire from the landscape caused significant landscape changes over the past century. Mountain forests are now more uniform in stand composition and structure, and understorey diversity is reduced. These changes mean that forests are now more susceptible to high-intensity, difficult-to-control wildfires. Re-introducing Indigenous led historical burning patterns modeled on traditional burning techniques can be a restoration technique for these highly altered ecosystems. Indigenous fire regimes that emphasized regular, low-intensity burning created forests that had less fuel build up and were not as susceptible to dangerous wildfires. In order to effectively re-introduce historical fire regimes onto the Canadian mountain landscapes, it is essential to understand the history of human management of landscapes with fire. This project uses new methods of oblique image analysis that build on recent developments in oblique image analysis to examine the historical management of a portion of the traditional territory of the Stoney Nakoda Nation that overlaps present day Kananaskis Country in Alberta, Canada. While it is difficult to capture low-intensity Indigenous burns using traditional fire reconstruction methods, in-depth analysis of historical photos taken before the introduction of fire suppression laws may reveal new insights into historical fire regimes. Images were classified using machine learning software and compared to images classified by a human to verify the accuracy of the machine learning software. A case study of georeferencing images was also conducted, with the landcover estimates generated by georeferenced images compared to oblique estimates. Spatial signatures of Indigenous burning were identified and applied to repeat image sets to look for visual evidence of Indigenous burning on the landscape. The results from this study provide a useful starting point for further research into repeat photography and Indigenous burning. / Graduate

Land degradation is one of the most important drivers of landscape change around the globe. This dissertation examines land use-land cover change within a mosaic landscape in Eastern Terai, India, and shows evidence of anthropogenic factors contributing to landscape change. Land use and land cover change were examined within the Alipurduar Subdivision, a representative of the Eastern Terai landscape and the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected area nested within Alipurduar through the use of multi-temporal satellite data over the past 28 years (1978 – 2006). This study establishes the potential of remote sensing technology to identify the drivers of landscape change; it provides an assessment of how regional drivers of landscape change influence the change within smaller local study extents and provides a methodology to map different types of grassland and monitor their loss within the region. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and a Normalized Difference Dry Index (NDDI) were found instrumental in change detection and the classification of different grasslands found inside the park based on their location, structure, and composition. Successful spectral segregation of different types of grasslands and their direct association with different grassland specialist species (e.g., hispid hare, hog deer, Bengal florican) clearly showed the potential of remote sensing technology to efficiently monitor these grasslands and assist in species conservation. Temporal analysis provided evidence of the loss of dense forest and grasslands within both study areas with a considerably higher rate of loss outside the protected area than inside. Results show a decline of forest from 40% in 1978 to 25% in 2006 across Alipurduar. Future trends project forest cover and grassland within Alipurduar to reduce to 15% and 5%, respectively. Within the Alipurduar, deforestation due to growth of tea industry was the primary driver of change. Flooding changed the landscape, but more intensely inside the wildlife preserve. Change of the river course inside Jaldapara during the flood of 1968 significantly altered the distribution of grassland inside the park. Unless, the direction of landscape change is altered, future trends predict growth of the tea industry within the region, increased forest loss, and homogenization of the landscape.

Over recent decades, forest land cover is dramatically changing in European mountains and in the Alps in particular. Since the 1950s the progressive urbanization of the valleys and the abandonment of mountain and rural dwellers has intensified. More than 60% of the Trentino land, is covered by forest and mainly by high forest. This human migration have brought to a progressive shrinking of meadows and pastures due to the natural forest expansion causing a dramatic change in the landscape, the consequences of which affect biodiversity, social and cultural dynamics and landscape perception as well as ecosystem services. The objective of this research focused on the application and experimentation of advanced GIS and modeling techniques to compare aerial imagery, historical maps and data and remote sensed images to understand the past landscape changes and their dynamics in Trentino and to build future scenarios based on long-term set ofobservations. The research produced a fine scale dataset representing past forest landscape for the Trentino territory. The analysis of these output data revealed a progressive afforestation process which interested homogeneously all the Trentino territory. A future forest landscape scenarios at a detailed scale (10 m) was as well produced, to simulate the future of the forest in a protected area of Trentino, to outline if the afforestation process will continue. Along with these main output of the research, new tools for image processing and evaluation of forest changes were developed.

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