Can you imagine a world where no-one goes outside? Our world is under threat from human activities, from what we do, and the way we do it. This will have a huge impact on our future lives, and we need to think about how we protect places and the people, animals and plants found there. Whilst, there is a widely-recognised need to address this threat, there is a specific focus on how we can involve young people in this process. Within this, there is additional concern about how little time children and young people spend outside. My qualitative study responds to these concerns by exploring young people’s relationship with nature, and how this may be developed through the projects we offer them. The participating projects have been spread across England, from south-east to north-west, including rural, coastal and urban environments. The young people, aged between 11 and 25, were from diverse backgrounds, with a wide range of individual needs. This transdisciplinary research has used an innovative blended methodology, combining hermeneutics, (auto)ethnography and action research (HEAR) to explore the topic. I have been creative in my approach, preferring everyday language and making use of stories. I have listened to and observed people’s stories, and created new stories based on these experiences. My work emphasises the importance of communication, how we talk to and with people, and how we talk about the natural environment. Contributions to practice include the development of a new toolkit providing guidance for practitioners on how to work effectively outdoors, with young people identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. Contributions to knowledge include a new conceptualisation of the different forms of story, and a new methodological approach (HEAR) to explore outdoor learning experiences. These outcomes are founded in young peoples’ perspectives and grounded in practice.

In spite tropical forests are the most important terrestrial global carbon sinks due to carbon storage in aboveground biomass, it is also the primary target of deforestation. The conversion of Tropical forests into anthropogenic areas might disrupt biological flux and also lead to severe microclimatic changes at forest edges. These combined effects can trigger profound changes in plant composition through both high mortality of fragmentation-sensitive species and proliferation of disturbed-adapted species which will ultimately impacts carbon storage. Thus, our main objective in this study was understand the role of human-induced disturbances in modulate the dimension of biomass loss at tropical forests. We applied a systematic literature review searching for empirical evidences that edge effects can drive biomass loss in tropical forests (Chapter 2). Our findings highlighted the gap of knowledge about the pattern and process related to biomass loss in tropical forests. To strengthen this understanding, we formulated a conceptual model linking landscape structure and patch-level attributes to severity of edge effects affecting aboveground biomass. Our model hypothesizes that habitat amount, isolation, time since edge creation, and the synergism between edge distance, patch size, and matrix type are the main drivers of biomass loss in anthropogenic tropical forests. We thus used a large plant dataset (18 503 trees ≥ 10 cm dbh) from 146 sites distributed across four Mexican and four Brazilian rainforest regions to test our conceptual model predictions, specifically the influence of forest cover, site isolation, edge distance, patch size and type of matrix on biomass (Chapter 3). We observed that carbon-rich sites presented species that are typical of old-growth forests (shade-tolerant, large-seeded, zoocoric) contrasting to carbon-poor sites composed by disturbed-adapted species (pioneer occupying the understory). Large shade-tolerant trees (≥ 40 cm dbh) were impacted severely by the combination of forest loss and edge effects. Edge distance, patch size, and the amount of open-matrix strongly influence small shade-tolerant trees (≤ 20 cm dbh). Although our results do not fully corroborate the initial predictions of the conceptual model, they support the idea that landscape composition interact with patch structure and ultimately impacts biomass stocks in fragmented tropical forests. Finally, we further investigated if the disturbance level of the region influences plant-structure responses to forest loss (Chapter 4). Biomass, but not plant density, was affected by forest loss in regions with intermediate disturbance levels, i.e. regions showing a combination of moderate deforestation (20-40% of remaining forest cover) disturbed during the past 30-60 years, high defaunation but harboring relictual populations of large-mammals, and areas mostly composed by heterogeneous matrices. In general, our findings highlight that both landscape composition and patch structure are the main drivers of biomass loss in Neotropical forests, and that the landscape context must be considered to obtain more reliable estimations of carbon emissions due to forest degradation. Landscape planning (e.g. restoration of forest cover) should be included in conservation strategies in order to sustain carbon storage. Moreover, we advocate that conservation initiatives will be less costly and more effective if implemented in areas under intermediate disturbance levels / Apesar das florestas tropicais serem a mais importante fonte mundial de carbono da porção terrestre do globo devido ao armazenamento de carbono na biomassa acima do solo, elas são também o alvo primário do desmatamento. A conversão das florestas Tropicais em áreas antropogênicas pode interromper o fluxo biológico e também levar a severas mudanças microclimáticas na borda dos fragmentos. A combinação desses efeitos pode engatilhar profundas mudanças na composição da vegetação através tanto da mortalidade de espécies sensíveis à fragmentação como também pela proliferação de espécies adaptadas distúrbios, com impactos finais nos estoques de carbono. Assim, o maior objetivo desse estudo foi compreender o papel dos distúrbios induzidos pelo homem na modulação da dimensão da perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Nós aplicamos uma revisão sistemática da literatura procurando por evidências empíricas de que o efeito de borda pode levar a perda de biomassa em florestas tropicais (Capítulo 2). Nossos resultados destacam a lacuna de conhecimento entre padrões e processos relacionados à perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais. Para fortalecer esse conhecimento, nós formulamos um modelo conceitual conectando estrutura da paisagem e atributos na escala do fragmento à severidade do efeito de borda, e assim afetando a biomassa acima do solo. Nosso modelo hipotetiza que a quantidade de hábitat, o isolamento, o tempo desde a formação da borda e o sinergismo entre tamanho do fragmento, distância da borda e tipo de matriz são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Tropicais antropogênicas. Utilizando um grande banco de dados (18 503 árvores ≥ 10 cm dap) provenientes de 146 locais distribuídos em quatro regiões de floresta úmida no México e quatro no Brasil, nós então testamos as predições do nosso modelo conceitual. Especificamente, a influência da cobertura florestal, isolamento, distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e tipo de matriz sobre a biomassa (Capítulo 3). Nós observamos que áreas com muito carbono apresentaram espécies típicas de florestas maduras (tolerantes ao sombreamento, zoocóricas, com sementes grandes) contrastando com áreas com pouco carbono compostas por espécies adaptadas à distúrbio (pioneiras ocupando o sub-bosque). Árvores grandes tolerantes ao sombreamento (≥ 40 cm dap) foram impactadas severamente pela combinação de perda de cobertura florestal e efeitos de borda. Distância da borda, tamanho do fragmento e a extensão da área de matriz aberta influenciaram fortemente as árvores pequenas tolerantes a sombreamento (≤ 20 cm dap). Apesar dos nossos resultados não corroborarem completamente as predições iniciais do nosso modelo conceitual, eles dão suporte à ideia de que a composição da paisagem interage com a estrutura do fragmento com impactos finais nos estoques de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais. Por fim, nós investigamos se o nível de distúrbio da região pode influenciar nas respostas da estrutura da vegetação à perda de cobertura florestal. Biomassa, mas não a densidade de indivíduos, foi afetada pela perda de cobertura florestal em regiões com nível intermediário de distúrbio, i.e. regiões apresentando uma combinação de níveis moderados de desmatamento (20-40% de cobertura florestal remanescente) em que a perturbação ocorreu ao longo dos últimos 30-60 anos, com alto grau de defaunação mas ainda abrigando populações relictuais de grandes mamíferos e, em sua maioria, compostos por uma matriz heterogênea. Em geral, nossos resultados destacaram que tanto a composição da paisagem como a estrutura do fragmento são os principais condutores de perda de biomassa em florestas Neotropicais e que o contexto da paisagem deve ser considerado para se obter estimativas mais confiáveis de emissão de carbono devido à degradação florestal. O planejamento da paisagem (e.g. restauração da cobertura florestal) deve ser incluído em estratégias de conservação em ordem de sustentar o armazenamento de carbono. Além disso, nós defendemos que iniciativas de conservação serão menos custosas e mais efetivas se implementadas em áreas sob níveis intermediários de distúrbio

The Catholic Church is the greatest institution of religious, cultural, political and economic nature of visible structure that still exists in operation. It is recognized for the high hierarchy, the bureaucracy and the organization of its territory delimited from practices developed for its expansion and maintenance. In this universe, we ask about the current space occupied by the Catholic Church and the actions developed by it to consolidate its dominant position in Sergipe. We also try to understand the logic of this process by interpreting the existing relations of power for its operation. Thus, we make the thesis that the Catholic Church maintains its territory, landscape and heritage through power relations of symbolic ando of representation. So, this study aimed to identify: the factors that have contributed and, in a certain way, influenced the actions of the Catholic Church in the creation of its territories; territorial logics adopted; strategies of the institution to act on identity and approach of the devotee. To make the interpretation of the Catholic Church, we use the cultural and religious approach of geography combined with methodological purpose of qualitative and quantitative analysis, linked to three procedures for understanding the reality: a simple observation for description, the data collection in primary and secondary sources for the quantification and qualification and interviews for the representation. As a result, we understand that the Catholic Church is an established institution that has passed by a territorial reframing and that administers and consolidates its territory and landscape through private actions which form in Sergipe, two trends of the Catholic Church in the same territory: the South institution, which comprises two dioceses, more traditional followers of the precepts established by the bishops of Brazil; and Northern dioceses, which by reason of popular Catholicism, has a profile of closest approach of the Catholic Church and its ideals with the devotees. / A Igreja Católica é a maior instituição de caráter religioso, cultural, político e econômico de estrutura visível que ainda está em funcionamento. Ela é reconhecida pela alta hierarquização, burocratização e pela organização de seus territórios, delimitados a partir de práticas desenvolvidas para sua expansão e manutenção. Nesse universo, indagamos o atual espaço ocupado pela Igreja Católica e as ações desenvolvidas por ela para consolidar sua posição dominante em Sergipe. Buscamos, ainda, compreender as lógicas desse processo pela interpretação das relações de poder existentes para seu funcionamento. Destarte, elaboramos a tese de que a Igreja Católica mantém seu território, sua paisagem e seu patrimônio por meio das relações de poder do simbólico e da representação. Para tanto, esta pesquisa objetivou identificar: os fatores que contribuíram e, de certa maneira, influenciaram a atuação da Igreja Católica, na criação de seus territórios; as lógicas territoriais adotadas; as estratégias da instituição para atuar na identidade e aproximar-se dos devotos. Para efetuar a interpretação da Igreja Católica, apropriamo-nos da abordagem cultural e religiosa da Geografia conjugada à proposta metodológica de análise qualitativa e quantitativa, interligada a três procedimentos para entendermos a realidade: a observação simples para a descrição, os levantamentos de dados em fontes primárias e secundárias para a quantificação e qualificação e as entrevistas para a representação. Como resultado, compreendemos que a Igreja Católica é uma instituição consolidada, que passou por uma ressignificação territorial e que administra e consolida seu território e paisagem por meio de ações particulares que formam, em Sergipe, duas vertentes da Igreja em um mesmo território católico: a instituição do Sul, que engloba duas dioceses, mais tradicionais, seguidoras dos preceitos instituídos pelos bispos do Brasil e a do Norte, que, pela prática do catolicismo popular, tem um perfil de maior aproximação da Igreja Católica e de seus ideais com os devotos.

Devido o dinamismo e complexidade estrutural observada nas paisagens antrópicas, pesquisas contínuas são necessárias para melhorar o conhecimento sobre quais os impactos delas na biodiversidade, bem como para entender quais espécies ocorrentes nestas paisagens refletem as condições ambientais lá existentes. Desse modo, tomando a avifauna como representante da biodiversidade presente nestas paisagens, esta tese objetivou: 1) caracterizar as assembleias de aves ocorrentes nos remanescentes florestais de Mata Atlântica inseridos em paisagem antrópica agrícola, bem como as assembleias que ocorrem no interior das culturas de pasto e cana-de-açúcar, 2) identificar um método analítico adequado para acessar a integridade ecológica existente nos remanescentes florestais por meio das assembleias de aves, 3) avaliar o efeito da estrutura e dinâmica destas paisagens nas assembleias de aves ocorrentes nos remanescentes florestais, 4) identificar quais características da paisagem antrópica agrícola influenciam as aves ocorrentes no interior das culturas de pasto e cana-de-açúcar. Assembleias de aves foram amostradas mensalmente durante um ano (Nov2011-Nov2012) por meio de pontos fixos e transectos em oito remanescentes florestais com diferentes tamanhos (3-115ha) e históricos de degradação, e oito sítios amostrais localizados no interior das culturas agrícolas (quatro em pasto e quatro em cana-de-açúcar). Estes foram selecionados dentro de cinco unidades amostrais de uma paisagem tipicamente (16 km2) agrícola do Estado de São Paulo (Bacia do Rio Corumbataí). O índice de serviços ecossistêmicos de Ferraz et al. (2014) foi adotado como uma medida do grau de distúrbios antrópicos presente nos remanescentes florestais do qual leva em consideração a dinâmica e estrutura deles. Já as características das paisagens nas culturas agrícolas foram coletadas em duas escalas de análise (buffers circulares de 600 e 1000m) levando em consideração métricas que pudessem refletir uma maior heterogeneidade da paisagem. No total, 191 espécies foram observadas nos remanescentes florestais, enquanto que 137 nas culturas agrícolas. As aves com hábitos florestais, não-florestais, hábitos mistos florestais-não-florestais, pequenos insetívoros de sub-bosque, aves que forrageiam no estrato médio dos remanescentes, espécies endêmicas e ameaçadas foram os melhores indicadores ecológicos nos remanescentes. Estes grupos formaram a base de dados do Índice de Integridade Biótica (IIB) um método multimétrico que obteve um melhor desempenho em refletir a integridade existente nos remanescentes quando comparado com os níveis de sensibilidade a distúrbios antrópicos de Parker III et al. (1996), riqueza geral das assembleias e índice de diversidade de Shannon. Foram registradas 132 espécies nas pastagens enquanto que apenas 72 nos canaviais, sendo que tanto a riqueza geral quanto a abundância relativa de alguns grupos de aves foram explicadas pela variação na heterogeneidade da paisagem. Assim, conclui-se que métodos analíticos classicamente utilizados em ecologia podem apresentar falhas na avaliação ecológica de remanescentes de Mata Atlântica inseridos em paisagem antrópica, ocasionando interpretações errôneas. Novos métodos analíticos devem ser explorados, sendo o IIB um possível substituto. A diferença existente entre as assembleias de aves ocorrentes nas pastagens, (maior heterogeneidade) e nos canaviais (baixa heterogeneidade) indicam as consequências negativas que homogeneização da paisagem agrícola pode ocasionar à biodiversidade ocorrente nestas paisagens. / Because human-modified landscapes (HML) are dynamic and have structural complexity, continuous research is necessary to improve knowledge about the HML impacts on the biodiversity, as well as to provide knowledge of which current species may reflect the environmental conditions existing there. Thus, considering birds as sample of the HML existing biodiversity, the following thesis aimed to: 1) describe the bird assemblages of Atlantic Forest patches located in HML and bird assemblages of the interior of cattle pastures and sugar cane crops, 2) identify a proper bird analytical approach to assess the existing ecological integrity of forest patches in HML, 3) assess the effects of the landscape features (dynamic and structure) on the bird assemblages of forest patches in HML, 4) identify which landscapes features of both crops may exert influence on the bird assemblage composition of each crop. Bird sampling was performed monthly along one year (Nov 2011 - Nov 2012) in eight forest patches with different historical and size (3 - 115 ha), and eight sites located in the interior of each crop (four in cattle pasture and four in sugar cane), using point counts and transects. Five focal landscapes (16 km2) located in a typical HML of São Paulo state (Corumbataí river basin) were used to select these sampling sites. The rank of ecosystem services provisioning of Ferraz et al. (2014) was used as a measurement of the existing gradient of human disturbance in the forest patches, which was built through information about forest dynamic and structure. The landscape features of each crop were collected through two scale of analysis (circular buffers with 600 and 1000 radius meters) taking into account metrics that may represent the landscape heterogeneity. 191 species were observed in the forest patches while 137 in the crops. The forest birds, non-forest birds, birds with forest-non-forest habits, small understory-midstory insectivorous, species with foraging habits in the midstory strata, threatened and endemic species, were the best ecological indicators of the forest patches. These bird groups were used as database in the development of the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), a multimetric approach, which showed a better performance to indicate the existent integrity in the forest patches in comparison with \"sensitivity to disturbance\" of Parker III et al. (1996), total species richness and Shannon´s diversity index. 132 species were observed in cattle pastures while 72 in sugar cane. Both richness and relative abundance of some bird groups were explained by the landscape heterogeneity variation. Thus, it is possible to conclude that some classical birds analytical approaches may be flawed in the ecological assessment of Atlantic Forest patches inserted in HML. New analytical approaches should be explored, and the IBI is a possible alternative. The bird\'s assemblage differences between cattle pastures (high heterogeneity) and sugar cane (low heterogeneity) are an example of the negative consequences caused by the crops homogenization on the living biodiversity of agricultural landscapes.

This thesis, an environmental history of a selected number of Swedish military training environments, is based on observation of military landscapes with a permanent presence of military-related objects and activities, all of which leave their traces in the environment, and how continued military activity is legitimised with environmental arguments. By also observing military policies and documents, I look into how the Swedish military frame their own training environments, and how ‘environmentalist’ discourses is adopted to justify past and present activities. The military landscapes must also be considered in a wider context of geopolitics and security; hence I also include an historical analysis of military land appropriation and defense policy in Sweden. An important contribution with this thesis, besides provide a Swedish context to studies of military landscapes, lies also in testing a historical ecological framework in analyses and methods when approaching research on military landscapes, as I consider this thesis as a pilot-project on Swedish military landscapes providing incentives for further studies. The Swedish military landscapes studied in this thesis have both a centennial and decadal presence of military activities. Some training sites such as Marma and Revinge, which are also Natura 2000 areas, have had a military presence since the 19th century, and the various military structures and buildings promote a kind of military biography, an identity tied to landscapes, reinforcing military presence. The presentation of military sites as ecological refuges for rare species and habitats is evident in the management plans for the studied landscapes. The way military space is understood, legitimised and produced from the perspectives of the military policy level is, as I will argue, centred on two core motivations. First, it is that military presence in a landscape is the product of a militarisation processes, considering a geopolitical context and defense policies. The military presence has long-term effects in form of an alteration of physical nature and development of a high biodiversity. Second, the long-term positive effects, enhances an environmentalist discourse within the military when it comes to legitimise past and present military space, and to justify a continued military presence in a landscape. / Denna uppsats, en miljöhistoria av ett utvalt antal svenska militära övningsområden, är baserat på en observation av militära landskap med en permanent närvaro av militärrelaterade objekt och aktiviteter vilka lämnar sina spår i miljön, och hur fortsatt militär aktivitet legitimeras genom miljöargument. Jag analyserar militära riktlinjer och dokument, för att se på hur svensk militär förhåller sig till dess övningsområden, och hur diskurser om miljövård används för att motivera fortsatt militär aktivitet. De militära landskapen bör studeras i en större geopolitisk säkerhetskontext; därför inkluderar jag också en historisk studie av svensk försvarspolitik och militära markanskaffningar. En viktig insats med denna uppsats, förutom att bidra med en svensk kontext till militära landskapsstudier, är att testa ett historiskt-ekologiskt ramverk i analys och metod vid studier av militära landskap då jag anser att denna uppsats är ett pilot-projekt för militära landskapsstudier i Sverige och ger incitament till vidare forskning i ämnet.   De svenska militära landskapen som studeras här har upp till en hundraårig närvaro av militär aktivitet. Vissa övnings- och skjutfält såsom Marma och Revingehed, vilka också är Natura 2000- områden, har haft militär aktivitet sedan slutet av 1800- talet, och de varierande militära ytorna och byggnaderna främjar en militär biografi, en identitet knuten till landskapet, vilken förstärker fortsatt militär närvaro. Presentationen av de militära fälten som ekologiska refuger av sällsynta arter och habitat är uppenbar i skötsel- och vårdplanerna av de studerade landskapen. Sättet som det militära landskapet förstås, legitimeras och produceras ur militärperspektiv i policy och dokument är, som jag kommer argumentera, koncentrerade kring två faktorer. För det första, militär närvaro i ett landskap är ett resultat av en militariseringsprocess baserat på en geopolitisk kontext och försvarsbeslut. Militär närvaro har en långsiktig effekt i form av en förändring av den fysiska naturen och utvecklingen av en biologisk mångfald. För det andra, de långsiktiga positiva effekterna underbygger en naturvårdsdiskurs inom militären när det kommer till att motivera dåtida och nuvarande militär landskapsanvändning, och för att rättfärdiga en fortsatt militär närvaro.

Gas obtained from previously unexploited shale rock strata has emerged as an economically viable way of sourcing additional fossil fuel energy resources after the so-called ‘shale gas revolution’ in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the incumbent government has committed to the development of its own shale gas resources. A highly polarised public debate has erupted on the risks and rewards of extracting the shale gas deposits that presently lie underneath large swathes of the country using the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. This thesis examines how different groups in North West England – the major frontier of fracking in the UK – are contesting, resisting and negotiating the current government’s decision to sanction and push ahead towards the development a domestic shale gas industry. Employing a theoretical framework drawn from political ecology as its core mode of examination, this thesis utilises qualitative methods including in-depth interviews and participant observation techniques. It documents a range of social groupings that are contesting shale gas in the UK in a number of ways, and argues that landscapes and risk are fundamental hinges in this ongoing environmental conflict.

For decades, the peaks of Sharr Mountains had defined the border between two federal units of Former Yugoslavia, but after the political changes in Central and Eastern European Countries this massif became an intersected mountain. In this thesis work I saw of interest to analyze the status change from a massif unit as part of one state, to a cross-border mountain between two states and its affect on spatial development; - was there any cooperation on mountain management in the past; - how is the current mountain management proceeding on both sides; - which were the opportunities of cross-border cooperation in previous European experiences; - what can be expected from independent mountain side management on report to other side without any environmental assessment; and in the end to find and highlight the possible cross-border cooperation opportunities toward sustainability and eco-management of the Sharr Mountains in the future. / Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning DSP - Officer for International Cooperation Prishtina - Kosovo tel: + 381 38 517 712

Mémoire réalisé grâce à l'appui du Conseil de recherche en sciences humaines. / Ce mémoire porte sur les interrelations entre les dynamiques spatiale, mémorielle et identitaire dans Le premier jardin d’Anne Hébert et Surfacing de Margaret Atwood. Ainsi, on cherche à savoir comment les concepts d’espace et de lieu permettent de mieux comprendre les dynamiques mémorielles et identitaires en jeu dans les récits de retour. En s’appuyant sur une expérience commune, celle du retour au pays natal, nous étudierons comment les difficultés qu’éprouvent les personnages à se remémorer, à se situer, à habiter ou tout simplement à être sont liées à leur relation conflictuelle à l’espace. Même si elles sont tentées par l’oubli, le retour aux lieux de l’enfance impose aux protagonistes une mémoire sensorielle. Le retour montre également comment les êtres sont liés au lieu, voire façonnés par lui, et comment ils peuvent cependant agir en retour sur lui. Le désir d’exister à travers une identité cohérente en est aussi un d’habiter et d’appartenir à l’espace. Finalement, nous verrons comment il est possible de repenser l’espace du retour à partir de la notion de non-lieu d’Alexis Nouss. / This work examines the interrelations between space, memory and identity in Le premier jardin by Anne Hébert and Surfacing by Margaret Atwood. We seek to know how the concepts of space and place can provide a better understanding of the memory and identity dynamics involved in return narratives. Based on a common experience, that of returning to homeland, we will study how the characters’ difficulties in recalling, situating, living or simply being are linked to their conflictual relationship to space. Even if they are tempted by oblivion, the return to the places of childhood imposes on the protagonists a sensuous memory. The return also shows how beings are linked to place, even shaped by it, and how they can however act on it. The desire to exist through a coherent identity is also one of dwelling and belonging to space. Finally, we will see how Alexis Nouss’ concept of non-place of makes it possible to rethink the space of return.

Landscape is a heterogeneous collection of visibly distinct features of various elements of land and its various forms on the earth surface. Its pattern is subjected to disturbances and undergo rapid alterations in its grain sizes. The evolving patterns of landscape define and decide various parameters for the planning and management of resources. These dynamic systems possess both spatial and temporal complexity. Exploitation of natural resources and drastic land cover changes have given rise to significant impacts on ecosystem structure and dynamics. The functional abilities (bio-geo chemical cycling, hydrological cycling, etc.) of the landscape are basically dependent on the structure and its complexity. This necessitates inventorying, mapping and modeling of landscape dynamics. Patterns and scale are central issues that are essential to understand complex interactions and driving forces. Large scale changes have been rapid and occurring since industrialization and urbanisation in the last century. The exponential growth of cities has been noticed since the industrial revolution and as transport sector changed the mobility of the masses drastically. Urbanisation interacts with the neighboring landscape structures in the form of commuter’s flow, pollution, obtaining food grain, which create dispersed growth or sprawl in between the metropolis and the semi urban area, and these areas are often devoid of basic amenities due to lack of prior information and necessitates predictions of such growth while planning, policy and decision-making. Planning determines appropriate future action through a sequence of choices that tend to occur. To understand uncertain conditions, planners and city managers need vital comprehensive information about the temporally evolving landscape and try to predict the future, for effective decisions. The quality of planning and its decision processes can be substantially improved when the required information is handled appropriately and efficiently. This explains that an effective planning requires descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive information inputs for sustainable resource management. Therefore, modeling future trends becomes a necessary part of planning. Urban growth models help in modelling future trends that can be an efficient and effective support tool. In recent years, the confluence of developments in Remote sensing, Geographic Information System and Image processing, Computational Urban Growth and Urban Land-use Modeling has made possible in timely provision of information inputs to planners. In the context of Indian cities, this research attempts to study the patterns of urban growth and the rate of change of that growth using various techniques such as Land use, land cover models, Gradient and zonal approach, spatial metrics and urban growth models. Indian cities are divided based on population into various categories. These categories were considered separately and dealt with sample number of cities. This works helps in understanding the change pattern of rapidly urbanising, moderately urbanising and rural landscape is accomplished using various metrics and gradients. The research, is mainly aimed at understanding the pattern of growth and device computational urban growth model using well known techniques and develop a suitable technique in order to understand the context of agents and their role in modelling future urban growth and estimate the rate of loss of other land use categories due to urban growth. Satellite images for different time series was used to study the pattern of urban growth in the study areas. Well know indicators were derived from the data. This was further used to model one of the rapidly urbanising cities based on scenario no agents/factor and with agents of growth using city development plans and in absence of it. This adaptation to Indian context will help in gaining better understanding of the urban growth system in various levels of cities classified, and thus help in providing inputs and specific information of future growth for urban planners and city managers to provide better basic amenities and for sustainable growth of cities. The objective of the proposed research is to understand and model the spatio temporal patterns of landscape dynamics. This involves i. Analysis of Landscape dynamics using multi-resolution (spatial, temporal and spectral) data. ii. Quantifying landscape dynamics using landscape metrics and associated landscape parameters. iii. Modeling and geo-visualisation of landscape dynamics in rapidly urbanizing, moderately urbanising and rural landscape using these parameters. iv. Model the landscape dynamics using soft computing techniques. The thesis consists of nine chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the basic concepts such as landscape, landscape dynamics, use of spatio-temporal data to monitor landscape dynamics, geo-visualisation of landscape dynamics, research gaps and motivation for taking up the research in this domain. Chapter 2 presents the study region, which are broadly grouped as (i) Rapidly urbanizing landscapes (corresponding to Tier I Cities in India), (ii) Moderately urbanizing landscapes (Tier II cities, chosen select Tier II cities in Karnataka), and (iii) Landscape experiencing minimal urbanisation (rural landscape). Chapter 3 discusses the material and method adopted for understanding landscape dynamics and geo-visualisation of landscape dynamics Chapter 4 presents the landscape dynamics in rapidly urbanizing landscape (Bangalore) in India. Spatial pattern analyses are done through metrics using zonal- gradient approach. Chapter 5 analyses the environmental sustainability aspects considering one case study of rapidly urbanizing landscape – Bangalore Chapter 6 discusses urbanisation process and patterns across macro cities in India. Similarly Chapter 7 discusses the urbanisation pattern in Tier II cities (in Karnataka) and Chapter 8 presents the rural landscape dynamics Geo-visualisation of a rapidly urbanizing landscape (Bangalore) through techniques such as Cellular Automata – Markov Chain, land change modeler (LCM), Geographical land use change modeler (GEOMOD), Markov Cellular automata based process of deriving agent’s behavior using Fuzziness in the dataset and Analytical Hierarchal process. Further research in progress in this domain focusses on integration of various agents and evaluation of proposed development plans and likely scenario of integrating land use with mobility. Keyword: landscape, landscape dynamics, urbanisation, urban growth, urban sprawl, urban footprint, modelling, geo-visualisation

Les comportements de dispersion, c'est-À-Dire les mouvements conduisant à des flux de gènes dans l'espace, jouent un rôle majeur dans de nombreux processus écologiques et évolutifs. Les Gastéropodes terrestres sont des hermaphrodites simultanés dont le mouvement est extrêmement coûteux, une combinaison de traits très intéressante pour étudier les liens entre dispersion et autres traits d'histoire de vie. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons étudié (i) les relations complexes entre dispersion, croissance, reproduction mâle et femelle chez le petit-Gris Cornu aspersum, un escargot anthropophile, (ii) comment la dispersion et le comportement exploratoire de cette espèce varient en fonction de la compétition ressentie et de l'hétérogénéité environnementale, (iii) comment la propension à disperser coévolue avec d'autres traits à l'échelle interspécifique. Cornu aspersum passe par une phase subadulte mâle de durée variable avant de devenir adulte et hermaphrodite. Le comportement de dispersion s'exprime principalement pendant cette phase subadulte, et sa diminution chez les adultes est liée à l'accroissement de l'investissement dans la fonction femelle. Cette espèce disperse de façon très densité-Dépendante : les individus quittent les sites à haute densité et s'installent dans ceux peu peuplés, une stratégie qui facilite la colonisation et la persistance en environnements instables. La propension à explorer augmente en environnements urbains fragmentés, malgré les coûts plus élevés du mouvement. Au niveau interspécifique, dispersion et généralisme sont liés, ce qui rend les espèces spécialistes doublement vulnérables, mais facilite le succès des généralistes en milieux hétérogènes. Cette combinaison de traits a probablement joué un rôle majeur dans la colonisation de nombreux milieux anthropisés par cette espèce à travers le monde. / Dispersal behaviours, i.e. movements leading to gene flow in space, play a key role in many ecological and evolutionary processes. Terrestrial gastropods are simultaneous hermaphrodites and have an extremely high cost of locomotion, a seldom studied combination of traits which makes them very valuable to investigate the links between dispersal and other life-History traits. During this project, we investigated (i) the complex relationships and trade-Offs between dispersal behaviour, growth, male and female reproduction in the anthropophilous brown garden snail Cornu aspersum, (ii) how its dispersal and exploration vary as a function of competition and environmental heterogeneity, (iii) how dispersal ability coevolved with other traits at the interspecific level. This snail presents a male-Biased subadult phase of varying duration before reaching adulthood and hermaphroditism. Dispersal behavior was mostly expressed during this subadult stage, and its decrease in adults was linked to investment in the female function. Brown garden snail dispersal is highly density-Dependant: snails leave crowded sites and settle readily in low-Density patches, a strategy that facilitates colonization and persistence in spatio-Temporally variable environments. Their movement propensity increases in urban, fragmented habitats, despite the higher costs of movement. At the interspecific level, dispersal and ecological generalism are linked in a dispersal syndrome, which makes specialist species doubly vulnerable, but increases success odds of generalists in heterogeneous landscapes . This combination of traits is likely to have played a major role in the successful worldwide colonization of many anthropogenic landscapes by this species.