Although deforestation remains widespread in the tropics, many places are now experiencing significant forest recovery, offering an optimistic outlook for natural ecosystem recovery and carbon sequestration. Natural forest regeneration is a key component of global ecosystem restoration scenarios. Regenerated forests, however, may not persist so a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of forest persistence in the tropics is critical to ensure the success reforestation efforts and carbon sequestration targets. Furthermore, the maintenance of native forests, including young second-growth ones, is essential for the continuous provision of a myriad of ecosystem services that we, as a society, rely on. More specifically, native forests play a crucial role in watershed protection and forest cover loss via changes in land use can lead to deterioration of water quality. Ensuring a sufficient and adequate supply of water for humans and ecosystems is a pressing environmental challenge and land use decisions can severely degrade stream water quality and compromise water supply. This dissertation focusses on two pressing current issues, the dynamics of tropical forest regeneration and the effects of land use on water resources. First, I use a long-term series of detailed land cover data to study forest cover trajectories and persistence of regenerated forest in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF), a restoration hotspot. Secondly, I use 20 years of stream water quality data combined with land cover information to investigate the effects of land cover composition on water resources in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. In Chapter 1, I investigate forest cover trajectories in 3,014 municipalities and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of forest regeneration in the AF. I found that deforestation reversals were the prevalent trend in the region (38%) but concomittant reforestation reversals (13%) suggest that these short-term increases in native forest cover do not necessarily translate into persistent trends, which limited carbon sequestration from reforestation to less than one third of its potential. In Chapter 2, I quantify forest regeneration in the AF and study its persistence. I mapped over 4.47 Mha of native forest regeneration in the region between 1985 and 2019, of which, two thirds persisted until 2019 (3.1 Mha). The relatively low persistence of second-growth forests suggests a rapid turnover of regrowing forests under certain conditions. In Chapter 3, I combine stream water quality data with detailed and land cover information to investigate the effects of landscape composition on the quality of water resources in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. I found that human dominated watersheds had lower overall water quality when compared to conserved ones, with urban cover showing the most detrimental impacts on water quality, while forest cover was associated with a better overall water quality across the studied watersheds. Finally, in Chapter 4, I examine temporal changes in water quality and their association with land use and sewage treatment also in the state of São Paulo. I show that a large proportion of stream water samples failed to meet legal thresholds for at least one water quality metric and that urbanization and agricultural activity led to deterioration of water quality over time, while sewage treatment infrastructure was an important factor in improving water quality. Overall, my dissertation underscores the importance of developing policies that promote second-growth forest persistence to ensure the success of future restoration efforts. It also highlights the need to need to plan and manage landscapes to improve water quality and reduce the growing costs of water treatment, including restoring native forest cover, which is a cost-effective intervention to sustain adequate water quality.

Geographic Information System (GIS) is “an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information” (ESRI, 1997a). The Natural Resources Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, hereafter NRM, was one of the early users of GIS technology. Although GIS was primarily used as an educational tool, it was also used for cataloging and displaying resource information for management planning and research projects. As the computing technology advanced, GIS became more powerful and easier to use. NRM faculty and students realized that GIS is the best tool to manage spatial information. In addition, GIS can also manage temporal data. While we are proud of past achievements using GIS, its future prospects for managing time and space information promise even more exciting possibilities and tangible benefits. This scholarly project is a compilation of GIS achievements in NRM.

Despite the increased frequency of natural and man-made disasters, there is a problem in the level of preparedness of emergency managers, responders, and citizens to address them. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore the factors that affect these groups' preparedness to inform the development of better emergency plans to handle emergency incidences. The conceptual framework for the study was knowledge management, which was used with a grounded theory approach. The study was guided by primary research questions that focused on understanding psychological, material, temporal, organizational, and other factors that affect the preparedness of emergency managers, first responders, and citizens, and on identifying measures for improving those levels of preparedness. Interview data were collected from a purposeful sample of emergency managers (n = 11), first responders (n = 26), and citizens (n = 26) from South Carolina who had experienced disasters. Secondary data from 6 disasters, 3 emergency operations plans, and 2 standard operating procedure guides were also collected. The constant comparative method was used to analyze data, informing the development of a theory that suggests emergency managers, first responders, and citizens must act collaboratively to prepare for and respond more effectively to disasters, in addition to their independent work. This study promotes positive social change by providing emergency management agencies with information necessary for developing better emergency preparedness plans, thus reducing the personal and economic impact of future disasters.

In 2014, only 48% of S&P companies scored high-performance band B ratings and above in their Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports to attract the interest of institutional investors holding U.S. $92 trillion plus assets under management. This multiple case study explored the business leaders' strategic decisions to improve the performance band ratings in the companies' CDP reports. The conceptual framework for this study was stakeholder theory, which suggests that businesses should incorporate the interest of institutional investors to minimize the climate-related risks that could affect their investment decisions. The target population for this study was business leaders from S&P 500 companies in the eastern United States who have experience in making strategic decisions to improve performance band ratings in the CDP reports. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 4 business leaders and an exploration of company archival documents related to carbon management. Using Yin's data analysis method 5 themes emerged: governance, risk management, target and initiatives, measurement and verification, and transparency and disclosure. These themes highlighted companies' governing strategies for better carbon management, which are essential in achieving better performance band ratings in the CDP reports to attract the interest of intuitional investors. Better carbon management by S&P 500 companies will facilitate a positive social change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are detrimental to human health and well-being of its stakeholders.

Hotel guests can use 2 to 3 times more water than community residents. Hotels are water-intensive businesses, and water scarcity presents a pressing problem for managers who rely on an uninterrupted supply of water to meet guests' needs and maintain profitability. Using the resource-based view (RBV) as a conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that hotel managers used to successfully maintain adequate water supplies in the Spanish Canary Islands, an historically arid site and a tourism destination. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and hotel water usage reports. Yin's 5-step approach of examining, categorizing, tabulating, testing, and recombining evidence to draw conclusions guided the data analysis. Four key themes emerged from the findings: value water as a strategic business resource, mitigate risks of natural resources scarcity, promote water efficiency and conservation, and sustain supplies through corporate water stewardship. This study may contribute to positive social change by illuminating processes that hotel managers, employees, guests, and partners, can take to improve environmental stewardship and align their practices with sustainable water governance.

Cougar (Puma concolor) predation has been identified as being one of several factors contributing to the decline of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) throughout the Western United States. In order to better understand how these elusive felines utilize their surroundings and prey, I examined and analyzed cougar predation behavior in North-Central Utah, using global positioning systems (GPS) data from 2002-2010. Twenty-three cougars were fitted with GPS collars and monitored for prey caching behavior. In total 775 potential cache sites were visited and 546 prey remains found. Mule deer comprised the majority of prey at cougar cache sites, but 11 other species were also found. Collectively, adult female mule deer were killed more than any other demographic class. Proportionally there was no difference in the sex or age class of deer killed by cougars in three different population segments, but seasonal differences were found in the number of kills made between cougar groups. Female cougars with kittens had a higher predation rate than males or solitary females, and seasonally more kills were made in the winter vs. summer. Cougars spent an average of 3.3 days on deer kills, and 6.2 days on elk kills. Habitat analyses suggested that cougars preferentially used Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) over other land cover types when caching prey, as well as selected unburned over burned areas for caching and foraging on prey. These results suggest that cougars utilize dense stands of vegetation cover when stalking and concealing their prey. Wildlife managers may want to consider the use of prescribed burns in areas of high cougar predation on mule deer. This habitat manipulation tool could simultaneously help mule deer populations by reducing the percent of stalking cover afforded to cougars when attempting to kill prey, along with increasing nutrient levels of newly burned foliage and allow for an increased diversity in forb and shrub species available to mule deer.

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus: hereafter sharp-tailed grouse) populations have been declining. These declines have been attributed to a number of factors, including habitat loss due to agriculture, habitat fragmentation, overgrazing by livestock, and the loss to fire. To gather information about their status in northern Utah, I radio-marked sharp-tailed grouse in 2003 (n=15) and 2004 (n=20) in two research areas. The study areas were located on the south end of Cache County and in eastern Box Elder County. In the Cache study area, I monitored 7 males and 1 female in 2003, and 6 males and 3 females in 2004. In the Box Elder study area, I monitored 6 males in 2003 and 6 males and 5 females in 2004. I then located the radio-marked sharp-tailed grouse using telemetry and collected Visual Obstruction Readings (VOR) and vegetation data on each flush site and on a randomly selected paired point. I completed an unsupervised classification of the two study areas to determine if habitats were used more than would be expected based on availability. I then used a paired point linear regression to determine if vegetation parameters were correlated with sharp-tailed grouse on the landscape. Sagebrush in the Box Elder County study area and forbs in the Cache County study area were significantly correlated with habitat use by sharp-tailed grouse. The VOR readings were higher at the flush sites than at the paired points. The unsupervised classification showed that in Box Elder County, sagebrush was used in greater proportion than is available, while in the Cache County study area there were no habitat types that were used in greater proportion than was available on the landscape. I collected information on nest sites, nest success, broods, and mortality of these 2 populations. Nest success was 75% combined over the 2-year study, and mortality was 72% for both populations over the 2 years. Seasonal habitat use and distance travelled were determined using Global Positioning System points collected at every flush point. The distance traveled ranged from 0.9 km to 14.7 km, with the longest distance being travelled in the winter.

No description available.

Following catastrophic exploitation throughout the North Atlantic, breeding seabird populations have begun to recover thanks to regulatory protection and restoration and management efforts. As bird populations increase, new challenges emerge, including overgrowth of vegetation that limits the open nesting habitat favored by most tern species. Though managers have used a variety of measures to reduce vegetation cover, these techniques have rarely been quantified or compared experimentally. During the summers of 2009 and 2010, I applied two different techniques, controlled burning and artificial weed barriers (muslin fabric and artificial turf) to experimental plots on Eastern Egg Rock and Outer Green Island, near-shore seabird nesting islands in mid-coastal Maine. I then monitored vegetation regrowth and use by nesting terns to assess the effectiveness of these techniques for opening and maintaining Common Tern nesting habitat during a full breeding season, comparing treated plots to vegetated control plots and existing tern nesting habitat. Burned areas did not remain open for the full nesting season, but regrew shortly after laying, leading to near-complete nest failure in these plots. Tern nest and fledging success was similar in weed barrier (1.37 chicks/pair) and untreated tern nesting habitat (1.38 chicks/pair) plots. Replacement of existing vegetation, tested at a limited scale on Outer Green Island, did not succeed. These three techniques represent only a small fraction of vegetation management techniques used throughout the North Atlantic region. Through literature review and consultation with North Atlantic colony managers, I collected information on vegetation management on 34 tern nesting islands between 33 and 55° N latitude and developed a summary of different vegetation control techniques used. I identified 14 technique types suitable for use in nesting colonies: i.e., that can be applied before and after (but not during) the nesting period of May-July, that do not cause destructive impacts to the surrounding ecosystem, and that involve materials and labor that can be transported to inaccessible offshore islands. Of these techniques, 8 created usable tern nesting habitat for a full breeding season, and the most successful techniques required constructing habitat over existing vegetation. The success of different methods depended heavily on the plant communities and soil types involved. In general, vegetation management options were more limited and less successful for elevated, rocky islands than for low, sandy islands. Often, techniques that successfully removed one species or group of species (i.e., perennial grasses) failed due to rapid colonization by other species (i.e., herbaceous annuals). This review of past and ongoing vegetation management techniques used on seabird nesting islands, including their costs, methods for application, and effectiveness, provides seabird managers a reference when evaluating current and future vegetation management programs.

The multiple-objective exploratory study investigates effects of various silvicultural management regimes commonly applied to coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forests in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, California, USA. A temporary forest inventory was installed in 24 harvest origin stands and 4 natural origin stands throughout the study area (sample area = 1189 acres). Data from the systematic sample of 233 one-quarter acre nested cluster plots (sample intensity = 4.9%) rendered overall forest descriptions in terms of species composition, density, and structure. The common forestry measures of trees per acre (TPA), basal area per acre (BA), and quadratic mean diameter (QMD) were calculated from the "snapshot" data and stratified by species groups and diameter ranges/canopy layers. Forest components were derived from the dataset by selecting specific groups within the forest as defined by the California Forest Practice Rules, literature, and common forestry groups (refer to the table below). An example of a forest component would be TPA of conifers from 2.1-14.0 inches DBH. In all, 162 forest components were analyzed through three research objectives: (1) general forest components, (2) small stem density and distribution, and (3) large stem density. The driving question behind the analysis is whether forest management is creating significantly different forest structure. If so, in which components of forest composition, density, and structure do those differences reside? A mixed-effects linear model tested overall significance and Fisher's Least Significant Difference (LSD) method tested pairwise comparisons among the six management regimes. Each model was tested with a significance level of alpha = 0.05 (pairwise and experimentwise). A fourth objective compared two methods of late successional forest (LSF) classification based on QMD measures of canopy layers and diameter ranges. The methods were compared via a paired-sample t-test. The two methods are significantly different, but the investigation of LSF classification led to an examination of the validity of current LSF policy. It is suggested that the minimum overstory QMD for LSF classification be increased from 24.0 to at least 30.0 inches DBH. Furthermore, it is recommended that landowner incentives should be implemented by the State of California to encourage promotion of LSF and its functional elements. An underlying theme of all research objectives in this study is an examination of forest restoration management. Restoration management is intentional treatments that begin or accelerate recovery of a degraded ecosystem in regards to its integrity and sustainability relative to a reference condition, often defined culturally, historically, or ecologically (Society for Ecological Restoration 2004, Hobbs 2004, Hobbs and Norton 1996, Stanturf 2005). Results and conclusions were synthesized to discuss current restoration efforts in the redwoods. Recommendations for target stand densities and silvicultural methods are presented.