This study illustrates a utilization-focused program evaluation approach newly applied to resource management. The Alberta Riparian Habitat Management (Cows and Fish) Program provides awareness programming to cattle producers to facilitate community-based action on riparian issues. The rationale is to develop producers' ecological literacy by increasing riparian knowledge and use of sustainable grazing management strategies by sharing appropriate ecological and management information. Attitude change is presumed to underlie the new behaviour(s). Programming contributed to ecological literacy when it was community-based, producer-positive and partnership-oriented, and when opportunities existed for personal interaction among peers. Effectiveness declined when resources were insufficient and when programming seemed unrelated to local landscape or operational features. The attitude-behaviour relationship was weakly associated with ecological literacy; its complexity and relevance to ecological behaviours merits further investigation. Program evaluation is of utility in resource management. Its potential will be fully realized by ensuring that research designs appropriately parallel programming rationale and evaluation requirements. / ix, 316 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Conservation of streams involves an understanding of their physical , chemical and biological entities. SASS5 is a biomonitoring method developed to monitor the habitat quality of a water body. It is based on differential scores attributed to various macroinvertebrate families with varying degrees of sensitivity to anthropogenic impact. This method , however, does not assess impacts on particular species. Odonata are good candidates for study at the species level as they are well researched and males are easily identified . As adults, they are known to be sensitive indicators of both riparian and river conditions. Yet Odonata cannot be an umbrella taxon for all other taxa . Therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine the complementarity of the two metrics (Odonata assemblages and SASS5), establishing whether Odonata assemblages offer additional information on, or insight into, riverine habitat quality as portrayed by SASS5. To accomplish this, certain objectives were addressed . 1) The variation of SASS5 scores and 2) Odonata assemblages between river systems, structural habitat types (open or closed canopies) and compositional habitat types (indigenous or alien vegetation). 3) Whether SASS5 scores vary to the same extent, and, 4) on the same spatial scale (river system and point localities) as Odonata abundance and species richness . The relationship between these two metrics was determined along three rivers in the Pietermaritzburg basin. Sampling units (SUs) with extremes in vegetation structure (sunlight and shaded SUs) and vegetation composition (alien or indigenous) were selected. Using this range of environmental conditions placed environmental extremes on the macroinvertebrate populations at point localities and having three different river systems added the dimension of variation over a broader scale, thus stretching the two metrics to investigate whether both responded similarly or in different ways. Results indicated that both metrics provide a similar portrait of overall river conditions. At the smaller spatial scale, the Odonata assemblage, unlike SASS, was highly sensitive to the riparian vegetation. Odonata species were less sensitive to vegetation composition but differentially sensitive to vegetation structure. However, landscape context is also important, with point localities being affected by the neighboring dominant habitat type. Larval Odonata alone did not provide this information. Overall, aquatic macroinvertebrates and adult Odonata provide a highly complementary pair of metrics that together provide large spatial scale (river system) and small spatial scale (point localities) information on the level of impact of stressors such as riparian invasive alien trees. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The focus of this mini-dissertation is the use of riparian buffer zones to manage nitrate pollution of water resources. Riparian buffer zones are vegetated areas adjacent to streams, lakes and rivers, that are managed to enhance and protect aquatic resources from the adverse impacts of agricultural practices. These zones are recognised globally for their function in water quality amelioration. Despite the growing literature, there is little consensus on how to design, assess and manage these riparian buffer zones specifically for nitrate attenuation. For the purpose of this mini-dissertation, a literature review of world-wide research into the nitrate attenuation efficiencies of riparian buffer zones was undertaken. A database was created using the key information from this literature. Two key processes responsible for immobilising and/or removing nitrate from surface and subsurface flows are generally recognised in the available literature, namely: vegetative uptake and the process of denitrification. A comparison of the available riparian studies indicated that there are similar characteristics in riparian buffer zones that may be responsible for enhancing these key mechanisms. Studies where there was shallow lateral subsurface or uniform surface water delivery pathways, vegetation of close structure and composition, high organic matter in the soils and fluctuating soil surface saturation rates showed the most significant nitrate attenuation efficiencies. The mini-dissertation proposes that these similarities can be used to both assess a riparian landscape for its potential to attenuate nitrate, and to size a riparian buffer zone specifically to meet this function. A set of proposed guidelines based on the findings of the dissertation attempt to illustrate how riparian pollution control recommendations can be achieved. These guidelines are an example of how to assist a farmer or similar landowner in achieving good nitrate removal efficiencies from a riparian buffer zone. The guidelines work through three steps, which help to establish and prioritise management zones, assess each zone's potential for nitrate attenuation, and determine adequate riparian buffer widths for each management zone. A case study was used to illustrate the practical application of the guidelines. Full testing of these guidelines was not within the scope of this mini-dissertation, however the guidelines are an indication of how information regarding riparian function can be applied to a system to determine effective management of water resources. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002

Riparian management in the Pacific Northwest has become an Increasingly common way to conserve biodiversity on landscapes managed for timber production. The efficacy of two different riparian buffer widths in providing habitat for terrestrial amphibians was assessed using a Before-After-Control-Impact approach. My findings suggest that there is no global response by terrestrial amphibians to logging or to the retention of riparian management zones in the US Pacific Northwest. Rather, species showed individual responses that varied over time and between treatments and transects. Overall, a minimum riparian buffer width of 30 m was sufficient to maintain the relative abundance and richness of terrestrial amphibians at levels commensurate with pre-harvest conditions. A co-inertia analysis revealed that habitat associations changed little over time and that there were no significant differences between buffered sites suggesting that the treatments applied were biologically insignificant. The benefits of retaining riparian forest are identified and discussed in the context of maintaining biodiversity and conserving terrestrial amphibians in western Washington.

Land use practices over the last 200 years have dramatically altered the distribution and amount of riparian vegetation throughout many catchments in Australia. This has lead to a number of negative impacts including a decrease in water quality, an increase in sediment transport and a decrease in the quality of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The task of restoring the functions of riparian zones is an enormous one and requires spatial and temporal prioritisation. An analysis of the existing and historical functions of riparian zones and their spatial distribution is a major aid to this process and will enable efficient use of remediation resources. The approach developed in this thesis combines remote sensing, field measurement and terrain analysis to describe the distribution of five riparian zone functions: sediment trapping, bank stabilization, denitrification, stream shading and large woody debris production throughout a large semi-arid catchment in central Queensland.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: James E. Pizzuto, Dept. of Geological Sciences. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--George Mason University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-207).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / Vita. "Salamanders in the Appalachian region have been extensively studied, but the majority of research assessing the impacts of logging has focused on terrestrial species that are not dependent on stream habitats for egg deposition or larval development. I have collected data on both larval and adult salamanders in headwater streams in western North Carolina to determine the impacts of even-aged timber harvest on salamander populations and to assess the efficacy of riparian buffers in ameliorating these effects. My data show that larval two-lined salamanders are negatively impacted by increased stream sedimentation following riparian logging and that increasing the riparian buffer around the stream reduces sedimentation effects; larval black-bellied salamanders were not significantly affected by riparian alteration. Adult and juvenile salamanders dependent on terrestrial habitat were also affected; seal salamander densities were significantly higher in streams with little to no riparian buffer while Ocoee salamanders were significantly less abundant. It is unlikely that salamanders will persist or thrive for more than a season or two in logged forests due to a significant deterioration in body condition of Ocoee salamanders in logged riparian areas. My results indicate that current riparian forest conservation measures are inadequate to preserve either larval or adult salamander populations." -- leaves xi-xii. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-43). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 1995. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [135]-151).