Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-105).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-122).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Abstract On June 23, 2009, the Ministry of the Interior approved the proposal of Kaohsiung County and City to merge. The merger of Greater Kaohsiung Municipality which will take place on December 25, 2010 has finally been actualized after 20 years of waiting for Kaohsiung residents. The merger of Kaohsiung County and City will have a positive influence on regional development and competitive strength. The population will reach 2,770,000 with an area of 2,946 square kilometers after the merger. This merger will endow Greater Kaohsiung with substantial strength to compete with other cities in the world. At present, Kaohsiung City is unable to further develop its transportation systems due to insufficient land, although it already possesses a convenient traffic network consisting of an international harbor and airport, the high-speed rail, Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System and Taiwan Railways. Fortunately, Kaohsiung County possesses extensive land, industrial foundations and abundant natural resources. The integration of Kaohsiung City and County will empower the development of Greater Kaohsiung. As the merger of Kaohsiung County and City has been approved, the aim of this study is to examine how real estate developers and people who are fond of purchasing leisure cottages with the rural landscape make good use a new setting and conditions after the merger, to develop and/or select ideal leisure cottages with the rural landscape in terms of a convenient traffic network, the picturesque landscape, and a superior geographical environment based up a reasonable price, extensive leisure facilities and other criteria. The study provides real estate developers with an understanding of selection criteria in leisure cottages with the rural landscape through the ranking of seven factors (quality control, price, convenient transportation network, geographical environment, leisure facilities, landscape and cottage characteristics) by discussing three selected construction projects of leisure cottages with the rural landscape located in Greater Kaohsiung (He Fong Ting, Meinung-Moonlight Villa and Da Kuai Shan Hu). The respondents include: 1) three government officials: Mr. Jhong-Yuan Su, Deputy Director-general of Tourism & Traffic Department of Kaohsiung County; Mr. Siao-Jhih Yang, Chief of Agriculture Section of Meinung Township Office; and Mr. Wun-Hao Wu, Board Director of Landscape Engineering Association of Kaohsiung City; 2) three industrial representatives: Mr. Jin-Tong Lin, President of Moonlight Villa; Mr. Cing-Rong Chen, President of Ever Top Construction of Developing Enterprise; and Mr. Jin-Chih Wang, Project Manager of Meinung Cing Jing Villa; 3) three academic representatives: Mr. Sin-Jing Huang, Chairperson of Department of Horticulture, National Chiatung Agricultural Vocational Senior School; Mr. Lian-Bao Chen, Instructor of Department of Sport, Health & Leisure, Cheng Shiu University; and Architect Mr. Wei-Jhe Chen; 4) three consumer representatives for each of three selected construction projects in Greater Kaohsiung. A total of 18 respondents from four categories receive an in-depth interview to collect qualitative and quantitative data to analyze and to further understand the selection criteria on developing leisure cottages with the rural landscape in Greater Kaohsiung. Keywords: rural landscape, leisure cottage, Greater Kaohsiung, key factor.

This thesis examines how changes to rural places and landscapes are experienced by residents and incorporated into place attachments and identities over time. It does so through exploring findings from seventy-eight qualitative, ‘emplaced’, oral history interviews in three English villages: Mullion (Cornwall); Askam and Ireleth (Cumbria); and Martham (Norfolk). These villages are located near to at least one existing windfarm, which – as an example of rural change - provides a common focus for the research. The research is informed by a ‘middle-ground’ theoretical approach that considers discursive and experiential aspects of people-environment relationships and pays particular attention to how engagements with the past are enrolled in shaping experiences of landscape, place and change. Attitudes towards rural place-change are identified as being shaped by four complex, relational facets, viz: i) discursive interpretations of rural place, (post)nature and temporality; ii) experiential factors; iii) assessments of utility; and iv) local contexts. The thesis draws these together into a conceptual framework that helps guide analyses of place-change experiences. The framework’s value is demonstrated through applying it to the example of windfarms. The results reveal perceptions to be complex and multifarious but suggest that changes can be incorporated into place attachments and identities so long as highly-valued place assets are not harmed. The research makes a valuable contribution to geography by enhancing understandings about everyday rural lives and experiences; and revealing parallels between academic and lay discourses about landscape, ‘nature’ and place-temporality. It also adds to the considerable literature on perceptions of renewable energy by providing insights into attitudes towards windfarms at the post-construction, rather than proposal, stage.

Niche market cropping can be a source of economic development to economically depressed rural areas. The thesis takes place in the four counties of Wise, Russell, Scott and Dickenson and this study region is used to develop the ideas of limited regional competition, and product diversity for niche cropping enterprises. These ideas create an identity for the region that reflects upon the farms and the products they produce. This thesis is intended to be a tool for county extension agents and economic development professionals to use in the pursuit of guiding small farmers and land-owners into successful niche cropping enterprises. Case studies within Wise County demonstrate the income potentials of these enterprises. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Ce travail de recherche est résultat d’une collaboration active entre les deux écoles d’architecture de Toulouse et le DICAAR de Cagliari qui explore la relation entre le paysage rural et le projet d’architecture. La choix d’une thèse qui se focalise sur le cas d’étude “local” se détache de la dimension de l’individu particulier, encarré comme cas typique de la Méditerranée, espace de condensation de nouvelles dynamiques agricoles liées au déplacement d’intérêt de la ville au village, avec les changements climatiques et ses influences sur l’architecture et les cultures constructives locales. La Sardaigne est un cas de recherche intéressant, soit pour la variété de son territoire, soit pour les changements climatiques qui voient une radicalisation progressive des conditions de l’intermittence de l’eau. La lecture des principes traditionnels de gestion de l’eau devient la base pour définir les instructions du projet qui doit comprendre la prévention des risques et la production de nouveaux espaces pour la campagne grâce à des techniques de gestion de l’eau. Les cas choisis sont situés sur les quatre rivières les plus importantes de la Sardaigne, qui ont été soumis à des phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes. Les projets sont basés sur la notion de temps, en particulier de la réversibilité de l’intervention, et de la définition de dispositifs légers. Dans la dernière section on résume une matrice des bonnes pratiques et des lignes directrices pour la gestion de l’eau et la gestion des terres qui est basée sur l’identification et l’analyse des questions critiques, le projet d’action qui utilise les technologies et la définition des espaces de qualité. Le projet doit se baser sur un concept de développement durable qui regarde une architecture qui se auto-soutiens, un projet de paysage qui peut produire par soi-même les ressources nécessaires. / This research is the result of an active collaboration between the two schools of architecture of Toulouse and the DICAAR of Cagliari, which explores the relationship between the rural landscape and the project. The research deals with architecture design in weak contexts, exploring the possibilities offered by water techniques in rural areas. The field survey is Sardinia, characterized by a difficult relationship with water, caused by intermittence that generates problems like drought and flooding. It is necessary to understand the rules of water and land management in order to develop a new operational line on the territory. Reflecting on traditional techniques in terms of standards intends to understand the primary management rules to be applied in the contemporary project, the construction details of the scale, but also on thescale of the urban network and territory, useful for the identification, prevention and management of risks. Reading the principles of management becomes the basis for defining project instructions which must include risk prevention and the production of new areas for the campaign through water management techniques. Selected case studies are located on the four most important rivers of Sardinia, which have historically been subjected to extreme weather events. The projects are based on the notion of time, in particular the reversibility of the intervention, with the construction of an abacus of good practices and new architectures based on the identification and analysis of critical issues, the action project that usestechnologies and the definition of quality spaces. The matrix reflects on a series of projects that addressed the relationship between technology and landscape in complex climatic conditions. The project must be based on a concept of sustainable development that looks at a self-supporting architecture, a landscape project that can produce by itself the resources.

This diploma thesis deals with a proposal and evaluation of stream restoration measures as an effective tool to achieve good ecological status within the requirements of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/ES. The main aim of this diploma thesis is to propose stream restoration measures at the Lišanský Brook based on evaluation of hydromorphological status, analysis of land-use changes and anthropogenic modification of the river basin, runoff and water quality assessment. Attention is also paid to the evaluation of the restoration measures in the selected localities on Botič and Litovický Brook. The main method used for the design and assessment of stream restoration measures is a field survey using the HEM methodology (Langhammer, 2014). Land-use analysis and stream adjustment analysis are based on available historical maps. Based on the results, Lišanský Brook is evaluated as moderately modified. The entire river basin is an intensively farmed landscape that has been affected by inappropriate anthropogenic modifications. To improve the current unsuitable stream conditions, it would be convenient to apply complete restoration measures on Lišanský Brook. Keywords: Stream, restoration, habitat, diversity, urban area, rural landscape

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

The Alnö Complex is a Late Precambrian alkaline and carbonatite intrusion (c. 30km2) into Early Proterozoic country rock that extends from the north east, to the north western shoulder of Alnö Island. Carbonatites are rare among volcanic provinces, with Oldoinyo Lengai of northern Tanzania being the only active carbonatite volcano in the world today. The high carbonate mineral volumes and rare earth element (REE) concentrations of carbonatites, in combination with the intrusive-extrusive nature of their suites contribute to the rarity of these rocks. Carbonatites, through their peculiar petrological and geochemical compositions, provide vital insights to the composition and condition of the Earth’s mantle. The genesis of the Alnö carbonatites and their relation to other lithological units at the complex is however, only partially understood. This stems from the epistemological division of carbonatites as having either a ‘magmatic’ or ‘reactive’ origin. This study focuses on sampled carbonatites from the Alnö Complex, employing an oxygen and carbon isotope approach on their native calcite, complemented with petrological and mineralogical methods in order to constrain petrogenesis. As a reference, oxygen and carbon isotope data of calcite from an earlier Alnö investigation as well as from an array of data from comparative alkaline complexes elsewhere are also discussed. The combined data and the derived findings support a scenario that is consistent with the ‘magmatic’ model wherein carbonatites have a primary mantle-derived origin, and prospectively stem from a parent magma akin to that of Oldoinyo Lengai, but have experienced a degree of silicate and sedimentary assimilation. The extraction of the Alnö carbonatites for their rare earth metals is a looming possibility due to the current volatility in the rare earth market. The risks and opportunities involved in this kind of natural resource extraction provide a context wherein sustainable development paradigms can be applied. The capacity of the Alnö environment to withstand the impact of development in the mining sector is discussed through a perspective of establishing a quarry, and quarry-related methods for rare earth extraction.