Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-77). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005. / "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic format via Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Geography, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 11, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-112). Also issued in print.

In February 2022 the Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) published a report indicating that wildfires may become more frequent as climate changes keeps progressing. The last few years we have witnessed devastating consequences due to wildfires around the world. In 2014 Sweden was affected by one of the biggest wildfires in modern history when a total of 15 000 hectares burned down. This study investigates how municipalities in Sweden work with crisis management against wildfires. Data was collected in a questionnaire sent out to municipalities as a web-survey. The questionnaire included questions about the municipality´s ability to handle a higher frequency of wildfires and if their risk and vulnerability analysis includes wildfires. The overall response rate was 52 % (151/290) and more than half of the municipalities answered that wildfires are included in their risk and vulnerability analysis, and they think they can manage a higher frequency of wildfires. It was not possible to identify a difference in crisis management between small (<16 000) and large (>16 000) municipalities, and municipalities located in the southern and northern parts of Sweden, respectively. What can be seen as worrying is that there are municipalities that do not have the capacity to handle an increase in wildfires. Economics are named one of the main reasons municipalities do not prioritize these issues. Due to the development with rising temperatures and more frequent wildfires in the world, forest fires will probably be a topical research area onwards.

No description available.

Habitat loss and fragmentation and human-wildlife conflicts, often resulting in retaliatory killing in response to livestock predation, are one of the main threats to wild felids worldwide, including pumas (Puma concolor). However, mesocarnivores are more abundant than large carnivores, live closer to human settlements, and drive community structure and processes in similar or different ways from large predators. Understanding both large and small carnivores' habitat use is key to their conservation and management. Thus, there is need to explore the ecological roles of predators (including invasive ones like free-ranging dogs [Canis lupus familiaris] and cats [Felis catus]) to examine how ecological context modulates the ecological roles of carnivores . This is especially important in my study area, which was severely burned by a catastrophic mega-wildfire in 2017. I used dynamic occupancy modeling of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) across 52 provinces for 8 years in Chile and found that free-ranging dogs outpace pumas in livestock depredation, killing substantially more livestock than pumas. Occupancy models show that HWC occurrence for both dogs and pumas increased with sheep density. Unexpectedly, dog HWC decreased with anthropogenic habitat degradation indicating that dogs may travel far to prey on livestock. The emergence of puma HWC in a site where it did not occur in the previous year was positively associated with anthropic disturbance. Countrywide, dogs HWC occurrence probability was higher than pumas in 43 out of the 49 provinces where both species occurred. I discuss livestock vulnerability, management strategies, and policy to mitigate HWC, and also highlight threats that free-ranging dogs pose to biodiversity conservation and even human public health. I also used single-species, single-season occupancy models fit to camera-trap data to investigate the patterns of site occupancy and response to mega-wildfires of native mesocarnivores in southern-central Chile: guignas (Leopardus guigna), culpeo foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus) and chilla foxes (Lycalopex griseus). I found that vulnerable guignas avoided burned sites, preferring sites with native, dense vegetation while culpeo foxes were intermediate in being able to use plantations, but avoiding burned sites. Chilla foxes were most tolerant to landscape change with no response to burns and were found closer to human habitation and rivers. Finally, I used two-species, single season occupancy models, and Kernel Density Estimation on circular data, to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics, and overlap of native and exotic carnivores. I found that feral cats are a potential threat to pumas, guignas, and native foxes given they overlap extensively in time of activity with these species. Also, feral dogs had the widest distribution of all species indicating that their effects could be ubiquitous on the landscape. Thus, exotic species are damaging to wildlife, to livestock industry, and even to public health. I urge dialog between government authorities, wildlife managers, and scientists to generate a legal and public policy framework to properly managing habitat and HWC in southern-central Chile. / Doctor of Philosophy / Landscape transformation and human-wildlife conflict (HWC), which often result in retaliatory killing of wildlife in response to livestock predation, is one of the main global threats to wild cats, including pumas (Puma concolor). Medium-sized carnivores (mesocarnivores or mesopredators) are more abundant than large carnivores, live closer to human settlements and, like large predators, impact ecosystem structure and function significantly. Understanding habitat use of these carnivores is key to their conservation and management and to biodiversity preservation. Thus, there is need to investigate the ecological roles of carnivores (including invasive ones like free-ranging dogs and cats) to determine how interactions with other carnivore species and with the physical environment influence ecological roles of such species. This is especially important in my study area, which was severely burned by a catastrophic mega-wildfire in 2017, and for which there is scant information on wildlife responses to the mega-fire. I determined the distribution and causes of HWC across 52 provinces for 8 years in Chile and found that free-ranging dogs accounted for higher livestock depredation than pumas, killing substantially more livestock. Occurrence of HWC for both dogs and pumas increased with the sheep density of the province. Unexpectedly, dog HWC increased in less degraded habitats, indicating that dogs may travel far to prey on livestock in remote areas. The emergence of puma HWC in a site where it did not occur in the previous year increased with human-caused disturbance. Countrywide, dog HWC was higher than pumas in 43 out of the 49 provinces where both pumas and dogs occurred. I discuss livestock vulnerability, management strategies, and policy changes to address HWC, and discuss the threats that free-ranging dogs pose to biodiversity conservation and even to human public health. I also used remotely-triggered, camera-trap records to explore distribution of three mesocarnivores (guignas, culpeo foxes and chilla foxes across the landscape and in response to mega-wildfires in southern-central Chile. I found that guignas, a small and vulnerable wild cat, avoided burned sites, preferring sites with native, dense vegetation while culpeo foxes were intermediate in being able to use plantations, but avoiding burned areas. Chilla foxes were most tolerant to landscape change with no response to burns, and they were found closer to human settlements and rivers. Finally, I examined overlap in space and time of day between native species pairs and native and exotic species pairs. I found that dogs were the most widely distributed species across the landscape, but were mostly diurnal while native species were primarily nocturnal. Cats however had high temporal overlap with guinas and chilla foxes, highlighting the potential for competition between them.. Thus, exotic species are damaging to wildlife, livestock and even human health. I discuss the management implications and urge dialog between government authorities, wildlife managers, and scientists to generate a legal and public policy framework to properly managing habitat and HWC in southern-central Chile.

香港的山火主要是由於氣候及人類活動所引發，嚴重威脅著一些陸地上生物多樣性豐富的生境（如灌木林和林地）。在華南地區，有關火燒地的動物群落恢復生態學硏究的資料非常少，所以本硏究旨在調查山火後動物群落的復原，以及比較天然復原的林區及人工植林的生境恢復之差異。此外，枯枝落葉、物理因素及山火後的微生物對動物群落的影響亦會在此硏究中詳细分析。 / 在亞熱帶地區，地棲無脊椎動物群落的復原速度相對為慢，例如螞蟻群落需要12年的時間才能復原，但人工種植於火燒地能成功地加快其復原速度。 / 無脊椎動物群落與植被結構、山火之後的時間及生境發展都有一定的關係。山火發生兩年後火燒地的鳥類和無脊椎動物的數量、種或科的豐富度、單一性、多樣性及所有無脊椎動物的生物量都比參考樣地低，這意味著山火對動物群落有著長遠的影響。Pheidole spp. 及Tapinoma sp. 1 屬的螞蟻、隠翅甲科及小蠹科的甲蟲、管巢蛛科及狼蛛科的蜘蛛，牠們的數量，以及數量與生物量之比 (ABC plot) 都能用作反映火燒地的生態復原及演替進度的指標。 / 人工種植能夠使生態系統得到長遠的持續建立，對於動物群落的恢復非常重要。是次研究結果顯示人工種植能促進本地無脊椎動物的建群，其數量和群落亦會隨時間增加而增加。這很可能是由於山火後人工種植能為無脊椎動物創造較好的生存條件。其中，相對於原生樹種，外來樹種更有利於無脊椎動物的建群。在外來品種的人工種植區，微生物的數量較低，枯枝落葉的被分解速度較慢，加上生長速度快的外來品種能製造大量的枯枝落葉，這些都顯著增加了枯葉層的深度。較深的枯葉層為無脊椎動物提供了適宜的微生境，有利於其建群。 / 總的來說，在火燒地進行人工植樹能加快動物在火燒地的復原速度，這種方法是有效且成功的。人工種植時採用適當的品種能夠促進及預測早期的植被演替。根據此次硏究結果，我們建議在火燒地上種植生長快速的外來樹種，以加快無脊椎動物的建群。植被蓋度對動物的建群很重要，但植物和結構的多樣性及枯枝落葉層對無脊椎動物的建群更為重要。 / Hill fire in Hong Kong is mainly caused by a combination of weather and human activities. Fire is a major threat to terrestrial animal communities especially in shrublands and woodlands which have a rich faunal diversity. Since research done on hill fire ecology in southern China, especially on faunal colonization after fire, is very scarce, this research attempted to investigate the recovery of fauna after fire disturbance, and the difference in recovery between natural regeneration and artificial planting. Besides, the effects of litter and physical parameters on fauna community as well as the effect of fire on soil microbial community structure were studied. / The recolonization of ground-dwelling invertebrates was relatively slow in the study area, while proactive planting has been successful because they have considerably accelerated the return of fauna at the fire-affected sites. Ground-dwelling invertebrate communities appeared to be less resilient to fire in subtropical environment; the ant composition in the experimental plots needed 12 years to recover. / The composition of the ground-dwelling communities differed among study sites and was correlated with vegetation structure and time since last fire. They showed the trends in the development of invertebrate community composition in association with habitat development. Abundance, species/family richness, evenness, diversity of birds and ground-dwelling invertebrates, and biomass of total invertebrates were lower on the burned site than the reference site even 2 years after fire, implying that fire had longer-term impacts on the faunal communities. Ants such as Pheidole spp., Tapinoma sp. 1, beetles such as Staphylinidae, Scolytidae, and spiders such as Clubionidae, Lycosidae, as well as the abundance biomass comparison (ABC plot) can be chosen to reflect the situation or the recovery process and succession of the fire-affected sites. / The establishment of fauna in proactive planting is vital if ecosystem functions are to be reestablished and restorations to be sustained in the long term. In general the invertebrate data suggest that restoration plantings facilitated the reestablishment of indigenous invertebrate species and invertebrate community changed with time. Proactive plantings created better conditions for ground-dwelling invertebrates after fire, and exotic species with faster growth rate seem to be better than the natives. In exotic plantations, lower decomposition rate of litter provided by the lower microbial population together with higher productivity of exotic species of plants caused a higher litter depth, which provided more microhabitats for ground-dwelling and litter-dwelling invertebrates than the native plantations. / Correct species selection in proactive planting is essential to facilitate and determine the early stages of plant succession. The present study suggests that initial floristic composition is significant in proactive plantings and exotic species with fast growth rate is an effective planting species for invertebrate recolonization. Although plant cover is of importance to developing fauna, the provision of adequate floristic and structural diversity and the presence of logs and litter are important for the full range of native invertebrate recolonization. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Cheung, Kwok Leung. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-219). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendixes also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.vi / Table of contents --- p.vii / List of figures --- p.x / List of plates --- p.xvi / List of appendices --- p.xvii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- General Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Ecology of Fire --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Effects of Hill Fire on Soil --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Effects of Hill Fire on Microbial Communities --- p.7 / Chapter 1.4 --- Effects of Hill Fire on Vegetation --- p.10 / Chapter 1.5 --- Effects of Hill Fire on Fauna Communities --- p.14 / Chapter 1.6 --- The Use of Bioindicators on Restoration Ecology --- p.19 / Chapter 1.7 --- Hill Fire Situation and Research in Hong Kong --- p.23 / Chapter 1.8 --- Study Objectives --- p.28 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Faunal Colonization after Fire Disturbance --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Study sites --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Measurements of soil physicochemical parameters --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Determination of vegetation parameters --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Monitoring of vertebrate communities --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Sampling, sorting and identification of invertebrates --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Data analysis --- p.38 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Soil physicochemical characteristics --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Vegetation parameters --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Vertebrate communities --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Invertebrate communities --- p.47 / Chapter 2.4 --- Discussion --- p.58 / Chapter 2.5 --- Conclusions --- p.66 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Effect of Different Planting Approaches on Invertebrates --- p.68 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.68 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.70 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Study sites --- p.70 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Proactive planting --- p.71 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Measurement of soil, vegetation, and faunal parameters, and data analysis --- p.73 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.75 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Soil physicochemical parameters --- p.75 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Vegetation parameters --- p.77 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Invertebrate communities --- p.78 / Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.92 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusions --- p.98 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Long-term Changes of Invertebrate Community after Hill Fire by a Retrospective Approach --- p.100 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.100 / Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.102 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Study sites --- p.102 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Measurement of soil physicochemical parameters --- p.102 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Determination of vegetation parameters --- p.103 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Collection, sorting and identification of invertebrates --- p.104 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Data analysis --- p.104 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.105 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Soil physicochemical characteristics --- p.105 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Vegetation parameters --- p.106 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Invertebrate communities --- p.110 / Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.123 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusions --- p.133 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Relationship of Microbial Community with Recolonization of Invertebrates --- p.135 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.135 / Chapter 5.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.139 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Study sites --- p.139 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Microbial biomass carbon (C[subscript mic]) and nitrogen (N[subscript mic]) --- p.139 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) extraction --- p.140 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Data analysis --- p.141 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results --- p.142 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Fumigation-extraction --- p.142 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Fatty acid methyl esters --- p.144 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Relationship of microbial communities with physicochemical, vegetation and invertebrate parameters --- p.145 / Chapter 5.4 --- Discussion --- p.152 / Chapter 5.5 --- Conclusions --- p.159 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Effects of Critical Factors on Invertebrate Communities --- p.160 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.160 / Chapter 6.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.162 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Experimental sites --- p.162 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Critical factors selection and simulation --- p.163 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Measurement of microclimatic characteristics --- p.165 / Chapter 6.2.4 --- Collection, sorting and identification of invertebrates --- p.166 / Chapter 6.2.5 --- Data analysis --- p.166 / Chapter 6.3 --- Results --- p.167 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Microclimatic characteristics --- p.167 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Invertebrate communities --- p.168 / Chapter 6.4 --- Discussion --- p.173 / Chapter 6.5 --- Conclusions --- p.178 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- General Conclusions --- p.180 / Chapter 7.1 --- Overall Discussion --- p.180 / Chapter 7.2 --- Limitation of the Present Study and Future Research --- p.184 / Chapter 7.3 --- Contributions to Our Knowledge --- p.188 / Reference --- p.192 / Appendices --- p.220

Representatives of the City of Highland Village expressed concern over the risk of wildfires for their community. Anthropology provides many tools for and examples of disaster assessment of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. These tools combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can provide a holistic, cultural ecological look at how such a disaster may take place in the city. The project's methods included a detailed survey of preparedness steps which was analyzed using SPSS and also imported into ArcGIS for spatial analysis, and semi-formal, in-depth interviews with residents of the community regarding preparedness, response, and recovery. Residents fell into a middle category of preparedness, with the majority of participants considering or implementing a few recommended preparedness steps. Interview participants expressed respect for and trust of the city and first-responders, as well as a willingness to volunteer their help during response and recovery stages. Finally the American Community Survey showed that resident socioeconomic vulnerability was considerably low, and no action needed to be taken to advocate for at-risk individuals. Overall, the City of Highland Village showed a high resiliency to disaster. A wildfire likely will not have a major impact on the community as a whole, though the city may reduce the impact even further by informing the public of their risk, clearing natural areas of dead brush, sharing preparedness and evacuation information via social media and newsletters, and planning relief stations for those who may have been impacted.

Late Period (<1500 >years), high-altitude (>2600 m asl) archaeological sites in northwestern Wyoming prove difficult to date with traditional methods. The presence of Intermountain Ware ceramics at these sites presents an opportunity to use single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date vessel manufacture. These OSL ages also date site occupation as the vessels’ use-life is encapsulated within the standard error of the technique. This thesis develops a protocol to date quartz temper of Intermountain Ware sherds. Additionally, it investigates potential post-depositional thermal resetting of luminescence signals by wildfires. Ceramic sherd samples were obtained from four sites in northwestern Wyoming: Boulder Ridge, High Rise Village, Caldwell Creek, and Platt. Each site, except Caldwell Creek, has existing radiocarbon ages that provide independent age control. Additionally, all sites except Platt were impacted by past wildfires of varying intensity and consequently provide a test of the thermal resetting capabilities of wildfires.The Platt site is also the only site not located at high altitude and therefore, the sample from this site serves as a control in this study. Luminescence results demonstrate single-grain OSL dating of quartz temper from Intermountain Ware ceramics can provide improved accuracy and precision over radiocarbon dating when sherds are not adversely affected by wildfires. These results underscore the need for cultural resource managers to sample from subsurface contexts when inventorying sites impacted by high-intensity wildfires or to locate and identify sites with strong potential for high-intensity wildfires and date them prior to eventual burning. These results also validate single-grain OSL dating of ceramic temper as a valuable chronometric tool for cultural resource managers and archaeologists seeking to build and refine existing site and regional chronologies.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.