This thesis investigates whether topography has a quantifiable effect on the spatial
distribution of landcover within an inland sand dune ecosystem. To accomplish this, an
investigation was undertaken to compare the associations between various topographic
characteristics and landcover distribution within the Great Sand Hills (GSH), Saskatchewan.
The methodology comprised a spatial analysis of digital topographic and landcover data. In
terms of landcover diversity, results shows that there is a moderate association between
topography and landcover diversity in the GSH, and that results vary with spatial scale.
Similarly, results show modest predictability for one particular community type (trees)
thought to be strongly related to topographic position in this region. Several environmental
factors are proposed that might overprint the topography-landcover association. Overall,
this thesis expands the geographic context of the link between topography and landcover,
while also demonstrating the utility of high resolution topographic and landcover data and
the importance of spatial scale. / x, 90 leaves : col. ill. ; 29 cm
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:ALU.w.uleth.ca/dspace#10133/3369 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Hamilton, Tayler Kaylen |
| Contributors | Hugenholtz, Chris |
| Publisher | Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Geography, c2013, Arts and Science, Department of Geography |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_CA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Relation | Thesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science) |
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