The Jackson Prairie Region represents a rare, poorly understood and threatened ecosystem. A review of the literature concerning the ecology, physiography and geology of the Region was undertaken, along with a search of General Land Office (GLO) records for locations of historic prairie patches. The prairie patch location data was transcribed, digitized and inserted as a base map in a Geographical Information System (GIS). A set of current, local conditions indicating suitability for conservation or restoration, along with importance weights for each condition, was derived from stakeholder input. A simple additive weighting technique was used to rank the locations in terms of suitability for conservation or restoration. Historic patch locations were visited and the presence of prairie indicator species noted. The use of GLO records and GIS in this way improves the ability of landscape architects to enhance and preserve an imperiled habitat as they design across multiple scales.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-5684 |
Date | 10 December 2010 |
Creators | Gray, Michael Tobit |
Publisher | Scholars Junction |
Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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