Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Landscapes Australia'
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1
Yang, Chen. "Representation and authenticity of historic landscapes in Australia and China." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2015. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/83479/1/Chen_Yang_Thesis.pdf.
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Histories of past communities are embedded in landscapes around the world but many are suffering from material change or neglect of their fabric. This study was aimed at discovering and representing the authentic intangible experience of two historic landscapes for conservation purposes. A 2500 year old site in Yangzhou, China and a 2000 year old site on St Helena Island in Moreton Bay were found to be managed under two culturally different regimes of authenticity. This research has contributed to challenging the notion that there is only one way to conserve authenticity in historic landscapes of the Asia Pacific.
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Haydon, Kirsten, and kirsten haydon@rmit edu a. "Antarctic landscapes in the souvenir and jewellery." RMIT University. Art, 2009. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20090227.115157.
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Experience of Antarctica is unique and overwhelming and the phenomenon of the landscape and knowledge of its history continues to inspire artists and writers. Since Antarctica's discovery and exploration both before and during the Heroic Age; explorers, expeditioners, artists and writers have attempted to record and visualise Antarctica. In1982 international Antarctic programmes started to assist artists to travel to Antarctica with the intention of providing perceptive interpretations no longer attached to science or exploration. This practice-led research is the first project where a jeweller has explored and interpreted a personal experience of Antarctica to produce souvenir and jewellery objects. These objects reveal new interpretations of Antarctica that engage with the viewer through the recognisable personal jewellery and souvenir object. This research has produced new contemporary souvenir and jewellery objects by interpreting both personal photographs and re-examining the historic stories, photographs and representations of Antarctica. The bibliographic investigations of historical jewellery and souvenirs provided specific examples of historical personal mementos that are now displayed in museums. This research analyses the meaning of historical examples of souvenirs and jewellery and examines the way in which photography has been manipulated and used on hard media. Through this analysis and examination of historical examples the research focuses on studio-based experimentation with enamelling and contemporary technologies to establish the links enamelling has had with micromosaics and miniature painting. This practice-led research investigates new and innovative ways to interpret these historical techniques and draw on the notion of the souvenir. Thinking through the processes used in this research and retelling the personal experience of Antarctica, contemporary technologies are used to reimagine historical examples of tourist jewellery and personal souvenirs presenting a further understanding of Antarctica's significance both culturally and environmentally. The research not only provides an addition to the diverse range of interpretations of Antarctica it also explores the area of enamelling in contemporary jewellery and object making by contributing to the current revival of the tradition both locally and internationally. This research offers new experiences and knowledge through the investigation, experimentation, manufacture and installation of enamelled objects.
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Brown, Sarah. "Imagining 'environment' in Australian suburbia : an environmental history of the suburban landscapes of Canberra and Perth, 1946-1996." University of Western Australia. School of Humanities, 2009. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0094.
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Australia is a suburban nation. Today, with increasing concern regarding the sustainability of cities, an appreciation of the complexities of Australian suburbia is critical to the debate about urban futures. As a built environment and a cultural phenomenon, the Australian suburbs have inspired considerable scholarly literature. Yet to date, such scholarly work has largely overlooked the changing environmental values and visions of those shaping and residing within suburban landscapes, and the practices through which such values and visions are materialised in the processes of suburban development. Focusing on the post-war suburban landscapes of Canberra and Perth, this thesis centralises the environmental, political and economic forces that have shaped human action to construct suburban spaces, paying particular attention to the extent to which individual understandings and visions of 'environment' have determined the shape and nature of suburban development. Specifically, it examines how those operating within Australias suburbs, including planners, developers, builders, landscape designers and residents have imagined the 'environment', and how such imaginaries have shifted in response to varying spatial, temporal and ideological contexts. Tracing the shifting nature of environmental concern throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century, it argues that despite the somewhat unsustainable nature of Australia's suburban landscapes, the planning and development of such landscapes has long been influenced by and has responded to differing understandings of 'environment', which themselves are the product of changing social, political and economic concerns. In doing so, this thesis challenges a number of perceptions concerning Australian suburbs, environmental awareness and sustainability. In particular, it contests the assumption that environmental concern for Australia's suburban development emerged with the urban consolidation debates of the 1980s and 1990s, and analyses a range of environmental sensibilities not often acknowledged in current histories of Australian environmentalism. By examining, for example, how the deterministic and economic concerns of differing planning bodies, along with the aesthetic and ecological concerns of various planners, are intertwined with the housing and domestic lifestyle preferences of suburban homeowners, this history brings to the fore the often conflicting environmental ideas and practices that arise in the course of suburban development, and provides a more nuanced history of the diversity of environmental sensibilities. In sum, this thesis enhances our understandings of the changing nature of environmental concern and illuminates the complex, still largely misunderstood, environmental ideas and practices that arise in the processes of suburban development.
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Hearman, Amy. "A modelling study into the effects of rainfall variability and vegetation patterns on surface runoff for semi-arid landscapes." University of Western Australia. School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0047.
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[Truncated abstract] Generally hydrologic and ecologic models operate on arbitrary time and space scales, selected by the model developer or user based on the availability of field data. In reality rainfall is highly variable not only annually, seasonally and monthly but also the intensities within a rainfall event and infiltration properties on semi-arid hillslopes can also be highly variable as a result of discontinuous vegetation cover that form mosaics of areas with vegetation and areas of bare soil. This thesis is directed at improving our understanding of the impacts of the temporal representation of rainfall and spatial heterogeneity on model predictions of hydrologic thresholds and surface runoff coefficients on semi-arid landscapes at the point and hillslope scales. We firstly quantified within storm rainfall variability across a climate gradient in Western Australia by parameterizing the bounded random cascade rainfall model with one minute rainfall from 15 locations across Western Australia. This study revealed that rainfall activity generated in the tropics had more within storm variability and a larger proportion of the storm events received the majority of rain in the first half of the event. Rainfall generated from fontal activity in the south was less variable and more evenly distributed throughout the event. Parameters from the rainfall analysis were then used as inputs into a conceptual point scale surface runoff model to investigate the sensitivity of point scale surface runoff thresholds to the resolution of rainfall inputs. This study related maximum infiltration capacities to average storm intensities (k*) and showed where model predictions of infiltration excess were most sensitive to rainfall resolution (ln k* = 0.4) and where using time averaged rainfall data can lead to an under prediction of infiltration excess and an over prediction of the amount of water entering the soil (ln k* > 2). For soils susceptible to both infiltration excess and saturation excess, total runoff sensitivity was scaled by relating drainage coefficients to average storm intensities (g*) and parameter ranges where predicted runoff was dominated by infiltration excess or saturation excess depending on the resolution of rainfall data were determined (ln g* <2). The sensitivity of surface runoff predictions and the influence of specific within storm properties were then analysed on the hillslope scale. '...' It was found that using the flow model we still get threshold behaviour in surface runoff. Where conditions produce slow surface runoff velocities, spatial heterogeneity and temporal heterogeneity influences hillslope surface runoff amounts. Where conditions create higher surface runoff velocities, the temporal structure of within storm intensities has a larger influence on runoff amounts than spatial heterogeneity. Our results show that a general understanding of the prevailing rainfall conditions and the soil's infiltration capacity can help in deciding whether high rainfall resolutions (below 1 h) are required for accurate surface runoff predictions. The results of this study can be considered a contribution to understanding the way within storm properties effect the processes on the hillslope under a range of overall storm, slope and infiltration conditions as well as an improved understanding of how different vegetation patterns function to trap runoff at different total vegetation covers and rainfall intensities.
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Venn, Darren Peter. "A changing cultural landscape Yanchep National Park, Western Australia /." Connect to thesis, 2008. http://portalapps.ecu.edu.au/adt-public/adt-ECU2008.0012.html.
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Boden, Susan, and n/a. "'an unsettled state': the real and the imainary in Australian cinematic and designed landscapes." University of Canberra. Design, 2002. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060426.161116.
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This thesis considers varied representations of landscape in
Australian narrative film and designed landscape. Landscape is
taken as an active concept that combines the associative meanings
of place and the dynamism of space. Sixteen film and designed
landscapes are examined to derive their landscape sources, forms
and ideas, using the methodology of 'contextual poetics', Each of
these landscapes is considered under a specific theme: landscape as
delight, absence, nation or hope.
In addition to detailing specific landscape responses by the
designers of the examined landscapes, this project aims to
contribute to an enhanced conversation about the effective, just
practice of landscape architecture.
The topic derives from a question central to landscape architectural
practice in a post-colonial context, such as Australia. In a cultural
setting where no single, agreed definition of landscape is allowed
by the conditions of its history, which versions do practitioners of
landscape architecture take up? What should be their limits, where
are their inspirations and whose landscape narratives are ignored in
these decisions?
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Fischer, Joern, and joern@cres anu edu au. "Beyond fragmentation : Lizard distribution patterns in two production landscapes and their implications for conceptual landscape models." The Australian National University. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, 2004. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20060718.150101.
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Fauna conservation outside protected areas can make an important complementary contribution to conservation within reserves. This thesis aimed to contribute new information and analytical frameworks to the science of fauna conservation in human-modified landscapes. Two approaches were used: (1) empirical data collection and analysis, and (2) the discussion and development of conceptual landscape models.
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Empirical work focused on lizard distribution patterns in two production landscapes in southeastern Australia. Lizards were targeted because ectotherms are frequently neglected by conservation biologists. The Nanangroe grazing landscape was used for sheep and cattle grazing. In this landscape, approximately 85% of pre-European woodland cover had been cleared, and understorey vegetation was sparse. Lizards were surveyed at 16 landscape units, which were stratified by aspect, topographic position and amount of tree cover. Each landscape unit contained three sites, and each site contained three plots. Regression modelling showed that different species responded differently to their environment. For example, the four-fingered skink (Carlia tetradactyla) and Boulengers skink (Morethia boulengeri) were more likely to occur at woodland sites with northerly aspects, whereas the striped skink (Ctenotus robustus) and olive legless lizard (Delma inornata) were more likely to inhabit sites with a simple microhabitat structure. Statistical analysis further showed that the habitat attributes that lizards were related to varied continuously through space, and over different spatial scales. For example, invertebrate abundance (a proxy for food availability) varied most strongly over tens of metres, whereas the amount of grass cover varied most strongly over hundreds to thousands of metres. Thus, work at Nanangroe revealed spatially complex patterns of lizard occurrence and habitat variables.
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The Tumut plantation landscape was a spatial mosaic of native eucalypt (Eucalyptus) forest patches embedded within a plantation of the introduced radiata pine (Pinus radiata). In this landscape, thirty sites were surveyed for lizards. Sites were stratified by forest type and patch size, and included eucalypt patches, pine sites, and extensive areas of eucalypt forest adjacent to the plantation. Regression modelling showed that lizard species responded to various habitat attributes, including elevation, the amount of eucalypt forest within 1 km of a site, invertebrate abundance and ground cover. Variables related to habitat fragmentation often were significant predictors of lizard occurrence. However, work at Tumut suggested that important additional insights into lizard distribution patterns could be obtained by considering variables related to food and shelter resources, and climatic conditions.
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The Nanangroe and Tumut landscapes were in close proximity, but together spanned an altitudinal gradient of 900 m. An investigation of changes in lizard community composition with altitude showed that (1) only one species was common to Nanangroe and Tumut, (2) different species had different altitudinal preferences, and (3) ecologically similar species replaced one another with increasing altitude. These results highlighted that even in highly modified landscapes, natural gradients (such as climate) can play an important role in shaping animal assemblage composition and species distribution patterns.
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Empirical work suggested that, in some landscapes, the frequently used fragmentation model is a relatively weak conceptual basis for the study of animal distribution patterns. The fragmentation model implicitly assumes that habitat patches can be defined unequivocally across many species, and that patches are located within a relatively inhospitable matrix. Where these assumptions are breached, conservation guidelines arising from the fragmentation model may be too simplified. In spatially complex production landscapes, it may be more appropriate to maintain habitat heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales than to focus solely on the management of large, pre-defined patches.
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Given the potential limitations of the fragmentation model, a new, more holistic landscape model was developed. The continuum model was derived from continuum theory as developed for plant ecology. The continuum model recognises (1) spatial continua of environmental variables, and (2) species individualistic responses to these variables. For animals, key environmental variables may be related to the availability of food, shelter, sufficient space, and suitable climatic conditions. Unlike the fragmentation model, the continuum model is inherently process-based and thus may help to link the perceived gap between patterns and processes in landscape ecology.
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Three general conclusions arise from this thesis:
1. Some heterogeneous production landscapes support many native species, and therefore represent important conservation opportunities.
2. In some modified landscapes, the fragmentation model does not capture the complexity of animal distribution patterns. In those landscapes, conservation recommendations derived from the fragmentation model may be overly simplistic.
3. The continuum model may be a useful extension of the fragmentation model. It provides a process-based conceptual basis for empirical work on animal distribution patterns.
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Bickford, Sophia Anastasia. "A historical perspective on recent landscape transformation: integrating palaeoecological, documentary and contemporary evidence for former vegetation patterns and dynamics in the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phb583.pdf.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-319). Palaeoecological records, documented historical records and remnant vegetation were investigated in order to construct a multi-scaled history of vegetation pattern and change in the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia over the last c. 8000 years. Aims to better understand post-European landscape transformation and address the inherently historical components of the problems of regional biodiversity loss, land sustainability and the cumulative contribution to global climatic change.
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Haslem, Angie, and angie haslem@deakin edu au. "Landscape Pattern, Countryside Heterogeneity and Bird Conservation in Agricultural Environments." Deakin University. Life and Environmental Sciences, 2008. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20090114.101341.
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Agricultural environments are critical to the conservation of biota throughout the world. This is due both to the limited extent of current reserve systems and the large, and still expanding, proportion of terrestrial environments already dominated by agricultural land-uses. Consequently, there is a growing call from scientists around the world for the need to maximise the conservation value of agricultural environments. Efforts to identify key influences on the conservation status of fauna in agricultural landscapes have taken complementary approaches. Many studies have focussed on the role of remnant or semi-natural vegetation, and emphasised the influence on biota of spatial patterns in the landscape. Others have recognised that many species use diverse countryside elements (matrix habitats) within farmland, and emphasise the benefits of landscape heterogeneity for conservation. Here, these research themes have been combined. This study takes a whole-of-landscape approach to investigating how landscape pattern and countryside heterogeneity influence the occurrence of birds in agricultural environments. Birds were sampled in 27 agricultural mosaics, each 1 km x 1 km in size (100 ha), in Gippsland, south-eastern Australia. Mosaics were selected to incorporate variation in two landscape properties: the cover of native vegetation, and richness of different types of element (i.e. land-uses/vegetation types). In each mosaic, 15 fixed sampling locations were stratified among seven different elements in proportion to their cover in the mosaic: native vegetation, linear vegetation, tree plantation, scattered paddock trees, pasture, wetlands and farm dams. Six point counts of birds were undertaken at all sample points in each mosaic: three each in the breeding and non-breeding months of a one-year period (October 2004 August 2005). Independent measures of the composition, configuration, and heterogeneity of elements in the mosaic had differing effects on the richness of bird species recorded in these same mosaics. Sub-groups of birds based on habitat requirements responded most strongly to the extent of preferred element types in mosaics. Woodland birds (those of greatest conservation concern in farmland environments in Australia) were richer in mosaics with higher cover of native vegetation while open-tolerant species responded to the extent of scattered trees. In contrast, for total species richness, mosaic heterogeneity (richness of element types) and landscape context (cover of native vegetation in surrounding area) had the greatest influence. Mosaic structural properties also influenced the composition of entire bird assemblages in study mosaics. Avifaunal composition showed systematic variation along two main gradients which were readily interpreted in relation to landscape properties: 1) a gradient in the cover of wooded vegetation and, 2) the proportional composition of vegetation types in the mosaic. These gradients represent common trajectories of landscape modification associated with agricultural development: namely, the removal of wooded vegetation and the replacement of native species with exotic vegetation (e.g. crops and plantations). Species possessing different characteristics in relation to three avian life-history traits (nest type, feeding guild and clutch size) varied significantly in their position along these gradients of landscape modification. Species with different nesting requirements showed a strong relationship with the gradient in wooded vegetation cover while species belonging to different feeding guilds were influenced by the gradient defined by the replacement of native vegetation with exotic species. More bird species were recorded in native vegetation than in any other type of element sampled in this study. Nevertheless, most countryside elements had value for many species; particularly structurally complex elements such as scattered trees and tree plantation. Further, each type of landscape element contained different bird assemblages. Species that were recorded in a greater number of different types of landscape element were also recorded in more mosaics. This was true for all species and for woodland birds, and indicates that species that can use a greater range of countryside elements may have an increased tolerance of future landscape modification. The richness of woodland species at survey sites in different elements was influenced by features of the mosaic in which they occurred. Notably, the richness of woodland bird species recorded at sites in scattered trees and pasture increased with a greater cover of native vegetation in the overall mosaic. Of the overall pool of woodland bird species documented in the broader study region, 35% of species were not recorded in the agricultural mosaics sampled here. While many of these species were uncommon in the study area, or were associated with vegetation communities infrequently sampled in mosaics, this shows that conservation efforts in agricultural landscapes will not be appropriate for all species. For those woodland species that were recorded, measures of the extent of wooded vegetation cover had a strong, positive influence on the frequency of occurrence of individual species in mosaics. Thus, individual species of woodland bird occurred more frequently in mosaics with a greater cover of wooded vegetation. Nine woodland species showed a stronger response to measures of vegetation cover that included tree plantation and/or scattered trees than to the cover of native vegetation alone. For these species, structurally complex countryside elements provide valuable supplementary habitat at the landscape scale. Results of this study show that landscape properties influence the occurrence of birds in agricultural mosaics. The extent of cover of element types, particularly native vegetation, had the strongest influence on all measures of bird occurrence in mosaics. Thus, native vegetation is vital for the persistence of birds in farmland landscapes and is the primary element on which conservation efforts in these environments depend. Nevertheless, with careful management, countryside elements may provide additional conservation benefits for many bird species. Countryside elements made an important contribution to landscape heterogeneity, the landscape property with greatest influence on overall bird richness in mosaics. Countryside elements also increased the structural complexity of cleared agricultural land, and so have the capacity to enhance connectivity in fragmented landscapes. A focus on these factors (landscape heterogeneity and structural complexity) will provide the greatest opportunities for using countryside elements to increase the conservation value of farmland environments for native fauna. The relatively small scale of this study indicates that the cumulative effect of even small elements in farm mosaics contributes to the structural properties of entire landscapes. Critically, this emphasises the important contribution that individual landholders can make to nature conservation in agricultural environments.
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Watson, James Edward Maxwell. "Bird responses to habitat fragmentation at different spatial scales : illustrations from Madagascan and Australian case studies." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:abbeb257-d2b1-4c4a-bb87-195c51995e38.
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Despite increasing publicity, habitat loss and fragmentation remain a serious threat to biodiversity. The main objectives of this research were (i) to study the effects of forest fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of resident birds in the fragmented littoral forests of southeastern Madagascar and temperate woodlands of southeastern Australia at three spatial scales (patch, landscape and regional) and (ii) to place the results of these case studies within the realms of the equilibrium theory of island biogeography and its descendent theories, to ascertain whether it is appropriate to use these theories to derive conservation scenarios within these threatened regions. Deforestation of Madagascar's remaining forests is considered a global concern due to both its current high intensity and the small amount of forest claimed to be remaining on the island. Surprisingly, very few studies have considered the impacts of forest fragmentation on bird diversity in Madagascar. A multi-scale study on the effects of littoral forest fragmentation and degradation on birds is therefore a major step forward for bird conservation on the island. Furthermore, prior to this study no known work has been conducted on the avifauna within the threatened littoral forests of eastern Madagascar. My results indicated that (i) the littoral forests contained bird species assemblages that were unique when compared to neighbouring forest habitats, (ii) many forest-dependent bird species were significantly affected by habitat structure and especially proximity to forest edge and (iii) many forest-dependent species were affected by landscape factors such as remnant shape and remnant size. No relationship was found between measures of landscape composition, remnant 'isolation' and bird distribution within littoral forest remnants.
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Ward, Ingrid Alexandra Kirsten. "Hidden in the sands of time geoarchaeology of sandstone landscapes in the Keep River region, Northern Territory, Australia /." Access electonically, 2003. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20041014.103128/index.html.
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Molloy, Shaun. "Applying the principles of spatial modelling to the management of biodiversity in the fragmented landscapes of south-western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/870.
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Biodiversity conservation throughout the world is challenged by the impacts of a changing climate on fragmented landscapes. To mitigate these threats, conservation managers require models which can demonstrate the consequences of both negative impacts and management actions. This need can be addressed through spatial modelling applications. Unfortunately, throughout much of the world, spatial modelling is forgone, being seen as requiring skills and resources beyond the means of many conservation planners and managers. This thesis seeks to address this dilemma by delivering criteria for a successful modelling application and by providing case studies which demonstrate how appropriate modelling can be undertaken without highly specialised skills or prohibitively expensive software and equipment. In this way it facilitates the delivery of better targeted and, consequently more effective, management actions.
For my case studies I have used the south-western corner of Australia as a demonstration landscape. This region is recognised internationally as a “biodiversity hotspot,” not only for the biological richness and uniqueness of species but also for the level of threat to which they are subject. Like many landscapes throughout the world, much or this region’s natural biota exists in fragmented, fragile and degraded patches and is therefore highly vulnerable to the anticipated impacts of anthropogenic global warming.
In this thesis I have: 1) examined the principles of spatial modelling and reviewed how spatial modelling has been applied to conservation management in this region, 2) conducted examples of different forms of spatial modelling using actual regional conservation management issues, and 3) demonstrated how these examples can be incorporated into conservation management planning.
My key findings are: Spatial modelling provides users with an opportunity to effectively test hypotheses, thereby informing the planning process and improving conservation outcomes. Where spatial modelling is omitted from the process, knowledge gaps are often addressed by the axiomatic and by assumption. This is contrary to the principles of effective adaptive management. Modelling tools are inherently more effective when selected for their capacity to meet a planning objective rather than where projects are tailored to meet a model’s capacity. The coordinated use of multiple tools can often provide a more robust understanding of the consequences impacts and mitigating actions. All tools and data sets used should be utilised with a clear and acknowledged understanding of their suitability, strengths and limitations. A wide range of spatial modelling tools (and data sets) are freely and readily available to conservation managers. Most of these come with excellent tutorials and support services. Data gaps can often be addressed through targeted field observations, obtained through complimentary planning processes, or synthesised from accessible data sets. There is a very large body of peer reviewed literature demonstrating means by which others have applied existing modelling tools, or developed tools themselves, to meet a wide range of applications. Accessing this literature is an excellent means of building spatial modelling capacity. New and improved tools, methodologies and data sets are constantly being developed. A failure to implement effective spatial modelling is becoming increasing difficult to justify.
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O'Grady, Colleen Margaid. "The historical geography of six major river basins in the north west of Western Australia since pastoral occupation." Thesis, Curtin University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1516.
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The thesis is based upon research into the historical geography of the pastoral industry in the six major drainage basins in the North West of Western Australia, in an attempt to outline its early development, and to explain how the rangeland degeneration associated with the Big Drought of 1936-1946 was exacerbated by unrealistic official expectations and poor management, particularly of stations in the hands of absentee corporate owners. it discusses the failure of government agencies to appreciate the effects of overstocking in an environment characterised by climatic variability and fragile rangeland resources. It draws attention to the official reluctance to take action against the destructive activities of profit-seeking corporate owners in the period leading up to and including the Big Drought, and of speculative leaseholders in more recent times The thesis attempts to differentiate between the grassmen as leaseholders bent upon generating a sustainable income from the rangeland through conservative management, and the exploitative owners and their (often) incompetent managers. It identifies the specific characteristics of each of the basins in terms of the physical environment, the process of pastoral occupation and the resulting changing patterns of land use. It examines the changing nature of the habitat, economy and society of the Aboriginal people, from the days prior to European penetration up to the late 20th century It also considers the future prospects of the pastoral industry in each basin, with references to such issues as environmental impact, Aboriginal land rights and occupance, and the mining industry. As well as a comprehensive overview of the historical geography of each river basin, the thesis also includes a study of infrastructural elements and bf the activities of all groups of people involved in the development of the river basins.
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Jarvey, Ali Marie. "On the corner of north and nowhere. A novel ‐ and ‐ Going back to go forward: An invitation to get lost. A critical essay." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2016. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1931.
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This thesis comprises a young adult (YA) novel called On the Corner of North and Nowhere and an exegesis entitled ‘Going Back to Go Forward: An Invitation to Get Lost’.
On the Corner of North and Nowhere follows 18‐year‐old Nev Isles, who lives and works at Cleary’s, her grandmother’s art retreat in the Perth Hills. She dwells happily in an old cottage by herself, until her mother decides that she wants to move there too. Rather than live with her again, Nev runs away with her friend, Cole, set for the WA roads she travelled as a child and the mining town of Newman, where her father lives. The trip forces Nev to relive the slow fracturing of her relationship with her mother. Newman offers little reward. Her father has a girlfriend and wants to move from the town. As Nev grows homesick, she gravitates towards Cole. He encourages her to follow her instincts home, even though he cannot stay long himself: after they return to Perth, he has to leave for America to deal with his own family issues.
Nev and Cole’s journey back to the city is set against some of the most beautiful and isolated stretches of WA road. They find that they would rather stay lost in these landscapes, than return to chaos. It is only after a brief stay at a beach camp on the corner of north and nowhere, that they decide it is time to return home to face their troubles and inevitable separation.
While On the Corner of North and Nowhere is not autobiographical, it originates from my childhood, adolescent and adult experiences with WA places. ‘Going Back to Go Forward: An Invitation to Get Lost’ critically examines the composition of my manuscript, with distinct reference to these origins. It is written in two chapters, which are connected by the work and praxis of selected creative arts practitioners, whose experiences with place and literature in their youths also compel them to write as adults.
Chapter one investigates the prevalence of Edenic landscapes in WA literature, focusing on authors, such as Dorothy Hewett and Tim Winton, who aim to reconstruct lost paradise from their youth, in their fiction and nonfiction. Cleary’s, by comparison, is constructed as an unconventional Eden that subverts the trope, thus supporting Nev’s eventual return to paradise and her maturation. Finally, chapter two investigates the influence of Betsy Hearne and Roberta Trites’ narrative compass model, which encourages female scholars to reflect on a resonant story from their youth, towards an understanding of how it impacts their research. Recognising the narrative patterns in my compass was fundamental to the development of On the Corner of North and Nowhere, as it enabled me to craft second and subsequent drafts of the manuscript, with attention to rites of passage in Australian YA literature.
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Weerheim, Marieke S. "Distribution patterns and habitat use of black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus spp.) in modified landscapes in the south-west of Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/126.
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Conservation planning for animal species inhabiting modified landscapes requires understanding of where animals occur and how they utilise both natural and modified habitats. In this study the distribution and foraging behaviour of the forest red-tailed cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso), Baudin’s cockatoo (C. baudinii) and Carnaby’s cockatoo (C. latirostris) was investigated in three study areas which each contained a different combination of modified habitats. Pickering Brook contained native forest and orchards, Wungong contained a mosaic of native forest and revegetation, while Karnet contained primarily native forest and paddocks. The relationship between cockatoo distribution and land use types was examined by constructing Generalised Linear Models based on bird counts and land use data along 90.5 km of road transects. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select a set of the most parsimonious candidate models. Models were constructed at two scales: Regional models incorporated the datasets of all three study areas, while study area models used the datasets of single study areas. Models for the forest red-tailed cockatoo indicated selection against young post-1988 revegetation. This response was apparent at both the regional scale and within the Wungong study area. Baudin’s cockatoo selected in favour of orchards at the regional scale, but their distribution was unrelated to any land use variable within the (orchard-rich) Pickering Brook study area. No models were constructed for Carnaby’s cockatoo due to a limited number of observations for this species. Feeding observations demonstrated the importance of the native eucalypts marri (Corymbia calophylla) and jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) as a food source for the forest red-tailed cockatoo and Baudin’s cockatoo. In contrast Carnaby’s cockatoo fed most frequently in plantations of introduced pine (Pinus spp.). Contrary to model predictions, Baudin’s cockatoo was never observed feeding in apple orchards during the study. This discrepancy may be due to timing of the surveys outside the hours when Baudin’s cockatoo fed in orchards, or it could indicate that orchards are of limited importance as a food source. Forest red-tailed cockatoos consistently fed on particular marri trees while ignoring others, but this selectivity was unrelated to fruit morphology or seed nutrient content. Instead, foraging patterns may have been driven by ingrained habits, or by variation in the concentration of secondary compounds. iv In conservation efforts, identification of critical habitats is an important first step. This study highlighted the importance of studying habitat selection and constructing management plans at an appropriate scale, relative to the range of the target species. Wide ranging species like black cockatoos require regional scale protection of important broad vegetation types such as the northern jarrah forest, combined with landscape scale protection and restoration – for instance during postmining revegetation – of specific feeding habitat and food species, such as pine for Carnaby’s cockatoo and possibly Fraser’s sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana) for the forest red-tailed cockatoo.
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Sellens, Claire, and n/a. "The Reference Condition Approach in Disturbed Landscapes: Accounting for Natural Disturbance and a Reference Condition defined by Good Management Practices for River Protection." University of Canberra. School of Resource, Environmental and Heritage Sciences, 2007. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20081029.131335.
Full textAbstract:
This study has contributed to the development of the reference condition approach in
disturbed landscapes. The reference condition approach has been an important development
for the bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems by providing a practical tool for the accurate
assessment of river condition. The selection of appropriate reference sites is critical to the
success of the predictive model in terms of being able to distinguish between natural variation
in biota and the effects of human disturbance. Capturing natural variability and explaining it
is a key difference between the reference condition approach and other study designs (e.g.
before/after/control/impact). Natural disturbances such as drought or bushfire can
significantly alter the ecological condition of streams, and although the ecological condition
of streams affected by natural drought or bushfire is part of the natural cycle, this natural
variation of the ecological condition is rarely incorporated into many study designs because of
a mismatch in time scales. Human disturbance has also significantly altered the condition of
landscapes through the development of agriculture and urbanisation. In urban or agricultural
landscapes it can be impossible to locate streams that have not been modified by human
activity for use as a reference condition. This study looked at the effects of natural disturbance
on the reference condition, in terms of the way natural disturbance affects the prediction of
stream condition and also the incorporation of the condition of streams experiencing natural
disturbance into a predictive model. Additionally this study identified an alternative
benchmark for modified landscapes based on the presence of good management practices for
river protection, and tested this benchmark for the assessment of streams impacted by
urbanisation.
Drought and bushfire regularly disturb aquatic ecosystems in Australia, and affected reference
sites in the ACT and South Coast region of New South Wales in 2002 and 2003. Drought and
bushfire conditions affected macroinvertebrates and environmental variables across these
streams, and the majority of sites were assessed as significantly impaired using regional
AUSRIVAS (AUstralian RIVers Assessment System) models. This indicated the existing
reference conditions for these regions had not incorporated the ecological conditions of
reference sites suffering these natural disturbances. Many of the environmental variables used
to predict the condition of streams were also affected by drought or bushfire. The changes to
environmental variables affected how sites were assessed in models, but the overall
assessment was not significantly changed from the initial assessment that drought or bushfire
had significantly impaired the ecological condition.
To reduce potential assessment errors associated with changes to predictor variables an
attempt was made to construct new models with changeable variables excluded. However, it
was not possible to completely exclude these types of variables, and subsequent models were
no better than the original models in terms of changes to predictor variables affecting the
generation of expected taxa lists. The changes to environmental variables did not affect the
actual assessment of site condition because although group membership probabilities were
changed the probabilities of taxon occurrence did not change significantly. The different
reference site groups all contained some common taxa that occurred at most sites and even
when group probabilities changed this did not change the probability of these taxa occurring
at a test site. For regional models, such as the ACT or NSW South Coast, changes to predictor
variables may not significantly affect the assessment of site condition.
Incorporating reference sites under drought conditions into a predictive model was an
effective way of discriminating the effects of drought from human disturbance. The model
only provided two different ecological conditions, a single drought measurement and a single
non-drought measurement, so the model did not fully encompass the potential natural
variability. The model has value as a starting point and was effective in distinguishing sites
affected by human disturbance from sites affected by drought.
Good Management Practice (GMP) for river protection is any intervention that minimises
human impact on stream condition. Urban sites protected by GMP were used as an alternative
benchmark to a minimally impacted reference condition. The criteria used to select reference
sites were not sufficiently robust to detect a significant benefit of GMP on physical or
chemical characteristics of protected sites, compared to sites without GMP. In general
however, the physical and chemical condition of GMP sites was better than sites without
GMP and there were significant differences in macroinvertebrate assemblages of GMP and
non-GMP sites. A refinement to the site selection process is proposed to include a specific
assessment of GMP effectiveness for the protection it is designed to provide. This will
substantially improve the robustness of a GMP benchmark and provide a clearer picture of the
factors controlling biota in urban streams protected by GMP.
The GMP benchmark was developed into a predictive model for the assessment of urban
stream health, and in terms of the assessment of test site condition, it did not differ
significantly from a model using minimally impacted sites. The purpose of the GMP
benchmark was to provide an alternative reference condition for the assessment of stream
health in modified landscapes when minimally impacted sites are unavailable or provide an
unattainable benchmark. The GMP reference condition as an alternative can provide an
attainable and realistic benchmark. The development and application of the suggested site
selection protocol will improve the robustness of the GMP benchmark and better account for
natural variation in the biota and physical characteristics of the sites used to determine the
reference condition.
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O'Grady, Colleen Margaid. "The historical geography of six major river basins in the north west of Western Australia since pastoral occupation." Curtin University of Technology, Faculty of Media, Society and Culture, 2004. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=15843.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis is based upon research into the historical geography of the pastoral industry in the six major drainage basins in the North West of Western Australia, in an attempt to outline its early development, and to explain how the rangeland degeneration associated with the Big Drought of 1936-1946 was exacerbated by unrealistic official expectations and poor management, particularly of stations in the hands of absentee corporate owners. it discusses the failure of government agencies to appreciate the effects of overstocking in an environment characterised by climatic variability and fragile rangeland resources. It draws attention to the official reluctance to take action against the destructive activities of profit-seeking corporate owners in the period leading up to and including the Big Drought, and of speculative leaseholders in more recent times The thesis attempts to differentiate between the grassmen as leaseholders bent upon generating a sustainable income from the rangeland through conservative management, and the exploitative owners and their (often) incompetent managers. It identifies the specific characteristics of each of the basins in terms of the physical environment, the process of pastoral occupation and the resulting changing patterns of land use. It examines the changing nature of the habitat, economy and society of the Aboriginal people, from the days prior to European penetration up to the late 20th century It also considers the future prospects of the pastoral industry in each basin, with references to such issues as environmental impact, Aboriginal land rights and occupance, and the mining industry. As well as a comprehensive overview of the historical geography of each river basin, the thesis also includes a study of infrastructural elements and bf the activities of all groups of people involved in the development of the river basins.
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Evans, Bradley. "Monitoring and modelling forest and woodland declines under a drying climate, from individual tree canopies to landscapes across the southwest of Western Australia." Thesis, Evans, Bradley (2014) Monitoring and modelling forest and woodland declines under a drying climate, from individual tree canopies to landscapes across the southwest of Western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2014. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/20553/.
Full textAbstract:
Severe reduction in precipitation over the last three decades has resulted in forest and woodland decline and mortality across the southwest of Western Australia (SWWA). This precipitation-reduction driven drought is shown to have come with significant increases in diurnal thermal variability. These bioclimatic changes are shown to correspond to declining forest and woodland condition and in the case of the Northern Jarrah Forest, the mortality of the endemic keystone species Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) and Corymbia calophylla (marri). Quantifying the bioclimatic link between these localized events is a key to understanding the dynamic drivers of change and to the development of ongoing adaptive strategies to reduce the impact and severity of forest and woodland declines. A novel measure of crown health, named the total crown health index (TCHI), is proposed and validated by combining the use of remotely sensed airborne digital multispectral imagery (DMSI) and in-situ assessments of crown condition. The approach provides a means to quantify changes in individual tree crown condition through space and time. Landscape scale remote sensing and climatologies are used to develop a methodology for mapping forest mortality and quantifying the bioclimatic envelopes of seven eucalypt dominated forest and woodland zones across the SWWA. Reported decline events across SWWA are investigated and together, this cross-scale range of methodologies, constituting a framework, can be applied at a range of scales from an individual tree up to landscapes. The extent of forest and woodland declines are spatially aggregated using remotely sensed imagery at 0.5m, 10m, 250m, 500m and climatologies of around 5000m. A set of bioclimatic thresholds are determined for each of the seven forest and woodland zones across SWWA. These thresholds could have been used to predict the declines across SWWA up to 12 months in advance. I conclude with a set of recommendations suitable for land managers and policy makers that suggests how to apply these methods and tools for the ongoing monitoring and modelling of forested and woodland areas.
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Marchesan, Doreen. "Presence, breeding activity and movement of the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes), in a fragmented landscape of the southern Mt Lofty Ranges." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AS/09asm316.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
"September 2002" Bibliography: leaves 77-85. Examines the persistence of the yellow-footed antechinus using live trapping in small, remnant patches and strips of forest, to document autecological sata and the investgate occurrence, breeding activity and inter-patch movements. Radio-tracking was conducted to compare home range properties of lactating females in restricted and unrestricted habitat.
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Gill, Nicholas Geography & Oceanography Australian Defence Force Academy UNSW. "Outback or at home? : environment, social change and pastoralism in Central Australia." Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. School of Geography and Oceanography, 2000. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38728.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the responses of non-indigenous pastoralists in Central Australian rangelands to two social movements that profoundly challenge their occupancy, use and management of land. Contemporary environmentalism and Aboriginal land rights have both challenged the status of pastoralists as valued primary producers and bearers of a worthy pioneer heritage. Instead, pastoralists have become associated with land degradation, biodiversity loss, and Aboriginal dispossession. Such pressure has intensified in the 1990s in the wake of the native Title debate, and various conservation campaigns in the arid and semi-arid rangelands. The pressure on pastoralists occur in the context of wider reassessment of the social and economic values or rangelands in which pastoralism is seen as having declined in value compared to ???post-production??? land uses. Reassessments of rangelands in turn are part of the global changes in the status of rural areas, and of the growing flexibility in the very meaning of ???rural???. Through ethnographic fieldwork among largely non-indigenous pastoralists in Central Australia, this thesis investigates the nature and foundations of pastoralists??? responses to these changes and critiques. Through memory, history, labour and experience of land, non-indigenous pastoralists construct a narrative of land, themselves and others in which the presence of pastoralism in Central Australia is naturalised, and Central Australia is narrated as an inherently pastoral landscape. Particular types of environmental knowledge and experience, based in actual environmental events and processes form the foundation for a discourse of pastoral property rights. Pastoralists accommodate environmental concerns, through advocating environmental stewardship. They do this in such a way that Central Australia is maintained as a singularly pastoral landscape, and one in which a European, or ???white???, frame of reference continues to dominate. In this way the domesticated pastoral landscapes of colonialism and nationalism are reproduced. The thesis also examines Aboriginal pastoralism as a distinctive form of pastoralism, which fulfils distinctly Aboriginal land use and cultural aspirations, and undermines the conventional meaning of ???pastoralism??? itself. The thesis ends by suggesting that improved dialogue over rangelands futures depends on greater understanding of the details and complexities of local relationships between groups of people, and between people and land.
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Woodfield, Linda University of Ballarat. "The landscape of my life." University of Ballarat, 2007. http://archimedes.ballarat.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/12801.
Full textAbstract:
The investigations surrounding the topic ‘The Landscape of My Life’ questions whether it is possible for a landscape to delineate the way in which we live our lives. For a period of thirty-two years my home has been a historic rural property comprising a dwelling and outbuildings on twenty acres of undulating countryside at Carngham. The work conveys the story of my life at this locale and pursues the motives behind the purchase of the country property, the experiences and remembrances that exist from this period of time and reflects upon the implications of a way of life over the last three decades. While considering the impact that a landscape can have on individual lives, it became important to consolidate the insights that surfaced for me with respect to my own life and works and compare it with that of other selected landscape artists. This comparison took into account personal and family backgrounds, artistic techniques, relationships with the land and the motivations that resulted in the depiction of particular landscapes. The result of these observations led to a consideration that not only can a landscape define the way in which we live our lives but, also identifies an affinity between human beings and the environment.Master of Arts
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Woodfield, Linda. "The landscape of my life." University of Ballarat, 2007. http://archimedes.ballarat.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/15613.
Full textAbstract:
The investigations surrounding the topic ‘The Landscape of My Life’ questions whether it is possible for a landscape to delineate the way in which we live our lives. For a period of thirty-two years my home has been a historic rural property comprising a dwelling and outbuildings on twenty acres of undulating countryside at Carngham. The work conveys the story of my life at this locale and pursues the motives behind the purchase of the country property, the experiences and remembrances that exist from this period of time and reflects upon the implications of a way of life over the last three decades. While considering the impact that a landscape can have on individual lives, it became important to consolidate the insights that surfaced for me with respect to my own life and works and compare it with that of other selected landscape artists. This comparison took into account personal and family backgrounds, artistic techniques, relationships with the land and the motivations that resulted in the depiction of particular landscapes. The result of these observations led to a consideration that not only can a landscape define the way in which we live our lives but, also identifies an affinity between human beings and the environment.Master of Arts
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Satherley, Shannon D. "Reconnection : a contemporary development in cultural landscape theory contributing to rehabilitation strategies for Australian open-cut coal mining landscapes." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/59556/6/59556a.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
A value-shift began to influence global political thinking in the late 20th century, characterised by recognition of the need for environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable resource development. This shift entailed a move away from thinking of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ as separate entities – the former existing to serve the latter – toward the possibility of embracing the intrinsic worth of the nonhuman world. Cultural landscape theory recognises ‘nature’ as at once both ‘natural’, and a ‘cultural’ construct. As such, it may offer a framework through which to progress in the quest for ‘sustainable development’.
This study makes a contribution to this quest by asking whether contemporary developments in cultural landscape theory can contribute to rehabilitation strategies for Australian open-cut coal mining landscapes. The answer is ‘yes’.
To answer the research question, a flexible, ‘emergent’ methodological approach has been used, resulting in the following outcomes. A thematic historical overview of landscape values and resource development in Australia post-1788, and a review of cultural landscape theory literature, contribute to the formation of a new theoretical framework: Reconnecting the Interrupted Landscape. This framework establishes a positive answer to the research question. It also suggests a method of application within the Australian open-cut coal mining landscape, a highly visible exemplar of the resource development landscape. This method is speculatively tested against the rehabilitation strategy of an operating open-cut coal mine, concluding with positive recommendations to the industry, and to government.
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Liddle, Lynette Elizabeth. "Traditional obligations to country : landscape governance, land conservation and ethics in Central Australia." Phd thesis, Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151581.
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Mah, D. B., University of Western Sydney, and of Performance Fine Arts and Design Faculty. "Australian landscape : its relationship to culture and identity." THESIS_FPFAD_Mah_D.xml, 1997. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/257.
Full textAbstract:
This paper is an examination of the relationship of Australian landscape imagery to culture and identity. Visual and historical ideas in the Heidelberg School and more contemporary landscape work is assessed in relation to social history in the work of Ian Burn et al and the social history in the work of Anne Maree Willis. These two types of history are compared and conclusions are made about their similarities and differences in the articulation of identity and culture. It will be concluded that identity and culture are ideas and values which are recycled and relocated with the passage of time and that certain central themes reoccur in the construction of identity and cultureMaster of Visual Arts (Hons)
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Lothian, Andrew. "Landscape quality assessment of South Australia." Title page, table of contents, abstract and detailed contents only, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37804.
Full textAbstract:
The object of this thesis is to provide, through a thorough analysis of human perception and interaction with aesthetics and landscape quality, a comprehensive basis on which to develop a credible methodology for the large scale assessment of perceived landscape quality. The analysis of human perception and interaction with aesthetics and landscape quality is gained by inquiring in depth into a range of theoretical constructs from key disciplines, cultural aspects, and empirical studies covering : 1. the contribution of philosophers to aesthetics 2. the psychology of perception and colour 3. the contribution of Gestalt psychology to aesthetics 4. the psychoanalytical construct of human responses to aesthetics 5. the influence of culture on landscape preferences, tracing the changing perceptions of mountains, the portrayal of landscapes in art, and the design of parks and gardens 6. a review of over 200 surveys of landscape quality in the late 20th century, including typologies and theories of landscape quality Based on the analysis of these and the knowledge gained, an empirical study is formulated and conducted, comprising a study of landscape quality of South Australia, an area of nearly 1 million km - 1. This involves, firstly, the acquisition of data covering the delineation of landscape character regions for the State, photography of these landscapes, derivation of a set of representative slides, and rating of these by groups of participants. Secondly, these preference ratings are comprehensively analysed on the basis of the attributes of the scenes covering land form, land cover, land use, water bodies, naturalism, diversity and colour. Thirdly, the results are applied as follows: 1. a map of landscape quality of South Australia is derived 2. the results are used to predict the effect that changes in land use ( e.g. clearance of trees ) will have on landscape quality 3. the theoretical constructs of landscape quality are evaluated on the basis of the preference ratings 4. a protocol is detailed to guide the undertaking of large - scale landscape quality assessment. The thesis thus fulfils the objective of conducting a thorough analysis of human perception and interaction with, aesthetics and landscape quality, to provide a basis for developing a credible methodology for the large - scale assessment of perceived landscape quality.Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2000.
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McMasters, Neil G., and neilgmcmasters@mac com. "Impressions from Virtual Landscapes." RMIT University. Art and Culture, 2003. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20090715.142840.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this project was to build and render digital landscape models that reflect natural element characteristics and use the resulting data sets as source material for fine art investigation and production. The project utilized 3D computer modeling techniques, selected output technology and studio facilities. Computer-generated virtual landscapes material was incorporated into studio practice by providing observed environmental content for the development of works for exhibition. An accompanying exegesis explored the relationship and tensions between digital landscape data sets and the broader use of landscape as a motif within an Australian context.
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Young, Amanda M., University of Western Sydney, of Performance Fine Arts and Design Faculty, and School of Design. "Several interpretations of the Blue Mountains : a juxtaposition of ideas over two hundred years." THESIS_FPFAD_SD_Young_A.xml, 1997. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/607.
Full textAbstract:
In 1815 the Blue Mountains were first identified as a unique landscape when Governor Macquarie took a tour over them and located the nineteenth century principles of the Sublime and Picturesque within its' landscape. Until this time the Blue Mountains were considered to be a hostile impenetrable barrier to the West. This paper examines some of the ways the Blue Mountains has been represented in the past, and has been identified as a tourist destination through interpretations imposed on the landscape by the tourist industry since that time. The areas covered deal with the heritage of British Colonialism as a way of forming opinions about the Australian landscape. Then, the theories of the Picturesque and Sublime are examined when applied to the Blue Mountains landscape. The final chapters in this paper deal with contemporary issues that have shaped the way the tourist industry is encouraged to encounter the Blue Mountains landscapeMaster of Arts (Hons)
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Venn, Darren P. "A changing cultural landscape: Yanchep National Park, Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/28.
Full textAbstract:
This study depicts the changing landscape of Western Australia's Yanchep National Park as it has evolved in response to natural processes and human activities. The study also serves to evaluate the level of input Indigenous people have in the management of Australian natural and cultural heritage. The Park was examined by utilising a methodology that combined a cultural geography approach with Structuration Theory. Yanchep National Park is highly suited to this type of investigation because of its close proximity to a major urban centre ( Perth ) and because of the importance of the area to Indigenous people, resulting in a highly visible cultural heritage within the Park.
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Parker, Margaret Ina. "Landscape painting : connection, perception and attention /." Access full text, 2006. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/thesis/public/adt-LTU20080225.113947/index.html.
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Thesis (M.Visual Arts) -- La Trobe University, 2006.Research. "An exegesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Visual Arts by Research, School of Visual Arts and Design, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora". Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-92). Also available via the World Wide Web.
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Spry, Melissa J., and n/a. "The Regolith and landscape evolution of a low relief landscape: Cobar, Central New South Wales, Australia." University of Canberra. Resource, Environmental & Heritage Management, 2003. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050704.162445.
Full textAbstract:
Construction of a 1:250,000 scale regolith-landform map of the Cobar area of central New
South Wales (NSW) Australia, demonstrates the presence of a wide range of previously undescribed
regolith materials, landforms and landscape features in the region. The map covers the east-west extent
of the Cobar Basin, extends to the west onto the Darling River Floodplain, and east onto rocks of the
Girilambone Group. The mapping area is centred on the Cobar township and covers -14,730 krn2
between 303113 and 446113 E and 6483184 and 6586183 N (AGO 66, MGA Zone 55). 48 regolithlandform
units have been identified, including both transported (alluvial, colluvial, aeolian, lacustrine)
and in situ materials. A range of siliceous, ferruginous and calcareous indurated materials are also
present.
Four major drainage types have been identified based on lithological, sedimentological and
topographic differences in alluvial materials. The 4 drainage types include: 1) modern drainage; 2)
maghemite and quartzose gravels elevated 1-2 m relative to the modern drainage; 3) higher
topographically inverted, and at least partly silicified, gravels; and, 4) sediments of Cretaceous origin.
Multiple phases of drainage stability and instability from the Cretaceous to the present are indicated
within the sediments. Breaching of drainage divides and increased dissection of the modern drainage,
especially to the south of Cobar, indicate possible tectonic movement across a major regolith-landform
boundary in the southern map area. Colluvial materials are more widespread to the north of Cobar
reflecting the increased landscape dissection to the south. Colluvial fans are preserved adjacent to
major rangefronts. Aeolian and lacustrine materials include longitudinal dunefields of the Darling
River floodplain, source bordering dunes, and small lunettes associated with the Barnato Lakes system.
Regolith-landform mapping at Cobar has been used to assess the applicability of previously
developed landscape evolution models of the Cobar Block and surrounding region, and to develop a
new landscape evolution model for the region. The new landscape evolution model of Cobar indicates
minimal deposition of Cretaceous sediments, succeeded by high-energy early Tertiary fluvial regimes
across the Cobar landscape. Weathering and sediment deposition continued into the Miocene, coupled
with deep valley incision on the Cobar Block associated with early Oligocene regression. By the close
of the Miocene, the Cobar Block had eroded to predominantly bedrock terrain and widespread filling of
previously incised valleys occurred. A decrease in erosion and fluvial activity led to the formation of
the modern drainage during the Pliocene-early Quaternary, followed by the formation of alluvial,
aeolian and lacustrine deposits in the later Quaternary. Regionally, Eromanga Basin sediments were not
extensive over the Cobar Block, and low rates of erosion are recorded at Cobar from the Cretaceous to
the present. Former northerly drainage did exist in this area in the Cretaceous, but was limited in
distribution. By at least the Early Tertiary the Cobar area was a structural high and drainage systems of
the region had assumed their current configuration. These findings do not support interpretations of
AFTT data of significant cover and subsequent stripping over the Cobar Block in the Early Tertiary.
Evidence of landscape evolution from the Cretaceous to the present suggests that the Cobar
landscape has been responding to changes in the primary landscape forming factors of lithology,
climate and to a lesser degree, tectonics. Variations in the these three primary landscape forming
factors have contributed to ongoing weathering, relatively continuous deposition, and periods of
relative stability and instability, particularly in response to climatic and baselevel fluctuations, within a
dynamically evolving landscape throughout the entire Tertiary. Former landscape evolution models of
peneplanation and pediplanation, based on correlation of palaeosurfaces including duricrusts, a deep
weathering profile developed during extended planation in the Early Tertiary, and tectonism during the
late Tertiary in the Cobar area, are not supported by evidence preserved in regolith-landform features at
Cobar.
32
Rowlings-Jensen, Emma. "Nuts, mountains and islands : a cultural landscapes approach to managing the Bunya Mountains /." [St. Lucia, Qld], 2004. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe18222.pdf.
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Whitson, Robert. "Sacred landscape : an unsettling." Mt. Helen, Vic. :, 2002. http://archimedes.ballarat.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/15639.
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"This project is concerned with a visual exploration of the land of the Western Plains of Victoria and the nature of "the sacred" in that landscape. Specifically, I have explored these ideas through the medium of painting and works on paper. The studio practice has been informed both by my personal experiencs of this geographic region and by research into the histories associated with white settlement and the subsequent forms of erasue of aboriginal presence."Master of Arts- (Visual Arts)
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Watson, David Rowan Scott. "Precious Little: Traces of Australian Place and Belonging." University of Sydney, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1098.
Full textAbstract:
Master of Visual ArtsThe Dissertation is a meditation on our relationship with this continent and its layered physical and psychological ‘landscapes’. It explores ways in which artists and writers have depicted our ‘thin’ but evolving presence here in the South, and references my own photographic work. The paper weaves together personal tales with fiction writing and cultural, settler and indigenous history. It identifies a uniquely Australian sense of 21st-century disquiet and argues for some modest aesthetic and social antidotes. It discusses in some detail the suppression of focus in photography, and suggests that the technique evokes not only memory, but a recognition of absence, which invites active participation (as the viewer attempts to ‘place’ and complete the picture). In seeking out special essences of place the paper considers the suburban poetics of painter Clarice Beckett, the rigorous focus-free oeuvre of photographer Uta Barth, and the hybrid vistas of artist/gardener Peter Hutchinson and painter Dale Frank. Interwoven are the insights of contemporary authors Gerald Murnane, W G Sebald and Paul Carter. A speculative chapter about the fluidity of landscape, the interconnectedness of land and sea, and Australia’s ‘deep’ geology fuses indigenous spirituality, oceanic imaginings of Australia, the sinuous bush-scapes of Patrick White, and the poetics of surfing. Full immersion is recommended.
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Callow, John Nikolaus. "River response to land clearing and landscape salinisation in southwestern Australia." University of Western Australia. School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, 2007. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0085.
Full textAbstract:
[Truncated abstract] Land clearing is known to increase runoff, and in many dryland landscapes is also associated with rising saline watertables, causing increased stream salinity and degrading riparian vegetation. The limited understanding of how river morphology responds to these changes and the potential for vegetation-based strategies to offer river management options under these conditions, has prompted this research. In southwestern Australia the severity of salinity and recent nature of land clearing provides an appropriate setting to investigate river response. A data-based, multidisciplinary methodology was applied to determine how land clearing and landscape salinisation has altered landscape sensitivity through changes in erosive potential, system connectivity and material threshold mechanisms, and how these affect patterns of river response. The study investigated the responses of morphologically similar reaches across fifty two study sites in the Kent River and Dalyup River catchments, in the south coastal rivers region of Western Australia. Land clearing was found to have significantly altered the hydrologic regime and erosive potential in both frequency and magnitude, with flow becoming more perennial, and increased annual discharge, flood peaks and bankfull flow frequency. While sediment transport rates have also increased since land clearing, they remain low on a global scale. Human response to a reduced rainfall regime and related water security pressures has caused large hillslope areas to be decoupled from the main channels by bank and farm dam construction, and have reduced downstream transmission of change. ... By contrast, steeper-sloped mid-catchment areas with minimal vegetation degradation caused by salinity are associated with higher erosive potential. A more erosive response is observed in these reaches where floodplains have been cleared for agricultural purposes. A conceptual model of vegetation growth across the salinity gradient observed in the study catchments was developed, and applied to selected river styles to assess the potential that vegetation-based strategies offer for river management. This work identifies the unsuitability of river restoration strategies, but the potential for river restoration or remediation in a saline landscape. Hydraulic modelling demonstrated that river rehabilitation strategies such as improving the vegetation condition of the riparian buffer using native or commercial species on areas elevated above saline flow can stabilise reaches. For river styles in wide and flat valleys, there is limited potential for vegetation-based river rehabilitation under the current salinity gradient. Field observation and modelling suggest that river remediation may offer geomorphic management options in salt-affected reaches through channelisation to lower watertables, and further research on this is warranted. This work found a consistent response for river styles across the two study catchments. Based on the understanding of river response and the potential for vegetation-based river management for each style, this research offers a regional-scale tool for river management in a saline landscape.
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Reeve, Martin. "Fragmented landscape and fragmented law : threatened species management in South Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1998. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ENV/09envr331.pdf.
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Sharp, Ben R. "Landscape-scale woody vegetation dynamics in an Australian tropical savanna." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.397462.
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Kollosche-Houston, Sandra Dianne. "The explorers : perceptions of landscape and the indigenous people, Australia, 1826-1876 /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2003. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09ark815.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (B.A.(Hons.)) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, Discipline of History and School of Humanities, Discipline of English, 2003."November 2003" Bibliography: leaves 70-74.
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Quigley, Mark Cameron. "Continental tectonics and landscape evolution in south-central Australia and southern Tibet /." Connect to thesis, 2006. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00002963.
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McClelland, I. P. "Landscape and memory : Irish cultural transmission in Victoria (Australia), c. 1840-1901." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.246344.
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Wilford, John Richard. "New regolith mapping approaches for old Australian landscapes." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/85930.
Full textAbstract:
The regolith, or ‘critical zone’, forms a discontinuous layer that covers large areas of Earth’s terrestrial surface. It is a dynamic zone that forms and changes through time in response to interactions between air, rocks (minerals), water and biota. Knowledge of regolith is critical because of its key role in supporting terrestrial life, through physical, chemical and biological processes that operate at mineral-water interaction scales up to the regional scale through geological and tectonic activity. There are many disciplines or areas of applied integrated research that rely on an improved understanding of regolith formation and information on surface and sub-surface regolith properties at appropriate spatial scales. These areas of study include; agriculture, land use sustainability, hydrology, salinity management, ecology, mineral exploration, natural hazard risk assessment and civil engineering. Furthermore, mapping regolith is critical in understanding the origin and evolution of regolith through space and time. Mapping the regolith and formulation of associated robust process models are in their infancy compared with geological and soil mapping, which have had a long history of development and refinement. Regolith mapping can be seen as a hybrid approach combining elements from the existing mapping disciplines of geology, soil and geomorphology. The regolith-landform approach, used extensively in Australia, is broadly similar to soil-landscape mapping where landforms are used as the principal surrogate to map regolith. Regolith-landform and soil-landscape mapping are inherently empirical and qualitative. However, in the last ten years there has been a move from the qualitative land resource survey (i.e. soil-landscape mapping) approaches to quantitative, digital survey underpinned by statistical methods. These new quantitative approaches are enabling the prediction of specific soil properties with associated estimates of model confidence or uncertainty not possible using traditional approaches. The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate and assess the application of quantitative soil mapping approaches in predicting regolith properties. Four case studies are presented that illustrate the application of quantitative mapping approaches in predicting regolith across a range of spatial scales and within different landscape settings. These four investigations include: 1. A continent-wide prediction of weathering intensity using a step-wise multiple regression-based model using airborne gamma-ray imagery and terrain relief; 2. A continent-wide prediction of near-surface secondary carbonate using environmental correlation and regolith geochemistry; 3. A regional-scale prediction of soil-regolith thickness over the Mt Lofty Ranges in southern South Australia using environmental correlation, drilling and legacy data, and 4. A regional-scale 3D regolith-landscape evolution model of valley-fill deposits from the Jamestown area in South Australia based on dataset integration, regression analysis and optically stimulated luminescence dating. The investigations are interpreted within a landscape evolutionary framework and future research directions are discussed. Digital regolith mapping shows considerable potential in predicting regolith properties over different landscape scales. This mapping is also important for understanding the complex interaction of environmental factors that control regolith formation, removal and preservation. Addressing gaps in predictive datasets that describe or reflect properties within the sub-surface (i.e. 5–100 m depth interval) and systematic collection of quantitative regolith attributes such as weathering depth and geochemistry will greatly enhance the future applications of digital regolith mapping in Australia.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2014
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Ayres, Catherine. "Vibrant landscapes: encounters, ecologies, and politics of national parks in Australia." Phd thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/110520.
Full textAbstract:
National parks are at the centre of debates around land use,
conservation and broader discussions on the environment in
Australia. These debates are formed by multiple voices. While
some argue that national parks are unnecessarily ‘locked up’
natural resources, others emphasise the role that national parks
play in preserving ecological sustainability, biological
diversity, and protecting vulnerable species.
Despite an acknowledgement that there are different views on the
role of national parks, little attention has been paid to what
exactly national parks are. In this thesis, I move beyond a
common understanding of national parks as ‘containers’ for
nature, created by, regulated, and controlled by human
activities. Such an understanding is limited because it ignores
the complexities and the capacities of nonhuman bodies, and
leaves little conceptual room for thinking through encounters and
transformations that are always creating the world anew. In
response to this ‘deadening’ of difference in the world, I
argue for a more fluid understanding of national parks as
processual places that are at once constituted and constituting.
Rethinking national parks as processual places calls for a
reconsideration of the interconnectedness of the multiple human
and nonhuman lives that inhabit and constitute national parks.
These interconnections are usually understood as ‘ecologies’,
and, within western academic thought, are almost universally
apprehended through ecological sciences. Whilst the type of
knowledge generated by ecological sciences is indispensable to
management strategies, the scientific paradigm – like any
approach to understanding the world – has its limitations. This
thesis challenges the dominance of a scientific approach to
understanding ‘the natural world’ by drawing on empirical
research moments that highlight the importance of encountering
and thinking about ecological processes of national parks beyond
scientific modes of analysis.
These reconsidered notions of national parks and ecology demand
rethinking current modes of discussing and enacting environmental
politics. Accordingly, I argue that we might begin to move past
adversarial, subject-centred modes of environmental politics
towards a politics of productive response to environmental
problems.
This thesis is deeply embedded within an experimental research
ethos and serves to challenge some of the methodological
orthodoxies in the production of social scientific knowledge. The
structure, style, and tone of the thesis is therefore somewhat
unorthodox, and throughout I reflect on my own personal
imbrication with the subject matter of national parks and nature,
emphasising the processuality of the research experience.
This thesis is not intended as a diagnostic or prescriptive tool
for how to solve the ‘problem’ of national parks in
Australia. Rather, this thesis is offered as a ‘stepping
back’, a reconsideration of some of the underpinning
assumptions upon which national parks, understandings of nature,
and environmental politics are founded.
Challenging the systems of thought that sustain problematic
attitudes to our role in the world is crucial to rethinking how
we conceptualise and respond to environmental problems. This
thesis takes up the challenge of articulating new ways of
thinking about the complexities of humans and nature, opening
possibilities for new terrains of environmental practices,
ethics, and politics.
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Hill, Leanne Jodie. "Geochemical and biogeochemical dispersion and residence in landscapes of western New South Wales." Phd thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148590.
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Russell, Bayden D. "The ecology of subtidal turfs in southern Australia." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37981.
Full textAbstract:
Assemblages of algae are altered by both bottom - up ( e.g. nutrient availability ) and top - down ( e.g. herbivory ) processes. As a result of the increasing human population in coastal areas, massive changes are forecast to benthic habitats in response to increasing coastal nutrient concentrations and a reduction in consumers. To identify the scales over which nutrients may have an effect, abundance of turf - forming algae growing as epiphytes on kelp ( Ecklonia radiata ) were related to water nutrient concentration across temperate Australia. In general, the percentage cover of epiphytes was greatest at sites with the greatest nutrient concentrations. By experimentally elevating mean nitrate concentration from the low 0.064 ± 0.01 µmol L [superscript - 1 ] to 0.121 ± 0.04 µmol L [superscript - 1 ], which was still only ~ 5 % of that measured on a more eutrophic coast, I was able to increase the percentage cover of epiphytes to match those seen on nutrient rich coasts, despite not matching the nutrient concentrations on those coasts. Hence, it appears that the effects of elevated nutrients will be disproportionately large on relatively oligotrophic coasts. Nutrient concentrations were also experimentally elevated to test whether the presence of an algal canopy or molluscan grazers were able to counter the effects of nutrient enrichment on algal assemblages. The loss of canopy - forming algae is likely to be a key precursor to nutrient driven changes of benthic habitats, because nutrients had no direct effect on algal assemblages in the presence of canopy - forming algae. In the absence of canopy - forming algae, space was quickly monopolised by turf - forming algae, but in the presence of elevated nutrients grazers were able to reduce the monopoly of turf - forming algae in favour of foliose algae. This switch in relative abundance of habitat may reflect greater consumption of nutrient rich turf - forming algae by grazers, possibly creating more space for other algae to colonise. Importantly, greater consumption of turf - forming algae in the presence of elevated nutrients may act as a mechanism to absorb the disproportionate effect of nutrients on oligotrophic coasts. In southern Australia, canopy - forming algae have a negative impact on the abundance of turf - forming algae. To assess the mechanisms by which an algal canopy may suppress turf - forming algae, abrasion by the canopy and water flow were experimentally reduced. Abrasion by the canopy reduced the percentage cover and biomass of turf - forming algae. In contrast to predictions, biomass and percentage cover of turf - forming algae were also reduced when water flow was reduced. Light intensity was substantially reduced when there was less water flow ( because of reduced movement in algal canopy ). However, the reduction in available light ( shading ) did not account for all of the observed reduction in biomass and percentage cover of turf - forming algae, suggesting that other factors are modified by water flow and may contribute to the loss of turf - forming algae. Habitat loss and fragmentation are well known to affect the diversity and abundance of fauna in habitat patches. I used experimental habitats to assess how fragmentation of turf habitats affects the diversity and abundance of two taxa of macroinvertebrates with different dispersal abilities. I established that increased isolation of habitats reduced the species richness and abundance of invertebrates with slow rates of dispersal, while the species richness and abundance of invertebrates with fast rates of dispersal were greatest in habitats that were far apart. In summary, this thesis provides an insight into some of the impacts associated with human populations in coastal areas, namely increased nutrient inputs, loss of grazers ( e.g. harvesting ), and loss of canopy algae and fragmentation of habitats. I show that increased nutrient concentrations in coastal waters can alter the relative abundance of algal species, and that some effects of elevated nutrients can be absorbed by the presence of grazers. I also show that elevated nutrients have no effect on algal assemblage in the presence of canopy - forming algae, and that canopies can suppress the colonisation of turf - forming algae. Finally, I show that the fragmentation of turf habitats affects taxa of invertebrates with different dispersal abilities in different ways. Whilst the contemporary ecology of much of the temperate Australian subtidal coast is considered to be relatively unaffected by human activity, this thesis shows that changes to top - down and bottom - up processes could have large consequences for habitats and their inhabitants.Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.
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Russell, Bayden D. "The ecology of subtidal turfs in southern Australia." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37981.
Full textAbstract:
Assemblages of algae are altered by both bottom - up ( e.g. nutrient availability ) and top - down ( e.g. herbivory ) processes. As a result of the increasing human population in coastal areas, massive changes are forecast to benthic habitats in response to increasing coastal nutrient concentrations and a reduction in consumers. To identify the scales over which nutrients may have an effect, abundance of turf - forming algae growing as epiphytes on kelp ( Ecklonia radiata ) were related to water nutrient concentration across temperate Australia. In general, the percentage cover of epiphytes was greatest at sites with the greatest nutrient concentrations. By experimentally elevating mean nitrate concentration from the low 0.064 ± 0.01 µmol L [superscript - 1 ] to 0.121 ± 0.04 µmol L [superscript - 1 ], which was still only ~ 5 % of that measured on a more eutrophic coast, I was able to increase the percentage cover of epiphytes to match those seen on nutrient rich coasts, despite not matching the nutrient concentrations on those coasts. Hence, it appears that the effects of elevated nutrients will be disproportionately large on relatively oligotrophic coasts. Nutrient concentrations were also experimentally elevated to test whether the presence of an algal canopy or molluscan grazers were able to counter the effects of nutrient enrichment on algal assemblages. The loss of canopy - forming algae is likely to be a key precursor to nutrient driven changes of benthic habitats, because nutrients had no direct effect on algal assemblages in the presence of canopy - forming algae. In the absence of canopy - forming algae, space was quickly monopolised by turf - forming algae, but in the presence of elevated nutrients grazers were able to reduce the monopoly of turf - forming algae in favour of foliose algae. This switch in relative abundance of habitat may reflect greater consumption of nutrient rich turf - forming algae by grazers, possibly creating more space for other algae to colonise. Importantly, greater consumption of turf - forming algae in the presence of elevated nutrients may act as a mechanism to absorb the disproportionate effect of nutrients on oligotrophic coasts. In southern Australia, canopy - forming algae have a negative impact on the abundance of turf - forming algae. To assess the mechanisms by which an algal canopy may suppress turf - forming algae, abrasion by the canopy and water flow were experimentally reduced. Abrasion by the canopy reduced the percentage cover and biomass of turf - forming algae. In contrast to predictions, biomass and percentage cover of turf - forming algae were also reduced when water flow was reduced. Light intensity was substantially reduced when there was less water flow ( because of reduced movement in algal canopy ). However, the reduction in available light ( shading ) did not account for all of the observed reduction in biomass and percentage cover of turf - forming algae, suggesting that other factors are modified by water flow and may contribute to the loss of turf - forming algae. Habitat loss and fragmentation are well known to affect the diversity and abundance of fauna in habitat patches. I used experimental habitats to assess how fragmentation of turf habitats affects the diversity and abundance of two taxa of macroinvertebrates with different dispersal abilities. I established that increased isolation of habitats reduced the species richness and abundance of invertebrates with slow rates of dispersal, while the species richness and abundance of invertebrates with fast rates of dispersal were greatest in habitats that were far apart. In summary, this thesis provides an insight into some of the impacts associated with human populations in coastal areas, namely increased nutrient inputs, loss of grazers ( e.g. harvesting ), and loss of canopy algae and fragmentation of habitats. I show that increased nutrient concentrations in coastal waters can alter the relative abundance of algal species, and that some effects of elevated nutrients can be absorbed by the presence of grazers. I also show that elevated nutrients have no effect on algal assemblage in the presence of canopy - forming algae, and that canopies can suppress the colonisation of turf - forming algae. Finally, I show that the fragmentation of turf habitats affects taxa of invertebrates with different dispersal abilities in different ways. Whilst the contemporary ecology of much of the temperate Australian subtidal coast is considered to be relatively unaffected by human activity, this thesis shows that changes to top - down and bottom - up processes could have large consequences for habitats and their inhabitants.Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.
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Azadi, Samira. "Hydrologic connectivity and degradation thresholds in semiarid landscapes." Thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1411266.
Full textAbstract:
Masters Research - Master of Philosophy (MPhil)The vegetation of dryland landscapes is particularly sensitive to climatic and/or anthropogenic pressures. Land degradation can cause simultaneous structural and functional changes in dryland ecosystems such as increased runoff, increased landscape, and soil resource heterogeneity, decreased secondary production and physiognomic changes. The amount and spatial arrangement of vegetation cover are closely linked to the process of resource redistribution. Disturbances, such as overgrazing and harvesting activities, can disrupt the original spatial structure of vegetation. Vegetation removal can generate increased overland flow and promote leak out of natural resources from the ecosystem by increasing landscape hydrologic connectivity. Thus, changes in vegetation cover can have profound effects on structural hydrologic connectivity and functionality of the landscape. In order to study the ecohydrologic responses of drylands and the effects of land degradation on these ecosystems, a combined structural-functional approach is needed. Thus, the main objective of this research is to investigate the structural and functional responses of dryland ecosystems to land degradation due to anthropogenic disturbances. Due to the wide variety of patterns they display, mulga landscapes provide an ideal setting for case studies aimed at investigating the spatial organization of dryland vegetation. This study was carried out in four study sites within two regions located on the central portions of Mulga (Acacia aneura) range distribution and Mulga lands bioregion in eastern Australia (Northern Territory, Lake Mere, Wallen and Croxdale) along a broad precipitation gradient (200- 500 mm/yr). These study sites can be considered as representative examples of Australian grazing rangelands. At each study site, several plots of the identical area but with varying degrees of vegetation disturbances were selected. For each study site, different datasets including daily rainfall and, high-resolution remote sensing products for DEM and vegetation index (NDVI) estimation during the period of 2001- 2013 were acquired to conduct the study. At first, the effects of changes in vegetation cover on the structural hydrologic connectivity due to land degradation were investigated. Then, the effects of these changes on the functional response of Mulga landscapes were estimated.
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Owens, Kimberley Ann. "Farmers, fishers and whalemen : the colonisation landscapes of Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea, Australia." Phd thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/149932.
Full textAbstract:
A small dot of land in the middle of the Tasman Sea, Lord Howe Island presents an interesting and unique opportunity to examine several archaeological and historical questions relating to the colonization of islands, settlement landscapes, and the development of isolated communities. Through a combination of historical research and archaeological investigation, this project seeks to investigate the processes of development and change that were operating in the LHI settlement landscape and to arrive at an understanding of how these processes may or may not have significance for the understanding of other island colonization events, particularly prehistoric ones. Extensive background historic research utilizing various published and unpublished sources; community consultation and gathering of local knowledge; surveys of six historically known sites and excavation of four; and the synthesis of the historic and archaeological data in the creation of settlement landscape maps and identifications of resource use over time were employed as mechanisms of understanding the processes of colonization on a Pacific island, and allowed an assessment of its usefulness as an analogue for similar historic and prehistoric scenarios. The consequential thesis that is presented here outlines these research tasks and results and culminates in the general conclusion that Lord Howe Island is both a useful example and comparative case for other studies while paradoxically being subject to its own unique historic context, and is therefore limited to useful generalities rather than specifics.
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Owens, Kimberley Ann. "Farmers, fishers and whalemen: the colonisation landscapes of Lord Howe Island, Tasman Sea, Australia." Thesis, 2008. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18765/1/18765-owens-2008-thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
A small dot of land in the middle of the Tasman Sea, Lord Howe Island presents an interesting and unique opportunity to examine several archaeological and historical questions relating to the colonization of islands, settlement landscapes, and the development of isolated communities. Through a combination of historical research and archaeological investigation, this project seeks to investigate the processes of development and change that were operating in the LHI settlement landscape and to arrive at an understanding of how these processes may or may not have significance for the understanding of other island colonization events, particularly prehistoric ones. Extensive background historic research utilizing various published and unpublished sources; community consultation and gathering of local knowledge; surveys of six historically known sites and excavation of four; and the synthesis of the historic and archaeological data in the creation of settlement landscape maps and identifications of resource use over time were employed as mechanisms of understanding the processes of colonization on a Pacific island, and allowed an assessment of its usefulness as an analogue for similar historic and prehistoric scenarios. The consequential thesis that is presented here outlines these research tasks and results and culminates in the general conclusion that Lord Howe Island is both a useful example and comparative case for other studies while paradoxically being subject to its own unique historic context, and is therefore limited to useful generalities rather than specifics.
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Gilna, Ben. "Biotechnology and its use on landscapes : an interdisciplinary synthesis of biotechnologies and their implications in Australia." Phd thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150639.
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Eastburn, David. "Realizing the capacities of rural community institutions to manage ecologically strategic landscapes on behalf of Australian society." Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/146546.
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