Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Water conservation. land-use'

This thesis examines water conservation in the upper valley of the Huai River in Anhui Province, close to the border between north and south China, during the Republic of China (ROC) era (1912-1949). Two main flood relief and water conservation projects are studied in detail. In order to gain a deeper and broader understanding of water conservation policies and practices in China during that period, additional comparative studies were undertaken of two water conservation projects in the lower areas of the Yangtze River in south and northwest China. The main question addressed in the thesis is: What are the key factors affecting the conservation and management of water in China during the ROC era? A further aim of the thesis is to reveal the inter-relationships between water conservation and ROC government policies, and the influence of grass roots actors and international powers in that period. This thesis includes a review of the literature on environmental history, in particular the history of water conservation. For the empirical investigation, a multi-disciplinary, mixed method was adopted, combining the study of historical documents and fieldwork in a series of detailed case studies. Firstly, this study investigates the relief work project in the upper area of the Huai River. The work and the lives of peasant labourers in a water conservation project, including their cooperation and conflicts with upper class engineers and officials are considered in order to provide a vivid and thorough exploration of the worksite. Secondly, the thesis describes and analyses the relationships between various groups (including engineers, the gentry, residents and officials of the Anfengtang Pond community), through a series of stories that highlight their activities, roles and priorities within water conservation and management initiatives. Thirdly, the thesis considers the history of the Lotus Polder and the story of the Jinghui Channel. Fourth, it explores the relationship between international politics and water conservation in the ROC to explain how modern culture and industry penetrated an old water conservation community. The interplay and influence of a wide variety of factors that affected water conservation in the ROC era, such as land policies, economic situation, national finance, wars, traditions and western factors, are addressed and analysed in this thesis.

This thesis research employs a multi-pronged analysis approach to contribute to the existing knowledge regarding land use and water quality in southern Miami Dade County. Nutrient concentrations for TP, NOx-N, and NH3-N were evaluated for water quality monitoring stations across seven canals for two time periods: 1990-2003 and 2009-2014. Overall, the sites did not surpass the mandated TP threshold but a number of sites exceeded the NOx-N and NH3-N criteria set by multiple government agencies. Statistical tests demonstrated that the sites had differing distributions, not sharing similar median concentrations. Land use classifications were derived for the area interest for the years 1994 and 2013. Regression models relating land use classifications to nutrient concentrations at various spatial scales provided mixed results. Lastly, a trend analysis for nutrient concentrations at the stations for 1990-2003 and 2009-2014 demonstrated that there were either no trends or a decreasing trend at most sites.

Infiltration, the process of water movement through the soil surface is one of most important hydrological processes to be considered in watershed management. The process depends on rainfall, soil, vegetation and topographic conditions. The last three variables can be influenced by human land-uses. This study is concerned with the influence of landuse types (categories) on infiltration at the upper Ciliwung watershed of West-Java, Indonesia. Sixty six infiltration measurements were carried out in 5 types of land-uses i.e. natural forest, agriculture, settlement, productive (old) tea and new tea plantation areas. The measurements were done using ring infiltrometers. The data obtained were expressed in the form of Philip's equation I = st1I2 + At, where I is cumulative infiltration; S is sorptivity; t is time; A is a parameter which was calculated from saturated hydraulic conductivity (K). Crown cover, slope gradient and soil variables such as soil moisture, organic carbon content, total porosity, bulk density were also analysed from each of the 66 sites. The results of the study shows that land-use types have significant influence on these soil variables and on infiltration. Crown cover and human activities in term of land management are among the most important factors which affect soil condition. These variables mostly influence total porosity of soil which is the most important variable to determine sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity. High percentage of crown cover and less human activity in forest area result in high accumulation of litter and humus and high total porosity of soil. On the other hand, settlement and new tea plantation areas have comparatively low crown cover and more frequent human activity which result in soil compaction. Discriminant function analysis of land-use categories shows that the soil under forest is very distinct from the soils under other land-use types. However, the soils under the remaining land-use types are more similar to each other, especially between the soil of settlement and tea plantations. The rank of infiltration rate from the highest to the lowest magnitude is as follows; natural forest, agriculture, productive tea plantation, new tea plantation and settlement areas. Infiltration rates under natural forest and agriculture are significantly different from each other as well as from those in the last three land- use types. However, there are no significant differences in infiltration rates among the last three land-use types. The result of this study also provides basic information for landuse management and further research in order to solve soil and water conservation and management problems in the watershed.

1.1 Background to, and motivation for, the study: The Working for Water programme (WfW) is a public works programme designed to clear South Africa of water-consuming invasive alien tree and plants, and to replace them with low water consuming indigenous species. This would prevent a loss of more than 4000 million cubic metres water per annum from the hydrological cycle (DWAF, 1998). The economic viability of the programme has been established in the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal (van Wilgen, Little, Chapman, Görgens, Willems and Marais, 1997; Gilham and Haynes, 2001), but questioned in the Eastern and Southern Cape (Hosking, du Preez, Campbell, Wooldridge and du Plessis, 2002). Hosking et al. (2002) investigated the economic case for the programme by performing a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), based on increased water yield and livestock potential, on six selected sites in the Eastern and Southern Cape, viz. Albany, Kat River, Pot River, Tsitsikamma, Kouga and Port Elizabeth Driftsands.

Tropical forests are under continual threat due to deforestation and forest fragmentation processes which are driven by the economic activities growth, mainly agriculture. Replacing forest with other land uses can cause severe impacts on river water quality, altering its physical, chemical and biological characteristics. The Atlantic Forest, in particular, had its original vegetation cover reduced to about 11%, wherein the crop lands expansion and urban sprawl still threatening this important ecosystem and the ecosystem services that it provides. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to investigate the relation between forest cover and water quality of tropical agricultural watersheds. For that, six experimental watersheds with different percentage of forest cover were selected in the Sarapuí River watershed, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Water samples were collected during a hydrologic year to obtain water quality parameters that represent impacts induced by anthropic activities. According to the percentage of forest cover, the watersheds were denominated as \"forested\", when they presented more than 55% of forest cover, and \"degraded\", with less than 35%. Multivariate statistical models were applied to identify differences between these two groups. In a second moment, the relation of land use/land cover within the watershed and within its respective riparian zone, represented in this study by the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPA), with water quality was compared through mixed models and redundancy analysis to identify the main factors that influenced water quality variability. Lastly, a watershed simulation modeling was applied to verify the impact of riparian forest restoration on water quality of the Sarapuí River watershed, wherein each experimental watershed was represented by a sub-watershed in the model. The results showed that the degraded watersheds presented higher values of solids, turbidity, nutrients and coliforms, besides presenting greater temporal data variability compared to forested watersheds. This variation is associated with the stream flow changes during the year. In general, forest cover was related to good water quality, while agriculture and urban areas were responsible for the water quality degradation. Pasture presented mixed impacts, but it was not generally correlated with poor water quality. The water quality parameters responded differently to the influence of land-use/land-cover patterns in the watershed and riparian zone, but the overall water quality is better explained by the landscape composition within the watershed. Nevertheless, the watershed simulation indicated that PPA restoration reduces the sediment and nutrients loading into the river. Thus, it is possible to conclude that tropical forest plays a fundamental role in the water resources conservation, reducing impacts of human activities in watersheds and the watershed management with forest restoration strategies for the entire watershed is critical for the maintenance of water quality to water supply, despite the importance of the riparian zone.
As florestas tropicais estão sob constante ameaça devido ao processo de desmatamento e fragmentação florestal impulsionado pelo crescimento das atividades econômicas, em especial, a agricultura. A substituição de áreas florestadas por outros usos do solo pode causar impactos severos na qualidade da água de rios, alterando suas características físicas, químicas e biológicas. A Mata Atlântica, em especial, teve sua cobertura original reduzida a cerca de 11%, sendo que a expansão de terras cultiváveis e urbanização ainda ameaçam esse importante ecossistema e os serviços ecossistêmicos prestados por ele. Nesse sentido, este estudo propôs investigar a relação da cobertura florestal com a qualidade da água de microbacias agrícolas tropicais. Para tanto, foram selecionadas seis microbacias experimentais com diferentes porcentagens de cobertura florestal na bacia do rio Sarapuí, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, onde foram feitas coletas de amostras de água por um ano hidrológico para a obtenção de parâmetros que representassem alterações na água induzidas por atividades antrópicas. Inicialmente as microbacias foram classificadas em \"florestadas\" e \"degradadas\", e modelos estatísticos multivariados foram aplicados para identificar diferenças entre os grupos. Em um segundo momento comparou-se a relação do uso e cobertura do solo na microbacia e na Área de Preservação Permanente (APP) com a qualidade da água utilizando-se modelos mistos e análise de redundância para identificar os principais fatores que influenciam a variabilidade da qualidade da água. Por último foi gerado um modelo hidrológico para simular o impacto da restauração da floresta ripária na qualidade da água da bacia do rio Sarapuí onde cada microbacia experimental desse estudo foi representada por uma sub-bacia do modelo. Os resultados mostram que as microbacias degradadas apresentam valores maiores de sólidos, turbidez, nutrientes e coliformes. Além disso, apresentam maior variabilidade temporal dos dados em relação às microbacias florestadas associada às alterações da vazão do rio. Em geral, a cobertura florestal foi relacionada à boa qualidade da água, enquanto que agricultura e ocupação urbana foram os usos do solo responsáveis pela degradação da qualidade da água. O uso pastagem apresentou impactos mistos, porém no geral não foi correlacionado à qualidade da água ruim. Os parâmetros de qualidade da água responderam de forma diferente quanto à influência dos padrões de uso e cobertura do solo na microbacia e na APP, porém, considerando-se todos parâmetros em conjunto, a qualidade da água é melhor explicada pela composição da paisagem da microbacia. Ainda assim, a simulação do modelo indicou que a restauração das APPs reduz a carga de sedimentos e nutrientes para o rio. Com isso, conclui-se que a floresta tropical tem papel fundamental na conservação dos recursos hídricos, reduzindo impactos das atividades humanas exercidas nas microbacias e que, apesar da importância das APPs na redução de poluentes para o rio, o manejo de bacias com estratégias de restauração florestal para toda a microbacia é extremamente importante para a manutenção da qualidade da água para abastecimento.

High anthropogenic modification like infrastructural development, drainage, eutrophication, dumping garbage, is a threat to biodiversity of smaller water bodies in agricultural landscapes. However, smaller water bodies have historically been constructed for drainage, waste treatment and other purposes. Further, new small water bodies are now being constructed in agricultural areas in Sweden, mainly to remove nutrients and to improve landscape biodiversity. This creates two different age classes (old and new) of smaller water body habitats. I sampled aquatic insects in 27 smaller water bodies of varying types and ages in Halmstad region and related insect biodiversity, species richness, composition structure to environmental variables. I partitioned the region into two locations (Northern and Southern) for easy data comparison and due to difference in topography. The data was analysed using a Canonical Correspondence (CCA) and regression analysis. The CCA results show a difference in the species composition between old and new sites. The most important variables in explaining species assemblage structure was age of the aquatic water bodies. The species richness decreased with increase in nutrient concentration (total phosphorus) according to regression analysis. Species composition and diversity were related to Vegetation and tree cover in and around the water body. The results of my study shows that the older the water bodies the better for specific species like Aeshna cyanea and the new water bodies tolerate more specimens. My results suggest that, as there is need to facilitate plant growing, protecting vegetation and trees to better mimic natural conditions of water bodies, creating new water bodies while protecting aged water bodies is important for conservation of biodiversity.

Driven by many factors, the water supply services (streamflow and groundwater) of many rivers in the dryland area of China have declined significantly. This aggravates the inherent severe water shortages and results in increased severity in the water use conflicts that are threatening sustainable development in the region. Innovative strategies towards more water-efficient land management are vital for enhancing water quantity to ensure water supply security. A key step in the successful development and implementation of such measures is to understand the response of hydrological processes and related services to changes in land management and climate. To this end, it was decided to investigate these processes and responses in the upper reaches of the Jing River (Jinghe), an important meso-scale watershed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River on the Loess Plateau (NW China). It has been shown that vegetation restoration efforts (planting trees and grass) are effective in controlling soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. Shifts in land cover/use lead to modifications of soil physical properties. Yet, it remains unclear if the hydraulic properties have also been improved by vegetation restoration. A better understanding of how vegetation restoration alters soil structure and related soil hydraulic properties, such as water conductivity and soil water storage capacity, is necessary. Three adjacent sites, with comparable soil texture, soil type, and topography but contrasting land cover (Black locust forest, grassland, and cropland), were investigated in a small catchment in the upstream Jinghe watershed (near Jingchuan, Gansu province). Seasonal variations of soil hydraulic properties in topsoil and subsoil were examined. Results revealed that the type of land use had a significant impact on field-saturated, near-saturated hydraulic conductivity, and soil water characteristics. Specifically, conversion from cropland to grass or forests promotes infiltration capacity as a result of increased saturated hydraulic conductivity, air capacity, and macroporosity. Moreover, conversion from cropland to forest tends to promote the formation of mesopores that increase soil water storage capacity. Tillage in cropland temporarily created well-structured topsoil, but also compacted subsoil, as indicated by low subsoil saturated hydraulic conductivity, air capacity, and plant available water capacity. An impact of land cover conversion on unsaturated hydraulic conductivities was not identified, indicating that changes in land cover do not affect functional meso- and microporosity. Changes in soil hydraulic properties and associated hydrological processes and services due to soil conservation efforts need to be considered, should soil conservation measures be implemented in water-limited regions for sustaining adequate water supply. To differentiate between the impacts of land management and climate change on streamflow, the variation of annual streamflow, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and climatic water balance in a small catchment of the upstream Jinghe watershed (near Pingliang, Gansu province) was examined during the period of 1955 – 2004. During this time the relative contributions of changes in land management and climate to the reduction of streamflow were estimated. A statistically significant decreasing trend of -1.14 mm y-1 in annual streamflow was detected. Furthermore, an abrupt streamflow reduction due to afforestation and construction of terraces and check-dams was identified around 1980. Remarkably, 74% of the total reduction in mean annual streamflow can be attributed to the soil conservation measures. Among various conservation measures, streamflow could be considerably reduced by afforestation and terracing (including damland creation), due to their low contribution to water yield. In contrast, slope farmland and grassland can maintain a certain level of water supply services due to higher runoff coefficients. According to a meta-analysis of the published studies on the Loess Plateau, the impact of changes in land management on annual streamflow appears to diminish with increasing catchment size while the impact of climate change appears uniform across space. This means that there is a dependency between the catchment size and the response of hydrological processes to environmental change. At least at the local scale, it appears that well-considered land management may help to ensure the water supply services. Due to limited surface water availability, groundwater is an essential water source for supporting ecosystem and socio-economic development in the dryland region. However, the groundwater process is susceptible and vulnerable to changes in climate and landscape (i.e., land cover and form) that in turn can result in profound adverse consequences on water supply services in water-limited regions. In addition, an improved understanding of the response of groundwater related processes to natural and artificial disturbances is likely to ensure more secure and more sustainable governance and management of such regions, as well as better options for adapting to climate change. Yet, this topic has seldom been researched, especially in areas that have already experienced large-scale alteration in landscape and are located in dryland regions, such as the Loess Plateau. Therefore, an investigation of the baseflow variation along the landscape change was conducted. The average annual baseflow has significantly decreased at catchment scale during the period of 1962 – 2002 without any obvious significant change in climate. At decadal scale, the reduction accounts for approximately 9% in the 1970s, 48% in the 1980s, and 92% in the 1990s, while the baseflow index declines averaging 5%, 16% and 67%, respectively. All of the monthly baseflow levels dropped at varying rates except in January, among which July was the most severe in terms of both magnitude (-4.17) and slope (-0.09 mm y-1). In perspective of landscape change, landform change (terrace and check-dam) tends to reduce baseflow by reallocation of surface fluxes and retention for crop growth causing limited deep drainage in other areas. Land cover change (i.e., afforestation) reduced the baseflow to a larger extent by enhanced evapotranspiration and thus hampered deep drainage as suggested by the soil moisture measurement underneath. The study indicates that knowledge about baseflow formation on catchment scale needs further improvement. Integrated soil conservation and water management for optimizing landscape structure and function in order to balance soil (erosion) and water (supply) related hydrological ecosystem services is vital. The governing processes to the changes of water-supply-services-related hydrological process (e.g., streamflow) are assumed to be different across space. To this end, the factors controlling streamflow were investigated on both a small and large scale. Streamflow in small catchments was found to be mainly controlled by precipitation and land cover type. On a larger scale, evaporative demand was found to be another additional major driving force. Hydrological modeling is a frequently used tool for the assessment of impacts of land use and climate change on water balance and water fluxes. However, application of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in the upstream Jinghe watershed was unsuccessful due to difficulties in calibration. The inability of the SWAT model to take the influence of terraces on steep slopes into consideration and the method how to calculate lateral flow were the main reasons for unsatisfactory calibration, at least for the current version of SWAT used in this study. Alternatively, Budyko’s frameworks were applied to predict the annual and long-term streamflow. However, the effect of changes in land management (e.g., afforestation) on streamflow could not be assessed due to a lack of vegetation factors. Therefore, an empirical analysis tool was derived based on an existing relationship for estimation. This method was found to be the most effective in reproducing the annual and long-term streamflow. The incorporation of temporal changes in land cover and form in the approach enables the estimation of the possible impact of soil conservation measures (e.g., afforestation or terracing). The importance of adaptive land management strategies for mitigating water shortage and securing the water supply services on the Loess Plateau was highlighted. A cross-sectoral view of the multiple services offered by managed ecosystems at different spatial scales under changing environments needs to be integrated to improve adaptive land management policy. In a water limited environment, such as the Loess Plateau, multiple ecosystem services including hydrological services need to be balanced with minimum trade-offs. This can only be achieved when management is based on a holistic understanding of the interdependencies among various ecosystem services and how they might change under alternative land management.

This Minor Field Study was carried out during November and December in 2011 in the Mount Elgon District in Western Kenya. The objective was to examine nine small-scale farming household´s land use and socioeconomic situation when they have joined a non-governmental organization (NGO) project, which specifically targets small-scale farming households to improve land use system and socioeconomic situation by the extension of soil and water conservation measures. The survey has worked along three integral examinations methods which are mapping and processing data using GIS, semi structured interviews and literature studies.   This study has adopted a theoretical approach referred to as political ecology, in which landesque capital is a central concept. The result shows that all farmers, except one, have issues with land degradation. However, the extent of the problem and also implemented sustainable soil and water conservation measures were diverse among the farmers. The main causes of this can both be linked to how the farmers themselves utilized their farmland and how impacts from the climate change have modified the terms of the farmers working conditions. These factors have consequently resulted in impacts on the informants’ socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore it was also registered that social and economic elements, in some cases, were the causes of how the farmers manage their farmland. The farmer who had no significant problem with soil erosion had invested in trees and opportunities to irrigate the farmland. In addition, it was also recorded that certain farmers had invested in particular soil and water conservation measures without any significant result. This was probably due to the time span these land measures cover before they start to generate revenue.  The outcome of this study has traced how global, national and local elements exist in a context when it comes to the conditions of the farmers´ land use and their socioeconomic situation. The farmers atMt.Elgon are thereby a component of a wider context when they are both contributory to their socioeconomic situation, mainly due to their land management, and also exposed to core-periphery relationships on which the farmers themselves have no influence.

Em toda a superfície terrestre o uso humano está transformando grande parte das florestas, especialmente na região tropical. O desmatamento de florestas tropicais é uma das principais fontes de emissão de gases do efeito estufa e a principal ameaça à conservação de espécies e dos serviços ambientais prestados pela floresta. Dentro desse contexto que também envolve a fragmentação do habitat, o objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar como as relações entre a dinâmica do uso e cobertura da terra afetaram a estrutura e composição da comunidade de vertebrados, e também a qualidade da água em riachos no Sudoeste da Amazônia brasileira. Nós analisamos esse processo em uma área de aproximadamente 50000 km² por meio de mapas classificados a partir de imagens de satélite ao longo de 36 anos de monitoramento. Nós observamos uma perda de floresta da ordem de 24826 km² relacionada, dentre outros fatores, à expansão da malha viária de 3158 km para 12863 km de extensão, tornando a área de estudo como uma das mais desmatadas de toda a Amazônia brasileira. A dinâmica do uso e cobertura da terra ao longo da série temporal mostra que as paisagens com desmatamento mais recente apresentaram fragmentação mais intensa do que aquelas com desmatamento mais antigo e onde ocorreu pequena ou nenhuma derrubada de floresta. Os resultados da inferência com modelos generalizados de mínimos quadrados mostram que a proximidade das estradas é um dos fatores que contribuem para o aumento no desmatamento, principalmente em áreas com menor declividade e distantes dos rios. Os modelos lineares generalizados com os maiores valores de importância relativa para explicar a riqueza de espécies, biomassa agregada e o índice de vulnerabilidade à caça foram compostos pela área, número e distância entre os fragmentos como variáveis independentes. A área de floresta é importante também para a conservação da água, principalmente quanto à sua proporção na faixa de 100 m ao longo dos riachos amostrados. Levando-se em conta as características dos solos predominantes na microbacias e a sazonalidade, principalmente nos meses chuvosos, a redução de floresta próxima aos rios é responsável pelo aumento nas concentrações de alumínio, fosfato, sedimentos em suspensão, amônio e nitrato, de acordo com nossos modelos lineares generalizados. Ao final, considerações foram feitas a respeito do aumento da fiscalização e da regularização fundiária para impedir que a fronteira do desmatamento continue a avançar sobre áreas de floresta primária, e que o manejo das áreas fragmentadas inclua a restauração da floresta, principalmente ao longo dos rios para diminuir o isolamento dos fragmentos remanescentes. Nós ressaltamos também, a necessidade de se estudar como as perturbações recorrentes nos fragmentos como corte seletivo e incêndios continuam afetando a comunidade de vertebrados que ocorrem fora das áreas contínuas de floresta.
Extensive areas across the Earth surface have been modified by human land uses, particularly in the tropical region. Deforestation is one of main sources of emissions of greenhouse gases and the main threat to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by tropical forests. In the context of human-modified landscapes, including forest fragmentation, the main goal of this work is to understand the relationships between land use and land cover dynamics and the changes in the structure and composition of forest vertebrate community and also, the alterations in the quality of surface water in catchments. We assess land use dynamics about 50,000 km² of study area located in Southwestern Brazilian Amazon. By mean of maps of land cover classified from satellite images based in a 36-year monitoring, we observed a forest loss of 24,826 km² related to the expansion of road network from 3158 km to 12863 km in the same period. This result makes the study area as the most deforested of entire Brazilian Amazon. The land use dynamics show that fragmentation is higher in recent deforestation frontier than in both older deforestation and landscapes with few or no deforestation detected. Our results from inference with generalized least square models show that distance to the roads affects negatively the deforestation rates, mainly in flat areas and near to small and large rivers. The generalized linear models with higher relative importance to explain the species richness, aggregate biomass and the index of hunting vulnerability had as predictors the fragment area, number of patches and distance between fragments as major attributes of the landscape that affects the vertebrate community. The forest is important for maintenance of stream water quality, particularly if there is forest cover in the 100 m strips alongside the streams, considering the soil characteristics such as proportion of bases and seasonality. In our GLM multi-model analysis, the higher proportion of forest in surroundings the streams contributes to the increasing of concentrations in the rainy season of aluminum, phosphate, suspension sediments, ammonium and nitrate. At the end, we made consideration about law enforcement and landownership, to preclude the deforestation toward extensive areas of pristine forest. Moreover, we suggest that in fragmented landscapes the conservation efforts to be concentrated in forest restoration, mainly near to rivers, to reduce the isolation of the fragments. We highlighted the importance in monitoring the biodiversity responses to recurrent disturbing sources such as selective logging and accidental forest fires in fragmented landscapes.

As unidades de conservação (UC) são áreas com características naturais relevantes, com limites definidos e com o objetivo de proteção e preservação da natureza, sendo admitido apenas o uso indireto dos seus recursos naturais, o qual deve compatibilizar a conservação da natureza com o uso sustentável de parcela dos seus recursos naturais. As áreas em volta das UCs são estratégicas para a proteção da biodiversidade e para o desenvolvimento sustentável da população local. Entretanto, é necessário que hajam restrições e limites ao uso e ocupação do solo nos locais da circunvizinhança, para reduzir a influência dos impactos negativos na biodiversidade das áreas protegidas. O objetivo do presente estudo é fornecer embasamento técnico para a determinação de critérios que definam a extensão, o uso e a ocupação da zona de amortecimento (ZA) do Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR). Para isto foram elaborados critérios que definem: a) a extensão da zona de amortecimento e b) a utilização da zona de amortecimento. A definição da extensão da zona de amortecimento do PETAR baseou-se na delimitação das microbacias hidrográficas cujos cursos de água drenam para dentro do parque e na aproximação dos vetores antrópicos ao limite do parque. Os critérios que definiram o uso e ocupação da paisagem na zona de amortecimento foram baseados na vulnerabilidade à erosão do solo. Conclui-se que a zona de amortecimento de 10 quilômetros contempla os critérios aqui usados, abrangendo o limite das microbacias hidrográficas e os grandes fragmentos florestais. Entretanto a qualidade do parque está ameaçada pela expansão da agricultura, mineração, extração ilegal de palmito e silvicultura. A expansão dessas atividades ocorre de forma irregular em áreas de alta vulnerabilidades à erosão e coloca em risco a manutenção da qualidade do bioma protegido.
Conservation Units (UC) are areas with relevant natural features, with limits defined and with the goal of protecting and preserving nature, being admitted only the indirect use of its natural resources, which should reconcile nature conservation with the use sustainable portion of their natural resources. The areas around the UC are strategic to the protection of biodiversity and the local sustainable development of the population. However, it is necessary that there are restrictions and limits on the use and occupation of land in the surroundings, to reduce the influence of negative impacts on biodiversity in protected areas. The aim of this study is to provide a technical foundation for the determination of criteria that define the extent, use and occupancy of the buffer zone (BZ) of the Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park (PETAR). To this were developed criteria that define: a) the extent of the buffer zone and b) the use of the buffer zone. The definition of the extent of the buffer zone PETAR was based on the delineation of watersheds whose rivers drain into the park and approximation of the antropic vectors to the park boundary. The criteria that defined the use and occupancy of the landscape in the buffer zone were based on the vulnerability to soil erosion. It is concluded that the buffer zone of 10 km covers the criteria used here, covering the source of watersheds and large forest fragments. However the quality of the park is threatened by expanding agriculture, mining, illegal harvesting for palm-heart and forestry. The expansion of these activities occurs irregularly in areas of high vulnerability to erosion and can endanger the maintenance of the quality of the biome protected.

O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a saúde da microbacia hidrográfica do rio Passo Cue, região oeste do estado do Paraná, por meio do uso de indicadores de qualidade de solo e água. Esse rio é afluente da margem esquerda do reservatório de Itaipu e pertence à bacia hidrográfica do Paraná III. Como indicadores de qualidade de água foram utilizadas variáveis físicas, químicas e biológicas. Para avaliação da qualidade do solo, foram analisados os atributos textura, densidade, porosidade, carbono orgânico, biomassa microbiana, respiração basal, quocientes metabólico e microbiano, macro e micronutrientes, pH e saturação por alumínio. Os indicadores que se mostraram mais eficientes foram a densidade do solo e o quociente metabólico. O solo sob plantio direto apresentou melhor qualidade física, química e biológica em relação ao cultivo mínimo sem rotação de culturas. O solo sob plantio direto apresentou melhor qualidade biológica do que o solo sob fragmento florestal. A qualidade da água na microbacia do rio Passo Cue piorou da montante para a jusante em função do seu uso agropecuário.
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the conditions of the Passo Cue river watershed, in western Paraná, through soil and water quality indicators. The river is an affluent of the left bank of the Itaipú reservoir and is a part of the Paraná III watershed. Physical, chemical and biological variables were used as water quality indicators. To evaluate the soil quality, texture, density, porosity, organic carbon, microbial biomass, basal respiration, metabolic and microbial quotients, macro and micronutrients, pH and aluminum saturation were analyzed. The more efficient indicators were soil density and metabolic quotient. No-tillage soil showed better physical, chemical and biological quality in relationship with the minimum tillage one with no crop rotation. The soil under no tillage had better biological quality than under forest fragment. The water quality of the Passo Cue river worsened downstream in view of the agricultural use.

Recent declines in returns from primary forest products in New Zealand and projected increases in world food prices have led to the land-use conversion from plantation forest to pastoral farming in many lowland areas. After decades of forest cover the soils are in many cases less than adequate for pastoral farming, as they are acidic, with toxic levels of exchangeable aluminum, and contain low levels of available nitrogen (N), very high carbon (C):N ratio, and are devoid of earthworms and structural integrity. Overcoming the major site limitations of low soil pH and available N was a major priority and a field experiment was established in April 2005 to determine the impact of various rates of lime and N in relation to pasture establishment and production. Concerns about the short and long-term effects of these inputs on biological soil quality gave rise to the present study. The effects of land-use change and establishment inputs were assessed by comparison of selected treatment plots with two adjacent reference sites (long-term pasture and a 60–year Pinus radiata forest) on the same soil type. The effects of lime and N on soil biological quality were investigated under field and controlled environment conditions by determination of: microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acids - PLFA), microbial biomass (total PLFA), and microbial activity (dehydrogenase activity). Soil physical (percentage water-stable aggregates) and chemical (pH, and total C and N) properties were also determined. Similarly, the effects of earthworm addition on soil biological properties were explored in a short-term glasshouse pot experiment. The role of earthworms as indicators of soil biological quality in the field was assumed by nematodes and these were assessed in field trial plots and the reference sites mentioned above. Land-use change and applications of lime and N contributed to changing the microbial community structure determined by principal component analysis of transformed PLFA data. However, the effect of lime was more pronounced in the field, while N contributed most to changing microbial community structure in the glasshouse. Mean microbial activity in the field increased from 4 µg dwt/hr without lime to 16 and 21 µg dwt/hr where lime was applied at 5 and 10 tons/hectare (t/ha), respectively. Mean microbial activity in the field was markedly higher (7-fold) than in the glasshouse at similar rates of lime. Lime application also increased soil moisture retention in the field, mean gravimetric soil moisture increased from 0.33 in control plots to 0.38 and 0.39 in plots treated with 5 and 10 t/ha lime, respectively. Lime application was associated with greater soil aggregate stability. Soils from test plots treated with 5 and 10 tons/ha lime had 45-50% water-stable aggregates compared to 34% in treatments without lime. After 16 weeks in pots, earthworm treatments increased mean plant dry matter (DM)/pot by at least 19% above the control. The increase was attributed primarily to greater N mineralization in the presence of earthworms. For the duration of the trial the earthworm species tested (Apporectodea caliginosa and Lumbricus rubellus, individually or combined) did not affect any of the measured soil microbial properties. However, the survival rate of A. caliginosa was 83% compared to 25% for L. rubellus. The control not receiving any lime or N and plots treated with 10t/ha lime and 200 kgN/ha had similar nematodes species composition, comprising 40% each of bacterial and fungal feeding nematodes. They differed markedly from the reference sites as the forest soil was dominated by plant associated species (38%) and the long-term pasture had 44% plant parasitic nematodes. Accordingly, the soil food web condition inferred from nematode faunal analysis characterized all test plots as basal, stressed and depleted, while the forest soil was categorized as highly structured and fungal dominated. The findings of this thesis demonstrated that land-use change from forest to pasture can have significant impacts on soil biological properties, earthworms can contribute to pasture productivity even in the short term, and nematode faunal analysis is a robust and reliable indicator of soil biological quality.

碩士
逢甲大學
土地管理學系
87
Dar-Pu Reservoir Watershed which locates at Hsin-Zhu County was provided irrigation water supply for farm with 1128 hectare to Zhu-Nan Town and Tou-Fen Town of Miao-Li County and Xiang-Shan Town and Bao-Shan Town of Hsin-Zhu County. Dar-Pu Reservoir Watershed area is wide about 10466 hectare, the 90% of the watershed area is private land, the 10% area is national forest land and public land. The administration area of the watershed includes E-Mei, Bei-Pu, Bao-Shan and Wu-Feng town of Hsin-Zhu County. According to the view of natural resource, the environment of reservoir watershed which is belong to environmental sensitiveness area is unsuitable high density land use without well-arranged assessment. But the local people wish that the government could relax the restrictions of land use development in Dar-Pu Reservoir Watershed to use their own land effectively and to promote the local economic prosperity. It is a important task that how to plan and manage the land use problems of the reservoir watershed area with water conservation capacities. And how to balance the resource development and environmental reservation is also the important task. According to above reasons, it''s necessary to quantify the relationship between water conservation capacity and land use patterns in watershed area. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were adopted to build a digital database for reservoir area and to process hydrologic analysis. Remote Sensing (RS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) were performed to extract and identify the surface vegetation details and land use changes information. By the assist of hydrologic simulation program - Hydrological Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) is utilized to obtain out the relational function of water conservation capacity in Dar-Pu watershed for run off volume estimation from land use changes. This study is also used economic analysis to value the total benefits of water conservation capacity from deforestation or other land use pattern changes in Dar-Pu reservoir watershed , the outcome of this study can provide an important reference for sound watershed management. Through the integration of GIS, RS and Hydrological Model, the outcome of this study can show the surface run off volume and the effected coefficient influenced by the land use changes. The hydrological environment was also influenced by land use changes. The relationship between surface run-off and land use changes can result in the following sequence: forest < orchard < Paddy Rice, Crop field< Grass land< Bare land / landslide < Road and Build up area. By the results of benefits valuing , the benefits loss of water conservation influenced by deforestation or land use changes. When land use converted other land use with lower water conversation capacity, as build up area, road or landslide, the benefits loss of water conservation capacity will reduce 4-5 multiples from forest or orchard land use with high water conservation. This study shows the benefits of water conservation influenced badly from the land use development, so it''s measurable for land use management in reservoir watershed.

Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, is a valuable natural resource that suffers summer hypoxic events resulting from over a century of cultural eutrophication. Current efforts to reduce nitrogen loading from wastewater treatment facilities discharging into the Bay and its tributaries hold the promise of working towards ecological restoration. But, the efficacy of these efforts may be limited, or undone, if future changes in climate or land use increase nutrient and sediment loads to the Bay. This study developed a SWAT model of the upper Narragansett Bay watershed to simulate water quantity and quality. The baseline model was calibrated and validated to accurately reflect watershed behavior. I then used the model to simulate water quantity and quality under an altered climate, with an IPCC projected increase in temperature of 3°C and a 10% increase in precipitation by 2080. A second scenario incorporated projected 2080 land use in the absence of climate change. The third scenario combined the climate change and land use change alterations to examine cumulative impacts. A comparison of scenario outputs against the baseline simulation highlighted the expected impacts climate change and land use change will have on the watershed. Both climate change and land use change demonstrated impacts on surface runoff, water yield, PET and ET, streamflow, and loading of sediment, organic N, organic P and nitrate. Climate impacts were much greater than land use impacts, but land use impacts displayed greater regional variation. The results of the combined simulation indicate that future climate and land use change will likely negatively impact the Bay and undermine current efforts at restoration. However, the results also highlight the potential to utilize land use to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.

碩士
國立中興大學
水土保持學系所
100
Due to recent industrial and technological developments, many agricultural and husbandry zones are being illegal used by improper entrepreneur. This caused the decrease of cultivated lands and increase amount of environment pollution. Therefore, how will the authorities of the administration department use the current land management laws and regulations, coordinated rigorous investigation of improper exploitation and illegal use by certain entrepreneurs to protect the land environment and enhance Taiwan’s agricultural sustainable development is very important. According to the statistic analysis, the most common types of illegal land use are excavation, accumulation of granular material and various facilitated uses. In order to effectively deter the violation from continuing process, the regulations should include the following: Use allowance control ( Purpose ) , Soil and water conservation and maintenance control ( Disaster prevention ), and disciplinary and follow-up corrective control of three categories; Implement the policy of agricultural land use; the agricultural authority should play a leading law for illegal activities; and then invite all relevant departments to put forth a standard for operation model and procedures; to protect the national land from further desecration; the maintenance of agricultural land resource and promotion of the rational use of the lands, to create the enjoyable agricultural environment.

This dissertation reviews the principles of International River Basin Management and their application by the governments of Angola, Botswana and Namibia. The dissertation deals with the issues popularised by governments, water planners and international agencies that the twenty-first century's conflicts will be fought over water. Increasingly this concern is being used to justify new water-supply dams and river diversion projects. This is especially so in arid Southern Africa, the focus of this dissertation, where numerous major international water transfers are underway and many more are being planned. While Namibia's growing thirst is a serious problem, the story is more complicated than just too many basin states putting their straws into one glass. The growing conflicts over the Okavango's water use raise broader questions about ownership of common resources, and equity of access to those resources. Most southern African countries depend on primary natural resources to sustain economies and their people. The environmental issues are remarkably similar in countries within the region, and the economic, social and political fortunes of the individual countries are intertwined. Furthermore, the ways in which resources are being managed are similar and thus cause for common concern. In general, the ability of countries in the region to achieve sustainable development depends not on national policies but also on the commitment of neighbours to practice sound environmental management. This is because activities in one country can easily cause impacts on a neighbour and possibly result in "downstream" opportunity costs. This case study of the Okavango River Basin, a river facing prospective developments from riparian states Angola, Botswana and Namibia, attempts to find sustainable solutions to solving international resource conflict. In addition to outlining the possible future threats to the Okavango River, this study proclaims a number of recommendations in the way of declaring alternatives to Namibia's plans to extract water from the Okavango River. One such recommendation is the encouragement of Water Demand Management as an alternative to water transfer by Namibia. This management strategy is aimed at optimising the use of available water rather than developing new or extended supplies and as a result it has a vital role to play since it contributes to sustainable development rather than over exploitation of limited natural resources. The majority of large rivers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are shared by three or more countries, and as the region's water resources come under growing development pressure, the importance of establishing effective national and regional methods and institutions for sustainably managing these resources will increase greatly. From economic, ecological and human welfare perspectives, the Okav,ango River Basin is arguably one of the most important transboundary natural resources (TBNR) in the region. Owing to the basin's remoteness and history of conflict, the Okavango was spared much of the destructive developments that rivers in the region have suffered. As a result, the relatively pristine Okavango ecosystem continues to provide significant benefits to the region much as it has done for centuries. As we approach the new millennium, however, it is clear that the health of the Okavango River Basin is threatened as riparian states increasingly turn to the Okavango to support their growing populations and economies.
Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to pollution entering receiving waterbodies from diffuse sources, and is one of the main causes of water pollution in the United States. Best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) strategies are water and land management practices geared at reducing the effect of NPS pollution. This research focused on residents in northwestern Indiana and assessed their interest in adopting BMPs and LID strategies across the urban-to-rural gradient. Resident groups of interest include medium/large-scale farmers, small-scale farmers, rural non-farming residents, suburban residents, and urban residents. Specifically, this research explored residents’ awareness of and attitudes towards water quality improvement practices, their likelihood of adopting these practices, and factors that influence their likelihood of adoption. Data was collected through a household survey that was mailed to residents of Porter and LaPorte counties. In addition to survey questions measuring respondents’ awareness, attitudes, perceptions, likelihood of adoption, and demographics, the survey also contained an experimental component in the form of an information page. By using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical procedures to analyze survey data, this research found that respondents generally reported high levels of awareness of and positive attitudes towards BMPs and LID strategies. Despite this, 41% of respondents reported a likelihood of adopting any water quality improvement practices. This research found that resident groups differed in their awareness of water quality improvement practices, as well as their descriptive and subjective norms associated with adopting these practices. Respondents valued improved environmental quality and reduced flash flood risk as benefits of adopting water quality improvement practices, and identified not knowing enough about specific conservation practices and concerns about how to install and maintain the practices as main barriers to adoption. Generally, respondents who were younger, perceived more problems with various potential water pollution sources, were more aware of water quality improvement practices, had more positive attitudes, had a stronger sense of personal responsibility, sought information in the past about water quality problems, or perceived stronger social expectations from peers (i.e., subjective norms) were more likely to be interested in adopting water quality improvement practices in the next year. The role of information was more ambiguous. While information about how to choose, install and maintain specific water quality improvement practices may be useful for residents, the information treatment about the responsibility of each resident group for NPS pollution did not seem to affect respondents’ likelihood of adoption. However, this research did find that respondents reacted differently to the information provided based on their initial self-reported likelihood of adoption prior to receiving any information. Based on these results, this research suggests strategies that may be used by public and private entities to motivate residents’ adoption of water quality improvement practices, including but not limited to: (1) developing education programs that highlight both the broader environmental quality benefits and geography-specific practical benefits of water quality improvement; (2) developing technical assistance programs that help residents identify appropriate conservation practices for their homes and properties and that facilitate installation and maintenance of such practices; (3) developing communication strategies to help residents establish a sense of self-responsibility and align their perceived water quality problems with their own actions; and, (4) developing outreach programs to help establish and facilitate descriptive and subjective norms in favor of adopting water quality improvement practices at the watershed scale.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to pollution entering receiving waterbodies from diffuse sources, and is one of the main causes of water pollution in the United States. Best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) strategies are water and land management practices geared at reducing the effect of NPS pollution. This research focused on residents in northwestern Indiana and assessed their interest in adopting BMPs and LID strategies across the urban-to-rural gradient. Resident groups of interest include medium/large-scale farmers, small-scale farmers, rural non-farming residents, suburban residents, and urban residents. Specifically, this research explored residents’ awareness of and attitudes towards water quality improvement practices, their likelihood of adopting these practices, and factors that influence their likelihood of adoption. Data was collected through a household survey that was mailed to residents of Porter and LaPorte counties. In addition to survey questions measuring respondents’ awareness, attitudes, perceptions, likelihood of adoption, and demographics, the survey also contained an experimental component in the form of an information page. By using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical procedures to analyze survey data, this research found that respondents generally reported high levels of awareness of and positive attitudes towards BMPs and LID strategies. Despite this, 41% of respondents reported a likelihood of adopting any water quality improvement practices. This research found that resident groups differed in their awareness of water quality improvement practices, as well as their descriptive and subjective norms associated with adopting these practices. Respondents valued improved environmental quality and reduced flash flood risk as benefits of adopting water quality improvement practices, and identified not knowing enough about specific conservation practices and concerns about how to install and maintain the practices as main barriers to adoption. Generally, respondents who were younger, perceived more problems with various potential water pollution sources, were more aware of water quality improvement practices, had more positive attitudes, had a stronger sense of personal responsibility, sought information in the past about water quality problems, or perceived stronger social expectations from peers (i.e., subjective norms) were more likely to be interested in adopting water quality improvement practices in the next year. The role of information was more ambiguous. While information about how to choose, install and maintain specific water quality improvement practices may be useful for residents, the information treatment about the responsibility of each resident group for NPS pollution did not seem to affect respondents’ likelihood of adoption. However, this research did find that respondents reacted differently to the information provided based on their initial self-reported likelihood of adoption prior to receiving any information. Based on these results, this research suggests strategies that may be used by public and private entities to motivate residents’ adoption of water quality improvement practices, including but not limited to: (1) developing education programs that highlight both the broader environmental quality benefits and geography-specific practical benefits of water quality improvement; (2) developing technical assistance programs that help residents identify appropriate conservation practices for their homes and properties and that facilitate installation and maintenance of such practices; (3) developing communication strategies to help residents establish a sense of self-responsibility and align their perceived water quality problems with their own actions; and, (4) developing outreach programs to help establish and facilitate descriptive and subjective norms in favor of adopting water quality improvement practices at the watershed scale.

碩士
國立中興大學
水土保持學系
92
Soil and Water Conservation Law was legislated and announced on May 25-th 1994, and this outcome took twenty-five years by the soil and water conservation relative professional continuities. Besides establishing the law is the most important resource of law for the soil and water conservation workers, because the purpose and object of this law is to protect the Soil and Water resources of Taiwan, and also is the fundamental work for this island which twenty-three million people have been living in Taiwan. It is involved beyond individual benefit (Society benefit and Nation benefit) when legislated this law, therefore it especially and have priority to possess the penalty standard of the administrative legislation. In other words except the administration authority (Ex: Because there is no regulations for penalty in architecture Laws and it’s then classified into administrative laws) of this law. Because of the penalty (Soil and Water Conservation Law, clause 32 and 33rd) established, Jurisdiction could be intervened by operation of this law. Since the soil and water conservation workers are devoted to the civil engineering and Environmental protection mainly, consequently read and study law affairs cursorily. They couldn’t integrate the engineering and the law properly, accordingly they copy the regulation directly from Mountain sloping field conservation laws, clause 35th. It cause jurisdiction worker to feel doubtful to identify “…causing soil and water erosion… (Statutory article) ” When they execute the punishment. Due to this, they also couldn’t clamp down on illegality and prevent the catastrophe at the real time. This law is originally established to be a standard of soil and water conservation construction even more would make up the deficiency when opening the ground and enforcing a ban, but lead to difficulty for the jurisdiction worker contrarily. This study concern on expounding the jurisprudence theory, and explore the cause of Lincoln Building concurrently. I want to investigate the deficiency of this law by the occurred damage of Lincoln Building as an example and suggest the relative institute to revise this law accordingly. Therefore could completely fulfill the law onto develop and build and construct the slope land, in the mean time could stop over-cultivating and illegal constructing as well.

Wetlands are fragile ecosystems that deliver a wide range of environmental and ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being. This fragility has seen a number of wetlands succumb to degradations and loss arising from different causes. The positive contribution of wetlands to various ecosystems and the increasing rate of their degradation and loss has been a cause for concern to different stakeholders for a long time. One of the landmark indications of this concern is the constitution of the Ramsar Convention that was held in Iran in 1971 with the objective of addressing concerns regarding to wetland degradation and loss. Among the competing land uses resulting in wetlands loss and degradation could be listed urban agriculture, industrial development and housing. The research sought to assess the extent of wetland degradation with respect to housing developments in Harare, Zimbabwe. The dilemma as to why and how wetlands were being degraded was an issue of concern. The research sought to determine whether abatement or mitigation measures were in place to address the challenges Associated with wetlands loss and degradation. The subsequent growth of developments, their associated activities and possible intervention measures had to be thoroughly assessed. The administration of questionnaires and conducting of interviews was done to solicit data from the respondents. Collected data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Scientists. Further to this, Google satellite imagery was used in the mapping of the Belvedere North and Epworth suburbs. Disturbed and undisturbed portions of the wetlands were analyzed by Geographical Information System software. Direct observation of the wetland area was used to examine existing natural features. To determine extent of pollution, water samples were collected in the wetlands and submitted to the laboratory for analysis. Analysis of selected chemical and physical parameters was carried out in the laboratory using selected methods. The research made two important and broad findings. First, both the Belvedere North and Epworth wetlands have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activities with housing developments and urban agriculture as the major contributors of this degradation. The development of residential properties in the wetlands is a result of a high demand for residential space in Harare. Whereas housing developments in Belvedere are formal and planned, developments in Epworth were informal and haphazard. With no formal planning, the Epworth wetlands have been severely impacted by water and sand extraction as well as contamination of underground water by pit-latrines that are common in these informal settlements. Second, the research also found that wetland degradation was closely associated with the lack of clear wetland policies both at national and local levels. The laboratory results showed that the water in Epworth was more polluted than the water in Belvedere. The measure of pollutants in Epworth was higher due to the activities being carried out as compared to Belvedere. Measures of Dissolved Oxygen, Total Dissolved Substances and conductivity increased from October to March in Epworth. Of note is the measure of Dissolved Oxygen that increased between October and March with a mean of 7.9 and 2.5 respectively. Total nitrogen and total phosphate also increased significantly in midstream and downstream sections. In essence, averages of 0.01 in October and 0.04 in March were recorded respectively for total nitrogen. The study concludes that an integrated land use approach has the potential of minimizing wetland loss and degradation. This is possible through the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive policy involving all relevant stakeholders. This will ensure a coherent decision making process. In as much as integrated land use planning and policy formulation are potential approaches to wetland sustainability, the drive to implement policy by policy makers concerning wetlands has to be explored. As ignorance concerning the ecological importance of wetlands exists in some cases, it is critical to consider wetland benefits above other competing developments such as housing and urban agriculture. This can be achieved through merging interrelated disciplines with the idea of integrating wetland information. For instance, deriving engineering solutions could promote development yet preserving wetlands. It is also suggested that environmental impact assessments, as planning tools should be carried out simultaneously with the town planning aspect. If given to proper planning, wetlands have a huge chance of survival.
Environmental Sciences
M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Land use alterations have been major drivers for modifying hydrologic cycles in many watersheds nationwide. Imbalances in this cycle have led to unexpected or extreme changes in flood and drought patterns and intensities, severe impairment of rivers and streams due to pollutants, and extensive economic losses to affected communities. Eagle Creek Watershed (ECW) is a typical Midwestern agricultural watershed with a growing urban land-use that has been affected by these problems. Structural solutions, such as ditches and tiles, have helped in the past to reduce the flooding problem in the upland agricultural area. But these structures have led to extensive flooding and water quality problems downstream and loss of moisture storage in the soil upstream. It has been suggested that re-naturalization of watershed hydrology via a spatially-distributed implementation of non-structural and structural conservation practices, such as cover crops, wetlands, riparian buffers, grassed waterways, etc. will help to reduce these problems by improving the upland runoff (storing water temporally as moisture in the soil or in depression storages). However, spatial implementation of these upland storage practices poses hurdles not only due to the large number of possible alternatives offered by physical models, but also by the effect of tenure, social attitudes, and behaviors of landowners that could further add complexities on whether and how these practices are adopted and effectively implemented for benefits. This study investigates (a) how landowner tenure and attitudes can be used to identify promising conservation practices in an agricultural watershed, (b) how the different attitudes and preferences of stakeholders can modify the effectiveness of solutions obtained via classic optimization approaches that do not include the influence of social attitudes in a watershed, and (c) how spatial distribution of landowner tenure affects the spatial optimization of conservation practices on a watershed scale. Results showed two main preferred practices, one for an economic evaluation (filter strips) and one for an environmental perspective (wetlands). A land tenure comparison showed differences in spatial distribution of systems considering all the conservation practices. It also was observed that cash renters selected practices will provide a better cost-revenue relation than the selected optimal solution.

The Lake Bosomtwe impact crater is located in the Ashanti region of Ghana, West Africa. The impact crater diameter from rim to rim is approximately 10.5 km wide with a lake located at the center. Three different districts touch the lake containing 155,000 hectacres of land. There are approximately 7,500 people from 24 villages, and 12 of those villages reside within walking distance of the lake shore. Within the last ten years, the lake has been subjected to overfishing and environmental degradation. The health of the lake has declined due to overfishing and algae blooms caused by improper fertilization rates. Because of these factors, residents of the area have been forced to transition to subsidence farming as their main vocation. According to the Ghana Statistical Service group, 97.6% of the population participates in some form of rural crop farming (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). Experience with common practices such as crop rotation, fertilizer use, and erosion control is extremely limited. The lake has not been recommended for recreational use due to the excess runoff in the form of agrochemicals, liquid, and organic waste. Caged aquaculture and traditional fishing within Lake Bosomtwe is currently illegal.

A comprehensive Institutional Review Board (IRB) survey was developed for the six primary research questions to be examined. From these six research questions, 147 specific questions were developed. Three of the 147 questions were to obtain Global Positioning System (GPS) data for community households, pit latrines, and water wells or boreholes. This study sought to interview 10-15 farmers per village, for each of the 12 villages located along the shore of Lake Bosomtwe of their perspective on land use change/cover in the Lake Bosomtwe area, current farming practices, current water sanitation and hygiene practices, and current fishing practices. These surveys were collected in the form of oral responses, for which 118 small-holder farmers were interviewed. Of the participants surveyed, 66% were qualified to answer all questions, and 100% of participants completed the survey.

Some specific statistical tests were conducted based of market assessment survey. It was determined that no association between gender and level of education existed. Meaning, that female participants interviewed have just as many opportunities as male participants to pursue education beyond Junior High School (JHS). Yield averages between the villages on the north side of the lake with road access and villages on the southern portion of the lake with limited to no road access were determined to be significantly different. It was determined that road access does affect village yield. When comparing average usable yields between villages located on the northern side of the lake with road access or between villages on the southern side of the lake with limited to no road access, these results were not statistically significant. No significant difference in the scores for villages with road access on the northern side of the lake and villages with limited to no road access on the southern side of the lake existed. Therefore, road access does not affect village usable yield. Through statistical analysis an association was determined between people who practice bathing and washing in the lake and those who practice fishing as a form of livelihood.

Four decision matrices were created to prioritize the following items: Farm Components, technologies to showcase at an appropriate technology center, improved farming practices to showcase through Demonstration Plots, and extension outreach topics. The top three results for the Farm Components were: Appropriate Technology Center (ATC), Demonstration Plots, and a Micro-Credit Union. The top three technologies to showcase as part of the ATC are: PICS Bags, Moisture Meters, and Above-Ground Aquaculture. The three demonstration plots recommended terracing/erosion control, crop rotation, and cover crops. The highest priority extension outreach topics were: basic home/farm finance, improving health through washing stations, and post-harvest loss prevention. The top three priorities of each decision matrix will be the focus of further study, so that these topics can be developed and programs focusing on these needs can be implemented in collaboration with the community partners.