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Historical analysis of development and its impact on the ecology of the Grassy Waters Preserve

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Date Issued:
2006
Summary:
The purpose of this thesis was to document human impacts to Grassy Waters Preserve and correlate that to environmental change. Aerial photographs and archives provided a history of human impacts. These impacts included roadways, canals/levees, development, and landfills. To determine if environmental change occurred vegetation maps were digitized and compared from three study areas using 1940 and 1999 aerial photography. These vegetation maps included open water, transitional marsh/prairie, cypress, upland forest and human feature categories. Within all study areas the vegetation maps indicated decreases in the open water community. Within two areas major increases in cypress and uplands occurred. Vegetative shifts varied based on the locations of features like canals and levees. Due to image quality differences statistical analysis of the maps was not possible. However, the magnitude of change suggests that Grassy Waters became more densely vegetated and forested over time.
Title: Historical analysis of development and its impact on the ecology of the Grassy Waters Preserve.
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Name(s): Yustin, Michael A.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Gallagher, Jacqueline, Thesis Advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2006
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 117 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The purpose of this thesis was to document human impacts to Grassy Waters Preserve and correlate that to environmental change. Aerial photographs and archives provided a history of human impacts. These impacts included roadways, canals/levees, development, and landfills. To determine if environmental change occurred vegetation maps were digitized and compared from three study areas using 1940 and 1999 aerial photography. These vegetation maps included open water, transitional marsh/prairie, cypress, upland forest and human feature categories. Within all study areas the vegetation maps indicated decreases in the open water community. Within two areas major increases in cypress and uplands occurred. Vegetative shifts varied based on the locations of features like canals and levees. Due to image quality differences statistical analysis of the maps was not possible. However, the magnitude of change suggests that Grassy Waters became more densely vegetated and forested over time.
Identifier: 9780542634550 (isbn), 13355 (digitool), FADT13355 (IID), fau:10205 (fedora)
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2006.
Subject(s): Habitat conservation--Florida
Grassy Waters Preserve (Fla)
Natural history--Florida--Grassy Waters Preserve
Ecosystem management--Florida
Environmental policy--Florida
Restoration ecology--Florida--Planning
Sustainable development--Florida
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13355
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.