Repository logo

Browsing by Author "McHale, Melissa, committee member"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Building on sustainable development goal indicator 11.3.1. for improved utility and guidance
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Cardenas-Ritzert, Orion, author; Vogeler, Jody, advisor; McHale, Melissa, committee member; Leisz, Stephen, committee member
    The increased production of broad-coverage spatial datasets and investigation of these datasets by spatial analysis techniques allows for consistent examinations of urbanization patterns across the globe. Spatial data and analyses have proven valuable for sustainable urban development initiatives, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 under the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG Indicator 11.3.1 is a geospatially measured indicator implemented under SDG 11 for monitoring rates of urban expansion and population growth in a specific area over a period of time. Current methodological approaches and data inputs may hinder the application of SDG Indicator 11.3.1 at certain scales and extents. The overarching goal of this research is to build on the utility of SDG Indicator 11.3.1 by enhancing an existing urban delineation method for automated function, examining urban change at the urban agglomeration level across broad extents, highlighting hotspots of SDG Indicator 11.3.1, and evaluating the impacts of the spatial resolution of data inputs on SDG Indicator 11.3.1 and related outputs. In Chapter 1, we advanced an existing urban delineation method for the automatic identification of individual urban agglomerations across broad extents. We accomplished this by integrating various open-source datasets and tools with spatial analysis techniques. We used this methodology to examine SDG Indicator 11.3.1 and additional urban change metrics for urban agglomerations in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa over the 2016 to 2020 period. In Chapter 2, we applied our delineation methodology and examined the influence of spatial resolution of land use data on urban delineation, urban change metrics, and urban related land use change in Ethiopia over the 2016 to 2020 period. The results of Chapter 1 revealed trends of urban change and highlighted hotspots of SDG Indicator 11.3.1 at multiple levels across the three African countries. Chapter 2 revealed the implications of using varied spatial resolutions of land use maps when delineating urban areas, assessing SDG Indicator 11.3.1 and other urban change metrics, and examining urbanization-driven land use change.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Characterization of co-benefits of green stormwater infrastructure across ecohydrologic regions in the United States
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Rainey, William, author; Arabi, Mazdak, advisor; Sharvelle, Sybil, committee member; McHale, Melissa, committee member
    Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) systems such as rain gardens, permeable pavement and bioswales are commonly used in municipalities to reduce urban flooding and water pollution. In conjunction with these direct benefits, GSI systems provide additional social and ecological "co-benefits". Our goal was to investigate the co-benefits of commonly used GSI systems in five cities in the United States, including Baltimore, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia, and Portland. Specifically, carbon storage, carbon sequestration, air pollution removal, UV reduction, and cooling effects of the trees used in GSI in the study cities were quantified. The i-Tree Eco urban forestry model was used to predict various co-benefits for individual tree species and total SGI tree inventories across the five study cities based on observed tree characteristic data. Aspects of SGI design, environmental factors, and model inputs were evaluated to find what influences the assessment of SGI co-benefits. SGI design types and utilization levels of those designs played a big role in determining the number of trees used in SGI projects, however there is more nuance to the evaluation of co-benefits of different cities' SGI trees than just the tree population. Climate was a large influence on co-benefits' estimation, with similar co-benefit responses for cities with similar climates, like the eastern seaboard. The inputs that influence co-benefit predictions the most were evaluated using global sensitivity analysis. We also found that the inputs that represent the tree growth and environmental factors heavily influenced the computation of co-benefits in i-Tree Eco. Our research supports current literature in developing SGI programs that provide the most amount of co-benefits for specific climates. This study aims to reveal more about the mechanisms and prevailing equations within i-Tree Eco by providing modelled datasets and assessment approaches to estimate the co-benefits of GSI at unit and city levels.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The effectiveness of urban conservation programs for engaging the public and enhancing wildlife habitat
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Jimenez, Miguel F., author; Pejchar, Liba, advisor; Reed, Sarah, advisor; McHale, Melissa, committee member
    The ecological and social effects of urbanization pose significant threats to global biodiversity. Habitat loss and fragmentation associated with urban development often displace native, human-sensitive species and replace them with exotic and human-adapted species. Urban residents also have limited access to natural areas, which may limit public support for conservation. Given these challenges, effectively engaging the public in conservation initiatives is increasingly important. The Nature in the City (NIC) initiative was launched in 2014 by the City of Fort Collins to create: "a connected open space network accessible to the entire community that provides a variety of experiences and functional habitat for people, plants, and wildlife." Here, I evaluated the extent to which two NIC programs achieved their goals to monitor plant and animal communities, enhance habitat for native species, and engage the public in conservation. My first chapter focused on the NIC Biodiversity Project, a citizen science ecological monitoring program. This program recruits and trains volunteers to collect data on the distribution of birds and butterflies across Fort Collins. Specifically, I assessed the tradeoffs associated with collecting data with citizen scientists as compared to paid technicians in terms of 1) data quality, 2) cost efficiency, and 3) the effectiveness of public engagement. I found mixed results for data quality; the probability of detecting human-adapted species was similar for citizen scientists and technicians, but citizen scientists were less likely to detect human-sensitive species. Additionally, citizen scientists tended to over report the abundance of human-adapted birds as compared to technicians. Habitat use estimates for four out of five species were comparable between data collected by citizen scientists and technicians. Citizen scientists were more cost efficient, producing more surveys and detections per paid work-hour than paid technicians. Finally, the citizen science program increased volunteers' ability to identify local wildlife and intentions to participate in similar programs but did not affect nature relatedness and self-efficacy for environmental action. My second chapter focused on the City of Fort Collin's Certified Natural Areas (CNA) program, which encourages private landowners to engage in stewardship practices that provide habitat for native plants and animals. I assessed 1) whether the CNA program increased native vegetation cover and vegetation structural heterogeneity, 2) provided habitat for human-sensitive birds and butterflies, and 3) which site- or landscape-level factors influenced these outcomes. I compared 10 residential open spaces not enrolled in the CNA program, 10 enhanced residential open spaces enrolled in the CNA program and 12 public natural areas managed by the City of Fort Collins. Although I did not detect significant differences in the amount of native vegetation cover or structure across site types, enhanced residential open spaces and public natural areas had consistently less mowed vegetation cover than residential open spaces, which was associated with more detections of insectivorous and shrub-nesting bird species. I also detected more human-sensitive bird species in enhanced residential open spaces than residential open space and found that across all sites, native vegetation was positively related to butterfly richness. Together, these results demonstrate that although enhanced residential open spaces are not a substitute for public natural areas providing high-quality habitat for human-sensitive wildlife, even relatively simple stewardship practices, such as not mowing vegetation, can have a positive influence on bird and butterfly communities in urban neighborhoods.