Simulation of protected area and forestry cutblock design in the boreal plain ecoregion
Abstract
Spatial and statistical analyses are becoming more commonplace in planning for conservation and land-use programs. I used specific spatial and statistical analyses to examine their potential for answering questions posed by stakeholders in the boreal plain ecoregion regarding the strategic placement of protected areas and forestry cutblocks on the retention of ecological integrity. I found that neither strategic placement nor size significantly affect the retention of ecological integrity within protected areas. Additionally, I found that clustering new forestry cutblocks near existing disturbances did not significantly affect the loss of connectivity, though doubling the expected area of harvest did increase the loss of certain connectivity metrics. The conclusions drawn from this thesis are relevant to landscape planners and conservation managers, but should be paired with the results of biological studies to better represent the reality of complex ecosystems.
Description
Keywords
Landscape Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, Forestry and Wildlife, Ecology
Citation
Fauvelle, C. (2017). Simulation of protected area and forestry cutblock design in the boreal plain ecoregion (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27786