Sustainability and Social Justice

Date of Award

5-2015

Degree Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Science in GIS for Development and Environment (GISDE)

Department

International Development, Community and Environment

Chief Instructor

Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger

Keywords

GIS, species distribution, spatiotemporal

Abstract

Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Belmont, Massachusetts is a dynamic suburban sanctuary that effectively upholds Mass Audubon’s three-part mission of advocacy, conservation, and education. Invasive plants threaten ecological integrity; however, proactive measures are taken to mitigate further encroachment. This is accomplished by surveying and taking inventory for presence of invasive species, then prioritizing them, and finally by incorporating high priority species into the immediate management strategy. Four invasive plants were formally analyzed using geographic information science during the 2014 growing season: Garlic mustard, Black swallowwort, Japanese knotweed, and Dame’s Rocket. The resulting density maps detected pattern changes from 2011, 2012, and 2014, ranging from subtle to conspicuous, by measuring concentrations of invasive species. This report describes my internship experience at Habitat Sanctuary.

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