Land use has changed drastically over the years as techniques modernize and new generations of people emerge. Each new generation chances and adapts the practices they need and the practices of their time. Have the newer practices hurt the land more so than practices used by previous generations? Or is the land changing naturally? In this paper, I will be focusing on a specific section of land in Arizona. The land is located in the Southernmost portion of Game Unit 19A. I have analyzed the techniques used by three distinct generations: Native Americans, original ranchers and miners, and modern ranchers and hunters. But looking at the differences between each generation, I have been able to pick out techniques that may have contributed to how the land is today. Those techniques include hunting, ranching, and mining. I have also analyzed the density of mesquites in the area in order get a better understanding of how the soil and vegetation has changed for the past few decades. I have found that the techniques used by the three groups are similar in nature, but the way they are conducted are very different because of the mindset that has changed between each time period. The density of mesquite is showing that the land has been affected due to ranching and drought. While ranching is conducted by humans and lines up with my analyst of the generations, drought is not something that could have been affected by humans and therefore an independent factor as to how the land has changed. Overall, I was not able to pinpoint a specific generation or land use techniques that has caused more change than another. I have concluded that more research should be done in order to figure out what techniques could be doing more harm than we had originally thought.

The introduction of livestock to the vast majority of public lands may be used to simulate the conditions provided by herbivorous grazers in the past, however little data has been collected on the effects of livestock grazing in Sonoran desert habitats. Vegetative species that are characteristic of the Arizona Upland subdivision of the Sonoran desert did not evolve with extensive grazing by large ungulate populations, and therefore the response to livestock grazing is of particular interest. Four historic Parker 3-step clusters in south-central Arizona were sampled in three cohorts between 1953 and 2016 to interpret changes in rangeland health using soil coverage data, species richness and frequency, and long-term photo point comparisons. Cattle grazing was active across the allotment until 1984, allowing approximately 30 years of rest before the third and final cohort was measured. Over the entirety of this study, there was a 66.67% increase in perennial basal hits, a 56.29% increase in rock, and a 44.55% increase of forage basal hits. Decreases were seen in litter (-57.69%) and bare soil hits (-8.76%). Cluster 3 consistently had a lower percent of cover across all classes of vegetation in the 2014 cohort

(-81.61%), however the average percent of cover increased by 63.16% (40 hits) across the allotment. Available species richness data from 1971 and 2014 cohorts indicates a 112% increase in unique species; however, species richness increases in the 2014 cohort are largely based on recruitment of non-palatable species (71%). Although the status of some species were undetermined, all individuals identified to species in the invader class (non-palatable) were determined to be native to the study site. Perennial grass frequency became less abundant over the duration of this study, while growth was predominantly observed in shrubs. Increases in species frequency was detected on two of the four clusters measured in the 2014 cohort; the growth was primarily observed in jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), oak (Quercus spp.), and catclaw acacia (Senegalia greggii) in C4, and hopseed bush (Dodonaea viscosa) in C2.

Armenia is a radiant and unique country, known primarily for its vast history, delicious food, and traditional folklore dance. Although Armenia was constantly ravaged by invading armies, the nation was strong enough to retain its own identity and culture. The rich dance heritage remained a living tradition into the 20th century, when the Turks tried to destroy the dance heritage and left fragments of the dances. Even though many of these fragments were lost due to urbanization, the dance techniques are still continuously studied by scholars and people all around the world.  For my creative project, I chose to perform an Armenian Folk Dance, as dance is an immense part of Armenian’s lives, and is an essential part of the Armenian cultural heritage. Dance is one of the primary ways by which one can observe and gain understanding of the Armenian people, their identity and culture. Dance is a way for Armenians to express themselves, as it is a form of art which combines elements of their rich culture, event-filled past, and their spiritual nature. The folklore dance has always sustained a leading role throughout Armenian history, as it runs through the blood of Armenians, being passed down from generation to generation. The Armenian people have survived and endured various historical challenges, but they have been able to preserve their unique dance elements and forms. To this day, Armenians continue to use dance to keep their culture and identity alive. It is a way to express freedom, and celebrate that even though we as a nation have faced many hardships, us Armenians have survived, and will always continue to survive with our faith, passion, determination, and strong will.

ABSTRACT

Modern management techniques to maintain rangelands and deter encroachment of juniper into grassland habitats currently includes fire prescription. Additionally, a large body of research has indicated that fire has multiple benefits to grasslands resulting in increased diversity of flora and fauna. In the semi-arid grassland of the Agua Fria National Monument, fire treatments may be able to provide similar advantages. This study considers two methods of fire prescription on the Agua Fria National Monument within central Arizona: 1) Juniper thinning with pile burning; 2) Broadcast burning.

The Agua Fria National Monument upland ecosystem has limited research focusing on semi-arid grassland and juniper stand’s response to implemented treatments over time. The four year monitoring duration of this study aids in assessing the outcome of treatments and reaching the objectives of the management plan.

Vegetation in 981 quadrats was measured for species richness, cover, densities, height, and biomass during the fire prescription period from 2009 through 2013. The study was divided into two treatment types: 1) Juniper cutting and pile burn; 2) Broadcast burn areas in open grasslands.

Results of this study provide consistent examples of vegetative change and community movement towards positive response. Percent composition of overall vegetation is 5 – 30% with >50% of litter, bare ground and rock cover. Juniper sites have immediate consequences from tree thinning activities that may be beneficial to wildlife, particularly as connective corridors pronghorn antelope. Grass height was significantly reduced as well as forb density. Forbs that are highly responsive to environmental factors indicate an increase after the second year. Analysis results from grasslands indicated that cactus and unpalatable shrubs are reduced by fire but a return to pre-burn conditions occur by the third year after fire disturbance. Percent cover of perennial grasses has shown a slow increase. Wright’s buckwheat, a palatable shrub, has increased in density and height, indicating fire adaptations in the species. Species richness was reduced in the first year but increase in density continues into the third year after burn.

There has been considerable advancement in the algae research field to move algae production for biofuels and bio-products forward to become commercially viable. However, there is one key element that humans cannot control, the natural externalities that impact production. An algae cultivation system is similar to agricultural crop farming practices. Algae are grown on an area of land for a certain time period with the aim of harvesting the biomass produced. One of the advantages of using algae biomass is that it can be used as a source of energy in the form of biofuels. Major advances in algae research and development practices have led to new knowledge about the remarkable potential of algae to serve as a sustainable source of biofuel. The challenge is to make the price of biofuels from algae cost-competitive with the price of petroleum-based fuels. The scope of this research was to design a concept for an automated system to control specific externalities and determine if integrating the system in an algae cultivation system could improve the algae biomass production process. This research required the installation and evaluation of an algae cultivation process, components selection and computer software programming for an automated system. The results from the automated system based on continuous real time monitored variables validated that the developed system contributes insights otherwise not detected from a manual measurement approach. The implications of this research may lead to technology that can be used as a base model to further improve algae cultivation systems.

Grassland habitat restoration activities are occurring within the semi-arid grasslands of the Agua Fria National Monument located 65 km north of Phoenix, AZ. The goal of these restoration activities is to reduce woody species encroachment, remove lignified plant materials and recycle nutrients within the ecosystem thus improving range conditions for both wildlife species and livestock. Broadcast burning, juniper thinning and slash pile burns are the principle tools used to accomplish resource objectives. Line cover, belt transect, densities, heights and biomass of vegetation data were collected to determine the response of the vegetative community to habitat restoration activities. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to reduce data analysis to the more influential factors. Regression analysis was conducted for statistically significant response variables. Quadratic regression analysis found low predictive values. In broadcast burn treatment units, all important factors as identified by PCA had low predictive factors but significantly differed (R2 <0.01, p<0.05) between unburned and the years post treatment. Regression analysis found significant, albeit weak, relationships between time since treatment and independent variables. In pile burn treatment units, data reduction by PCA was not possible in a biologically meaningful way due to the high variability within treatment units. This suggests the effect of juniper encroachment on grassland vegetation persists long after junipers have been cut and burned. This study concluded that broadcast burning of the central Arizona grasslands does significantly alter many components of the vegetative community. Fuels treatments generally initially reduced both perennial woody species and grasses in number and height for two year post fire. However, palatable shrubs, in particular shrubby buckwheat, were not significantly different in broadcast burn treatment areas. The vegetative community characteristics of juniper encroached woodlands of central Arizona are unaffected by the removal and burning of junipers aside from the removal of hiding cover for predators for multiple years. It is recommended that habitat restoration activities continue provided the needs of wildlife are considered, especially pronghorn, with the incorporation of state and transition models specific to each of the respective ecological site descriptions and with the consideration of the effects of fire to pronghorn fawning habitat.

The Cave Creek Complex fires of June and July of 2005 north of Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. burned 248,310 acres of Sonoran desert, primarily on the Tonto National Forest, USFS. The fires consumed multiple stands of the keystone species Carnegiea gigantea, the saguaro cactus. Restoration efforts in late spring 2007 involved the monitoring of 200 transplanted saguaro cacti over a two year period for overall establishment and success. Observation of local saguaro distribution suggests that soil factors might influence saguaro growth. Therefore, soil samples were collected from each transplant location and analyzed for percentage coarse fragments, texture, pH and electrical conductivity as soil collection and analysis of these variables are relatively inexpensive and expedient. Regression analysis was used to determine which, if any of these soil characteristics significantly correlated with plant growth. The results of this study found significant correlation between saguaro transplant growth and the soil variables of clay content and pH, but no correlation between saguaro growth and coarse fragment percentages or electrical conductivity.

The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) has been studied for over two decades and listed as endangered for most of that time. Though the flycatcher has been granted protected status since 1995, critical habitat designation for the flycatcher has not shared the same history. Critical habitat designation is essential for achieving the long-term goals defined in the flycatcher recovery plan where emphasis is on both the protection of this species and "the habitats supporting these flycatchers [that] must be protected from threats and loss" (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2002). I used a long-term data set of habitat characteristics collected at three study areas along the Lower Colorado River to develop a method for quantifying habitat quality for flycatcher. The data set contained flycatcher nest observations (use) and habitat availability (random location) from 2003-2010 that I statistically analyzed for flycatcher selection preferences. Using both Pearson's Chi-square test and SPSS Principal Component Analysis (PCA) I determined that flycatchers were selecting 30 habitat traits significantly different among an initial list of 127 habitat characteristics. Using PCA, I calculated a weighted value of influence for each significant trait per study area and used those values to develop a habitat classification system to build predictive models for flycatcher habitat quality. I used ArcGIS® Model Builder to develop three habitat suitability models for each of the habitat types occurring in western riparian systems, native, mixed exotic and exotic dominated that are frequented by breeding flycatchers. I designed a fourth model, Topock Marsh, to test model accuracy on habitat quality for flycatchers using reserved accuracy assessment points of previous nest locations. The results of the fourth model accurately predicted a decline in habitat at Topock Marsh that was confirmed by SWCA survey reports released in 2011 and 2012 documenting a significant decline in flycatcher productivity in the Topock Marsh study area.

Modified and artificial water sources can be used as a management tool for game and non-game wildlife species. State, federal, and private agencies allocate significant resources to install and maintain artificial water sources (AWS) annually. Capture mark recapture methods were used to sample small mammal communities in the vicinity of five AWS and five paired control sites (treatments) in the surrounding Sonoran desert from October 2011 to May 2012. I measured plant species richness, density, and percent cover in the spring of 2012. A Multi-response Permutation Procedure was used to identify differences in small mammal community abundance, biomass, and species richness by season and treatment. I used Principle Component Analysis to reduce 11 habitat characteristics to five habitat factors. I related rodent occurrence to habitat characteristics using multiple and logistic regression. A total of 370 individual mammals representing three genera and eight species of rodents were captured across 4800 trap nights. Desert pocket mouse (Chaetodipus penicillatus) was the most common species in both seasons and treatments. Whereas rodent community abundance, biomass, and richness were similar between seasons, community variables of AWS were greater than CS. Rodent diversity was similar between treatments. Desert pocket mouse abundance and biomass were twice as high at AWS when compared to controls. Biomass of white-throated woodrat (Neotoma albigula) was five times greater at AWS. Habitat characteristics were similar between treatments. Neither presence of water nor distance to water explained substantial habitat variation. Occurrence of rodent species was associated with habitat characteristics. Desert rodent communities are adapted for arid environments (i.e. Heteromyids) and are not dependent on "free water". Higher abundances of desert pocket mouse at AWS were most likely related to increased disturbance and debris and not the presence of water. The results of this study and previous studies suggest that more investigation is needed and that short term studies may not be able to detect interactions (if any) between AWS and desert small mammal communities.

Livestock-grazing, in particular cattle grazing, is a common use of public and private lands in western North America. As a result, the effects of grazing on both plants and animals are widely studied. Few studies, however, look directly at the long-term effects that cattle grazing may have on a particular species. The goal of this experiment was to continue research begun in 1988, to determine if the effects of cattle grazing are still seen in the age structure of two populations of saguaros (Carnegiea gigantea [Engelm.] Britton & Rose) at Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District (SNP-RMD). The null hypothesis stated that enough time has elapsed since the cessation of grazing, and there is no difference in the age distribution of the saguaros of the two populations. The study area was comprised of a former fence line where grazing ceased on the western side of the fence in 1958 and the eastern side in 1978. Belt transects were laid on each side of the fence line and height was measured for each saguaro encountered in a transect. Approximate age of the individual was then calculated using an age-height correlation for SNP-RMD. Individuals were then placed into age classes of 10 year increments and a Log-Likelihood test was performed. The resulting calculated P value of 0.12 meant the null hypothesis was not rejected and there was no statistical difference between the age structure of the two populations. After 34 and 54 years rest from grazing, the negative effects of cattle grazing on the retention and recruitment of saguaro seedlings have ended, and replenishment of the populations is now dependent upon factors such as temperature and precipitation. Other factors such as climate change, increasing fire frequency, encroachment by invasive species, and poaching are sources of concern and increased mortality for these and other saguaros.