Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Wilkerson, Gerald W.

Committee Member

Schramm, Harold L.

Committee Member

Clark, James D.

Committee Member

Mulley, Susan J.

Date of Degree

8-6-2005

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Landscape Architecture

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture (M.L.A.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Landscape Architecture

Abstract

With increased degradation of natural resources due to land use decisions and the subsequent loss of biodiversity across large spatial scales, there is a need for a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) which showcases the impacts of developments on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) and a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) were used to assess the impacts of an impoundment in the Bienville National Forest, Smith County, Mississippi on landcovers, threatened and endangered species, species richness and fish populations. A test impoundment site was chosen on Ichusa Creek and using GAP data, landcovers, species and species richness were compared with those of Bienville National Forest, Smith County, Mississippi. For the aquatic analysis, a BBN model was developed for each fish so that population probabilities could be calculated using a given configuration of available habitats and compared to current fish population.

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