Optimal zoning of protected natural areas is important for conserving ecosystems. It is an NP-hard problem which is difficult to solve by using common geographic information system (GIS) functions. Another problem is that existing optimization methods ignore potential land-use dynamics in formulating optimal patterns. This article has developed a new method for solving complicated zoning proble...

Zircon and monazite from granitic sheets and dikes in the Monashee complex, Canadian Cordillera, were investigated to determine whether igneous crystallization occurred at 1.9 Ga or 50 Ma with 1.9 Ga inherited zircon and monazite. Four of the five samples are weakly deformed to undeformed, despite occurring in a gneiss dome at the structurally deepest exposed level of the orogen that elsewhere ...

We use a GIS-based agent-based model (ABM), named dynamic ecological exurban development (DEED), with spatial data in hypothetical scenarios to evaluate the individual and interacting effects of lot-size zoning and municipal land-acquisition strategies on possible forest-cover outcomes in Scio Township, a municipality in Southeastern Michigan. Agent types, characteristics, behavioural methods, ...

Shifting markets can cause unexpected, stochastic changes in rural landscapes that may take local communities by surprise. Preferential siting of new industrial facilities in poor areas or in areas with few regulatory restrictions can have implications for environmental sustainability, human health, and social justice. This study focuses on frac sand mining-the mining of high-quality silica san...

In the State of New Jersey, two rural preservation tools are paramount: (1) Zoning that sets a floor on the size of residential lots; and (2) the outright acquisition of open space or its development rights by government and nonprofit entities. The present study explores the effects of these two policies on the number of building permits issued across 83 municipalities in northern New Jersey. T...

Although the compartmentalization of poultry industry components has substantial economic implications, and is therefore a concept with huge significance to poultry industries worldwide, the current requirements for compartment status are generic to all OIE member countries. We examined the consequences for potential outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the British poultry industry...