Ecological effects of development in urban forests: The case of Hemlock Ravine Park in Nova Scotia

The ecological impacts of development in urban forests are examined in this project by determining the extent of ecological services provided by an urban forest fragment and the reduced extent of ecological benefits provided by surrounding developed sites. The types of ecological services provided by land with vegetative cover that are analysed in this study include: removal of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter from the air; storm water runoff reduction; energy conservation and avoided emissions; carbon storage and sequestration; and habitat creation for wildlife. The effectiveness of GIS and related software used to quantify ecological services are also considered with the intention of identifying uses of GIS software for ecosystem-based land-use planning.; This project uses Arcview(TM) GIS software with the addition of Citygreen(TM). The software is used to assess the ecological services provided by a fragment of natural forest (Hemlock Ravine Park) that exists in an area of intense development pressure located within the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in Nova Scotia, Canada. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...