Environment, Resources and Sustainability
This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability .
Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).
Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.
Recent deposits
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The Green Energy Act: Definition, Consultation, and a Case Study
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-23)The Green Energy Act (2009) has had weathered various forms of criticism during its decade-long existence from 2009 to 2019. One of the vital points of concern is housed within the Act in the form of the ambiguity of the ... -
Learning from Experience to Operationalize Integrated Coastal and Marine Management
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-16)Integrated coastal and marine management (ICM) is a system of governance that moves beyond traditional sector-based management. ICM is compatible with the holistic vision of a social-ecological systems (SES) approach. ... -
Nesting Ecology of Ducks in the Boreal Forest
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-14)The western boreal forest (WBF) is an important breeding area for North American ducks, second only to the prairie pothole region (PPR). The WBF is experiencing intensive industrial development, causing habitat loss and ... -
The effect of ecosystem change, restoration, and plant diversity on thermally imaged surface temperature
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-07)The objective of this dissertation was to test and quantify the hypothesis from ecosystem thermodynamics: that the surface temperature of a terrestrial ecosystem changes with the state of the ecosystem in general, and with ... -
Fisher Behaviour and its Implications for the Governability of the Inshore Fisheries in Atlantic Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2020-11-17)The purpose of this dissertation is to advance a comprehensive understanding of fisher behaviour (i.e., current and former boat owners and crew who harvest multiple species) to strengthen the governability of the inshore ... -
Rethinking Biodiversity Conservation in an Era of Climate Change: Evaluating Adaptation in Canada’s Protected Areas
(University of Waterloo, 2020-10-26)Protected areas worldwide face significant threats from rapid climatic and associated ecological change. The need to adapt to the impacts of climate change on biodiversity has been widely acknowledged for two decades; ... -
Linking ecosystem services and wellbeing to improve coastal conservation initiatives under conditions of rapid social-ecological change
(University of Waterloo, 2020-09-28)Over the last 50 years, researchers have observed a decline in marine biodiversity by approximately 50%. The consequences are alarming for global food production, especially fisheries, and critical economic sectors, such ... -
Growing What We Eat, Eating What We Grow: Investigating the Enduring Role of Jamaica’s Domestic Food System
(University of Waterloo, 2020-04-29)From Spanish colonization in the 15th century until today, Jamaica’s agri-food system has been firmly linked to a global network of trade through its agricultural exports and food imports. Common assumptions in critical ... -
Evaluation and Reconciliation Education from a Social Innovation Lens: A Case Study of the Haida Gwaii Institute’s Reconciliation Studies Semester
(University of Waterloo, 2020-04-21)In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released a report highlighting the impacts of residential schools on Indigenous people, and presented Calls to Action to redress this legacy and move forward on ... -
Towards sustainable energy materials: broadening life cycle assessment for emerging technology development and resource-effective choices
(University of Waterloo, 2020-03-09)Energy materials are particularly important from a sustainability perspective for advancing renewable energy systems, including energy production and storage. Their appropriate use and development require quantitative ... -
Quantifying Tree Community Assemblages on Habitation sites in the Great Bear Rainforest
(University of Waterloo, 2020-01-31)Identifying how past human actions have influenced their environment is important for understanding how current ecosystems function. Heavy intertidal resource use by Indigenous Peoples for the past several millennia has ... -
Assessing the Role of Discourse in Influencing Water Quality Policy in Lake Erie Basin
(University of Waterloo, 2020-01-27)This research examines the usefulness of a discourse approach to better understand freshwater policy and governance, with a specific focus on the involvement of non-state actors in the policy making process. Previous ... -
The role of knowledge co-production in climate smart agriculture in Pakistan
(University of Waterloo, 2019-12-13)To address the challeges of climate change in Pakistan, new ways of practicing agriculture and mobilizing agricultural research are required. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is one proposed solution with implications for ... -
Examining the ecosystem service and social well-being contributions of beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) and the implications for integrated coastal planning along the southeastern shoreline of Lake Huron, Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2019-10-21)Beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) is a key component in maintaining the stability of the prominent beach-dune ecosystems of the Lake Huron shoreline, with benefits to dependent species (e.g., piping plover) and those ... -
Does Landscape-Scale Habitat Reclamation and the Umbrella Species Concept Work to Conserve Sagebrush Songbirds?
(University of Waterloo, 2019-09-20)Declines in the spatial extent of the sagebrush ecosystem have prompted the use of conservation strategies including habitat reclamation and the consideration of the greater sage- grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter ... -
The use of plant functional traits to detect changes in urban wetland management regimes within Kitchener, ON
(University of Waterloo, 2019-08-14)Humans have modified their surrounding environment in ways that often lead to changes in ecosystem structure and function. Ecosystem management efforts are necessary to bring back functioning attributes of ecosystems for ... -
A Digital Agricultural Revolution: Ontario Grain Farmer Perceptions of Digital Farming and Big Data
(University of Waterloo, 2019-08-14)Digital technologies and big data are revolutionizing agriculture, but the implications for equity and sustainability are uncertain. From big data climate forecasts and massive robotic tractors, to satellite pest control ... -
Quantifying the soil organic carbon sequestration performance and carbon emissions offset potential of the City of Calgary’s Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project
(University of Waterloo, 2019-06-10)The primary objective of this study was to measure the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration performance of The City of Calgary Dewatered Biosolids Land Application Program – Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation ... -
Learning to live with novelty: Implications of exotic earthworms and their interactions with seeds, mulch, and wood ash for ecological restoration
(University of Waterloo, 2019-05-24)A major challenge in restoration ecology is the biological invasion of ‘exotic’ species, some of which may spread widely and have undesirable impacts as ‘invasive’ species. Ongoing debates and changing perspectives suggest ... -
Temporal Variation in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Among Four Different Riparian Land-use Types in Southern Ontario, Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2019-05-13)Forested riparian buffers (RBs) provide various environmental services, such as reducing streambank erosion and sedimentation, creating wildlife habitat, enhancing carbon (C) sequestration, enhancing streamside microclimate, ...