Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Effects Of Soil Management Practices On Water Infiltration And Maize Yield To Improve Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer Sustainability, Jacob Rix Dec 2022

Effects Of Soil Management Practices On Water Infiltration And Maize Yield To Improve Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer Sustainability, Jacob Rix

Theses and Dissertations

Surface sealing and hardpans in loam soils are problematic in the Mid-South U.S. because of intense tillage. Two experiments quantified the effects of soil management practices on infiltration and maize yield in loam soils. The first study measured the impacts of in-row subsoiling frequency × furrow irrigation frequency. In-row subsoiling significantly improved the infiltration of irrigation but not the infiltration of precipitation. In-row subsoiling with low irrigation frequency is optimal to achieve profitable maize yields while encouraging groundwater conservation. In the second study, six soil management treatments were imposed. For single-ring infiltrometer tests, infiltration rates were different between the two …


Bison Movements Change With Weather: Implications For Their Continued Conservation In The Anthropocene, Nicholas A. Mcmillan, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Barney Luttbeg, Laura E. Goodman, Craig A. Davis, Brady W. Allred, Robert G. Hamilton Nov 2022

Bison Movements Change With Weather: Implications For Their Continued Conservation In The Anthropocene, Nicholas A. Mcmillan, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Barney Luttbeg, Laura E. Goodman, Craig A. Davis, Brady W. Allred, Robert G. Hamilton

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Animal movement patterns are affected by complex interactions between biotic and abiotic landscape conditions, and these patterns are being altered by weather variability associated with a changing climate. Some animals, like the American plains bison (Bison bison L.; hereafter, plains bison), are considered keystone species, thus their response to weather variability may alter ecosystem structure and biodiversity patterns. Many movement studies of plains bison and other ungulates have focused on point-pattern analyses (e.g., resource-selection) that have provided information about where these animals move, but information about when or why these animals move is limited. For example, information surrounding the …


Flora Of Doe Mountain Recreation Area, Johnson County, Tennessee, Benjamin Mccullough Aug 2022

Flora Of Doe Mountain Recreation Area, Johnson County, Tennessee, Benjamin Mccullough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A botanical inventory of Doe Mountain Recreation Area (DMRA) in northeastern Tennessee was conducted to help guide conservation-based management. A total of 484 species were found in DMRA, comprising 94 families, and 285 genera, 10 species listed in the state rare plant list, and 76 exotic species. Two species, Liatris virgata and Lycopodiella inundata, were new state records. Water in the Lycopodiella seep was an order of magnitude more acid than at other sites. An analysis of the wildland-urban interface showed that only 13% of the area was classified as uninhabited. The inventory-invasion index, introduced to quantify the relative …


Results Of The 2022 Vermont Farmer Conservation & Payment For Ecosystem Services Survey. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #3a, Alissa C. White Jun 2022

Results Of The 2022 Vermont Farmer Conservation & Payment For Ecosystem Services Survey. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #3a, Alissa C. White

Reports and Policy Briefs

This survey was commissioned by the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group (VT PES Working Group) to gather farmer input on the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) in Vermont for agriculture. In particular, the survey was intended to help set appropriate levels of compensation for participation in a soil health PES program, although additional information was gathered in the survey to inform the development of a new incentive program. The VT PES Working Group has explored the potential for a performance-based soil health PES program that would compensate farmers on the basis of environmental …


Biodiversity Conservation And Sustainable Livelihoods In Rangelands: Trends, Challenges And Opportunities, J. Waithaka Mar 2022

Biodiversity Conservation And Sustainable Livelihoods In Rangelands: Trends, Challenges And Opportunities, J. Waithaka

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Rangelands cover about 54% of the earth’s surface and are essential for agricultural and livestock production, environmental protection and the in-situ conservation of genetic resources. Despite providing services that support life on earth, rangelands have been neglected to a large extent when compared to other types of ecosystems. This paper provides an overview of the importance of rangelands in conserving biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people globally. Rangelands have lost ecological integrity due to unsustainable anthropogenic land-use changes and impacts. It is estimated that over 80% of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are either not adequately protected or …


Biodiversity Assessment And Conservation Of Threatened Plant Species Belonging To The Unique Steppe With Trees In Tunisian Drylands, Jamila Msadek, Mohamed Tarhouni Jan 2022

Biodiversity Assessment And Conservation Of Threatened Plant Species Belonging To The Unique Steppe With Trees In Tunisian Drylands, Jamila Msadek, Mohamed Tarhouni

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Biodiversity conservation from heavy grazing impacts, through the creation of national parks, is usually considered to sustain higher ecosystem resilience and to protect the natural plant cover as well as the threatened species. The study was carried out in Bou Hedma national park, a biosphere reserve containing the unique Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne subsp. raddiana (Savi) Brenan steppe with trees in Tunisia. Several functional traits of seven (7) rare and threatened plant species are used to highlight their adaptive strategies in order to understand the evolution of plant communities and the overall ecosystems functioning inside the park. Such results may …


Leveraging Herbaria Specimens: A New 3d Imaging Protocol And Analyses Of Diversity Of West Virginia Rosids, Zachary Scott Shamblin Jan 2022

Leveraging Herbaria Specimens: A New 3d Imaging Protocol And Analyses Of Diversity Of West Virginia Rosids, Zachary Scott Shamblin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Herbaria are repositories of plant natural history, whose data can provide insights into the life histories of plant taxa over space and time. Recent initiatives to digitize herbarium data have made studies over broad geographic and taxonomic extents possible, with the ability of scientists to access data from large databases of herbaria. Most of the digitization initiatives have focused on flat 2D herbaria sheets, but herbaria also include 3D collections, such as fungi, mosses, lichens, and dry fruits. In Chapter 1 we propose an easy and cost-effective workflow that uses free photogrammetry software to produce 3D images of 3D herbaria …


Detection And Confirmation Of Diagnostic Microsatellite Loci In Populus Nigra And Populus Deltoides To Identify Their Hybrids (P. × Canadensis), Asi̇ye Uluğ Jan 2022

Detection And Confirmation Of Diagnostic Microsatellite Loci In Populus Nigra And Populus Deltoides To Identify Their Hybrids (P. × Canadensis), Asi̇ye Uluğ

Turkish Journal of Botany

Poplar cultivation has economic, social, ecological, and environmental importance in Turkey. Even though, Populus × canadensis hybrids play an important role for the commercial poplar cultivation with good growth performance and adaptability, hybrid clones introduced the different region of Turkey have started to replace the native stands of Populus nigra gradually. To continue sustainable cultivation of poplar and to conserve the native stands of P. nigra at the same time, genetic identification, and registration of the Populus cultivars from different origins are essential in breeding programs. Genetic identification and characterization of a natural population of P. nigra growing along the …


Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels Jan 2022

Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional agricultural practices can have unintended consequences on the environment and wildlife. Insects and birds are declining at rapid rates around the world, and the current conventional agricultural paradigm is a major driver through habitat loss and the intensification of production. Invertebrates in agroecosystems provide services to both farmers and the rest of society. Regenerative systems may promote the functioning of an agroecosystem by influencing invertebrate abundance, diversity, and ecosystem services and mitigate bird and insect declines through conservation practices that increase soil health, reduce disturbances, and increase biological diversity. Here I address knowledge gaps of the effects of regenerative …


Effects Of Conservation Management Practices On Soil Health And Crop Yields In Eastern South Dakota, Alex Mclain Jan 2022

Effects Of Conservation Management Practices On Soil Health And Crop Yields In Eastern South Dakota, Alex Mclain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conservation management practice adoption on agricultural land has increased in recent years due to increasing public and private investment. The anticipated impact of increasing conservation management practice adoption are reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved soil, water, and air quality. Understanding how these conservation management practices affect agricultural producers economically is vital to properly incentivize these practices. The existing literature on how conservation management practices affect soil health and crop yields is mixed and generally has been conducted on experimental research stations. These studies may not fully account for the on-farm effects of conservation management practices. The objectives of this …