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Ecology And Engagement: The Importance Of Direct Experience Of Nature In Culture And Scholarship, Chris Baldwin Humm
Ecology And Engagement: The Importance Of Direct Experience Of Nature In Culture And Scholarship, Chris Baldwin Humm
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Our culture is becoming increasingly detached from nature. We spend more of our time indoors than ever. While the indoors may offer certain benefits, it’s becoming increasingly clear that our alienation from nature has serious downsides. We depend upon nature for our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being and without it. The opposite of detachment is engagement. Engagement involves direct experience of nature, whether in national parks, wilderness, backyard woods, or unkempt vacant lots. If we want to reverse the problems associated with detachment, we need to encourage engaged alternatives. Only through a culture of engagement, one that recognizes and values …
Causes Of Annual Reproductive Variation And Anthropogenic Disturbance In Harlequin Ducks Breeding In Glacier National Park, Montana, Warren Kevin Hansen
Causes Of Annual Reproductive Variation And Anthropogenic Disturbance In Harlequin Ducks Breeding In Glacier National Park, Montana, Warren Kevin Hansen
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Annual reproductive variation is the central focus of many ecological studies. Variation in reproductive success is an important vital rate to study because it can lead to inferences about population health, extinction risk, human disturbance and habitat quality. The identification of the causes of reproductive variability can help guide conservation and management efforts of a species. In Glacier National Park, Montana I studied causes of annual reproductive variation and behavioral responses to human disturbance in a breeding population of harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus). Harlequins are rare sea ducks with a Holarctic distribution and winter along rocky coast lines of North …
Use Of Climatic Water Balance Metrics As Site Productivity Predictors, Matthew Dilsworth Perry
Use Of Climatic Water Balance Metrics As Site Productivity Predictors, Matthew Dilsworth Perry
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Estimates of long-term forest site productivity are required to inform multiple forest management objectives including growth and yield assessments, silvicultural planning, and biomass/carbon projections. Estimates traditionally have been quantified in the form of site index by measuring the average height-age relationships of dominant and codominant trees or using regional site index equations. Site index implementation requires that trees are free from suppression and that height growth results from the integration of the biological determinants of growth. While useful in even-aged stands, early age height growth suppression is common in uneven-aged forest structures making existing site indices difficult to assess. Additionally, …
Restoration As Caring Practice: A Relational Perspective On Ecological Recovery, Daniel Avery Congdon
Restoration As Caring Practice: A Relational Perspective On Ecological Recovery, Daniel Avery Congdon
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Ecological restoration is defined by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed” (9). In practice, restoration typically involves the removal of pollution, human-made structures (like dams or roads), invasive species, and other impediments to ecological health. Removing the sources of ecological impairment is coupled with the reintroduction of flora, fauna, and the physical structures that are necessary for healthy ecosystem function. The potential for restoration to dominate nature is a concern of environmental ethicists. In theory, domination might stem from the technology used in …