Life Sciences Commons^™

Improving The Land Trust Model’S Impact On Environmental Conservation In Northern California, Peter Talbot

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, the land trust sector of California and much of the United States has operated with a dollars and acres mentality that has prioritized fundraising as a result of acreage protected. Within California, nearly 5.8 million acres of land have been protected by 132 land trusts throughout the state. To accommodate for the diverse cross-section of land and the many needs of the population, land trusts take on numerous shapes and sizes. A unique aspect of this diversity is the rich agricultural and natural spaces found throughout the state. This mix of land and variety of land uses has …

Virtually The Same? Understanding Virtual And F2f Farmer Audiences, Laura Witzling, Eric Williams, Dara M. Wald, Jacqueline Comito, Elizabeth Ripley

The Journal of Extension

Agricultural and extension educators frequently employ a variety of methods to provide farmers with information about conservation practices. The introduction of virtual programming brought on in response to the COVID-19 pandemic set the stage for analysis of farmer outreach preferences with respect to face-to-face (F2F) versus virtual outreach. Using survey data of individuals who participated in field days in Iowa, we segmented participants based on their F2F or virtual attendance. We compared the groups based on key variables such as water quality concerns, communication behaviors, outreach preferences, and demographics. Our work suggests that a broad and dynamic communication strategy, including …

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 …

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 …

Rethinking Human-Local Wildlife Relations, Yin Chan

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

The plight of suburban wildlife receives considerably less attention than that of exotic or endangered species despite facing similar threats due to the decline of their natural habitats as humans expand upon them. From the perspective of a reflective practitioner, this paper provides new avenues to rethink current views on human-local wildlife relations and answer some of the difficult questions surrounding the topic. The methodology of Action Research is employed to explore concepts relevant to human-local wildlife relations. A synthesized practical framework integrating Action Research with Permaculture Design is proposed to create models for mutually beneficial coexistence between local wildlife …

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 …

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 …

Willingness Of Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners To Obtain A Private Versus Public Consultation, Erika Largacha

LSU Master's Theses

Promoting conservation practices among family forests landowners play a critical role to enhance forest health and ecosystem services. Several certification programs recognize such efforts, but participation among landowners varies based on their characteristics, program requirements, and incentives. One crucial step of certification is to obtain a forest management plan, but acquisition among landowners remains extremely low. Several studies suggest connecting landowners with foresters as the key element towards the adoption of forest management plans. Because foresters are typically employed by public forestry agencies or as private self-employed consultants, landowners' willingness to work with either may differ. As far as we …

The Pandemic, Climate Change And Farm Subsidies, Allen H. Olson, Edward J. Peterson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Many people believe that once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, life will return to the way it was. This belief is both unrealistic and dangerous. It is unrealistic because the virus will be around for years if not indefinitely. The timeframe for the worst of the pandemic will depend on our ability to administer effective vaccines worldwide and the public’s willingness to accept continued social distancing in the meantime. The damage done to public health, the economy and individuals is already substantial and will get worse. Recovery will be slow and incomplete. The belief that life will return to the …

Mr449: Allagash Wilderness Waterway Visitor Survey 2019, John J. Daigle, Ashley Cooper

Miscellaneous Reports

Quality in outdoor recreation can be defined as the degree to which recreation opportunities provide the experiences for which they are designed and managed. Key to protecting the backcountry experiences is an understanding of the different types of visitors to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, each one with different needs and expectations, and the different levels of importance they place on recreation opportunities and conditions. In this report, visitor management implications and suggested further research focus on the diversity of use of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in order to maximize the quality of the visitor experiences while protecting the unique natural …

Status, Distribution, And Conservation Of The Black-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus Meridionalis) In South Texas, Padraic S. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

The Black-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis) is a chronically understudied species, with much information on the natural history, ecology, and distribution of this species poorly known. Previous studies using traditional methodologies have had limited success detecting N. meridionalis. A novel eDNA assay was designed and implemented with the goal of better understanding N. meridionalis distribution in south Texas. Primers were designed to amplify N. meridionalis DNA and tested against DNA from sympatric amphibians. This assay combined with traditional methods was implemented at 62 sites throughout south Texas, and N. meridionalis was detected at eight localities. At each site …

A Baseline Documentation Report For The Delta Wind Birds Sky Lake Nature Reserve, James Dubberly

Honors Theses

The purpose of this baseline documentation is to conduct a report on our subject property and discuss the findings. A conservation easement is established by upholding a certain standard of a property’s current condition which makes a baseline documentation necessary for an easement to be enacted. Baseline documentation reports are used as a resource to monitor and enforce the legal agreements of the conservation easement. The subject property is currently owned by the Delta Wind Birds organization. In our scenario, this documentation report will serve to aid in the conversion of our subject property into a conservation easement in which …

Covid-19_School Of Economics_Malacarne And Colleagues Address The Impacts Of Covid- 19 On Maine's Food System, University Of Maine School Of Economics

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

Screenshot of a University of Maine School of Economics news release webpage regarding Jonathan Malacarne (SOE Assistant Professor), Jason Lilley (University of Maine Cooperative Extension Professional), and Tora Jackson (Maine Farmer Resource Network) presenting a summary of the impacts of COVID-19 on Maine's food system at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) 2021 virtual Maine Ag Trades Show.

Everyone In: A Road Map For Science-Based, Collaborative Restoration Of Western Quaking Aspen, Sue Miller

Aspen Bibliography

With concern over the health of aspen in the Intermountain West, public and private land managers need better guidance for evaluating aspen condition and selecting and implementing actions that will be effective in restoring aspen health. The Utah Forest Restoration Group collaboratively synthesized a step-by-step approach for aspen restoration that was applicable to western U.S. forests. In a successful case study in shared stewardship, these restoration guidelines were applied to a challenging real-world setting.The Monroe Mountain Aspen Ecosystem Restoration Project, addressed diverse public and private lands needs and interests using an “All Hands, All Lands” strategy. The Monroe Mountain Working …

Application Of Semi-Hydrophobic Layers To Decrease Bare Soil Evaporation, Jesse Lee Barnes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Evaporative water loss from bare agricultural soils is a primary area of water conservation research. Mulching is the commonly utilized method to decrease evaporative water loss. The most commonly utilized mulch is nonbiodegradable polyethylene sheeting because it tends to decrease evaporative water loss and increase crop yields more than environmentally friendly mulches. This study aimed to test the utility of sand coated with polymerized soybean oil (i.e., hydrophobic sand) as a treatment to reduce bare soil evaporation and an alternative to current practices. Evaporation rates were measured in laboratory soil columns containing both treated and untreated soils. Treatment parameters were …

Exploration Of The Uae Native Plants For Sustainable Landscaping In Arid Region, Mubarak Mohammed S. R. Jaber Al Khaili

Philosophy Dissertations

In order to maintain sustainability for landscapes in the arid region, the use of native plants is of considerable importance, in the light of the fact that the exotic plants currently used do not resource efficient. The native plants adapted to the harsh environment of the desert ecosystem could play a critical role in this direction where the natural resources could be sustainably used. Research on evaluation and analyzes of native plant species of the UAE for potential application in landscapes have been considered. The present investigation reports the results of the exploration of native plants suited for sustainable landscape …

Soil And Water Conservation: An Annotated Bibliography, Colby J. Moorberg

NPP eBooks

Soil and Water Conservation: An Annotated Bibliography highlights freely-available online resources covering various aspects of soil and water conservation, and is designed to be a resource for conservation students and practitioners. The thirteen chapters in the annotated bibliography are grouped into four sections, including History and Fundamentals, Conservation Practices, Conservation Implementation, and Careers. Types of cited resources include extension bulletins, USDA NRCS conservation practice standards, and other government reports and resources. Cited resources are generally concise, easily read, and meant for general audiences. Annotations and images are used to provide context for each resource. Many contributors made Soil and Water …

History Of Grass Breeding For Grazing Lands In The Northern Great Plains Of The Usa And Canada, Kenneth P. Vogel, John Hendrickson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

• In the early 1930s there were millions of acres of extensively degraded grazing lands and abandoned and eroded cropland in the Northern Plains of the United States and Canada.

• Grass breeding and plant materials programs were established by both the US and Canadian governments and cooperating universities to develop revegetation materials.

• Efforts of a small number of research locations and people resulted in grass cultivars or varieties that were used to revegetate and preserve the soil on millions of acres of land.

• This is a brief history of the people, agencies, and universities that developed these …

Wild Bees Of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Richness, Abundance, And Spatio-Temporal Beta-Diversity, Olivia Messinger Carril, Terry Griswold, James Haefner, Joseph S. Wilson

All PIRU Publications

Interest in bees has grown dramatically in recent years in light of several studies that have reported widespread declines in bees and other pollinators. Investigating declines in wild bees can be difficult, however, due to the lack of faunal surveys that provide baseline data of bee richness and diversity. Protected lands such as national monuments and national parks can provide unique opportunities to learn about and monitor bee populations dynamics in a natural setting because the opportunity for large-scale changes to the landscape are reduced compared to unprotected lands. Here we report on a 4-year study of bees in Grand …

Zoning And Complementary Incentives To Protect Farmland: A Case For Missoula County, Kaitlin Mccafferty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Urban sprawl reflects an inefficient use of land that diminishes both rural landscapes and quality of life turning farms, ranches and open space into siloed suburban communities. This results in less walkable cities with more traffic and air pollution, among other negative consequences. Farmland constitutes a particularly important resource that often faces degradation or loss due to sprawl. Higher quality agricultural soils are particularly desirable for development because they are flat and well-drained. Farmland is also important for urban communities concerning food security, environmental health, and economic well being. As American cities continue to grow, farmland around urban areas has …

Overview Of The Us Forest Service Programs And Opportunities For Partnership, Cultivating A Culture Of Success In Natural Resources: Moving Outreach Forward In Conversation, Tony Tooke

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

No abstract provided.

Essays On Protected Area Size: Effects On Ecological And Economic Effectiveness, Kristen Marie Thiel

Masters Theses

Faced with continuing threats to biodiversity, governments are increasingly seeking to expand protected areas. Financial resources are limited, which often spurs conservation planners to prioritize locations for future protection. Thus, prioritization of protected areas is increasingly being evaluated based on the return on investment (ROI) they offer. This thesis consists of two essays analyzing the land acquisitions made by the world’s largest conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In the first essay, entitled “Effects of Protected Area Size on Conservation Return on Investment,” the increase in effective mesh size per dollar invested to acquire a parcel was greater for larger …

Agenda: Flpma Turns 40, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers approximately 245 million acres of our public lands and yet, for most of our nation's history, these lands seemed largely destined to end up in private hands. Even when the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 ushered in an important era of better managing public grazing districts and "promoting the highest use of the public lands," such use of our public lands still was plainly considered temporary, "pending its final disposal." It was not until 1976 with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) that congress adopted a policy that …

Analysis Of Growth, Oil Yield, And Carvacrol In Thymbra Spicata L.After Slow-Growth Conservation, Reham Tahtamouni, Rida Shibli, Ayed Al-Abdallat, Tamara Al-Qudah

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Growth, oil yield, and carvacrol content in Thymbra spicata L. Var. Spicata microshoots were analyzed after 12 weeks of storage in MS media supplemented with elevated levels (0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 M) of three osmotic agents (sucrose, sorbitol, and mannitol) or ABA (0.0, 3.8, 7.6, and 11.4 μM). The obtained results revealed that using 0.2 M sucrose in the storage media yielded the best results in terms of growth reduction during conservation as well as maintenance of microshoot recovery at full capacity (100%) after conservation. Meanwhile, 0.1 M sorbitol or mannitol in addition to 3.8 μM ABA were …

Phylogeographical Studies Of Glycine Soja: Implicating The Refugium During The Quaternary Glacial Period And Large-Scale Expansion After The Last Glacial Maximum, Yunsheng Wang, Muhammad Qasim Shahid, Faheem Shahzad Baloch

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.), the progenitor of cultivated soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), is widely distributed in the Sino-Japanese Floristic Region (SJFR). Therefore, it is an excellent model organism to study the effect of Quaternary climatic changes on the distribution and migration of plant taxa in the SJFR. To investigate the phylogeography of G. soja, a total of 632 individuals representing 52 populations throughout the species distribution range were genotyped by using the sequencing data of a nuclear locus, AF105221, and a chloroplast locus, trnQ-rps16. We detected a total of 23 haplotypes from two loci, including five …

Navigating A Pathway Toward Colorado's Water Future: A Review And Recommendations On Colorado's Draft Water Plan, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Colorado Water Working Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

40 pages (includes color illustrations).

Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee

Agricultural Education and Communication

Website created by Angelina McKee to educate the public about water resource issues. Water is the basic unit of life, water resources are the basis for what societies and ecosystems are founded upon. Water shortages and droughts are more prevalent in our ever-changing world. It is no shock that there are discrepancies between various stockholders on either sides of the dry riverbed. This senior project resulted in the development of a website that addresses global water resources, water use in California, water conservation, and water allocation. The website informs the public on water resources and related issues and will hopefully …

The Interaction Of Climate Change, Land Cover, And Political Representation In The Usa, Brady W. Allred, Dirac L. Twidwell, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The difficulties in tackling climate change are inherently complex and primarily centered on political and social values. This is evident in the United States where political divisions and polarizations are fundamental barriers to advancing national policies, which in turn hinder international agreements, mitigation, and adaptation. Within the United States, the vast majority of agricultural and natural resource lands are projected to incur significant climate departures and are represented by the Republican Party. The resources and economic sectors that will be directly affected by climate change are represented by national leadership that is unlikely to accept policies to prevent or adapt …

Remittance And Migration: Impact On Technology Adoption, Natural Resource Conservation, And Household Welfare, Deborah Ann Williams

LSU Master's Theses

Nepal is the perfect country to study all the facets of migration, sustainable agriculture and their subsequent impact on food systems. Droves of migrants are leaving rural Nepal for higher incomes to cover household daily expenses. The Government of Nepal (GON) encourages migration as a means to reduce poverty, and remittance already amounts to 25.83% of GDP, and it is expected to grow (Nepal Bastra Bank 2014, Thieme and Wyss 2005, Yang 2011). However, it is still unclear whether the mass exodus from rural areas and the growing dependence on remittance, the portion of the migrant workers' earnings sent back …

Producers Willingness To Adopt A Prescribed Grazing System East Of The 100th Meridian, Caroline Elizabeth Holt

Masters Theses

With the climate change concerns facing the United States, the contributions of the beef industry to greenhouse gasses are difficult to overlook. The agriculture industry is estimated to be the largest producer of methane emissions in the United States, and within agriculture, livestock are the largest contributor with cattle producing 73 percent of the methane emissions from all livestock (Johnson and Johnson 1995).

This thesis focuses on factors influencing beef cattle producers’ east of the 100th meridian interest in adopting prescribed grazing; including how a government cost share system could enhance adoption. Information was obtained for the study through a …