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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns Jan 2022

Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns

Scripps Senior Theses

Prairies were once the largest ecosystem in North America, but agriculture and settlement has destroyed up to 99% of their pre-colonization extent. Prairie restorations are a strategy to recover the biodiversity and carbon sequestration functions of these grasslands, but typically occur in isolated strips between agricultural fields. My thesis analyzes how effective prairie restorations in the Liberty Prairie (northeastern Illinois) are at recovering the diversity of the prairie soil microbiome, focusing on verrucomicrobia abundance, alpha diversity, and soil physical characteristics.


Footprints On The Prairie: Examining The Interlocking Land Histories Of The Liberty Prairie Reserve, Illinois, Anna M. Burns Jan 2022

Footprints On The Prairie: Examining The Interlocking Land Histories Of The Liberty Prairie Reserve, Illinois, Anna M. Burns

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis begins with the local history of the Liberty Prairie, the land where I conducted the ecological field-work that I later discuss in my second thesis on soil microbiome diversity (“Examining Soil Microbial Diversity in Transition Zones Between Corn Fields and Restored Prairie in the Upper Midwest"). I examine the Indigenous histories of the land, and the conflicts between the Bodwéwadmi and Euro-American settlers that resulted in the land being farmed for cattle, corn, and soy for over a hundred and fifty years. I then take a step back and analyze the broader historical contexts of Midwestern Corn Belt …


An Evaluation Of Antiparasitics Used To Treat The Sea Louse, Caligus Rogercresseyi, In Chilean Salmonid Farming, Dayla Woller Jan 2021

An Evaluation Of Antiparasitics Used To Treat The Sea Louse, Caligus Rogercresseyi, In Chilean Salmonid Farming, Dayla Woller

Scripps Senior Theses

Sea lice pose a global threat to open-net salmonid farming. As Chile is the second largest Atlantic salmon producer, they have a vested interest in mitigating infestations and increasing production. However, this will not be possible without 1) increased research on the underlying mechanisms behind sea lice infestations that will inform 2) governmental regulation of salmon farming. This increase in research and governmental regulation will only be possible through transparency on pesticide practices and sea louse monitoring data from companies operating in Chile. Taking these steps would bring Chile closer to being the largest producer of Atlantic salmon and an …


Intercropping For Water Conservation: Environmental And Economic Implications Of A Sustainable Farming Practice In California's Central Valley, Sophie Baker Jan 2020

Intercropping For Water Conservation: Environmental And Economic Implications Of A Sustainable Farming Practice In California's Central Valley, Sophie Baker

Scripps Senior Theses

California’s agricultural sector is the biggest water consumer in the state and faces intense pressure to reduce its overall water usage. Industrialized monoculture systems dominate the industry and often disregard long-term environmental and economic externalities for short-term profit maximization. To maintain longstanding food security and economic stability as well as protect the state’s water supply, it is critical that these systems transition to more sustainable and resilient production mechanisms. As an alternative to monoculture, intercropping affords greater potential to conserve water, protect soil quality, and increase crop yields, among other metrics of sustainability. However, there has been much controversy over …


Shizen Nōhō: Restoring The Relationship Between Food, Nature, And People In Japan, Katharine Graham Jan 2019

Shizen Nōhō: Restoring The Relationship Between Food, Nature, And People In Japan, Katharine Graham

Scripps Senior Theses

In Japan’s postwar era, agriculture has become highly industrialized, involving heavy machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, all in the name of “progress.” Through employing such practices, humans have attempted to improve upon nature’s way of doing things, and in turn have degraded the soil’s fertility, natural ecosystems, and human health. In response to this, Shizen Nōhō has emerged in Japan as an alternative way of cultivating food. Shizen Nōhō practitioners challenge the notion that we need chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery to farm successfully. Rather, they advocate for a way of growing food that functions seamlessly with natural ecosystems. This …


Why Csas Matter: (Re)Localizing For People-Based Food Networks, Gretchen Alexander Jan 2019

Why Csas Matter: (Re)Localizing For People-Based Food Networks, Gretchen Alexander

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis details the history of Claremont Market Shares, a Community Sourced Agriculture (CSA) project based out of Claremont, California. By using this project as a jumping off point for discussing local food networks, buzzwords such as "organic" and "local" are analyzed and re-defined. I argue for a people-based food network model over the currently popular 'place-based' that prioritizes producer-consumer relationships. The CSA functions as a sustainable model of this ideology.


Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative To The Industrial Farming System, Eden K. Olsen May 2014

Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative To The Industrial Farming System, Eden K. Olsen

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the Scientific and Industrial revolutions, advancing technologies and cutting-edge science have enabled our society to continually promote a growing global economy. Industrial growth has increasingly become a top priority for most governments, notably in the agricultural realm. The advances towards agricultural industrialization began in the 17th century and escalated during the Green Revolution, which examined the possibility of using synthetic fertilizers and mechanization in farming to decrease labor and improve yields. Although seen as economically beneficial, the shift from an agrarian lifestyle to industrial farming has created an ecological, economic, and ideological crisis to our modern world. This …


Urban Farm And Community Garden Hybrid Models: A Case Study Of The Huerta Del Valle Community Garden, Leah Hochberg May 2014

Urban Farm And Community Garden Hybrid Models: A Case Study Of The Huerta Del Valle Community Garden, Leah Hochberg

Scripps Senior Theses

This study examines models of community gardens and urban farms and determined a successful hybrid model for future implementation at the Huerta del Valle Community Garden. This was accomplished through analyzing the unique benefits and drawbacks of community gardens and urban farms as defined by the author, and then determining the components of each model that would maximize Huerta del Valle’s social and economic potential. Community gardens are defined in this thesis as places where community members can grow their own food in individual plots, and these spaces often contribute to community building, hands-on gardening education, and improved food access. …


Food Security On Maui: Reinventing Agriculture In The Aloha State, Jade Silver Apr 2013

Food Security On Maui: Reinventing Agriculture In The Aloha State, Jade Silver

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on the past, present, and future of food sustainability on Maui. It begins by explaining ancient Hawaiian agriculture and how this complex system of agriculture was deeply rooted in the customs and traditions of the Hawaiian people. The second section explores how this sustainable agricultural system changed after the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778. After western settlement, land that was once a communal resource became privatized. As land ownership shifted, the traditional subsistence agricultural system of Hawai’i began to change. Export crops such as sugar cane and pineapple became more widespread. As these crops shifted the …


The Stories Of Environmental Ethicists In Word And Image, Camille Robins Apr 2013

The Stories Of Environmental Ethicists In Word And Image, Camille Robins

Scripps Senior Theses

The Stories of Environmental Ethicists in Word and Image captures the spirit of three local people: John B. Cobb, Jr., Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Dean Freudenberger. As teachers, writers, activists, and members of the progressive retirement community Pilgrim Place, they’ve had a significant influence on the global environmental movement. The photographs and small essays in this project highlight who they are and what they’ve done, and how they continue to shape contemporary intellectual discourse. An analysis of how portrait photographers use images to tell stories and how they incorporate text in their photographic collections to create fuller, more robust pictures …


School Gardens: Reconnecting Children With Nature And Food, Alyssa M. Boyle Apr 2013

School Gardens: Reconnecting Children With Nature And Food, Alyssa M. Boyle

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum.


Cultivating An Opportunity: Access And Inclusion In Seattle's Community Gardens, Alice K. Opalka May 2012

Cultivating An Opportunity: Access And Inclusion In Seattle's Community Gardens, Alice K. Opalka

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores the social dynamics of community gardens and their participation within them in the contemporary food justice movement in Seattle, Washington. Community gardens are seen as solutions to myriad urban and environmental problems, such as food deserts, community empowerment, urban greening, environmental education and sustainability of the food system. Three case studies of Seattle organizations, the P-Patch Program, Lettuce Link and Alleycat Acres, provide a basis for analysis of the purported benefit of community empowerment as a function of organizational structure, history and policies. City government support, flexibility, and a critical outlook towards the processes of inclusion and …