Life Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Framing And Recent Experience On Farmer Choices In Experimental Games Depicting Risk-Reducing Agricultural Technologies, Ana Maria Ospina Tobar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major threat to food security, particularly in low and middle-income countries that are highly dependent on staple crops for subsistence. The vulnerability of staple crops, like maize, in the face of climate change, is increasing due to the increasing frequency of droughts. This thesis aims to evaluate two mechanisms through which farmers may be more willing to adopt new technologies that increase their resilience to climate change: First, I evaluate the effectiveness of a new virtual maize farming game as a learning tool to teach farmers about the outcomes they could obtain under different weather events …

Pronghorn Survival And Resource Selection In Western Nebraska's Agriculturally Dominated Landscape, Katie Piecora

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska’s pronghorn population has been stable over the last decade, yet their presence on the landscape remains a contentious subject amongst private landowners. Conversion of grassland for crop production and increased anthropogenic activity has drastically altered pronghorn behavior throughout their current range, however basic ecology and resource use by pronghorn in Nebraska remains poorly understood. Establishing baseline population metrics and seasonal patterns of resource use for this population at the eastern periphery of the species range is critical to guide management actions. We deployed GPS collars on 110 adult pronghorn to quantify survival, mortality risk, and seasonal resource selection in …

Determining The Impact Of Post-Harvest Water Management On Chironomid Abundance, Agrochemical Biomass And Potential Trophic Biomagnification, Mason Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture has diminished shorebirds’ natural habitat in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Remaining natural stopover sites are supplemented with agricultural fields during the fall and winter. This study evaluates the impact of 4 different post-harvest water management strategies on shorebird food abundance and potential agrochemical biomagnification. Chironomid samples estimated abundance, biomass, and chironomid agrochemical concentration in each field. A risk assessment of agrochemical biomagnification to shorebirds was made across all treatments. Of treatments represented on all study sites, winter treatment had greatest chironomid abundance and biomass. Models indicated that days since flood initiation, start date, and temperature are significant predictors of …

Practical Improvements For Pivot And Surface Irrigation, Jonathan A. Holt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Irrigation is critical to meeting global food and fiber demands. Optimizing agricultural irrigation may help sustain production levels, while reducing its demand for water. This research evaluated precision sprinklers and drip irrigation for pivots, five pivot track mitigation tools, three scientific irrigation scheduling (SIS) methods, sensors for surface irrigation cutoff, and automating surface systems to implement surge irrigation. With pivots and surface irrigation being the most common methods for irrigation in the West, small improvements from these tools could result in significant water savings.

Low energy precision application (LEPA) sprinklers and mobile drip irrigation (MDI) were tested on two pivots. …

Movements And Resource Selection Of Wild Pigs Associated With Growth Stages Of Corn, Bethany A. Friesenhahn, Randall W. Deyoung, Michael J. Cherry, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most successful invasive species globally and are often implicated in agricultural damage. This damage is expected to increase as ranges of wild pigs expand, impacting the human food supply and increasing costs of food production. Our objective was to evaluate movement behaviors of wild pigs relative to resource availability and landscape features in an agriculture-dominated landscape, with a goal of informing management practices for reducing damage to corn. We monitored hourly movements of adult wild pigs relative to corn crops using GPS collars during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons (Feb–Sept) in …

Exploring Beaver-Facilitated Restoration In Grassland Channelized Streams, Jessica L. Sikora

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Freshwater streams provide vital ecosystem services, but their ecological function is gravely impacted by agricultural practices especially in grassland ecosystems. Though there is evidence that the re-introduction of beavers can help restore the ecological function of streams, little is known about their restorative impacts in grasslands. At Nachusa Grasslands Preserve in Franklin Grove, IL, we investigated the presence and impact of beaver dams on their waterways. With increasing beaver dam volume, we found an increase in sediment retention and less sediment retention with increasing beaver dams upstream from a dam. Though we did not find evidence that beaver dam volume …

Groundwater Governance And Agricultural Sustainability: Examining Farmer Interactions With California’S Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Zachary Matthew Goldstein

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Climate change has exacerbated groundwater depletion globally, and policymakers have struggled to effectively manage groundwater resources. California enacted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 to restore groundwater to sustainable levels.

The first paper of this thesis examines the drivers associated with uptake of groundwater conservation practices in agriculture. While a rich body of research has explored farmers’ conservation practice adoption, understanding of groundwater conservation practices is more limited. This study explores how information sources influence the actual and intended adoption of groundwater management practices in California. Using survey data from farmers (n = 553) in three largely agricultural …

Resilience Theory And Coerced Resilience In Agriculture, S. M. Sundstrom, D. G. Angeler, C. R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Application Of The Fine Sediment Biotic Index To Three Drain Tiled And Ditched Agricultural Systems In Southern Minnesota, Bailey Sanders

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Artificial drainage is a common agricultural management technique in the United States used to remove excess water from poorly drained soils. Approximately 22.48 million hectares of crop land are drain-tiled in the United States, providing long-term economic benefits to farmers. However, artificial drainage increases sediment transport in agricultural watersheds, which can degrade aquatic systems, destroy habitats, and limit biological diversity. Biotic indices based on benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used to assess surface water quality, but recent studies show potential in developing sediment biotic indices using benthic macroinvertebrates to estimate fine sediment in streams. The objective of this study was to …

Why New Zealand’S Indigenous Reconciliation Process Has Failed To Empower Māori Fishers: Distributional, Procedural, And Recognition-Based Injustices, Hekia Bodwitch, Andrew M. Song, Owen Temby, John Reid, Megan Bailey, Gordon M. Hickey

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

How is it that the New Zealand government’s process for re-establishing Indigenous fishing rights has failed to deliver thriving Māori fisheries? This paper examines why, at Te Waihora, a coastal lake, and site of one of the nation’s longest running and best-funded state-Māori co-governance agreements, Māori fishers have been unable to use their rights to support their fishery. As of 2018, the lake’s culturally and ecologically significant eel population was no longer commercially viable, a decline fishers have attributed to rampant dairy industry expansion upstream. Drawing on environmental justice literatures, we deploy a multi-dimensional framework to identify factors shaping possibilities …

Assessment Of Historical Climate Variability In Maine With Implications For Future Agricultural Productivity And Adaptation, Carly Frank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a wicked problem with global impacts, one of which being the sustainability of the existing global food system. As temperatures and variability in precipitation are projected to increase, the challenges to agriculture are expected to intensify. This thesis examines the Maine historical climate record over the growing season, in combination with future projections, to assess how conditions have changed and will change with agricultural implications. In this analysis, relevant climatic variables are analyzed, and agriculture-significant measures are derived for Maine’s three climate divisions using four decades of daily and monthly gridded datasets. In addition, this thesis explores …

Prediction Of Cultivation Areas For The Commercial And An Early Flowering Wild Accession Of Salvia Hispanica L. In The United States, Mohammad Hassani, Thomas Piechota, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Salvia hispanica L., commonly known as chia, is a plant-based alternative to seafood and is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. In the Northern Hemisphere, chia flowering is triggered by the fall equinox (12-h light and dark, early October) and the seeds mature after approximately three months. Chia is sensitive to frost and end of season moisture which limits its cultivation to small areas in regions with temperate climate. The U.S. chia import has increased considerably over the years; however, chia is not widely cultivated in the United States. This study used the historical U.S. temperature …

Identifying Key Stream Restoration Variables In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Julia Portmann

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans several states, supports diverse ecosystems, and is crucial to local economies. However, agricultural practices in this region impair water quality. The Smith Creek watershed, within the Shenandoah Valley, was designated a showcase watershed in 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the efficacy of implementing restoration projects. We sampled fifteen farms ranging from unrestored to thirty-six years since restoration. At each site, we conducted a kick-net survey for macroinvertebrates, measured canopy cover, algal density, substrate size, and bank height and angle. We identified macroinvertebrates to family and calculated the Chesapeake Basin-wide Index …

Land Use Effects On Fish Assemblages In Mississippi River Tributaries In Scott County, Ia And Rock Island County, Il, Benjamin Ford, Kevin Geedey

Urban Watershed Project

Fish assemblages are viable indicators of stream quality because they respond predictably to changes in abiotic and biotic factors, such as habitat and water quality, and human exploitation and species additions. In this a study we examined the relationship between fish abundance, diversity, and IBI (Index of Biotic Integrity), and urban and agricultural land use in Scott County, IA and Rock Island County, IL. Fish were sampled during the summer of 2021 within 12 local watersheds, which contain a variety of land use types. We followed a standardized sampling method of a single pass with a backpack electrofishing unit through …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

Soil Resilience And Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: How Fungi Can Inform Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation In Maya Milpa Management, Courtney Mathers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Mexico’s state of Yucatán, climate change impacts like prolonged and less predictable dry season length are manifesting as threats to agricultural production and food security. Nearly two thirds of Yucatán’s population is indigenous, many of whom live in rural communities that rely on rainfed subsistence agriculture (INEGI 2015). Ensuring sufficient food production in the face of climate change relies on the quality of agricultural soils. With both mismanagement of agricultural soils and climate change posing as threats to food production in Mexico, soil management practices that increase a soil quality should be identified and promoted. The primary objective of …

Policy Sustainability Issues: Case Study Of Cassava Farmers In Ikorodu. Lagos, Nigeria, Medinat Oluwatoyin Adetunji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inconsistency and lack of continuity of Nigeria's agricultural policies impact the cassava sector. Despite being the world's biggest producer, the country is yet to benefit from the advantage due to a lack of sustainable growth. The situation manifests in terms of low productivity, low production level, and poor income to the farmers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of the cassava farmers on cassava policies and the effect on their income and livelihoods in the Ikorodu local government of Lagos State. This qualitative study adopted a case study research design using participatory …

Rodents In Agriculture: A Broad Perspective, Gary Witmer

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The largest taxonomic group of mammals is rodents, with over 2200 species known around the world [1]. More recently, it was stated that over 2500 species exist [2]. Many species exist on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Rodents have adapted to all ecosystems of the world, including tundra, alpine, temperate forests, grasslands, arid regions, and aquatic systems. They provide many ecosystem functions, including soil aeration and mixing, seed and spore dispersal, vegetation succession, and being an important food source for predatory animals. Some species of rodents are even consumed by people in some parts of the world. Most …

Linking Migration To Community Resilience In The Receiving Basin Of A Large-Scale Water Transfer Project, Anna Erwin, Zhao Ma, Ruxandra Popovici, Emma Patricia Salas O’Brien, Laura Zanotti, Chelsea A. Silva, Eliseo Zeballos Zeballos, Jonathan Bauchet, Nelly Ramírez Calderón, Glenn Roberto Arce Larreah

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large-scale water transfer projects (LWTPs) transfer water to urban and agricultural areas. The Majes-Siguas canal, established in 1983, is an LWTP that created a thriving agricultural area through irrigating the Majes district in the Atacama Desert of Peru. Like other LWTP receiving basins, the project has attracted an influx of migrants who work on the farms. At the same time, the Majes LWTP is the district’s only source of water and has an aging infrastructure which presents significant risks. While many studies critically analyze the consequences of LWTPs in water supply basins, few evaluate the resilience of communities living in …

Towards A More Comprehensive Understanding Of Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Impacts On Agricultural Producers: Insights From A Texas Case Study, Keith M. Carlisle, Nicole Didero, Sophie Mckee, Julie Elser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This research investigates the impacts of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa Linneaus) on agricultural producers in Texas, with the aim of identifying and describing all categories of wild pig impacts and quantifying the extent of producers’ over- or underestimation of their total wild pig-related costs in 2018, as compared to calculations based upon data subsequently provided by the producers about individual wild pig-related costs and losses. Based on interviews with 23 producers in 16 Texas counties, we identified more than 20 discrete categories of negative impacts and negligible positive impacts associated with wild pigs. Among them were categories that have …

A Biological Assessment Of Water Quality In El Placer, Ecuador: The Effect Of Agriculture On Stream Health And The Quality Of Historical Versus Current Drinking Water Sources, Danielle Kleinberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although fresh water is one of Ecuador’s most abundant resources, high quality drinking water for its inhabitants is scarce (Wingfield et al., 2021). The most prevalent sources of water pollution in Ecuador are domestic waste, silver and gold mining, oil production, and agricultural chemicals (Buckalew et al., 1997). El Placer, a village located in Tungurahua, Ecuador, is highly dependent on agriculture as a source of income. The first objective of this study was to determine the effect of agriculture on the El Placer’s Tía Anita Stream through comparing the water quality at three sites with varying agricultural influence. The second …

Investigating The Impact Of Land Use On Avian Diversity And Abundance In Areas Surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda, Sydney Marie Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of wetland-adjacent land use on avian species richness and abundance areas surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda. Four types of land use were investigated: Eucalyptus plantations, wetland-edge agricultural fields, residential areas, and mature secondary forests. A total of 40-morning point counts were conducted for ten days in late November and late December of 2021. One-way ANOVA tests and Tukey’s HSD tests revealed significant differences in mean avian richness and abundance between all sites except residential areas and Nkima Forest. Additionally, Nkima Forest was found to contain the most number of specialist …

Estimation Of Spatial Change In Cropland Area And Evaluation Of Irrigation Performance In Imperial Valley Using Remotely Sensed Data, Usha Poudel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Imperial Valley (IV) in the US is an extensively irrigated agricultural region, which includes multiple crops changing on an annual and semiannual basis. The valley is facing grave concerns about water management due to its semi-arid environment, water intensive crops, and limited water supply. A simple, inexpensive, and repeatable method to detect changes in cropping patterns may assist irrigation managers to understand crop diversification and associated consumptive use. In addition, a spatial assessment of existing water irrigation system performance and productivity is crucial to benchmark and improve current water management strategies. This thesis estimates the spatial pattern of change …

Long-Term Changes In Soil Surface Properties As Affected By Management Practices In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System, Machaela Morrison

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Long-term agricultural sustainability and productivity are controlled by the integrative effects of different management practices on the soil. Many Arkansas producers use the double-crop system to grow soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Studying combinations of different, non-traditional, alternative agricultural techniques may help producers better understand the long-term implications of various management practice options on sustainability and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices, including residue level, tillage, irrigation, and burning, and soil depth on the change in various soil properties from 2010 to 2020 in …

A Study Of The Social, Cultural, And Environmental Influences On Appalachian Agriculture, Morganne May

Senior Theses

Appalachia, despite its rich history and abundant biological and cultural diversity, is commonly associated with a generalized notion of ignorance, resistance to progress, and "backwardness." This study aims to shed light on the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental influences which have shaped the present food systems of Appalachia through a review of relevant literature. This history provides the necessary context to strategize a region-specific, socioeconomically and environmentally sustainable food system moving forward.

Solutions Human Centered Approach To Conservation, Illustration Department, History, Philosophy, + The Social Sciences Department

Illustration Course Work & Materials

"These essays were were written and illustrated by students at the Rhode Island school of Design in February, 2021. Their perspectives are entirely personal and reflect their efforts within a 5.5-week fused studio/seminar course that was centered on the Sixth Mass Extinction and how biodiversity is changing because of humans. Discovering that science communication is more than delivering just the facts, students were invited to research a topic of personal interest that is relevant to human impacts on biodiversity. Through analysis of data and other scientific information, each sought to synthesize their research and opinions on their topic through a …

Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As the ripple-effects of a changing climate shape our planet, understanding relationships between agriculture and climate change is critical. With agricultural practices shaping soils on over a third of the earth’s land surface, the soils and lands where food is produced are integral grounds for examining these relationships. While not all humans practice agriculture in similar or damaging ways, nevertheless, dominant agricultural practices are displacing beings and ecosystems and perturbing global nutrient cycles across the planet. These entwined imbalances of dominance and nutrients result in flows of excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon that are responsible for nearly three-fourths of the …

Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In an effort to increase the amount of locally sourced food utilized by dining services at WKU, the Office of Sustainability, WKU Restaurant Group, and the WKU Agriculture & Research Education Center have partnered to establish garden spaces on campus properties. This project developed a detailed plan for implementation of this effort. In addition, this project established a plan to educate students and the local community alike on the benefits of sustainable farming and locally-sourced food, while also creating profiles on local farmers from whom the university could buy crops in order to further supplement items for dining services. Using …

Tapping The Sweet Spot: Predicting The Suitability Of A Woodlot’S Potential To Transition Into A Productive Sugarbush In Maine, Deven M. Teisl

Non-Thesis Student Work

Through conversations with Dr. Sara Velardi, a postdoctoral research associate who has been doing research on maple producers’ scale management decisions in Maine, most current owners and operators in the maple syrup industry have the common interest of expanding their current operations, but they are unsure of how to approach that problem. Due to these current issues, my research focused on creating a sugarbush assessment tool. This assessment tool consists of a set of guidelines which can be utilized by current or future producers and can be used to easily assess woodlots without having to hire a consulting forester to …

What’S Going To Happen To My Pancakes? The Impacts Of Climate Change Upon Blueberries And Sugar Maple, Ashley Kayser

Honors College

The United Nations believes that the foremost challenge of the future will be climate change. Because of human use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gases have been released into the atmosphere at unsustainable rates, which have resulted in an altered climate that will impact weather patterns around the globe. There have already been measurable shifts in precipitation and temperature in many regions; in the state of Maine the general trend has been toward higher temperatures and increased precipitation. This is resulting in impacts to agriculture throughout the state. Blueberries and sugar maple are two culturally and economically valuable crops which will …