Life Sciences Commons^™

Climate Adaptation And Water Conservation Decision-Making In Paso Robles, California Vineyards, Christopher R. Klier

Master's Theses

This paper examines vineyard perceptions and adoption of climate change adaptation and water conservation measures in the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area (AVA). A survey was distributed to all 220 vineyards and vineyard management companies that operate in the AVA, with a 53.64% response rate. The objective of the survey was to determine vineyard manager and owner attitudes towards climate change and adaptation, as well as their perceptions of how these threats would impact their operation. A second objective was to document the current level of water conservation and climate adaptation while identifying the barriers and opportunities for further adoption …

An Investigation Into Historical And Contemporary Breeding Occurrence Of The Ferruginous Hawk In Kansas, Erica Clark

Master's Theses

The Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) is the largest Buteo species occurring in grasslands, nesting along bluffs, buttes and isolated trees. In Kansas, the Ferruginous Hawk is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, Tier II. A previous study on Ferruginous Hawks nesting in Kansas during the years of 1979 to 1987, with sporadic visits from the 1990s to 2000, revealed that the most productive nesting territories were inaccessible to predators, placed on rocky ledges and the surrounding landscape was over 50% rangeland. I revisited 82 of the 111 historic nest territories in the summers of 2019 and …

Quantifying The Environmental Performance Of A Stream Habitat Improvement Project, Cody Morse

Master's Theses

River restoration projects are being installed worldwide to rehabilitate degraded river habitat. Many of these projects focus on stream habitat improvement (SHI), and an estimated 60%of the 37,000 projects listed in the National River Restoration Science Synthesis Program focus on SHI for salmon and trout species. These projects frequently lack a sufficient monitoring program or account for the environmental costs associated with SHI. The present study used life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques and topographic effectiveness monitoring to quantify environmental costs on the basis of geomorphic change. This methodology was a novel approach to assessing the cost-benefit relationship of SHI. To …

Incorporating Multi-Spectral Imaging Into Long-Term Upland Breeding Bird Monitoring, Kyle William Schumacher

Master's Theses

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas, United States partnered with Fort Hays State University Hays, KS in 2014 to begin a collaborative research project that aimed to develop a long-term monitoring protocol guided by the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the refuge published in 2013. This plan identified specific wildlife taxa underrepresented in management impact assessments throughout the property. As a result of this plan, surveys were established to monitor interactions between upland breeding birds and the vegetation community. I conducted point count surveys in 2016, 2017, and 2018 for 122 observation points across four transects. I measured seventeen vegetation variables …

Modern Fair-Weather And Storm Sediment Transport Around Ship Island, Mississippi: Implications For Coastal Habitats And Restoration Efforts, Eve Rettew Eisemann

Master's Theses

The Mississippi – Alabama barrier island chain is experiencing accelerated sea level rise, decreased sediment supply, and frequent hurricane impacts. These three factors drive unprecedented rates of morphology change and ecosystem reduction. All islands in the chain have experienced land loss on the order of hectares per year since records began in the 1840s. In 1969, Hurricane Camille impacted as a Category 5, breaching Ship Island, and significantly reduced viable seagrass habitat. Hurricane Katrina impacted as a Category 3 in 2005, further widening Camille Cut. To better understand the sustainability of these important islands and the ecosystems they support, sediment …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Urban Agriculture Stormwater Management In California Cities, Rachel L. Cohen

Master's Theses

Cities within California are beginning to incorporate urban agriculture into their land use designations. Prompted by residents and local organizations, cities are hoping to capture the benefits that urban agriculture provides. Research has shown that urban agriculture renews and beautifies neighborhoods, provides healthy food choices, increases public health, has the potential to help with stormwater runoff, creates jobs, and fosters community. In the last few years, several California cities have made headlines as they have adopted new zoning codes that include urban agriculture.

In reviewing these new zoning codes and exploring the topic of urban agriculture, it became evident that …

Effects Of Silvicultural Management On Coast Redwood Forest Composition, Density And Structure In Santa Cruz And San Mateo Counties, Michael J. Papa

Master's Theses

The multiple-objective exploratory study investigates effects of various silvicultural management regimes commonly applied to coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forests in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, California, USA. A temporary forest inventory was installed in 24 harvest origin stands and 4 natural origin stands throughout the study area (sample area = 1189 acres). Data from the systematic sample of 233 one-quarter acre nested cluster plots (sample intensity = 4.9%) rendered overall forest descriptions in terms of species composition, density, and structure. The common forestry measures of trees per acre (TPA), basal area per acre (BA), and …

Mortality Assessment Of Redwood And Mixed Conifer Forest Types In Santa Cruz County Following Wildfire, Steve R. Auten

Master's Theses

On August 12, 2009, the Lockheed Fire ignited the west slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains burning approximately 7,819 acres. Foresters and other land managers were left with challenging decisions on how to evaluate tree mortality. Big Creek Lumber Company, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)’s Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR), and other resource professionals familiar with this region teamed up to develop a method for evaluating damage and thereby mortality for redwood, California nutmeg, live oak, tanoak, California bay, Pacific madrone, big leaf maple, Douglas-fir, Monterey pine, and knobcone pine. Quantitative damage criteria were used to design …

Simulated Effects Of Varied Landscape-Scale Fuel Treatments On Carbon Dynamics And Fire Behavior In The Klamath Mountains Of California, Kevin J. Osborne

Master's Theses

I utilized forest growth model (FVS-FFE) and fire simulation software (FlamMap, Randig), integrated through GIS software (ArcMap9.3), to quantify the impacts varied landscape-scale fuel treatments have on short-term onsite carbon loss, long-term onsite carbon storage, burn probability, conditional flame length, and mean fire size. Thirteen fuel treatment scenarios were simulated on a 42,000 hectare landscape in northern California: one untreated, three proposed by the US Forest Service, and nine that were spatially-optimized and developed with the Treatment Optimization Model in FlamMap. The nine scenarios developed in FlamMap varied by treatment intensity (10%, 20%, and 30% of the landscape treated) and …

Utilization Of Geographic Information System For Research, Management, And Education In The Natural Resources Management Department At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, David In Yun

Master's Theses

Geographic Information System (GIS) is “an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information” (ESRI, 1997a). The Natural Resources Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, hereafter NRM, was one of the early users of GIS technology. Although GIS was primarily used as an educational tool, it was also used for cataloging and displaying resource information for management planning and research projects. As the computing technology advanced, GIS became more powerful and easier to use. NRM faculty and …