Life Sciences Commons^™

Reu Site: Explore It! Building The Next Generation Of Sustainable Forest Bioproduct Researchers, David Neivandt, Darrell W. Donahue

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The major goal of the project is to create the next generation of sustainable forest bioproduct researchers through providing them with an outstanding and relevant research experience.

Reu Site: Explore It! Building The Next Generation Of Sustainable Forest Bioproduct Researchers, David J. Neivandt, Darrell W. Donahue

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This three-year REU Site program builds on the substantial research strengths at the University of Maine. The focus on sustainable forest bioproducts is highly topical and of great global importance in the area of sustainable energy alternatives.

Ten US undergraduate participants will conduct research advancing their knowledge of the field in general and one of the thematic elements in detail, specifically:

1) sustainability and life cycle analysis,
2) feedstock extraction/modification,
3) process control and sensing,
4) nanomaterial production and utilization, and
5) new product development. In addition the program includes an international component whereby, six Chilean students on a mutual …

Beyond Sustainability: A New Conceptual Model, Molly Kerby, Gayle Mallinger

Faculty Publications

Over the last few decades, the notion of sustainability has become an interdisciplinary buzz word. Sustainability has been an integrative concept that includes three constructs or pillars: a) social; b) economic; and c) ecological. Until recently, theoretical approaches based on the three pillars approach have operated in silos rather than exploring the interconnectedness of the constructs. Few models have moved beyond the idea that logical relations exist among the constructs (social, economic, and ecological) to consider factors external to communities, nor have they examined the internal socio-economic factors that influence positive outcomes. While this conceptualization has raised awareness about the …

Information And Entropy Theory For The Sustainability Of Coupled Human And Natural Systems, Audrey L. Mayer, Richard P. Donovan, Christopher W. Pawlowski

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

For coupled human and natural systems (CHANS), sustainability can be defined operationally as a feasible, desirable set of flows (material, currency, information, energy, individuals, etc.) that can be maintained despite internal changes and changes in the environment. Sustainable development can be defined as the process by which CHANS can be moved toward sustainability. Specific indicators that give insight into the structure and behavior of feedbacks in CHANS are of particular interest because they would aid in the sustainable management of these systems through an understanding of the structures that govern system behavior. However, the use of specific feedbacks as monitoring …

Climate-Smart Agriculture Global Research Agenda: Scientific Basis For Action, Kerri L. Steenwerth, Amanda K. Hodson, Arnold J. Bloom, Michael R. Carter, Andrea Cattaneo, Colin J. Chartres, Jerry L. Hatfield, Kevin Henry, Jan W. Hopmans, William R. Horwath, Bryan M. Jenkins, Ermias Kebreab, Rik Leemans, Leslie Lipper, Mark N. Lubell, Siwa Msangi, Ravi Prabhu, Matthew P. Reynolds, Samuel Sandoval Solis, William M. Sischo, Michael Springborn, Pablo Tittonell, Stephen M. Wheeler, Sonja J. Vermeulen, Eva K. Wollenberg, Lovell S. Jarvis, Louise E. Jackson

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Background: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) addresses the challenge of meeting the growing demand for food, fibre and fuel, despite the changing climate and fewer opportunities for agricultural expansion on additional lands. CSA focuses on contributing to economic development, poverty reduction and food security; maintaining and enhancing the productivity and resilience of natural and agricultural ecosystem functions, thus building natural capital; and reducing trade-offs involved in meeting these goals. Current gaps in knowledge, work within CSA, and agendas for interdisciplinary research and science-based actions identified at the 2013 Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture (Davis, CA, USA) are described here within three …

Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …

Exploring Germplasm Diversity To Understand The Domestication Process In Cicer Spp. Using Snp And Dart Markers, Manish Roorkiwal, Eric J. Von Wettberg, Hari D. Upadhyaya, Emily Warschefsky, Abhishek Rathore, Rajeev K. Varshney

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

To estimate genetic diversity within and between 10 interfertile Cicer species (94 genotypes) from the primary, secondary and tertiary gene pool, we analysed 5,257 DArT markers and 651 KASPar SNP markers. Based on successful allele calling in the tertiary gene pool, 2,763 DArT and 624 SNP markers that are polymorphic between genotypes from the gene pools were analyzed further. STRUCTURE analyses were consistent with 3 cultivated populations, representing kabuli, desi and pea-shaped seed types, with substantial admixture among these groups, while two wild populations were observed using DArT markers. AMOVA was used to partition variance among hierarchical sets of landraces …

The Community Economic Impacts Of Large Wildfires: A Case Study From Trinity County, California, Emily Jane Davis, Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Pamela J. Jakes

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency in the American West, but there is limited understanding of their economic effects at the community level. We conducted a case study of the impacts of large wildfires in 2008 in Trinity County, California, by examining labor market, suppression spending, and qualitative interview data. We found that the 2008 fires had interrelated effects on several economic sectors in the county. Labor market data indicated a decrease in total private-sector employment and wages and an increase in public-sector employment and wages during the summer of 2008 compared to the previous year, while interviews captured …

Harvest Incentives: A Tool For Managing Aquatic Invasive Species, Bob Wiltshire, Nathan Stone, Marshall Meyers, Bill Hyatt, Lori Williams, Jason Goldberg, Susan Pasko, Leah Elwell

National Invasive Species Council

Conclusion

The success of any harvest incentive program to address aquatic invasive species will depend upon numerous biological, socioeconomic, and legal considerations. Programs that encourage harvest may be a successful management tool in targeting small, distinct populations; in high priority areas within a larger invasion; or they may play a supplementary role within larger control programs. Their use, however, will require careful review, planning, and monitoring to ensure success and that they do not unintentionally lead to further spread of invasive species, cause additional harm to native species, or waste valuable resources.

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Stars, Long Fingers, And Signals: A Study On Grass Species Diversity, Density, Frequency, And Veld Analysis At Ndarakwai Wildlife Ranch, Reena Walker, Theresa Schaffner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was the first step to assessing veld quality and grass species diversity at Ndarakwai Wildlife Ranch in West Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in an effort to better inform management decisions that affect grasses and grazers. Our study was performed from April 5 to April 26, 2014. We utilized compass line quadrat method (n=600) in six sub-populations within three sample frames to achieve non-representative, random data set on richness, diversity, frequency, and density, with metadata from which we extrapolated veld indicators through secondary-source knowledge. Across all sample frames, we found 43 specimens: identified 29 to species, 7 to genus, and left …

Assessing The Homogenization Of Urban Land Management With An Application To Us Residential Lawn Care, Colin Polsky, J. Morgan Grove, Chris Knudson, Peter M. Groffman, Neil D. Bettez, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Sharon J. Hall, James B. Heffernan, Sarah E. Hobbie, Kelli L. Larson, Jennifer L. Morse, Christopher Neill, Kristen C. Nelson, Laura A. Ogden, Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, Diane E. Pataki, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Meredith K. Steele

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Changes in land use, land cover, and land management present some of the greatest potential global environmental challenges of the 21st century. Urbanization, one of the principal drivers of these transformations, is commonly thought to be generating land changes that are increasingly similar. An implication of this multiscale homogenization hypothesis is that the ecosystem structure and function and human behaviors associated with urbanization should be more similar in certain kinds of urbanized locations across biogeophysical gradients than across urbanization gradients in places with similar biogeophysical characteristics. This paper introduces an analytical framework for testing this hypothesis, and applies the framework …

Coastal And Ocean Economic Summaries Of The Coastal States 2014, Pat Johnston

Publications

The following summaries of the ocean and coastal economies were prepared by the National Ocean Economics Program as a companion the State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies 2014. The U.S. report, its appendices, and these state summary reports are available on the NOEP website at www.OceanEconomics.org/download.

Riparian Vegetation Assemblages And Associated Landscape Factors Across An Urbanizing Metropolitan Area, Christa Von Behren, Andrew Evans Dietrich, J. Alan Yeakley

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

While diverse, native riparian vegetation provides important functions, it remains unclear to what extent these assemblages can persist in urban areas, and under what conditions. We characterized forested riparian vegetation communities across an urbanizing metropolitan area and examined their relationships with surrounding land cover. We hypothesized that native and hydrophilic species assemblages would correlate with forest cover in the landscape. For each of 30 sites in the Portland–Vancouver metro area, we recorded vegetation at 1-cm intervals along 3 transects using the line-intercept method. Land cover was characterized at 2 scales: within 500 m of each site and across the entire …

Woody Biomass Conversion To Jp 8 Fuels: Monthly Funds And Expenditure Report, Hemant P. Pendse

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Two faculty and two staff members are active on this project. GL entries corrections for corrected Capital equipment expenses (re. May report) and corrected indirect cost charges are put in. Correct Total Capital Equipment charges are $82,950 and correct total indirect cost charges are $335,093.47.

Economic Impact Of The Commercial Fisheries On Local County Economies From Catch In All California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 And 2012, Vernon R. Leeworthy, Desiree Jerome, Kelsey Schueler

Working Papers

This report estimates the economic impact of commercial fishing within all California National Marine Sanctuaries (CA NMS) according to the California Ocean Fish Harvester Economic Model (COFHE). The methodology applies county multipliers to estimates of harvest revenue from CA NMS in order to calculate output, income, value added and employment. This report also describes a profile of the commercial fish industry in the CA NMS. CA NMS includes all existing National Marine Sanctuary sites in California: Channel Islands (CINMS), Monterey Bay (MBNMS), Cordell Bank (CBNMS) and Gulf of the Farallones (GFNMS).

The three-year average for 2010 to 2012 finds that …

The Potential For Restoration Of Tan Brook, An Urban Headwater Stream In Amherst, Massachusetts, Alison Tenhulzen, Alyssa Black, Robert F. Smith

Research

The goal of the Tan Brook Student Conservation Group is to educate undergraduate students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst about freshwater sustainability. to accomplish this, the group will act to provide opportunities in original research, applied field and laboratory methods, and outreach. The initial goal for the group will be a collaborative project describing the ecological, historical, and social significance of the Tan Brook, which will result in an informative website and educational signage located at several locations in the town of Amherst and on University property where the Tan Brook enters campus. Ultimately, the group will contribute to …

Brief Analysis Of The Tan Brook Watershed In Amherst, Massachusetts, Andrew Mckenna, Robert F. Smith

Research

The Tan Brook is a small 3.91 square kilometer watershed that runs through and encompasses the highly urbanized areas of Amherst, MA. It is part of the Connecticut River basin and the Mill River sub-basin. In order to meet the high demands of the local middle and high school, and heavy runoff from high amounts of impervious cover from downtown Amherst and the University of Massachusetts, the Tan Brook has been highly culverted.

Moving To A New Paradigm: A Reflection On Ethics, Sara Bajor '15

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Effects Of Fertilization On Ecochemical Soil Condition In Mature Spruce Stands Experiencing Dieback In The Beskid Śla̧Ski And Żywiecki Mountains, Poland, Stanisław Małek, Kazimierz Januszek, William S. Keeton, Józef Barszcz, Marek Kroczek, Ewa Błońska, Tomasz Wanic

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

In recent years, there has been the phenomena of spruce dieback in Europe. Significant areas of spruce low mortality now cover both sides of the Polish southern border. We evaluated ecochemical parameters influencing the heavy dieback occurring in mature spruce stands in the Polish Carpathian Mountains. Dolomite, magnesite and serpentinite fertilizers were applied to experimental plots located in 100-year-old stands in the autumn of 2008. The experimental plots were located in the mid-elevational forest zone (900-950 m) on two nappes of the flysch Carpathians: Magura (Ujsoły Forest District) and Silesian (Wisła Forest District). The saturation of the studied soils demonstrates …

Considering Vermont's Future In A Changing Climate: The First Vermont Climate Assessment, Gillian L. Galford, Ann Hoogenboom, Sam Carlson, Sarah Ford, Julie Nash, Elizabeth Palchak, Sarah Pears, Kristen Underwood, Daniel V. Baker

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The Vermont Climate Assessment (VCA) paints a vivid picture of a changing climate in Vermont and calls for immediate strategic planning to sustain the social, economic and environmental fabric of our state. The VCA is the first state-scale climate assessment in the country and speaks directly to the impacts of climate change as they pertain to our rural towns, cities and communities, including impacts on Vermont tourism and recreation, agriculture, natural resources and energy.

Governing Agriculture-Forest Landscapes To Achieve Climate Change Mitigation, Arun Agrawal, E. Wollenberg, L. Persha

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

This introduction to the special section on "Governing Agriculture-Forest Landscapes to Achieve Climate Change Mitigation" reviews external interventions to improve forest conditions and reduce deforestation, and by extension, influence carbon storage in agriculture-forest landscapes. The review is based on a careful survey of 123 cases of project-based and policy interventions to influence land use and forest cover outcomes. We propose that outcomes of interventions can be explained in terms of rights, incentives, and technologies related to land use and apply this framework to examine 12 types of interventions in agriculture-forest landscapes. The analysis of the identified 123 cases raises concerns …

Degradable Plastics And Their Potential To Affect Solid Waste Systems, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Plastic waste forms a substantial part of municipal solid waste and has caused environmental concerns, particularly due to chemical contamination of the environment and effects from persistent litter. Plastics also complicate waste management processes, such as by having poor recovery rates through recycling, and causing contamination in composting operations. One potential means to address some of these challenges is through degradable plastics which, unlike conventional plastics, are designed to decompose at an accelerated rate in specific environments. Degradable plastics aim to address the end-of-life of plastic products and are intended to reduce the environmental impacts associated with their use and …

Development And Evaluation Of High Resolution Simulation Tools To Improve Fire Weather Forecasts, Brian K. Lamb, Jason M. Forthofer, Peter R. Robichaud

JFSP Research Project Reports

Fire weather forecasts rely on numerical weather simulations where the grid size is 4 km x 4 km or larger. In areas of complex terrain, this model resolution will not capture the details of wind flows associated with complicated topography. Wind channeling in valleys, wind speed-up over mountains and ridges, and enhanced turbulence associated with rough terrain and tall forest canopies are poorly represented in current weather model applications. A number of numerical wind flow models have been developed for simulating winds at high resolution; however, there are limited observational data available at the spatial scales appropriate for evaluating these …

Exploring How Deliberation On Scientific Information Shapes Stakeholder Perceptions Of Forest Management And Climate Change, Troy E. Hall, Jarod J. Blades

JFSP Research Project Reports

Climate change has resulted in rapid biophysical changes in forests of the western U.S. and has prompted the need for an increased understanding of potential impacts and adaption measures. Land managers, policy makers, and community officials lack locally relevant climate change science and are urgently calling for research to inform management decisions. Nevertheless, a substantial disconnect remains between emerging scientific information and its application in management decisions. Effective action depends on understanding regional and local implications of climate change and open, reasoned discussions about current research and potential mitigation actions among researchers, land managers, and other stakeholders. Boundary objects have …

Fire Effects On Seedling Establishment Success Across Treeline: Implications For Future Tree Migration And Flammability In A Changing Climate, F. S. Chapin Iii, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Rebecca E. Hewitt

JFSP Research Project Reports

Understanding the complex mechanisms controlling treeline advance or retreat in the arctic and subarctic has important implications for projecting ecosystem response to changes in climate. Changes in landcover due to a treeline biome shift would alter climate feedbacks (carbon storage and energy exchange), ecosystem services such as wildlife and berry habitat, and landscape flammability. Wildfire frequency and extent has increased in the last half-century in the boreal forest and tundra in response to warmer weather and lower precipitation. Invasion of tundra by trees may be facilitated by wildfire disturbance, which exposes new seedbeds, increases nutrient availability immediately post-fire, and creates …

Paul Faulstich’S Reflective Review Of Susan A. Phillips’ Essay, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Paul Faulstich's review of Susan A. Phillips' essay titled, "Huerta del Valle: A New Nonprofit in a Neglected Landscape".

Getting Plant Conservation Right (Or Not): The Case Of The United States, Kayri Havens, Andrea T. Kramer, Edward O. Guerrant Jr.

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Effective plant conservation includes addressing basic needs such as information about species distribution and rarity; research, management, education, and training capacity to mitigate threats facing threatened species; policy and funding to support continued capacity and conservation; and, ultimately, a public that understands and supports the importance of plants and the need for their conservation. Coordination of plant conservation efforts is also needed to ensure that resources and expertise are used in a strategic, efficient, and effective manner.We argue that no country is currently getting plant conservation right; plants are becoming increasingly rare around the world. Plants are often not fully …

Identifying Priority Conservation Areas For The American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus Americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae), A Habitat Generalist, Jessica D. Jurzenski, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Andy Bishop, Roger Grosse, John Riens, W. Wyatt Hoback

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Conservation efforts leading to the recovery of the federally endangered American burying beetle (ABB), Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, have been challenging because of the unknown causes of its decline, difficulty in establishing habitat requirements, and unclear population distribution across the species’ range. Extant populations of this widespread generalist species occur in broadly separated regions of North America with varying habitat characteristics. A habitat suitability model for ABB in the Nebraska Sandhills was developed over the course of 3 years resulting in a final cross-validated spatial model. The succession of models from 2009 to 2011 indicated that most of the predictive variables …

Integrating Societal Perspectives And Values For Improved Stewardship Of A Coastal Ecosystem Engineer, Steven B. Scyphers, J. Steven Picou, Robert D. Brumbaugh, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Oyster reefs provide coastal societies with a vast array of ecosystem services, but are also destructively harvested as an economically and culturally important fishery resource, exemplifying a complex social-ecological system (SES). Historically, societal demand for oysters has led to destructive and unsustainable levels of harvest, which coupled with multiple other stressors has placed oyster reefs among the most globally imperiled coastal habitats. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that large-scale restoration is possible and that healthy oyster populations can be sustained with effective governance and stewardship. However, both of these require significant societal support or financial investment. In our study, …