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 …

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy Of Agrarian Transition In Developing Countries, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir

Purdue University Press Books

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy of Agrarian Transition in Developing Countries offers a new explanation for the decline in agricultural productivity in developing countries. Transcending the conventional approaches to understanding productivity using agricultural inputs and factors of production, this work brings in the role of formal and informal institutions that govern transactions, property rights, and accumulation. This more robust methodology leads to a comprehensive, well-balanced lens to perceive agrarian transition in developing countries. It argues that the existing process of accumulation has resulted in nonsustainable agriculture because of market failures—the result of asymmetries of power, diseconomies of scale, …

Regeneration Strategies And Forest Resilience To Changing Fire Regimes: Insights From A Goldilocks Model, Tanjona Ramiadantsoa, Zak Ratajczak, Monica G. Turner

Aspen Bibliography

Disturbances are ubiquitous in ecological systems, and species have evolved a range of strategies to resist or rebound following disturbance. Understanding how the presence and complementarity of regeneration traits will affect community responses to disturbance is increasingly urgent as disturbance regimes shift beyond their historical ranges of variability. We define "disturbance niche" as a species' fitness across a range of disturbance sizes and frequencies that can reflect the fundamental or realized niche, that is, whether the species occurs alone or with other species. We developed a model of intermediate complexity (i.e., a Goldilocks model) to infer the disturbance niche. We …

Comparison Of Botanical Composition Methods And Change Over Time In Kentucky Pastures, Echo Elizabeth Gotsick

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Botanical composition of pastures has been measured with numerous methods over the last century, but there have been limited direct comparisons between methods. The objective of this study was to compare botanical composition methods, to determine the most accurate and efficient method, and to access pasture composition change over time. Six farms with two pastures each were monitored across the state of Kentucky. Sampling occurred fall 2020 through fall 2022, three times a year using the following methods: step point, visual estimation, occupancy grid, and point quadrat (used as a reference method). The occupancy grid showed the highest similarity to …

Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards

Theses and Dissertations

Farm edges are generally the most undisturbed areas in a farm with diverse vegetation and can enhance agrobiodiversity and provide crucial food and shelter for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. Planting native wildflowers with the ability to reseed and withstand local climatic conditions for semi-permanent vegetation around farm edges or in between crops has potential to biologically control pests. To test this, we ran a two-year study and installed three different flowering insectary strips on a certified organic vegetable farm in South Texas during the winter season. The treatments were: 1) a commercially sourced 17-species native wildflower seed mix; 2) …

Nexus Between Animal Welfare, Environment, And Sustainable Development: Resource Document, Wellbeing International

Nexus – UNEP – Animal Welfare, Environment, Sustainable Development

This Resource Document has been developed to explore the Nexus (links) between Animal Welfare, the Environment, and Sustainable Development. The document includes relevant citations and reports addressing the topics encompassed by the Nexus. It will be maintained as a “living document” (subject to revision) in the WellBeing International Studies Repository. The original document and subsequent revisions will be kept in the Repository to provide a record of the changes.

Hydroponics And Vertical Farming Methods, John Rose

D.U.Quark

No abstract provided.

Regenerative Agriculture Framework For Island Ecosystems Using São Miguel As A Case Study, Mya Hunter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Context: Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that uses soil health as the entry point to contribute to multiple objectives, such as improved nutrient cycling and climate regulation. Farmers can apply different practices to reach these objectives. The objectives and practices, however, are not equally relevant or applicable for farming systems on island ecosystems and the local context.

Objectives: The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to find out how solutions towards regenerative agriculture can be identified and evaluated as such that they result in meaningful advice for farmers on island ecosystems in order to mitigate the …

Pando's Pulse: Vital Signs Signal Need For Course Correction At World-Renowned Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Upland aspen (Populus spp.) forests contribute significantly to biodiversity in their circumboreal role as keystone species. As aspen ecosystems flourish or diminish, myriad dependent species follow suit. The 43-hectare Pando aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clone in Utah, USA, is thought to be the largest living organism on earth, but is faltering due to chronic herbivory. Long-term resilience in aspen communities, including Pando, rests on successful recruitment of vegetative suckers that are nutritiously desirable to browsing ungulates. Here, I evaluate aspen reproduction alongside numerous vital indicators of Pando's status in the first trend assessment of this embattled iconic forest. …

Conservation And Variation In Agricultural Landscapes: A Survey Of Insect Populations Across Naranjilla Cultivation Methods In The Eastern Andean Cloud Forest, Ian Zakelj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study compared insect biodiversity among five sites in agricultural landscapes and natural forest in the El Placer community in the valley of the Rio Pastaza in the eastern Andean cloud forest. The area is of vital importance to conservation, as it falls in the ecological corridor between the Sangay and Llanganates national parks. The primary crop produced by the residents of El Placer is naranjilla, and it is cultivated in a variety of manners, mostly with intensive chemical use. The goal of the study was to find out which types of practices were the least harmful to the insect …

Manipulating Species Diversity: Environmental Impacts In Row Crop, Livestock, And Grassland Agroecosystems, Alayna A. Jacobs

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The diversity of living species in an agroecosystem affects both natural resources and agricultural production efficiency. The rise of managed plant monocultures has allowed agricultural yields to increase over time. However, simplifying agroecosystems affects the capacity of the system to sustainably provide clean air, water, and productive soils essential for continued food and fiber production. This dissertation manipulates species diversity in row crop and forage agroecosystems prevalent in the Eastern United States and tracks the associated environmental and agricultural production consequences.

In row crop agroecosystems, increasing plant diversity with winter cover crops has been suggested as a strategy to increase …

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 …

Detection Of European Aspen (Populus Tremula L.) Based On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Approach In Boreal Forests, Anton Kuzmin, Lauri Korhonen, Sonja Kivinen, Pekka Hurskainen, Pasi Korpelainen, Topi Tanhuanpää, Matti Maltamo, Petteri Vihervaara, Timo Kumpula

Aspen Bibliography

European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is a keystone species for biodiversity of boreal forests. Large-diameter aspens maintain the diversity of hundreds of species, many of which are threatened in Fennoscandia. Due to a low economic value and relatively sparse and scattered occurrence of aspen in boreal forests, there is a lack of information of the spatial and temporal distribution of aspen, which hampers efficient planning and implementation of sustainable forest management practices and conservation efforts. Our objective was to assess identification of European aspen at the individual tree level in a southern boreal forest using high-resolution photogrammetric point cloud …

Multiple Constraints Cause Positive And Negative Feedbacks Limiting Grassland Soil Co2efflux Under Co2enrichment, Philip A. Fay, Dafeng Hui, Robert B. Jackson, Harold P. Collins, Lara G. Reichmann, Michael J. Aspinwall, Virginia L. Jin, Albina R. Khasanova, Robert W. Heckman, H. Wayne Polley

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly enriched with resources such as atmospheric CO2that limit ecosystem processes. The consequences for ecosystem carbon cycling depend on the feedbacks from other limiting resources and plant community change, which remain poorly understood for soil CO2efflux, JCO2, a primary carbon flux from the biosphere to the atmosphere. We applied a unique CO2enrichment gradient (250 to 500 μL L-1) for eight years to grassland plant communities on soils from different landscape positions. We identified the trajectory of JCO2responses and feedbacks from other resources, plant diversity [effective species richness, exp(H)], and community change (plant species turnover). We found linear …

Intellectual Property Rights In The Seed Industry: Barriers To Sustainable Agriculture, Elena A. Filatova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of the dominant industrial agriculture system restrict the seed industry’s innovative landscape, leading to significant negative consequences including an exacerbation of environmental risks which threaten global food security. This thesis explores how exclusionary intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the context of the seed industry constrict innovation, evolutionary pathways, and opportunities for the implementation of sustainable agriculture methods. To overcome these barriers, the application of an open source framework to seed innovation, specifically through the platform of the Open Source Seed Initiative, is evaluated as a tool for enhancing innovative capacities in seed development while broadening the accessibility and …

Vermont Seed Saver And Producer Survey: 2020 Summary Report, Susanna Baxley, Carina Viola Isbell, Daniel Tobin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This report summarizes findings from a 2020 survey of seed producers in the state of Vermont. This survey, which was part of a larger research project aimed to characterize Vermont seed systems, aimed to identify areas of opportunity and concern for seed producers across the state. Data collected include types and valued characteristics of planting material produced from food crops in the state, information on motivations, challenges, and preferences that non-commercial and commercial seed producers perceive in their production of planting material, sourcing and distribution of planting material, forms of exchange that exist between seed producers and the community, and …

Food System And Water–Energy–Biodiversity Nexus In Nepal: A Review, Roshan Subedi, Madhav Karki, Dinesh Panday

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Water, energy, and biodiversity are essential components for building a sustainable food system in a developing country like Nepal. Green Revolution technologies and the package of practices largely ignored the role of ecosystem services, leaving a large population of small farmers’ food- and nutrition-insecure. Biodiversity, especially, agrobiodiversity is in decline and this vital cross-cutting element is less discussed and interlinked in nexus literature. The interlinking food system with water–energy–biodiversity nexus, therefore, is essential to achieve a resilient food system. It ensures the vital structures and functions of the ecosystem on which it is dependent are well protected in the face …

Comparison Of Unmanaged And Managed Trojan Fir-Scots Pine Forests For Structuralcomplexity, Ferhat Kara, John M. Lhotka

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Unmanaged forests may exhibit a higher degree of biodiversity compared to managed forests. We examined and compared the stand structure, density, and volume of deadwood components of managed and unmanaged mixed forests of Trojan fir (Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani [Asch. & Sint. ex Boiss] Coode & Cullen)-Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in northern Turkey. The single-tree selection method has been employed in the managed forests. Density of large live trees ha-1, density of standing deadwood (SDW) ha-1, and volume of lying deadwood (LDW) (m3 ha-1) were calculated for both treatments (i.e. managed or unmanaged). Results showed that unmanaged forests had …

New Approach To Health And The Environment To Avoid Future Pandemics, Serge Morand

Animal Sentience

This commentary expands Wiebers & Feigin’s target article by pinpointing how declining wildlife, expanding livestock and globalisation contribute to the increase in epidemics of zoonotic diseases, the COVID-19 crisis and future health crises. Epidemics and the emergence of zoonoses are manifestations of dysfunctional links with animals, both wild and domestic, requiring a new approach to health and the environment.

Effectiveness Of Different Agricultural Management Styles As Insect Biological Corridors: A Comparison Of Insect Populations In Fragmented Chocó Cloud Forest, Ecuador, Tara M. Krantz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Insects are part of the most diverse class of animals on the planet and are essential to various ecological functions such as pollination, nutrient cycling, providing a food source for other taxa, and more. The diversity and ecological services of insects are necessary to the operation of agriculture because of pest control and pollination of crops. However, the diversity of insects is severely reduced due to fragmentation. It is currently not well understood if certain types of agriculture can lessen the impact of fragmentation on natural and crop-based insect communities. In this study, insect populations in four different agricultural management …

Biodiversity Within Aspen Forests, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Aspen have long been known for supporting lush vegetation and rich wildlife habitat. These features, alongside brilliant green and gold seasonal coloration, accompany a broadly appreciated aesthetic for aspen forests by the public-at-large. However, in earlier times timber producers in many locales considered aspen to have low value and actively eliminated them. More recent research has pointed out that relative moisture held within aspen communities facilitates a wide array of species – collectively, biodiversity – compared to surrounding vegetation types. Aspen groves in the Intermountain West, for example, are known to be second only to riparian forests is supporting the …

Maximizing Ecosystem Services Provided To The New Oil Crop Brassica Carinata Through Landscape And Arthropod Diversity, Shane Stiles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prairies, once spanning the Upper Midwest, have now largely been replaced by agriculture. The lack of resources available to pollinators in agricultural fields and the practices employed by farmers to maximize yield has led to a decline in insect and pollinator diversity. There is a need to better understand how ecosystem services provided by a diverse insect community scale to current farming practices as they relate to crop yield. We sought to explain how landscape heterogeneity relates to insect and pollinator diversity, as well as how insect diversity relates to crop yield across common farming practices. To evaluate how farming …

Can Increasing Grass-Fungal Endophyte Symbiotic Diversity Enhance Grassland Ecosystem Functioning?, Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is important in maintaining agroecosystem sustainability. Plant-microbe symbioses, such as exists between the grass tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceum) and the asexual fungal endophyte Epichloë coenophiala, can be utilized to enhance agroecosystem functions, such as herbivore resistance. “Novel” E. coenophiala strains that vary in the production of mammal- and insect-toxic compounds have been identified, inserted into tall fescue cultivars, and are planted in pastures globally. Novel fungal endophyte-tall fescue associations may have divergent ecosystem function effects. This study assessed effects of different fescue-endophyte symbiotic combinations on pasture ecosystem function, including aboveground …

Interactive Effects Of Cover Crops, Invertebrate Communities And Soil Health In Corn Production Systems, Claire Lacanne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The adoption of regenerative farming practices is gaining traction, but the costs and benefits are not often considered on a systems level. Encouraging biodiversity and soil health is the goal of many agricultural practices used in regenerative farming; regenerative systems employ practices which abide by the two main principles of increasing biodiversity and decreasing disturbance, with the goal of encouraging ecosystem functioning to minimize inputs and maximize the productivity of a farm. I examined the management of corn (Zea mays) fields across four states in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. Regenerative systems in this study …

Branching Out: How Virginia Can Strategically Use Trees To Combat Biodiversity Loss, Taylor Pfeiffer

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Biodiversity loss is a particularly concerning effect of climate change because as greenhouse gas emissions increase global temperatures, decreases in the abundance and diversity of species has reduced ecosystem resiliency to these changes (Verchot et al. 2007). Weakened ecosystems and threatened species decrease the environment’s capacity to provide humans with services like safe drinking water, fuel, and protection from natural disasters, just to name a few (US EPA 2013). The agricultural industry plays a unique role in this environmental conversation, as farmland both contributes to climate change and is jeopardized by the negative effects created by the issue in a …

Selected Costs And Benefits Of Protecting Vital Wildlife Habitats While Producing Biofuel, Benjamin Lewis Totty

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to estimate selected costs and benefits of meeting the 2022 biofuel production mandates using switchgrass as the feedstock. This study involves the simulation of three scenarios to evaluate the cost of protecting and promoting biodiversity while producing switchgrass for biofuel. Two models are used in this study. The first, the Biofuels Facility Location Analysis Modeling Endeavor (BioFLAME), was developed at the University of Tennessee to study biorefinery location, feed stock source areas and costs associated with biofuel production. The second model was developed by the Nature Conservancy as part of Tennessee’s State Wildlife Action …

Carbon Storage, Timber Production, And Biodiversity: Comparing Ecosystem Services With Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, W. Scott Schwenk, Therese M. Donovan, William S. Keeton, Jared S. Nunery

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Increasingly, land managers seek ways to manage forests for multiple ecosystem services and functions, yet considerable challenges exist in comparing disparate services and balancing trade-offs among them. We applied multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and forest simulation models to simultaneously consider three objectives: (1) storing carbon, (2) producing timber and wood products, and (3) sustaining biodiversity. We used the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) applied to 42 northern hardwood sites to simulate forest development over 100 years and to estimate carbon storage and timber production. We estimated biodiversity implications with occupancy models for 51 terrestrial bird species that were linked to FVS …

Agriculture In New York State : Farm Size And Its Implications To Farmland Protection And Biodiversity Conservation, Julianna Marie Potter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the United States there are 939 million acres of land held by ranchers and farmers. Conservation of this agricultural landscape is critical to the protection of biodiversity. Management of agricultural land is also associated with the success of biodiversity protection efforts in protected areas, including parks and preserves, as well as outside protected areas. Sustained viability of the New York farming sector will enhance and secure biodiversity on farmland, as viable farms will remain part of the landscape.

Exploration Of Genotype Specific Fingerprinting Of Nigella Sativa L. Using Rapd Markers, Muhammad Sajjad Iqbal, Shahid Nadeem, Shahid Mehboob, Abdul Ghafoor, Muhammad Ibrahim Rajoka, Afsari Sharif Qureshi, Bushra Niaz

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Nigella sativa L. has industrial, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical uses but has not been adequately characterized in Pakistan. This investigation was carried out to explore genotype specific fingerprinting of 32 N. sativa L. genotypes based on randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers. From 58 random primers used, 15 primers generated 249 reproducible and scorable amplification products across all the genotypes, out of which 164 (66%) fragments were polymorphic revealing a high level of polymorphism among these genotypes. The proportion of common bands was low (34%). The size of the amplification products on agarose gels ranged between 0.5 and 10.0 kb. In 13 …

Farming For The Future : Industry Practice Baselines, Danielle England, Susan Murphy-White, John Noonan, Marie Shanks, Jon Warren

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.