Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Differences In Pathogenesis-Related Protein Expression And Polyphenolic Compound Accumulation Reveal Insights Into Tomato-Pythium Aphanidermatum Interaction, Seham A. Soliman, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Sherien Sobhy, Marwa A. Samy, Esraa Hamdy, Omaima A. Sharaf, Yiming Su, Said I. Behiry, Ahmed Abdelkhalek

Publications

Plant diseases significantly reduce crop yields, threatening food security and agricultural sustainability. Fungi are the most destructive type of phytopathogen, and they are responsible for major yield losses in some of the most crucial crops grown across the world. In this study, a fungus isolate was detected from infected tomato plants and molecularly identified as Pythium aphanidermatum (GenBank accession number MW725032). This fungus caused damping-off disease and was shown to be pathogenic. Moreover, the expression of five pathogenesis-related genes, namely PR-1, PR-2, PR-3, PR-4, and PR-5, was quantitatively evaluated under the inoculation of tomato with …

Agriculture Water Use And Economic Value In The Great Salt Lake Basin, Cody Zesiger, Burdette Barker, Sarah Null, Earl Creech, Matt Yost, Ryan Larsen, Joshua Dallin

All Current Publications

This fact sheet briefly describes human impacts on GSL water volume, human population growth, surface water withdrawals, and agricultural water use from 1985 and 2015 in the GSL Basin. Finally, agriculture’s economic impact and food production in the GSL Basin are summarized.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Residents’ And Farmers’ Views On Urban And Suburban Growth, Edem Avemegah, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Publications

What the future of agriculture in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) will look like is uncertain due to issues such as the loss of farmland to sprawling suburban development. In this rapidly urbanizing landscape, tension can also arise between farmers and their non-farm neighbors due to their proximity to each other. Understanding the concerns of these stakeholders regarding the urban and suburban growth and the potential problems that are likely to occur with farmers being in close contact with their non-farm neighbors is a good step in ensuring an economically thriving and environmentally beneficial agricultural system that all residents depend …

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Residents’ And Farmers’ Concerns And Perceptions Of Water Quality, Edem Avemegah, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Publications

Poor water quality is an issue in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW). In this rapidly urbanizing landscape, both farmers and non-farm residents contribute to nutrient pollution of rivers and streams. Understanding these important stakeholders’ views of water quality problems and how to address them is essential for creating an economically thriving and environmentally beneficial agricultural system that all residents depend upon. To understand key stakeholders’ views on water quality both locally and regionally, researchers from Utah State University and the Pennsylvania State University surveyed residents of the CBW and agricultural producers of the southern part of the CBW (Maryland, Delaware, …

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Residents’ And Farmers’ Views On Water Quality, Edem Avemegah, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Publications

Poor water quality is an issue in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW). In this rapidly urbanizing landscape, both farmers and non-farm residents contribute to nutrient pollution of rivers and streams. Understanding these important stakeholders’ views of water quality problems and how to address them is essential for creating an economically thriving and environmentally beneficial agricultural system that all residents depend upon. To understand stakeholder views on water quality both locally and regionally, researchers from Utah State University and the Pennsylvania State University surveyed residents of the CBW and agricultural producers of the southern part of the CBW (Maryland, Delaware, and …

Future Of Great Salt Lake Survey, Lisa W. Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring, Anna Mcentire

Reports

The Future of Great Salt Lake Survey was conducted in fall 2022 when state and global attention on Great Salt Lake was ramping up, following record lows of the elevation of lake water levels. In the survey, we asked Utahns their opinions on securing water for Great Salt Lake and focused on strategies that individuals, local communities, and the state of Utah could pursue. When it comes to how water is used and managed in Utah, there are multiple actors and institutions who all make decisions and have authority or ability to take different actions. While the state of …

Strategies To Secure Water For Great Salt Lake, Lisa W. Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere (Wilsey et al. 2017) and plays an important role in Utah’s economy, environment, and ecology (Baxter and Butler 2020; Great Salt Lake Advisory Committee 2021). It has a long history of commercial and recreational activities including mineral production, brine shrimp harvesting, waterfowl hunting, boating, and sightseeing (Utah Department of Natural Resources 2013a, 2013b). The Great Salt Lake ecosystem supports over 10 million birds representing 338 species and acts as an important stopover for migratory birds between North and South America (Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program; Wilsey et al. …

Utah Growing Water Smart: The Water-Land Use Integration Guidebook, Kelly Kopp, Joanna Endter-Wada

Utah Growing Water Smart

The Utah Growing Water Smart workshops bring together teams of key community staff and water and land use planning decision makers to help build a more resilient and sustainable water future. The workshops use a range of public engagement, planning, communication, and policy implementation tools to help community teams realize their water efficiency, smart growth, watershed health, and water resiliency goals.

This 1^st edition of the Utah Growing Water Smart curriculum guidebook was prepared for the inaugural Utah workshop focused on Wasatch Front communities and held at the Wheeler Historical Farm in Murray, Utah on November 15-17, 2022. This …

Adapting To Low Colorado River Flows And Storage: Lessons From 3 Computer Exercises, David E. Rosenberg

Publications

As Colorado River flows and reservoir levels decline, discussion is ramping up about adapting operations to low flow and storage because existing operations adapt only to storage. This post reviews three recent computer exercises that adapted Colorado River operations to low flow and low storage. Three final paragraphs synthesize lessons to build towards more equitable and sustainable operations.

Evidence For Multiple Potential Drivers Of Increased Phosphorus In High-Elevation Lakes, J. Scholz, Janice Brahney

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations have increased in many remote mountain waterbodies across the western United States, and reports of algal blooms in these systems have increased in frequency. Explanations for observed TP increases are uncertain, and typical landscape drivers, such as agricultural/urban runoff, are implausible. We investigated multiple atmospheric and terrestrial-P loading mechanisms to explain the observed decadal increase in TP, including a novel hypothesis that warming soils may lead to elevated P fluxes to receiving water bodies. Using northern Utah mountains ranges as a case study, we measured prospective inputs of total and bioavailable P via dust deposition. Terrestrial …

Pack It Out Utah: Usu Water Quality Extension Leads Utah’S Statewide Trails And Waterways Cleanup, Lauren Houskeeper, Hope Braithwaite

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah’s public lands have experienced a surge in outdoor recreation which has led to an increase in garbage on trails, parks, neighborhoods, and eventually, in our waterways. In response, Utah State University Water Quality Extension initiated an annual statewide cleanup to raise awareness and facilitate the proper disposal of litter. During the cleanup events in 2020 and 2021, over 11,000 pounds of trash were removed from our public lands and waterways.

Melting Arctic Ice Exposes Possible Conflict For Us, China, Russia, Madeleine Alder

Research on Capitol Hill

USU senior Maddie, a Salt Lake City native, is an Honors student, Peak Summer Research Fellow, and USU Institute of Land, Water and Air intern. She studies Political Science. Maddie’s research dissects how rising temperatures and the resulting polar ice caps on our planet might impact international relations for the US. The opening of additional shipping lanes in previously-frozen waters could cause conflict between key actors. Maddie has been involved in research for nearly all of her undergrad degree, and says, “I love learning and I get excited to discover new connections between topics I am interested in. I like …

Can Common Carp Removal Reduce Algal Bloom Intensity In Utah Lake?, Cristina Chirvasa

Research on Capitol Hill

USU sophomore Cristina is an Honors student, Undergraduate Research Fellow, and Community Engaged Scholar studying fisheries and wildlife. Cristina theorizes that removing over-populous carp from Utah Lake will allow larger zooplankton to thrive, which in turn will consume more algae and reduce algal bloom intensity. Her tests so far have proven the first part of her theory, as zooplankton size went up when she removed carp. Next, Cristina will test if bigger zooplankton eat more algae. Cristina credits her love of nature to growing up without enough wilderness in urban Romania. She moved to Utah both for access to our …

Angler Catch Rates, Opinions, And Abiotic Variable Relationships In The Lower Logan River, Utah, Tyler Coleman, Jim Derito, Chris Penne, Gary Thiede, Phaedra Budy

Watershed Sciences Student Research

Summer base flows for rivers are critical for maintaining water quality, healthy fish populations, and a functional aquatic ecosystem. Low summer base flows can increase water temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen levels. These conditions can cause Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) energetic stress and result in lower angler catch. The goal of this study was to determine if low river flows and higher water temperatures influence angler catch rates of Brown Trout on the lower Logan River, Utah and to better understand angler use of the lower river. We performed a creel survey on approximately 6.4 km of the …

Valley Bottom Inundation Patterns In Beaver-Modified Streams: A Potential Proxy For Hydrologic Inefficiency, Karen Bartelt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For centuries river management and land use actions in North America have caused widespread stream degradation where water now flows downstream with artificially high efficiency. When present, beaver dams slow the flow of water and decrease the efficiency of water conveyance through the landscape. These effects are often to the benefit of the function of natural physical processes and ecology of the stream. The benefits provided by beaver dams have been well studied at small scales, but the methods that these studies rely on are often expensive and time consuming and consequently not feasible to deploy at larger spatial scales …

Predictive Models Of Post-Wildfire Debris Flow Volume And Grain Size Distribution In The Intermountain West, Sara Wall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Post-fire debris flows represent the most erosive and potentially hazardous consequence associated with increasing wildfire severity. While an abundance of research has explored where they are likely to occur and their potential magnitude, investigations into understanding how they impact downstream resources are limited. Recent advancements are seeking to link predictive models together to be able to predict how erosion after wildfire may impact reservoirs and aquatic habitat downstream. However, there are two key missing pieces into our ability to examine watershed-scale impacts of post-fire erosion. These include having accurate predictions of how much sediment is likely to be deposited by …

Essays Related To Water Transfer And Water Sharing: The Past And The Present, Arpita Nehra

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation explores the impacts of resource procurement on economic growth and urbanization in a county through a historical case study, moving on to discuss the welfare impacts of resource-sharing in two regions. The first two essays explore the impact of the Owens Valley water transfer in the 1900s on the urban sprawl and the economic growth of Los Angeles. The main contribution that the first two essays make is to present an empirical analysis on the impact of procurement of resources on the economy. The third essay examines the welfare impacts of a proposed water sharing and development project. …

Managing Water Stored For The Environment During Drought, Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Michael Dettinger, Kristen Dybala, Gokce Sencan, Anna Sturrock, Barton Thompson, Harrison Zeff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Storing water in reservoirs is important for maintaining freshwater ecosystem health and protecting native species. Stored water also is essential for adapting to the changing climate, especially warming and drought intensification. Yet, reservoir operators often treat environmental objectives as a constraint, rather than as a priority akin to water deliveries for cities and farms. Reservoir management becomes especially challenging during severe droughts when surface water supplies are scarce, and urban and agricultural demands conflict with water supplies needed to maintain healthy waterways and wetlands. In times of drought, most freshwater ecosystems suffer.

This blog post examines 2021 water year actions …

Predicting Flow Through The Causeway Of The Great Salt Lake Using Hydrodynamic Simulations And Artificial Neural Networks, Som Dutta, Brian Mark Crookston, Michael Rasmussen, Eric Larsen

Reports

At the Great Salt Lake, the northern and southern portions of the lake are divided by an east-to-west causeway that disrupts natural lake currents and significantly increases salt concentrations in the norther portion. To support management efforts to address rising environmental and economic concerns, the causeway was recently modified to include a new breach that typically exhibits a strong density-driven bidirectional flow pattern. To obtain much needed insights into the hydraulic performance of this hydraulic structure and the exchange between the two sections of the lake, a field campaign coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and an artificial neural …

Spatial And Long-Term Temporal Changes In Water Quality Dynamics Of The Tonle Sap Ecosystem, Savoeurn Soum, Peng Bun Ngor, Thomas E. Dilts, Sapana Lohani, Suzanne Kelson, Sarah E. Null, Flavia Tramboni, Zeb S. Hogan, Bunyeth Chan, Sudeep Chandra

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Tonle Sap lake-river floodplain ecosystem (TSE) is one of the world’s most productive freshwater systems. Changes in hydrology, climate, population density, and land use influence water quality in this system. We investigated long term water quality dynamics (22 years) in space and time and identified potential changes in nutrient limitation based on nutrient ratios of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. Water quality was assessed at five sites highlighting the dynamics in wet and dry seasons. Predictors of water quality included watershed land use, climate, population, and water level. Most water quality parameters varied across TSE, except pH and nitrate that remained …

Revegetation Of Native Plant Communities In Great Salt Lake Wetlands: The Effects Of Native Seed Mix Composition And Sowing Density, Laura Beck

Student Research Symposium

One of the threats currently facing Great Salt Lake wetlands is Phragmites australis. Its rapid expansion since 1987 has displaced native vegetation and changed the composition of plant communities. Removal is very costly and takes multiple years of different treatments like herbicide, mowing, and flooding. To ensure Phragmites australis does not return, native seeds will need to be sown. This experiment is to determine the best seed composition and sowing density. In the USU greenhouse, I will sow four different native seed mixes: 100% desirable perennial natives, 75% perennial natives and 25% fast growing natives, 50% perennial natives and 50% …

Water, Fish, And Fire: Interdisciplinary Research On Ecosystem Services And Climate Adaptation, Liana Prudencio

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ecosystem services, or benefits from the environment, are plentiful and vary from place to place. Human activities and climate change have impacted these services in every region of the world. This dissertation explores multiple ecosystem services, from water quality improvement to provisioning of fish and habitat, in multiple and international contexts. The first chapter synthesizes the literature on stormwater management and ecosystem services, finding that research at this intersection has provided many parcel-level studies and frameworks for implementing green infrastructure. The second chapter extends the stormwater management literature by quantifying the impacts of green infrastructure on water quantity and quality …

Environmental Controls On Didymosphenia Geminata Bloom Formation, Lindsay Capito

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change is causing rapid glacial recession and earlier snowmelt, which alter the physical and chemical properties of rivers. As a result, organisms at the base of the food web are responding in unforeseen ways. We use the nuisance algae D. geminata (Didymo) as a case study for how climate induced shifts in the timing of glacial and snowmelt runoff are affecting river ecosystems. We evaluated how shifts in the timing of nutrient concentrations and light availability affect nuisance blooms of Didymo in three complementary ways. These are, field studies across streams in various stages of glacial recession, weekly measurements …

Determining How Increasing Precipitation Intensity Will Impact Rangelands In Utah., Karen H. Beard, Andrew Kulmatiski

Browse all Datasets

As the atmosphere warms, precipitation events become larger, but less frequent. Yet, there is fundamental disagreement about how increased precipitation intensity will affect vegetation. Walter’s two-layer hypothesis and experiments testing it have demonstrated that precipitation intensity can increase woody plant growth. Observational studies have found the opposite pattern. Not only are the patterns contradictory, but inference is largely limited to grasslands and savannas. We tested the effects of increased precipitation intensity in a shrub-steppe ecosystem that receives >30% of its precipitation as snow. We used 11 (8 m x 8 m) shelters to collect and redeposit rain and snow as …

Greening-Induced Runoff Loss In The Western United States, Xueyan Zhang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study assessed how vegetation will influence long-term runoff trends across the western United States (western US) in the future. I used a land surface model with improved dynamic vegetation root processes to better quantify regional runoff trends across five regions (Upper and Lower Colorado, Great Basin, Pacific Northwest, and California). The model was driven by statistically downscaled and bias-corrected outputs from three global climate models under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. Vegetation greening dominated significant transpiration increases that contributed most to increasing evapotranspiration across the western US, especially during spring and summer. Consistent with these trends, …

Evaluation Of Best Practices For Urban Water Conservation And Water-Smart Growth Implementation In Utah, J. Ivy Harvey Thomson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Policies and programs have been utilized throughout the United States (U.S.) to reduce water use as a strategy to ensure sufficient water supplies for future demand. As governmental leaders and policy makers face increasing freshwater scarcity and supply unpredictability, along with rising costs and decreased federal funding, Best Practices (BPs) in water conservation are increasingly important to facilitate decision-making in choosing which strategies to employ. This project uses policy analysis to review and summarize various BPs, referencing both academic and professional literature. National fixture efficiency standards enacted in 1992 are credited as among the leading factors reducing indoor water use …

Collaborative Research: Network Cluster: Dust In The Critical Zone From The Great Basin To The Rocky Mountains, Janice Brahney

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System For Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data On Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Robb J. Tracy

Publications

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for …

Private Land, Public Trust: Strategic Conservation Planning For Public Wildlife On Private Lands Through The Usfws Partners For Fish And Wildlife Program, Clint Wirick

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Law requires federal agencies to develop long-term strategic plans. Strategic plans define goals, objectives, and performance measures defining how the agencies and programs will reach their stated goals. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) develops strategic plans every five years. Each individual state develops a plan for their respective state. Those state plans are compiled for the region and become part of Regional Comprehensive Strategic Plan. The current strategic plan expires in 2021. States will begin the strategic planning process in 2020. In Utah, PFW staff will also begin developing a strategic plan for the …

Understanding The Effects Of Above- And Belowground Linkages On Carbon Cycling In A High Latitude, Coastal Wetland, Trisha Atwood

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.