Earth Sciences Commons^™

Back To The Future – Pastoral Land Use In A Forest Land – Sustainability Challenges For The 21St Century, J. Morgan Williams

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

To contribute meaningfully to a session entitled “Deforestation” with a proposed paper title of “Trees in Pastoral Zones; Landuse Standards in the 21^st Century” necessitates I carefully define the scope of my contribution. My paper will draw on my experiences as an ecologist working in the pastoral lands of New Zealand in roles that have led me to delve increasingly into what constitutes sustainability (of people, land and economy) for a tiny multicultural nation maturing amidst the remnants of a unique Gondwanaland ecosystem. As New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) I now examine a very wide range …

The Effects Of Grazing Management And Fertilization On Grassland Diversity And Productivity, Warren Mcg. King, David R. Kemp

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The effects of management practices on plant species diversity and productivity within a naturalised grassland was studied as part of a large-scale experiment designed to investigate issues of sustainability in temperate Australia. Fertiliser increased the production but reduced the diversity of the sward. The main decline was in exotic weed species. Strategic grazing resulted in a small increase in pasture diversity but a reduction in productivity. There was a consistent decline in diversity as productivity increased, across all treatments.

Biodiversity And Spatial Heterogeneity In Semi-Natural Grasslands In A Mountain Area In Slovakia, Masae Shiyomi, N. Gáborèík, H. Koizumi, A. Javorkova, E. Uhliarova, O. Jezikova

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The spatial pattern of vegetation in the following 3 semi-natural grasslands in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, was observed in August, 1998: (1) a grassland sown with improved herbage plants after plowing in 1991, (2) a grassland oversown with improved herbage plants in 1991, and (3) a natural grassland without any treatment at the time of establishment. A new method of measuring vegetation was adopted: in each grassland, 50 quadrats 50 cm × 50 cm, composed of 4 smaller cells 25 cm × 25 cm, were set up, and all the species in each cell were recorded. The sown grassland displayed the …

The Role Of Forages In Sustainable Cropping Systems Of Southern Australia, William D. Bellotti

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The historical context, recent trends, and possible future role of forages in cropping systems are reviewed. Three recent themes will be developed: 1) The successful exploitation of genetic diversity resulting in commercial development of new legume species as pasture cultivars with specific traits better suited to the needs of current farming systems. 2) Improved understanding of key soil processes under grazed pastures, particularly soil water and soil nitrogen, and how these processes impact on indicators of sustainability like deep drainage and nitrate leaching. 3) An emerging capacity for predicting the effect of pasture-crop sequences on soil processes, crop growth and …

A 60- Year Record Of The Demotechnic Index Of States, 1960-2019, Gavin James Kellough

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A country’s dependency on energy resources can be interpreted through the calculation of energy indices. The Demotechnic Index (DI) was used to determine the trajectory of energy efficiency of each state in the United States over the period 1960-2019. The DI serves as a measure of the energy intensity of states and a proxy for energy sustainability of each state.The DI is the ratio of total energy use to total metabolic energy demand of a population. Mathematically, DI = (E_T-E_M)/E_M E_T represents the total energy used (metabolic energy + technological energy in kilojoules annually, kJ/y), while EM represents the basic …

Sustainable Management Of Grassland In A Changing Social-Ecological System: A Case Study In China, Ping Li, Rong Zhi

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Priority Themes And Issues For The International Year Of Rangelands And Pastoralists, Maryam Niamir-Fuller, James T. O’Rourke, Barbara Hutchinson

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The objective of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralism (IYRP) is to increase world-wide awareness and recognition of the value and contributions of rangelands and pastoralists. The aim is to influence country policies, legislation, and programs; and to encourage development, research, extension and educational initiatives that will lead to sustainability of rangelands and pastoral/livestock systems. Although each country should decide on how they would celebrate the IYRP, the adoption of a global framework of 12 monthly themes will help to a) provide suggestions and ideas, b) highlight urgent and topical issues, and c) show how pastoralism and rangelands across …

Livestock Policy In Special Areas, Alberta, Canada, P. L. Strankman

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Special Areas, Alberta, Canada, is a rural municipality of 2.1 million hectares (about 5 million acres) in south-eastern Alberta. It is home to almost 5000 residents, with a unique governance arrangement in Alberta. Most of the farms and ranches utilize a mix of crop and livestock primarily annual cereal and oil seed cultivation and beef cattle. These production units are usually a mosaic of privately-owned land and Crown land leased from the government.

It provides an interesting case study for the local, and national challenges facing western Canadian agriculture. It also provides an opportunity to contrast with different bioclimatic and …

International Grassland Congress Outlook – A Historical Review And Future Expectations, L. R. Humphreys

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Features of the history of the International Grassland Congress are mentioned. Aspects of a number of failed themes in grassland science are described with respect to molecular biology, intensive systems of ruminant production, carbohydrate use in plant growth, plant succession and range condition, and stocking method. Future expectations are focused on meeting a balance of objectives, maintaining reductionist science, taking new initiatives in plant improvement and in the development of animal production systems, and reducing barriers to international trade. The adoption of grassland science depends upon the growth of new learning, especially through cyclical interaction between scientists and farmers.

Spatial Analysis Of Landscape Characteristics, Anthropogenic Factors, And Seasonality Effects On Water Quality In Portland, Oregon, Katherine Gelsey, Daniel Ramirez

REU Final Reports

Urban areas often struggle with deteriorated water quality as a result of complex interactions between landscape factors such as land cover, use, and management as well as climatic variables such as weather, precipitation, and atmospheric conditions. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has been introduced as a strategy to reintroduce pre-development hydrological conditions in cities, but questions remain as to how GSI interacts with other landscape factors to affect water quality. We conducted a statistical analysis of six relevant water quality indicators in 131 water quality stations in four watersheds around Portland, Oregon using data from 2015 to 2021. Indiscriminate of station …

Comparative Study Of Leachate Characterization: Implication For Sustainable Environmental Management, Osakpolor Marvellous Omorogieva, Victory Itua Igberase

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

Understanding the sources of environmental stressors, the role of geology, climate and technology would provide a guide to solving the problems posed by such stressor. The study examine the sources of wastes in Ikhueniro open dumpsite located in Benin city, Nigeria and characterize the leachate emanating from it. This will assist in adequate design of managerial scheme to tackle the menace posed by it while putting into consideration the role of geology, climate and technology. The key objectives are to carry out field study, characterize wastes in the dumpsite and collect raw leachate emanating from the wastes heap in order …

Propastizal: A Sustainable Range Management Program For Rio Negro Province (Argentina), G. L. Siffredi, F. Boggio, J. Ayesa, H. Giorgetti, A. Kröpfl, L. Villasuso, R. Lini, T. Bassi, D. Bolla, N. Migueles, Martínez Luque, J. Bueno, M. Villablanca, E. Garín, E. Tejeda

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Farming System Models To The Problem Of Sustainable Grasslands Management In Northern China And Australia, Randall Jones, D. Michalk, David R. Kemp, J. P. Wu, T. Takahashi, Z. F. Ma, G. Millar

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Energy Analysis For The Sustainability Of An Agro‐Ecosystem In Ningxia Province, China, Huilong Lin, Ruijun Long

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Estilosantes Campo Grande: An Economical And Environmental Success Forage Legume For The Tropics, Celso D. Fernandes, Bela Grof, Rosangela M. S. Resende, Jaqueline R. Verzignassi, Cesar Heraclides Behling Miranda

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Linking Landscape Attributes To Salmon And Decision-Making In The Southern Kenai Lowlands, Alaska, Usa, Coowe M. Walker, Dennis F. Whigham, I. Syverine Bentz, Jacob M. Argueta, Ryan S. King, Mark C. Rains, Charles A. Simenstad, Chris Guo, Steven J. Baird, Conrad J. Field

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

While Pacific salmon are economically and culturally important worldwide, Alaska, USA is one of the few remaining places on earth where sustainable management of salmon is possible, even in the face of wide-ranging threats, including overharvesting and the impacts of climate change. A continuing challenge that we face is to understand the ecological processes that result in sustainable salmon populations and report that science to stakeholders in a way that promotes decision-making to avoid the destruction of salmon populations that has occurred in most areas of the lower 48 states. To address this challenge, our studies in the southern Kenai …