Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Socio-Ecological Economic Impact Analysis Of Food Systems Initiatives Using Mixed Methods And Community-Based Research Approaches, Josiah J. Taylor

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Many NGO and government community development programs seek to alleviate complex problems related to food systems and agriculture. Yet, without integrated social, ecological, and economic impact analysis we cannot understand or communicate the value of such interventions. For this research, we partnered with food and agriculture organizations using participatory action research approaches to co-develop and test tools for holistic program analysis. We then used these tools to conduct and co-produce a holistic analysis and evaluation of program impacts. The first chapter provides background and context for the body of the dissertation. Chapter two details work with Hunger Free Vermont to …

Groundwater Governance And Agricultural Sustainability: Examining Farmer Interactions With California’S Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Zachary Matthew Goldstein

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Climate change has exacerbated groundwater depletion globally, and policymakers have struggled to effectively manage groundwater resources. California enacted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 to restore groundwater to sustainable levels.

The first paper of this thesis examines the drivers associated with uptake of groundwater conservation practices in agriculture. While a rich body of research has explored farmers’ conservation practice adoption, understanding of groundwater conservation practices is more limited. This study explores how information sources influence the actual and intended adoption of groundwater management practices in California. Using survey data from farmers (n = 553) in three largely agricultural …

Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As the ripple-effects of a changing climate shape our planet, understanding relationships between agriculture and climate change is critical. With agricultural practices shaping soils on over a third of the earth’s land surface, the soils and lands where food is produced are integral grounds for examining these relationships. While not all humans practice agriculture in similar or damaging ways, nevertheless, dominant agricultural practices are displacing beings and ecosystems and perturbing global nutrient cycles across the planet. These entwined imbalances of dominance and nutrients result in flows of excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon that are responsible for nearly three-fourths of the …

From Tap To Table: Consumer Values, Producer Attitudes, And Vermont Maple Syrup In A Dynamic Landscape, Aidan Conor Mccracken

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Harvesting the sap of maple trees [Acer saccharum] for use in the production of syrups and sugars has a storied history stretching back to the pre-Columbian practices of North America’s indigenous peoples. Since its adaptation by European settlers in the late seventeenth century and into the present day, the production of maple syrup has become especially integral to the livelihoods and cultural identities of farmers in Vermont. While oftentimes esteemed as a timeless agrarian tradition, market forces and environmental changes have led maple syrup producers (or sugarmakers) to adopt new production practices that scarcely resemble the taps, buckets, and draft …

Local Farmer Knowledge Of Adaptive Management On Diversified Vegetable And Berry Farms In The Northeastern Us, Alissa White

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural adaptation to climate change is notoriously context specific. Recently updated projections for the Northeastern US forecast increasingly severe and erratic precipitation events which pose significant risks to every sector of agricultural production in the region. Vegetable and berry farmers are among the most vulnerable to the risks of severe precipitation and drought due to the intensive soil and crop management strategies which characterize of this kind of production. To successfully adapt to a changing climate, these farmers need information which is tailored for the unique challenges of vegetable and berry production, framed at the level of climate impacts, and …

Modeling Agricultural Outcomes In A Warmer, Wetter Vermont, Rachel Mason

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis aimed to model agricultural outcomes that are important to Vermont dairy farms and their surrounding communities -- runoff, erosion, nitrogen and phosphorus losses, crop yields, and timeliness of farm operations -- under a set of possible future climates. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model was used for this work, and the models were calibrated using data from a project that measured most of these outcomes on a set of local farms. The model setup and calibration methodology is thoroughly documented and may be a useful starting point for others who are new to agricultural modeling.

Applied to two …

Governing Water Quality Limits In Agricultural Watersheds, Courtney Ryder Hammond Wagner

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The diffuse runoff of agricultural nutrients, also called agricultural nonpoint source pollution (NPS), is a widespread threat to freshwater resources. Despite decades of research into the processes of eutrophication and agricultural nutrient management, social, economic, and political barriers have slowed progress towards improving water quality. A critical challenge to managing agricultural NPS pollution is motivating landowners to act against their individual farm production incentives in response to distant ecological impacts. The complexity of governing the social-ecological system requires improved understanding of how policy shapes farmer behavior to improve the state of water quality. This dissertation contributes both theoretically and empirically …

Consumer Support For Renewable Energy Systems: A Case Study Of Community Biodigesters In Vermont, Katelynn Maria Conedera

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

From the steady rise in dairy farm closures to concerns over algae blooms in Lake Champlain, Vermont’s dairy industry is facing a multitude of challenges. While many potential solutions have been proposed, this study focuses specifically on community anaerobic digester systems (CADS) to aid in manure management, help to mitigate runoff, produce renew energy, and even provide an alternative revenue source to participating farms. CADS technology converts the gas emissions from manure and other organic substances into biogas through a process called anaerobic digestion. Unlike traditional on-farm biodigesters, which are often only financially viable for the largest dairy farms, CADS …

Governing Environmental And Economic Flows In Regional Food Systems, Michael Bishop Wironen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Globalization, specialization, and intensification have transformed the global food system, generating material flows and impacts that span multiple scales and levels, presenting novel governance challenges. Many argue for a transition toward a sustainable food system, although the scope and specific goals are fiercely contested. Theory and method is needed to evaluate competing normative claims and build legitimacy.

In this dissertation Vermont serves as a case study to investigate how environmental and economic flows impact regional governance, focusing on efforts to manage agricultural phosphorus to achieve water quality goals. A material flow account is developed to estimate phosphorus flows embedded in …

An Autothermal, Representative Scale Test Of Compost Heat Potential Using Geostatistical Analysis, William J. Mccune-Sanders

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Composting has been practiced for thousands of years as a way of stabilizing and recycling organic matter into useful soil amendments. Thermophilic compost releases significant amounts of heat at temperatures (~140 °F) that are useful for environmental heating or process water. This heat has been taken advantage of in various ways throughout history, but development of a widely adopted technology remains elusive.

The biggest barrier to adoption of compost heat recovery (CHR) systems is projecting accurate, attractive economic returns. The cost of transfer equipment is significant, and with variability in composting substrates and methods, it is difficult to predict the …

Choices And Preferences Of Vermont Master Gardeners - Do Socio-Demographics Matter?, Grace Matiru

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to characterize the choices, preferences and motivations of fruit and vegetable gardeners in Vermont, and to determine whether socio-demographic characteristics affect some of these choices, preferences and motivations. Using a survey of Vermont Extension Master Gardeners (EMGs), data were gathered over a 3-year period (2011-2013). The findings show most EMGs (>90%) garden in private home gardens, and the most popular vegetables grown were tomatoes, herbs, and salad greens. Beans, cucumbers and peppers sere also popular and among fruits, blueberries, apples, raspberries and strawberries were grown by over 40% of EMGs. Approximately 10% of EMG …

Edge-Of-Field Water And Phosphorus Losses In Surface And Subsurface Agricultural Runoff, Laura B. Klaiber

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Quantifying effectiveness of soil management practices on surface and subsurface water quality at the field scale is becoming increasingly important in the Lake Champlain Basin and other agricultural watersheds. During 2012 and 2013, field plots (22.9 x 45.7 m) were established at the Lake Alice Wildlife Area in Chazy, NY to begin a long-term water quality monitoring study. Plots were established in a cool season grass field (1 ha) leased and managed by the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, NY. The soil type transitions from an excessively drained outwash soil on the upslope to a very poorly …

Importance Of Agricultural Systems As Multifunctional Landscapes, Flavio Sutti

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural landscapes provide our society with many benefits. While food production is the primary role of these landscapes, sociocultural and ecological benefits are also provided. However, the full scope of benefits that we obtain from agricultural landscapes are not always taken into account, and with the intensification of agricultural activities, more complex multifunctional landscapes are converted into simpler and less-functional landscapes. I used a heterogeneous agricultural landscape, the Champlain Valley of Vermont, as a case study to examine the interactions between landscape structure and the provision of landscape functions and services.

I analyzed sociocultural and production functions indices obtained via …

Sustainable Agriculture In Vermont: Economics Of Climate Change Best Management Practices And The Complexity Of Consumer Perceptions Of Raw Milk, Alexander Paul Helling

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Changing weather patterns, the declining social fabric of rural communities, and economic uncertainty increasingly pose challenges to Vermont communities. The socially and environmentally embedded production practices within sustainable agriculture present a potential solution to these problems. In order to make the most of the potential benefits of these practices society must maximize their adoption. This requires an understanding of both farmer adoption of these practices and consumer perceptions of the resulting food products. This thesis contributes two original articles on sustainable agriculture through the analysis of factors driving both farmer adoption and consumer perceptions of products and practices often thought …

The Supply Chain Of Fair Trade Coffee: Challenges, Opportunities & The Future Inside A Troubled Industry, Katharine D. Lukas

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

What started as a grassroots effort to aid tradespeople in developing nations, Fair Trade and similar certification models have, over the last sixty years, successfully established themselves as a viable alternative to conventional international trade; the ongoing growth of their market share and volume emphasize the increasing market demand for these alternatives. For coffee, Fair Trade's oldest and most established commodity, over two billion pounds was sold as certified in 2012 alone and the percentage of certified coffee continues to grow in share each year (Volcafe, 2012, Fair Trade USA 2012). As Fair Trade continues to grow, so does the …

Using Mutli Criteria Decision Analysis To Develop Sustainability Assessment Tools: Biomass Supply Chains, Deandra Marie Perruccio

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Energy access remains a significant challenge in nations lacking access to resources and strong infrastructure systems, creating barriers to economic development and to increased standards of living. Small scale biomass gasification energy (BGE) systems have been developed to meet energy needs in rural areas, creating synergies between agricultural and agro-forestry systems through utilization of biomass feedstock for energy generation. The sustainability of such systems requires sophisticated planning and coordination of the biomass supply chain.

The goal of this thesis is to investigate and improve structural and process related characteristics of sustainability assessments for small scale bio-energy systems, specifically focusing on …

Subsistence Under The Canopy: Agroecology, Livelihoods And Food Sovereignty Among Coffee Communities In Chiapas, Mexico, Margarita Fernandez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

One of the most pressing challenges facing the world today is how to sustainably feed a growing population while conserving the ecosystem services we depend on. Coffee landscapes are an important site for research on agrifood systems because they reflect global-scale dynamics surrounding conservation and livelihood development. Within them, we find both what is broken in our global agrifood system, as well as the grassroots struggles that strive to change the system by building socio-ecologically resilient, sustainable livelihoods. Research shows that smallholder shade coffee farmers steward high biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. At the same time, studies in the …