Environmental Sciences Commons^™

An International Pilot Study Of Volunteer Stream Monitoring Groups: The Role Of Place Attachment In Volunteer Motivations, Rachel Pierson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Engaging the public in scientific research through volunteer monitoring (a form of community science) has potential to expand knowledge of conditions and to improve collaborative decision-making. Many studies have sought to understand motivations for participation and potential resulting actions or behaviors that benefit the environment. Place-based connections have been demonstrated to lead people to adopt environmentally responsible behaviors. However, few studies have considered possible differences in motivations across countries or the role place attachment may play as a driver of initial or sustained participation.

The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which place attachment influences people’s …

Upcycling Dairy Manure Fine Solids Captured By Dissolved Air Flotation As Part Of A Phosphorus Recovery And Reuse Strategy, Katherine Keith Porterfield

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dissolved air flotation (DAF) has shown potential to substantially improve phosphorus (P) mass balance on dairy farms by capturing P associated with fine solids from liquid manure, enabling new management options. However, at < 25% total solids, further dewatering and other upcycling is necessary to facilitate export of recovered fine solids off farm for use in bagged or bulk products. I generated plant foods using DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids thermally dried to 45% total solids blended with other organic residuals. Dry biomass of tomato and marigold seedlings amended with 6% v/v plant food was six-times greater than the unamended control and not significantly different from a market alternative treatment. Because thermal dewatering can be prohibitively costly, I generated a second batch of plant foods using DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids conditioned with 3, 4.5 and 6% (w/w) quicklime or lime kiln dust (LKD) and dewatered using a benchtop press for comparison with thermally dried fine solids. Tomato seedling biomass was similar for thermally dried and LKD plant foods, but quicklime plant foods had no effect compared to the unamended control. Quicklime and LKD conditioned fine solids contained approximately 30 and 10 times less plant-available P than thermally dried fine solids, respectively—likely due to precipitation of Ca-P minerals. These studies indicate that DAF-captured dairy manure fine solids could be upcycled to bagged horticultural products with substantial agronomic value, however sustainable materials drying remains a key challenge to realizing this potential.

Enhancing Ecosystem Services And Climate Resilience In Agriculture: A Transdisciplinary Approach, Alissa White

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A complex of social, economic and environmental factors influences agricultural management in the northeastern US. Farmers often balance goals of farm viability, environmental stewardship, and resilience to climate change, while also under public pressure to enhance the provisioning of ecosystem services from their landscapes. Changes in farm management have been identified as cost-effective ways to address both local water quality issues, and global anthropogenic influences on greenhouse gas concentrations. Individual decision-making on the part of farmers that determines the fate of ecosystem service provisioning from agroecosystems, placing increasing importance on understanding how policy, outreach and research can support farmers’ capacity …

Phosphorus And Nitrogen Losses In Runoff From Fields With And Without Tile Drainage, Leanna Thalmann

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Nutrient losses in surface and subsurface drainage from crop fields have important water quality implications. The deterioration of water quality in segments of Lake Champlain has led to efforts to reduce phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) export from agricultural fields. This thesis presents data from two years of edge-of-field monitoring in two adjacent corn (Zea mays L.) silage fields in Keeseville, New York. One field has only surface drainage improvements with monitoring equipment, and the other has both surface and subsurface drainage modifications and monitoring equipment. The study took place from October 2018 to September 2020 and quantified flow and …

Estimating Floodplain Storage And Prioritizing Floodplain Reconnection In The Northern Lake Champlain Basin In Vermont, Stephanie Drago

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Floodplains play a major role in maintaining the health and sustainability of riverine systems, but human interventions have reduced the connectivity between stream channels and floodplains. Geomorphic assessments of streams and rivers in Vermont (USA) show they have been significantly altered within the past two centuries due to straightening, berming, and armoring channels to accommodate development, agriculture, roads, and rail lines. These alterations in river-floodplain connectivity have decreased floodplain functioning, specifically their capacity to store water during flood events. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the amount of floodwater, sediment, and nutrient retention provided by Vermont’s floodplains. This …

Evaluating The Distributional Equity Of Ecosystem Services Under Land Use And Climate Change Scenarios, Jesse David Gourevitch

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Nature supports human well-being and sustainable development through the provision of ecosystem services (ES). While ES have been mapped, modeled, and valued with multiple methods by a wide range of disciplines, understanding the distribution of ES benefits among individuals and groups within society remains a critical gap. Addressing this gap is essential for making conservation and environmental policy-making more equitable. In this dissertation, I present four studies that evaluate the distribution of ES among demographic and socioeconomic groups under a range of land use and climate change scenarios.

In my first chapter, I project changes in the supply, demand, and …

Coastal Resilience At The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water: An Interdisciplinary Perspective For Resilience Planning, Kristin Raub

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Global climate change poses increased threats to coastal communities. The resilience of coastal communities relies on the protection and continued availability of essential services such as food, energy, and water (FEW) systems. However, the intersection of FEW nexus research and coastal resilience planning has not been well explored. This dissertation seeks to further the goal of operationalizing resilience planning by examining the usefulness of resilience tools and toolkits that have been developed in recent years and exploring how the FEW nexus approach has been applied to coastal resilience planning in both academic and grey literature. The first chapter provides the …

Spillover, Dilution, And Coinfection: Understanding The Spread Of Disease Within Managed And Native Bee Communities., Phillip A. Burnham

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Maintaining healthy pollinator communities is vital both for ensuring food securityand ecological diversity. However, managed honeybees and wild bee communities are under threat from an array of stressors including habitat loss, global change, pesticide use, poor beekeeping, and various pests and pathogens. Pathogens have been shown to be spilling over from managed bees into wild bee populations and are known to adversely affect colony function as well as increase mortality. Understanding transmission mechanisms related to general dynamics in this system will not only benefit pollinator health, but also gives us insight into important and understudied topics in disease ecology. In …

Assessing Chemical And Biological Recovery From Acid Rain Deposition In Montane Vermont Lakes, Sydney Diamond

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Vermont’s inland lakes are changing rapidly in response to anthropogenic disturbance pressures. While changes in water chemistry are well documented across the state, the biological response of primary producer communities to these shifts remains poorly understood. This project investigated the response of phytoplankton communities to the interacting effects of recovery from acidification and climate change in high-altitude lakes. We analyzed long-term monitoring and meteorological data in four of Vermont’s acid-impaired lakes and found that as pH and acid-neutralizing capacity has increased, so have concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in most lakes. To assess the biological response to these processes, …

Trace Metal Contamination In Urban Soils: A Field To Laboratory Methodological Framework For Characterization And Education, Sandra Leighanne Walser

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Urban soils around the world have been found to possess elevated concentrations of toxic trace metals such as As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Zn known to pose human health risks. Tightening environmental legislation and further elucidation of the detrimental health impacts from trace metals has necessitated more efficient means of contamination assessment, as well as greater public awareness. Within this thesis, I sought to develop an array of tools to holistically approach the socially relevant environmental challenges derived from heavy metal soil contamination. These tools consist in providing means to simplify Pb, Zn and Cu analysis in-situ, develop strategies …

Multiscale Assessment Of Drinking Water Treatment Residuals As A Phosphorus Sorbing Amendment In Stormwater Bioretention Systems, Michael Rick Ament

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Bioretention systems can reduce stormwater runoff volumes and filter pollutants. However, bioretention soil media can have limited capacity to retain phosphorus (P), and can even be a P source, necessitating P-sorbing amendments. Drinking water treatment residuals (DWTRs) have promise as a bioretention media amendment due to their high P sorption capacity. This research explores the potential for DWTRs to mitigate urban P loads using a combination of lab experiments, field trials, and an urban watershed model.

In the laboratory portion of this research, I investigated possible tradeoffs between P retention and hydraulic conductivity in DWTRs to inform bioretention media designs. …

Science Communication Across Diverse Ways Of Knowing And Collaboration In A Landscape-Scale Natural Resource Governance Network, Marcella M. Dent

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The Northwest Boreal Partnership (“Partnership”), established in 2012 as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network, encourages cross-jurisdictional, collaborative natural resources management at a landscape scale. The Partnership is a governance network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous land managers, researchers, and local resource users from a 330-million-acre region of boreal ecosystems in Alaska and northwestern Canada. Central to the purpose of the Partnership are ideas of sharing science information to improve environmental conservation.

This case study investigated the relationship between science information and collaboration among diverse participants by drawing on theoretical frameworks related to governance networks, …

After The Flood: Exploring The Influence Of Risk Perception And Decision Criteria Preference On Flood Mitigation In The Lake Champlain Richelieu River Basin, Emma Jane Spett

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In April of 2011, heavy rainfall paired with snow melt from the Green and Adirondack Mountains caused unprecedented flooding in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River (LCRR) basin. A study was subsequently convened by the International Joint Commission (IJC), and was tasked with identifying how flood forecasting, preparedness, and mitigation could be improved in order to reduce the impact of flooding in this transboundary watershed, and build the greater community’s resilience to flooding. A component of this study includes an assessment of the social acceptability and political feasibility of potential flood mitigation measures, which was in part carried out through the …

Energy Justice, Just Transitions, And Renewable Energy Policies: Examining Energy Transitions In The State Of Vermont, Walter Keady

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, sub-national state policies play outsized roles in renewable energy policy. Vermont is considered a leader in renewable energy transitions, exemplified by its goal of a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While scholars have praised Vermont’s transition policies, few studies analyze it using energy justice or just transition principles. This is a crucial omission, as justice in energy transition has both moral and instrumental importance – unjust transitions may thwart themselves by failing to achieve widespread societal support. I make initial contributions to this study using original research conducted as a member of an …

Effects Of Winter Ticks And Internal Parasites On Moose Survival And Fecundity In Vermont, Usa, Jacob Richard Debow

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Moose (Alces alces) have experienced considerable declines along the periphery of their range in the northeastern United States. In Vermont, the population declined by approximately 44% from 2010 to 2017 despite minimal hunter harvest and adequate habitat. Populations in New Hampshire and Maine have shown similar declines, associated primarily with the impacts of winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus). However, uncertainty exists about the effects of environmental and other parasite related conditions on moose survival and reproduction. I examined patterns of moose survival and productivity among a radio-collared population (n = 127) in Vermont from 2017 to 2019. In terms of productivity, …

Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Automated Wood Pellet Heating Systems In The Northeastern Us And Implications For The Transition To Renewable Energy, Laura Edling

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Public and private incentive programs have encouraged conversions to high efficiency, low emissions wood heating systems as a strategy to promote renewable energy and support local economies in the Northeastern US. Despite these efforts, the adoption of these systems remains slow. The study that is the subject of this dissertation examines several social, economic, policy and environmental factors that affect the decisions of individuals and small-scale institutions (local business and community facilities) to transition to automated wood pellet boilers and furnaces (AWPH) utilizing local fuel sources. Due to the complexity and risk associated with conversion, the transition to these systems …

Planning For People In Communities And Outdoor Recreation Places: Fostering Community Cohesion, Shaping Place Meanings, And Exploring Imaginaries, Yumiko Jakobcic

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines people’s relationships to place and community. The papers are linked by three broad themes: 1) place meanings, 2) community connections to resource places, and 3) innovative qualitative research methodologies.

The first paper used ethnographic methods in a case study of Vermont’s Winooski Valley Park District to examine how regional park districts can strengthen community relationships. It explored how the district serves visitors and communities, stimulates community interactions and cohesion, and perceives the outcomes of these efforts. Results showed that regional park districts connect people with nature and with others across neighborhoods, communities, and regions. These unique places …

Growth Evaluation And Standardized Assessment Of Juvenile Lake Trout In Lake Champlain, Pascal Dylan Wilkins

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Restoration and recovery of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) has been the focus of research and management in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain since populations collapsed in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Wild juvenile lake trout recruitment was discovered in Lake Champlain in 2015 after 42 years of stocking efforts. Intensive biweekly bottom trawl sampling during the ice-free season was conducted from 2015 to 2018 to assess the extent of wild recruitment at three different sampling areas (north, central, south) of the Main Lake. The collection of wild and stocked lake trout in bottom trawls enabled analysis and comparison …

Predicting Wildlife Distributions And Resilience Under Alternative Futures, Schuyler Pearman-Gillman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In the northeastern United States, population expansion, climate change, land use, and land-use change all pose serious concerns for wildlife. Understanding the impacts of climate and land-use change on species distributions can help inform conservation decisions. Unfortunately, empirical data on distributions are limited for many wildlife species, making conservation planning challenging. This dissertation focuses on the use of expert opinion data for modeling wildlife distributions and evaluating the impacts of future climate and land-use changes. First, I implemented expert elicitation techniques to collect wildlife occurrence data for harvested species (n = 10) in the New England region. I then used …

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 …

Evaluation Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Removal In Alternative Management Practices For Dairy Farm Production Area Runoff: Bioretention Cells And A Woodchip Bioreactor Treatment System, Jillian Sarazen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Non-point source pollution from agricultural areas can lead to the degradation of downstream water bodies, including eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, due to high concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) emanating from these areas. One source of agricultural runoff that is often overlooked, originates from agricultural production areas, which have impervious surfaces, such as paved and compacted areas, barnyards, cow paths, and silage bunker storage; these areas generate stormwater runoff and contribute to pollution during storm events.

This research evaluates two built stormwater runoff treatment systems designed to treat high concentrations of nutrients in runoff from a dairy farm. …

Sense Of Place And Ways Of Knowing: The Landscape Of Experience For Black, Indigenous, And People Of Color In Natural Resources, Environmental Education, And Place Based Learning, Marie Cadiz Vea

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This collaborative qualitative research addresses challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in higher education and environmental programs as a result of academic imperialism (Chilisa, 2012) and epistemic injustice (McKinnon, 2016), as well as other systemic challenges that marginalize, diminish and invisibilize ways of knowing and narratives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Historic and ongoing erasure of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color from the Land contributes to the perception and narrative that BIPOC are disinterested in environmental issues.

Using a strengths-based perspective, I alongside a circle of nine leaders in the environmental fields collectively …

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 …

Shining Light On The Storm: Using High-Frequency Optical Water Quality Sensors To Characterize And Interpret Storm Nutrient And Carbon Dynamics Among Contrasting Land Uses, Matthew Ch Vaughan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Elevated nutrient concentrations present significant challenges to surface water quality management globally, and dissolved organic matter mediates several key biogeochemical processes. Storm events often dominate riverine loads of nitrate, phosphorus, and dissolved organic matter, and are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in many regions due to climate change. The recent development of in situ optical sensors has revolutionized water quality monitoring and has highlighted the important role storms play in water quality. This dissertation focuses on improving the application of in situ optical water quality sensors and interpreting the high-frequency data they produce to better understand biogeochemical 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 …

An Analysis Of Energy Transitions At Different Scales: Fossil Fuel Divestment In Higher Education And Individual Behavior, Elizabeth Palchak

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A sociotechnical energy transition requires both a shift to new technologies and attention to social issues like political movements, policy and human behavior. This dissertation investigates social elements of the renewable energy transition occurring at different scales. The core research questions are: How are universities creating and responding to the shifting language of fossil fuel investments? How and for whom do behavioral interventions work? And finally, do in-home displays (IHDs) change behaviors and attitudes of millennial energy users?

The three studies covered here occurred within higher education and reflect the importance of colleges and universities as dynamic players in energy …

Edge-Of-Field Hydrology And Nutrient Fluxes Within Northeastern Agroecosystems: Evaluation Of Alternative Management Practices And Water Quality Models, Cameron Robert Twombly

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sediment affecting freshwater systems in watersheds across the Northeastern U.S., including the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Agricultural cropping systems, such as corn silage and haylands, used for dairy feed production have been shown to impact watershed hydrology and water quality. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have the potential to decrease runoff volumes and flow rates and the associated export of nutrients and sediment from agricultural fields. Many states in the Northeastern U.S., including Vermont, are beginning to require farmers to implement water quality BMPs and further …

Evaluation Of Mysis Partial Diel Vertical Migration, Brian Patrick O'Malley

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Mass animal migrations represent large movements of biomass, energy, and nutrients with predictable patterns and important ecosystem-level consequences. Diel vertical migration (DVM) in aquatic systems, the daily movement of organisms from deeper depths during the day to shallower depths in the water column at night, is widespread in freshwater and marine systems. Recent studies, however, suggest partial migration behavior, whereby only some portion of a population migrates, is the rule rather than the exception in a range of migratory fauna, including those that undergo DVM. Hypotheses to explain why partial migrations occur complicate traditional views on DVM and challenge conventional …

Physicochemical Properties Of Residuals From Anaerobic Digestion Of Dairy Manure And Food Waste: Nutrient Cycling Implications And Opportunities For Edible Mushroom Cultivation, Brendan J. O'Brien

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Organics recycling is increasing in New England as multiple states have enacted laws to divert organic materials, including food scraps and food processing residuals, away from landfills. Anaerobic digesters on dairy farms represent an attractive approach to food waste recycling because existing infrastructure is in place and co-digestion of dairy manure with food waste can increase renewable biogas production. In addition, anaerobic digestion results in effluents that can be separated into solid and liquid residual materials, or 'digestates'. Screw-press separated solids consist of lignocellulosic biomass resistant to microbial degradation during anaerobic digestion. These separated solids are typically recycled on farms …

Climate Change And Land Use/Cover Change Impacts On Watershed Hydrology, Nutrient Dynamics – A Case Study In Missisquoi River Watershed, Linyuan Shang

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Watershed regulation of water, carbon and nutrient dynamics support food, drinking water and human development. Projected climate changes and land use/cover change (LUCC) have been identified as drivers of watershed nutrient and hydrological processes and are likely to happen jointly in the future decades. Studying climate change and LUCC impacts on watersheds' streamflow and nutrients dynamics is therefore essential for future watershed management.

This research aimed to unveil how climate change and LUCC affect water and nutrient dynamics in the Missisquoi River watershed, Vermont. We used 12 scenarios of future climate data (2021 – 2050) generated by three GCMs (ccsm4, …