Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Tree Canopy Effects On Roof-Harvested Rainwater In East Texas, Kimberly Gamez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nine experimental metal roofs with rainwater harvesting systems were constructed and water quality parameters were measured in 2016-2017 in order to evaluate the effects of arboreal overhang on roof-harvested rainwater quality collected in East Texas. Three treatments were evaluated: Rainwater collected from roofs without any overhanging tree vegetation, rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly Southern yellow pine tree cover, and rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly hardwood tree cover. Rainwater was collected from these roofs for one year. The effects of canopy cover on water quality parameters, comparison to drinking water standards, first-flush efficiency, and seasonal effects were evaluated.

Significant …

Fostering Climate Change Resilience: A Socio-Ecological Forest Systems Approach, Alyssa R. Soucy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As climate change continues to impact socio-ecological systems, those that rely on natural resources are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Maine’s forest industry provides for the economic and social well-being of many residents and is especially vulnerable to climate change impacts. Changes in growing season length and timing, forest health threats imposed by insects and pathogens, extreme weather events, shifting forest composition, and changes in natural disturbance severity and frequency have already begun, and are projected to continue, to impact forest systems in the Northeastern U.S. While climate change presents a threat to forest systems, opportunities also arise due to …

Habitat Modification On An Urban High School Campus, Nickolas John Davros Ii

Graduate Theses

Biodiversity is in a crisis worldwide, driven by the negative effects from urbanization. Ecosystems are being destroyed in favor of urban areas and natural resources are diminishing. Stormwater management has gained an elevated importance and its associated infrastructure could help counter the loss of biodiversity. Freshwater within urban areas is critical for organisms. Anthropogenic ponds can act as refuge habitats within a blue network and have become a hotspot for ecological research. Using principles of reconciliation ecology, the effects on biodiversity were assessed following the conversion of a stormwater basin on an urban high school in Charlotte, NC. A before-and-after …

Analyzing The Effects Of Of Seasonal Land Cover And Precipitation On The Sediment Delivery Ratio Of An Agriculture Dominated Watershed., Jonah Liebman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soil erosion is of escalating importance as increasing population and climate change have put increasing pressures on agricultural food production. Vegetation and precipitation are two factors that control the amount of soil erosion extant within a region. Sediment delivery ratios (SDRs) assess the ratio of soil eroded from a watershed system that is permanently removed from the system through stream sediment discharge. Using 1) river discharge and sediment concentration data and 2) the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), this thesis analyzes fluctuations in monthly SDRs for an average hydroclimatological crop-harvest season for the Senachwine Creek watershed, IL. Through calculating …

Assessment Of The Environmental And Economic Impacts Of Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Evan Cobey

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Renewable sources of energy remove dependence on fossil fuels. When renewable sources are adopted, they reduce damage to the environment from burning fossil fuels. Currently, fossil fuels are cheaper to produce, causing renewable energy to be used less. In the United States, fossil fuels receive heavy subsidies, keeping renewable energy in the periphery. This research explores the environmental and economic effects of subsidizing fossil fuels. Findings include that governments and citizens lose money when fossil fuels are subsidized. While subsidization initially makes them cheaper, they create expenses that are not factored into original costs, such as damage to human health …

The Effects Of Environmental Restoration On Housing Prices In Northern Colorado, Jack Steketee

Capstones and Honors Theses

Hedonic valuation is a method of using a market, such as the housing market, to estimate the value of non-market goods. An example of a non-market good we might want to value is environmental quality. Proper valuation of the environment can help make informed policy decisions, as well as help better protect or restore it. We use the hedonic valuation model This research uses data from a housing market in Colorado to estimate the value homeowners place on an environmental restoration project. We hypothesized that overall, we would see an increase in home value after a restoration project was completed …

Quantifying Nitrogen Fate In Karst Agroecosystem Streams Of Central Kentucky: Development And Application Of Numerical Modeling And Insight From High-Resolution Sensors, Nolan Lewis Bunnell

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

In-stream fate of nutrients in karst agroecosystems remains poorly understood, despite the known impact of karst on water resources at local to global scales. In the Inner-Bluegrass region of central Kentucky, heterogeneity of karst maturity, flow pathways, and nutrient sources adds to the complexity of quantifying nutrient dynamics, thus requiring novel monitoring and modeling approaches. The significance of these streams is recognized given spring/surface water confluences have been identified as hotspots for biogeochemical transformations. In slow-moving streams high in dissolved inorganic nutrients (particularly dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP)), benthic and floating aquatic macrophytes are recognized to …

Sediment Production And Delivery From Timber Harvest Roads In Humboldt County, California, Chris P. Faubion

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Sediment delivery from unpaved actively-used and relatively un-trafficked forest roads are one of the most common sources of impairment to aquatic ecosystems. Hence the objectives of this study were to: 1) compare the variability in erosion rates from actively used and relatively un-trafficked timber harvest roads across multiple water years in Railroad Gulch; 2) identify segment scale controls on road surface erosion and road-to-stream connectivity; 3) develop storm-based and annual segment scale models to predict road sediment production and compare the accuracy of these models to WEPP: Road; and 4) estimate road-related sediment loads to streams.

Between 2014 and 2019 …

Modeling Cle Elum Reservoir Shoreline Erosion: Gis Analysis To Support Cultural And Environmental Resource Management, Yakima Basin, Washington, Michael H. Horner

All Master's Theses

In the Yakima Basin, managers are expanding reservoirs including Cle Elum Lake to increase the availability of water. The objective of this study was to examine areas prone to further shoreline erosion to inform resource management. This research included the use of airphotos and fieldwork to identify erosional shorelines. Erosion was verified in the field using a video survey as well as indicators such as shoreline slope, sediment size, and nearshore width. Near-term erosional segments were identified by more rapidly receding bluffs while long-term erosional segments included both bedrock cliffs and bluffs. Although most of the shoreline is depositional, near-term …