Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Green Strategic Planning Approach For International Shipping Activities, Xiaofang Wu, Luoping Zhang, Huan Feng

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sustainability is a long-term and ultimate goal for international shipping, although it is slowly making progress. The shipping perspective that moves away from “port-to-port” operations to “door-to-door” services also requires international shipping to take a long-term and holistic view instead of fragmented efforts. How to achieve the long-term sustainability goal becomes a key issue for door-to-door international shipping. Hence, green strategic planning for door-to-door international shipping was proposed with green development that puts forward the eco-centric point of view as its basic theory for sustainability. This study used a strategic decision-making approach, a so-called multi-dimensional decision-making (MDDM), coupled with the …

On The Frontlines - The Fishermen Of Ibrahim Hyderi, Muhammad Haris Aslam Khan

MSJ Capstone Projects

Climate change has become a matter of recent debate for much of the world. According to a report published by a German watch, a non-governmental organization, in 2019, Pakistan among the five countries at severe risk of climate change disasters.

During the last two decades, Pakistan saw more than 141 extreme climatic catastrophes. Only in 2016, more than 566 people died due to these conditions.

A report published by Asian Development Bank in 2017 indicates Pakistan’s climate change profile. It states that more than 1,600 people have lost their lives in the super flood of 2010 alone. A loss of …

California Stream Condition Index (Csci) Score Analysis Of Streams Sampled From 1998 To 2017 In The San Francisco Bay Region, Jenna Rais

Master's Projects and Capstones

Human impacts to California’s streams have altered the state’s riparian and hydrological landscape. This is a critical issue with regard to natural resources, including ecosystem services such as water availability and water quality. Regulations have a limited amount of impact on the improvement of this landscape and can also become complicated by politics. Scientific advances have developed ways to quantify and describe the quality of streams, this includes the development of the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) which is based on benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) population numbers and functions. This index allows scientists to not only score the quality of a …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2019, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Soil Moisture Conditions

Agriculture

Energy

Infrastructure

Temperature

Precipitation

Interpreting Potential Groundwater Policies Through Modeling Of Market And Non-Market Benefits And Costs, Grant H. West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current policies leveraging financial incentives and improved irrigation efficiency to mitigate groundwater scarcity have not proven to curtail trends of resource depletion. Groundwater benefits cannot be appropriately valued solely on market forces, and so deeper policy consideration is warranted under a framework that considers the importance of groundwater across all its values to society. Understanding time preferences for groundwater management and preferences for alternative policies is vital to inform efficient policies. Furthermore, climate change remains politically controversial yet has important consequences for critical groundwater resources and their sustainable long-term management. Proliferating policy narratives concerning climate change could influence the way …

Effect Of Foliar Spray Application Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles On Quantitative, Nutritional, And Physiological Parameters Of Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica L.) Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Šebesta, Martin Urík, Edmund Dobročka, Ivan Černý, Ramakanth Illa, Raghavendra Kanike, Qian Yu, Huan Feng, Denisa Orlová, Gabriela Kratošová

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

It has been shown that the foliar application of inorganic nano-materials on cereal plants during their growth cycle enhances the rate of plant productivity by providing a micro-nutrient source. We therefore studied the effects of foliarly applied ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Setaria italica L. foxtail millet’s quantitative, nutritional, and physiological parameters. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the ZnO NPs have an average particle size under 20 nm and dominant spherically shaped morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry then confirmed ZnO NP homogeneity, and X-ray diffraction verified their high crystalline and wurtzite-structure symmetry. Although plant height, thousand grain weight, and grain …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2019, Crystal J. Stiles, Rezaul Mamood, Logan Winters, Paul Flanagan, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Workshops focus on climate services in Kansas....................2

Research highlights................3

AMS Annual Meeting.............3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

New ACIS Climate Summary Maps available..........................5

Track precipitation with CLIMOD.......................................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Geographical Criteria For Loblolly Pine Management For Bioenergy Production In Virginia, Meghann Smith, Gia Nguyen, Taylor Wieczerak, Bernabas Wolde, Pankaj Lal, John Munsell

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study analyzed the perceptions of four stakeholder groups (forest landowners, private forest consultants, forest management researchers or educators, and federal or state agency foresters), regarding their management practices and preferred geographic growing conditions of loblolly pine in Virginia by combining AHP (analytical hierarchy process) and regression modeling. By ranking the importance of different geographical conditions for managing loblolly pine, we aimed to identify ways to support loblolly growth as a potential feedstock for biofuel generation. We achieved this through collecting survey responses from 43 stakeholders during the 2019 Virginia Forestry Summit. The results showed that the landowner, researcher/educator, and …

Umphlett Qci Sept 2019, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Soil Moisture Conditions

Delayed/Prevented Planting

Forage Production

Infrastructure

Temperature

Precipitation

A Technical Overview Of The Kentucky Mesonet, Rezaul Mahmood, Megan Schargorodski, Stuart Foster, Andrew Quilligan

HPRCC Personnel Publications

The Kentucky Mesonet is a research-grade weather and climate observing network with redundant sensors that monitors the near-surface atmosphere at 71 locations across Kentucky. The network measures temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction every 5 min, with soil moisture and soil temperature measured every 30 min. In addition, it operates a camera at selected locations. All observations are transmitted via cellular modem every 5 min and become available to the general public through the World Wide Web within seconds after arrival at Kentucky Mesonet’s Network Operations Center. In between arriving at the IT …

Droughtscape- 2019 Fall, Cory Matteson

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Contents

From the Director........ 2

Quarterly drought summary........ 3

Quarterly drought impacts........ 6

Ranchers delayed response to drought....... 8

Drought Monitor celebrates 20 years............ 9

Drought Monitor state impact tables........... 11

Directorcontributesto U.N.droughtproject........... 12

Updated Drought Risk Atlas........... 13

New fact sheet lists recovery resources........... 14

Droughtscape- 2019 Summer, Cory Matteson

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Contents

From the Director.......... 2

Quarterly drought summary........... 3

Quarterly drought impacts.......... 5

NDMC welcomes African visitors.......... 7

Ready for Drought game debuts............ 8

U.S. Virgin Islands added to USDM.......... 9

Australian programmer visits NDMC......... 10

Upcoming events......... 10

Partnerships with NDMC extended............ 11

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Paul Flanagan, Emily Brown, Gannon Rush, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Spirit Lake workshop..............2

Product highlight....................3

Outreach events......................3

Research highlight..................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Northern Plains drought assessment................................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Development Of A Karst Tourism Management Index To Assess Tourism-Driven Degradation Of Protected Karst Sites, Keith R. Semler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The intent of this research was to create and evaluate a karst tourism management index (KTMI). This index is intended to be a new management tool designed to quantify environmental disturbances caused specifically by tourism activities in karst regions, particularly show caves and springs. In an effort to assess the effectiveness of the index as a management tool in karst terrains, after development, the index was applied to six case study sites. A review of the management policies at each study site was conducted with the use of standard policy critique methods and semistructured interviews with managers at the study …

Incorporating Antecedent Soil Moisture Into Streamflow Forecasting, Abdoul Oubeidillah, Glenn Tootle, Thomas Piechota

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study incorporates antecedent (preceding) soil moisture into forecasting streamflow volumes within the North Platte River Basin, Colorado/Wyoming (USA). The incorporation of antecedent soil moisture accounts for infiltration and can improve streamflow predictions. Current Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) forecasting methods are replicated, and a comparison is drawn between current NRCS forecasts and proposed forecasting methods using antecedent soil moisture. Current predictors used by the NRCS in regression-based streamflow forecasting include precipitation, streamflow persistence (previous season streamflow volume) and snow water equivalent (SWE) from SNOTEL (snow telemetry) sites. Proposed methods utilize antecedent soil moisture as a predictor variable in addition …

The State Of Canada’S Birds 2019, North American Bird Conservation Initiative Canada

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

BIRDS TELL US ABOUT THE HEALTH OF OUR WATER, AIR, AND LAND WE NEED TO LISTEN AND ACT

THE STATE OF CANADA’S BIRDS: Shorebirds, grassland birds, and aerial insectivores are in steep decline.

WATERFOWL AND WETLAND BIRDS CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS WORK

GRASSLAND BIRDS ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME

SHOREBIRDS ARE LOSING GROUND

SEABIRDS A GLOBAL CONSERVATION CRISIS

FOREST BIRDS CONSERVATION WITHOUT BORDERS

BIRDS OF PREY AND AERIAL INSECTIVORES LEARNING FROM THE PAST

WHAT’S GOOD FOR BIRDS IS GOOD FOR US

CANADIANS ARE MONITORING THE STATE OF CANADA’S BIRDS

Umphlett Qci June 2019, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Soil Moisture Conditions

Delayed/Prevented Planting

Impacts to Cattle

Damage to Infrastructure

Temperature

Precipitation

Seamless Lidar Surveys Reveal Rates And Patterns Of Subsidence In The Mississippi River Delta, Celeste E. Woock

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) data are used to report the temporal and spatial patterns of subsidence as well as the potential contributors to subsidence within the Barataria and Terrebonne Bays. In recent decades, subsidence in southeast Louisiana has become a topic of substantial and growing concern to the scientific community, the local residents, and all those invested in the region. Lidar data were acquired from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the LSU Center for Geoinformatics. The data has been manipulated to map the differenced Lidar, complete an instantaneous slope analysis, and determine the thickness of the Holocene …

Wildfire Exposure To Critical Habitat Of Endangered And Threatened Species In California, Kristin Butcher

Master's Theses

Researchers, fire ecologists and wildlife managers are concerned about impact to endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat due to the projected increase in future wildfires. Wildfires have been studied in California for the last six decades and have been increasing at an alarming rate since the 1980’s. In this study, I use the 2018 spatial dataset for critical habitat of federally endangered and threatened species located in the state boundaries of California and compare it to a spatial dataset for wildfires that have occurred over the span of 32 years (1984 to 2016). Trends are derived from spatial …

Riparian Resilience In The Face Of Interacting Disturbances, Alexa S. Whipple

2019 Symposium

Riparian systems of the dryland western United States provide critical ecosystem functions such as diverse habitat for numerous species, flood attenuation and essential water storage in water-limited environments. These systems have experienced long term disturbance from anthropogenic activities including the grazing of livestock in dryland riparian systems and near extirpation of a keystone riparian species, Castor canadensis (beaver). However, increasing frequency of large-scale wildfires and climate change driven weather is altering the severity and scale of riparian disturbance. Beaver restoration has been gaining use to address long term riparian disturbances, yet little is understood regarding the impact of restored beaver …

Understanding Ngos And Their Effectiveness Through A Comparative Study Of Their Role In Redd+, Jessica Russo

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis explores the following question: what roles do NGOs play and how effective may they be in efforts at global governance? Through a comparative case study analysis of NGOs advocating for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and NGOs implementing REDD+ projects, specifically the Surui Forest Carbon Project located in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, I examine whether NGOs are more effective taking on the role as advocates or policy implementers. For this work, I will argue that independent of the multiplicity of roles that NGOs play, their effectiveness is a function of the level of their …

Climate Change Governance And The Politics Of Scale: Evaluating Local Climate Protection Policies And Practices In The United States And Germany, Ayure-Inga Mark Anthony Agana

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When it became evident that the issue of climate change needed to be acted upon, it was projected as a global scale problem. To make this rhetoric concrete, the international relations logic that ‘regimes’ of cooperating nation-states are the most feasible approach to solving problems that are global in nature was adopted. While the national level has performed poorly in climate change mitigation action, as exemplified by the United States’ refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Canada’s subsequent withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011 after initial ratification and, more recently, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord, a …

Performance Of Genetic Distance Metrics In Gravity And General Mixed Effects Models, Nathan B. Alexander, Crysta Gantz, Jane L. Remfert, Melanie A. Murphy

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are many causes for the genetic patterns that arise among populations across a landscape. Effective population size, natal site preference, geographic distance, or barriers to gene flow associated with landscape composition may work in opposition or in concert resulting in varying degrees of population differentiation. Here, we simulate 40 populations under 3 different ecological hypotheses of individual dispersal with random mating for 1500 generations, with scenarios: 1) dispersal and mating is dependent on habitat between populations, 2) dispersal and mating is dependent on individuals finding habitat similar to their natal habitat, and 3) dispersal and mating is dependent on …

Droughtscape- Spring 2019, Cory Matteson

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Contents

From the director............... 2

Wet and cool conditions bring drought relief to the West................ 3

Notable numbers from Q1.................. 5

Drought impact summary, 1st quarter 2019................ 6

New research examines drought effects on state recreation areas................ 8

At Ethiopian space science workshop, NDMC climatologist sees promise in preparing for drought.......... 9

U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands now part of U.S. Drought Monitor.............. 11

Water conservation tips for drought, flood and other disasters.............. 12

Upcoming events..............13

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Paul Flanagan, Bill Sorensen, Jamie Lahowetz, Emily Brown, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Climate4Cities.......................2-3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

THREDDS workshop...............5

AASC webinar...........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

It's Essential: The Ylang-Ylang Trade On Nosy Be, James Sleigh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper attempts to describe the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang from cultivation of the tree to the export of the flower, and examines the roles and power that each stakeholder has in the value chain. From there, the paper will look at issues associated with the trade; namely of the threat to the terrestrial ecosystem and the profit imbalance in the industry. Finally, the paper turns to potential strategies to resolve the previously stated issues associated with the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang. As a whole I hope that the paper can be seen as a rough survey of …

Cape Elizabeth Culvert And Habitat Assessment Study, Steve Harding, Jake Aman, Matthew Craig, Robert Malley, Maureen O'Meara

Publications

Executive Summary:

In early 2017, Jake Aman, representing the Wells National Estuary Research Reserve (WNERR), met with the Cape Elizabeth Public Works Director and Town Planner to talk about culverts. Jake shared aerial photos of culverts located in the Spurwink Marsh where scouring of adjacent habitat areas was evident. He inquired if the town was considering any culvert replacements, in which case WNERR and The Nature Conservancy might be able to partner with the town to promote a habitat sensitive replacement. The outcome of the meeting was a jointly sponsored assessment of major town culverts, including those located in the …

Long Reach Lane At Long Marsh, Harpswell, 2018 Post-Project Monitoring Report; Year 5 Of 5, Matthew Craig

Publications

No abstract provided.

Umphlett Qci March 2019, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature Anomalies

Plains Snowpack

Agriculture

Energy

Transportation

Temperature

Precipitation

Potential Economic Impacts Of Allocating More Land For Bioenergy Biomass Production In Virginia, Thomas O. Ochuodho, Janaki Alavalapati, Pankaj Lal, Domena A. Agyeman, Bernabas Wolde, Pralhad Burli

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The growing attention to renewable energy and rural development has created greater demand for production of biomass feedstock for bioenergy. However, forest growth rates and the amount of land in most existing forests may not be sufficient to sustainably supply the forest biomass required to support existing forest products industries and the expanding bioenergy industry. Additionally, concerns about agricultural land use competition have dampened expansion of biomass production on agricultural land base. One of the ways to meet the growing forest biomass feedstock demand for bioenergy production is by allocating currently marginal non-forested land for growing bioenergy feedstocks. In Virginia, …