Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

The Last Drought Frontier: Building A Drought Index For The State Of Alaska, Olivia Campbell

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drought is characterized by periods of below average precipitation. There are five major types of drought recognized in the literature: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, socioeconomic, and ecological. A relatively new concept in the drought literature is “snow drought.” A key part of the definition of drought is that it is not always accompanied by extreme heat. This means drought can occur even in cold climates, cold seasons, and higher latitudes and altitudes, like Alaska. Drought is a natural part of climate variability, but Alaska’s climate is changing faster than any other state in the United States. Alaska is no stranger to …

Comparison Of Modern And Mid-Holocene Benthic Foraminifera To Assess Recent Environmental Change In Almirante Bay, Caribbean Panama, Maria N. Gudnitz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study used the diversity and distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages of Almirante Bay, Caribbean Panama, as environmental proxies to compare modern coral, seagrass and mangrove habitats to mid-Holocene coral reef facies on the island of Isla Colón, to investigate both natural and human-influenced changes.

The modern study associated species and assemblage characteristics with environmental conditions related to degraded water quality. Assemblages were fairly similar among neighboring habitats but differed in species proportions, while several stress-tolerant taxa might indicate eutrophic conditions. Diversity appeared to be regionally controlled by freshwater input irrespective of habitat type, was generally lower near the mainland …

Comprehensive And Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories For Nebraska And The Midwest As Baselines For Climate Change Mitigation, Eric R. Holley

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Climate change is the paramount challenge of today for a sustainable future. Mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is necessary to reduce the associated risks and impacts on society. Using the EPA’s SIT and literature review, comprehensive GHG-emissions inventories were developed for the state of Nebraska over 25 years (1990-2015) and agricultural GHG emissions inventories were developed for the Midwest U.S for one year (2016). Nebraska’s net emissions increased from 56.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMtCO₂e) in 1990 to 87.4 MMtCO₂e in 2016. Agriculture was found to be the sector with the most …

The Roles Of Humans And Climatic Variation On The Fire History Of Subalpine Meadows - Mount Rainer National Park (Washington), Michael Louis Lukens

All Master's Theses

With the creation of Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in 1899 came the active management of the park's landscapes and a heavy emphasis on fire suppression. Today managers at MORA have made returning fire to the park's landscapes a top priority. In order to achieve this goal, and to make more informed decisions in regard to the application of fire, land managers at MORA need to better understand past fire occurrences and the drivers of fire activity on the mountain. To address this problem, analysis of macroscopic charcoal preserved in lake sediments was used to reconstruct the fire history for …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, P A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …

A Century Of Climate Change For Fairbanks, Alaska, Gerd Wendler, Martha Shulski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Climatological observations are available for Fairbanks, Interior Alaska, for up to 100 years. This is a unique data set for Alaska, insofar as it is of relatively high quality and without major breaks. Applying the best linear fit, we conclude that the mean annual temperature rose from -3.6°C to -2.2°C over the century, an increase of 1.4°C (compared to 0.8°C worldwide). This comparison clearly demonstrates the well-known amplification or temperature change for the polar regions. The observed temperature increase is neither uniform over the time period nor uniform throughout the course of a year. The winter, spring, and summer seasons …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

Wilson Inlet Catchment Appraisal 2007, Ron Master

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Soil Survey Of The Bettink Dairy Farm, Riverway Road, Northcliffe, Peter J. Tille, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

This soil survey of the Bettink dairy farm in Northcliffe, Western Australia aimed to: provide detailed soil descriptions to add to information associated with the environment in which the dairy industry in Western Australia is located; collect soil samples at predetermined standard depths from documented farm locations for nutrient analysis; map soils with similar characteristics based on description and analysis.

Boyup Brook - Upper Warren Area : Catchment Appraisal 2007/ Prepared By The South West Arm Region Appraisal Team., Henry Brockman

Resource management technical reports

The aim of this Resource Management Technical Report is to assess the current extent of salinity and other natural resource degradation issues in the Boyup Brook - Upper Warren area and provide landholders with the best current management options to address natural resource management issues and enhance sustainable agricultural production.

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find Area, Western Australia, A L. Payne, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, H J. Pringle, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1992 and 1993, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area’s natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about …

A Report On The Condition Of The Gascoyne Catchment, D G. Wilcox, E A. Mckinnon

Resource management technical reports

Severe flooding in Carnarvon followed heavy rains on the Gascoyne Catchment in February 1961. The flooding and erosion were extensive enough to suggest that run-off from the catchment was excessive. Lightfoot (1961)* reported that excess run-off was due to degradation of the catchment area. This report will describe the catchment area in terms of the degradation of its rangeland and its susceptibility to erosion.