Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Relationships Among Biodiversity Dimensions Of Birds In Nebraska, Nadejda Mirochnitchenko

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

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is a multi-dimensional concept that can be decomposed to measure information about taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional variation within communities. Although the dimensions of biodiversity are interrelated, the assumption that measuring one dimension of diversity can inform about patterns in another dimension does not necessarily follow from theory or empirical study. The relationships among biodiversity dimensions is not well understood, nor how differences among dimensions could influence conservation decision making. Using the avian community as a study system, we explored the relationships of breadth metrics from the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions among each other and across …

Niobrara National Scenic River, Socioeconomic Monitoring Pilot Implementation, Summer 2016, Resource Systems Group

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report describes the results of a visitor study at Niobrara National Scenic River (NSR) conducted from July 15 through July 24, 2016. During the sampling period, 253 visitor groups were contacted to participate in the survey. Of those groups, 217 agreed to participate in the study by accepting a mail-back survey packet. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 110 visitor groups, resulting in a completion rate of 51% among those visitor groups that agreed to participate in the study and an overall response rate of 43% for the study.

 This report profiles a systematic random sample …

Annual, Seasonal, And Diel Surface Energy Partitioning In The Semiarid Sand Hills Of Nebraska, Usa, Nathan C. Healey, Timothy J. Arkebauer, David P. Billesbach, John D. Lenters

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Study Region: The Nebraska Sand Hills consisting of four major land cover types: (1) lakes and wetlands (∼5% for both), (2) subirrigated meadows (∼10%), (3) dry valleys (∼20%), and (4) upland dunes (∼65%).

Study Focus: Examination of surface energy and water balances on multiple temporal scales with primary focus on latent heat flux (λE), and evapotranspiration (ET), to gain a better understanding of the annual, seasonal, and diel properties of surface energy partitioning among different Sand Hills ecosystems to improve regional water resource management. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Based on surface energy and water balance measurements using Bowen …

Assessment Of The Ponderosa Woodlands In Nebraska's Wildcat Hills: Implications For Juniperus Encroachment And Management, Allie Victoria Schiltmeyer

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

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a dominant tree species across western North America. Its eastern distribution includes three populations in western Nebraska. This study assesses the distribution, structure and age of ponderosa pine woodlands in one of those regions, the Wildcat Hills. The Wildcat Hills have escaped severe wildfires seen in recent decades in other ponderosa pine regions. Nevertheless, the Wildcat Hills woodlands face multiple threats including climate change, wildfire, drought, pine beetles, and invasive species. Key to these threats is the stand structure of pine woodlands, which have increased in density across much of ponderosa pine’s range. …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Reilly R. Dibner, Nicole Korfanta, Gary Beauvais, Jonathan Bowler, Kit Freedman, Kelli C. Trujillo, Victoria H. Zero

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In collaboration with the National Park Service, the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database completed the Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) for Scotts Bluff National Monument (NM). The purpose of the NRCA is to provide park leaders and resource managers with information on resource conditions to support near-term planning and management, long-term strategic planning, and effective science communication to decision-makers and the public.

Scotts Bluff NM was established in 1919. The purposes of the park include protecting and preserving the Mitchell Pass portion of the Oregon Trail and …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2017 Data Summary Report, Stephanie L. Rockwood

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Program (NGPFire). This was the seventh year of field work conducted by NGPN at AGFO.

In 2017, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots and NGPFire visited eight additional PCM and fire plant community monitoring (FPCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at AGFO. This collaborative effort is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better …

Wetland Conservation Effects Result In Enhanced Playa Functionality In The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Hong Zhang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

This study assessed the functionality level of wetland hydrology, hydrophyte and soil conditions, and then identified the restorable potential of conserved playas. The distribution of hydrology and hydrophyte were geospatially examined through annual tracking the quantity and quality of wetlands on historical hydric soil footprints under different conservation programs in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA during 2004-2015. The results show that the historical hydric soil footprints with the conservation programs had significantly higher functionality of ponded water and hydrophyte than non-conserved wetlands. The yearly average of ponded water areas within footprints varies at 12.59% for the Waterfowl Production …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2017 Data Report, Ryan Manuel

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire).

During the seventh full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots on May 22-25, 2017 to collect data on the plant communities at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the vegetation at SCBL. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of individual native and non-native …

River Otter Distribution In Nebraska, Nathan R. Bieber, Samuel P. Wilson, Craig R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The river otter (Lontra canadensis) was extirpated from Nebraska, USA, in the early 1900s and reintroduced starting in 1986. Information is needed regarding the distribution of river otters in Nebraska before decisions can be made regarding its conservation status. Understanding distribution of a species is critically important for effective management. We investigated river otter distribution in Nebraska with occupancy modeling and maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling using 190 otter sign observations on Nebraska’s navigable rivers and 380 historical otter records from November 1977 to April 2014. Both methods identified the Platte River, Elkhorn River, central and eastern Niobrara River, …

Tree Rings Of Pinus Ponderosa And Juniperus Virginiana Show Different Responses To Stand Density And Water Availability In The Nebraska Grassland, R. Aus Der Au, Tala Awada, J. Hiller, G. Battipaglia, M. Saurer, P. Cherubini

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.