Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Predicting And Mapping Plethodontid Salamander Abundance Using Lidar-Derived Terrain And Vegetation Characteristics, Marco Antonio Contreras, Wesley A. Staats, Steve J. Price

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Aim of the study: Use LiDAR-derived vegetation and terrain characteristics to develop abundance and occupancy predictions for two terrestrial salamander species, Plethodon glutinosus and P. kentucki, and map abundance to identify vegetation and terrain characteristics affecting their distribution.

Area of study: The 1,550-ha Clemons Fork watershed, part of the University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest in southeastern Kentucky, USA.

Materials and methods: We quantified the abundance of salamanders using 45 field transects, which were visited three times, placed across varying soil moisture and canopy cover conditions. We created several LiDAR-derived vegetation and terrain layers and used these …

Gather, Educate, Prepare: Libraries As Champions To Build Informed And Climate-Resilient Communities, Adrian K. Ho, René Tanner, Monika Antonelli

Library Presentations

The past few years have witnessed increasing numbers of discussions and programs about the impacts of climate change, addressing topics from the devastating wildfires in California, relentless heat waves in Europe, to the accelerating thaw of the ice sheet in Greenland. The media has described the social atmosphere using such terms as climate angst, ecological grief, and existential crisis. Weighed down by a steady stream of climate news, some people have sought professional help for guidance on tackling emotional responses to natural disasters and climate trauma. Meanwhile, many of us are wondering what can be done. As a central player …

Global Pattern And Change Of Cropland Soil Organic Carbon During 1901-2010: Roles Of Climate, Atmospheric Chemistry, Land Use And Management, Wei Ren, Kamaljit Banger, Bo Tao, Jia Yang, Yawen Huang, Hanqin Tian

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands is a key property of soil quality for ensuring food security and agricultural sustainability, and also plays a central role in the global carbon (C) budget. When managed sustainably, soils may play a critical role in mitigating climate change by sequestering C and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. However, the magnitude and spatio-temporal patterns of global cropland SOC are far from well constrained due to high land surface heterogeneity, complicated mechanisms, and multiple influencing factors. Here, we use a process-based agroecosystem model (DLEM-Ag) in combination with diverse spatially-explicit gridded environmental data to …

A Historical Sedimentary Record Of Mercury In A Shallow Eutrophic Lake: Impacts Of Human Activities And Climate Change, Hanxiao Zhang, Shouliang Huo, Kevin M. Yeager, Beidou Xi, Jingtian Zhang, Fengchang Wu

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Mercury and its derivatives are hazardous environmental pollutants and could affect the aquatic ecosystems and human health by biomagnification. Lake sediments can provide important historical information regarding changes in pollution levels and thus trace anthropogenic or natural influences. This research investigates the 100-year history of mercury (Hg) deposition in sediments from Chao Lake, a shallow eutrophic lake in China. The results indicate that the Hg deposition history can be separated into three stages (pre-1960s, 1960s–1980s, and post-1980s) over the last 100 years. Before the 1960s, Hg concentrations in the sediment cores varied little and had no spatial difference. Since the …

Integrating Multiple Genetic Detection Methods To Estimate Population Density Of Social And Territorial Carnivores, Sean M. Murphy, Ben C. Augustine, Jennifer R. Adams, Lisette P. Waits, John J. Cox

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Spatial capture–recapture models can produce unbiased estimates of population density, but sparse detection data often plague studies of social and territorial carnivores. Integrating multiple types of detection data can improve estimation of the spatial scale parameter (σ), activity center locations, and density. Noninvasive genetic sampling is effective for detecting carnivores, but social structure and territoriality could cause differential detectability among population cohorts for different detection methods. Using three observation models, we evaluated the integration of genetic detection data from noninvasive hair and scat sampling of the social and territorial coyote (Canis latrans). Although precision of estimated density was …

New Market Opportunities And Consumer Heterogeneity In The U.S. Organic Food Market, Gwanseon Kim, Jun Ho Seok, Tyler B. Mark

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

This paper investigates what factors and characteristics of organic consumers affect annual organic food expenditure by using Nielsen’s consumer panel dataset from 2010 to 2014. To be specific, this paper explores new marketing opportunities by investigating organic consumer heterogeneity in different household income levels by utilizing the multilevel model. Findings in this study will contribute to the previous and existing literature in three-folds. First, we find that the organic consumers are more heterogeneous in the high-level of income groups (approximately above $60,000), as well as the low-income households between $35,000 and $45,000. This finding demonstrates that the income levels above …

Performance Evaluation Of Energy-Autonomous Sensors Using Power-Harvesting Beacons For Environmental Monitoring In Internet Of Things (Iot), George Dan Moiş, Teodora Sanislav, Silviu Corneliu Folea, Sherali Zeadally

Information Science Faculty Publications

Environmental conditions and air quality monitoring have become crucial today due to the undeniable changes of the climate and accelerated urbanization. To efficiently monitor environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and the levels of pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air, and to collect data covering vast geographical areas, the development of cheap energy-autonomous sensors for large scale deployment and fine-grained data acquisition is required. Rapid advances in electronics and communication technologies along with the emergence of paradigms such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have led to …

Predicting Potential Fire Severity Using Vegetation, Topography And Surface Moisture Availability In A Eurasian Boreal Forest Landscape, Lei Fang, Jian Yang, Megan White, Zhihua Liu

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Severity of wildfires is a critical component of the fire regime and plays an important role in determining forest ecosystem response to fire disturbance. Predicting spatial distribution of potential fire severity can be valuable in guiding fire and fuel management planning. Spatial controls on fire severity patterns have attracted growing interest, but few studies have attempted to predict potential fire severity in fire-prone Eurasian boreal forests. Furthermore, the influences of fire weather variation on spatial heterogeneity of fire severity remain poorly understood at fine scales. We assessed the relative importance and influence of pre-fire vegetation, topography, and surface moisture availability …

Parallel Design Of A Product And Internet Of Things (Iot) Architecture To Minimize The Cost Of Utilizing Big Data (Bd) For Sustainable Value Creation, Ryan Bradley, Ibrahim S. Jawahir, Niko Murrell, Julie Whitney

Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing Faculty Publications

Information has become today's addictive currency; hence, companies are investing billions in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT) frameworks that gamble on finding trends that reveal sustainability and/or efficiency improvements. This approach to “Big Data” can lead to blind, astronomical costs. Therefore, this paper presents a counter approach aimed at minimizing the cost of utilizing “Big Data” for sustainable value creation. The proposed approach leverages domain/expert knowledge of the system in combination with a machine learning algorithm in order to limit the needed infrastructure and cost. A case study of the approach implemented in a consumer electronics company is …

Environmental Challenges In Central And Eastern Europe, Bernhard Hennig

Superfund Research Center Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Are Consumers Willing To Pay More For Sustainable Products? A Study Of Eco-Labeled Tuna Steak, Guzhen Zhou, Wuyang Hu, Wenchao Huang

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

A high demand for seafood leads to overfishing, harms the long-term health of seafood stocks, and threatens environmental sustainability in oceans. Sustainability certification is one of the major sustainability movements and is known as eco-labeling. For instance, in the tuna industry, leading tuna brands have committed to protecting sea turtles by allowing the tracing of the source of their tuna “from catch to can.” This paper relies on an Internet survey on consumers from Kentucky conducted in July 2010. The survey investigates household-level tuna steak (sashimi grade) consumption and examines consumer preferences for eco-labeling (“Certified Turtle Safe” (CTS) in this …

Natural Treatment Systems As Sustainable Ecotechnologies For The Developing Countries, Qaisar Mahmood, Arshid Pervez, Bibi Saima Zeb, Habiba Zaffar, Hajra Yaqoob, Muhammad Waseem, Zahidullah, Sumera Afsheen

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of natural treatment systems is the re-establishment of disturbed ecosystems and their sustainability for benefits to human and nature. The working of natural treatment systems on ecological principles and their sustainability in terms of low cost, low energy consumption, and low mechanical technology is highly desirable. The current review presents pros and cons of the natural treatment systems, their performance, and recent developments to use them in the treatment of various types of wastewaters. Fast population growth and economic pressure in some developing countries compel the implementation of principles of natural treatment to protect natural environment. The employment …

Regional Variation In Temperature Humidity Index For Poultry Housing, Richard S. Gates, Hanzhong Zhang, Donald G. Colliver, Douglas G. Overhults

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A building thermal model was used to compute hourly values of temperature humidity index (THI) for a broiler house with and without an evaporative misting system. Hourly summer time weather data for 238 U.S.A. locations covering 30 years were used to develop extreme occurrences of THI. Results were incorporated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) database to create isolines of THI and percentage of hours exceeding a heat stress threshold. Regional variations in misting as a suitable cooling technique are presented in terms of hours reduction in annual heat stress. The technique may be used for assisting in management decisions …

A Model For Assessing The Visual Resources Of River Basins As An Aid To Making Landuse Planning Decisions, Thomas J. Nieman, Diane S. Meshako, David Walters, Molly M. Davis, Cindy C. Elliot

KWRRI Research Reports

The visual quality of a river basin and its associated properties can be identified, evaluated and integrated into the landscape planning process. The model developed provides a quantitative methodology for determining visual quality on the basis of available Geographic Information System factors. These factors are utilized to develop the preference attributes, COLOR, FORM, TEXTURE and LINE, which are associated with the assessment of visual quality. The preference attributes are then combined through a decision making process into a continuum of DISTINCTIVE, GOOD, AVERAGE and MINIMAL visual quality and is expressed digitally in map format. By providing visual quality information in …

Improved Methods And Guidelines For Modeling Stormwater Runoff From Surface Coal Mined Lands, Michael E. Meadows, George E. Blandford

KWRRI Research Reports

The investgations, developments and guidelines for several hydrologic modeling strategies are presented. Investigations were conducted to determine appropriate event curve numbers for surface mined disturbed watersheds; and performance of four synthetic unit hydrograph models (SCS curvilinear, SCS single triangle, Williams and TVA double triangle) on 38 USDA experimental watersheds in 14 physiographic provinces using in excess of 270 events. A second test using only the SCS curvilinear unit hydrograph on 11 small watersheds and 48 events was conducted to investigate the excess rainfall pattern simulated with the curve number model. A procedure for developing a unit hydrograph using the time …

The Red River Gorge: The Existence Of "Recreational Niches" And Their Management Implications, Sara E. Alexander, Billie R. Dewalt, Eugenie Scott

KWRRI Research Reports

Until the late 1960's, the Red River Gorge was just one of the more beautiful parts of the Daniel Boone National Forest. At this time, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed to dam the river for flood control, water supply, and recreation purposes. Intense opposition to the project generated considerable publicity and the Gorge area experienced substantial increases in visitation. The result has been not only severe environmental degradation but extensive overcrowding as well. These trends are presently overtaxing management capabilities of the United States Forest Service. The most pressing issue has come to be how to effectively manage this …

Simulating The Water Requirements And Economic Feasibility Of Corn In The Midwest, Wendi L. Palmer, B. J. Barfield, M. E. Bitzer, C. T. Haan

KWRRI Research Reports

An evaluation of the economics of supplemental irrigation when using a surface water supply must be site specific in order to account for variations in soil moisture holding capacity, watershed area supplying the runoff, climatic conditions, and proposed irrigation management procedures.

With the use of farm specific simulation models to determine grain yields, availability of irrigation water, and economic expenditures involved in irrigation, an economic evaluation of supplemental irrigation can be performed, In the model presented in this report, the Duncan SIMAIZ model is used to predict grain yields using long-term daily weather information. SIMAIZ also determines irrigation water demand …

Organized Resistance To An Imposed Environmental Change: A Resevoir In Eastern Kentucky, William F. Schweri Ii, John Van Willigen

KWRRI Research Reports

This is a case study of a group organized to resist the construction of an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir project located in Eastern Kentucky, More specifically the account describes how a group of landowners organized themselves and enacted an increasingly complex strategy of resistance. Within this framework perceived costs, leadership and authority and group organization are considered.

The primary method employed in this research was that of repeated interviews with members of the resistance organization who were identified as key informants. These interviews were carried out on both structured and unstructured bases.

The formal analysis of the voluntary association …

Design Of A Reliable, Inexpensive Recording Rain Gage Which Utilizes Solid-State Memory, Stephen A. Dyer

KWRRI Research Reports

Researchers working in the general area of water resources frequently have need for precipitation data. Unfortunately, the cost of commercially available recording rain gages is often greater than $1,000 per unit. This report describes a microprocessor-controlled remote recording rain gage which is capable of unattended operation for periods of greater than a month that costs less than $400 in single quantities. The laboratory prototype uses a tipping bucket to collect precipitation in 0.01-inch increments. The time of the bucket tip is stored, using an offset binary format, in solid-state memory. A complete description of the gage hardware is presented along …

Dams And People: Geographic Impact Area Analysis, Vance E. Arnett, Sue Johnson

KWRRI Research Reports

This report attempts to determine the efficacy of using geographic impact areas as analytical sub-groups for the assessment of the impact of multi-purpose reservoir projects on target communities. The impact areas utilized are: the take area; the below-the-dam area; the urban area; and, the adjacent area. Each area is described in detail and each is analyzed for differences in knowledge, previous experience, and perception of impact on community and family.

Data for this study originated from structured and open-ended interviews in Johnson County, Kentucky. Information was collected during two field efforts, the first in February, 1974, the second in August …

Social Costs And Benefits Of Water Resources Construction, Rabel J. Burdge, K. Sue Johnson

KWRRI Research Reports

This report analyzes and describes the process of relocating individuals and families who must move due to reservoir construction in Kentucky utilizing data collected in previous research. These data come from four separate studies: a study of community attitudes toward reservoir construction (Johnson county where the Paintsville reservoir is to be constructed), interviews with people who are slated for relocation when the Taylorsville reservoir is constructed, and two sets of interviews with people who have already been relocated due to reservoir construction (Cave Run and Carr Fork).

Psychological, social, economic and material costs and benefits associated with forced relocation are …

A Detailed Investigation Of The Sociological, Economic, And Ecological Aspects Of Proposed Reservoir Sites In The Salt River Basin Of Kentucky, Stuart E. Neff, Louis A. Krumholz, John R. Baker, Daryl E. Jennings, Andrew C. Miller, Jerry S. Parsons, Vincent H. Resh, David S. White

KWRRI Research Reports

Samples of water, bottom fauna, and fishes were collected from 66 stations in the Salt River and one of its principal tributaries, the Beech Fork and its tributary, the Chaplin River, Kentucky. Precipitation ranged from 38.86 inches (1969) to 58.04 inches (1970), an increase of nearly 50 percent with marked fluctuations in discharge. Intensive comparisons of phosphates, sulfates, specific conductance, total alkalinity, total hardness, and turbidity showed the streams to be relatively clean and healthy. Nearly 300 different kinds of benthic organisms and other macroinvertebrates have been collected and identified from the basin. Detailed studies of caddisflies and stream drift …

Social And Cultural Impact Of A Proposed Reservoir On A Rural Kentucky School District, Charles R. Smith, Philip Drucker

KWRRI Research Reports

This study utilizes anthropological concepts and research methods to study the educational system of a Central Kentucky school district with the goal of predicting the impact on it of a proposed multi-purpose (flood control, recreation, etc.) reservoir, and proposing options for forestalling dysfunctional aspects of that impact. The impact will result from the fact that although the county is now rurally oriented, the proposed reservoir will attract (has already begun to attract) urbanite residents from nearby Louisville, Kentucky's largest urban center, who can be expected to bring urban values concerning education, as well as other areas. To assess probable directions …

Impact Of A Proposed Reservoir On Local Land Values, Philip Drucker, Charles R. Smith, Allen C. Turner

KWRRI Research Reports

This project was designed to study the impact of private preconstruction land acquisition in a Central Kentucky area in which a flood-control dam and reservoir impoundment is planned. The research design was built around use of anthropological concepts and research techniques. By these means it was possible to analyze the perceived values of land to traditionalist residents, among which social and economic security concepts are paramount. Recent land purchases, locally believed to have been made chiefly by "outsiders," (urbanites from nearby Louisville), at prices out of line in terms of local agricultural worth, has been extremely unsettling contributing to the …

A Perspective On Economic Impact, L. Douglas James, Donald M. Soule, William O. Thompson, John L. Fulmer, John C. Redman, Robert C. Tussey, John M. Higgins, Claude M. Vaughan, David H. Rosenbaum, Billy R. Prebble, Charles O. Dowell, John E. Sirles, Michael B. Hargrove, Clyde T. Bates, Kenneth G. Holbrook, Dennis H. Bianchi, John P. Breaden, Kenneth R. Harman

KWRRI Research Reports

The institutions responsible for water resources management in the United States have originated as political responses to major social issues. Each agency institutionalized a procedure for structuring and comparing alternatives in the formulation of its total program. Each agency originally sought to promote effective resolution of its social issue (flood control, development of arid lands, soil erosion, etc.), but more recent efforts have sought better coordination among agency practices through a common procedure largely derived from economic theory. Any procedure, however, varies in application with the interpretation and judgment of individual planners. Today, public pressures have brought political directives requiring …

The Generation Of Flood Damage Time Sequences, John P. Breaden

KWRRI Research Reports

There is a need in water resources planning to develop a procedure for determining the time pattern in which flood damages occur as a function of the rise and fall of the flood hydrograph. The widely-used approach for estimation of flood damages does not take into account the fact that the frequency of the annual flood peak may not be the same as the frequency of the total annual flood damages. As examples, several small storms during the year may do more damage than a single larger storm, or flood damages may be reduced by a reduction in flood duration …

Factors Affecting Relocation In Response To Reservoir Development, Rabel J. Burdge, Richard L. Ludtke

KWRRI Research Reports

The focus of this paper is on the question of how rural people anticipate forced moves as a result of flood control projects and how they change their life in accepting separation from familiar surroundings.

A model of faced migration is presented which sees the variables of socioeconomic status, knowledge of reservoir projects, vested interests and the degree of identification with place of affected persons as producing differential apprehension over moving. Differential apprehension is then seen as producing different attitudes toward the project which will influence the type of migration plans.

To test this model of forced migration, data were …

Evaluation Of The Social Impact Of Reservoir Construction On The Residential Plans Of Displaced Persons In Kentucky And Ohio, Richard L. Ludtke, Rabel J. Burdge

KWRRI Research Reports

The states of Kentucky and Ohio have numerous reservoir projects at various stages of planning and construction. Each of the projects produces substantial social impact for the residents of the area and particularly for those persons affected by a loss of property and homes. This impact is not uniform in that people respond differently to displacement and the methods of adjusting relocation are known to differ among people.

This research was initiated to develop and test a model for explaining migration under such conditions. The model includes a consideration of people's potential for transferring existing statuses to new residences, the …

Anticipations Of Change: A Socio-Economic Description Of A Kentucky County Before Reservoir Construction, Charles Robert Smith

KWRRI Research Reports

In the past the construction of large reservoirs in the United States has been evaluated largely in terms of the economic benefit they bring to the area where they are constructed and to the nation. Where human populations are involved, however, a host of social changes occur, many of which fundamentally alter the way of life of a people.

This report is part of a larger study which aims at analyzing the social costs and benefits of reservoir construction. The project is long range in that studies are to be carried out before, during, and after construction. This report concentrates …

The Economic Value Of Natural Areas For Recreational Hunting, Kenneth Gene Holbrook

KWRRI Research Reports

The pressures of population growth, urbanization, and improved transportation are diminishing the availability of quality naturalistic sites for recreation while at the same time producing greater demands for their use. One cause contributing to the reduction in acreage in naturalistic areas is the construction of reservoirs. The recreational hunting value of the naturalistic area to be inundated should be considered as a negative consequence in the economic evaluation of a proposed reservoir site.

This study utilized hunting data collected by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, from the 120 Kentucky counties to estimate the economic, value of the average …