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Articles 1 - 24 of 24
Full-Text Articles in Geography
Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity Of Wild Blueberries And Crop Water Stress Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Technologies, Kallol Barai
Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity Of Wild Blueberries And Crop Water Stress Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Technologies, Kallol Barai
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The wild blueberry is one of the major crops of Maine, with significant economic value and potential health benefits. Due to global climate change, drought impacts have been increasing significantly in recent years in the northeast region of the USA, causing significant economic losses in the agricultural sectors. It has been predicted to increase further in the future. Changing patterns of the elevated atmospheric temperatures, increased rainfall variabilities, and more frequent drought events have made the wild blueberry industry of Maine vulnerable, suggesting the adoption of novel approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate changes. Also, wild blueberry …
To Know The Land With Hands And Minds: Negotiating Agricultural Knowledge In Late-Nineteenth-Century New England And Westphalia, Justus Hillebrand
To Know The Land With Hands And Minds: Negotiating Agricultural Knowledge In Late-Nineteenth-Century New England And Westphalia, Justus Hillebrand
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ever since the eighteenth century, experts have tried to tell farmers how to farm. The agricultural enlightenment in Europe marked the beginning of a long arc of new experts aiming to change agricultural knowledge and practice. This dissertation analyzes the pivotal period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Germany and the United States when scientists, improvers, and market agents began to develop comprehensive ways to communicate agricultural innovation to farmers. In a functional approach to analyzing the negotiation of agricultural knowledge through its communication in things, words, and practices, this dissertation argues that the process of change …
Using New And Long-Term Multi-Scale Remotely Sensed Data To Detect Recurrent Fires And Quantify Their Relationship To Land Cover/Use In Indonesian Peatlands, Yenni Vetrita
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Indonesia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gases emissions by 29% (potentially up to 41% with international assistance) by 2030. Achieving those targets requires many efforts but, in particular, controlling the fire problem in Indonesia’s peatlands is paramount, since it is unlikely to diminish on its own in the coming decades. This study was conducted in Sumatra and Kalimantan peatlands in Indonesia. Four MODIS-derived products (MCD45A1 collection 5.1, MCD64A1 (collection 5.1 and 6), FireCCI51) were initially assessed to explore long-term fire frequency and land use/cover change relationships. The results indicated the product(s) could only detect half of the fires accurately. …
Evaluating St. Catherines Island's Shoreline, Vegetation Line, And The Locations Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests, Sydney O. Davis
Evaluating St. Catherines Island's Shoreline, Vegetation Line, And The Locations Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests, Sydney O. Davis
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
St. Catherines Island is a highly dynamic barrier island on the Georgia coast that is also federally listed critical nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. Understanding how St. Catherines’ shoreline and vegetation is changing over time is geographically important as a potential template for other barrier islands. Measuring sea turtle nest locations will provide insight into their natural patterns and how they adjust those locations on a changing barrier island. Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R (AMBUR) is implemented in this research to assess the movement of the vegetation and shorelines from 2005-2017 using the End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear …
Integrating Local Ecology And Human Dimensions To Understand A Tidally Dynamic Ecosystem In Downeast Maine, Gabriella Marafino
Integrating Local Ecology And Human Dimensions To Understand A Tidally Dynamic Ecosystem In Downeast Maine, Gabriella Marafino
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Coastal community resilience requires connecting people with useful information that reflects their needs and interests and empowers them to make informed marine resource decisions. In this thesis, I explore how to effectively integrate disparate data from different disciplines and sources to make information more useful and usable at federal, state, tribal, and local levels in order to support more holistic and integrated management. To accomplish this, I draw on different types of knowledge and approaches, including Western science, local ecological knowledge, traditional ecological knowledge, and citizen science, to incorporate the social perspective and community values for holistic marine resource management. …
A Tale Of Two Species: Black-Tailed And White-Tailed Prairie Dog Biogeography From The Last Interglacial To 2070, April Dawn Bledsoe
A Tale Of Two Species: Black-Tailed And White-Tailed Prairie Dog Biogeography From The Last Interglacial To 2070, April Dawn Bledsoe
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ecological niche models (ENMs) were created for White-tailed and Black-tailed prairie dogs and projected into the Last Interglacial (LI), the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and mid-Holocene (mid-H) to discern possible past suitable habitat for both species. Additionally, ENMs were projected into the future year 2070 representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 to discern how climate change may affect future habitat suitability. Kernel density estimations, minimum convex polygons, and median distribution centers of White-tailed and Black-tailed occurrence records were examined between time-periods to discern the effects of anthropogenic westward expansion on both species’ distributions. Current ENMs were constructed from commonly …
Climate Change And Seed Security Among Smallholder Farmers In Northern Ghana, Michael Biwalib Madin
Climate Change And Seed Security Among Smallholder Farmers In Northern Ghana, Michael Biwalib Madin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Smallholder agriculture is highly susceptible to climate variability and change. According to recent projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this sensitivity would likely increase in the coming decades, with more erratic rainfall, prolonged dry periods, shorter growing seasons, and seed germination failures. In the African context, the mechanisms through which these ecological stressors would affect seed security are poorly understood. Drawing upon a case study of semi-arid Ghana, this study examines climate change impacts on seed security among smallholder farmers. It adopts a mixed-methods approach with intensive fieldwork in two farming communities. Conceptually, the study uses a political …
Burning With Potential: Understanding The Relationship Between Biochar And Agriculture Of The Northern Glaciated Plains Ecoregion, Kaitlyn Abrahamson
Burning With Potential: Understanding The Relationship Between Biochar And Agriculture Of The Northern Glaciated Plains Ecoregion, Kaitlyn Abrahamson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Achieving global sustainable agriculture is one of the most incredible challenges of this century, yet many continue to try to solve this problem through the development of precision technologies. Biotechnologies, such as biochar, can perform like a precision technology while protecting agricultural land from soil erosion and fertility loss. The Northern Glaciated Plains ecoregion of the United States is little researched in the benefits from the use of biochar through improved soil nutrient capture and water retention, crop health improvements, and yield increases. The study plot has four sections of corn stover biochar and eight sections of control sections. This …
Biophysical And Socioeconomic Impacts Of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration In Burkina Faso, Basnewende Brice Fulgence Zoungrana
Biophysical And Socioeconomic Impacts Of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration In Burkina Faso, Basnewende Brice Fulgence Zoungrana
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Human actions such as overgrazing, the development of cities at the expense of forests, high intensity and poor agricultural management, and so forth, reduce the resources available for future generations. Because Earth has limited resources, it is important to judiciously use and manage natural resources. Human actions towards nature are the focus of my research in Africa. Increased demands for grazing, agriculture, and ecosystem services led some farmers in developing countries to use unsustainable practices, which may lead to low incomes and poor food nutrition for households. Farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) may be a solution to these issues. FMNR …
Social-Ecological Heterogeneity Shapes Resilience Of Small-Scale Fisheries: An Interdisciplinary Analysis Of The Mexican Chocolate Clam Fishery In Loreto, Mexico, Kara E. Pellowe
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
All benefits provided by natural systems are embedded within coupled social-ecological systems (SESs). Fisheries are clear examples of SESs: through fishing, humans affect ecosystem structure and functioning, and in turn, receive benefits, including sustenance, employment, and cultural value. Resilience, the ability to maintain structure and function in the face of change, is key to sustaining the social and ecological components of fisheries-related SESs and their interactions. Many factors contribute to resilience, including heterogeneity. By identifying heterogeneity in these complex systems, we are better able to understand the capacity of fishery-related SESs to adapt to change, and contribute to management that …
Mountain Livelihoods In A Time Of Change: A Case Study Of Upper Mustang In Nepal, Sandesh Shrestha
Mountain Livelihoods In A Time Of Change: A Case Study Of Upper Mustang In Nepal, Sandesh Shrestha
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A case study was conducted in a remote Himalayan village—Yara—in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal. The goal of this study was to understand and assess the livelihood strategies of local people in the village. The study focused on understanding the socio-economic and environmental driving factors of livelihood vulnerability, prevalent livelihood activities, emergent livelihood strategies, and resulting livelihood outcomes in the village. We used multiple data generation methods, which included both qualitative social science and quantitative biophysical components. For the qualitative component, we utilized multiple data generation methods including key informant interviews, semi-structured household interviews, group discussions, and field observations. …
Characterizing Spatiotemporal Patterns Of White Mold In Soybean Across South Dakota Using Remote Sensing, Confiance L. Mfuka
Characterizing Spatiotemporal Patterns Of White Mold In Soybean Across South Dakota Using Remote Sensing, Confiance L. Mfuka
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Soybean is among the most important crops, cultivated primarily for beans, which are used for food, feed, and biofuel. According to FAO, the United States was the biggest soybeans producer in 2016. The main soybean producing regions in the United States are the Corn Belt and the lower Mississippi Valley. Despite its importance, soybean production is reduced by several diseases, among which Sclerotinia stem rot, also known as white mold, a fungal disease that is caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is among the top 10 soybean diseases. The disease may attack several plants and considerably reduce yield. According to …
Augmenting Land Cover/Land Use Classification By Incorporating Information From Land Surface Phenology: An Application To Quantify Recent Cropland Expansion In South Dakota, Lan Hoang Nguyen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Understanding rapid land change in the U.S. NGP region is not only critical for management and conservation of prairie habitats and ecosystem services, but also for projecting production of crops and biofuels and the impacts of land conversion on water quality and rural transportation infrastructure. Hence, it raises the need for an LCLU dataset with good spatiotemporal coverage as well as consistent accuracy through time to enable change analysis. This dissertation aims (1) to develop a novel classification method, which utilizes time series images from comparable sensors, from the perspective of land surface phenology, and (2) to apply the land …
Vulnerability Of Protected Areas To Human Encroachment, Climate Change And Fire In The Fragmented Tropical Forests Of West Africa, Francis Kwabena Dwomoh
Vulnerability Of Protected Areas To Human Encroachment, Climate Change And Fire In The Fragmented Tropical Forests Of West Africa, Francis Kwabena Dwomoh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Upper Guinean region of West Africa is home to some of the most globally significant tropical biodiversity hotspots, providing ecosystem services that are crucial for the region’s socio-economic and environmental wellbeing. Nonetheless, following decades of human-caused destruction of natural habitats, protected areas currently remain the only significant refugia of original vegetation relics in landscapes that are highly fragmented. Aside from having strong geographic variation in land use, climate, vegetation, and human population, the region has also experienced remarkable biophysical and socio-economic changes in recent decades. All these factors influence the fire regime and the vulnerability of forests within protected …
This Is Just A Phase : The Impact Of Population Structure On Haplotype Phasing And Linkage Disequilibrium Measures At Functional Genetic Sites., Roxanne Kaaren Leiter
This Is Just A Phase : The Impact Of Population Structure On Haplotype Phasing And Linkage Disequilibrium Measures At Functional Genetic Sites., Roxanne Kaaren Leiter
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The block-like structure of the human genome has been the subject of many scientific papers and is of practical significance in large-scale genome-wide association studies. How stringent haplotype block boundaries are within and between populations has been the subject of ongoing debate within human population genetics. This thesis will contribute to the description of universal and population-specific haplotype blocks at functional sites, namely across the IL-10 gene family (including IL-10, IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24), which is involved in a number of immune system processes, and MAPKAP-K2, an adjacent and functionally significant kinase gene. Beyond the description of blocks across these …
Niche Modeling For The Giant Panda, Ailuropoda Melanoleuca, And The Original Panda, Ailurus Fulgens: Habitat Preferences And Evolutionary Consequences, Lauren M. Lyon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The well-known symbol for conservation, the giant panda bear, and the original red panda have been forced into remote habitats due to anthropogenic disturbance, making ecological study difficult. Therefore the first known species distribution model was created to predict the most likely areas of occurrence within the known range of these elusive animals. These models were then projected onto North America and evaluated against existing breeding programs. Additionally, the close proximity of the Gray Fossil Site and the discovery of the most complete fossil red panda specimens in the world allowed ecomorphological comparisons between the modern red panda, Ailurus fulgens …
Using Remote Sensing To Estimate Crop Water Use To Improve Irrigation Water Management, Arturo Reyes-Gonzalez
Using Remote Sensing To Estimate Crop Water Use To Improve Irrigation Water Management, Arturo Reyes-Gonzalez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Irrigation water is scarce. Hence, accurate estimation of crop water use is necessary for proper irrigation managements and water conservation. Satellite-based remote sensing is a tool that can estimate crop water use efficiently. Several models have been developed to estimate crop water requirement or actual evapotranspiration (ETa) using remote sensing. One of them is the Mapping EvapoTranspiration at High Resolution using Internalized Calibration (METRIC) model. This model has been compared with other methods for ET estimations including weighing lysimeters, pan evaporation, Bowen Ratio Energy Balance System (BREBS), Eddy Covariance (EC), and sap flow. However, comparison of METRIC model outputs to …
Terracing, Land Management And Agricultural Soils In The Andagua Valley Of The Southern Peruvian Andes, Blaise Murphy
Terracing, Land Management And Agricultural Soils In The Andagua Valley Of The Southern Peruvian Andes, Blaise Murphy
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Demographic, socio-political and climatic changes can drastically alter agricultural land management practices, affecting the availability of agriculturally relevant nutrients in the soil. This project investigates the use, reconstruction and abandonment of agricultural terraces and the implications these conditions have on agricultural soil properties of the Andagua Valley in the Western Cordillera of the Southern Peruvian Andes. During the 2016 summer field season, topsoil samples were collected from cultivated and abandoned agricultural terraces between 3229m and 3688m a. s. l. with a range of aspects and ages. Collaboration with a team of archaeologists and anthropologists gave insight into the local and …
A Comparison Of Land Use And Land Cover In Public Lands Of The Northwestern Great Plains And High Plains Ecoregions And The Implications For Grassland Birds, Dawn L. Siemonsma
A Comparison Of Land Use And Land Cover In Public Lands Of The Northwestern Great Plains And High Plains Ecoregions And The Implications For Grassland Birds, Dawn L. Siemonsma
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Loss and degradation of grassland habitat are driving forces that contribute to widespread declines of grassland birds in the United States. Many studies have evaluated habitat needs for the conservation of grassland birds, but the relative contribution of public lands in representing and maintaining avian biodiversity remains poorly understood. Having a better understanding of the role that publicly managed grasslands play in the conservation of grassland bird habitat is important for assessing the value of the investment the American public makes in these lands. Therefore, I investigated spatial relations among variations in amounts and distributions of publicly owned and managed …
The Spatial Distribution Of Terrestrial Stable Carbon Isotopes In North America, And The Impacts Of Spatial And Temporal Resolution On Static Ecological Models, Sydney M. Firmin
The Spatial Distribution Of Terrestrial Stable Carbon Isotopes In North America, And The Impacts Of Spatial And Temporal Resolution On Static Ecological Models, Sydney M. Firmin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Due to the unique spatial and temporal characteristics of ecological phenomena, the extent and grain size of spatial data sets essentially filter the observations. This thesis examines the impacts of temporal and spatial resolution on the modeling of terrestrial stable carbon isotopic landscapes (isoscapes). I model the distribution of leaf stable carbon isotope composition (delta13C) for the continent of North America at multiple temporal and spatial resolutions. I generate each delta13C isoscape variation by first predicting the relative abundance of C3/C4 vegetation cover using monthly climate grids, crop distribution/type grids, and remote sensing data of plant …
Developing Management Guidelines That Balance Cattle And Timber Production With Ecological Interests In The Black Hills Of South Dakota, Kurt M. Chowanski
Developing Management Guidelines That Balance Cattle And Timber Production With Ecological Interests In The Black Hills Of South Dakota, Kurt M. Chowanski
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Forested lands contribute to the United States (US) economy by providing livestock and timber production. Livestock grazing of forested lands has been widespread throughout the western US since the settlement era, and currently occurs on 51.4 million hectares (ha) representing 16% of all US grazing land and 22% of all US forested land (Nickerson et al. 2011). While livestock grazing and timber harvest are occurring on a substantial amount of forested land, relationships between management practices, tree stocking, timber production, forage production, livestock grazing, wildlife, aesthetics, and ecological integrity are not well documented. Whether considering timber or cattle, finding a …
Fire Type Classification In The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome, Sanath Kumar Sathyachandran
Fire Type Classification In The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome, Sanath Kumar Sathyachandran
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome (BTMFB) is “Earth’s greatest biological treasure and a major component of the earth system” and forest degradation and deforestation by fire is a serious issue in this region. Fires in the BTMFB can be broadly classified as maintenance, deforestation and forest fire types. Spatially and temporally explicit information on the incidences of fire types are important as they have widely varying atmospheric emissions and ecological impacts. Satellite based remote sensing is a practical means of monitoring the BTMFB that spans almost 4 million km2. However, there has been no way to reliably …
Sagebrush Ecosystem Characterization, Monitoring, And Forecasting With Remote Sensing: Quantifying Future Climate And Wildlife Habitat Change, Collin G. Homer
Sagebrush Ecosystem Characterization, Monitoring, And Forecasting With Remote Sensing: Quantifying Future Climate And Wildlife Habitat Change, Collin G. Homer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems constitute the largest single North American shrub ecosystem and provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational ecosystem services. Disturbances continue to alter this ecosystem, with climate change possibly representing the greatest future disturbance risk. Improved ways to characterize and monitor gradual change in this ecosystem are vital to its future management. A new remote sensing sagebrush characterization approach was developed in Wyoming which integrates three scales of remote sensing to derive four primary continuous field components (bare ground, herbaceousness, litter, and shrub), and four secondary components (sagebrush, big sagebrush, Wyoming sagebrush, and shrub …
Energy In The Corn Belt: Is Maize Production Sustainable?, Matthew Bernau
Energy In The Corn Belt: Is Maize Production Sustainable?, Matthew Bernau
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Technological and scientific innovation has transformed agricultural production. Corn production methods changed from a sustainable, nutrient recycling production system to one reliant on imported fossil energy inputs. Located in the Western Corn Belt, Union County, South Dakota was chosen as the study area. Changes in production methods are represented by four technological epochs: 1) The Draft Horse Epoch, 1890-1920; 2) The Tractor Epoch, 1920-1950; 3) The Fertilizer Epoch, 1950-1980; and 4) The Biotechnology and Precision Agriculture Epoch, 1980-2010. The energy budget method was used to measure the energy sustainability of corn production. The findings show that the volume of corn …