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Mapping Spatial Distribution And Biomass Of Coastal Wetland Vegetation In Indonesian Papua By Combining Active And Passive Remotely Sensed Data, Aslan Aslan, Abdullah Rahman, Matthew W. Warren, Scott M. Robeson Sep 2016

Mapping Spatial Distribution And Biomass Of Coastal Wetland Vegetation In Indonesian Papua By Combining Active And Passive Remotely Sensed Data, Aslan Aslan, Abdullah Rahman, Matthew W. Warren, Scott M. Robeson

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

There is ongoing interest to develop remote sensing methods for mapping and monitoring the spatial distribution and biomass of mangroves. In this study, we develop a suite of methods to evaluate the combination of Landsat-8, ALOS PALSAR, and SRTM data for mapping spatial distribution of mangrove composition, canopy height, and aboveground biomass in the wide intertidal zones and coastal plains of Mimika district, Papua, Indonesia. Image segmentation followed by visual interpretation of composite PALSAR images was used to delineate mangrove areas, whereas a flexible statistical rule based classification of spectral signatures from Landsat-8 images was used to classify mangrove associations. …


A Gis Analysis Of Land Cover Effects On Water Systems: Nutrients And Algae In Stormwater Ponds, Nicole Lee Kappel Sep 2016

A Gis Analysis Of Land Cover Effects On Water Systems: Nutrients And Algae In Stormwater Ponds, Nicole Lee Kappel

Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic land conversion is occurring rapidly and has the potential to impact our water quality. This study aims to explore the effect of watershed land characteristics on water quality within stormwater ponds (SWPs). Rapid land conversion is known to affect water quality of receiving water bodies, however not much is known about the effect of urbanization on SWPs. Geographic informational systems (GIS) was used to determine areas of land that drain into ponds. Water samples were collected and analyzed for total phosphorous, dissolved reactive phosphorous, nitrate, and ammonia. Algal pigment and percent cover measurements were taken in the field and …


Freshwater Vertebrate And Invertebrate Diversity Patterns In An Andean-Amazon Basin: Implications For Conservation Efforts, Janeth Lessmann, Juan M. Guayasamin, Kayce L. Casner, Alexander S. Flecker, W. Chris Funk, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Brian A. Gill, Iván Jácome- Negrete, Boris C. Kondratieff, Leroy N. Poff, José Schreckinger, Steven A. Thomas, Eduardo Toral-Contreras, Kelly R. Zamudio, Andrea C. Encalada Sep 2016

Freshwater Vertebrate And Invertebrate Diversity Patterns In An Andean-Amazon Basin: Implications For Conservation Efforts, Janeth Lessmann, Juan M. Guayasamin, Kayce L. Casner, Alexander S. Flecker, W. Chris Funk, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Brian A. Gill, Iván Jácome- Negrete, Boris C. Kondratieff, Leroy N. Poff, José Schreckinger, Steven A. Thomas, Eduardo Toral-Contreras, Kelly R. Zamudio, Andrea C. Encalada

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Napo Basin in Ecuador is an important drainage of the Amazon Basin, the most biodiverse ecosystem for freshwater species. At the same time, this basin has conspicuous information gaps on its biodiversity patterns and human threats. Here, we estimated the diversity distribution patterns of freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates in the Napo Basin, as a tool for present and future management and conservation efforts. Also, we assessed the spatial congruence of the diversity patterns observed between aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates. For this, we compiled occurrence records for 481 freshwater vertebrate species (amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish), and 54 invertebrate …


The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 7 Issue 1, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program Sep 2016

The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 7 Issue 1, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.


Drought In A Human-Modified World: Reframing Drought Definitions, Understanding, And Analysis Approaches, Anne F. Van Loon, Kerstin Stahl, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Julian Clark4, Sally Rangecroft, Niko Wanders, Tom Gleeson, Albert I. J. M. Van Dijk, Lena M. Tallaksen, Jamie Hannaford, Remko Uijlenhoet, Adriaan J. Teuling, David M. Hannah, Justin Sheffield, Mark D. Svoboda, Boud Verbeiren, Thorsten Wagener, Henny A. J. Van Lanen Sep 2016

Drought In A Human-Modified World: Reframing Drought Definitions, Understanding, And Analysis Approaches, Anne F. Van Loon, Kerstin Stahl, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Julian Clark4, Sally Rangecroft, Niko Wanders, Tom Gleeson, Albert I. J. M. Van Dijk, Lena M. Tallaksen, Jamie Hannaford, Remko Uijlenhoet, Adriaan J. Teuling, David M. Hannah, Justin Sheffield, Mark D. Svoboda, Boud Verbeiren, Thorsten Wagener, Henny A. J. Van Lanen

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In the current human-modified world, or Anthropocene, the state of water stores and fluxes has become dependent on human as well as natural processes.Water deficits (or droughts) are the result of a complex interaction between meteorological anomalies, land surface processes, and human inflows, outflows, and storage changes. Our current inability to adequately analyse and manage drought in many places points to gaps in our understanding and to inadequate data and tools. The Anthropocene requires a new framework for drought definitions and research. Drought definitions need to be revisited to explicitly include human processes driving and modifying soil moisture drought and …


Century-Long Increasing Trend And Variability Of Dissolved Organic Carbon Export From The Mississippi River Basin Driven By Natural And Anthropogenic Forcing, Wei Ren, Hanqin Tian, Wei-Jun Cai, Steven E. Lohrenz, Charles S. Hopkinson, Wei-Jen Huang, Jia Yang, Bo Tao, Shufen Pan, Ruoying He Sep 2016

Century-Long Increasing Trend And Variability Of Dissolved Organic Carbon Export From The Mississippi River Basin Driven By Natural And Anthropogenic Forcing, Wei Ren, Hanqin Tian, Wei-Jun Cai, Steven E. Lohrenz, Charles S. Hopkinson, Wei-Jen Huang, Jia Yang, Bo Tao, Shufen Pan, Ruoying He

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

There has been considerable debate as to how natural forcing and anthropogenic activities alter the timing and magnitude of the delivery of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the coastal ocean, which has ramifications for the ocean carbon budget, land-ocean interactions, and coastal life. Here we present an analysis of DOC export from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico during 1901–2010 as influenced by changes in climate, land use and management practices, atmospheric CO2, and nitrogen deposition, through the integration of observational data with a coupled hydrologic/biogeochemical land model. Model simulations show that DOC export in the …


Irrigation Efficiency Of Santa Rosa Island Cloud Forest Restoration Project, Rebecca Bernard, Kathryn Mceachern, Ken Niessen Sep 2016

Irrigation Efficiency Of Santa Rosa Island Cloud Forest Restoration Project, Rebecca Bernard, Kathryn Mceachern, Ken Niessen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Beginning in the 1800s, sheep and cattle ranching have caused significant erosion and devegetation of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park. In an effort to contain what little soil is left and rebuild the native chaparral, the Cloud Forest Restoration Project is testing erosion control structures such as wattles, leaf litter fences and silt dams. This summer a drip irrigation system was installed along with fog capturing fences to supply water to native plants transplanted near the erosion control structures. As the project has grown, more irrigation has been added to increase the area available for transplanting. This irrigation …


Using Photovoice To Understand Climate Change Adaptation In Rural Ontario, Kylie Hissa Sep 2016

Using Photovoice To Understand Climate Change Adaptation In Rural Ontario, Kylie Hissa

Geography and Environmental Studies Major Research Papers

The examination of community adaptation and resilience approaches to address the threats of climate change in rural Ontario is becoming increasingly important in emergency management and preparedness. Community engagement becomes critical in this regard, as local experiences partly influence perceptions of climate change risks within municipalities. Photovoice is a community-based participatory research methodology that empowers participants to document their perceptions and understandings of a particular issue through the use of visual images. This technique was undertaken to understand the impacts of the F3 tornado that hit the community of Goderich, Ontario in 2011 and capture their member’s perceptions on disaster …


Icelandic Fisheries: Scenario Planning For Climate Change, Tara Sorrels Sep 2016

Icelandic Fisheries: Scenario Planning For Climate Change, Tara Sorrels

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study aimed to develop an understanding of how a scenario planning process could be used to assist businesses to adapt to climate change. The focus of this study was on the Icelandic fishing industry since Iceland is experiencing firsthand climate change impacts. Mitigation strategies are the main focus in climate change research, but this study focused on a possible adaptation method that requires changing management practices in order to reduce the impact of climate change on the economy. Tours of Icelandic fisheries and interviews with individuals within the Icelandic fishing industry were conducted to assess the current adaptive capacity …


Expanding The Applicability Of Raman Spectroscopy For Monitoring Photocatalytic Degradation, Franklyn Wallace Sep 2016

Expanding The Applicability Of Raman Spectroscopy For Monitoring Photocatalytic Degradation, Franklyn Wallace

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Compared to other types of wastewater pollutants, dangerous chemical compounds such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and herbicides are difficult to remove and consequently being detected (at least in part because detection limits have decreased) in drinking water at increasing concentrations. Photocatalytic degradation degrades harmful compounds to innocuous end products using energy from light. Although it is effective and cost-efficient, the underlying chemical mechanisms are not understood well enough to ensure that dangerous intermediate products are not formed during the degradation process. Raman spectroscopy can be used to analyze photocatalytic degradation reactions in real time, identifying intermediate products based on spectral features. …


Systems Modeling To Improve The Hydro-Ecological Performance Of Diked Wetlands, Omar Alminagorta, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring Sep 2016

Systems Modeling To Improve The Hydro-Ecological Performance Of Diked Wetlands, Omar Alminagorta, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring

Publications

Water scarcity and invasive vegetation threaten arid-region wetlands and wetland managers seek ways to enhance wetland ecosystem services with limited water, labor, and financial resources. While prior systems modeling efforts have focused on water management to improve flow-based ecosystem and habitat objectives, here we consider water allocation and invasive vegetation management that jointly target the concurrent hydrologic and vegetation habitat needs of priority wetland bird species. We formulate a composite weighted usable area for wetlands (WU) objective function that represents the wetland surface area that provides suitable water level and vegetation cover conditions for priority bird species. Maximizing …


Rickettsiologist Pavel F. Zdrodovskii: Larger Than Life, And Not Just For His Famous Book, Marina E. Eremeeva, S. N. Shpynov, I. V. Tarasevich Sep 2016

Rickettsiologist Pavel F. Zdrodovskii: Larger Than Life, And Not Just For His Famous Book, Marina E. Eremeeva, S. N. Shpynov, I. V. Tarasevich

Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

This article highlights the biography and scientific accomplishments of Pavel F. Zdrodovskii and his contributions to understanding the biology, pathogenesis, treatment, prevention and epidemiology of brucellosis, rickettsioses and many other infectious diseases.


Molecular Comparison Of Cattle Fever Ticks From Native And Introduced Ranges, With Insights Into Optimal Search Areas For Classical Biological Control Agents, John A. Goolsby, F. D. Guerrero, John F. Gaskin, K. G. Bendele, P. Azhahianambi, D. Amalin, M. Flores-Cruz, J. Kashefi, Alexis Racelis Sep 2016

Molecular Comparison Of Cattle Fever Ticks From Native And Introduced Ranges, With Insights Into Optimal Search Areas For Classical Biological Control Agents, John A. Goolsby, F. D. Guerrero, John F. Gaskin, K. G. Bendele, P. Azhahianambi, D. Amalin, M. Flores-Cruz, J. Kashefi, Alexis Racelis

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Cattle fever ticks, the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini), and cattle tick, Rhipicephalus annulatus (Say), are livestock pests endemic to Mexico and invasive along the Texas-Mexico border. Resistance to acaricide, alternate wildlife hosts, and pathogenic landscape-forming weeds present challenges for sustainable eradication of this pest in the U.S. Classical biological control is being explored as a strategy to control cattle fever ticks, especially on alternate hosts such as nilgai antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus (Pallas), and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann). Molecular genetic tools were used to compare populations of cattle fever ticks from native and introduced ranges to provide insights …


The Late Quaternary Rio Grande Delta—A Distinctive, Underappreciated Geologic System, Thomas E. Ewing, Juan L. Gonzalez Sep 2016

The Late Quaternary Rio Grande Delta—A Distinctive, Underappreciated Geologic System, Thomas E. Ewing, Juan L. Gonzalez

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The delta of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo in southernmost Texas and northern Tamaulipas is one of the major deltas of North America. Over 600,000 people live on the Holocene delta and river plain, and a million more on its Pleistocene ancestors, yet geo-logic knowledge is limited. Combining available geologic information with global satellite photography gives a balanced view of an important delta. The Holocene delta begins at a point west of San Benito, Texas, forming a classic eastward-opening delta. Over half of the delta lies south of the present Rio Grande drainage. The delta passes westward into a floodplain that …


Reproductive Output Of Mosses Under Experimental Warming On Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, Angélica Casanova-Katny, G. A. Torres-Mellado, Sarah M. Eppley Sep 2016

Reproductive Output Of Mosses Under Experimental Warming On Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, Angélica Casanova-Katny, G. A. Torres-Mellado, Sarah M. Eppley

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Mosses dominate much of the vegetation in the Antarctic, but the effect of climatic change on moss growth and sexual reproduction has scarcely been studied. In Antarctica, mosses infrequently produce sporophytes; whether this is due to physiological limitation or an adaptive response is unknown. We studied the effect of experimental warming (with Open Top Chambers, OTCs) on sporophyte production on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island for four moss species (Bartramia patens, Hennediella antarctica, Polytrichastrum alpinum, and Sanionia georgicouncinata). To determine whether reducing cold stress increases sexual reproduction as would be predicted if sex is …


The International Whaling Commission—Beyond Whaling, Andrew J. Wright, Mark P. Simmonds, Barbara Galletti Vernazzani Aug 2016

The International Whaling Commission—Beyond Whaling, Andrew J. Wright, Mark P. Simmonds, Barbara Galletti Vernazzani

Environment and Nature Conservation Collection

Since its establishment in 1946 as the international body intended to manage whaling, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has expanded its areas of interest to ensure the wider conservation of whales. Several key conservation topics have been taken forward under its auspices including climate change, chemical and noise pollution, marine debris and whale watching. Work on each of these topics at the IWC has grown substantially since the 1990s and remains ongoing. Important developments were the establishment of the Standing Working Group on Environmental Concerns in 1996 and the IWC’s Conservation Committee in 2003. Trying to address this diverse set …


Temporal Variations Of Water Productivity In Irrigated Corn: An Analysis Of Factors Influencing Yield And Water Use Across Central Nebraska, Tony Carr, Haishun Yang, Chittaranjan Ray Aug 2016

Temporal Variations Of Water Productivity In Irrigated Corn: An Analysis Of Factors Influencing Yield And Water Use Across Central Nebraska, Tony Carr, Haishun Yang, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Water Productivity (WP) of a crop defines the relationship between the economic or physical yield of the crop and its water use. With this concept it is possible to identify disproportionate water use or water-limited yield gaps and thereby support improvements in agricultural water management. However, too often important qualitative and quantitative environmental factors are not part of aWP analysis and therefore neglect the aspect of maintaining a sustainable agricultural system. In this study, we examine both the physical and economic WP in perspective with temporally changing environmental conditions. The physical WP analysis was performed by comparing simulated maximum attainable …


Use Of Water Indices Derived From Landsat Oli Imagery And Gis To Estimate The Hydrologic Connectivity Of Wetlands In The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Debra Sue Blackmore Aug 2016

Use Of Water Indices Derived From Landsat Oli Imagery And Gis To Estimate The Hydrologic Connectivity Of Wetlands In The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Debra Sue Blackmore

Dissertations and Theses

This study compared two remote sensing water indices: the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and the Modified NDWI (MNDWI). Both indices were calculated using publically-available data from the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI). The research goal was to determine whether the indices are effective in locating open water and measuring surface soil moisture. To demonstrate the application of water indices, analysis was conducted for freshwater wetlands in the Tualatin River Basin in northwestern Oregon to estimate hydrologic connectivity and hydrological permanence between these wetlands and nearby water bodies. Remote sensing techniques have been used to study wetlands in recent …


A Landscape Approach To Determining And Predicting Juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus Kisutch) Movement Timing And Growth Patterns Prior To Ocean Entry, Amelia Lee Johnson Aug 2016

A Landscape Approach To Determining And Predicting Juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus Kisutch) Movement Timing And Growth Patterns Prior To Ocean Entry, Amelia Lee Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) rely on unique habitats during the winter season, which may dictate how much individuals may grow and when migration from freshwater rearing habitat to the ocean occurs. Here I analyze movement timing and growth patterns for coho salmon through a field-based study and a literature review. For the field portion, I examined hatchery-stocked juvenile coho salmon across four stream basins in the Russian River watershed, California to determine the relative importance of climate, landscape, and fish size metrics in predicting movement and growth patterns over a winter rearing and spring smolt outmigration time period …


Responsibilities Of Flag State In Monitoring Ships For The Implementation Of Bwm Convention, Shaojun Du Aug 2016

Responsibilities Of Flag State In Monitoring Ships For The Implementation Of Bwm Convention, Shaojun Du

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.


The Oil Spill Risk Assessment And Research On The Oil Pollution Emergency Plan In Cnooc(Huizhou) Logistics Base Wharf, Hui Yi Aug 2016

The Oil Spill Risk Assessment And Research On The Oil Pollution Emergency Plan In Cnooc(Huizhou) Logistics Base Wharf, Hui Yi

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.


Study On The Impact And Countermeasures Of Ship Oil Pollution In Port Caofeidian, Dejin Yang Aug 2016

Study On The Impact And Countermeasures Of Ship Oil Pollution In Port Caofeidian, Dejin Yang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.


Research On Supervision Countermeasures On Ship Sewage Pollution, Baoxing Shen Aug 2016

Research On Supervision Countermeasures On Ship Sewage Pollution, Baoxing Shen

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.


Improving Spatial Prioritisation For Remote Marine Regions: Optimising Biodiversity Conservation And Sustainable Development Trade-Offs, Cordelai H. Moore, Ben T. Radford, Hugh P. Possingham, Andrew Heyward, Romola R. Stewart, Matthew E. Watts, Jim Prescott, Stephen J. Newman, Euan S. Harvey, Rebecca Fisher, Clay W. Bryce, Ryan J. Lowe, Oliver Berry, Alexis Espinosa- Gayosso, Errol Sporer, Thor Saunders Aug 2016

Improving Spatial Prioritisation For Remote Marine Regions: Optimising Biodiversity Conservation And Sustainable Development Trade-Offs, Cordelai H. Moore, Ben T. Radford, Hugh P. Possingham, Andrew Heyward, Romola R. Stewart, Matthew E. Watts, Jim Prescott, Stephen J. Newman, Euan S. Harvey, Rebecca Fisher, Clay W. Bryce, Ryan J. Lowe, Oliver Berry, Alexis Espinosa- Gayosso, Errol Sporer, Thor Saunders

Fisheries Research Articles

Creating large conservation zones in remote areas, with less intense stakeholder overlap and limited environmental information, requires periodic review to ensure zonation mitigates primary threats and fill gaps in representation, while achieving conservation targets. Follow-up reviews can utilise improved methods and data, potentially identifying new planning options yielding a desirable balance between stakeholder interests. This research explored a marine zoning system in north-west Australia–a biodiverse area with poorly documented biota. Although remote, it is economically significant (i.e. petroleum extraction and fishing). Stakeholder engagement was used to source the best available biodiversity and socio-economic data and advanced spatial analyses produced 765 …


Sixteen Years Of Change In The Global Terrestrial Human Footprint And Implications For Biodiversity Conservation, Oscar Venter, Eric W. Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R. Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R. Jones, Hugh P. Possingham, William F. Laurance, Peter Wood, Balázs M. Fekete, Marc A. Levy, James E. M. Watson Aug 2016

Sixteen Years Of Change In The Global Terrestrial Human Footprint And Implications For Biodiversity Conservation, Oscar Venter, Eric W. Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R. Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R. Jones, Hugh P. Possingham, William F. Laurance, Peter Wood, Balázs M. Fekete, Marc A. Levy, James E. M. Watson

Publications and Research

Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet’s biodiversity and human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative human footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km2 resolution from 1993 to 2009. We note that while the human population has increased by 23% and the world economy has grown 153%, the human footprint has increased by just 9%. Still, 75% the planet’s land surface is experiencing measurable human pressures. Moreover, pressures are perversely …


Belowground Rhizomes In Paleosols: The Hidden Half Of An Early Devonian Vascular Plant, Jinzhuang Xue, Zhenzhen Deng, Pu Huang, Kangjun Huang, Michael J. Benton, Ying Cui, Deming Wang, Jianbo Liu, Bing Shen, James F. Basinger, Shougang Hao Aug 2016

Belowground Rhizomes In Paleosols: The Hidden Half Of An Early Devonian Vascular Plant, Jinzhuang Xue, Zhenzhen Deng, Pu Huang, Kangjun Huang, Michael J. Benton, Ying Cui, Deming Wang, Jianbo Liu, Bing Shen, James F. Basinger, Shougang Hao

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant-soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus. The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within …


Data Descriptor: Global Terrestrial Human Footprint Maps For 1993 And 2009, Oscar Venter, Eric W. Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R. Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R. Jones, Hugh P. Possingham, William F. Laurance, Peter Wood, Balázs M. Fekete, Marc A. Levy, James E. M. Watson Aug 2016

Data Descriptor: Global Terrestrial Human Footprint Maps For 1993 And 2009, Oscar Venter, Eric W. Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R. Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R. Jones, Hugh P. Possingham, William F. Laurance, Peter Wood, Balázs M. Fekete, Marc A. Levy, James E. M. Watson

Publications and Research

Remotely-sensed and bottom-up survey information were compiled on eight variables measuring the direct and indirect human pressures on the environment globally in 1993 and 2009. This represents not only the most current information of its type, but also the first temporally-consistent set of Human Footprint maps. Data on human pressures were acquired or developed for: 1) built environments, 2) population density, 3) electric infrastructure, 4) crop lands, 5) pasture lands, 6) roads, 7) railways, and 8) navigable waterways. Pressures were then overlaid to create the standardized Human Footprint maps for all non-Antarctic land areas. A validation analysis using scored pressures …


How Do Connection And Hopeful Action Support Resilient Community?, Catherine Gormley Aug 2016

How Do Connection And Hopeful Action Support Resilient Community?, Catherine Gormley

Capstone Collection

This capstone arises from the course, Initiatives in Peacebuilding (IPB). As a graduate student focusing on Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation, IPB was a required course whose content propelled me toward the study of resource conflicts. Advancing from that study, I chose to practice strategies to lessen these conflicts by means of positive action. Facing two challenges—that Earth’s natural resources are finite and that excessive use of fossil fuels has caused destructive climate change—I wondered how to help transform human awareness to value the conservation of resources and the abatement of climate change. My research brought me to Joanna Macy, an …


Using Ecological Production Functions To Link Ecological Processes To Ecosystem Services, Randall Jf Bruins, Timothy J. Canfield, Clifford Duke, Larry Kapustka, Amanda M. Nahlik, Ralf B. Schäfer Aug 2016

Using Ecological Production Functions To Link Ecological Processes To Ecosystem Services, Randall Jf Bruins, Timothy J. Canfield, Clifford Duke, Larry Kapustka, Amanda M. Nahlik, Ralf B. Schäfer

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively little attention. Ecological production functions may be defined as usable expressions (i.e., models) of the processes by which ecosystems produce ES, often including external influences on those processes. We identify key attributes of EPFs and discuss both actual and idealized examples of their use to inform decision making. Whenever possible, EPFs should estimate final, rather than intermediate, ES. Although various types of EPFs have been …


Use Of Distance Weighted Metrics To Investigate Landscape-Stream Temperature Relationships Across Different Temporal Scales, Eric Craig Watson Aug 2016

Use Of Distance Weighted Metrics To Investigate Landscape-Stream Temperature Relationships Across Different Temporal Scales, Eric Craig Watson

Dissertations and Theses

Stream ecosystems have experienced significant negative impacts from land use, resource exploitation, and urban development. Statistical models allow researchers to explore the relationships between these landscape variables and stream conditions. Weighting the relevant landscape variables based on hydrologically defined distances offers a potential method of increasing the predictive capacity of statistical models. Using observations from three grouped watersheds in the Portland Metro Area (n=66), I have explored the use of three different weighting schemes against the standard method of taking an areal average. These four different model groups were applied to four stream temperature metrics: mean seven-day moving average maximum …