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The Measure Of Nematode Diversity In Response To Varying Management Practices And Features In Restored And Remnant Prairie Ecosystems, Heaven Hulshizer

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A defining moment in American history involved the movement of immigrants across the land looking for space to make a living on and manifest destiny. The Great Plains provided more than enough of this space, and the tallgrass plains making up the eastern part of Nebraska was no exception to this, providing good climate and soils to accommodate bountiful crops. Looking at them now, the loss of tallgrass prairie has been immense. Restoration efforts for the tallgrass prairie have increased, yet it is still a conservation effort needing more analysis and understanding. Evaluation criteria for restored prairies is an important …

Environmental Exposure And Biophilic Influence On Prosocial Sentiments, Justin Mueller

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Scientific consensus states human civilization has had a profoundly negative effect on the environment, especially in the last two centuries. In addition to this, there an increasing concern for the psychological well-being of many members of our society. There is a theory known as biophilia that states humans have a natural affinity for things that are alive and in nature. Exposure to the environment has numerous benefits, including psychological, physiological, spiritual, and ethical improvements. This paper is a theoretical approach studying a potential positive relationship between the triggering of biophilia and prosocial behaviors. It is hypothesized that the existence of …

The Effect Of Soil Ph On The Integument Of The Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium), Aaron Devine

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was done in an effort to better understand the multifaceted issues in amphibian decline, specifically within the eastern regions of Nebraska, to determine whether or not human-induced acid rain contributed to the decline. This is a heavily important topic of research as amphibians worldwide are declining related to many issues that stem from climate change and several other environmental issues of that nature. This study looked to use acidic pH within soil from western Nebraska to determine the reactionary impacts (primarily lesions) the western tiger salamander had after being subjected to it. It was found that pH did …

Studying The Effect Of Urbanization On Tree Growth Surrounding Streams In Lincoln, Nebraska, Benjamin Heusinkvelt

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Urban forests are important to many functions of not only the city itself but also the citizens that live there. They provide carbon storage, shade, invaluable erosion control and can act as barriers to flash floods. This thesis was completed inside the municipality of Lincoln, Nebraska and at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. Its purpose was to determine the effect urbanization has on tree growth in specific areas, in this case alongside stream banks. Data was collected from two test sites and analyzed to determine any differences. The results indicate that urban environments affect many characteristics of trees. This comparative …

Molecular Analysis Confirming The Introduction Of Nile Crocodiles, Crocodylus Niloticus Laurenti 1768 (Crocodylidae), In Southern Florida, With An Assessment Of Potential For Establishment, Spread, And Impacts., Michael R. Rochford, Kenneth L. Krysko, Frank J. Mazzotti, Matthew W. Shirley, Mark W. Parry, Joseph A. Wasilewski, Jeffrey S. Beauchamp, Christpher R. Gillette, Edward F. Metzger Iii, Michiko A. Squires, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

The state of Florida, USA, has more introduced herpetofauna than any other governmental region on Earth. Four species of nonnative crocodilians have been introduced to Florida (all since 1960), one of which is established. Between 2000–2014 we field-collected three nonnative crocodilians in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and one in Hendry County, Florida. We used DNA barcoding and molecular phylogenetics to determine species identification and native range origin. Also, we described diet, movement, and growth for one crocodile. Our molecular analyses illustrated that two of the crocodiles we collected are most closely related to Nile Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) from South Africa, suggesting …

The Measure Of Nematode Diversity In Response To Varying Management Practices And Features In Restored And Remnant Prairie Ecosystems, Heaven A. Hulshizer

UCARE: Research Products

"Tallgrass prairies are the most endangered ecosystem in North America” (Helen et al 2013). “Surveys suggest that since European settlement, declines in area of native prairie range as high as 99.9%”(Sampson, Fred and Fritz Knopf 1994). Prairie ecosystem services are abundant and range from mitigating floods to promoting biodiversity. (USDA Forest Service).Given these benefits, restoring prairies and maintaining native areas should be an important conservation priority. Nematodes, the most abundant animal species on earth, have been used as bio-indicators of soil quality (Neher; Todd). To better understand the dynamics of nematode diversity in native and restored prairies we examines whether …

A Relationship With Urban Farming, Tracey Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

As the world’s population grows and cities expand into mega cities, so does poverty and the need for better food security. Barthel and Isendhal “define food security broadly as the situation when people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs." (2013) Along with this growth, urban farming is gaining more and more interest. The drive behind the interest is a desire to know where food comes from as well as, a way to rekindle a relationship with our history, the land, and our health. “A consumer base is building for local …

Public Perception And Attitudes Associated With Climate Engineering, Mark Fowler

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Climate engineering has begun to enter the scientific mainstream as a potential agent of relief in the event that climate change threatens our food or water security. There has been little research conducted on the potential hazards of climate engineering, yet already has sparked controversy amongst the scientific community, as well as some of the public. The purpose of this research was to gauge current awareness and attitudes associated with climate engineering, and to measure if those attitudes were associated with political affiliation, as well as spirituality. This was done through administering a survey. The other portion of this research …

Wild Horse Management Of Carson City Nevada: What The Public Thinks, Katie Zuehlke

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There are two types of management strategies that are used in Carson City, NV, which are the free roaming method and the immunocontraception method. Nevada is home to nearly half of the nation’s wild horses (7), and the Departments of Interior and Agriculture need to manage and protect the wild horses that reside on public land stated by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 (1). The objectives of this study are to obtain articles about the management of wild horses from previous studies, specifically look at Carson City and the community opinion about the wild horse management …

Identifying Change In Agricultural Practices In Relation To Ethanol Plant Location, Erik Doran

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was performed to identify changes in agricultural practices throughout Nebraska between 1997 and 2007, a period of large ethanol production growth. By identifying ethanol plant locations and using county level data for variables such as bushels of corn produced, fertilizer and chemical application, agricultural cropland, cattle population and Conservation Reserve Program enrollment, percent change was calculated, mapped and graphed. The results did not show any evidence of change that could be linked to the ethanol plant locations.

This study did not take into account advances in management practices or improvements in technology the study time period. These changes …

An Alternative Assessment Of Groundwater Level Changes: An Example Application In Clay And Adams County, Nebraska, Jordan Shields

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study uses publicly available data (1934 to 2015) from several online sources relating to groundwater levels, bedrock depth, and annual precipitation from six wells located near Hastings, Nebraska. Traditionally, groundwater levels are presented in reports that show changes in terms of feet gained or lost. An alternative method employed in this study assesses variations in groundwater supply and availability using total saturated thickness of the groundwater system in terms of a percentage change in saturated thickness. This method represents groundwater resources in the context of the quantity available as opposed to the traditional method of changes in terms of …

Remember Embers: Model-Based Reasoning, Collaborative Teams And Much More!, David Gosselin

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Studies of interdisciplinary research teams indicate that team members struggle to achieve knowledge integration across disciplines. Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project will create educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines.

Issues arise due to the inability of team members to work collaboratively in …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2011-2015 Summary Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Christopher J. Davis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Program and Fire Effects Program have been monitoring vegetation in Scotts Bluff National Monument for over 18 years. While methods have changed slightly, this report summarizes data from over 80 locations from 1998-2015. Below, we list the questions we asked using these data and provide a summarized answer. For more details see the full report. A summary of the current condition (2011-2015) and trends (based on 1988-2015) in plant communities at Scotts Bluff is found in Table ES-1.

1. What is the current status of plant community composition and structure of …

Air Quality Related Values (Aqrvs) For Northern Great Plains Network (Ngpn) Parks, Effects From Ozone; Visibility Reducing Particles; And Atmospheric Deposition Of Acids, Nutrients And Toxics, Timothy J. Sullivan

United States National Park Service: Publications

Summary

This report describes the Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs) of the Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN). AQRVs are those resources sensitive to air quality and include streams, lakes, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife, and visibility. This report also describes air pollutant emissions and air quality in NGPN, and their effects on AQRVs. The primary pollutants likely to affect AQRVs include nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds (nitrate [NO₃^-], ammonium [NH₄⁺], and sulfate [SO₄^2-]); ground-level ozone (O₃); haze-causing particles; and airborne toxics.

The 13 parks that are included in …

Scanning The Future Of Wildfire: Resilience Ahead…Whether We Like It Or Not?, Rachel Clark

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

The field of so-called “futures research” provides researchers and stakeholders in a given subject area or system a way to map out and plan for alternate possible scenarios of the future. A recent research project supported by the Joint Fire Science Program brought together futures researchers and wildfire specialists to envision what the future holds for wildfire impacts and how the wildfire community may respond to the complex suite of emerging challenges. The consensus of the project’s foresight panel suggests that an era of resilience is ahead: but that this resilience may come either with a very high cost (after …

Inspiring And Advancing The Many-Disciplined Study Of Institutional Trust, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Brian H. Bornstein, Ellie Shockley, Tess M.S. Neal

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The purpose of this volume is to consider how trust research, particularly trust in institutions, might benefit from increased inter- or transdisciplinarity. In this introductory chapter, we first give some background on prior disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary work relating to trust. Next, we describe how this manydisciplined volume on institutional trust emerged from the joint activities of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation and a National Science Foundation-funded Workshop on institutional trust. This chapter describes some of the themes that emerged, while also providing an overview of the rest of the volume, which includes chapters that discuss conceptualizations, definitions, and measurement …

Agroforestry Horizons: Experiences And Reflections: Report-Out, Steve Rasmussen

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is charting a course for the next five years. As part of this process, NAC and the USDA Interagency Agroforestry Team hosted a meeting of leaders in the fields of agroforestry, agriculture, and forestry, from government, universities, and the private sector, to share experiences and insights on agroforestry opportunities and challenges. The meeting occurred on April 27th and 28th, 2016, in Washington, DC, and entailed presentations and discussions on current and potential roles of agroforestry in supporting water quality, soil health, economic diversification, food security, and pollinator/wildlife habitat. This report-out provides a summary of …

Riparian Trees And Aridland Streams Of The Southwestern United States: An Assessment Of The Past, Present, And Future, D. Max Smith, Deborah M. Finch

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Riparian ecosystems are vital components of aridlands within the southwestern United States. Historically, surface flows influenced population dynamics of native riparian trees. Many southwestern streams has been altered by regulation, however, and will be further affected by greenhouse warming. Our analysis of stream gage data revealed that decreases in volume of annual discharge and mean peak discharge and a shift to earlier peak discharge will occur in the Southern Rockies region of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These changes will likely decrease rates of reproduction and survival of cottonwood (Populus fremontii and Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii), Goodding's willow …

Use Of Freshwater Ponds By Whooping Cranes During A Drought Period, Karis Ritenour, Elizabeth Smith, Barry K. Hartup

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) spend nearly half their annual cycle in coastal habitats within and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex (ANWRC) located in the central portion of the Texas Coast. When drought conditions prevail in their winter range and salinities in the local bays exceed 23 parts per thousand (ppt), whooping cranes must seek alternate sources of dietary drinking water (Stehn 2008, Chavez- Ramirez and Wehtje 2012). They begin frequent (often daily) trips to freshwater sources in upland areas. These trips may result in extra energy expenditures that can impact their overall health and ability to …

The French Army And Its African Soldiers, Ruth Ginio

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

As part of France’s opposition to the independence of its former colonies in the years following World War II, its army remained deeply invested in preventing the decolonization of the territories comprising French West Africa (FWA). Even as late as the 1950s, the French Army clung to the hope that it was possible to retain FWA as a colony, believing that its relations with African soldiers could offer the perfect model for continued ties between France and its West African territories.

In The French Army and Its African Soldiers Ruth Ginio examines the French Army’s attempts to win the hearts …

Modeling The Effects Of Tile Drain Placement On The Hydrologic Function Of Farmed Prairie Wetlands1, Brett Werner, John Tracy, W. Carter Johnson, Richard A. Voldseth, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Bruce Millett

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The early 2000s saw large increases in agricultural tile drainage in the eastern Dakotas of North America. Agricultural practices that drain wetlands directly are sometimes limited by wetland protection pro- grams. Little is known about the impacts of tile drainage beyond the delineated boundaries of wetlands in upland catchments that may be in agricultural production. A series of experiments were conducted using the well-published model WETLANDSCAPE that revealed the potential for wetlands to have significantly shortened surface water inundation periods and lower mean depths when tile is placed in certain locations beyond the wet- land boundary. Under the soil conditions …

Climate Modifies Response Of Non-Native And Native Species Richness To Nutrient Enrichment, Habacuc Flores-Moreno, Peter B. Reich, Eric M. Lind, Lauren L. Sullivan, Eric W. Seabloom, Laura Yahdjian, Andrew S. Macdougall, Lara G. Reichmann, Juan Alberti, Selene Baez, Jonathan D. Bakker, Marc W. Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Enrique J. Chaneton, Carla M. D'Antonio, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Oscar Iribarne, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Ramesh Laungani, Andrew D.B. Leakey, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Joslin L. Moore, Jesus Pascual, Elizabeth T. Borer

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ecosystem eutrophication often increases domination by non-natives and causes displacement of native taxa. However, variation in environmental conditions may affect the outcome of interactions between native and non-native taxa in environments where nutrient supply is elevated. We examined the interactive effects of eutrophication, climate variability and climate average conditions on the success of native and non-native plant species using experimental nutrient manipulations replicated at 32 grassland sites on four continents. We hypothesized that effects of nutrient addition would be greatest where climate was stable and benign, owing to reduced niche partitioning. We found that the abundance of non-native species increased …

Analyses, Calibration And Validation Of Evapotranspirationmodels To Predict Grass-Reference Evapotranspiration In Thesenegal River Delta, Koffi Djaman, Hossein Tabari, Alpha B. Balde, Lamine Diop, Koichi Futakuchi, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Study region: Grass-reference evapotranspiration estimation by the Penman-Monteithmethod (PM-ETo) requires a number of climate variables which are not always availableat all weather stations. Different alternative ETo equations have been developed and theirutilization for various local climate conditions requires analyses of their accuracy as com-pared to the standardized Penman-Monteith method. There is a significant lack of data andinformation on this topic in the Senegal River Delta (SRD). Study focus: The objective of this study was to evaluate, calibrate and validate six EToequations ((Trabert, Mahringer, Penman1948, Albrecht, Valiantzas1 and Valiantzas2) forthe SRD. Although all six equations showed good agreement with the PM-ETo …

Illiquid Capital: Are Conservation Easement Payments Reinvested In Farms?, Joshua M. Duke, Brian J. Schilling, Kevin P. Sullivan, J. Dixon Esseks, Paul D. Gottlieb, Lori Lynch

Center for Great Plains Studies: Staff and Fellows Publications

Agricultural conservation easements have positive externalities but few studies examine the supply-side. This paper explores whether easements may also overcome a credit-market failure, as banks may not be lending based on the full developed value of land. Original survey data test our research hypotheses and show profitable owners and nonoperators to be using easement payments to extract capital from their land by using the preservation programs as a bank. The results also show that the unprofitable owners and operators are reinvesting in their agricultural enterprises. Both results are consistent with an underlying credit-market failure, and the latter suggests that easements …

Late Holocene Expansion Of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa) In The Central Rocky Mountains, Usa, Jodi R. Norris, Julio L. Betancourt, Stephen T. Jackson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Aim: Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) experienced one of the most extensive and rapid post-glacial plant migrations in western North America. We used plant macrofossils from woodrat (Neotoma) middens to reconstruct its spread in the Central Rocky Mountains, identify other vegetation changes coinciding with P. ponderosa expansion at the same sites, and relate P. ponderosa migrational history to both its modern phylogeography and to a parallel expansion by Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma).

Location: Central Rocky Mountains, Wyoming and Montana, and Black Hills, Wyoming and South Dakota, USA.

Methods: Plant macrofossils were analysed in …

Transformative Environmental Governance, Brian C. Chaffin, Ahjond Garmestani, Lance Gunderson, Melinda Harm Benson, David G. Angeler, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Barbara Cosens, Robin Kundis Craig, J.B. B. Ruhl, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Transformative governance is an approach to environmental governance that has the capacity to respond to, manage, and trigger regime shifts in coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) at multiple scales. The goal of transformative governance is to actively shift degraded SESs to alternative, more desirable, or more functional regimes by altering the structures and processes that define the system. Transformative governance is rooted in ecological theories to explain cross-scale dynamics in complex systems, as well as social theories of change, innovation, and technological transformation. Similar to adaptive governance, transformative governance involves a broad set of governance components, but requires additional capacity to …

3d Tool Evaluation And Workflow For An Ecological Approach To Visualizing Ancient Socio-Environmental Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Shona Sanford-Long, Jack Kerby-Miller

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Architectural reconstructions are the centerpieces of ancient landscape visualization. When present, vegetation is relegated to the background, resulting in underutilized plant data—an integral data source for archaeological interpretation—thus limiting the capacity to take advantage of 3D visualization for studying ancient socio-environmental dynamics. Our long-term objective is to develop methods of 3D landscape visualization that have value for examining changes in land use and settlement patterns. To begin to work toward this objective, we have (1) identified 3D tools and techniques for vegetation modeling and landscape visualization, (2) evaluated the pros and cons of these tools, (3) investigated biological and ecological …

Non-Linear Responses Of Glaciated Prairie Wetlands To Climate Warming, W. Carter Johnson, Brett Werner, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The response of ecosystems to climate warming is likely to include threshold events when small changes in key environmental drivers produce large changes in an ecosystem. Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are especially sensitive to climate variability, yet the possibility that functional changes may occur more rapidly with warming than expected has not been examined or modeled. The productivity and biodiversity of these wetlands are strongly controlled by the speed and completeness of a vegetation cover cycle driven by the wet and dry extremes of climate. Two thresholds involving duration and depth of standing water must be exceeded …

Non-Linear Responses Of Glaciated Prairie Wetlands To Climate Warming, W. Carter Johnson, Brett Werner, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The response of ecosystems to climate warming is likely to include threshold events when small changes in key environmental drivers produce large changes in an ecosystem. Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are especially sensitive to climate variability, yet the possibility that functional changes may occur more rapidly with warming than expected has not been examined or modeled. The productivity and biodiversity of these wetlands are strongly controlled by the speed and completeness of a vegetation cover cycle driven by the wet and dry extremes of climate. Two thresholds involving duration and depth of standing water must be exceeded …

Rising Atmospheric Co2 Is Reducing The Protein Concentration Of A Floral Pollen Source Essential For North American Bees, Lewis H. Ziska, Jeffery S. Pettis, Joan Edwards, Jillian E. Hancock, Martha B. Tomecek, Andrew Clark, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Irakli Loladze, H. Wayne Polley

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

At present, there is substantive evidence that the nutritional content of agriculturally important food crops will decrease in response to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, C_a. However, whether C_a-induced declines in nutritional quality are also occurring for pollinator food sources is unknown. Flowering late in the season, goldenrod (Solidago spp.) pollen is a widely available autumnal food source commonly acknowledged by apiarists to be essential to native bee (e.g. Bombus spp.) and honeybee (Apis mellifera) health and winter survival. Using floral collections obtained from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, we quantified C_{a …}