Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Estimation Of Canopy Foliar Biomass With Spectral Reflectance Measurements, Lingli Wang, E. Raymond Hunt Jr., John J. Qu, Xianjun Hao, Craig S.T. Daughtry

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

Canopy foliar biomass, defined as the product of leaf dry matter content and leaf area index, is an important measurement for global biogeochemical cycles. This study explores the potential for retrieving foliar biomass in green canopies using a spectral index, the Normalized Dry Matter Index (NDMI). This narrow-band index is based on absorption at the C–H bond stretch overtone and is correlated with leaf dry matter content in fresh green leaves. PROSPECT and SAIL model simulations suggest that the NDMI at the canopy scale is able to minimize the effects of leaf thickness and leaf water content and to maximize …

A Lidar‐Derived Evaluation Of Watershed‐Scale Large Woody Debris Sources And Recruitment Mechanisms: Coastal Maine, Usa, A. Kasprak, F. J. Magilligan, K. H. Nislow, N. P. Snyder

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

In‐channel large woody debris (LWD) promotes quality aquatic habitat through sediment sorting, pool scouring and in‐stream nutrient retention and transport. LWD recruitment occurs by numerous ecological and geomorphic mechanisms including channel migration, mass wasting and natural tree fall, yet LWD sourcing on the watershed scale remains poorly constrained. We developed a rapid and spatially extensive method for using light detection and ranging data to do the following: (i) estimate tree height and recruitable tree abundance throughout a watershed; (ii) determine the likelihood for the stream to recruit channel‐spanning trees at reach scales and assess whether mass wasting or channel migration …

Spatial Ramifications Of Crop Selection: Water Quality And Biomass Energy, M. P. Russelle, D. W. Kelley, A. S. Birr, D. C. Tiffany

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

The use of GIS in concert with simple or complex simulation modeling provides an unparalleled way to generate new data and to help a variety of audiences understand spatial patterns of data. From improved understanding, policy incentives can be crafted to reduce adverse environmental impacts of agricultural production at lower costs than would be necessary otherwise. In this chapter, two case studies demonstrate how GIS and modeling can be used to understand how crop selection and soils interact to effect environmental outcomes across an agricultural landscape. We addressed the needs of two distinctly different audiences: (1) a public drinking water …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2011, 131st Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-First Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Chemistry and Physics

Biological and Medical Sciences

Junior Academy, Senior High Competition

Nebraska Wesleyan University Health and Sciences Graduate School Fair, Olin and Smith Curtiss Halls

Teaching of Science and Math

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Applied Science and Technology

Maiben Memorial Lecture: Erin Flynn, Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo

Aeronautics

Anthropology

Earth Science

Junior Academy, Junior High Competition

Model For Predicting The Impact Upon Economic Development Resulting From Highway Improvement Projects, Eric Thompson, Kanou Comlavi, Mallory Dimmit

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has an interest in integrating state economic development impact as another factor in prioritizing transportation investments. Such efforts require the development of a comprehensive model that can be used to estimate a consistent final measure of economic development impact that can be readily integrated into existing prioritization formulas. This report summarizes the efforts of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research (UNL-BBR) to develop such a model, by measuring the impact of expressway, viaduct, and other major investments projects around the state. Specifically, UNL-BBR developed an economic model to predict the economic impact …

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Vegetation Classification [Map], United States National Park Service

United States National Park Service: Publications

Colo vegetation map of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas, USA, from the Tallgrass Prairie NP Vegetation Mapping Project, created between April and June 2011. Includes a color-coded vegetation classification.

Homestead National Monument, Vegetation Mapping Project [Poster], Kelly Kindscher, Hayley Kilroy, Jennifer Delisle, Quinn Long, Hillary Loring, Kevin Dobbs, Jim Drake

United States National Park Service: Publications

Homestead National Monument was created in 1936 to celebrate the significance of the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160 acres of free land to claimants. This was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. The site is the first tract homesteaded under the act by Daniel Freemen, and encompasses 184 acres in Gage County, west of Beatrice, Nebraska.

This unique site also hosts the oldest prairie restoration in the National Park system and the second-oldest tallgrass prairie restoration known. This park unit also has a small remnant of native tallgrass …

Forest Structure And Aboveground Biomass In The Southwestern United States From Modis And Misr, Mark Chopping, Crystal B. Schaaf, Feng Zhao, Anne W. Nolin, Gretchen G. Moisen, John V. Martonchik, Michael Bull

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Red band bidirectional reflectance factor data from the NASA MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired over the southwestern United States were interpreted through a simple geometric–optical (GO) canopy reflectance model to provide maps of fractional crown cover (dimensionless), mean canopy height (m), and aboveground woody biomass (Mg ha⁻¹) on a 250 m grid. Model adjustment was performed after dynamic injection of a background contribution predicted via the kernel weights of a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model. Accuracy was assessed with respect to similar maps obtained with data from the NASA Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and to contemporaneous …

A History Of Nasa Remote Sensing Contributions To Archaeology, Marco J. Giardino

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

During its long history of developing and deploying remote sensing instruments, NASA has provided scientific data that have benefitted a variety of scientific applications among them archaeology. Multispectral and hyperspectral instruments mounted on orbiting and sub-orbital platforms have provided new and important information for the discovery, delineation and analysis of archaeological sites worldwide. Since the early 1970s, several of the ten NASA centers have collaborated with archaeologists to refine and validate the use of active and passive remote sensing for archaeological use. The Stennis Space Center (SSC), located in Mississippi USA has been the NASA leader in archaeological research. Together …

Variability In Surface Brdf At Different Spatial Scales (30 M–500 M) Over A Mixed Agricultural Landscape As Retrieved From Airborne And Satellite Spectral Measurements, Miguel O. Román, Charles K. Gatebe, Crystal Schaaf, Rajesh Poudyal, Zhuosen Wang, Michael King

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Over the past decade, the role of multiangle remote sensing has been central to the development of algorithms for the retrieval of global land surface properties including models of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), albedo, land cover/dynamics, burned area extent, as well as other key surface biophysical quantities impacted by the anisotropic reflectance characteristics of vegetation. In this study, a new retrieval strategy for fine-to-moderate resolution multiangle observations was developed, based on the operational sequence used to retrieve the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 5 reflectance and BRDF/albedo products. The algorithm makes use of a semiempirical kernel-driven bidirectional …

Canopy Spectral Invariants, Part 2: Application To Classification Of Forest Types From Hyperspectral Data, M.A. Schull, Y. Knyazikhin, L. Xu, A. Samanta, P.L. Carmona, L. Lepine, J.P. Jenkins, S. Ganguly, R.B. Myneni

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate the ability of hyperspectral data to discriminate plant dominant species. Most of them have employed the use of empirically based techniques, which are site specific, requires some initial training based on characteristics of known leaf and/or canopy spectra and therefore may not be extendable to operational use or adapted to changing or unknown land cover. In this paper we propose a physically based approach for separation of dominant forest type using hyperspectral data. The radiative transfer theory of canopy spectral invariants underlies the approach, which facilitates parameterization of the canopy reflectance in terms …

Mapping Biomass And Stress In The Sierra Nevada Using Lidar And Hyperspectral Data Fusion, Anu Swatantran, Ralph Dubayah, Dar A. Roberts, Michelle Hofton, J. Bryan Blair

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

In this paper, we explored fusion of structural metrics from the Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) and spectral characteristics from the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) for biomass estimation in the Sierra Nevada. In addition, we combined the two sensors to map species-specific biomass and stress at landscape scale. Multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) was used to classify vegetation from AVIRIS images and obtain sub-pixel fractions of green vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation, soil, and shade. LVIS metrics, AVIRIS spectral indices, and MESMA fractions were compared with field measures of biomass using linear and stepwise regressions at stand (1 ha) …

Retrieval Of Canopy Height Using Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) Data, Zhuosen Wang, Crystal B. Schaaf, Philip Lewis, Yuri Knyazikhin, Mitchell A. Schull, Alan H. Strahler, Tian Yao, Ranga B. Myneni, Mark J. Chopping, Bryan J. Blair

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

In this study we use the 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) product to develop multivariate linear regression models that estimate canopy heights over study sites at Howland Forest, Maine, Harvard Forest, Massachusetts and La Selva Forest, Costa Rica using (1) directional escape probabilities that are spectrally independent and (2) the directional spectral reflectances used to derive the directional escape probabilities. These measures of canopy architecture are compared with canopy height information retrieved from the airborne Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS). Both the escape probability and the directional reflectance approaches achieve good results, with …

Comparison Of Ceres Surface Radiation Fluxes With Surface Observations Over Loess Plateau, Hongru Yan, Jianping Huang, Patrick Minnis, Tianhe Wang, Jianrong Bi

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Surface energy budget is an important factor in weather and climate processes. To estimate the errors in satellite-retrieved surface radiation budget over the interior of China, instantaneous-footprint surface radiation fluxes from the Terra/Aqua FLASHFlux SSF product are compared with the measurements taken at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University (SACOL) from July 2008 to March 2010. Validation is performed separately for different conditions: clear-sky and cloudy-sky, daytime and nighttime for four seasons. Differences between the FLASHFlux CERES shortwave radiation flux and surface measurements have larger standard deviations in cloudy-sky conditions than in clear-sky conditions, indicating that cloud …

Satellite Remote Sensing For Developing Time And Space Resolved Estimates Of Ambient Particulate In Cleveland, Oh, Naresh Kumar, Allen D. Chu, Andrew D. Foster, Thomas Peters, Robert Willis

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

This article empirically demonstrates the use of fine resolution satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD) to develop time and space resolved estimates of ambient particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5 μm and ≤10 μm in aerodynamic diameters (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively). AOD was computed at three different spatial resolutions, i.e., 2 km (means 2 km × 2 km area at nadir), 5 km, and 10 km, by using the data from MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. Multiresolution AOD from MODIS (AODMODIS) was compared with the in situ measurements of AOD by NASA’s AErosol RObotic …

Effective Selectors? Interlibrary Loan Patrons As Monograph Purchasers: A Comparative Examination Of Price And Circulation-Related Performance, David C. Tyler, Joyce C. Melvin, Yang Xu, Marylou Epp, Anita M. Kreps

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

In the library literature, a great deal of interest in patron-driven collection development has recently been expressed, especially in those programs that link acquisitions with interlibrary loan. However, the implementation of such programs has been limited, at least in part because of concerns over the potential for wasteful spending. The authors will attempt to address this common concern by assessing whether monies spent via a patron-driven acquisitions program were more or less effective than monies spent via traditional modes of acquisition.

A Synergetic Use Of Satellite Imagery From Sar And Optical Sensors To Improve Coastal Flood Mapping In The Gulf Of Mexico, Naira Chaouch, Marouane Temimi, Scott Hagen, John Weishampel, Stephen Medeiros, Reza Khanbilvardi

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

This work proposes a method for detecting inundation between semi-diurnal low and high water conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico using high-resolution satellite imagery. Radarsat 1, Landsat imagery and aerial photography from the Apalachicola region in Florida were used to demonstrate and validate the algorithm. A change detection approach was implemented through the analysis of red, green and blue (RGB) false colour composites image to emphasise differences in high and low tide inundation patterns. To alleviate the effect of inherent speckle in the SAR images, we also applied ancillary optical data. The flood-prone area for the site was delineated …

The Evolutionary Origins Of Syngnathidae: Pipefishes And Seahorses, A. B. Wilson, J. W. Orr

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Despite their importance as evolutionary and ecological model systems, the phylogenetic relationships among gasterosteiforms remain poorly understood, complicating efforts to understand the evolutionary origins of the exceptional morphological and behavioural diversity of this group. The present review summarizes current knowledge on the origin and evolution of syngnathids, a gasterosteiform family with a highly developed form of male parental care, combining inferences based on morphological and molecular data with paleontological evidence documenting the evolutionary history of the group. Molecular methods have provided new tools for the study of syngnathid relationships and have played an important role in recent conservation efforts. Despite …

Can We Manage For Resilience? The Integration Of Resilience Thinking Into Natural Resource Management In The United States, Melinda Harm Benson, Ahjond S. Garmestani

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The concept of resilience is now frequently invoked by natural resource agencies in the US. This reflects growing trends within ecology, conservation biology, and other disciplines acknowledging that social–ecological systems require management approaches recognizing their complexity. In this paper, we examine the concept of resilience and the manner in which some legal and regulatory frameworks governing federal natural resource agencies have difficulty accommodating it. We then use the U.S. Forest Service’s employment of resilience as an illustration of the challenges ahead.

University Of Nebraska- Lincoln: Fact Book 2010-2011

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Administration: Reports, Papers, Publications, and Presentations

Fact Book Table of Contents

General Information

UNL Core Values ....................................................................... 4

The Role of UNL ................................................................................ 5

The Missions of UNL .................................................................................... 5

Institutional & Professional Accreditations ....................................................... 8

UNL Administrative Organization Chart ........................................................... 11

Student Credit Hours (SCH)

Total SCH: Fall Semester Since 1979 ............................................................. 12

SSH by College and Student Level, Fall & Spring Semester - 5 Year Trend ........ 13

SCH by College and Student Level, Fall Semester - 5 Year Trend.................... 14

SCH by College and Student Level, Spring Semester - 5 Year Trend ................. 15

Summer Sessions and Summer Sessions Student Credit Hours ....................... …

Water Current, Volume 43, No. 1, Winter 2011

Water Current Newsletter

UNL Water Center Becomes Groundwater Guardian

Water Tour Will Visit North Central Nebraska July 12-14

From the Interim Director: Back from the Czech Republic for a Second

Meet the Faculty: Diego Riveros-Iregui, Ph.D., Stephen L. Young, Ph.D.

Free Water and Natural Resources Lectures Continue

North American Invasive Plant Ecology and Management Short Course

Geothermal: Nebraska's Abundant, Renewable, and Clean Energy

WRAP Gets January Updates

Jess Gets 2010 Kremer Groundwater Award

POWER......One Word, Many Definitions

Past Environmental Programs, Water Center Director Passes

EPA Monitoring Hexavalent Chromium

Central Platte NRD, Farmers Work Six Mile Canal Deal

EPA Approves Nebraska's 2010 List of …

Cree Contraband Or Contraband Crees? Early Montanan Experiences With Transnational Natives And The Formation Of Lasting Prejudice, 1880–1885, Brenden Rensink

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To make order from chaos, societies and states often seek to define what constitutes illicit transnational behavior and identify who is committing such trespasses. Public verbalization and acceptance of these definitions aims at bringing a return to order. Foreign, transient, or otherwise peripheral elements of society are often targeted in these efforts. As modern globalization draws exponential links across borders and between nations, cultures, and economies, this process of anxiety, public rhetoric, and attempted enforcement will grow. An example of these phenomena can be drawn from the outcry and debate that raged across the Forty-ninth Parallel between Montana Territory and …

Genocide Of Native Americans: Historical Facts And Historiographic Debates, Brenden Rensink

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One of the most sobering themes that underlie North American history is the demographic collapse that Euro-American contact initiated among many of the continent's indigenous peoples. As twentieth-century scholars consider the post-contact unfolding of Euro-American and Native American histories and the ways in which they have become inextricably intertwined, their oft-divergent trajectories raise immediate questions of causality. There is no doubt that contact with Euro-Americans served as the catalyst for sea changes in Native America, but the demographic decline apparent in historical retrospect was not an inevitable outcome to be imposed upon historical actors or events. To presume that the …

Field Introgression Of Diabrotica Barberi And Diabrotica Longicornis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Based On Genetic And Morphological Characters, Laura A. Campbell, Thomas L. Clark, Pete L. Clark, Lance Meinke, John E. Foster

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence and Diabrotica longicornis (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are considered to be sister species, and it has been proposed that the two species may hybridize under field conditions. The objective of this study was to examine genetic and morphological characters of D. barberi and D. longicornis for evidence of field introgression. Both species were collected from sympatric and allopatric areas. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms and morphological characters (color and head capsule width) were used to examine variation within and among populations of D. barberi and D. longicornis. Relatively little of the overall …

Determinants Of Local And Migratory Movements Of Great Lakes Double-Crested Cormorants, Alban Guillaumet, Brian S, Dorr, Guiming Wang, Jimmy D. Taylor Ii, Richard B. Chipman, Heidi Scherr, Jeff Bowman, Kenneth F. Abraham, Terry J. Doyle, Elizabeth Cranker

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We investigated how individual strategies combine with demographic and ecological factors to determine local and migratory movements in the double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). One hundred and forty-five cormorants were captured from 14 nesting colonies across the Great Lakes area and fitted with satellite transmitters. We first tested the hypotheses that sexual segregation, density-dependent effects, and the intensity of management operations influenced home range size during the breeding season. The influence of these factors appeared to be limited in part due to random variability in foraging and dispersal decisions at individual and colony levels. We also designed a statistical …

Invited Commentary: Dietary Pattern Analysis, Fumiaki Imamura, Paul F. Jaques

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

The analytic approaches used in nutritional epidemiology for dietary pattern analyses share common characteristics with those of genetic epidemiology. In this issue of the Journal, Gorst-Rasmussen et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2011;173(10):1097–1104) discuss one such approach. Application of methods used in genetic pattern analyses to nutritional epidemiology could prove valuable but raises important issues that need to be considered because dietary and genetic studies often address different types of questions in analyzing interrelated variables. These different aims require statistical methods that assume different characteristics of the underlying patterns. The authors briefly describe such differences to facilitate interpretation and …

The Rural Growth Trifecta: Outdoor Amenities, Creative Class And Entrepreneurial Context, David A. Mcgranahan, Timothy R. Wojan, Dayton M. Lambert

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

Recent work challenges the notion that attracting creative workers to a place is sufficient for generating local economic growth. In this article, we examine the problem of sustaining robust growth in the periphery of the USA, demonstrating the contingent nature of talent as an engine for economic growth. We test the hypothesis that rural growth in the knowledge economy is dependent on the ability to utilize new knowledge, perhaps generated elsewhere, in addressing local economic challenges. Tests confirm that the interaction of entrepreneurial context with the share of the workforce employed in the creative class is strongly associated with growth …

Evaluation Of Propane Combustion Traps For The Collection Of Phlebotomus Papatasi (Scopoli) In Southern Israel, Daniel Kline, Gunter Miller, Jerome Hogsette

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

In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of eleven commercial models of propane combustion traps for catching male and female Phlebotomus papatasi. The traps differed in physical appearance, amount of carbon dioxide produced and released, type and location of capturing device, and the method by which the trap suction fans were powered. The traps tested were the Mosquito Magnet^™(MM)-Pro, MM-Liberty, MM-Liberty Plus, MM-Defender, SkeeterVac^®(SV)-35, SV-27, Mosquito Deleto™(MD)-2200, MD-2500, MT150-Power Trap, and two models of The Guardian Mosquito Traps (MK-01 and MK-12). All trap models except the SV-35, the SV-27, the MD-2500, and the MK-12 attracted …

Forest Biomass Mapping From Lidar And Radar Synergies, Guoqing Sun, K. Jon Ranson, Z. Guo, Z. Zhang, P. Montesano, D. Kimes

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

The use of lidar and radar instruments to measure forest structure attributes such as height and biomass at global scales is being considered for a future Earth Observation satellite mission, DESDynI (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice). Large footprint lidar makes a direct measurement of the heights of scatterers in the illuminated footprint and can yield accurate information about the vertical profile of the canopy within lidar footprint samples. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is known to sense the canopy volume, especially at longer wavelengths and provides image data. Methods for biomass mapping by a combination of lidar sampling and …

American Indian Civil War Treaties: The Instruments Formed By The Confederate States Of America In Indian Territory, Charles D. Bernholz, Laura Weakly, Brian Pytlik Zillig, Karin Dalziel

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The creation of nine treaties between the Confederate States of America (CSA) and the tribes residing in Indian Territory in 1861 formed a significant historical perspective to the understanding of the relationships between governments and indigenous peoples of the United States. This research note describes a Web page – “So Long as Grass Shall Grow and Water Run: The Treaties Formed By the Confederate States of America and the Tribes in Indian Territory, 1861” – that provides access to paired CSA Statutes at Large page images and their text for each of these instruments.

The described site’s URL is http://csaindiantreaties.unl.edu