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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
County-Level View Of Irrigation Trends In Utah And The West, Matt Yost, Britta L. Schumacher, Luree Johnson, Emily Burchfield, Burdette Barker
County-Level View Of Irrigation Trends In Utah And The West, Matt Yost, Britta L. Schumacher, Luree Johnson, Emily Burchfield, Burdette Barker
All Current Publications
We explored water use management and trends in irrigated agriculture in the U.S. West using operator-level USDA-NASS Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (FRIS)/Irrigation and Water Management Survey (IWMS) data aggregated for the first time to the county instead of state scale. Our hope is that this study will guide water managers in developing regional conservation programs, inform extension and research initiatives related to irrigation, promote grower-informed water conservation education, and provide researchers with key information regarding if, how, and why growers consider water conservation in irrigation decision-making.
Guide To Drought Tolerance Of Utah Field Crops, Matt Yost, Tina Sullivan, Dakota Boren, Luree Johnson, Melanie Mills, Earl Creech, Boyd Kitchen, Randall Violett
Guide To Drought Tolerance Of Utah Field Crops, Matt Yost, Tina Sullivan, Dakota Boren, Luree Johnson, Melanie Mills, Earl Creech, Boyd Kitchen, Randall Violett
All Current Publications
Crop variety selection is one of the most important choices on the farm. Crop genetics determine a significant portion of the yield potential and resource use efficiency. Crop types and genetics that use water more efficiently will become increasingly important as water becomes scarcer. Throughout Utah and the Western United States, water availability is decreasing due to various factors, including reduced snowpack and rapid urban growth. Alfalfa, other hay, small grains, and corn are grown on more acres than any other crops in Utah and much of the Intermountain West. These crops all have varieties, hybrids, and cultivars with the …
Water Availability Dictates How Plant Traits Predict Demographic Rates, Alice E. Stears, Peter B. Adler, Dana M. Blumenthal, Julie A. Kray, Kevin E. Mueller, Troy W. Ocheltree, Kevin R. Wilcox, Daniel C. Laughlin
Water Availability Dictates How Plant Traits Predict Demographic Rates, Alice E. Stears, Peter B. Adler, Dana M. Blumenthal, Julie A. Kray, Kevin E. Mueller, Troy W. Ocheltree, Kevin R. Wilcox, Daniel C. Laughlin
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
A major goal in ecology is to make generalizable predictions of organism responses to environmental variation based on their traits. However, straightforward relationships between traits and fitness are rare and likely to vary with environmental context. Characterizing how traits mediate demographic responses to the environment may enhance the predictions of organism responses to global change. We synthesized 15 years of demographic data and species-level traits in a shortgrass steppe to determine whether the effects of leaf and root traits on growth and survival depended on seasonal water availability. We predicted that (1) species with drought-tolerant traits, such as lower leaf …
Precipitation Is A Strong Predictor Of Airborne Ammonia Levels., Bridger Jorgensen, Casey Olson, Connor Snow
Precipitation Is A Strong Predictor Of Airborne Ammonia Levels., Bridger Jorgensen, Casey Olson, Connor Snow
Research on Capitol Hill
USU senior Connor has lived in the Uintah Basin all his life and studies kinesiology. Senior Casey, a Cache Valley native, studies climate science and works at the Utah Climate Center. Junior Bridger, also of Cache Valley, studies nutrition science. They led and funded this project through a student grant. Casey was alarmed by the ammonia data he was collecting at the Climate Center. “I immediately began to wonder how this issue would evolve over the coming decades.” The three teamed up to take a look at how Logan’s record-breaking amount of ammonia in our air is impacting those who …