Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Prioritizing Professional Development At The Interface Of Natural Resources And Agriculture, Katherine J. Starzec

The Journal of Extension

Continuous professional development is critical for Extension staff, and many agriculture-focused Extension employees are tasked with outreach related to a wide variety of natural resource topics. The purpose of this study is to help prioritize trainings needed by Kansas Extension agents and specialists based on their current level of knowledge and interest in staying up to date on 18 different natural resource topics. Responses to a statewide survey were analyzed using the Borich model. Results indicate priority professional development needs related to soil health; effects of climate; invasive species, harmful algal blooms; and groundwater, surface water, and air quality.

The Last Drought Frontier: Building A Drought Index For The State Of Alaska, Olivia Campbell

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drought is characterized by periods of below average precipitation. There are five major types of drought recognized in the literature: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, socioeconomic, and ecological. A relatively new concept in the drought literature is “snow drought.” A key part of the definition of drought is that it is not always accompanied by extreme heat. This means drought can occur even in cold climates, cold seasons, and higher latitudes and altitudes, like Alaska. Drought is a natural part of climate variability, but Alaska’s climate is changing faster than any other state in the United States. Alaska is no stranger to …

A Natural Resource Management Plan For The Historic Ramsey House, Brianna Saylor, Cole Oakey, Devin Hevener, Everett Williams, Haley Cox, Rachel Carpenter

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Geology, Soils And Climate Of Western Australia's Wine Regions, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

Bulletins 4000 -

This bulletin details what is special and unique about the geology, soil and climate of the south-west of Western Australia (WA), an area that encompasses the state’s 9 wine regions.

We have arranged the information into 2 parts:

• In Part 1, we broadly describe the special geological, soil and climate features of the south-west of WA to provide context for the wine regions.

• In Part 2, we describe the geology, soil and climate of the regions and subregions of the Geographical Indications (GI) scheme (administered by Wine Australia) for WA.

Through this work we have found that the wine regions …

Principles Of Onsite Wastewater Treatment, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

The Coastal Monitor: Vol. 7 No. 3, John Tanacredi Ph.D.

The Coastal Monitor

Where has all the pollution gone? No hazardous toxic algal blooms? Incredible summer estuarine water quality! No fish kills. Banner years in recreational fisheries for Stripers and Blues and incredible numbers of Humpback whales! No going to restaurants, so greater at home use of water and septic systems! Since March 2020, drier years than most, thus reducing runoff with fertilizers and organic pesticides, resulting in reduced water contamination. So maybe, just maybe, this COVID- 19 period which has altered our collective lives forever, has also resulted in a grand experiment on what has been hiding in plain sight? That is, …

A Review Of The Economics Of Regenerative Agriculture In Western Australia, Anne Bennett

All other publications

• There is no published work detailing the economics of regenerative agriculture in Western Australia.
• Of the work completed in other jurisdictions and nations captured in this review, the profitability of regenerative agriculture compared with conventional agriculture was variable, although generally lower.
• The loss of income associated with the transition from conventional agriculture to regenerative agriculture is a significant barrier to adoption, although it is enterprise-sensitive.
• Farmers who are operating regenerative agriculture systems self-report higher levels of wellbeing.
• Conventional agriculture and regenerative agriculture are overlapping approaches.
• The literature presented in this review is mostly based on small samples, case studies or …

A Look At Land Cover Classification Methods In Northern California With The Use Of High Spatial Resolution Geospatial Data, Lucila Corro

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Land use and land cover (LULC) mapping plays a vital role in understanding the state of the world, showing us a visual representation of the natural and anthropogenic features covering our planet. Northern California in the United States is home to many critical habitats that provide for a variety of endemic and some threatened and engendered species, making it an area of particular concern to better understand and monitor. There is a greater need to identify specific methods for vegetation modeling in Northern California due to its unique species; to do this we examined two case studies with the following …

Can A Remote Sensing Approach With Hyperspectral Data Provide Early Detection And Mapping Of Spatial Patterns Of Black Bear Bark Stripping In Coast Redwoods?, Shayne R. Magstadt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The prevalence of black bear (Ursus americanus) bark stripping in commercial redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) timer stands has been increasing in recent years. This stripping is a threat to commercial timber production because of the deleterious effects on redwood tree fitness. This study sought to unveil a remote sensing method to detect these damaged trees early and map their spatial patterns. By developing a timely monitoring method, forest timber companies can manipulate their timber harvesting routines to adapt to the consequences of the problem. We explored the utility of high spatial resolution UAV-collected hyperspectral imagery as a …

Geology, Soils And Climate Of The Margaret River Wine Region, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

All other publications

This report is an extract from the broader description and analysis of the Geology, soils and climate of Western Australia's wine regions. It expands on the brief descriptions in the second edition of 'Viticulture' (Coombe & Dry 2004) concerning the soils and landscapes of Western Australia’s main wine growing regions. We have tailored this report extract to the specific needs of the Margaret River wine region. It contains local soil names and soil-landscape zones and systems maps.

The wine industry recognises the importance of giving customers an understanding of the vines’ environment and how that may influence wine character …

Promoting The Sustainable Utilization Of Groundwater Resources In Ethiopia Using The Integrated Groundwater Footprint Index, Xinyu Lin

Honors Scholar Theses

The country of Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to human-caused climate change and is already suffering from the effects. The predominately rural population relies heavily on small-scale agriculture, with 78% of households having at least one member engaged in the field, yet staple crops are highly susceptible to droughts and other weather shocks. Total and agricultural GDP growth in the country have been strongly linked to inter-annual rainfall variability, of which Ethiopia has among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. A decrease in rainfall since the 1970s has been one of the primary causes of low crop yields, and stresses the immediate …

Establishing Pastoralist Monitoring Sites In The Grasslands: A Guide For Pastoralists, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

All other publications

This guide is for lessees and station managers who wish to establish rangeland condition monitoring programs for their pastoral leases. The guide outlines the main principles to consider for establishing monitoring sites, and the collecting and recording data to monitor changes over time of rangeland condition within a grassland environment.

Identifying and ongoing monitoring of representative sites can be used to objectively assess the effect of livestock numbers, fire and seasonal conditions on the health of the perennial vegetation and soil. Importantly, monitoring can assist lessees demonstrate whether their current land management practices are appropriate for achieving acceptable rangeland condition.

Planning For The Peel Food Zone, Heather M. Percy

All other publications

The Planning for the Peel Food Zone project is part of Phase 1 of the Transform Peel initiative.Transform Peel is intended to be a ‘disruptive’ long-term program that supports economic growth, diversification and creates jobs in the Peel region. Transform Peel recognises the importance of protecting the internationally recognised waterways and wetlands of the Peel–Harvey Estuary and aims to halve the nutrient loads entering its waterways from the surrounding catchment.

The $49.3 million Phase 1 program for Transform Peel comprises three main components: Peel Food Zone; Peel Integrated Water Initiative; Peel Business Park.

This report summarises the findings from the …

Old Macdonald Had An Aquaculture Farm, Shantelle Landry

Reports

Grades: 6 Subjects: Earth Science | Natural Resources

With this activity, students will learn the importance of aquaculture and how it can be used to manage a resource.

Modeling Community Resource Management: An Agent-Based Approach, Maya M. Lapp

Senior Independent Study Theses

As the human population continues increasing rapidly and climate change accelerates, resource depletion is becoming an international problem. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been suggested as a method to conserve resources while simultaneously empowering traditionally marginalized communities. Because classical equation-based modeling methods fail to capture the complexity of CBNRM, Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) has emerged as a primary method of modeling these systems. In this investigation, we conduct a sensitivity analysis and thorough evaluation of an existing ABM of community forest management. We then modify the original model by providing a new enforcement mechanism that improves the validity of both …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Homestead National Monument Of America, David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Christopher Herron, Jay Benner, Karin Decker, Andrew Beavers, Johannes Beebee, David Weinzimmer

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements historic resource assessments, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions and GIS (map) products.

Congress established the Homestead National …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Christopher Herron, Jay Benner, Karin Decker, Andrew Beavers, Johannes Beebee, David Weinzimmer, Rob Schorr

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements historic resource assessments, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions and GIS products.

Created in 1996, Tallgrass Prairie National …

A Student Led Investigation Of The Landscape Dynamics Of Campus Recycling, Brandon Mcbride, Cheryl L. Scott, David L. Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung, Daniel Unger

Faculty Publications

Two senior undergraduate students within the environmental science division at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) quantitatively diagnosed the environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic dynamics involved in plastic recycling. This study incorporated actively collecting recycled plastic bottles on campus to produce an enumerated analysis of recycling on campus; and to gain an understanding of the socioeconomics of recycling via an anonymous survey used to determine the recycling knowledgebase of natural resource students at SFASU. Undergraduate students, via their incorporation into a campus wide environmental site assessment of recycling plastic bottles, were able to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world environmental …

The Impact Of Dutch Disease: The Case Of Nigeria, Halimat Atinuke Laguda

Masters Theses

Nigeria, over the years, has been showing a rapid appreciation of the domestic currency, a rise in real wages and the service sector and a slow-down in the industrial production which are all signs of presence of Dutch disease which predicts that a country with large natural resource rents may experience a de-industrialization and a lower long term economic growth. This paper analyses the impact of Dutch disease in Nigeria Ordinary Least square method, Two-Stage Least Square and Autoregressive Distributed Lag with a system of equation from 1981 to 2017 and found that the real wage rate emphasizes on the …

The Future Of Recreational Fisheries: Advances In Science, Monitoring, Management, And Practice, Jacob W. Brownscombe, Kieran Hyder, Warren Potts, Kyle L. Wilson, Kevin L. Pope, Andy J. Danylchuk, Steven J. Cooke, Adrian Clarke, Robert Arlinghaus, John R. Post

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Recreational fisheries (RF) are complex social-ecological systems that play an important role in aquatic environments while generating significant social and economic benefits around the world. The nature of RF is diverse and rapidly evolving, including the participants, their priorities and behaviors, and the related ecological impacts and social and economic benefits. RF can lead to negative ecological impacts, particularly through overexploitation of fish populations and spread of non-native species and genotypes through stocking. Hence, careful management and monitoring of RF is essential to sustain these ecologically and socioeconomically important resources. This special issue on recreational fisheries contains diverse research, syntheses, …

Natural Resources Governance Employing Blockchain-Based Decision-Making, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour, Adrian Gheorghe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Natural resources are essential structures of socio-economic systems which shape the well-being of humanity, environment, and the economy. Human actions have become the critical responsibility for environmental changes and pressuring many planetary boundaries. Having a systematic approach can provide a governance platform including the inherent characteristics of the resource, the historically established form of use, and transaction costs. A natural resource governance framework is developed by applying Blockchain technology as the primary goal of this study to regulate and manage the extraction and trades. Blockchain technology provides a distributed concurrency monitoring system for sustainable resource management. Persistent and pervasive cooperation …

Regulatory Obsolescence Through Technological Change In Oil And Gas Extraction, Timothy Fitzgerald

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Extraction of oil and gas from unconventional resources, recently enabled by technological innovations, revolutionized national and global markets. However, exploration and production still proceed under legacy regulations, mostly promulgated at the state level. The mismatch of modern production realities and historic regulatory structures creates opportunities for reducing conflicts that diminish economic value. This Article identifies regulations that originated under conventional extraction, and often enhance productivity in that setting, but create waste when applied to unconventional resources. Then, it identifies contractual solutions that have evolved as resource owners and extraction firms have adapted to new technologies. Contractual innovations help inform directions …

An Opportunity To End The Timber Wars: How Collaboration In Southeast Alaska Has Helped To Dissipate Conflict, Diana K. Portner

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Forest management in the Tongass National Forest has been a topic of controversy for decades, due to the result of intense timber extraction in the mid-twentieth century. In recent years, collaborative approaches to management, beginning with a federally chartered advisory committee, have offered opportunities to overcome the seemingly intractable conflict. While a new culture of collaboration is emerging in Southeast Alaska, the region still faces challenges associated with the implementation of these approaches. This commentary explores the history of the conflict, factors that contributed to the success of collaborative approaches to land management in the region, and continued challenges that …

The Wildland-Urban Interface Raster Dataset Of Catalonia, Fermín J. Alcasena, Cody Evers, Cristina Vega-Garcia

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We provide the wildland urban interface (WUI) map of the autonomous community of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain). The map encompasses an area of some 3.21 million ha and is presented as a 150-m resolution raster dataset. Individual housing location, structure density and vegetation cover data were used to spatially assess in detail the interface, intermix and dispersed rural WUI communities with a geographical information system. Most WUI areas concentrate in the coastal belt where suburban sprawl has occurred nearby or within unmanaged forests. This geospatial information data provides an approximation of residential housing potential for loss given a wildfire, and represents …

Integrating Authentic Scientific Research In A Conservation Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience, Amanda E. Sorensen, Lucia Corral, Jenny M. Dauer, Joseph J. Fontaine

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The World Is Facing A Global Sand Crisis, Aurora Torres, Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Jodi Brandt, Kristen Lear

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

When people picture sand spread across idyllic beaches and endless deserts, they understandably think of it as an infinite resource. But as we discuss in a just-published perspective in the journal Science, over-exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict.

Heterogeneity Of Avian Breeding Habitat On Grazing Lands Of The Northern Great Plains, Maggi S. Sliwinski

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Native rangelands in the Great Plains are largely privately owned and used for beef production. Vegetation heterogeneity is important for maintaining biodiversity, but private land may be more homogenous than desired. My research had two components: 1) to examine whether a variety of grazing strategies created vegetation heterogeneity in a large, intact rangeland, and 2) to understand beef producers’ attitudes about vegetation heterogeneity.

First, I sampled vegetation structure, composition, and bird abundance at multiple plots on eleven management units in Cherry County, Nebraska. Units were managed with commonly used grazing strategies (e.g., short-duration grazing and season-long continuous grazing). I examined …

Carnarvon Artesian Desalination Feasibility Study, Ghd, Carnarvon Growers Association, Gascoyne Water Co-Operative

Research Reports

Study scope

The scope of the study is summarised below;

 Review existing data and previous work,

 Visit Carnarvon (1 day), inspect water system facilities and convene Stakeholder Workshop No 1 with representatives from Carnarvon Growers Association, Gascoyne Water Co-operative and DAFWA. Agree 3 – 4 possible system configuration options to be investigated.

 Obtain and examine existing water quality data for artesian bore(s) incorporated within the study. Assess probable long term water quality and pumping heads.

 Develop preliminary design details for the agreed options in terms of pre-treatment, desalination and other system modifications required (eg bores, pump …

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In The Rangelands: Status And Trend In The Pastoral Rangelands Of Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Books & book chapters

This report card provides a regional overview of the status and trend of the natural resource base of the pastoral rangelands in Western Australia (WA). It covers the pastoral lease areas of the 2.2 million square kilometres of rangelands in WA (87% of the state). Pastoral leases cover 857 833km² or 40% of the rangelands, based on active leases as at June 2016.

The drivers of change in the rangelands — seasonal quality, grazing pressure and fire — interact and their effect is expressed in the condition and trends of natural resources used in pastoralism. The natural resource themes …

Protected Areas As Social-Ecological Systems: Perspectives From Resilience And Social-Ecological Systems Theory, Graeme S. Cumming, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conservation biology and applied ecology increasingly recognize that natural resource management is both an outcome and a driver of social, economic, and ecological dynamics. Protected areas offer a fundamental approach to conserving ecosystems, but they are also social-ecological systems whose ecological management and sustainability are heavily influenced by people. This editorial, and the papers in the invited feature that it introduces, discuss three emerging themes in social-ecological systems approaches to understanding protected areas: (1) the resilience and sustainability of protected areas, including analyses of their internal dynamics, their effectiveness, and the resilience of the landscapes within which they occur; (2) …