Earth Sciences Commons^™

Impact Of Development Projects On Grazing Resources Of Odisha, Binayak Dash, Bijoy Kumar Sahoo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Odisha, a state of modern India lies in the sub-tropical belt in eastern part of the country. It is the 10th largest state of India in terms of geographical area (15.57 million hectares). Out of the total geographical area, 37.33% constitute forest land and 39.69% cultivated land. These 6.180 million hectares of cultivated land is the source of food of almost 41.9 million human beings (Census, 2011) and 20.72 million livestock (Livestock Census 2012) of the state. Thus there is scarcity of land in the state. Majority of the farmers in the state are marginal and small (86.16%) owning less …

How Can We Change Gut Microbiota For Healthy Lives?, Elizaveta Shmakova

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Cryptotephra At Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve, Henderson, Nevada, Alex Newsom

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Undergraduate Winner

Cryptotephra (small volcanic shards ranging 20-80 microns in size) were discovered within Unit X of the Las Vegas Formation at Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve, Henderson, Nevada. Cryptotephra are deposited soon after a volcanic eruption and can be used as a dating tool to create narrow time constraints for surrounding sediments. Cryptotephra have many applications but are mainly useful as a dating tool. Their study has important implications for the understanding of the timing of palaeoclimatological and paleoenvironmental events as well as for archaeological studies to date important events in human history.

The Whitney Mesa cryptotephra were correlated …

Impact Of Streambank Stabilization On Sediment Deposition And Erosion In Central Nebraska Streams, Matthew Russell

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

Stabilization projects are increasingly used to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic streambank erosion, yet the effectiveness of these practices has been insufficiently monitored and assessed to date. Sound monitoring practices promote engineered effectiveness, in addition to allowing adjustments in implementation and maintenance to improve practices over time. However, current methods to quickly and efficiently quantify deposition and erosion within a stream continue to be costly and inefficient. Therefore, the objectives of this project were to 1) Measure streambank migration of three reaches at Cedar River in Nebraska, from 1993 to 2006 (pre-stabilization) and from 2006 to 2018 (post-stabilization) using aerial …

176— Comparison Of Using A Schmidt Hammer To Evaluate Strength Of Rock To Conventional Methods, Joseph Savoie, Austin Feldman

GREAT Day Posters

A Schmidt hammer is a device designed to test the strength of concrete. More recently, the hammer has been used as a preliminary measure of rock strength. We took readings from the outcrop at Seth Green Drive, Rochester, NY and compared them to a more conventional measurement of strength, fracture density. The correlation of the best fit line relating the Schmidt hammer readings to fractures density was weak (R2=.076). As a result, we concluded that, at least for the strata examined there is no correlation between rock strength as measured by the Schmidt Hammer and fracture density.

136— Predation On Microbivalves By Juvenile Naticid Gastropods On San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, Eliza Merges

GREAT Day Posters

Predator-prey interactions, where snails eat clams, evolutionarily has been a key interaction within marine molluscan communities. There is evidence of molluscan extinctions in the fossil record that are marked by changes in predation ratios. In this study, we will investigate predation of microbivalves by juvenile naticid gastropods in a shallow marine setting on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. We propose to test predation density within different environments (facies) of a lagoonal setting. Significantly different ratios between these facies in one time period can indicate that predator-prey interactions can change over time from one environment to another. It is more …

366— Mineralogical Analysis Of Iron Slag From Standish, Ny, Rachel Kelk, Dori Farthing

GREAT Day Posters

In the mid 1800’s and into the early 1900’s, Standish, NY was the site of a blast furnace, which extracted iron from the local Adirondack ores. Over the course of 100 years of industrial activity, this forge left behind a large 60 ft tall pile of slag, a byproduct of the smelting processes. This research aimed to better understand the variety of phases present at the site as well as products associated with weathering. Though there are a variety of slag types found in the Standish slag pile, all are chemically dominated by CaO and SiO₂. Powder X-ray …

279— Magnetic Susceptibility Of Kettle Point Formation, Ontario, Canada, Abigale O'Connor

GREAT Day Posters

The Kettle Point Formation is an Upper Devonian black shale that preserves the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, which marks the most extreme of the three extinction events that comprise the Late Devonian mass extinction. The purpose of this study is to determine a high resolution location of the boundary within the Gore of Chatham core from Ontario, Canada. This determination will improve the understanding of the environmental conditions leading up to the Kellwasser event of the Late Devonian mass extinction. The specific location of the boundary will also improve the ability to correlate this rock unit to others that were deposited during …

411— Analysis Of Hillslope Stability, Harriman, Tennessee, Walter Hennings, Anthony Wagman

GREAT Day Posters

We seek to conduct a hillslope safety analysis of a hill located in Roane County, Tennessee, composed of the Gilpin-Petros soils. This unit is composed primarily of residuum from sandstone, siltstone, and shale. The stability of the hill was assessed using a one-dimensional infinite slope-stability model. This model was used to calculate the factor of safety under both dry and wet conditions based on a set of assumptions derived from soil lithology and hydrologic parameters. Simulations in ArcGIS show that under dry conditions, the slope is unconditionally stable at all locations. Under conditions of sufficiently heavy rainfall (>9 inches …

226— Analysis Of Soil At A Flooding Site In Avon, Ny, Katie Meerdink, Maddy Waldock

GREAT Day Posters

A residential area in East Avon frequently floods in response to rainfall or snowmelt events and the water remains pooled in place long afterwards. This study seeks to determine the cause of the flooding. Soil samples were collected from several locations at the site and analyzed to determine the array of grain sizes present. It was determined that approximately 47% of the sediment at the site is smaller than 63 microns, which is the threshold for silts and clays (mud), meaning that approximately 53% of the sediment is sand sized or larger. The large amount of smaller grain sizes, combined …

253— The Impact Of Physical And Chemical Weathering On Iron Slag From Standish, Ny, Maria Leonard

GREAT Day Posters

From 1883 to 1907, magnetite ore was smelted Standish, NY. During this time, a large amount of slag, a byproduct of smelting, was created. The slag is now in a pile that covers ~13 acres in the northeastern region of the Adirondacks. The impact of weathering is evident through a comparison of samples collected ~15 years ago to partner samples still out in the field which are more fractured and have calcitic weathering rinds. For more quantitative data, we carried out a field experiment and a leaching test. In the field experiment we exposed different slag samples (glassy, chalky, and …

Archaeological Feature Identification Through Geochemical Analysis Of Arctic Sediments From The Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Northwest Alaska, Patrick William Reed

Dissertations and Theses

Identification and interpretation of archaeological phenomena is typically based on visual cues and the physical presence of "something archaeological," such as a diagnostic artifact, landscape modification, or structural element. Yet many archaeological features, i.e. the discrete archaeological deposits related to past human behavior, lack clear indicators of human activity that provides clues to the feature's origin. At the Cape Krusenstern beach ridge complex, located in northwest Alaska, ambiguous features, that could be natural or anthropogenic (vegetation anomalies), or are of unknown cultural function (indeterminate), comprise 60% of the identified features at the complex. These ambiguous features represent a large gap …

Insight On Thermal Stability Of Magnetite Magnetosomes: Implications For The Fossil Record And Biotechnology, Jefferson Cypriano, Mounib Bahri, Kassioge Dembele, Walid Baaziz, Pedro Leao, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Fernanda Abreu, Ovidiu Ersen, Marcos Farina, Jacques Werckmann

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Magnetosomes are intracellular magnetic nanocrystals composed of magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4), enveloped by a lipid bilayer membrane, produced by magnetotactic bacteria. Because of the stability of these structures in certain environments after cell death and lysis, magnetosome magnetite crystals contribute to the magnetization of sediments as well as providing a fossil record of ancient microbial ecosystems. The persistence or changes of the chemical and magnetic features of magnetosomes under certain conditions in different environments are important factors in biotechnology and paleomagnetism. Here we evaluated the thermal stability of magnetosomes in a temperature range between 150 and 500 °C subjected …

Improvement Of Grazing Lands For Better Livestock Production--A Case Study From Chitradurga District In India, K. Girdhar, A. V. Elangovan, H. S. Shivaramu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Chitradurga is a highly drought prone district in the central dry zone of Karnataka, India, with a normal rainfall of 530 mm per annum. Over 85 per cent of cultivable area is rainfed and the livestock plays a vital role in rural income generation in this district. Improper management and overgrazing have resulted in most of the grazing resources declining to a poor, degraded condition. Regeneration of pasture land was vital in the villages due to three reasons - a) people's livelihood dependency on livestock was considerable b) small ruminants played a vital role for landless farmers and c) lack …

Effect Of Fodder Demonstrations In Rainfed Multi-Location Conditions Of Uttar Pradesh And Uttarakhand, Atar Singh, U. S. Gautam, S. K. Dubey, A. K. Srivastav, M. P. Singh

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Presently green fodder availability is 64.66 M tons and dry fodder (64.23 M tons.) in Uttar Pradesh, India., the green fodder deficit is 28.3% and dry fodder surplus by 14.1% respectively. Whereas, in Uttrakhand. Green fodder availability is 4.07 M tons and dry fodder 2.83 M tons, green fodder deficit is 48.1% and dry fodder 42.1%. There are many limitations affecting the forage production such as small holding of farmers and preferential need of food grains crops, limited availability of quality seed of improved varieties of fodder crops, low priority for investment in fodder production by the farmers. There is …

Mongolian Pastoralism–Nomadism And Marketing, Ralph Van Gelder, Nigel Brown, Dorlig Shombodon

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Mongolian pastoralism is a treasured “art” and tradition, honoured for its resourcefulness and maintained by the national social and political environment, but in the modern world it is an anachronism. Modern market requirements, enforced by domestic and international consumers, are rendering current Mongolian pastoralism unsustainable. Traditional nomadic herding is a subsistence activity. The products of modern herders are traded in domestic and international markets, hence modern nomadic herding is a profit making activity, in which product specification to satisfy consumers has to be the driver for grazing management and pasture utilisation considerations.

Cultural Bastions, Farm Optimisation And Tribal Agriculture In Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tanira Kingi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This paper outlines the influence of cultural factors (including tradition knowledge systems) on tribal agricultural organisations in Aotearoa-New Zealand (NZ); and then presents a conceptual framework that integrates several existing models and tools designed specifically for Māori farmer collectives. Traditional knowledge systems have a pervasive influence on NZs Māori agribusiness sector. However, they often go unrecognised; concealed beneath a land tenure system and legislative framework that is restrictive, cumbersome and has been responsible for widespread land loss since its introduction almost 150 years ago. In spite of these constraints, Māori agriculture in NZ is vibrant, diverse and has several unique …

Application Of Pastoralists' Knowledge To Natural Resource Management In Spain, Elisa Oteros-Rozas, María Fernández-Giménez, Ricardo Ontillera-Sánchez, José A. González, Federico Fillat-Estaque

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Extensive livestock rearing has been acknowledged as an important tool for sustainable management of social-ecological systems and biodiversity conservation. In the Mediterranean Basin this relationship has been highlighted in mountainous and rural areas, where the co-evolved assemblages and dynamics of plant communities and grazing practices and patterns are mutually reinforcing. Among extensive livestock rearing systems, mobile pastoralism is a typical adaptation in semi-arid areas and mountainous regions where pasture availability is especially variable in time and space. In Spain, mobile pastoralism dates back to Neolithic and has survived until our days in different ways. An outstanding example of mobility is …

Barriers And Opportunities For The Use Of Forage Tree Legumes In Smallholder Cattle Fattening Systems In Eastern Indonesia, Debora Kana Hau, Tanda Panjaitan, Jacob Nulik, H. Dahlanuddin, Elske Van De Fliert

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage tree legumes (FTL) have existed in the Eastern Indonesian landscape since colonial traders introduced several species in the late 1800s. A specific effort was made to establish leucaena (Leucaena leucoephala) and sesbania (Sesbania grandiflora) for use as forage for cattle fattening at Amarasi in East Nusa Tenggara Province and Central Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, in the 1970s (Yuksel et al. 1999; Dahlanuddin et al. 2005). Its spread within these provinces as potential forage to intensify cattle fattening systems, however, has been slow if not stagnant. In preparation for intensified efforts to encourage …

A Guide To Evaluate And Diagnose Range Management Programs In Extensive Cattle Ranches, Ricardo Vásquez, Silverio G. Pérez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Commonly, range managers and ranchers apply range management principles and practices without a guide, conventional protocol, or a reference frame. This happens because knowledge in education and even in extension or consultant programs is obtained over time in a diversity of ways and, in turn, transmitted or applied in a diversity of methods, according to the experience, academic degree, or organization sense of the rancher himself, or his technician. Existing range management knowledge should be organized and applied in a systematic and conventional way. Medical science provides a good example of systematic management. Patients are “inventoried”, evaluated, diagnosed and treated …

Allocating Rangelands To The Optimum Land Use By Applying A Decision Support System, Seyed Alireza Mousavi, Hossein Arzani, Mehdi Farahpour

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangelands in Iran are faced with a considerable level of degradation and human interventions due to pressures for increased food production and the need to generate more benefits for an increasing population. A first step in solving this problem is to develop methodology to efficiently analyse the current situation and effectively reallocate rangelands into optimum land uses. To achieve an agreed solution for land allocation, an interactive approach is required to recognize and comprehensively assess different alternatives.

This paper suggests an introductory framework for developing a decision support system for allocation of rangeland areas into the most optimum use.

Using Expert Knowledge To Develop Management Actions For Tasmanian Lowland Native Grasslands Under Climate Change, Kerry L. Bridle, Louise Gilfedder, Nicholas Macgregor

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change projections for Tasmania suggest that the climate in 2070 will be warmer than present, with increasingly variable seasonal rainfall (Grose et al. 2010). Results from climate change modelling suggest that grassland communities may not exist over their current range in the future (Prober et al. 2012). Lowland temperate natural grasslands have been greatly reduced in areal extent since European settlement in the early 1800s. Two ‘Lowland temperate native grassland’ communities are listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999): Themeda triandra grasslands and Poa labillardieri grasslands. Careful landscape planning for current …

Ewe Body Condition: Does Farmer Practice Meet Research Guidelines?, Marie J. Casey, John S. Scandrett, David R. Stevens

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A group of sheep farmers in the Southland region of New Zealand were surveyed in the winter of 2011 to determine their current winter management practices and ewe performance. This followed a 3 year Sustainable Farming Fund project to investigate if there was a relationship between maintaining an even ewe body condition score (BCS) during pregnancy and the incidence of vaginal prolapse (bearings). The program included a series of workshops to help farmers improve their ewe winter management and it became apparent that the actual winter feeding practice and ewe performance was relatively unknown.

The research was done to document …

A Plant-Physiology Approach To A Fire-Y Problem, Helen G. Daily, Shaun Lisson, Kerry L. Bridle, Peter A. Lane, Stuart Anderson, Ross Corkrey

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

As vegetation dies, it dries and becomes more flammable. Fire agencies require accurate and timely assessments of curing (the percentage of dead material in the sward) to model grass fire behaviour and calculate fire danger ratings (Cheney and Sullivan 2008). Visual observation is commonplace and the more objective use of the Levy Rod is recommended, although both have drawbacks (Anderson et al. 2011). There is great potential for pasture growth models to provide curing estimates to assist with the management of wild grass fires (Gill et al. 2010). This PhD project focused on plant physiological characters to populate …

Identifying Opportunities For Improved Adoption Of New Grazing Innovations, Geoff Kuehne, Rick Llewellyn, Pannell Pannell, Perry Dolling, Roger Wilkinson, Mike Ewing

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Those aiming for high levels of adoption of grazing-related innovation are often frustrated at low and slow uptake by farmers. This paper describes a new tool, ADOPT (Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool), that can be used to evaluate the potential adoptability of grazing innovations (Kuehne et al. 2012). ADOPT aims to: (1) predict an innovation’s likely peak level of adoption and likely time for reaching that peak; (2) encourage users to consider factors affecting adoption during project design; and (3) engage R, D & E managers and practitioners by making adoptability knowledge and considerations more transparent and understandable.

Using E-Learning To Aid Technical Uptake Of Goat-Based Technologies By Small Livestock Producers In The Philippines, Anna Marie P. Alo, Jose Rey Y. Alo, Francisco G. Gabunada Jr., Emilio M. Cruz

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The improvement of goat raising in the Philippines by achieving a stable supply of good quality breeders and highly uniform slaughter goats by 2020 is the aim of an Industry Strategic Plan. While a number of ways of promoting science-based technology have been offered to farmers, countless small to medium-scale farmers are almost impossible to reach. Online FLS or e-learning courses on goats have been developed where learners can take the courses from any place, at their own pace, and in their own convenient time. Internet cafes are available throughout the Philippines, where goat raisers are able to access the …

Assisting Smallholder Farmers In Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems To Understand The Potential Effects Of Technologies And Climate Change Through Participatory Modelling, P. Masikati, Andre Van Rooyen, Sabine Homann-Keetui

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Smallholder farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe are characterized by low production. This low production is not solely due to lack of technologies but is also due to a lack of integrating a diversity of viewpoints belonging to local, expert and specialized stakeholders during technology development. Participatory approaches combined with computer-based modelling are increasingly being recognized as valuable approaches to jointly develop sustainable agricultural pathways. The application of this integrated and iterative process in developing and evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at improving food and feed production is discussed. The process allows farmers to determine the impact …

Grassland Management–The Prograze™ Approach, R. P. Graham, C. M. Langford, G. P. Meaker

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Three courses PROGRAZE™, PROGRAZE™ Plus and STOCKPLAN® have been developed to provide a complete package to assist farmers manage their variable grassland grazing systems. As each package is separate the farmer can use the relevant tool to help them work through major issues they are dealing with at any point in time. All courses are based on the same principle, they do not give answers but rather provide training in skills development, provide key background knowledge and a framework to assist farmers plan and if needed to work through their problems to reach a solution they are comfortable with.

The Role Modelling And Farming Systems Research Can Play In Redesigning Grazing Systems For Improved Productivity And Environmental Sustainability, Angela Avery, Kate Sargeant, Michael A. Friend, Ralph Behrendt, Paul Sanford, Craig Beverly, Cameron Allen, David L. Michalk

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Achieving production and natural resource outcomes from farming systems is critical with growing demand for livestock products, increasing pressure on land and water resources and the desire of farmers to improve profit and standard of living. In many countries this brings to the fore a number of policy dilemmas and conflicts in terms of pastoral household livelihood, regional economic growth and development, as well as natural resource management. By using two case studies; (1) Temperate Grasslands in Southern Australia (EverGraze project); and (2) Western Grasslands in North West China (ACIAR project), this paper considers how farming systems can be redesigned …

Range Management Program: “Los Ángeles” Experimental Cattle Ranch In Northern México, Ricardo Vásquez, Silverio G. Pérez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The arid and semi-arid grasslands of both the ejidos (farming communities) and extensive (private) cattle ranches in northern México face serious degradation problems. This is visibly evident in the extent of soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and invasion of undesirable species (Ceballo et al. 2009). Severe impact of drought and over-grazing are important causes for the declining productivity now common place throughout these north Mexican grasslands. Two important contributing factors to this grassland degradation are: (1) the lack of continuous and well integrated education programs on the range and ranch management; and (2) a scarcity of government and private …