Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 1 – December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 8% over last quarter. The database now contains 6,431 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 56,013 hits per month, an increase of 6% from last quarter, with an average of 5,211 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• Three National Public Land Day and National Family Events have been completed.
• Two hundred and five people attended the Volunteer Recognition Event.

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at four advisory team meetings attended this quarter.

Project 2: A formal report titled, Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, has been prepared; an accompanying poster presentation for the Lake Mead Science Symposium is in preparation.

Project 3: A draft document titled, “Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP): Quagga Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave” has been presented to an interagency core group to review and input. Six oral presentations related to quagga mussels are in preparation by this group for the Lake Mead …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• All milestones and deliverables associated with the MSHCP project are on schedule
• Completion of 2008 monitoring survey efforts
• Coordination is ongoing to identify potential translocation sites, including assisting efforts to identify a potential site in the western Grand Canyon
• RLFCT meeting hosted and minutes of meeting drafted
• Annual report provided to RLFCT, final draft in review
• Sampling for the amphibian chytrid fungus conducted at many sites

Project 2. Bald Eagle Winter Monitoring and Evaluation

• All MSHCP milestones and deliverables are on schedule
• Planning and coordination of the 2009 Eagle Count conducted …

Photosynthetic Response Of Soybean To Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychydae) Injury, Adeney De Freitas Bueno, Regiane Cristina Oliveira De Freitas Bueno, Paul David Nabity, Leon George Higley, Odair Aparecido Fernandes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is a common pest on soybean plants. To clarify plantarthropod interaction on mite-soybean system, leaf fluorescence, photosynthetic responses to variable carbon dioxide levels, and chlorophyll content were evaluated. Significant photosynthetic rate reduction was observed due to stomatal limitation. Stomatal closure was the major plant physiological response. As a consequence, there was reduction in photosynthetic rates. Surprisingly, plants did not show chlorophyll content reduction associated with photosynthetic impairment. No differences in fluorescence data indicate that T. urticae injury did not impair the function of light harvesting and photoelectron transport. These results showed that T. …

2008 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, 2008 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

The Calvin College Engineering 333 class of 2008 was challenged with the question, “What would it take to implement an energy efficiency fund at Calvin?” Before addressing this question, another had to be asked: “What is an energy efficiency fund?” An energy efficiency fund is a revolving fund which takes seed money from donations, tuition, or grants and invests it into projects that save energy. Energy cost savings from the projects are routed back to the fund to help it grow and enable it to finance future projects. In order to begin this, the senior engineering students began organizing and …

Surface Energy Balance And Melt Thresholds Over 11 Years At Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, Matthew James Hoffman, Andrew G. Fountain, Glen E. Liston

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land, Antarctica, melting of glacial ice is the primary source of water to streams, lakes, and associated ecosystems. To understand geochemical fluxes and ecological responses to past and future climates requires a physically based energy balance model. We applied a one-dimensional model to one site on Taylor Glacier using 11 years of daily meteorological data and seasonal ablation measurements. Inclusion of transmission of solar radiation into the ice was necessary to accurately model summer ablation and ice temperatures. Results showed good correspondence between calculated and measured ablation and ice temperatures over the 11 years. …

Quantifying The Effects Of Land Use Change On Stream Ecosystems For Use In Ecological Risk Assessment, Katherine Sciera

All Dissertations

Land disturbance often results in a cascade of physical and chemical stressors to aquatic ecosystems which can impact their biotic integrity. This study examined three developing watersheds near Greenville, SC to evaluate the quantitative relationships between the physical stressors associated with land use alterations and biotic integrity. More specifically, the objectives of this study were to 1) quantify the mechanisms of aquatic ecosystem degradation in streams impacted by watershed urbanization, 2) demonstrate the use of quantitative relationships among the physical, chemical, and biological stressors associated with land use change in an established ecological risk assessment framework, and 3) identify the …

Agenda: Managing Oil And Gas Development In Colorado: The New Cogcc Rules, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Managing Oil and Gas Development in Colorado: The New COGCC Rules (December 16)

NRLC Hot Topic held on December 16, 2008 from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. at the offices of Hogan and Hartson, Denver, Colorado.

Panelists from COGCC, the oil & gas industry, and environmental community, will present their perspectives on the soon-to-be-issued rules on oil and development in Colorado. Discussion and questions from attendees will follow.

Organic Chemostratigraphic Markers Characteristic Of The (Informally Designated) Anthropocene Epoch, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Recognizing the tremendous collective impact of humans on the environment in the industrial age, the proposed designation of the current time period as the Anthropocene Epoch has considerable merit. One of the signature activities during this time continues to be the intensive extraction, processing, and combustion of fossil fuels. While fossil fuels themselves are naturally-occurring, they are most often millions of years old and associated with deeply buried strata. They may be found at the surface, for example, as natural oil seeps or coal seam outcrops, but these are relatively rare occurrences. Fossil fuels and their myriad by-products become the …

Geochemical Impacts From Permanganate Oxidation Based On Field Scale Assessments., Kelly Ann Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) using permanganate is a technology for treatment of organic hazardous wastes. This research is a review of 30 permanganate (MnO₄^-) ISCO sites to determine whether there are long term impacts on groundwater quality due to the introduction of the oxidant into the subsurface. A second objective is to determine if manganese concentration can be predicted by trends in specific pre and postoxidation monitored parameters (i.e., pH and oxidation reduction potential (ORP)). The final objective is to identify the effects of site and design conditions on groundwater conditions postoxidation. Results indicate that (1) …

Slides: Lower Arkansas Valley Super Ditch Company, Inc.: Water Leasing Program, Peter Nichols

Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11)

Presenter: Peter Nichols, General Counsel of the Lower Arkansas Valley “Super Ditch” Company, Trout, Raley, Montano, Witwer & Freeman PC, Colorado

33 slides

Slides: Idaho Rental Pool: Rules And Procedures, Idaho Water Resource Board, Jerry R. Rigby

Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11)

Presenter: Jerry Rigby, Counsel for Fremont‐Madison Irrigation District, Rigby, Thatcher, Andrus, Rigby & Moeller, Idaho

25 slides

Agenda: Evolving Regional Frameworks For Ag-To-Urban Water Transfers, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Western Water Policy Program, Western Water Assessment (Program), Red Lodge Clearinghouse

Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11)

The permanent transfer of water from agricultural users to municipalities has become a common feature of water management in several western states. In many cases, these voluntary market‐based transfers provide significant benefits to both the buyers and sellers, but many third parties—including remaining irrigators, rural businesses and communities dependent upon agricultural economies—have been negatively impacted. While some impacts of these so‐called “buy and dry” transfers are largely unavoidable, many can be lessened by temporary arrangements that only shift water to cities in years when municipal supplies are inadequate, such as drought and post‐drought storage recovery, and by consolidating individual farm‐to‐city …

Slides: Pvid/Mwd Land Management, Crop Rotation And Water Supply Program, Ed Smith

Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11)

Presenter: Ed Smith, General Manager, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Southern California

25 slides

Early Post-Fire Recovery On A Heavily Visited Mojave Desert Burn: Red Rock Canyon Near Las Vegas, Nevada, Scott R. Abella, E. Cayenne Engel, Christina L. Lund, Jessica E. Spencer

Fire Science Presentations

Wildfire has become widespread in southwestern USA deserts. In a record 2005 fire season in the Mojave Desert, for example, more than 385,000 hectares burned (Brooks and Matchett 2006). This burned area is approximately 3% of the entire Mojave Desert. Fueled in large part by exotic annual grasses, these fires burned desert ecosystems thought to have only burned infrequently historically. Burns now occupy significant portions of desert landscapes, posing prominent management challenges. Improving our understanding of plant recovery on desert burns is important for evaluating future fire hazard, whether natural revegetation will meet management objectives, and for planning active revegetation …

Post-Fire Plant Recovery In The Mojave And Sonoran Deserts Of Western North America, Scott R. Abella, Public Lands Institute, Department Of Environmental Studies, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fire Science Presentations

Fire is thought to have been generally rare historically in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. However, invasion by exotic grasses (e.g., Schismus spp.) has increased fuel continuity, promoting fire in these deserts. Succession and recovery are not well understood processes in deserts, nonetheless for a novel disturbance like fire. In addition to helping build theories of desert succession and recovery, information on post-fire recovery has numerous practical implications (e.g., determining whether active revegetation is needed). Systematic reviews provide a means for obtaining literature using reproducible search criteria. This approach facilitates a balanced appraisal of available information, synthesizes scattered literature, and …

Using A Diverse Seed Mix To Establish Native Plants On A Sonoran Desert Burn, Scott R. Abella, John L. Gunn, Mark L. Daniels, Judith D. Springer, Susan E. Nyoka

Fire Science Presentations

• Revegetating burned areas is a formidable challenge facing resource managers in southwestern United States arid lands.
• Natural revegetation of desert burns by native species may be slow, or dominated by exotic annual grasses that perpetuate a frequent-fire regime.
• Resource managers may have several reasons for actively revegetating burns with native species, such as for providing competition with exotic species, minimizing soil erosion and dust pollution, and improving aesthetics.
• The use of native species in revegetation has been limited by a lack of available seed and by findings that native desert species are difficult to establish (e.g., Bainbridge and Virginia 1990, …

Transforming Water: Water Efficiency As Stimulus And Long‐Term Investment, David Mitchell, Janice Beecher, Thomas Chesnutt, David Pekelney

Publications (WR)

Water Efficiency programs have an established track record as cost‐effective long‐term public resource investments. Less well understood are the short‐term economic impacts of these rapidly scalable and adaptable programs, and the ability of these programs to quickly deliver economic benefit as well as sustainable solutions. This paper quantitatively examines the short‐term economic growth impacts of water/energy efficiency investments, specifically in terms of job creation, income, GDP, national output, water savings, and other benefits. Our consultant team modeled a wide range of water/energy efficiency program possibilities, across all water‐using sectors and involving indoor, outdoor, and water system efficiencies. This modeling clearly …

Detection Of An So2 Plume Over Sapporo, Japan From The Eruption Of Mt. Kasatochi Using A Balloon Sounding Technique, Gary A. Morris, Jun Hirokawa, Masatomo Fujiwara, Fumio Hasebe, Keisuke Ishida, Nicholay Krotkov, Mark R. Schoeberl, Walter Komhyr, Barry Lefer, James Flynn

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Presentations

During the month of August 2008, 10 ozonesondes were launched from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan as part of a study to examine regional pollution during the Olympic period. Seven of these soundings included a second instrument with a filter designed to remove SO2 from the intake air stream. SO2 interferes with the normal chemistry of the electrochemical cell (ECC) method for ozone detection, with the net result being that each molecule of SO2 registers as minus one molecule of O3. Thus the unfiltered sonde reports [O3] - [SO2] while the filtered sonde reports [O3]. Laboratory tests prior to launch …

Measuring And Modeling Co2 And H2O Fluxes In Complex Terrain, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Brian L. Mcglynn

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The feedbacks between the water and the carbon cycles are of critical importance to global carbon balances. Forests and forest soils in northern latitudes are important carbon pools because of their potential as sinks for atmospheric carbon. However there are significant unknowns related to the effects of hydrologic variability, mountainous terrain, and landscape heterogeneity in controlling soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux. Mountainous terrain imposes large spatial heterogeneity in the biophysical controls of soil CO₂ production and efflux, including soil temperature, soil water content, vegetation, substrate, and soil physical properties. Further complications are introduced by the superimposed temporal …

Isotopic Evidence Of Methane Oxidation Across The Surface Water–Ground Water Interface, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Jennifer Y. King

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Biogenic methane (CH₄) from wetlands plays a crucial role in the carbon cycle, but the dynamics of dissolved methane flux across the surface water-ground water interface remain poorly understood. This study focused on the effects of spatial transformation of dissolved methane and the role of ground-water recharge in the distribution of dissolved methane across the surface water-ground water interface. Here we present carbon isotopic measurements of biogenic methane and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the Sarita Wetland, on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, and also in six monitoring wells located down gradient from the …

Sfa Weather Station-December 2008, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

Integrating Landscapes That Have Experienced Rural Depopulation And Ecological Homogenization Into Tropical Conservation Planning, Aerin L. Jacob, Ismael Vaccaro, Raja Sengupta, Joel N. Hartter, Colin A. Chapman

Geography

If current trends of declining fertility rates and increasing abandonment of rural land as a result of urbanization continue, this will signal a globally significant transformation with important consequences for policy makers interested in conservation planning. This transformation is presently evident in a number of countries and projections suggest it may occur in the future in many developing countries. We use rates of population growth and urbanization to project population trends in rural areas for 25 example countries. Our projections indicate a general decline in population density that has either occurred already (e.g., Mexico) or may occur in the future …

Effects Of Olfactory And Visual Predators On Nest Success And Nest-Site Selection Of Waterfowl In North Dakota, Jennifer Borgo

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Research Report No. 182 - A Likelihood Analysis Of Non-Indigenous Marine Species Introduction To Fifteen Ports In Western Australia, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries Research Reports

As an island continent, Australia is heavily dependent upon maritime transport with over 95% of its imports and exports transported by ship (Australian State of the Environment Committee, 2001). With about one third of Australia’s coastline, Western Australia ranks fourth of the six states and territory in the number of known non-indigenous marine species.

In this study fifteen ports in Western Australia were assessed on the potential for non-indigenous marine species to become introduced through ballast water and biofouling. The overall vesselmediated incursion risk to Western Australian ports was calculated by summing the relative incursion threat posed by visits to …

Water Quality Impacts From Agricultural Land-Use In The Karst Groundwater Basin Of Qingmuguan, Chongqing, China, Ted W. Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into fluvial systems travelling through the subsurface in karst areas are often very similar to the concentrations arriving at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be …

Atrazine Contamination And Suspended Sediment Transport Within Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Julie Eileen Schenck Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Understanding the potential for karst aquifer contamination by sediment-sorbed pesticides is important for cave conservation efforts in agricultural landscapes. Flow rate, water quality parameters and suspended sediment concentrations were measured in Logsdon River, a ~10km karst conduit within the Turnhole Spring Groundwater Basin of Mammoth Cave National Park to determine characteristics of storm-period transport of sediment-sorbed atrazine through a conduit-flow karst aquifer.

Analysis of two independent precipitation events occurring in the Spring of 2008 from May 2-4 and May 27-29 demonstrated the rapid response of the Logsdon River to precipitation events with detections of atrazine increasing during the initial turbidity …

Watershed Condition Assessment For Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama, Nathan Demille Rinehart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

No abstract provided.

Hydrochemistry Of Wetlands Along The Platte River Near Ashland, Nebraska, Carrie L. Wiese

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

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Effect Of Hurricanes On Structure And Growth In Southeast Texas Forests, Christopher M. Gentry

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hurricanes are a relatively common occurrence along the gulf coast of Texas. This research analyzed the effect hurricanes have on the growth and structure of forests in southeastem_Texas. Increment cores were taken from numerous species within the Neches Bottom Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve and the Wier Woods Nature Preserve to analyze how hurricanes affect the structure of these forests. In the Turkey Creek Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve and in the Angelina National Forest, Pi nus palustris (Longleaf pine) and P. taeda (Loblolly pine) was sampled in order to analyze how hurricanes affect the growth …