Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

Landowner And Practitioner Perspectives On Private Land Conservation Programs, Michelle L. Lute, Caitlyn R. Gillespie, Dustin R. Martin, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Efforts to reverse declines in native grasslands benefit from agricultural policies that encourage private land conservation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) improved conservation across landscapes but enrollment has declined. We used sequential exploratory mixed methods to compare landowner and conservation practitioners’ perceptions, evaluate perceived benefits, and identify potential improvements to CRP. Focus groups of practitioners informed a quantitative survey of landowners who had properties >160 total acres in Nebraska. Results suggest potential misalignment in perceptions between practitioners and landowners. Practitioners were concerned that conservation, especially of wildlife, was secondary to profit. But the majority of landowners …

Regime Shifts And Panarchies In Regional Scale Social-Ecological Water Systems, Lance Gunderson, Barbara Cosens, Brian C. Chaffin, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Alexander K. Fremier, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Robin Kundis Craig, Hannah Gosnell, Hannah E. Birge, Craig R. Allen, Melinda Harm Benson, Ryan R. Morrison, Mark C. Stone, Joseph Hamm, Kristine Nemec, Edella C. Schlager, Dagmar Llewellyn

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In this article we summarize histories of nonlinear, complex interactions among societal, legal, and ecosystem dynamics in six North American water basins, as they respond to changing climate. These case studies were chosen to explore the conditions for emergence of adaptive governance in heavily regulated and developed social-ecological systems nested within a hierarchical governmental system. We summarize resilience assessments conducted in each system to provide a synthesis and reference by the other articles in this special feature. We also present a general framework used to evaluate the interactions between society and ecosystem regimes and the governance regimes chosen to mediate …

Management Of Predators, Prey, And Aviation Safety At Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland: Can Coyotes Help Reduce Deer Strike Hazards?, Robert Lewis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In the past 100 years, coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded their range eastward. During their expansion, coyotes hybridized with gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the north and red wolves (Canis rufus) in the south. Coyotes were historically occupants of the plains, but now may be found in environments as varied as the sagebrush steppe, deserts, swamps, and inner cities. St. Mary’s County, MD, home to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Pax River), was one of the last counties in the country to be colonized by coyotes. Pax River is a research and development/flight test and evaluation center, and houses numerous …

Spatiotemporal Analyses Of Recycled Water Production, Jana E. Archer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increased demands on water supplies caused by population expansion, saltwater intrusion, and drought have led to water shortages which may be addressed by use of recycled water as recycled water products. Study I investigated recycled water production in Florida and California during 2009 to detect gaps in distribution and identify areas for expansion. Gaps were detected along the panhandle and Miami, Florida, as well as the northern and southwestern regions in California. Study II examined gaps in distribution, identified temporal change, and located areas for expansion for Florida in 2009 and 2015. Production increased in the northern and southern regions …

Evaluation Of Modis Land Surface Temperature Data To Estimate Near-Surface Air Temperature In Northeast China, Yuan Z. Yang, Wen H. Cai, Jian Yang

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Air temperature (T_air) near the ground surface is a fundamental descriptor of terrestrial environment conditions and one of the most widely used climatic variables in global change studies. The main objective of this study was to explore the possibility of retrieving high-resolution T_air from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST) products, covering complex terrain in Northeast China. The All Subsets Regression (ASR) method was adopted to select the predictors and build optimal multiple linear regression models for estimating maximum (T_max), minimum (T_min), and mean (T_mean) air temperatures. …

Influence Of Internal Variability On Population Exposure To Hydroclimatic Changes, Justin S. Mankin, Daniel Viviroli, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Radley M. Horton, Jason E. Smerdon, Noah S. Diffenbaugh

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Future freshwater supply, human water demand, and people’s exposure to water stress are subject to multiple sources of uncertainty, including unknown future pathways of fossil fuel and water consumption, and ‘irreducible’ uncertainty arising from internal climate system variability. Such internal variability can conceal forced hydroclimatic changes on multi-decadal timescales and near-continental spatial-scales. Using three projections of population growth, a large ensemble from a single Earth system model, and assuming stationary per capita water consumption, we quantify the likelihoods of future population exposure to increased hydroclimatic deficits, which we define as the average duration and magnitude by which evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation …

Geoengineering, Marine Microalgae, And Climate Stabilization In The 21st Century, Charles H. Greene, Mark E. Huntley, Ian Archibald, Léda N. Gerber, Deborah L. Sills, Joe Granados, Colin M. Beal, Michael J. Walsh

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

Society has set ambitious targets for stabilizing mean global temperature. To attain these targets, it will have to reduce CO2 emissions to near zero by mid-century and subsequently remove CO2 from the atmosphere during the latter half of the century. There is a recognized need to develop technologies for CO2 removal; however, attempts to develop direct air-capture systems have faced both energetic and financial constraints. Recently, BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) has emerged as a leading candidate for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. However, BECCS can have negative consequences on land, nutrient, and water use as well as …

Effects Of Initial Aquifer Conditions On Economic Benefits From Groundwater Conservation, T. Foster, N. Brozovic, A. P. Butler

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Worldwide, there is growing recognition of the need to reduce agricultural groundwater use in response to rapid rates of aquifer depletion. To date, however, few studies have evaluated how benefits of conservation vary along an aquifer’s depletion pathway. To address this question, we develop an integrated modeling framework that couples an agro-economic model of farmers’ field-level irrigation decisionmaking with a borehole-scale groundwater flow model. Unique to this framework is the explicit consideration of the dynamic reductions in well yields that occur as an aquifer is depleted, and how these changes in intraseasonal groundwater supply affect farmers’ ability to manage production …

The Irreversible Momentum Of Clean Energy, Barack Obama

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity is increasing global average surface air temperatures, disrupting weather patterns, and acidifying the ocean. Left unchecked, the continued growth of GHG emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by another 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and far northern locations. Although our understanding of the impacts of climate change is increasingly and disturbingly clear, there is still debate about the proper course for U.S. policy—a debate that is very much on display …

Aquacrop-Os: An Open Source Version Of Fao’S Crop Water Productivity Model, T. Foster, N. Brozovic, A. P. Butler, C. M. U. Neale, D. Raes, P. Steduto, E. Fereres, T. C. Hsiao

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Crop simulation models are valuable tools for quantifying crop yield response to water, and for devising strategies to improve agricultural water management. However, applicability of the majority of crop models is limited greatly by a failure to provide open-access to model source code. In this study, we present an open-source version of the FAO AquaCrop model, which simulates efficiently water-limited crop production across diverse environmental and agronomic conditions. Our model, called AquaCrop-OpenSource (AquaCrop-OS), can be run in multiple programming languages and operating systems. Support for parallel execution reduces significantly simulation times when applying the model in large geospatial frameworks, for …

In-Situ Observation And Transport Modelling Of Arsenic In Gangetic Plain, India, Pankaj Kumar Gupta, Pranjay Joshi, Jahangeer

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The focus of this study is to investigate the arsenic movement and impacts on the residual concentrations on groundwater pollution load. The Gangetic plain area in the Ballia, Uttar Pradesh is selected as study area, which is also reported to extreme arsenic pollution in soil-water system. A modelling approach is developed to assess the arsenic flux in partially saturated zone using data of soil texture, soil hydraulic properties and stratigraphy. Soil type, slope, and land-use cover is considered for estimating the transient flux at the top boundary from daily precipitation and evapotranspiration data of the study area. Solute transport in …

Paid To Pump: How A Tax Credit Could Discourage Conservation Of The High Plains Aquifer, S. Polzkill,, A. Stejskal, H. Wilke, Anna Wistrom, Katherine E. B. Gibson, Mindy J. Spiehs, Nicholas Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

In 1965’s United States v. Shurbet case, an irrigator from Texas asserted his claim for a depletion tax deduction for groundwater pumped from the High Plains Aquifer. He argued that the unique conditions of the southern High Plains region - a plateau where the shallow aquifer is recharged only through precipitation at a slow rate - meant the groundwater resource would be depleted in time. The state argued that groundwater was not fundamentally an exhaustible natural deposit, but the Supreme Court concluded the tax deduction was appropriate given the “peculiar” conditions in the area. It was stated the decision was …

Pathways To Increasing Farmer-Led Investments In Sustainable Agricultural Water Management In Sub-Saharan Africa, Douglas J. Merrey, Peter G. Mccornick, Molly C. Nance

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Without a transformative leap forward in the use of irrigation, Africa will continue falling short in the struggle to feed its growing population, improve its people’s nutrition, grow its economies, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and eliminate poverty. While Africans must lead this transformation for it to be successful, the international community can help African countries substantially increase the use of more productive and sustainable water management practices and unlock the potential of farmer-led irrigated agriculture. Achieving highly productive irrigated agricultural systems in Africa requires an enabling environment that facilitates the full engagement of farmers, public and private …

Malta : Natural Freshwater Resources, Lisamarie Pereira

Global Public Health

The aim of this paper is to discuss Malta’s struggle with limited natural freshwater resources. Malta currently uses aquifers to obtain natural freshwater. For over a decade, aquifers have been under pressure from over-abstraction. Due to this issue, Malta has not been able to obtain enough natural freshwater for agriculture and basic living. The biggest risk due to over-abstraction is retrieving a smaller volume of freshwater. In Malta’s attempted interventions, the biggest issue is the Maltese government’s misconceptions. The Maltese government believes the country has unlimited natural freshwater resources. Due to this misconception, nothing is being done to actively fix …

Managing For Wildlife Habitat On Rangelands In The Great Plains, Maggi Sliwinski, Mark E. Burbach, Larkin Powell, Walter H. Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Number Of Recreational Anglers For A Given Waterbody, Kevin L. Pope, Larkin A. Powell, Brian S. Harmon, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Knowing how many anglers use a given body of water is paramount for understanding components of a fishery related to angling pressure and harvest, yet no study has attempted to provide an estimate of the population size of anglers for a given waterbody. Here, we use information from creel surveys in a removal-sampling framework to estimate total numbers of anglers using six reservoirs in Nebraska, USA, and we examine the influence of the duration of sampling period on those estimates. Population estimates (N ± SE) of unique anglers were 2050 ± 45 for Branched Oak Lake, 1992 ± 29 for …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Regal Fritillary (Speyeria Idalia) Habitat Utilizing Biological Monitoring Data Along The Big Bend Of The Platte River, Ne, Andrew J. Caven, Kelsey C. King, Joshua D. Wiese, Emma M. Brinley Buckley

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Speyeria idalia populations have declined as much as 95 percent over the last three decades. Here we critically evaluate prairie habitat components along the Platte River in central Nebraska that S. idalia populations require in an effort to better inform conservation efforts. We utilized S. idalia count data from biological monitoring transects where vegetation, soils, land management, and flooding frequency data were also collected to describe the habitat constituents associated with S. idalia presence. We utilize comparative statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and random forest analysis to model S. idalia habitat on land owned and managed by a small conservation NGO. …

Modeling With A Conceptual Representation: Is It Necessary? Does It Work?, Rebecca C. Jordan, Steven Gray, Amanda E. Sorensen, Samantha Pasewark, Suparna Sinha, Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In response to recent educational imperatives in the United States, modeling and systems thinking have been identified as being critical for science learning. In this paper, we investigate models in the classroom from two important perspectives: (1) from the teacher perspective to understand how teachers perceive models and use models in the classroom and (2) from the students perspective to understand how student use model-based reasoning to represent their understanding in a classroom setting. Qualitative data collected from 19 teachers who attended a professional development workshop in the northeastern United States indicate that while teachers see the value in teaching …

Severe Drought Impacts Female Pheasant Physiology In Southwest Nebraska, Jessica A. Laskowski, Gwendolyn C. Bachman, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In 2012, Nebraska experienced one of the worst droughts since the 1930s, accompanied by abnormally high temperatures. We studied the impacts of the 2012 summer drought on female ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) body condition and baseline and stress-induced corticosterone concentrations (CORT). We hypothesized that drought conditions would reduce pheasant body condition, increase chronic stress resulting in elevated baseline CORT levels, and down-regulate pheasant stress response to acute stressors, resulting in reduced stress-induced CORT concentrations. In southwestern Nebraska, we captured female pheasants in 2012 (pre-drought) and 2013 (post-drought). Pheasants had poorer body condition after the drought. Although female CORT …

Coupling Ecological And Social Network Models To Assess “Transmission” And “Contagion” Of An Aquatic Invasive Species, Danielle Haak, Brian D. Fath, Valery E. Forbes, Dustin R. Martin, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Network analysis is used to address diverse ecological, social, economic, and epidemiological questions, but few efforts have been made to combine these field-specific analyses into interdisciplinary approaches that effectively address how complex systems are interdependent and connected to one another. Identifying and understanding these cross-boundary connections improves natural resource management and promotes proactive, rather than reactive, decisions. This research had two main objectives; first, adapt the framework and approach of infectious disease network modeling so that it may be applied to the socio-ecological problem of spreading aquatic invasive species, and second, use this new coupled model to simulate the spread …

Frobenius Betti Numbers And Modules Of Finite Protective Dimension, Alessandro De Stefani, Craig Huneke, Luis Nunez-Betancourt

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Let (R,m,K) be a local ring, and let M be an R-module of finite length. We study asymptotic invariants, bfi (M,R), defined by twisting with Frobenius the free resolution of M. This family of invariants includes the Hilbert-Kunz multiplicity (eHK (m,R) = BF0 (K,R)). We discuss several properties of these numbers that resemble the behavior of the Hilbert-Kunz multiplicity. Furthermore, we study when the vanishing of BFI (M,R,) implies that M complete characterization of the vanishing of BFi (M,R0 for one-dimensional rings. As a consequence of our methods we give conditions for the non-existence of syzygies of finite length.

Balancing Stability And Flexibility In Adaptive Governance: An Analysis Of Tools Available In U.S. Environmental Law, Robin Kundis Craig, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Hannah E. Birge, Daniel A. Decaro, Alexander K. Fremier, Hannah Gosnell, Edella Schlager

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs) to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased …

Capturing Change: The Duality Of Time-Lapse Imagery To Acquire Data And Depict Ecological Dynamics, Emma Brinley Buckley, Craig R. Allen, Michael L. Forsberg, Michael Farrell, Andrew J. Caven

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We investigate the scientific and communicative value of time-lapse imagery by exploring applications for data collection and visualization. Time-lapse imagery has a myriad of possible applications to study and depict ecosystems and can operate at unique temporal and spatial scales to bridge the gap between large-scale satellite imagery projects and observational field research. Time-lapse data sequences, linking time-lapse imagery with data visualization, have the ability to make data come alive for a wider audience by connecting abstract numbers to images that root data in time and place. Utilizing imagery from the Platte Basin Timelapse Project, water inundation and vegetation phenology …

Adaptive Management Of Rangeland Systems, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Joseph J. Fontaine, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Noelle M. Chaine, Kevin L. Pope, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr.

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that uses structured learning to reduce uncertainties for the improvement of management over time. The origins of adaptive management are linked to ideas of resilience theory and complex systems. Rangeland management is particularly well suited for the application of adaptive management, having sufficient controllability and reducible uncertainties. Adaptive management applies the tools of structured decision making and requires monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment of management. Adaptive governance, involving sharing of power and knowledge among relevant stakeholders, is often required to address conflict situations. Natural resource laws and regulations can present a barrier …

Network Analysis Of A Regional Fishery: Implications For Management Of Natural Resources, And Recruitment And Retention Of Anglers, Dustin R. Martin, Daizaburo Shizuka, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Angler groups and water-body types interact to create a complex social-ecological system. Network analysis could inform detailed mechanistic models on, and provide managers better information about, basic patterns of fishing activity. Differences in behavior and reservoir selection among angler groups in a regional fishery, the Salt Valley fishery in southeastern Nebraska, USA, were assessed using a combination of cluster and network analyses. The four angler groups assessed ranged from less active, unskilled anglers (group One) to highly active, very skilled anglers (group Four). Reservoir use patterns and the resulting network communities of these four angler groups differed; the number of …

Shorebird Stopover Habitat Decisions In A Changing Landscape, Caitlyn Gillespie, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

To examine how habitat use by sandpipers (Calidris spp.; Baird’s sandpipers, dunlin, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, semipalmated sandpipers, stilt sandpipers, and white-rumped sandpipers) varies across a broad suite of environmental conditions, we conducted surveys at wetlands throughout the spring migratory period in 2013 and 2014 in 2 important stopover regions: the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA, and the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in South Dakota, USA. Because providing adequate energetic resources for migratory birds is a high priority for wetland management, we also measured invertebrate abundance at managed wetlands in the RWB to determine how food abundance influences …

Species Distributions Models In Wildlife Planning: Agricultural Policy And Wildlife Management In The Great Plains, Joseph J. Fontaine, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Erica F. Stuber, Lutz F. Gruber, Andrew A. Bishop, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Eric S. Zach, Karie L. Decker

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We know economic and social policy has implications for ecosystems at large, but the consequences for a given geographic area or specific wildlife population are more difficult to conceptualize and communicate. Species distribution models, which extrapolate species-habitat relationships across ecological scales, are capable of predicting population changes in distribution and abundance in response to management and policy, and thus, are an ideal means for facilitating proactive management within a larger policy framework. To illustrate the capabilities of species distribution modeling in scenario planning for wildlife populations, we projected an existing distribution model for ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) onto …

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) …

A Bayesian Method For Assessing Multi-Scale Species-Habitat Relationships, Erica F. Stuber, Lutz F. Gruber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Context Scientists face several theoretical and methodological challenges in appropriately describing fundamental wildlife-habitat relationships in models. The spatial scales of habitat relationships are often unknown, and are expected to follow a multi-scale hierarchy. Typical frequentist or information theoretic approaches often suffer under collinearity in multiscale studies, fail to converge when models are complex or represent an intractable computational burden when candidate model sets are large.

Objectives Our objective was to implement an automated, Bayesian method for inference on the spatial scales of habitat variables that best predict animal abundance.

Methods We introduce Bayesian latent indicator scale selection (BLISS), a Bayesian …

Reframing Communication About Zika And Mosquitoes To Increase Disease Prevention Behavior, Amanda E. Sorensen, Rebecca C. Jordan, Shannon Ladeau

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Emergence of invasive vector species and the diseases they carry present a clear danger to the public as well as a challenge for scientists and experts to control effectively. Given the urgent need to address this phenomenon, we suggest that desired public action toward these invasive vectors can be motivated through intentional framing in science communication. In this paper, we sought to evaluate the effect of framing about ZIKV (Zika virus) on reported willingness to comply with mosquito prevention action. Post framing intervention, we found a significant increase (N = 26, p < 0.001) in individuals willing to take preventative action against mosquitoes. By methodically investigating best communication practices, this study and others can help practitioners mobilize communities to address large-scale ecological problems. Additionally, the principles outlined here may be transferrable to other communication efforts about ecological issues outside of ZIKV and mosquitoes.