Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, Bryan Kennedy

All Undergraduate Projects

Renewable energies, and fuels that are not fossil fuel-based, are one of the prolific topics of debate in modern society. With climate change now becoming a primary focus for scientists and innovators of today, one of the areas for the largest amount of potential and growth is that of the capturing and utilization of Solar Energy. This method involves using a mechanical system to track the progression of the sun as it traverses the sky throughout the day. A dual-axis solar tracker such as the one designed and built for this project, can follow the sun both azimuthally and in …

Remote Sensing Approaches To Predict Forest Characteristics In Northwest Montana, Ryan P. Rock

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Remote sensing can be utilized by land management organizations to save money and time. Mapping vegetation using either aerial photographs or satellite imagery and the applications for forest management are of particular interest to the Montana Department of Natural Resources. In 2018, the organization began a pilot program to test the incorporation of raster analysis of remotely sensed data into their inventory program and had limited success. This analysis identified two areas of improvement: the selection method of inventory plots and the imagery used for classification and metrics. This study found that selecting inventory plots using a generalized random tessellation …

Living Rivers, Cosmopolitan Activism, And Environmental Justice In The Bengal Delta, Daniel Adel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis explores the social movements and civil society activism to protect the rivers that flow through Bangladesh—the cradle and terminal delta floodplain of the transboundary Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river systems—, as well as ways to build regional cooperation and watershed democracy in South Asia. The research drew on four overarching fields of study: environmental justice, southern environmentalism, ecological nationalism, and environmental governance. These four bodies of scholarship helped address the overarching question: how are civil society organizations analyzing and responding to the water diversions and degradation of Bangladesh’s transboundary rivers? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with civil society organizations …

Microdialysis: A Method For Quantifying In Situ Nitrogen Fluxes In Soil Microsites, Srusti Maddala, Mary C. Savin, Julie A. Stenken, Lisa S. Wood

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Microdialysis, a diffusion-based sampling technique commonly used in biomedical research, has recently been recognized as a candidate for monitoring chemical changes in the rhizosphere. The information it provides about nutrient diffusion may improve nitrogen use efficiency, leading to enhanced management and success of restoration projects. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of microdialysis sampling to quantify the relative recoveries (RR%) of nitrate-N and ammonium-N, the two inorganic nitrogen compounds typically found in soil. The effects of microdialysis flow rate, sample medium concentration, and the presence of both analytes in solution on the relative recoveries obtained from …

Comparing Rusle Ls Calculation Methods Across Varying Dem Resolutions, Amanda Moody

All Master's Theses

Soil erosion is a global problem that reduces land productivity and causes environmental degradation. Soil erosion models, such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), are used to estimate the severity and distribution of erosion. The topographic factor (LS), which combines slope length and angle, is an important part of RUSLE. This work compared two methods of L calculation, the grid cumulation (GC) and the contributing area (CA) methods, and two methods of S calculation, the neighborhood (NBR) and maximum downhill slope (MDS) methods. These were compared across digital elevation models (DEMs) of 1, 5, 10, and 30m resolutions. …

Can Farmers And Bats Co-Exist? Farmer Attitudes, Knowledge, And Experiences With Bats In Belize, Hannah G. Shapiro, Adam S. Willcox, Mallory Tate, Emma V. Willcox

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Bats (Chiroptera) are often viewed negatively by the public. Negative public perceptions of bats may hinder efforts to conserve declining populations. In Belize, the presence of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata) exacerbates the potential for conflicts with humans because of the increased rabies transmission risks. To mitigate these risks, the Belize government provides farmers with assistance to trap and remove vampire bats. In June 2018, we surveyed farmers (n = 44) in and adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize to learn more about their attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with bats. This information may …

Intercropping For Water Conservation: Environmental And Economic Implications Of A Sustainable Farming Practice In California's Central Valley, Sophie Baker

Scripps Senior Theses

California’s agricultural sector is the biggest water consumer in the state and faces intense pressure to reduce its overall water usage. Industrialized monoculture systems dominate the industry and often disregard long-term environmental and economic externalities for short-term profit maximization. To maintain longstanding food security and economic stability as well as protect the state’s water supply, it is critical that these systems transition to more sustainable and resilient production mechanisms. As an alternative to monoculture, intercropping affords greater potential to conserve water, protect soil quality, and increase crop yields, among other metrics of sustainability. However, there has been much controversy over …

Characterizing Minneopa State Park Visitor’S Prairie Attitudes, Views Of Conservation And Knowledge Through The Development And Implementation Of The Prairie Attitude And Knowledge Survey (Paks), Addeline R. Theis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

For successful conservation and the continuation of restoration projects, public understanding, acceptance and support are essential. While research into public views related to restoration exist but large gaps remain. Studies examining attitudes related to conservation are limited and even fewer studies investigate these constructs in relation to demographic, societal or cultural factors; even fewer of these studies focus on prairies. Tall-grass prairies were once a dominate biome in Minnesota but now are an endangered ecosystem. While conservation is occurring throughout Minnesota to restore and create new prairies, there is lack of information examining the relationship of prairie restoration and the …

Prioritizing Parcels For Conservation Easements Using Least-Cost Path Analyses Of Land Ownership: Case Study Within Theorized Grizzly Bear Migration Corridors Of Western Montana, Joseph H. Offer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the world’s human population has grown and converted large natural habitats to human dominated landscapes, the planet’s biodiversity has decreased. To combat the loss of biodiversity from human development, many conservation professionals champion the concept of conservation corridors between intact habitats. Conservation corridors, made up of protected land, serve as a connection for wildlife populations to intermix genetics and, subsequently, help reduce the risk of extinction. The ideal geographic location of corridors is generally determined through geographic information system modeling using biophysical conditions and theorized animal movement. However, the resulting corridors are often expansive and protecting entire corridors is …

Ecosystem Services And Disservices Of Mangrove Forests And Salt Marshes, Daniel A. Friess, Erik S. Yando, Jahson B. Alemu I, Lynn-Wei Wong, Sasha D. Soto, Natasha Bhatia, S. J. Hawkins (Ed.), A. L. Allcock (Ed.), A. E. Bates (Ed.), A.J. Evans (Ed.), L. B. Firth (Ed.), C. D. Mcquaid (Ed.), B. D. Russell (Ed.), I. P. Smith (Ed.), S. E. Swearer (Ed.), P. A. Todd (Ed.)

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coastal wetlands such as mangrove forests and salt marshes provide a range of important benefits to people, broadly defined as ecosystem services. These include provisioning services such as fuelwood and food, regulating services such as carbon sequestration and wave attenuation, and various tangible and intangible cultural services. However, strong negative perceptions of coastal wetlands also exist, often driven by the perceived or actual ecosystem disservices that they also produce. These can include odour, a sense of danger, and their real or perceived role in vector and disease transmission (e.g. malaria). This review provides an introduction to the ecosystem services and …

Comparing Fence Modeling And Mapping Approaches To Support Wildlife Management And Research In Southwest Montana, Simon Albert Buzzard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fences pose significant challenges to wildlife movement, but their effects are difficult to quantify because fence location and fence type data are lacking on a global scale. We developed a fence location and density model in southwest Montana, USA to provide data to researchers and managers, and test whether previous models could be applied to a new region and retain suitable levels of statistical accuracy. Our model used local expert opinion to inform how road, land cover, and ownership spatial layers interacted to predict fence locations. We validated the model against fence data collected on random 3.2 km road transects …

Habitat Use And Prey Selection By Mountain Lions In An Altered Sagebrush Steppe Environment, Jonathan Ewanyk

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Throughout the American West there is an increasing trend of encroachment of woody vegetation on previously open sagebrush steppe habitat. The Modoc Plateau in northeastern California has not been excluded from this encroachment trend and has seen an increase in western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) densities, likely as a result of long-term fire suppression. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have not previously been studied on the Modoc Plateau, and there is potential for an increase in cover due to juniper encroachment to benefit the hunting behavior of lions. To better understand if the presence of cover is being …

Coal Mining Sector Contribution To Environmental Conditions And Human Development Index In East Kalimantan Province, Kunny Izza Indah Afkarina, Sindhung Wardana, Poerborini Damayanti

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Coal mining has been one of the issues that led to pros and cons in Indonesia. Research shows that mining activities are one of the factors that affect people’s incomes and local and national economic development. However, mining is a lucrative activity that leads to construction booms that attract population growth and lead to deforestation, thus affecting the environmental conditions of a region. The coal mining industry of Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, provides most of the economic base needed to build the infrastructure and provide energy of the country. Kalimantan Province accounts for approximately …

Agronomic Or Contentious Land Change? A Longitudinal Analysis From The Eastern Brazilian Amazon, Stephen Aldrich, Cynthia S. Simmons, Eugenio Arima, Robert T. Walker, Fernando Michelotti, Edna Castro

Department of Earth and Environmental Systems

Since 1984, nearly 1,000 people have been killed in the Brazilian Amazon due to land conflicts stemming from unequal distribution of land, land tenure insecurity, and lawlessness. During this same period, the region experienced almost complete deforestation (< 8% forest cover by 2010). Land conflict exacts a human toll, but it also affects agents’ decisions about land use, the subject of this article. Using a property-level panel dataset covering the period of redemocratization in Brazil (1984) until the privatization of long-term leases in the eastern Amazon (2010), we show that deforestation is affected by land conflict, particularly in cases of expropriation of property for agrarian reform settlement formation. Deforestation on these settlements is much greater when soils are poor for agriculture and when the land has been the object of past conflict. Deforestation and conflict are episodic, and both agronomic drivers and contentious drivers of land change are active in the region. Ultimately, the outcome of these processes of contentious and agronomic land change is substantial deforestation, regardless of who was in possession and control of the land.

Strategies To Improve Forage Utilization By Sheep Offered Forage Mixtures, Valens Niyigena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first experiment, alfalfa and novel endophyte-infected tall fescue (NE+) forages were harvested after a killing frost, then mixed to formulate 4 different treatments; alfalfa alone, 67% alfalfa +33% fescue, 33% alfalfa + 67% fescue, or 100% fescue. After 3 months of storage as silage, Dorper ewe lambs (n = 20; mean BW = 34.7 ± 6.65 kg) were fed silage for ad libitum consumption, using 5 animals per treatment. Increasing the proportion of NE+ tall fescue improved (P < 0.05) silage total acids and lactic acid concentrations and decreased silage ammonia concentration. Digestible dry matter and organic matter intake and nitrogen utilization parameters decreased with increasing inclusion of NE+ in diet. In the second experiment, 16 Dorper ewe lambs (41.8 ± 4.61 kg BW) were assigned to 4 different treatments; alfalfa silage alone (0 g/kg; CONT) or alfalfa silage mixed with chopped sericea lespedeza (SL) hay to provide 90 (LOW), 180 (MED), or 270 g/kg SL (HIGH) on a dry matter basis in a randomized complete block design experiment with 2 period to provide 4 observations per treatment for each experimental period. Increasing the proportion of sericea lespedeza in the diet decreased dry matter and organic matter digestibility but did not affect feed intake. Fecal nitrogen (g/kg N intake) increased linearly (P < 0.01) while urinary N (g/ day and g/ kg of N intake) tended to decreased linearly and quadratically (P ≤ 0.1) with increasing the proportion of SL in diet. In the third experiments, 16 gestating Dorper ewe lambs (49.1 ± 4.61 kg BW) were allocated to 4 treatments; alfalfa silage alone (0% g/kg; CONT) or alfalfa silage mixed with lablab purpureus(LP) hay to provide 90 (LOW), 180 (MED), or 270 g/kg LP (HIGH) on a dry matter (DM) basis, in a randomized complete block design experiment with a total 8 replication per treatment. Supplementation of LP in diet increased quadratically (P ≤ 0.04) forage dry matter, organic matter intake, digestible dry matter and digestible organic matter intake (P < 0.05). Nitrogen apparently absorbed and urinary N both decreased linearly (P < 0.01) with adding more LP hay in diet. Harvesting and mixing alfalfa and fescue after a killing frost improved silage fermentation characteristics and supplementation of tannins from SL and polyphenol from LP altered N excretion.

Key words: lablab, sericea lespedeza, alfalfa silage, nitrogen, sheep.

Cost Effectiveness Of Greenhouse Gas Reductions Through Afforestation Of Agricultural Land In The Arkansas Delta, Karli A. Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sequestration of atmospheric carbon in forested lands offsets carbon emissions from other industries. Conversion of private lands, particularly agricultural tracts in marginal areas, to forests can bolster carbon abatement. The United States government agencies administer some voluntary, incentive-based programs to encourage landowners to adopt production practices with positive environmental outcomes. This policy stream can be used to increase transition of marginal agricultural land to forests, thereby creating new carbon sinks. We analyze an eleven-county study area in the Arkansas Delta to determine feasibility for a subsidy focused on carbon abatement through afforestation. This study area is significant for two reasons: …

Activity, Distribution, And Density Of Brown Rats (Rattus Norvegicus) On Misali Island, Pemba Island, Tanzania, Raegan Hasselbring

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigated the activity, distribution, and density of brown rats (R. norvegicus) on Misali Island, Pemba. These factors were studied through field observations conducted over a 21-day observation period. Brown rats were highest in density around areas of human activity, attracted to the detritus, an ample food source. Although highest in density in these areas, a greater total population of brown rats was distributed in the coastal forest due to its proportion of area on the overall island. In the forest, the rats were most active along the coastal sections for unknown and unexplored reasons – possibly due to …

Campus-Based Agriculture: The Future Of Food At Gettysburg College, Bryn K. Werley

Student Publications

This research investigates various methods for producing food on the campus of Gettysburg College in order to improve food sustainability. The transportation of food contributes to the increased use of fossil fuels, which in turn leads to global warming and climate change. By producing a larger portion of its food on-campus, Gettysburg College could reduce the amount of food transported to the school, thereby lessening the College’s environmental impact. Urban farming techniques, hydroponics, aquaponics, and greenhouse-based agriculture are explored as viable methods for achieving this goal. Examples of the use of these techniques on college campuses are drawn from Allegheny …

Rangeland Management During Drought: Assessing Social–Ecological And Cognitive Indicators Of Ranchers’ Adaptive Capacity, Tonya Haigh

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

Rangeland managers face challenges to adapt to climate extremes, and research is needed on how to support their adaptive capacity for managing climate risk. This study evaluates adaptive capacity using an integrated vulnerability and resilience conceptual model and three cognitive behavioral models. Overarching research questions focus on the relationship between protective action and impacts and the best predictors of taking action in response to drought. Three studies address these questions, using quantitative data collected from two post-drought surveys of rangeland-based livestock managers in the Northern Great Plains of the U.S. The studies find evidence of the roles of social-ecological sources …

Barriers And Opportunities To Electric Vehicle Development In Nepal, Allyson Krupa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the global carbon dioxide level reaches its highest point in human history (407.4 parts per million), energy systems must transition from fossil fuel to renewable-powered sources. Since the transportation sector contributes nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, electric mobility offers a significant opportunity to reduce GHG emissions. Globally, there has been a rise in demand for electric vehicles. In Nepal, a clean energy transition within the context of rising urbanization and air pollution is imperative for quality of life, socio-economic development, and broadly climate change mitigation/adaptation. Furthermore, Nepal’s vast hydropower potential may increase energy independence and provide …

Apartment Residents' Understanding Of And Satisfaction With Water Savings Devices, David Farmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the human population increases, the way we use and manage our supply of drinking water becomes even more important. The purpose of this study was to determine residents’ satisfaction level of and performance rating of new water savings devices installed in their apartments. Specifically the investigation focused on ratings of shower heads, kitchen faucet aerators, bath faucet aerators, and fill valve and flapper systems.

This quantitative survey included residents at 4 apartment complexes in Tennessee using a paper questionnaire (N = 626). The participants were grouped by age, ethnicity, gender, and whether or not they had experienced both nonrestrictive …

Development Of A Karst Tourism Management Index To Assess Tourism-Driven Degradation Of Protected Karst Sites, Keith R. Semler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The intent of this research was to create and evaluate a karst tourism management index (KTMI). This index is intended to be a new management tool designed to quantify environmental disturbances caused specifically by tourism activities in karst regions, particularly show caves and springs. In an effort to assess the effectiveness of the index as a management tool in karst terrains, after development, the index was applied to six case study sites. A review of the management policies at each study site was conducted with the use of standard policy critique methods and semistructured interviews with managers at the study …

Automated Bioacoustics: Methods In Ecology And Conservation And Their Potential For Animal Welfare Monitoring, Michael P. Mcloughlin, Rebecca Stewart, Alan G. Mcelligott

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Vocalizations carry emotional, physiological and individual information. This suggests that they may serve as potentially useful indicators for inferring animal welfare. At the same time, automated methods for analysing and classifying sound have developed rapidly, particularly in the fields of ecology, conservation and sound scene classification. These methods are already used to automatically classify animal vocalizations, for example, in identifying animal species and estimating numbers of individuals. Despite this potential, they have not yet found widespread application in animal welfare monitoring. In this review, we first discuss current trends in sound analysis for ecology, conservation and sound classification. Following this, …

Enhancing Rural Economies Through Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup, Dean Current, Christopher Hartley, Marlen Eve, Tricia Kovacs, Kate Mcfarland, Eric Norland, David Smith, Susan Stein, Richard Straight

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Executive Summary

Accelerating the adoption of agroforestry will require a better understanding of the economic opportunities and financial benefits to society, says a recent assessment of United States agroforestry.1 Providing this understanding is critical for agroforestry to reach its full potential, whereby it enhances rural economies and provides ecological services that people need, such as clean drinking water. To assess emerging opportunities, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) convened more than 60 people in March 2018 to learn, network, and, above all, generate ideas for raising the economic profile and viability of agroforestry in the United States.

The effort …

Teacher Perceptions Of Environmental Science In Rural Northwestern New Mexico Public Schools, Marie Quiahuitl Julienne

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

In this study, I explored what teachers perceive as the factors that impact their teaching of environmental science in rural secondary level schools in northwestern New Mexico. I adapted Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) ecological systems model, based on four environmental subsystem levels (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem), as the conceptual framework to address the major research question of this study, and developed 18 interview questions to explore teachers’ perceptions of factors that influence their teaching of environmental science. I investigated the perspectives science teachers have about environmental science topics and the influences they perceive that affect how they teach environmental science, and …

Understanding Ngos And Their Effectiveness Through A Comparative Study Of Their Role In Redd+, Jessica Russo

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis explores the following question: what roles do NGOs play and how effective may they be in efforts at global governance? Through a comparative case study analysis of NGOs advocating for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and NGOs implementing REDD+ projects, specifically the Surui Forest Carbon Project located in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, I examine whether NGOs are more effective taking on the role as advocates or policy implementers. For this work, I will argue that independent of the multiplicity of roles that NGOs play, their effectiveness is a function of the level of their …

Wish You Were Here, Janie Stamm, Janie I. Stamm

Graduate School of Art Theses

The State of Florida is under threat from the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels are creeping up on to Florida’s coast, eroding the beaches and encroaching on heavily populated cities. Over my lifetime I will watch the water spill over the streets of my home town. I will watch the water flood the Everglades, pushing saltwater into freshwater habitats. I will watch the water begin to drown the state, taking Florida’s many little known histories along with it. This thesis serves as a document of Floridian life during the Anthropocene.

Within this thesis, I tell the story of …

Assessing The Impacts Of Gold Mining Deforestation On The Giant Otter (Pteronura Brasiliensis) In Madre De Dios, Peru, Erica Carcelen

Sustainability and Social Justice

Gold mining activity is highly prevalent in the Madre de Dios region, Peru. This activity poses large environmental impacts including deforestation, sedimentation of rivers, and pollution from mercury used during extraction. Mining activity is a major threat to the endangered giant otter as it destroys its preferred riverine habitat. Moreover, mercury used during gold extraction bio-accumulates in fish, which constitutes the entirety of their diet. In order to conserve the giant otter, it is necessary to identify conservation priority areas. In a reactive conservation planning approach, the objective of this work was to prioritize areas suitable as giant otter habitat …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

The Niobrara National Scenic River: Exploring Co-Management Through A Case Study Of The Niobrara Council, Melissa M. Mosier

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

In recent decades, government staff and local citizens have increasingly employed cooperative schemes of natural resource management, in lieu of more conventional, top-down approaches of addressing user conflicts as they relate to water resources. The focus of this project was on the Niobrara Council, a partnership of local, state, and federal representatives charged with cooperatively managing the reach of the Niobrara River that was federally designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1991. The project's purpose was to explore the cooperative framework of the Council, using the methodology outlined by Carlsson and Berkes (2005). This methodology involved investigating …