Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

The Impact Of Land Use On Nitrate-N Movement And Storage In The Vadose Zone Of The Hastings’ Whpa, Craig Adams

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

Nebraska has one of the largest agricultural economies in the United States and relies heavily on irrigation and fertilizer application to maintain crop yields. Over-irrigation and continuous application of nitrogen (N) in many areas has led to accumulation of nitrate-N in soils and sediments throughout the state’s vadose zone. Because nitrate-N is both persistent and mobile, groundwater concentrations in many areas of Nebraska and other agriculturally intensive states are increasing. Nitrate-N contamination of public and private drinking water supplies that utilize groundwater are of particular concern. Vadose zone sampling is an important method for rapidly assessing the effect of changing …

Phytophthora Cinnamomi Colonized Reclaimed Surface Mined Sites In Eastern Kentucky: Implications For The Restoration Of Susceptible Species, Kenton L. Sena, Kevin M. Yeager, Tyler J. Dreaden, Christopher D. Barton

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Appalachian forests are threatened by a number of factors, especially introduced pests and pathogens. Among these is Phytophthora cinnamomi, a soil-borne oomycete pathogen known to cause root rot in American chestnut, shortleaf pine, and other native tree species. This study was initiated to characterize the incidence of P. cinnamomi on surface mined lands in eastern Kentucky, USA, representing a range of time since reclamation (10, 12, 15, and 20 years since reclamation). Incidence of P. cinnamomi was correlated to soil properties including overall soil development, as indicated by a variety of measured soil physical and chemical parameters, especially the …

Can Prescribed Fire Reduce Tick Parasitism Of Birds?, Leslie A. Sterling, Kim Medley, Katie Westby, Solný Adalsteinsson

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Tick-borne diseases spread through enzootic transmission cycles that often involve ticks parasitizing bird hosts. Some avian species are competent reservoirs, amplifying the pathogens that cause tick-borne illnesses in humans. Prescribed burns in forests have the potential to reduce tick-borne disease risk if they limit interactions between ticks and infectious wildlife hosts. Although prescribed burns are increasingly being used for a variety of habitat management purposes, little is known about how they affect tick-host interactions. We hypothesize that if prescribed fires reduce tick abundance, then birds in burned forest plots will host fewer ticks than birds in unburned forest plots. Experimental …

Imidacloprid Sorption And Transport In Cropland, Grass Buffer, And Riparian Buffer Soils, Laura E. Satkowski, Keith W. Goyne, Stephen H. Anderson, Robert N. Lerch, Elisabeth B. Webb, Daniel D. Snow

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

An understanding of neonicotinoid sorption and transport in soil is critical for determining and mitigating environmental risk associated with the most widely used class of insecticides. The objective of this study was to evaluate mobility and transport of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (ICD) in soils collected from cropland, grass vegetative buffer strip (VBS), and riparian VBS soils. Soils were collected at six randomly chosen sites within grids that encompassed all three land uses. Single-point equilibrium batch sorption experiments were conducted using radio-labeled (¹⁴C) ICD to determine solid–solution partition coefficients (K_d). Column experiments were conducted using soils collected …

Lichen Abundance And Diversity In Relation To Host Tree Species And Lakeshore Proximity, Theodore Roper

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

Comparing Crop Growth And Carbon Budgets Simulated Across Ameriflux Agricultural Sites Using The Community Land Model (Clm), Ming Chen, Timothy J. Griffis, John M. Baker, Jeffrey D. Wood, Tilden Meyers, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Improvement of process-based crop models is needed to achieve high fidelity forecasts of regional energy, water, and carbon exchanges. However, most state-of-the-art Land Surface Models (LSMs) assessed in the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison project (CMIP5) simulated crops as unmanaged C3 or C4 grasses. This study evaluated the crop-enabled version of one of the most widely used LSMs, the Community Land Model (CLM4- Crop), for simulating corn and soybean agro-ecosystems at relatively long-time scales (up to 11 years) using 54 site-years of data. We found that CLM4-Crop had a biased phenology during the early growing season and that …

A Socioeconomic Valuation Of Urban Wetland Ecosystems And Policy Recommendation For College Lake, Michael Dunmyer

Student Scholar Showcase

The current dilemma of College Lake offers a unique case study for how urban ecosystems can not only subsist within cities but provide pivotal functions for them as well. With the potential for a dam-breaching storm event increasing in possibility with each passing year, concerns regarding the structural integrity of the College Lake dam in Lynchburg, VA have arisen. Such concerns have led the City of Lynchburg to consider reinforcement or removal of the dam in order to mitigate flood risks along the Blackwater Creek floodplain. Since its formation following the installation of the Depression-era dam, however, College Lake has …

Relating Diets And Food Availability To Long-Term Population Trends Of Lesser Scaup Wintering On Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Clay Michael Stroud

LSU Master's Theses

Lake Pontchartrain provides wintering habitat for a continentally-significant proportion of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). Mid-winter aerial surveys indicate dramatic variation in annual scaup abundance (0–1,194,907), though the mechanisms driving fluctuations have not been previously investigated. In response to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, species composition, abundance, and size structure of benthic invertebrate populations in Lake Pontchartrain exhibit drastic variability among years. Given that wintering scaup feed primarily on mollusks, environmental disturbances have the potential to influence scaup dynamics on the estuary by altering the benthic community. To diagnose trophic linkages and variation in scaup abundance, we collected ducks (n=60) …

Guidelines For Ecotourism Operations In The Great Plains, Larkin A. Powell, Kelly Powell, Katie Nieland

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature defines ecotourism as: Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local peoples.

Ecotourism has the potential to support communities and conservation efforts from revenue streams to parks and reserves in the Great Plains, while also contributing to a culture shift towards a conservation ethic. Recent surges in ecotourism have contributed to growth in the tourism sectors in Great Plains states, because these …

Droughtscape, Spring 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Drought shifts to south in beginning of 2018

Ag records impacts; strong fire season forecast

Drought maps show regional and river forecast areas

Greenness indicator could save lives in Africa

NDMC on a global playing field

Visitors from Korea tap drought resources, experts

Svoboda named to United Nations advisory group

Responding to drought in the Southern Plains

Crops, cattle and climatology in the Upper Niobrara

Connecting locally for global change

Final Paper For Posc370: National Energy Strategy, Courtney Trott

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

This paper aims to analyze the energy sources and needs of Canada. I worked off of current data and policies to make predictions and suggestions for the next 20 years in the areas of energy production and policy for Canada. In studying Canada’s energy policies and programs, there is a lot to be gained when thinking international energy policy and production.

Japan National Energy Strategy: Energy Politics - Posc 370, Peter Wong

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

In this paper is my energy strategy for Japan, with the purpose to: provide broad strategic objectives, identify and explain the policies chosen, mobilization of political support as well as consideration of Japan’s energy resources. Additionally the paper considers economic and political feasibility, and theaters of conflict that may arise. The paper uses the knowledge and skills of looking at national energy politics and strategies learned in class.

Gastrointestinal Helminth Prevalence In Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis) Wintering On Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Usa, Sydney Cottingham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Assessing Trade-Offs In Large Marine Protected Areas, Tammy E. Davies, Graham Epstein, Stacy E. Aguilera, Cassandra M. Brooks, Michael Cox, Louisa S. Evans, Sara M. Maxwell, Mateja Nenadovic, Natalie C. Ban

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users …

Modular Oxidant Delivery System, Mark Christenson, Steven Douglas Comfort

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In one implementation, a direct - push oxidant candle apparatus for the treatment of contaminated groundwater through direct - push installation methods includes : a drive tip positioned at a bottom end of the apparatus , the drive tip having one or more front surfaces that are shaped to create a bore as force is applied to an opposite base surface of the drive tip ; a structural pathway that is connected to and extend upwardly from the base surface of the drive tip ; one or more oxidant delivery devices that are enclosed within the structural pathway ; and …

High-Resolution Water Footprints Of Production Of The United States

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The United States is the largest producer of goods and services in the world. Rainfall, surface water supplies, and groundwater aquifers represent a fundamental input to economic production. Despite the importance of water resources to economic activity, we do not have consistent information on water use for specific locations and economic sectors. A national, spatially detailed database of water use by sector would provide insight into U.S. utilization and dependence on water resources for economic production. To this end, we calculate the water footprint of over 500 food, energy, mining, services, and manufacturing industries and goods produced in the United …

Extreme Precipitation Events, Impacts, Trends And Projections For Indiana, Sam Lashley

Purdue Road School

The National Weather Service is working with core partners to build a Weather Ready Nation for present and future generations by taking advanced action against the devastating impacts of extreme weather events, including extreme precipitation and flooding. One way in which this can be accomplished is by studying trends in historical weather data and applying what we learn to future mitigation efforts. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the magnitude and impacts that future extreme precipitation events may have on local infrastructure.

This presentation will review extreme rainfall and flooding events that have occurred across Indiana along …

Synchrony — An Emergent Property Of Recreational Fisheries, Mark A. Kaemingk, Christopher J. Chizinski, Keith Hurley, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Recreational fisheries are traditionally managed at local scales, but more effective management could be achieved using a cross-scale approach. To do this, we must first understand how local processes scale up to influence landscape patterns between anglers and resources. We highlight how population-based synchrony methods, used in conjunction with a complex-adaptive-systems framework, can reveal emergent spatial properties within social-ecological systems such as recreational fisheries.

2. Herein, we quantified the level of spatial synchrony in angler behaviour, defined the relationship between angler synchrony and distance among waterbodies, and highlighted social-ecological attributes contributing to these patterns. We leveraged a 111 waterbody-year …

Present And Future Thermal Environments Available To Sharp-Tailed Grouse In An Intact Grassland, Edward J. Raynor, Larkin Powell, Walter H. Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Better understanding animal ecology in terms of thermal habitat use has become a focus of ecological studies, in large part due to the predicted temperature increases associated with global climate change. To further our knowledge on how ground-nesting endotherms respond to thermal landscapes, we examined the thermal ecology of Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) during the nesting period. We measured site-specific iButton temperatures (TiB) and vegetation characteristics at nest sites, nearby random sites, and landscape sites to assess thermal patterns at scales relevant to nesting birds. We asked if microhabitat vegetation characteristics at nest sites matched the characteristics that directed macrohabitat …

Summary Of The Stock Structure Information Used For Determining Spatial Management Of The Index Species For The Scalefish Resources Of Northern Western Australia, Daniel J. Gaughan, Stephen J. Newman, Corey B. Wakefield

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This paper was specifically developed in response to issues raised in an assessment of the Pilbara Trap Managed Fishery (PTMF) against the fishery sustainability standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Intensive Land Use And Conservation Planning At The University Of Central Florida, Chelsea R. Piner

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Conservation strategies are necessary for cities to meet regional goals of sustainability, but commitments and collaborative efforts among influential stakeholders for economic and developmental growth frequently hinder conservation efforts. This study analyzes how planning documents influence conservation at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I use an inductive method of analysis to explore the stated conservation goals and commitments of UCF's Campus Master Plan. I then compare these objectives with the behaviors of the institution. This research indicates that the absence of collaborative efforts among agencies has resulted in UCF undermining its academic mission. Intensive land-use has sparked global environmental …

Global Anthropogenic Phosphorus Loads To Freshwater And Associated Grey Water Footprints And Water Pollution Levels: A High-Resolution Global Study, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

We estimate the global anthropogenic phosphorus (P) loads to freshwater and the associated grey water footprints (GWFs) for the period 2002–2010, at a spatial resolution of 5 3 5 arc min, and com- pare the GWF per river basin to runoff to assess the P-related water pollution level (WPL). The global anthro- pogenic P load to freshwater systems from both diffuse and point sources is estimated at 1.5 Tg/yr. More than half of this total load was in Asia, followed by Europe (19%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (13%). The domestic sector contributed 54% to the total, agriculture 38%, …

Evaluation Of Acoustic Telemetry Grids For Determining Aquatic Animal Movement And Survival, Richard T. Kraus, Christopher M. Holbrook, Christopher S. Vandergoot, Taylor R, Stewart, Matthew D. Faust, Douglas A. Watkinson, Colin Charles, Mark A. Pegg, Eva C. Enders, Charles C. Krueger

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

1. Acoustic telemetry studies have frequently prioritized linear configurations of hydrophone receivers, such as perpendicular from shorelines or across rivers, to detect the presence of tagged aquatic animals. This approach introduces unknown bias when receivers are stationed for convenience at geographic bottlenecks (e.g. at the mouth of an embayment or between islands) as opposed to deployments following a statistical sampling design.

2. We evaluated two-dimensional acoustic receiver arrays (grids: receivers spread uniformly across space) as an alternative approach to provide estimates of survival, movement and habitat use. Performance of variably spaced receiver grids (5–25 km spacing) was evaluated by simulating …

Utilizing Gis To Locate Endangered Gravel Hill Prairies Of The Wabash River Valley, Ryan W.R. Schroeder

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

The Gravel Hill Prairies (GHP’s) of the Wabash River Valley are an endangered ecosystem in the state of Indiana and provide optimal growing conditions for a number of state endangered plants. Currently only four remnants are known to exist near Lafayette, IN, found by a previous study conducted in 1980 by Post, Bacone, and Aldrich (Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1984, vol. 94: 457-464). These unique ecosystems have been found to occur almost exclusively on soils classified as Rodman Gravelly Loams and Strawn-Rodman complexes which occur predominantly along the outwash terraces of the Wabash River and its tributaries. …

Using Unmanned Aerial Systems For Deriving Forest Stand Characteristics In Mixed Hardwoods Of West Virginia, Henry Liebermann, Jamie Schuler, Michael P. Strager, Angela K. Hentz, Aaron Maxwell

Journal of Geospatial Applications in Natural Resources

Forest inventory information is a principle driver for forest management decisions. Information gathered through these inventories provides a summary of the condition of forested stands. The method by which remote sensing aids land managers is changing rapidly. Imagery produced from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer high temporal and spatial resolutions to small-scale forest management. UAS imagery is less expensive and easier to coordinate to meet project needs compared to traditional manned aerial imagery. This study focused on producing an efficient and approachable work flow for producing forest stand board volume estimates from UAS imagery in mixed hardwood stands of West …

Variability Of Rainfall Erosivity And Erosivity Density In The Ganjiang River Catchment, China: Characteristics And Influences Of Climate Change, Xianghu Li, Xuchun Ye

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Soil erosion is one of the most critical environmental hazards in the world. Understanding the changes in rainfall erosivity (RE) and erosivity density (ED), as well as their affecting factors, at local and catchment scales in the context of climate warming is an important prerequisite of soil erosion prevention and soil loss risk assessment. The present study identified the variability and trends of RE and ED in terms of both time and space in the Ganjiang River catchment over the period of 1960–2012, and also analyzed and discussed the impact of climate change. The results show that RE and ED …

Can Genomic Variation Explain The Extinction Of The Passenger Pigeon?, Chih-Ming Hung, R. M. Zink, Shou-Hsien Li

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Speciation In Birds, With Special Reference To Darwin's Finches, G. E. Hill, R. M. Zink

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gene Flow From Single And Stacked Herbicide-Resistant Rice (Oryza Sativa): Modeling Occurrence Of Multiple Herbicide-Resistant Weedy Rice, Joseph Dauer, Andrew Hulting, Dale Carlson, Luke Mankin, John Harden, Carol Mallory-Smith

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Provisia™ rice (PV), a non-genetically engineered (GE) quizalofop-resistant rice, will provide growers with an additional option for weed management to use in conjunction with Clearfield® rice (CL) production. Modeling compared the impact of stacking resistance traits versus single traits in rice on introgression of the resistance trait to weedy rice (also called red rice). Common weed management practices were applied to 2-, 3- and 4-year crop rotations, and resistant and multiple-resistant weedy rice seeds, seedlings and mature plants were tracked for 15 years.

Results: Two-year crop rotations resulted in resistant weedy rice after 2 years with abundant populations (exceeding …

Dominant Plant Species Shape Soil Bacterial Community In Semiarid Sandy Land Of Northern China, Shaokun Wang, Xiaoan Zuo, Xueyong Zhao, Tala Awada, Yongqing Luo, Yuqiang Li, Hao Qu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Plant species affect soil bacterial diversity and compositions. However, little is known about the role of dominant plant species in shaping the soil bacterial community during the restoration of sandy grasslands in Horqin Sandy Land, northern China. We established a mesocosm pots experiment to investigate short-term responses of soil bacterial diversity and composition, and the related soil properties in degraded soils without vegetation (bare sand as the control, CK) to restoration with five plant species that dominate across restoration stages: Agriophyllum squarrosum (AS), Artemisia halodendron (AH), Setaria viridis (SV), Chenopodium acuminatum (CA), and Corispermum macrocarpum (CM). We used redundancy analysis …