Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

The Water-Electricity Nexus In California: Drought-Induced Risk To Thermal Electricity Generation, Timothy S. Hyles

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Investigating the possibility that drought might limit the water supply needed for thermal electricity generation in California, power plant water consumption data was compared to urban and agricultural consumptive demands to identify areas where power plants might contribute to regional water stress. To identify areas where power plants might be impacted by water stress, regional power plant, urban, and agricultural water demands were also compared to the available water supply. A list of power plants that would contribute most to regional water scarcity (individually and in aggregate) was highlighted, based on the plant’s water consumption volume, water-intensity, and water source. …

A Population Model For Coho Salmon (Onchorhynchus Kisutch) In Freshwater Creek: Evaluating The Effects Of Life History Variation And Habitat Restoration, Gabriel Scheer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Historic land use practices and associated habitat degradation have led to significant declines in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch ) populations across their range. In California they are a state and federally listed species, requiring population monitoring and management plans tailored towards recovery. Traditionally, juvenile coho salmon in California were thought to spend approximately one year in their natal freshwater habitats before migrating to sea the following spring and summer as smolts. However, recent work has documented considerable variation in juvenile life history and migration timing. Specifically, juveniles that migrate downstream prior to one year of age and spend their …

Short-Term Effects Of Nutrients On A Barrier Island Grassland Community, Ashley Moulton

Theses and Dissertations

Increased nutrient availability globally has the potential to affect community functional composition of plants in nutrient limited environments, such as coastal grassland systems. Stability of these systems are threatened worldwide by urbanization, as well as effects of sea level rise and increased frequency and intensity of storms, and atmospheric N deposition, associated with climate change. Annual net primary productivity (ANPP), species composition, and functional traits (community weighted specific leaf area (CWSLA), leaf area index (LAI), growth form and photosynthetic pathway) were measured across four treatments to assess multiple resource limitation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and functional community response …

Effects Of Silvopasture Establishment On Aqueous And Gaseous Soil N Losses At The University Of New Hampshire Organic Dairy Research Farm, Kathryn Ann Slebodnik

Honors Theses and Capstones

The expansion of local agriculture in the New England region is putting increased pressure on farmers to expand their arable land base. While clear-cutting is a traditional method of converting forested land to agriculture, it is known for having adverse ecological impacts. To minimize these impacts, farmers can create a silvopasture which incorporates a portion of the original forest canopy into pastures or crop fields. This study evaluates the impact of land-use changes for agriculture on soil nitrogen (N) retention. In particular, this study investigates the differences in soil N turnover, gaseous loss, and aqueous loss among an established forest, …

River Report. State Of The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, Contaminants, 2017, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Radha Pyati, Anthony Ouellette, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, An-Phong Le, Brian P. Zoellner, Peter Bacopoulos

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Justice And Equity In Carbon Offset Governance: Debates And Dilemmas, Mary Finley-Brook

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Trade-offs complicate development interventions so that benefits for one group or area often imply costs for another; large-scale projects deemed highly efficient in economic terms may generate harmful environmental or social externalities. This chapter explores issues of justice in carbon trading in terms of decision-making power and the subsequent distribution of positive and negative impacts. It explores whether offset governance can help resolve widespread problems, such as racial or income inequality and environmental injustice.

Wringing Wonder From The Arid Landscape Of Law, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Charles Wilkinson’s estimable contribution to public land law scholarship is widely cited but only partly understood. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s he upended the field by elevating the diffuse public interest, displacing creation and adjudication of private property interests as the field’s focus. However, his subsequent scholarship grappled with an even more important challenge that has been far less noted. Beginning in the late 1980s, Wilkinson explored how legal institutions should determine the pluralistic, public interest. In trailblazing articles and books, he rose to the challenge with site-specific details, compelling narratives, and aspirational themes. This work undermined the dominance …

The Balancing Act: Ecological Interventions And Decision Tradeoffs To Preserve Wilderness Character, Lucy A. Lieberman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Global climate change, land use intensification and increasing development are impacting federal wildernesses in new and unprecedented ways. Ecological restoration is one tool that that wilderness managers are using to combat degradation, though the decision to intervene in wilderness is complicated by the Wilderness Act’s legal mandate to preserve wilderness character and demonstrate managerial restraint. The purpose of this study is to document a baseline of ecological interventions that have occurred in the NWPS over the last five years, and to understand how wilderness managers make decisions related to ecological interventions. I sent a quantitative survey to over five hundred …

Assessing Responses Of Betula Papyrifera (Paper Birch) To Climate Variability In A Remnant Population Along The Niobrara River In Nebraska Through Dendroecological And Remote Sensing Techniques, Evan Bumann

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

Remnant populations of the boreal species Betula papyrifera, found along north-facing canyons and river banks of the Niobrara River Valley in north-central Nebraska, represent one of the southernmost distributions of the species in North America. Although, the species has persisted in the Great Plains after the Wisconsin Glaciation due to the local topography and microclimatic conditions, canopy dieback has been reported in recent years, which is believed to be attributed to temperature change. Therefore, the goals of this research are to: 1) use dendroecological techniques, or the study of tree rings to assess the responses B. papyrifera to intra- and …

Assessing Riparian Ecosystem Condition And Monitoring Recovery From Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Rachel Powers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian ecosystems are the transition zones between river systems and uplands. They provide many valuable ecological functions including creating habitat for wildlife, stabilizing banks from erosion and providing a buffer that prevents excess nutrients from entering streams. Fires and other disturbances alter the function of these ecosystems. Currently, there is a lack of broadly used standardized assessments and monitoring methods in riparian areas within our current water policy framework. This study aims to examine this gap in riparian ecosystem protection by reviewing the assessment methods currently in use, selecting one method for field testing, and analyzing the effort involved in …

Comparing Changes In Fuel Loading, Tree Regeneration, And Forest Structure In Once- And Twice-Burned Mixed-Conifer Forests With A Before-After-Control-Impact Case Study In The Bob Marshall Wilderness, Wyatt W. Trull

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Wildfires drive landscape character in the seasonally dry mixed-conifer forests of western North America. Forested landscapes in this region are a mosaic of overlapping burn perimeters, which span a wide gradient of severity and burn age. The goal of this study was to compare the effects of single and repeat wildfires on fuel loading and forest structure and composition. Our study site spans the east and west sides of the South Fork of Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The east side of the river burned in 2000 in the Helen Creek Fire. The west side of the river …

Department Of Natural Resource Management Newsletter, Department Of Natural Resource Management

NRM Newsletter

Public-Private Partnership Trains Award-Winning Students [p] 1
New Wetland Restoration Highlights Annual Research Retreat [p] 2
Wetlands Inventory Project Returns [p] 2
Dr. Phillip Fay, USDAARS, Temple, TX visit [p] 2
SDSU researchers examine how land use changes affect lakes and streams [p] 3
Completed PhD and MS Projects:
Growth Potential of Age-0 Pallid Sturgeon in the Missouri River: Insight From an Individual Based Model [p] 3
Evaluating Relationships Among Wetland Quality, Land Use, and Waterbirds in the Prairie Pothole Region [p] 4
Development and Application of a Larval Pallid Sturgeon Energetics Model [p] 5
An Assessment of Direct Mortality …

Monitoring Reduction Efforts For Pm2.5 In Ellensburg,Wa Using Community-Based Social Marketing To Examine Behavioral Change, Kelsey Gibbs

All Master's Theses

In 2011, Ellensburg, Washington was labeled by the Washington Department of Ecology as being vulnerable for violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate pollution (PM_2.5­). In the Kittitas Basin, winter-time frequent air inversions and stagnant air events trap pollution near the ground, elevating pollutant concentrations during winter months. Wood smoke from household burning has been identified by mobile PM_2.5 monitoring completed in 2015 as the primary source of PM­_2.5. This research utilizes community-based social marketing techniques to encourage behavioral change for wood burning in a targeted neighborhood in Ellensburg. Residents of the target neighborhood …

An Evaluation Of Nitrogen Supplementation And Processed Soy Fractions On The Performance Of Cultured Fishes, Brandon M. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

World population growth has resulted in an increased demand for a sustainable food supply. This rapid growth coupled with an increased per capita consumption of seafood, has resulted in many of the world’s marine fisheries being over-exploited in an effort to meet the global demand for seafood. Aquaculture has attempted to fill the supply and demand gap created by the dwindling supply of fish in the world’s oceans. Fishmeal (FM) has traditionally been the primary protein ingredient in aquafeeds fed to farm-raised fish, however its unstable supply and increasing price have driven researchers to identify alternative protein sources. Soybean meal …

An Integrated Evaluation Of The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program In South Dakota, Jarrett D. Pfrimmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grassland restoration efforts in North America typically share the goal of improving ecological conditions for wildlife; however, it is unclear in many cases if goals are met. The South Dakota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was initiated to alleviate agriculturally-related environmental degradation by converting 40,469 hectares of eligible cropland and marginal pastureland to perennial vegetation. The program aims to provide habitat for obligate grassland breeding songbirds, while producing an additional 285,000 pheasants and 60,000 ducks annually. As part of a collaborative comprehensive evaluation effort, my research assessed the response of grassland-dependent breeding birds to CREP implementation at varying spatial scales …

Investigating The Utility Of Rapid Assessment Process For Environmental Development Work Of Peace Corps Master’S International Students, Mariah Maggio

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) students engage in international development when they assume the role of Volunteer and graduate researcher. Michigan Technological University had the largest PCMI program in the country, with many Volunteer assignments involving environmental problem solving opportunities. Unfortunately some PCMI students have experienced “failed projects,” something not un-common to international development approaches. This research design supports institutional interdisciplinary efforts aimed at preparing PCMI students to engage in productive community development that avoids historic pitfalls of international development efforts. In order to contribute to this effort, the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) approach was identified as a potential tool …

Characterization Of Ecological Water Stress In The U.S. Great Lakes Region Using A Geospatial Modeling Approach, Sara Alian

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Anthropocentric water resources management affects aquatic habitats by changing streamflow regime. Understanding the impacts of water withdrawal from different sources and consumption by various economic sectors at different spatial and temporal scales is key to characterizing ecologically harmful streamflow disturbances. To this end, we developed a generic, integrative framework to characterize catchment scale water stress at annual and monthly time scales. The framework accounts for spatially cumulative consumptive and non-consumptive use impacts and associated changes in flow due to depletion and return flow along the stream network. Application of the framework to the U.S. Great Lakes Region indicates that a …

Mesonets: Meso-Scale Weather And Climate Observations For The U.S., Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Droughts Of The Twentieth And Early Twenty First Centuries: Influences On The Production Of Beef And Forage In Kentucky, Usa, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Recent Land Cover Changes And Sensitivity Of The Model Simulations To Various Land Cover Datasets For China, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resilience In Ecotoxicology: Toward A Multiple Equilibrium Concept, Mirco Bundschuh, Ralf Schulz, Ralf B. Schäfer, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The term resilience describes stress-response patterns across scientific disciplines. In ecology, advances have been made to clearly define resilience based on underlying mechanistic assumptions. Engineering resilience (rebound) is used to describe the ability of organisms to recover from adverse conditions (disturbances), which is termed the rate of recovery. By contrast, the ecological resilience definition considers a systemic change, that is, when ecosystems reorganize into a new regime following disturbance. Under this new regime, structural and functional aspects change considerably relative to the previous regime, without recovery. In this context, resilience is an emergent property of complex systems. In the present …

Assessment Of A Channel Catfish Population In A Large Open River System, A. J. Blank, M. J. Hamel, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Mark A. Pegg

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Estimates of dynamic rate functions for riverine channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), populations are limited. The open nature and inherent difficulty in sampling riverine environments and the propensity for dispersal of channel catfish impede estimation of population variables. However, contemporary population models (i.e. robust design models) can incorporate the open nature of these systems. The purpose of this study was to determine channel catfish population abundance, survival and size structure and to characterize growth in the lower Platte River, Nebraska, USA. Annual survival estimates of adult channel catfish were 13%–49%, and channel catfish abundance estimates ranged from 8,281 to 24,261 …

The Future Of Blackbird Management Research, Page E. Klug

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Human society values birds for their intrinsic and aesthetic value as well as the ecosystem services they provide as pollinators, consumers of pests, and distributors of nutrients and seeds (Wenny et al. 2011). At the same time, conflict between birds and humans is an age-old phenomenon that has persisted as society has transformed and the scale of agriculture has expanded (Conover 2002). Managing conflict between birds and agriculture is challenging for many reasons. Foremost, the need to consider both human welfare and conservation of protected bird species is paramount, with nonlethal management methods preferred to lethal measures from societal, economical, …

Executive Summary, Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency In U. S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions, Toral Patel-Weynand, Gary Bentrup, Michele M. Schoeneberger

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

Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal production systems, is being deployed to enhance productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship of agricultural operations and lands across the United States. The full assessment at https://doi.org/10.2737/WO-GTR-96 and summarized here provides a science-based synthesis on the use of agroforestry for mitigation and adaptation services in the face of climatic variability and change. It provides technical input to land-use sector issues in the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and serves as a framework for including agroforestry systems in agricultural strategies to improve productivity and food security and to build resilience in …

Trending @ Rwu Law: Julia Wyman's Post: The Threat Of Marine Debris 12-13-2016, Julia Wyman

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Terrestrial Ecosystem Process Model Biome-Bgcmuso V4.0: Summary Of Improvements And New Modeling Possibilities, Dóra Hidy, Zoltán Barcza, Hrvoje Marjanovi´C, Maša Zorana Ostrogovi´C Sever, Laura Dobor, Györgyi Gelybó, Nándor Fodor, Krisztina Pintér, Galina Churkina, Steven Running, Peter Thornton, Gianni Bellocchi, László Haszpra, Ferenc Horváth, Andrew E. Suyker, Zoltán Nagy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The process-based biogeochemical model Biome- BGC was enhanced to improve its ability to simulate carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles of various terrestrial ecosystems under contrasting management activities. Biome-BGC version 4.1.1 was used as a base model. Improvements included addition of new modules such as the multilayer soil module, implementation of processes related to soil moisture and nitrogen balance, soil-moisture-related plant senescence, and phenological development. Vegetation management modules with annually varying options were also implemented to simulate management practices of grasslands (mowing, grazing), croplands (ploughing, fertilizer application, planting, harvesting), and forests (thinning). New carbon and nitrogen pools have been defined to …

Resource Assessment Report Western Rock Lobster Resource Of Western Australia, Simon De Lestang, Nick Caputi, Jason R. How

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

The western rock lobster Panulirus cygnus (George) is taken by commercial and recreational fishers throughout its geographic range along the lower west coast of Western Australia. The main commercial fishery for P. cygnus is the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF), which is Australia’s largest single-species fishery, currently worth about $400 million annually. Western rock lobster provides the basis for the economies of a number of coastal towns and also supports a recreational fishery.

Umphlett Qci Dec 2016, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought Conditions

Large Fires Impact Region

Heavy Rains Bring Flooding to Montana

Isolated Impacts to Agriculture

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Soil Moisture Conditions

Surface Water Infiltration In Loess Soils Of The Lower Mississippi River Valley: An Emphasis On Land Use, Matthew Thompson

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Alluvial Aquifer is the shallowest and most heavily used groundwater aquifer in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, particularly in the Delta region of eastern Arkansas. However, the Alluvial Aquifer is being depleted faster than the rate of recharge, primarily due to excessive withdrawals for irrigated crop production. Since extensive irrigation in the highly agriculturally productive Delta region of eastern Arkansas has been a main culprit in the groundwater depletion issues the region faces, a better understanding of how ecological factors and/or agricultural best management practices could possibly increase infiltration, to consequently increase recharge, are needed in order to either …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2016 Data Report, Molly B. Davis, Daniel J. Swanson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2016 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire).

During the sixth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots on May 23-25, 2016 to collect data on the plant communities at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the vegetation at SCBL. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of individual native and non-native …