Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2016, Natalie Umphlett, Jamie Lahowetz, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Stakeholder engagement activities......................................2

Product highlight....................3

Partnership spotlight.............3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Regional news..........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Droughtscape, Fall 2016, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

NDMC welcome two to team

Third quarter drought summary: Drought still spreading

Third quarter drought impacts: It was a hot, dry summer

Drought management framework for Africa approved

MENA region update

US Virgin Islands one step closer to its own drought monitor

Montana looks to improve watershed resilience

Tournament tackles hazards

Web tool will help officials make drought-related decisions

Dry Horizons launches

Aerosols Size Distribution Characteristics And Role Of Precipitation During Dust Storm Formation Over Saudi Arabia, Ashraf Farahat, Hesham El-Askary, A. Umran Dogan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region are frequently exposed to major dust storms and anthropogenic emissions from rapidly growing industrial activities that affect aerosols optical and physical characteristics. This paper integrates observations from space-borne sensors namely MODIS and CALIPSO, together with AERONET ground observations to examine eight years aerosols characteristics during the (March–May) season of 2003 to 2010 over Saudi Arabia. Aerosol analysis from the interdependent data assessment show comparable aerosols characteristics over the eight year period with higher aerosols mean optical depths over enhanced dust load region, (46–50°E, 25–29°N), during March–May of 2009 and 2010. The mean …

U.S. Drought Monitor, September 27, 2016, Chris Fenimore

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for September 27, 2016 (9/27/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, September 20, 2016, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for September 20, 2016 (9/20/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, September 13, 2016, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for September 13, 2016 (9/13/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 30, 2016, Chris Fenimore

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 30, 2016 (8/30/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 23, 2016, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 23, 2016 (8/23/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Using Ecological Production Functions To Link Ecological Processes To Ecosystem Services, Randall Jf Bruins, Timothy J. Canfield, Clifford Duke, Larry Kapustka, Amanda M. Nahlik, Ralf B. Schäfer

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively little attention. Ecological production functions may be defined as usable expressions (i.e., models) of the processes by which ecosystems produce ES, often including external influences on those processes. We identify key attributes of EPFs and discuss both actual and idealized examples of their use to inform decision making. Whenever possible, EPFs should estimate final, rather than intermediate, ES. Although various types of EPFs have been …

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 16, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 16, 2016 (8/16/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 9, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 9, 2016 (8/9/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 2, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 2, 2016 (8/2/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Influence Of Resource Availability On Juniperus Virginiana Expansion In A Forest–Prairie Ecotone, A. C. Ganguli, D. M. Engle, P. M. Mayer, L. F. Salo

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Woody plant expansion into grasslands and savannas is a global concern. Rapid expansion of Juniperus virginiana, a tree native to North America, has profound ecological consequences. We used transplanted J. virginiana seedlings to investigate the role of resource availability on J. virginiana expansion following the removal of fire, the factor historically limiting range expansion of this fire-intolerant species. We evaluated J. virginiana seedling survival and seedling growth, two important phases in woody plant expansion, relative to two below ground resource factors, plant-available soil water (soil clay content, an index of plant-available soil water) and plant-available nitrogen (PAN), and an above …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 26, 2016, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 26, 2016 (7/26/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 19, 2016, Chris Fenimore

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 19, 2016 (7/19/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Implications Of Manipulations Of Soil Quality On The Growth Of European Buckthorn (Rhamnus Cathartica) In A Greenhouse, Sam L. Pepper, Liam Heneghan

DePaul Discoveries

European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) is an invasive shrub that is capable of changing the nitrogen content of a soil through the deposition of its nitrogen rich leaf litter. This change creates conditions that may favor recolonizing by buckthorn and negatively affect the growth of native plants. In this greenhouse experiment, we examined the effect of altering soil quality by adding mulch comprised of buckthorn wood on above and belowground biomass, stem length and leaf production of buckthorn saplings. We found that buckthorn saplings planted in buckthorn mulch had reduced stem length and leaf production compared to growth in …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 12, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 12, 2016 (7/12/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 5, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 5, 2016 (7/5/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Drougthscape, Summer 2016, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

NDMC adds two employees

Second quarter drought summary: Drought slowly spreading

Second quarter drought impacts: Drought intensifies across US

First comprehensive drought

indices guidebook released

Drought Impact Reporter updates increase usability

Create a custom DIR view

Drought center co-leads MENA region project

McCook, Nebraska, tackles drought resilience

Arizona groups improve public lands drought planning

NDMC founder Don Wilhite retires

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2016, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Jamie Lahowetz, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Research update......................2

Product highlight....................3

Partnership spotlight.............3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 28, 2016, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 28, 2016 (6/28/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 21, 2016, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 21, 2016 (6/21/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 7, 2016, Deborah J. Bathke

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 7, 2016 (6/7/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 24, 2016, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 24, 2016 (5/24/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 17, 2016, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 17, 2016 (5/17/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 10, 2016, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 10, 2016 (5/10/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 3, 2016, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 3, 2016 (5/3/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Assessment Of American White Pelican Predation And Reproductive Success Of Walleye In The Tamarac River, Mn, Jake Graham

Biology Graduate Theses

The Tamarac River is a major tributary of the Red Lakes MN, which provides an economically important multispecies fishery. The river experiences spring spawning migrations of northern pike, walleye, and white suckers. However, limited data exists related to reproductive success of fishes in the river. Furthermore, in the previous decade large congregations of American white pelicans (AWPE) have been observed using the Tamarac River as a foraging ground each spring. Assessing reproductive success of fishes in the Tamarac River provides a more holistic understanding of fish ecology in the river and the importance of the Tamarac River to the Red …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 19, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 19, 2016 (4/19/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 12, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 12, 2016 (4/12/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.