Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Hydro-Stochastic Interpolation Coupling With The Budyko Approach For Prediction Of Mean Annual Runoff, Ning Qiu, Xi Chen, Qi Hu, Jintao Liu, Richao Huang, Man Gao

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The hydro-stochastic interpolation method based on traditional block Kriging has often been used to predict mean annual runoff in river basins. A caveat in such a method is that the statistic technique provides little physical insight into relationships between the runoff and its external forcing, such as the climate and land cover. In this study, the spatial runoff is decomposed into a deterministic trend and deviations from it caused by stochastic fluctuations. The former is described by the Budyko method (Fu’s equation) and the latter by stochastic interpolation. This coupled method is applied to spatially interpolate runoff in the Huaihe …

Guide To Usda Agroforestry Research Funding Opportunities

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

This guide is intended for researchers and academics pursuing funding opportunities for research in agroforestry - the intentonal integration of trees and agriculture. The guide provides an overview of external agroforestry research funding opportunities offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies.

This publication was created for serveral reasons. Agroforestry is not always clearly identified in announcements about research funding opportunities. In addition, research on agroforestry can require a longer time horizon than research on annual systems, so awareness of multiple funding sources or multi-year funding opportunities can be useful. Last, though USDA offers grants that can support …

Using Art And Story To Explore How Primary School Students In Rural Tanzania Understand Planetary Health: A Qualitative Analysis, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Jesca Mlawa, Elizabeth Komba, Christopher Gustafson, Hilda Mrema, Jenny M. Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background The global planetary health community increasingly recognises the need to prepare students to investigate and address connections between environmental change and human health. As we strive to support education on planetary health themes for students of all ages, understanding students’ concepts of linkages between the health of people and animals, and their shared environments might advance educational approaches. Children living in villages bordering Ruaha National Park in Iringa Region, Tanzania, have direct experience of these connections as they share a water-stressed but biodiverse environment with domestic animals and wildlife. Livelihoods in these villages depend predominantly on crop and livestock …

Mensurative Approach To Examine Potential Interactions Between Age-0 Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Bluegill (Lepomis Macrochirus), Mark A. Kaemingk, David W. Willis

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) andyellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations are often sympatric in the Great Plains region of the U.S.A. and portions of Canada; however, very little attention has been given to potential interactions between these species for available resources, especially during the early life stages. Relationships between age-0 bluegill and yellow perch growth and relative abundance were explored across multiple lakes and years within the Nebraska Sandhill region, USA. In addition, four habitat patch types (open water, Phragmites spp., Typha spp., Scirpus spp.) were sampled for age-0 bluegill and yellow perch, and food habits were examined for each species during …

Effects Of Simulated Cold Fronts On The Survival And Behavior Of Yellow Perch Perca Flavescens Yolk-Sac Fry, Mark A. Kaemingk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With Bluegill Nest Site Selection Within A Shallow, Natural Lake, Mark A. Kaemingk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Insights For Undergraduates Seeking An Advanced Degree In Wildlife And Fisheries Sciences, Mark A. Kaemingk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Aquatic Invertebrate Communities In Nebraska Sandhill Lakes Reveals Potential Alternative Ecosystem States, Mark A. Kaemingk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Morphological And Histological Description Of Small Metoposaurids From Petrified Forest National Park, Az, Usa And The Taxonomy Of Apachesaurus, Bryan M. Gee, William G. Parker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Metoposaurids are Late Triassic temnospondyls that are abundant components of freshwater deposi- tional settings. Although metoposaurids are represented by hundreds of specimens in collections around the world, the vast majority pertain to large-bodied, relatively mature individuals, and as a result, the early stages of ontogeny are still poorly characterised. Small-bodied metoposaurids from North America have traditionally been assigned to Apachesaurus gregorii, interpreted as a diminutive taxon, but this interpretation has not been rigorously tested. Here we provide a morphological description of two new small-bodied metoposaurid specimens from Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, USA. Both provide various anatomical details that improve …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Adult Bobcat (Lynx Rufus) Habitat Selection In A Longleaf Pine Savanna, Andrew R. Little, L. Mike Conner, Michael J. Chamberlain, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Robert J. Warren

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Pine savannas are primarily managed with frequent prescribed fire (≤ 3 years) to promote diversity of flora and fauna, and to maintain open, park-like conditions needed by species such as the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). However, a knowledge gap exists in our understanding of bobcat (Lynx rufus) habitat selection in longleaf pine savannas and research is warranted to direct our future management decisions.

Methods: We examined bobcat habitat selection in a pine savanna managed with frequent fires at two spatial scales (i.e., study area boundary [hereafter, landscape scale]) and annual area of use [95% …

Spain: Energy Policy And Proposal, Justina Dibacco

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

This paper aims to analyze Spain's different energy resources and uses. Within this paper. there will be an background of Spain and their current energy resources, along with a proposal about how to better their energy use.

Testing Methods To Mitigate Caribbean Yellow-Band Disease On Orbicella Faveolata, Carly J. Randall, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Tessa Code, Clayton Pollock, Ian Lundgren, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Erinn M. Muller

United States National Park Service: Publications

Outbreaks of coral diseases continue to reduce global coral populations. In the Caribbean, yellow band is a severe and wide-spread disease that commonly affects corals of the Orbicella spp. complex, significantly impeding coral reproduction, and hindering the natural recovery of Orbicella spp. populations. Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) lesions may be severe, and often result in the complete loss of coral tissue. The slow spread of CYBD, however, provides an opportunity to test methods to mitigate the disease. Here we report the results of in situ experiments, conducted within Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI, to test the …

Adam J. Liska: Curriculum Vitae, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Associate Professor, George Dempster Smith Chair of Industrial Ecology, Departments of Biological Systems Engineering and Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 236 L.W. Chase Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0726, Ph: (402) 472-8744, e-mail: [email protected]

Ph.D. 2003 Biology (magna cum laude), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Winter Bat Activity In A Landscape Without Traditional Hibernacula, Amy M. Hammesfahr, Rene E. Ohms

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Prior to 2014, bat research at Devils Tower National Monument (DETO) focused on bats present during the summer months. Biologists at DETO assumed local bats were strictly summer residents due to the presumed lack of typical habitat features associated with bat hibernation, such as caves and mines. This lack of traditional hibernacula features at DETO discouraged staff and research cooperators from studying winter bat populations. Despite the earlier assumption that bats were unlikely to hibernate on the monument, DETO documented significant winter bat activity through passive winter acoustic monitoring. This study is the first study at DETO that documents …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2017 Data Summary Report, Stephanie L. Rockwood

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Program (NGPFire). This was the seventh year of field work conducted by NGPN at AGFO.

In 2017, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots and NGPFire visited eight additional PCM and fire plant community monitoring (FPCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at AGFO. This collaborative effort is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better …

A Comparative Study Of The Role Of Values In Reasoning About Socio-Hydrological Issues In Undergraduate Students From Developed And Developing Countries, Destini Petitt

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

In a world that is becoming increasingly connected and exploited, it is essential to understand how students’ values influence socio-scientific reasoning, particularly when dealing with complex, multifaceted, ever-connected water-related issues. This research strives to better understand stakeholder reasoning to provide teachers and decision-makers with ways to implement those stakeholders’ ideals into choices about complex socio-hydrological issues. Moreover, with 96% of research behavioral research being conducted on peoples from developed countries – who only represent 17% of the world’s population – this study strives to understand how peoples from developing countries – who represent 83% of the world’s population – reason. …

Nebraska Wetland Condition Assessment: Intensification Of The National Wetland Condition Assessment Throughout Nebraska, Cody Dreier

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

Even though wetlands provide a habitat for many plants and animals and numerous services for humans, they were not always treated as areas of value. Less than half of the United States’ pre-colonial wetlands have survived to the present day. Seeing a need to understand the remaining wetlands more fully, the Environmental Protection Agency developed the National Wetland Condition Assessment to monitor target wetlands throughout the country every five years.

This study is an intensification of the National Wetland Condition Assessment for Nebraska wetlands that allowed us to sample more areas of the state and gather additional information. During the …

Wetland Conservation Effects Result In Enhanced Playa Functionality In The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Hong Zhang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study assessed the functionality level of wetland hydrology, hydrophyte and soil conditions, and then identified the restorable potential of conserved playas. The distribution of hydrology and hydrophyte were geospatially examined through annual tracking the quantity and quality of wetlands on historical hydric soil footprints under different conservation programs in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA during 2004-2015. The results show that the historical hydric soil footprints with the conservation programs had significantly higher functionality of ponded water and hydrophyte than non-conserved wetlands. The yearly average of ponded water areas within footprints varies at 12.59% for the Waterfowl Production …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles, Shellie Hanneman

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

Inside this issue:

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

Weather photo of the quarter.........................................1

Tribal climate summaries......2

Product highlights..................3

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

State Climate Extremes Committee.................................4

Update on research................5

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

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.

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 …

A Naturalist’S Guide To The Great Plains, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book documents nearly 500 US and Canadian locations where wildlife refuges, nature preserves, and similar properties protect natural sites that lie within the North American Great Plains, from Canada’s Prairie Provinces to the Texas-Mexico border. Information on site location, size, biological diversity, and the presence of especially rare or interesting flora and fauna are mentioned, as well as driving directions, mailing addresses, and phone numbers or internet addresses, as available. US federal sites include 11 national grasslands, 13 national parks, 16 national monuments, and more than 70 national wildlife refuges. State properties include nearly 100 state parks and wildlife …

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 …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2017 Data Report, Ryan Manuel

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 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 seventh full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots on May 22-25, 2017 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 …