Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Community Wildfire Protection Plans: Enhancing Collaboration And Building Social Capacity, Daniel R. Williams, Pamela J. Jakes, Sam Burns, Antony Cheng, Kristen Nelson, Victoria Sturtevant, Alex Bujak, Rachel Brummel, Stephanie Grayzeck Souter, Emily Saeli Staychock

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) was enacted to reduce wildfire risk to communities and other at-risk lands through a collaborative process of planning, prioritizing and implementing hazardous fuel reduction projects. One of the key features of HFRA is the development of community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs). We studied the development of CWPPs in order to identify those factors and processes that consistently lead to effective collaborative fire and fuels management as defined by HFRA, and enhance local social capacity to sustain wildfire protection activities into the future. Findings from this research highlight the importance of: (1) drawing …

Characterizing Particulate Matter Emissions By Wildland Fires Relevant To Visibility Impairment And Pm Non-Attainment, William Malm, Douglas Fox, Hans Moosmüller, Sonia Kreidenweis, Jeffrey Collett Jr., Wei Min Hao

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Carbonaceous aerosols, which include contributions from industrial and mobile source emissions and biomass combustion, exert a significant impact on regional air quality. Some preliminary semi-quantitative analyses suggest that smoke from fire-related activity may contribute significantly to observed organic mass concentrations. Further, these emissions have resulted in increased conflicts with the need to attain air quality standards, especially for particulate matter (PM) and visibility, as mandated by the Clean Air Act. However, federal land managers and policy makers currently lack several important tools needed for air quality assessments: composition profiles and analytical techniques necessary to differentiate carbonaceous aerosols originating from industrial …

Experimental Study Of Local Fire Conditions And Effects On Surface Or Near-Surface Archeological Resources At National Park Service Units – Midwest Region., Jay T. Sturdevant, Rod Skalsky, Cody L. Wienk, Brennan Dolan, Dustin Gonzalez, David Amrine

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Today, park managers must routinely balance the restoration needs of natural resources with the preservation of cultural resources. This project was designed to provide park managers with scientific data on the impacts from wildland fire to archeological resources at National Park Service units in the Midwest Region. Experimental research was conducted at six parks to record data on fire conditions (i.e., fuels, fire temperature, and burn duration) and the impacts on multiple classes of archeological materials routinely observed at sites within the region. The experimental study of fire conditions in different regional environments addresses questions regarding the threats or non-threats …

A Regional Assessment Of The Ecological Effects Of Chipping And Mastication Fuels Reduction And Forest Restoration Treatments., Mike Battaglia, Charles Rhoades, Monique E. Rocca, Michael G. Ryan

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Over the past several years, fire managers have increased their use of mastication treatments, the on-site disposal of shrubs and small-diameter trees through chipping and shredding. Mastication is a relatively untested management practice that alters the chemical and physical conditions of the forest floor and may influence vegetation regrowth and fuel development for years or decades. Eighteen sites were established across four ecosystems of the southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau: lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), mixed conifer (Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pinus flexilis, and Pinus contorta), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and pinyon pine/juniper …

Enhancing Western Managers’ Knowledge And Use Of Available Economic And Financial Biomass Information And Tools, Todd A. Morgan, Kenneth Skog, Greg Jones, Woodam Chung, Henry Spelter, John Baldridge, Jason Brandt, Dan Loeffler, Jon Songster

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) sponsored this study to enhance the ability of federal land managers to understand and deal with the economic and financial aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction treatments. The study objectives were to synthesize the body of economic and financial information and tools currently available to federal land managers in the West, identify managers’ information needs and disconnects from available information, and fill the gaps between existing information and tools versus managers’ awareness of available information and access to tools. The methods used for this study included 1) preparing …

Fire And Fuels Management In Coast Redwood Forests, Steven P. Norman, J. Morgan Varner, Leonel Arguello, Stephen Underwood, Bradley Graham, Greg Jennings, Yana Valachovic, Christopher Lee

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Coast redwood forests rank among the most significant natural features of North America, yet our understanding of how they came to be and how we might sustain them has been beset by scientific and management uncertainty for decades. A key part of this controversy has been the historical importance of fire given the mild coastal climate and small number of lightning ignitions. In the northern part of the coast redwood range, past research found that fire was uncommon, but results conflicted with others that found fire to be as frequent as in any dry forest of western North America. We …

A Chronosequence Feasibility Assessment Of Emergency Fire Rehabilitation Records Within The Intermountain Western United States, Kevin C. Knutson, David A. Pyke, Troy A. Wirth, David S. Pilliod, Matthew L. Brooks, Jeanne C. Chambers

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus have invested heavily (for example, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spent more than $60 million in fiscal year 2007) in seeding vegetation for emergency stabilization and burned area rehabilitation of non-forested arid lands over the past 10 years. The primary objectives of these seedings commonly are to (1) reduce the post-fire dominance of non-native annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and red brome (Bromus rubens); (2) minimize the probability of recurrent fire; and (3) ultimately produce desirable vegetation characteristics (for example, ability to recover following disturbance [resilience], resistance to invasive species, …

Extending The Reach Of The Fire Effects Planning Framework By Taking A Critical Approach To Science Delivery And Application, Anne E. Black, Carol Miller, Vita Wright, Kate Walker, Carolyn Ballard, Paula Nasiatka, Brett Fay, Linda Chappell, Dave Calkin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Fire Effects Planning Framework (FEPF), developed under JFSP project (99-1-3-16) “Wildland fuels management: evaluating and planning risks and benefits,” was formally completed in June 2004. FEPF is a logical framework that uses available data (e.g., local, LANDFIRE data) and existing software (e.g., GIS, Farsite, FlamMap, expert knowledge) to produce maps of probable fire effects during the pre-season or in advance of a fire front. The initial project included significant technology transfer activities. As that project concluded, however, we continued to receive requests for assistance from field managers (District, Forest and Regional Forest Service offices), international organizations (Interior West Fire …

Droughtscape, Winter 2009, Kelly Smith

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

Bastrop TX: Feb. 12 Central CA: Feb. 24, 26

La Niña May Keep West and Gulf Coast Dry

Big Canoes to Launch

2008 in Review

U.S. Feels Drought Impacts in 2008

NDMC Welcomes Widhalm, Sakamoto

Climate Modelers at Workshop Look to Sea Surface Temperatures for Drought Prediction

Simulation Of Boundary Layer Trajectory Dispersion Sensitivity To Soil Moisture Conditions: Mm5 And Noah-Based Investigation, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A System For Estimating Bowen Ratio And Evaporation From Waste Lagoons, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Near Surface Atmospheric Response To Simulated Changes In Land-Cover, Vegetation Fraction, And Soil Moisture Over Western Kentucky, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Empire Expansion On Household Diet: The Inka In Northern Chile’S Atacama Desert, Sheila D. Vinton, Linda Perry, Karl J. Reinhard, Calogero M. Santoro, Isabel Teixeira-Santos

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The impact of expanding civilization on the health of American indigenous societies has long been studied. Most studies have focused on infections and malnutrition that occurred when less complex societies were incorporated into more complex civilizations. The details of dietary change, however, have rarely been explored. Using the analysis of starch residues recovered from coprolites, here we evaluate the dietary adaptations of indigenous farmers in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert during the time that the Inka Empire incorporated these communities into their economic system. This system has been described as ‘‘complementarity’’ because it involves interaction and trade in goods produced at …

Progress In Strategic Research Areas, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Three years ago through conversations with resource managers, assessing the status of knowledge of the scientific literature, and our own interests, we set forth several strategic research areas that we believed would be timely for advancing Mojave Desert conservation and management.

Photosynthetic Response Of Soybean To Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychydae) Injury, Adeney De Freitas Bueno, Regiane Cristina Oliveira De Freitas Bueno, Paul David Nabity, Leon George Higley, Odair Aparecido Fernandes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is a common pest on soybean plants. To clarify plantarthropod interaction on mite-soybean system, leaf fluorescence, photosynthetic responses to variable carbon dioxide levels, and chlorophyll content were evaluated. Significant photosynthetic rate reduction was observed due to stomatal limitation. Stomatal closure was the major plant physiological response. As a consequence, there was reduction in photosynthetic rates. Surprisingly, plants did not show chlorophyll content reduction associated with photosynthetic impairment. No differences in fluorescence data indicate that T. urticae injury did not impair the function of light harvesting and photoelectron transport. These results showed that T. …

Hydrochemistry Of Wetlands Along The Platte River Near Ashland, Nebraska, Carrie L. Wiese

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

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

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

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Droughtscape, Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

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

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Droughtscape, Summer 2008, Kelly Smith

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

VegDRI Expands West

Spring Rains Ease Drought But CA Still Dry

Scholar Donates Books

NDMC Welcomes Employees Bathke, Nothwehr

Latest Workshop Info Up

State Lawmakers to Focus on Drought Planning

Decadal Variation -- Clues to Droughts and Floods?

Methods And Tools For Drought Analysis And Management, Cody L. Knutson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Drought is an ambiguous concept. It is often difficult to tell when you are in a drought because of its slow, protracted nature and lack of news-grabbing impacts— such as water inundating communities or buildings burning—associated with other natural disasters. It is equally difficult to track the effect of drought on people, their livelihoods, and the environment because of the ubiquitous role that water plays in our world. As a result, we often wait until we are in the midst of a water crisis to seek ad hoc solutions, which can be costly, inefficient, and highly politicized.

To overcome the …

Impacts Of Human Physical Disturbance Of Benthic Communities In Tributaries Of The Niobrara National Scenic River, Kimberly D. Laing

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

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Spring 2008, Kelly Smith

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

San Angelo, April 24

Winter Sees Little Change in U.S. Drought

News Stories Reveal Array of Mitigation Strategies

NIDIS Wants You!

Sea Surface Temperatures Can Help Predict Drought

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Preferences For Rural Amenities In Lancaster County, K. Koehler-Cole

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

No abstract provided.

Plant Community Response To Fire: A Chronosequence Study, Scott R. Abella, E. Cayenne Engel

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Fires are becoming more prevalent events across the landscape in the southwestern US. Over the next several decades the already arid southwest is predicted to become warmer and drier, with longer summers, and an increase of “extreme” weather events such as lightening inducing thunderstorms. While the “hotter and drier” forecast may indicate less abundant plant life, and thus less available biomass for fuel, exotic invasive plant species are becoming more dominant across the landscape with increases in human travel and commerce. Exotic species (particularly many of the invasive grasses) are adding fuel for the fires to burn when the annuals …

Trends In Twentieth-Century U.S. Snowfall Using A Quality-Controlled Dataset, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Michael Palecki, Leslie Ensor, Kenneth Hubbard, David Robinson, Kelly Redmond, David Easterling

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A quality assessment of daily manual snowfall data has been undertaken for all U.S. long-term stations and their suitability for climate research. The assessment utilized expert judgment on the quality of each station. Through this process, the authors have identified a set of stations believed to be suitable for analysis of trends. Since the 1920s, snowfall has been declining in the West and the mid-Atlantic coast. In some places during recent years the decline has been more precipitous, strongly trending downward along the southern margins of the seasonal snow region, the southern Missouri River basin, and parts of the Northeast. …

Trends In Twentieth-Century U.S. Extreme Snowfall Seasons, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Michael A. Palecki, Leslie Ensor, David Easterling, Kenneth Hubbard, David Robinson, Kelly Redmond

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Temporal variability in the occurrence of the most extreme snowfall years, both those with abundant snowfall amounts and those lacking snowfall, was examined using a set of 440 quality-controlled, homogenous U.S. snowfall records. The frequencies with which winter-centered annual snowfall totals exceeded the 90th and 10th percentile thresholds at individual stations were calculated from 1900–01 to 2006–07 for the conterminous United States, and for 9 standard climate regions. The area-weighted conterminous U.S. results do not show a statistically significant trend in the occurrence of either high or low snowfall years for the 107-yr period, but there are regional trends. Large …

Equilibrium Sampling Used To Monitor Malodors In A Swine Waste Lagoon, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Eco-Geomorphic Implications Of Hillslope Aspect: Inferences From Analysis Of Landscape Morphology In Central New Mexico, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, Omer Yetemen, Enrique R. Vivoni, Hugo A. Gutierrez-Jurado, Rafael L. Bras

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We investigate the influence of hillslope aspect on landscape morphology in central New Mexico, where differences in soils, vegetation, and landforms are observed between mesic north-facing and xeric south-facing slopes. Slope–area and curvature–area relations, derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), are used to characterize the opposing hillslope morphologies. In all geologies and elevation ranges studied, topographic data reveal significantly steeper slopes in north-facing aspects, and shallower slopes in south-facing aspects. North-facing slope curvatures are also greater than south-facing curvatures. Using a conceptual slope-area model, we suggest that for a given drainage area, steeper north-facing slopes imply lower soil erodibility. …

Buffered, Lagged, Or Cooled? Disentangling Hyporheic Influences On Temperature Cycles In Stream Channels, Alicia S. Arrigoni, Geoffrey C. Poole, Leal A. K. Mertes, Scott J. O'Daniel, William W. Woessner, Steven A. Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We monitored summertime base flow water temperatures of hyporheic discharge to surface water in main, side, and spring channels located within the bank-full scour zone of the gravel- and cobble-bedded Umatilla River, Oregon, USA. Diel temperature cycles in hyporheic discharge were common, but spatially variable. Relative to the main channel’s diel cycle, hyporheic discharge locations typically had similar daily mean temperatures, but smaller diel ranges (compressed by 2 to 6°C) and desynchronized phases (offset by 0 to 6 h). In spring channels (which received only hyporheic discharge), surface water diel cycles were also compressed (by 2 to 6°C) and desynchronized …

Application Of A Routing Model For Detecting Channel Flow Changes With Minimal Data, Jozsef Szilagyi, Nicholas Pinter, Rob Venczel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.