Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Recent Updates Of The Calibration-Free Evapotranspiration Mapping (Cremap) Method, Jozsef Szilagyi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modeling The Production Of Multiple Ecosystem Services From Agricultural And Forest Landscapes In Rhode Island, Tingting Liu, Nathaniel H. Merrill, Arthur J. Gold, Dorothy Q. Kellogg, Emi Uchida

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

High Spatial Resolution Mapping Of Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Using Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy: Radiative Transfer Modeling And Power Plant Plume Detection, Philip E. Dennison, Andrew K. Thorpe, Eric R. Pardyjak, Dar A. Roberts, Yi Qi, Robert O. Green, Eliza S. Bradley, Christopher C. Funk

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Atrazine And Nitrate In Public Drinking Water Supplies And Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In Nebraska, Usa, Martha G. Rhoades, Jane L. Meza, Cheryl L. Beseler, Patrick J. Shea, Andy Kahle, Julie M. Vose, Kent M. Eskridge, Roy F. Spalding

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A secondary analysis of 1999–2002 Nebraska case-control data was conducted to assess the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) associated with exposure to nitrate- and atrazine-contaminated drinking water. Water chemistry data were collected and weighted by well contribution and proximity of residence to water supply, followed by logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We found no association between NHL risk and exposure to drinking water containing atrazine or nitrate alone. Risk associated with the interaction of nitrate and atrazine in drinking water was elevated (OR, 2.5; CI, 1.0–6.2). Risk of indolent B-cell lymphoma was higher …

Validation Of Noah-Simulated Soil Temperature In The North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 2, Youlong Xia, Michael Ek, Justin Sheffield, Ben Livneh, Maoyi Huang, Helin Wei, Song Feng, Lifeng Luo, Jesse Meng, Eric Wood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Soil temperature can exhibit considerable memory from weather and climate signals and is among the most important initial conditions in numerical weather and climate models. Consequently, a more accurate long term land surface soil temperature dataset is needed to improve weather and climate simulation and prediction, and is also important for the simulation of agricultural crop yield and ecological processes. The North American Land Data Assimilation phase 2 (NLDAS-2) has generated 31 years (1979–2009) of simulated hourly soil temperature data with a spatial resolution of 1/8°. This dataset has not been comprehensively evaluated to date. Thus, the purpose of this …

Nondetection Sampling Bias In Marked Presence-Only Data, Trevor Hefley, Andrew J. Tyre, David M. Baasch, Erin E. Blankenship

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

1 Species distribution models (SDM) are tools used to determine environmental features that influence the geographic distribution of species’ abundance and have been used to analyze presence-only records. Analysis of presenceonly records may require correction for nondetection sampling bias to yield reliable conclusions. In addition, individuals of some species of animals may be highly aggregated and standard SDMs ignore environmental features that may influence aggregation behavior.

2 We contend that nondetection sampling bias can be treated as missing data. Statistical theory and corrective methods are well developed for missing data, but have been ignored in the literature on SDMs. We …

Correction Of Location Errors For Presence-Only Species Distribution Models, Trevor Hefley, David M. Baasch, Andrew J. Tyre, Erin E. Blankenship

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

1. Species distribution models (SDMs) for presence-only data depend on accurate and precise measurements of geographical and environmental covariates that influence presence and abundance of the species. Some data sets, however, may contain both systematic and random errors in the recorded location of the species. Environmental covariates at the recorded location may differ from those at the true location and result in biased parameter estimates and predictions from SDMs.

2. Regression calibration is a well-developed statistical method that can be used to correct the bias in estimated coefficients and predictions from SDMs when the recorded geographical location differs from the …

Statistical Indicators And State–Space Population Models Predict Extinction In A Population Of Bobwhite Quail, Trevor Hefley, Andrew J. Tyre, Erin E. Blankenship

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Early warning systems of extinction thresholds have been developed for and tested in microcosm experiments, but have not been applied to populations of wild animals. We used state–space population models and a statistical indicator to detect a transcritical bifurcation extinction threshold in a population of bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) located in an agricultural region experiencing habitat deterioration and loss. The extinction threshold was detectible using two independent data sets. We compared predictions from state–space population models to predictions from a statistical indicator and found that predictions were corroborated. Using state–space population models, we estimated that our study population …

Miscanthus Establishment And Overwintering In The Midwest Usa: A Regional Modeling Study Of Crop Residue Management On Critical Minimum Soil Temperatures, Christopher J. Kucharik, Andy Vanloocke, John D. Lenters, Melissa M. Motew

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Miscanthus is an intriguing cellulosic bioenergy feedstock because its aboveground productivity is high for low amounts of agrochemical inputs, but soil temperatures below ‒3.5°C could threaten successful cultivation in temperate regions. We used a combination of observed soil temperatures and the Agro-IBIS model to investigate how strategic residue management could reduce the risk of rhizome threatening soil temperatures. This objective was addressed using a historical (1978–2007) reconstruction of extreme minimum 10 cm soil temperatures experienced across the Midwest US and model sensitivity studies that quantified the impact of crop residue on soil temperatures. At observation sites and for simulations that …

Assessing Migration Of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus Colubris) At Broad Spatial And Temporal Scales Evaluación De La Migración De Archilochus Colubris A Escalas Amplias De Tiempo Y Espacio, Jason Courter, Ron J. Johnson, William C. Bridges Jr., Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Phenological patterns in birds appear to be temperature-dependent in part, and global temperatures are undergoing change. Many studies of bird phenology are conducted at broad temporal but local spatial scales, making it difficult to assess how temperature affects bird migration across landscapes. Recently, networks of “citizen science” volunteers have emerged whose collective efforts may improve phenology studies as biases associated with such efforts are recognized and addressed. We compared mean Rubythroated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) first arrival dates from Journey North (2001-2010) with data from the North American Bird Phenology Program (1880-1969). Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrived earlier in the more recent period …

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison And Improvement Project (Agmip): Protocols And Pilot Studies, Cynthia Rosenzweig, J. W. Jones, J. L. Hatfield, Alex Ruane, K. J. Thornburn, J. M. Antle, G. C. Nelson, C. Porter, S. Janssen, B. Basso, F. Ewert, D. Wallach, G. Baigorria, J. M. Winter

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is a major international effort linking the climate, crop, and economic modeling communities with cutting-edge information technology to produce improved crop and economic models and the next generation of climate impact projections for the agricultural sector. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. Analyses of the agricultural impacts of climate variability and change require a transdisciplinary effort to consistently link state-of-the-art climate scenarios to crop and economic models. Crop model …

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison And Improvement Project (Agmip): Protocols And Pilot Studies, Cynthia Rosenzweig, J. W. Jones, J. L. Hatfield, A. C. Ruane, K. J. Boote, P. Thornburn, J. M. Antle, G. C. Nelson, C. Porter, S. Janssen, S. Asseng, B. Basso, F. Ewert, D. Wallach, G. Baigorria, J. M. Winter

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is a major international effort linking the climate, crop, and economic modeling communities with cutting-edge information technology to produce improved crop and economic models and the next generation of climate impact projections for the agricultural sector. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. Analyses of the agricultural impacts of climate variability and change require a transdisciplinary effort to consistently link state-of-the-art climate scenarios to crop and economic models. Crop model …

Spatial And Temporal Unpredictability Of Colony Size In Cliff Swallows Across 30 Years, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Erin A. Roche

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Most colonially breeding animals occupy colonies that range in size from a few pairs to thousands of individuals, but the causes of colony size variation are largely unknown. Three general hypotheses are: (1) that variation in colony size is maintained by fluctuating selection via spatial and temporal changes in fitness associated with different colony sizes; (2) that colony formation reflects heterogeneity in habitat, with some sites having resources to support more individuals than others; and (3) that individuals assess the presence or annual reproductive success of current colony residents at each site and aggregate preferentially at high-quality sites. These hypotheses …

The Relative Importance Of Exogenous And Substrate-Derived Nitrogen For Microbial Growth During Leaf Decomposition, B. M. Cheever, J. R. Webster, E. E. Bilger, S. A. Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Heterotrophic microbes colonizing detritus obtain nitrogen (N) for growth by assimilating N from their substrate or immobilizing exogenous inorganic N. Microbial use of these two pools has different implications for N cycling and organic matter decomposition in the face of the global increase in biologically available N. We used sugar maple leaves labeled with ¹⁵N to differentiate between microbial N that had been assimilated from the leaf substrate (enriched with ¹⁵N) or immobilized from the water (natural abundance ¹⁵N:¹⁴N) in five Appalachian streams ranging in ambient NO₃-N concentrations from about 5 to 900 …

2013 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen, Lauren R. Dinan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2012–2013). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The lower Platte River and its major tributaries provide important nesting and migratory stopover habitat for two bird species of special conservation concern: the state and federally endangered Interior Least Tern (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of …

Surface Energy Balance Model Of Transpiration From Variable Canopy Cover And Evaporation From Residue-Covered Or Bare Soil Systems: Model Evaluation, Luis Octavio Lagos, Derrel Martin, Shashi B. Verma, Suat Irmak, Ayse Kilic, Dean E. Eisenhauer, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A surface energy balance model (SEB) was extended by Lagos et al. Irrig Sci 28:51–64 (2009) to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) from variable canopy cover and evaporation from residue-covered or bare soil systems. The model estimates latent, sensible, and soil heat fluxes and provides a method to partition evapotranspiration into soil/residue evaporation and plant transpiration. The objective of this work was to perform a sensitivity analysis of model parameters and evaluate the performance of the proposed model to estimate ET during the growing and non-growing season of maize (Zea Mays L.) and soybeans (Glycine max) in eastern …

Uncertainty Associated With Estimating A Short-Term (1–3 Hr) Particulate Matter Concentration From A Human-Sighted Visual Range, William C. Malm, Bret A. Schichtel

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Several state air quality agencies have developed policies to issue air quality health index (AQI) warnings based on low values of visual range (V_r). Vr has been defined in the context of how far away a black object has to be such that it is just noticeable or visible. This distance at which a landscape feature can just be detected is referred to as the V_r. AQI warnings are based on the levels of particulates (PM_2.5) resulting from fire smoke, often with less than 24-hr average concentrations. Because monitoring data are not available in …

A Fire Severity Mapping System For Real-Time Fire Management Applications And Long-Term Planning: The Firesev Project, Robert E. Keane, Penny M. Morgan, Gregory K. Dillon, Pamela G. Sikkink, Eva C. Karau, Zack A. Holden, Stacy A. Drury

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Accurate, consistent, and timely fire severity maps are needed in all phases of fire management including planning, managing, and rehabilitating wildfires. The problem is that fire severity maps are commonly developed from satellite imagery that is difficult to use for planning wildfire responses before a fire has actually happened and can’t be used for real-time wildfire management because of the timing of the imagery delivery. Moreover, imagery is difficult to use for controlled fires such as prescribed burning. This study, called FIRESEV (FIRE SEVerity Mapping Tools) created a comprehensive set of tools and protocols to deliver, create, and evaluate fire …

An Investigation Of The Differences Between Real Time Mesoscale Analysis And Observed Meteorological Conditions At Raws Stations In The Northeast United States, Joseph J. Charney, Shiyuan Zhong, Michael T. Kiefer, Xiaoqing Zhu, Greg Soter, Adam Cinderich

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project investigates the differences between the gridded meteorological fields produced by the Real Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) and observed meteorological conditions at Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) for two years in the northeastern United States. National Weather Service (NWS) fire weather forecasts are produced using the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD), which is a gridded analysis of meteorological fields generated by forecasters at NWS forecast offices nationwide. The NDFD is verified by comparing its gridded meteorological fields against the RTMA, which is an advanced modeling and data assimilation system that provides the best-available hourly gridded estimate of surface and …

Archival Of Eastern U.S. Fire Scar History Data, Michael C. Stambaugh, Joseph M. Marschall, Richard P. Guyette

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire scar histories are a critical fire data source because they form a foundation for defining fire regimes. The objective of this project was to properly archive the data (fire scar event chronologies, tree-ring chronologies) and metadata of eastern U.S. fire scar study sites developed under project #06-3-1-16, “Developing and Using Fire Scar Histories in the Southern and Eastern United States”, PI: Richard Guyette. Datasets to be archived included tree-ring chronologies (annual resolution), fire event chronologies (annual to seasonal resolution), and wood samples. Crossdated tree-ring measurements used to date fire scars have been submitted to the International Tree-Ring Databank. All …

Archiving Data For The National Fire And Fire Surrogate Study (Ffs), James Mclver

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This final report describes the results of the project ‘Archiving Data for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)’, which was funded by the Joint Fire Science Program ($9,982; Project 12-­‐04-­‐ 01-­‐7) under Task Statement RFA 2012-­‐4 (Dataset Archival Task). To complete this project, we gathered, documented, and archived the complete dataset for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study, including pre-­‐treatment data, and post-­‐treatment data collected through four years after treatment. The FFS was originally funded by the JFSP in spring 2000 and was completed in spring 2006, at which time a final report was submitted. The study …

Archiving Of Data On Occurrence Of Breeding Birds Associated With Fire Treatments And Controls, Erica Fleishman, Jeanne C. Chambers, David S. Dobkin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since 2001, we have collected data on occupancy and relative abundance of Greater Sage- Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species of breeding birds in the central Great Basin, and characterized the vegetation structure and composition of breeding birds’ habitats, through four projects supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (00-2-15, 01B-3-3-01, 05-2-1- 94, and 09-1-08-4). These projects collectively have generated dozens of refereed publications, dozens of invited papers or presentations, multiple M.S. theses and Ph.D. dissertations, and many workshops and field tours. Bird data included in refereed publications to date were based on point counts with a fixed radius of …

Bark Beetles, Fuels And Future Fire Hazard In Contrasting Conifer Forests Of Greater Yellowstone, Monica G. Turner, William H. Romme, Philip A. Townsend, Roy A. Renkin, Daniel C. Donato, Martin Simard, Brian J. Harvey, Jacob M. Griffin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The extent and severity of bark beetle (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) epidemics and the frequency of large, severe fires have reached unprecedented levels in recent decades, and these trends are expected to continue with ongoing climate change. Insects and fire have tremendous ecological and economic effects in western forests, yet their interactions are poorly understood. We combined field studies and simulation modeling to understand how bark beetle infestation and post-outbreak management affect fire hazard in two widespread but contrasting forest types, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in northwestern Wyoming. We directly addressed key …

Assessing The Compatibility Of Fuel Treatments, Wildfire Risk, And Conservation Of Northern Spotted Owl Habitats And Populations In The Eastern Cascades: A Multi-Scale Analysis., Martin G. Raphael, Paul Hessburg, Rebecca Kennedy, John Lehmkuhl, Bruce G. Marcot, Robert Scheller, Peter Singleton, Thomas Spies

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

National Forests in the dry forest provinces on the east-side of the Oregon and Washington Cascades have been managed under the guidelines of local Forest Plans and the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), both of which specify large areas of late-successional reserves (LSRs). In contrast, the recently-released USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Revised Recovery Plan (RRP) for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) calls for development of dynamic and shifting mosaics in the dry forests, and retention of LSRs in moist forests of eastern Cascades of Oregon and Washington, to address NSO habitat and wildfire concerns. Our objectives in this study were …

Characterization Of Masticated Fuelbeds And Fuel Treatment Effectiveness In Southeastern Us Pine Ecosystems., L N. Kobziar, Alan J. Long, Wayne C. Zipperer, Jesse K. Kreye

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Mechanical fuels treatments are being widely used in fire prone ecosystems where fuel loading poses a hazard, yet little research examining fuel dynamics, fire behavior, and ecological effects exists, especially in the southeastern US. In order to broaden our understanding of these treatments, effects of mechanical mastication ("mowing") were examined in a common pine ecosystem of the southeastern US Coastal Plain, where the post-mastication fuel environment is unique among ecosystems where mastication is being employed. Foliar litter dominates surface fuels after understory mastication in palmetto/gallberry pine flatwoods, however rapid recovery of shrubs quickly regains control over fire behavior. Treatments were …

Characterizing Crown Biomass And Crown Profiles In Conifer Forests Of The Interior Northwest, David Affleck, Carl Seielstad, John Goodburn, Lloyd Queen, Robert Keane

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Detailed and accurate models of conifer crown biomass and its distribution are needed for a range of forest management and planning applications, ranging from fuels treatment designs to forest carbon inventory and monitoring. This project focused on the development and integration of novel data collection strategies and analytical methods to better inform crown biomass and fuels estimation for coniferous forests in the interior northwest. Crown biomass data were collected for 7 important conifer species across the interior northwest using randomized branch sampling strategies, and terrestrial laser scanning was used to characterize crown profiles and internal heterogeneity. Results highlight (1) the …

Consequences Of Alternative Response Strategies To Wildland Fires In The Northern Rockies And Southwest In 2007 And 2008., Carol Miller, Aldo Leopold

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project addressed JFSP project announcement FA-FRA09-001, and the task statement “Trade-off assessments of AMR decisions”. The project evaluated the consequences of alternative responses to 2007 and 2008 wildland fires in three wilderness areas. Specifically, it examined alternative initial response strategies and what could have happened if ignitions had been allowed to burn. Consequences were quantified in terms of area and type of area burned, days of fire activity, and impact on landscape scale fire risk. Situational factors were also examined for their influence on the response strategy and outcome. Simulations of three case study extended duration fires were also …

Crown Fire Behavior Characteristics And Prediction In Conifer Forests: A State-Of-Knowledge Synthesis, Martin E. Alexander Dr., Miguel G. Cruz Dr., Nicole M. Vaillant, David L. Peterson

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) project 09-S-03-1 was undertaken in response to JFSP Project Announcement No. FA-RFA09-0002 with respect to a synthesis on extreme fire behavior or more specifically a review and analysis of the literature dealing with certain features of crown fire behavior in conifer forests in the United States and adjacent regions of Canada. The key findings presented are organized along nine topical areas: types of crown fires; crown fire initiation; crown fire propagation; crown fire rate of spread; crown fire intensity and flame zone characteristics; crown fire area and perimeter growth; crown fire spotting activity; models, systems, …

Data Archival For Fire Studies In The Coastal Plain, Piedmont, And Southern Appalachian Mountains, Ross J. Phillips, Thomas A. Waldrop, Mac A. Callaham

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Datasets from on-going and previous fire studies in the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Southern Appalachian regions in the southeastern U.S. dating back over the past 50 years were compiled and publically made available to other interested persons. The projects included for this data archival have helped to advanced fire science and provided much needed information about fire effects on ecosystem components. The research from these projects has demonstrated how returning fire to once fire-adapted communities is an on-going process that needs to be repeated frequently. They also have given some insight into alternative treatments that may be used for fuel …

Deterministic And Empirical Assessment Of Smoke’S Contribution To Ozone (Deasco3), Charles T. Moore Jr., David Randall, Matthew Mavko, Ralph Morris, Bouyoung Koo, Mark Fitch, Michael George, Michael Barna, John Vimont, Bret Anderson, Anne Acheson

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This document reports our success in achieving the objectives and accomplishing the deliverables proposed in the project “Deterministic and Empirical Assessment of Smoke’s Contribution to Ozone (DEASCO3). This final report is divided into four sections. Section 1, the Background, describes the purpose of the project and summarizes the project objectives and how accomplishment of these objectives addresses the original research solicitation JFSP Project Announcement No. FA-RFA011-0001, Task 6: Fire smoke and ozone standards analysis. The Background section also provides context for the time and issues related to the project purpose, in terms of how the Project Team addressed delivery of …