Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Urban Canada Geese In Georgia: Assessing A Golf Course Survey And A Nuisance Relocation Program, Larkin A. Powell, Michael J. Conroy, Kipling S. Balkcom, Joe Caudell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nuisance complaints about Canada geese (Branta canadensis), have risen in recent years. In Georgia, managers have responded by relocating some nuisance geese to rural areas. During 1993–1996, we used band recoveries of relocated geese to determine the efficacy of relocation as a management strategy. We also used data from a post-card survey of golf courses to monitor the urban subpopulation of Canada geese in Georgia during 1998–2001. Flocks considered by golf course superintendents to be a nuisance were larger (1998: 48.8 geese, 1999: 71.5, 2000: 73.2, 2001: 67.2) than nonnuisance flocks (1998: 13.1 geese, 1999: 16.7, 2000: 25.8, 2001: 18.1). …

Temporal Variations Of Extreme Precipitation Events In The United States: 1895–2000, Kenneth E. Kunkel, David R. Easterling, Kelly Redmond, Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A newly available data set of daily precipitation observations was used to study the temporal variability of the frequency of short-duration extreme precipitation events for 1895–2000 in the conterminous United States. Event durations of 1, 5, 10, and 30 day and return periods of 1, 5, and 20 year were analyzed. For all combinations of duration and return period, heavy precipitation frequencies were relatively high during the late 19th/early 20th Centuries, decreasing to a minimum in the 1920s and 30s, followed by a general increase into the 1990s. The frequencies at the beginning of the 20th Century were nearly as …

Fire Climate Interactions And Predicting Fire Season Severity In The Mediterranean Climate Areas Of California, Southern Oregon, And Western Nevada, Alan H. Taylor, Carl N. Skinner, Andrew M. Carleton, Scott L. Stephens, Valerie Trouet, Bernd Haupt, Andrew Pierce

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

• We identified annual area burned for 37 National Forests in Washington, Oregon, and California between 1929 and 2004 from annual fire reports. Variation in area burned each year on National Forest lands is strongly related (r2 = 0.87) to total area burned in California. This indicates area burned in National Forests is a good indicator of total area burned in a state. • Four large groups of National Forests were identified that had similar temporal patterns of fire extent. Three of these groups were spatially coherent and included mainly: 1) Washington and northern Oregon; 2) northern California and California …

The Ceres-Rice Model-Based Estimates Of Potential Monsoon Season Rainfed Rice Productivity In Bangladesh, Rezaul Mahmood, Mark Meo, David R. Legates, Mark L. Morrissey

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Agricultural practices in Bangladesh are largely dependent on the monsoonal rainfall. Historically, Bangladesh often experiences severe droughts and floods during the monsoon months, with significant crop losses during both extreme conditions. This article provides a quantitative assessment of potential monsoon-season aman rice for four transplanting dates: 1 June, 1 July, 15 July, and 15 August. A crop-growth simulation model, the CERES-Rice, is applied to sixteen locations representing major rice-growing regions of Bangladesh to determine baseline yield estimates for four transplanting dates. The applications were conducted for 1975 through 1987. Average potential yield in Bangladesh is 6,907, 5,039, 3,637, and 1,762 …

Democratizing Science, Management, And Public Policy In The Missouri River Ecosystem: A Pilot Study Of Agricultural Producers' Amenability To Adaptive And Collaborative Management, Meghan Sittler

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

Agricultural stakeholder involvement is central to the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) National Research Council (NRC)(2002) recommendation for development and implementation of adaptive, ecosystem management principles, as well as the definition of a new management regime for the Missouri River. This document represents a pilot study of fifteen agricultural producers in three counties, Atchison County, Missouri, Fremont County, Iowa, and Otoe County, Nebraska, who were contacted via telephone and completed structured interviews. The interview questions centered upon the producers' relationship to the river, perceptions of the current management of the river, and willingness to support and participate in a proposed …

Analysis Of Integrated Farming Systems In Eastern Nebraska, Lori A. Hoagland

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

Agroecosystems in the U.S. are beset with social, ecological and environmental problems as large industrial farming methods are edging out small family-sized farms and replacing ecological services provided by biodiversity with synthetic inputs and practices. While many of the benefits of smaller diversified or integrated farming systems are well known, farm producers need a concrete model that shows how integration is possible and with what crops. The objective of this study was to investigate some of these supplemental farm activities, and identify and evaluate whether they were compatible given the time and resource constraints of a typical eastern Nebraska farm. …

Effectiveness Of Frightening Devices For Reducing Deer Damage In Cornfields, Jason M. Gilsdorf

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

No abstract provided.

A Regional Gis-Based Analysis Of Elk Habitat Suitability In Northeast Nebraska, J W. Fisher

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

No abstract provided.

A Regional Gis-Based Analysis Of Elk Habitat Suitability In Northwestern Nebraska, Justin W. Fischer

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

The need to accurately assess the use and suitability of elk (Cervus elaphus spp.) habitat at regional scales will continue to increase as human development encroaches into what was once optimum elk habitat. The objectives of this research were to calculate the relative proportions of habitat use by elk in the Pine Ridge region of Northwestern Nebraska from a set of radio-collared elk locations and generate a habitat suitability model. Habitat variables (Iandcover type, aspect, slope, distance to a road, road density, and distance from the ponderosa pine edge) were measured for each elk location (n = 5,787 dating …

Influence Of Light And Nutrients On Atrazine Toxicity To Freshwater Algae, Crystal J. Hansen

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

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Irrigation On Midsummer Surface Fluxes And Temperature Under Dry Synoptic Conditions: A Regional Atmospheric Model Study Of The U.S. High Plains, Jimmy O. Adegoke, Roger A. Pielke Sr., J. Eastman, Rezaul Mahmood, Kenneth G. Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The impact of irrigation on the surface energy budget in the U.S. high plains is investigated. Four 15-day simulations were conducted: one using a 1997 satellite-derived estimate of farmland acreage under irrigation in Nebraska (control run), two using the Olson Global Ecosystem (OGE) vegetation dataset (OGE wet run and OGE dry run), and the fourth with the Kuchler vegetation dataset (natural vegetation run) as lower boundary conditions in the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). In the control and OGE wet simulations, the topsoil in the irrigated locations, up to a depth of 0.2 m, was saturated at …

Anthropogenic Land-Use Change In The North American Tall Grass-Short Grass Transition And Modification Of Near-Surface Hydrologic Cycle, Rezaul Mamood, Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the landscape of the North American Great Plains was rapidly modified from natural grasslands to agricultural farmlands. These changes affected much of the continent with potential impacts in grasslands equal to deforestation elsewhere. Therefore, the resulting impacts on weather and climate should be studied. In this study, a soil water balance model is applied for 3 land uses at 3 locations. These locations are representative of the east to west declining precipitation gradient of the Great Plains. It was found, in McCook, Nebraska, for example, that annual total evapotranspiration for irrigated maize is 36% …

Realtime Data Filtering Models For Air Temperature Measurements, Kenneth G. Hubbard, X. Lin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Air temperature measurement biases caused by solar radiation and ambient wind speed are well-known. However, realtime air temperature filtering models are essential for generating homogeneous climate data by transforming one air temperature measurement system into another, and correcting in-situ air temperature biases especially for non-aspirated radiation shield systems. This study investigated the air temperature biases caused in the commonly used radiation shields in the United States, including the ASOS, MMTS, Gill, CRS, ASP-ES, and NON-ASPES shields along with corresponding temperature sensors. The realtime air temperature filtering models developed for each air temperature system are capable of removing the solar radiation …

Macrohabitat Composition Surrounding Successful And Depredated Northern Bobwhite Nests, Eric L. Staller, William E. Palmer, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Relationships among macrohabitat and depredation of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) nests are poorly understood. Yet, macrohabitat composition may influence the nest predator community and, therefore, the vulnerability of northern bobwhite nests to depredation. We determined if macrohabitat composition surrounding bobwhite nests influenced nest placement, nest success, and which predators were responsible for depredating nests. We characterized macrohabitats at 2 scales, 8 and 16 ha, by surrounding both bobwhite nests, and an equal number of random locations, with a circular buffer. Random points were placed within the area used by bobwhites on our study area. We then determined the …

Wood Thrush Movements And Habitat Use: Effects Of Forest Management For Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, Jason Lang, Larkin A. Powell, David Krementz, Michael J. Conroy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We monitored adult and juvenile breeding-season movements and habitat use of radio-tagged Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, central Georgia, USA. We investigated the effects that management for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), thinning and burning >30 year old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) habitat, had on Wood Thrushes, a ground-foraging and midstory-nesting species. Adult Wood Thrush pairs regularly moved long distances between nesting attempts (range 1 to 17,388 m). The only experimental effect we found on adult movements was a decrease in weekly emigration rates (AP) from thinned and burned compartments …

Effects Of Binary Combinations Of Herbicides On Freshwater Algae, Jill K. Taylor

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

No abstract provided.

Movement Of Rainbow And Brown Trout In Relation To Water Quality And Food Availability In Lake Ogallala, Nebraska, Corey M. Huxoll

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

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Woody Cover In The Landscaping On Riparian Avifauna And A Preliminary Nesting Assessment, Micah W. Perkins

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

No abstract provided.

Movements And Habitat Use By Hatchery-Reared Pallid Sturgeon In The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Vaughn A. Snook

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

No abstract provided.

Fluxnet: A New Tool To Study The Temporal And Spatial Variability Of Ecosystem-Scale Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor, And Energy Flux Densities, Dennis Baldocchi, Eva Falge, Lianhong Gu, Richard Olson, David Hollinger, Steve Running, Peter Anthoni, Ch. Bernhofer, Kenneth Davis, Robert Evans, Jose Fuente, Allen Goldstein, Gabriel Katul, Beverly Law, Xuhui Lee, Yadvinder Malhi, Tilden Meyers, William Munge, Walt Oechel, K.T. Paw U, Kim Pilegaard, H.P. Schmid, Riccardo Valentini, Shashi Verma, Timo Vesala, Kell Wilson, Steve Wofsy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

FLUXNET is a global network of micrometeorological flux measurement sites that measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between the biosphere and atmosphere. At present over 140 sites are operating on a long-term and continuous basis. Vegetation under study includes temperate conifer and broadleaved (deciduous and evergreen) forests, tropical and boreal forests, crops, grasslands, chaparral, wetlands, and tundra. Sites exist on five continents and their latitudinal distribution ranges from 70°N to 30°S.

FLUXNET has several primary functions. First, it provides infrastructure for compiling, archiving, and distributing carbon, water, and energy flux measurement, and meteorological, plant, and soil …

Test Of An Extended Mathematical Approach To Calculate Maize Leaf Area Index And Leaf Angle Distribution, Elizabeth A. Walter-Shea, Mark A. Mesarch

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of An Algorithm For Predicting Albedo In Heliotropic Crops, Elizabeth A. Walter-Shea, A. Weiss

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Value Of Incorporating Satellite-Derived Land Cover Data In Mm5/Place For Simulating Surface Temperatures, Todd M. Crawford, David J. Stensrud, Franz Mora, James W. Merchant, Peter J. Wetzel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Parameterization for Land–Atmosphere–Cloud Exchange (PLACE) module is used within the Fifth- Generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) to determine the importance of individual land surface parameters in simulating surface temperatures. Sensitivity tests indicate that soil moisture and the coverage and thickness of green vegetation [as manifested by the values of fractional green vegetation coverage (fVEG) and leaf area index (LAI)] have a large effect on the magnitudes of surface sensible heat fluxes. The combined influence of LAI and fVEG is larger than the influence of soil moisture on the partitioning of the surface energy …

Some Perspectives On Recent In Situ Air Temperature Observations: Modeling The Microclimate Inside The Radiation Shields*, X. Lin, Kenneth Hubbard, Elizabeth A. Walter-Shea, James Brandle, G.E. Meyer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Air temperature measurement has inherent biases associated with the particular radiation shield and sensor deployed. The replacement of the Cotton Region Shelter (CRS) with the Maximum–Minimum Temperature System (MMTS) and the introduction of Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) air temperature observing systems during the NWS modernization introduced bias shifts in federal networks that required quantification. In rapidly developing nonfederal networks, the Gill shield temperature systems are widely used. All of these systems house an air temperature sensor in a radiation shield to prevent radiation loading on the sensors; a side effect is that the air temperature entering a shield is …

Impacts Of Predation On Northern Bobwhite And Scaled Quail, Dale Rollins, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) populations have declined throughout most of their distribution, and these declines have become more dramatic in recent years. In this review, we examine the role of predation in quail management. Predation is the major source of nest loss and of mortality for young and adult quail. Mean nest success across studies reviewed was 28%. Estimates of annual survival rates have varied from 5 to 26% for radiotelemetry studies and from 15 to 30% based on age-ratio studies. Breeding season survival estimates ranged from 13 to 51% in telemetry …

Bollgard Cotton: An Assessment Of Global Economic, Environmental, And Social Benefits, Julie M. Edge, John H. Benedict, John P. Carroll, H. Keith Reding

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Insect-protected crops like Bollgard (Monsanto Company, St. Louis) Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton are bringing cotton growers new alternatives to broad-spectrum insecticide use in integrated pest management. After five years (1996-2000) of commercial use, a number of benefits of Bt cotton technology to growers, the environment, and society at large have been reported; however, the benefits of the technology have not been examined to date from a holistic point of view. Accordingly, the objectives of this paper were to examine the potential economic, environmental, and social benefits of Bt cotton compared with broad-spectrum insecticide use, as reported in current literature, …

Estimating Abundance Of Galliformes: Tools And Application, Michael J. Conroy, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A large number of techniques are available for assessing populations of vertebrates. However, application of many of those techniques to Galliformes is hampered by a variety of constraints. These problems are often magnified by poor understanding of the biology of many species of concern, and an absence of valid estimates of abundance and demographic parameters. Researchers interested in developing estimates of Galliformes populations must address a number of key issues before collecting field data, to avoid biases in the resulting population estimates. General guidance exists for the identification of appropriate population estimation techniques, and a dichotomous key has been developed …

The Effectiveness Of The Asos, Mmts, Gill, And Crs Air Temperature Radiation Shields*, K. G. Hubbard, X. Lin, E.A. Walter-Shea

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Periodic upgrades of air temperature measurement systems in surface weather station networks cause data discontinuities. From a climatological viewpoint, it is necessary to evaluate the air temperature data discontinuities when air temperature radiation shields are upgraded. This study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of four common air temperature radiation shields including the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), the Maximum–Minimum Temperature System (MMTS), the Gill, and the Cotton Region Shelter (CRS) shields. The solar radiation shielding effectiveness for each shield under typical grass ground surface and different artificial surfaces (black, white, and aluminum) were investigated. The shield effectiveness was evaluated …

Ecology Of Elk In The Pine Ridge Region Of Northwestern Nebraska: Seasonal Distribution, Characteristics Of Wintering Sites, And Herd Health, Michael A. Cover

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

No abstract provided.

Evaluation And Assessment Of Agrichemical Contaminants In The Creighton, Ne Area, Mark E. Burbach, Roy F. Spalding

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) has reported elevated nitrate- nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations in ground water near Creighton, NE. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L for NO3-N in public water supplies. NO3-N in the city of Creighton municipal drinking water wells and several rural domestic and irrigation wells have exceeded the MCL. The city of Creighton has constructed a reverse-osmosis water treatment system at a cost of $1.1 million to reduce the NO3-N concentration below the MCL in its water supply. In response to this NO3-N contamination problem the …