Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

The Economic Effects Of Large Wildfires, Cassandra Mosley Dr., Krista Gebert, Pamela Jakes Dr., Laura Leete Dr., Max Nielsen-Pincus Dr., Emily Jane Davis Dr., Autumn Ellison, Cody Evers, Branden Rishel, Shiloh Sundstrom

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Large wildfires disrupt the lives of workers, families, and employers. However, fire suppression and recovery efforts may provide economic opportunities. Unlike with other natural hazards, there has been little research about how wildfires affect local economies. The purpose of this project was to analyze the effects of large wildfires on labor markets and examine how fire suppression spending may mediate these effects. Main findings from this research suggest that (1) in the short term, labor market impacts from large wildfires are positive during the course of a fire, (2) in the long-­‐term, large wildfires lead to greater economic instability by …

Effectiveness And Longevity Of Fuel Treatments In Coniferous Forests Across California, Nicole M. Vaillant, Erin Noonan-Wright, Scott Dailey, Carol Ewell, Alicia Reiner

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Longevity of fuel treatment effectiveness to alter potential fire behavior is a critical question for managers preparing plans for fuel hazard reduction, prescribed burning, fire management, forest thinning, and other land management activities. Results from this study will help to reduce uncertainty associated with plan prioritization and maintenance activities. From 2001 to 2006, permanent plots were established in areas planned for hazardous fuel reduction treatments across 14 National Forests in California. Treatments included prescribed fire and mechanical methods (i.e., thinning of various sizes and intensities followed by a surface fuel treatment). After treatment, plots were re-measured at various intervals up …

Effects Of Stand-Replacing Wildfire On Ecosystem Carbon Pools In Lake States Jack Pine Forests, David E. Rothstein, John Bradford, Richard Corner, Katherine Chumack, Michael Cook, Ehsan Razavy-Toosi

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

A key barrier to resolving uncertainty about the effects of fire on ecosystem C balance is the fact that fire effects on ecosystem C budgets are manifested over decadal time scales, meaning that we are largely forced to draw inferences using space-for-time substitution, or chronosequence, studies. Whereas chronosequences allow us to study processes occurring over long time scales, they are almost never re-sampled to verify the temporal trajectory of response variables, raising questions about the validity of chronosequence estimates of post-fire C dynamics. We re-sampled a well-studied fire chronosequence of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests in Michigan, providing a unique …

Evaluating Post-Fire Successional Trajectories After A Large High-Severity Wildfire, Peter Z. Fule, Carolyn Hull Sieg, Kristin L. Shive

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This study took advantage of permanent plots in the then-largest severe fire in the Southwest to assess fire effects on (1) successional trajectory, (2) plant community changes, including persistence of post-fire seeding and presence of non-native species, and (3) and fuel dynamics. Each objective resulted in a separate study and publication. Abstracts summarizing each objective studied are presented below. (1) Simulating post-wildfire forest trajectories under alternative climate and management scenarios. (2) Pre-fire fuel reduction treatments influence plant communities and exotic species 9 years after a large wildfire. (3) Pre-wildfire fuel reduction treatments result in more resilient forest structure a decade …

Experimental Determination Of Secondary Organic Aerosol Production From Biomass Combustion, Jeffrey Collett, Allen Robinson, Timothy Larson, Sonia Kreidenweis, Bret Schichtel

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project, a collaboration between Colorado State University (CSU), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the University of Washington (UW), and the National Park Service (NPS), investigated the atmospheric aging of biomass burning plumes in order to examine changes in both primary particle emissions and the production of additional, secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Included in the project were chamber studies to directly study smoke aging as well as analyses of ambient samples to look for evidence of smoke aging and SOA formation in the ambient atmosphere. CMU conducted smog chamber studies to investigate the atmospheric evolution of fine particle and organic aerosol …

Fire And Fish Dynamics In A Changing Climate: Broad- And Local-Scale Effects Of Fire-Induced Water Temperature Changes On Native And Nonnative Fish Communities, Michael K. Young, Lisa Eby, Lisa Holsinger, Daniel J. Isaak, Robert E. Keane

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire is a key natural disturbance that affects the distribution and abundance of native fishes in the Rocky Mountain West. In the absence of migratory individuals from undisturbed portions of a watershed, persistence of native fish populations depends on the conditions of the post-fire stream environment. Stream temperatures typically warm after fire, and remain elevated until riparian vegetation recovers. An additional threat to native species is that nonnative fishes have invaded many waters, and these species tolerate or prefer warmer water temperatures. Thus, forecasting the long-term effects of fire on native fish populations requires an understanding of fire dynamics (size, …

Fire Effects On Seed Banks And Vegetation In The Eastern Mojave Desert: Implications For Post-Fire Management, Matthew L. Brooks, Steven Ostoja, Robert Klinger

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Area burned has increased during the past few decades in the Mojave Desert due in part to increased dominance of highly flammable invasive non-native annual grasses. Management responses such as post-fire seedings have been implemented during the first 3 post-fire years to suppress the growth of the invasive annual grasses, promote recovery of native species, and facilitate the restoration of plant species diversity and abundance. Although there is a fair amount of information available on the effects of fire on plant diversity, density, and cover, there is very little information available regarding effects on soil seed banks to help guide …

Fire Rehabilitation Effectiveness: A Chronosequence Approach For The Great Basin, David A. Pyke, David S. Pilliod, Jeanne C. Chambers, Matthew L. Brooks, James Grace

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Federal land management agencies have invested heavily in seeding vegetation for emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ES&R) of non-forested lands. ES&R projects are implemented to reduce post-fire dominance of non-native annual grasses, minimize probability of recurrent fire, quickly recover lost habitat for sensitive species, and ultimately result in plant communities with desirable characteristics including resistance to invasive species and resilience or ability to recover following disturbance. Land managers lack scientific evidence to verify whether seeding non-forested lands achieves their desired long-term ES&R objectives. The overall objective of our investigation is to determine if ES&R projects increase perennial plant cover, improve community …

Fuel Lifecycle And Long Term Fire Behavior Responses To Fuel Treatments In Southeastern Us Pine Ecosystems, Joseph J. O'Brien, Bret Butler, J. Kevin Hiers, Dan Jimenez, Robert J. Mitchell, Joseph W. Jones

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We completed an investigation of the long term legacies of fuels treatments in longleaf pine sandhills at Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle of Florida. From 1994-1999, The Nature Conservancy conducted a large-scale, long-term study at Eglin Air Force Base to compare the effectiveness of midstory reduction treatments, including herbicide, growing season fire, and mechanical clearing on the restoration of longleaf sandhill pine forests. The study plots have been monitored continuously since the completion of the original study and information still exists for all experimental sites, which have been burned as part of the prescribed fire program at Eglin …

Climate Change, Carbon Sequestration, And Wildfire Management In Sierran Mixed Conifer Forests, Scott Stephens Dr., Brandon M. Collins, Sabina Dore, Danny L. Fry, Anna Wong

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We measured the impacts of prescribed fire and small clear-cut tree harvesting on carbon dynamics in a mixed-conifer forest in the central Sierra Nevada. Soil CO2 efflux, above ground tree biomass, annual tree radial growth, and ecosystem carbon stored as litter, fine root and in the mineral soil were measured in four treatment sites: an un-manipulated control, a prescribed fire site, and two harvested sites, in one of which the soil was mechanically ripped to reduce soil compaction, a common practice done on industrial forest lands in the Sierra Nevada. Biomass and radial tee growth was also measured in a …

Fuel Treatment Effectiveness In The United States, Mark A. Cochrane, Michael C. Wimberly, Jeffrey C. Eidenshink, Zhi-Liang Zhu, Don Ohlen, Mark Finney, Matt Reeves

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The fire situation in the United States is well documented with a growing prevalence of larger and more intense fires that have increasingly severe consequences for affected ecosystems and human health and well being. Increasingly, fuels management has been put forth and implemented as part of an integral strategy for limiting extreme fire behavior, reducing the area affected by wildfire and minimizing the economic and ecological costs of fires. Communities and land management agencies are now treating millions of acres of wildland fuels annually and an ever-increasing number of wildfires are burning treated lands. Although the scientific premises of various …

Historic Fire Frequency In Mountain Big Sagebrush Communities Of The Eastern Great Basin And Colorado Plateau: A Comparison Of Estimates Based Upon Proxy Fire Scar Records And Predictions Derived From Post-Fire Succession Rates, Stanley G. Kitchen, Peter J. Weisberg

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Knowledge of past fire regimes associated with mountain big sagebrush-dominated landscapes is inadequate for scientifically-based land management that requires assessment of departures from historic conditions. Widely utilized estimates of fire frequency for sagebrush ecosystems are largely based upon few studies using fire-scarred proxy trees positioned at the forest/shrubland ecotone. These studies, all conducted in the northern half of the species distribution, generally fail to adequately address questions of fire behavior across the fuels threshold at the forest/woodland-shrubland ecotone. Alternatively, post-fire rates of succession have been used to suggest fire frequencies compatible with big sagebrush recovery. Minimum and maximum fire-free intervals …

Impacts Of Repeated Wildfire On Vegetation In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Thomas A. Waldrop, Donald L. Hagan, Matthew Reilly

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The infrequent occurrence of large wildfires in the southern Appalachian Mountains over the last several decades has offered few opportunities to study the impacts of these types of disturbances. As a result, relatively little is known about how heterogeneity in topography, vegetation, and recent disturbance history interact to influence patterns of fire severity across the landscape. Since 2000, five separate wildfires burned a large portion of the area in, and surrounding the Linville Gorge Wilderness in western North Carolina, two burned the same area a second time. Burn severity and vegetative recovery were measured in 152 plots established in 1992 …

The Influence Of Different Cover Types On American Robin Nest Success In Organic Agroecosystems, John E. Quinn, Amy I. Oden, James R. Brandle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

There are many opportunities for biodiversity conservation in organic farm systems. Successful and sustainable conservation efforts in organic systems, however, need to measure appropriate outcomes. In particular, data are needed on the breeding success of associated wildlife species. We measured nesting success of the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) in woodlands embedded within eight organic farms in eastern Nebraska. We modeled daily nest survival rate to identify land use and land cover patterns that optimize conservation of birds in organic farm systems. The percentage of a crop in the fields adjacent to linear woodlands best predicted daily survival rate. …

Field Guide For Nebraska Invasive Plants (Fg-27)

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

What are Invasive Species: Invasive species are non-native organisms introduced into new ecosystem whose introduction and ability to spread causes environmental or economic harm, or harm to human health. Once established, these species cause irreparable harm, including: introducing disease; competing with native specics; changing the physical characteristics of natural areas; and negatively impacting local and national economies.

Invasive Species Regulations: This guide identifies federal and state-listed noxious weeds. Federal noxious weeds are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; State noxious weeds are regulated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Noxious Weed Program. Aquatic invasive …

A Farm-Scale Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services Assessment Tool: The Healthy Farm Index, John E. Quinn, James R. Brandle, Ron J. Johnson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Farm management focused on maximizing biomass production results in biological simplification and ultimately a degraded production potential for the future. Despite the large and growing body of evidence pointing to the need to restore biodiversity to farm systems, incorporation of biodiversity and ecosystem services into local agricultural land use decision- making remains limited. The lack of planned and associated biodiversity may reduce resiliency of local managed ecosystems and add management costs; however, the trade-off for individual landowners of greater diversity is increased management complexity and uncertainty. To assist farmers in managing biodiversity and to encourage ecological thinking, we developed the …

Droughtscape, Winter 2013, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Climatological overview of drought in 2012

Climatological overview of drought, October-December 2012

Impacts of drought in 2012

Drought planning webinars scheduled for ranch advisors

UNL honors NDMC for exceptional service

Report from the emerging community of drought planners

Feb. 6 webinar on drought simulations

Climate Masters course starting

Climate Change in the Midwest book includes drought

Video highlights from coverage of drought of 2012

U.S. Drought Monitor Forum 2013

UN’s High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy

NDMC collaboration with India, Czech Republic

White Bass Assessment In Regards To Changes In Water Level On Lake Traverse, Aaron Wilson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Until recently the white bass Morone chrysops has been somewhat ignored by anglers, more so in Minnesota than other states; most likely due to their limited distribution throughout the state. However, with more anglers becoming aware of the sporting and culinary potentials of white bass, interests have risen. With this rise in angler interest, there should be a rise in white bass assessments. Knowing what factors may be influencing white bass population dynamics will allow fisheries professionals to better manage and protect white bass fisheries. White bass are often found in rivers and impoundments were dams are present and water …

The Value And Propriety Of Reintroduction As A Conservation Tool For Rare Plants, Edward O. Guerrant Jr.

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three recent reviews of reintroduction for conservation purposes, which draw on substantial and largely non-overlapping data sets, have come to strikingly different conclusions about its value. One concludes that “reintroduction is generally unlikely to be a successful conservation strategy as currently conducted.” Another that “…this review cannot conclusively comment on the effectiveness of re-introductions…” The third concludes there is “strong evidence in support of the notion that reintroduction, especially in combination with ex situ conservation, is a tool that can go a long way toward meeting the needs it was intended to address.” The argument over the conservation value of …

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 1, 2013, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for January 1, 2013 (1/1/13) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

Stratigraphic Constraints On Groundwater Flow: Examples From York College, Cuny Campus In Queens, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Ezazul Haque, Coreyn Goddard, Shirley Jackson

Publications and Research

Surficial geology of the York College campus is dominated by recent glacial deposits dating back to late Wisconsinan event. Several shallow excavation-type trenches reaching a depth of approximately 6 to 10 feet were dug in the wide greeneries adjacent to the parking lot to determine soil texture and collect in-situ permeability data. Based on these shallow pits, an apparent subsurface stratigraphy has been constructed. In general, the uppermost 8 to 18 inches is mostly clayey-and-silty sand and organic-rich top soil overlying stratified drift. The uppermost horizons are observed to also contain fill materials such as bricks, concretes, broken glasses, and …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Stephen K. Wilson, Daniel J. Swanson, Michael Prowatzke, Phil Graeve

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) plays a vital role in protecting and managing some of the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Fire Ecology Program (FireEP) surveyed 12 long-term monitoring plots in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, looked for the presence of exotic species that may be newly invading the park, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance …

Comparison Of Pcr And Quantitative Real-Time Pcr Methods For The Characterization Of Ruminant And Cattle Fecal Pollution Sources, Meredith R. Raith, Catherine A. Kelty, John F. Griffith, Alexander Schriewer, Stefan Wuertz, Sophie Mieszkin, Michele Gourmelon, Georg H. Reischer, Andreas H. Farnleitner, Jared S. Ervin, Patricia A. Holden, Darcy L. Ebentier, Jennifer A. Jay, Dan Wang, Alexandria B. Boehm, Tiong Gim Aw, Joan B. Rose, E. Balleste, W.G. Meijer, Mano Sivaganesan, Orin C. Shanks

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The State of California has mandated the preparation of a guidance document on the application of fecal source identification methods for recreational water quality management. California contains the fifth highest population of cattle in the United States, making the inclusion of cow-associated methods a logical choice. Because the performance of these methods has been shown to change based on geography and/or local animal feeding practices, laboratory comparisons are needed to determine which assays are best suited for implementation. We describe the performance characterization of two end-point PCR assays (CF128 and CF193) and five real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays (Rum2Bac, BacR, …

Fumigation Of A Laboratory-Scale Hvac System With Hydrogen Peroxide For Decontamination Following A Biological Contamination Incident, K. M. Meyer, M. W. Calfee, J. P. Wood, L. Michelsen, B. Attwood, M. Clayton, A. Touati, R. Delafield

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Aims

To evaluate hydrogen peroxide vapor (H₂O₂) for its ability to inactivate Bacillus spores within a laboratory-scale heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) duct system.

Methods and Results

Experiments were conducted in a closed-loop duct system, constructed of either internally lined or unlined galvanized metal. Bacterial spores were aerosol-deposited onto 18-mm-diameter test material coupons and strategically placed at several locations within the duct environment. Various concentrations of H₂O₂ and exposure times were evaluated to determine the sporicidal efficacy and minimum exposure needed for decontamination. For the unlined duct, high variability was observed in the …

Impacts Of Migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis) On Microbial Water Quality In The Central Platte River, Nebraska, Usa, Jason R. Vogel, Dale W. Griffin, Hon S. Ip, Nicholas J. Ashbolt, Matthew T. Moser, Jingrang Lu, Mary K. Beitz, Hodon Ryu, Jorge W. Santo Domingo

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Wild birds have been shown to be significant sources of numerous types of pathogens that are relevant to humans and agriculture. The presence of large numbers of migratory birds in such a sensitive and important ecosystem as the Platte River in central Nebraska, USA, could potentially serve a significant source of birdderived pathogens in the water/sediment and riverine environment. In 2009 and 2010, a study was completed to investigate the potential water-quality impacts of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese on the microbial water quality of the central Platte River during their spring migration period. Fecal material, river-bottom sediment, and water …

Controls On Recent Alaskan Lake Changes Identified From Water Isotopes And Remote Sensing, Lesleigh Anderson, Jennifer Rover, Nikki Gaulager, Jean Birks

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

High-latitude lakes are important for terrestrial carbon dynamics and waterfowl habitat driving a need to better understand controls on lake area changes. To identify the existence and cause of recent lake area changes in the Yukon Flats, a region of discontinuous permafrost in north central Alaska, we evaluate remotely sensed imagery with lake water isotope compositions and hydroclimatic parameters. Isotope compositions indicate that mixtures of precipitation, river water, and groundwater source ~95% of the studied lakes. The remaining minority are more dominantly sourced by snowmelt and/or permafrost thaw. Isotope-based water balance estimates indicate 58% of lakes lose more than half …

Ice-Age Megafauna In Arctic Alaska: Extinction, Invasion, Survival, Daniel H. Mann, Pamela Groves, Michael L. Kunz, Richard E. Reanier, Benjamin V. Gaglioti

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Radical restructuring of the terrestrial, large mammal fauna living in arctic Alaska occurred between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Steppe bison, horse, and woolly mammoth became extinct, moose and humans invaded, while muskox and caribou persisted. The ice age mega fauna was more diverse in species and possibly contained 6x more individual animals than live in the region today. Mega faunal biomass during the last ice age may have been 30x greater than present. Horse was the dominant species in terms of number of individuals. Lions, short-faced bears, wolves, and possibly grizzly …

Loess And Its Geomorphic, Stratigraphic, And Paleoclimatic Significance In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is aeolian silt visible in the field as a sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth. Loess thickness, particle size, and carbonate content decrease downwind from sources, useful trends for paleowinds. Many loess sections consist of relatively thick deposits of mostly unaltered sediment with intercalated paleosols. Paleosols represent periods of landscape stability when loess deposition slowed significantly. Loess in most regions was deposited during glacial periods and paleosols formed during interglacial periods. Loess has the potential to record the timing and environment of glacial–interglacial cycles of the Quaternary on many continents.

Quantifying The Risks Of Soil Lead In Urban Community Gardens: Sampling To Account For Spatial Variability, Lauren Elizabeth-Korgol Bugdalski

Wayne State University Theses

Urban gardening has recently gained popularity as a way to provide fresh produce and income to urban residents; however, finding suitable sites for urban gardens is challenging because of historical soil lead contamination particularly in post- industrial cities like Detroit, Michigan. Soil lead measurements from three Detroit gardens were modeled using geostatistical techniques to assess risk and alternate sampling strategies. General sampling recommendations for urban gardens were developed based on results of Monte Carlo simulations and associated risk assessment. Variograms and kriged concentration maps indicate spatial variability at scales as small as one meter, with site specific variability in spatial …

Using Gis To Delineate Headwater Stream Origins In The Appalachian Coal-Belt Region Of Kentucky, Jonathan A. Villines

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Human activity such as surface mining can have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Performing a Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA) of such impacts on surface water systems requires knowing the location and extent of these impacted streams. The Jurisdictional Determination (JD) of a stream’s protected status under the Clean Water Act (CWA) involves locating and classifying streams according to their flow regime: ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial. Due to their often remote locations and small size, taking a field inventory of headwater streams for surface mining permit applications or permit reviews is challenging. A means of estimating headwater stream location …