Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Sturgeon In The Sacramento–San Joaquin Watershed: New Insights To Support Conservation And Management, A. Peter Klimley, Eric D. Chapman, Joseph J. Cech Jr., Dennis E. Cocherell, Nann A. Fangue, Marty Gingras, Zachary Jackson, Emily A. Miller, Ethan A. Mora, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Andrea M. Schreier, Alicia Seesholtz, Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael J. Thomas, David Woodbury, Megan T. Wyman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The goal of a day-long symposium on March 3, 2015, Sturgeon in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Watershed: New Insights to Support Conservation and Management, was to present new information about the physiology, behavior, and ecology of the green (Acipenser medirostris) and white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) to help guide enhanced management and conservation efforts within the Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed. This symposium identified current unknowns and highlighted new electronic tracking technologies and physiological techniques to address these knowledge gaps. A number of presentations, each reviewing ongoing research on the two species, was followed by a round-table discussion, in which …

Fish-Protection Devices At Unscreened Water Diversions Can Reduce Entrainment: Evidence From Behavioural Laboratory Investigations, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Timothy D. Mussen, Ali Ercan, Hossein Bandeh, M. Levent Kavvas, Joseph J. Cech Jr., Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Diversion (i.e. extraction) of water from rivers and estuaries can potentially affect native wildlife populations if operation is not carefully managed. For example, open, unmodified water diversions can act as a source of injury or mortality to resident or migratory fishes from entrainment and impingement, and can cause habitat degradation and fragmentation. Fish-protection devices, such as exclusion screens, louvres or sensory deterrents, can physically or behaviourally deter fish from approaching or being entrained into water diversions. However, empirical assessment of their efficacy is often lacking or is investigated only for particular economically or culturally important fishes, such as salmonids. The …

Reviews And Syntheses: Optical Sampling Of The Flux Tower Footprint, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this review is to address the reasons and methods for conducting optical remote sensing within the flux tower footprint. Fundamental principles and conclusions gleaned from over 2 decades of proximal remote sensing at flux tower sites are reviewed. The organizing framework used here is the light-use efficiency (LUE) model, both because it is widely used, and because it provides a useful theoretical construct for integrating optical remote sensing with flux measurements. Multiple ways of driving this model, ranging from meteorological measurements to remote sensing, have emerged in recent years, making it a convenient conceptual framework for comparative …

Response Of A Stoichiometrically Imbalanced Ecosystem To Manipulation Of Nutrient Supplies And Ratios, Zarraz M. Lee, Laura Steger, Jessica R. Corman, Marc Neveu, Amisha T. Poret-Peterson, Valeria Souza, James J. Elser

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is a desert ecosystem that hosts a large diversity of water bodies. Many surface waters in this basin have imbalanced nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) stoichiometry (total N:P > 100 by atoms), where P is likely to be a limiting nutrient. To investigate the effects of nutrient stoichiometry on planktonic and sediment ecosystem components and processes, we conducted a replicated in situ mesocosm experiment in Lagunita, a shallow pond located in the southwest region of the basin. Inorganic N and P were periodically added to mesocosms under three different N:P regimes (P only, N:P = 16 and …

The Importance Of Lake-Specific Characteristics For Water Quality Across The Continental United States, Emily K. Read, Vijay P. Patil, Samantha K. Oliver, Amy L. Hetherington, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Jacob A. Zwart, Kirsten M. Winters, Jessica R. Corman, Emily R. Nodine, R. Iestyn Woolway, Hilary A. Dugan, Aline Jaimes, Arianto B. Santoso, Grace S. Hong, Luke A. Winslow, Paul C. Hanson, Kathleen C. Weathers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Lake water quality is affected by local and regional drivers, including lake physical characteristics, hydrology, landscape position, land cover, land use, geology, and climate. Here, we demonstrate the utility of hypothesis testing within the landscape limnology framework using a random forest algorithm on a national-scale, spatially explicit data set, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 National Lakes Assessment. For 1026 lakes, we tested the relative importance of water quality drivers across spatial scales, the importance of hydrologic connectivity in mediating water quality drivers, and how the importance of both spatial scale and connectivity differ across response variables for five …

Community Structure And Biogeochemical Impacts Of Microbial Life On Floating Pumice, J. J. Elser, M. Bastidas Navarro, J. R. Corman, H. Emick, M. Kellom, C. Laspoumaderes, Z. M. Lee, A. T. Poret-Peterson, E. Balseiro, B. Modenutti

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Volcanic eruptions are a widespread force of geological and ecological disturbance and present recurrent opportunities for the study of biological responses to novel habitat formation. However, scientific study of such events is difficult given their short duration and often distant location. Here we report results from opportunistic sampling of unique volcano-generated habitats formed during the 2011 explosive eruption in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle complex (Chile), when massive amounts of pumice were ejected, creating novel floating substrata that have never before been characterized from a microbiological perspective. DNA sequencing revealed a dynamic community of microbes that came to inhabit the pumice, with …

Effects Of Alternative Framing On The Publics Perceived Importance Of Environmental Conservation, Amanda E. Sorensen, Daniel Clark, Rebecca C. Jordan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Effective communication of science to the general public is important for numerous reasons, including support for policy, funding, informed public decision making, among others. Prior research has found that scientists participating in public policy and public communication must frame their communication efforts in order to connect with audiences. A frame is the mechanism that individuals use to understand and interpret the world around them. Framing can encourage specific interpretations and reference points for a particular issue or event; especially when meaning is negotiated between the media and public audiences. In this study, we looked at the effect of framing within …

Nasa Uncertainty Quantification Challenge: An Optimization-Based Methodology And Validation, Anirban Chaudhuri, Garrett Waycaster, Nathaniel Price, Taiki Matsumura, Raphael Haftka

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Accountability In Networked Governance: Learning From A Case Of Landscape-Scale Forest Conservation, Theresa Jedd, R. Patrick Bixler

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Video To Examine Formative Assessment Practices As Measures Of Expertise For Mathematics And Science Teachers, Amelia Wenk Gotwals, Joanne Philhower, Dante Cisterna, Steven Bennett

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Soil Respiration Is Determined By Substrate Availability, Not Microbial Biomass: Insights From A Long-Term Incubation, Hannah E. Birge, Richard T. Conant, Ronald F. Follett, Michelle L. Haddix, Sherri J. Morris, Sieglinde S. Snapp, Matthew D. Wallenstein, Eldor A. Paul

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Professional Development At The Local Level: Necessary And Sufficient Conditions For Critical Colleagueship, Tara Kintz, John Lane, Amelia Gotwals, Dante Cisterna

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

In-Service Teachers' Attitudes, Knowledge And Classroom Teaching Of Global Climate Change, Shiyu Liu, Gillian Roehrig, Devarati Bhattacharya, Keisha Varma

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Revision Of Nationwide Design Flood Levels (In Hungarian), T. Kramer, Jozsef Szilagyi, J. Jozsa

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Need For A Common Basis For Defining Light-Use Efficiency: Implications For Productivity Estimation, Anatoly A. Gitelson, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A primary focus of this short communication is to show how the operational definition of light use efficiency (LUE) influences the results and interpretation of the LUE model. Our study was motivated by the observation that multiple LUE definitions are reported in the literature. The temporal behavior of three operational definitions of LUE, based on (i) incident radiation, (ii) total absorbed radiation and (iii) radiation absorbed by photosynthetically active/green vegetation was examined for two contrasting crops (soybean and maize) having different physiologies, leaf structures and canopy architectures. Over the course of a growing season, the behavior of these three contrasting …

Joint Leaf Chlorophyll Content And Leaf Area Index Retrieval From Landsat Data Using A Regularized Model Inversion System (Regflec), Rasmus Houborg, Matthew Mccabe, Alessandro Cescatti, Feng Gao, Mitchell Schull, Anatoly A. Gitelson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Leaf area index (LAI) and leaf chlorophyll content (Chll) represent key biophysical and biochemical controls on water, energy and carbon exchange processes in the terrestrial biosphere. In combination, LAI and Chll provide critical information on vegetation density, vitality and photosynthetic potentials.However, simultaneous retrieval of LAI and Chll fromspace observations is extremely challenging. Regularization strategies are required to increase the robustness and accuracy of retrieved properties and enable more reliable separation of soil, leaf and canopy parameters. To address these challenges, the REGularized canopy reFLECtance model (REGFLEC) inversion system was refined to incorporate enhanced techniques for exploiting ancillary LAI and temporal …

Soil Processes Drive Seasonal Variation In Retention Of 15N Tracers In A Deciduous Forest Catchment, Christine L. Goodale, Guinevere Fredriksen, Marissa S. Weiss, Carmody K. Mccalley, Jed P. Sparks, Steven A. Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Seasonal patterns of stream nitrate concentration have long been interpreted as

demonstrating the central role of plant uptake in regulating stream nitrogen loss from forested

catchments. Soil processes are rarely considered as important drivers of these patterns. We

examined seasonal variation in N retention in a deciduous forest using three whole-ecosystem

¹⁵N tracer additions: in late April (post-snowmelt, pre-leaf-out), late July (mid-growingseason),

and late October (end of leaf-fall). We expected that plant ¹⁵N uptake would peak in

late spring and midsummer, that immobilization in surface litter and soil would peak the

following autumn leaf-fall, and that leaching losses …

A Global Perspective On Wetland Salinization: Ecological Consequences Of A Growing Threat To Freshwater Wetlands, Ellen R. Herbert, Paul Boon, Amy J. Burgin, Scott C. Neubauer, Rima B. Franklin, Marcelo Ardón, Kristine N. Hopfensperger, Leon P.M. Lamers, Peter Gell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land-clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de-icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil-water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, …

Factors Affecting Female Space Use In Ten Populations Of Prairie Chickens, Virginia L. Winder, Kaylan M. Carrlson, Andrew J. Gregory, Christian A. Hagen, David A. Haukos, Dylan C. Kesler, Lena C. Larsson, Ty W. Matthews, Lance B. Mcnew, Michael A. Patten, Jim C. Pitman, Larkin A. Powell, Jennifer A. Smith, Tom Thompson, Donald H. Wolfe, Brett K. Sandercock

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conservation of wildlife depends on an understanding of the interactions between animal

movements and key landscape factors. Habitat requirements of wide-ranging species often vary spatially,

but quantitative assessment of variation among replicated studies at multiple sites is rare. We investigated

patterns of space use for 10 populations of two closely related species of prairie grouse: Greater Prairie-

Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and Lesser Prairie-Chickens (T. pallidicinctus). Prairie chickens require large,

intact tracts of native grasslands, and are umbrella species for conservation of prairie ecosystems in North

America. We used resource utilization functions to investigate space use by female prairie chickens during …

Biotic And Climatic Controls On Interannual Variability In Carbon Fluxes Across Terrestrial Ecosystems, Junjiong Shao, Xuhui Zhou, Yiqi Luo, Bo Li, Mika Aurela, David Billesbach, Peter D. Blanken, Rosvel Bracho, Jiquan Chen, Marc L. Fischer, Yuling Fu, Lianhong Gu, Shijie Han, Yongtao He, Thomas Kolb, Yingnian Li, Zoltan Nagy, Shuli Niu, Walter C. Oechel, Krisztina Pinter, Peili Shi, Andrew E. Suyker, Margaret Torn, Andrej Varlagin, Huimin Wang, Junhua Yan, Guirui Yu, Junhui Zhang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Interannual variability (IAV, represented by standard deviation) in net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ (NEE) is mainly driven by climatic drivers and biotic variations (i.e., the changes in photosynthetic and respiratory responses to climate), the effects of which are referred to as climatic (CE) and biotic effects (BE), respectively. Evaluating the relative contributions of CE and BE to the IAV in carbon (C) fluxes and understanding their controlling mechanisms are critical in projecting ecosystem changes in the future climate. In this study, we applied statistical methods with flux data from 65 sites located in the Northern Hemisphere to address this …

Multi-Scale Evaluation Of Light Use Efficiency In Modis Gross Primary Productivity For Croplands In The Midwestern United States, Qinchuan Xin, Mark Broich, Andrew E. Suyker, Le Yu, Peng Gong

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Satellite remote sensing provides continuous observations of land surfaces, thereby offering opportunities for large-scale monitoring of terrestrial productivity. Production Efficiency Models (PEMs) have been widely used in satellite-based studies to simulate carbon exchanges between the atmosphere and ecosystems. However, model parameterization of the maximum light use efficiency (ε*_GPP) varies considerably for croplands in agricultural studies at different scales. In this study, we evaluate cropland ε*_GPP in the MODIS Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) model (MOD17) using in situ measurements and inventory datasets across the Midwestern US. The site-scale calibration using 28 site-years tower measurements derives ε*_GPP values …

Estimation And Analysis Of Gross Primary Production Of Soybean Under Various Management Practices And Drought Conditions, Pradeep Wagle, Xiangming Xiao, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Gross primary production (GPP) of croplands may be used to quantify crop productivity and evaluate a range of management practices. Eddy flux data from three soybean (Glycine max L.) fields under different management practices (no-till vs. till; rainfed vs. irrigated) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived vegetation indices (VIs) were used to test the capabilities of remotely sensed VIs and soybean phenology to estimate the seasonal dynamics of carbon fluxes. The modeled GPP (GPP_VPM) using vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM) was compared with the GPP (GPP_EC) estimated from eddy covariance measurements. The VIs tracked soybean …

Are Preserved Farms Actively Engaged In Agriculture And Conservation?, Paul D. Gottlieb, Brian J. Schilling, Kevin Sullivan, J. Dixon Esseks, Lori Lynch, Joshua M. Duke

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This study addresses the question of whether farms enrolled in land preservation programs are actively engaged in agricultural or conservation activities. Data are drawn from an original survey administered to preserved farm owners in the states of New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware in 2011. “Actively engaged” is defined as investment in conservation projects, buildings, equipment, or irrigation since the land was preserved. Affirmative answers to the survey’s investment questions range from a low of 19% for irrigation to a high of 69% for equipment. Special attention was paid to differences between lifestyle farmers and small and large commercial farmers, which …

The Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (Awssi), Barbara E. Mayes Boustead, Steven D. Hilberg, Martha Shulski, Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The character of a winter can be defined by many of its features, including temperature averages and extremes, snowfall totals, snow depth, and the duration between onset and cessation of winter-weather conditions. The accumulated winter season severity index incorporates these elements into one site-specific value that defines the severity of a particular winter, especially when examined in the context of climatological values for that site. Thresholds of temperature, snowfall, and snow depth are assigned points that accumulate through the defined winter season; a parallel index uses temperature and precipitation to provide a snow proxy where snow data are unavailable or …

The Uncertain Climate Footprint Of Wetlands Under Human Pressure, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Annalea Lohila, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Ankur R. Desai, Nigel T. Roulet, Timo Vesala, Albertus Johannes Dolman, Walter C. Oechel, Barbara Marcolla, Thomas Friborg, Janne Rinne, Jaclyn Hatala Matthes, Lutz Merbold, Ana Meijide, Gerard Kiely, Matteo Sottocornola, Torsten Sachs, Donatella Zona, Andrej Varlagin, Derrick Y.F. Lai, Elmar Veenendaal, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Ute Skiba, Magnus Land, Arjan Hensen, Jacobus Van Huissteden, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Narasinha J. Shurpali, Thomas Grünwald, Elyn R. Humphreys, Marcin Jackowicz-Korczynski, Mika A. Aurela, Tuomas Laurila, Carsten Grüning, Chiara A.R. Corradi, Arina P. Schrier-Uijl, Torben R. Christensen, Mikkel P. Tamstorf, Mikhail Mastepanov, Pertti J. Martikainen, Shashi Verma, Christian Bernhofer, Alessandro Cescatti

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Significant climate risks are associated with a positive carbon–temperature feedback in northern latitude carbon-rich ecosystems,making an accurate analysis of human impacts on the net greenhouse gas balance of wetlands a priority. Here, we provide a coherent assessment of the climate footprint of a network of wetland sites based on simultaneous and quasi-continuous ecosystem observations of CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes. Experimental areas are located both in natural and in managed wetlands and cover a wide range of climatic regions, ecosystem types, and management practices. Based on direct observations we predict that sustained CH₄ emissions in natural ecosystems are …

Thermal-Based Modeling Of Coupled Carbon, Water, And Energy Fluxes Using Nominal Light Use Efficiencies Constrained By Leaf Chlorophyll Observations, M. A. Schull, M. C. Anderson, R. Houborg, Anatoly A. Gitelson, W. P. Kustas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Recent studies have shown that estimates of leaf chlorophyll content (Chl), defined as the combined mass of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b per unit leaf area, can be useful for constraining estimates of canopy light use efficiency (LUE). Canopy LUE describes the amount of carbon assimilated by a vegetative canopy for a given amount of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and is a key parameter for modeling land-surface carbon fluxes. A carbonenabled version of the remote-sensing-based two-source energy balance (TSEB) model simulates coupled canopy transpiration and carbon assimilation using an analytical submodel of canopy resistance constrained by inputs of nominal …

Phycocyanin-Specific Absorption Coefficient: Eliminating The Effect Of Chlorophylls Absorption, Y. Z. Yacobi, J. Köhler, F. Leunert, Anatoly A. Gitelson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The applicability of algorithms for estimation of phycocyanin (PC) concentration based on light spectral reflectance heavily depends on the specific absorption of the pigment. But the determination of PC-specific absorption coefficient is not a straightforward task, as PC optical activity is overlapped by absorption of chlorophylls. The aim of our study was to determine a*_PC(625)—the specific absorption coefficient of PC at 625 nm, in samples with PC concentrations ranging from 0.5 mg m^-3 to 126.4 mg m^-3 and varying proportions of chlorophylls a, b, and c in the samples. The effect of chlorophylls was subtracted from …

Modeling Actual Evapotranspiration With Routine Meteorological Variables In The Data-Scarce Region Of The Tibetan Plateau: Comparisons And Implications, Ning Ma, Yinsheng Zhang, Chong-Yu Xu, Jozsef Szilagyi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Quantitative estimation of actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) by in situ measurements and mathematical modeling is a fundamental task for physical understanding of ETa as well as the feedback mechanisms between land and the ambient atmosphere. However, the ETa information in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been greatly impeded by the extremely sparse ground observation network in the region. Approaches for estimating ET_a solely from routine meteorological variables are therefore important for investigating spatiotemporal variations of ETa in the data-scarce region of the TP. Motivated by this need, the complementary relationship (CR) and Penman-Monteith approaches were evaluated against in …

Remote Sensing Of Drought: Progress, Challenges And Opportunities, A. Aghakouchak, A. Farahmand, F. S. Melton, J. Teixeira, M. C. Anderson, Brian D. Wardlow, C. R. Hain

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This review surveys current and emerging drought monitoring approaches using satellite remote sensing observations from climatological and ecosystem perspectives. We argue that satellite observations not currently used for operational drought monitoring, such as near-surface air relative humidity data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder mission, provide opportunities to improve early drought warning. Current and future satellite missions offer opportunities to develop composite and multi-indicator drought models. While there are immense opportunities, there are major challenges including data continuity, unquantified uncertainty, sensor changes, and community acceptability. One of the major limitations of many of the currently available satellite observations is their short …

Evaluating The Complementary Relationship Of Evapotranspiration In The Alpine Steppe Of The Tibetan Plateau, Ning Ma, Yinsheng Zhang, Jozsef Szilagyi, Yanhong Guo, Jianqing Zhai, Haifeng Gao

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The complementary relationship (CR) of evapotranspiration allows the estimation of the actual evapotranspiration rate (ET_a) of the land surface using only routine meteorological data, which is of great importance in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) due to its sparse observation network. With the highest in situ automatic climate observation system in a typical semiarid alpine steppe region of the TP, the wind function of Penman was replaced by one based on the Monin-Obukhov Similarity theory for calculating the potential evapotranspiration rate (ET_p); the Priestley-Taylor coefficient, a, was estimated using observations in wet days; and the slope of …