Sustainability Commons^™

Evaluation Of Smoke Models And Sensitivity Analysis For Determining Their Emission Related Uncertainties, M. Talat Odman Dr., Scott Goddrick Dr., Fernando Garcia-Menendez, Aika Yano

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Emissions from wildland (wild and prescribed) fires add to the burden of air pollution and can have adverse impacts on air quality and public health. Numerical models for dispersion and chemical transport, also known as air quality models, can be used to investigate the fire plume evolution and the smoke impacts. However, it is important that the predictive skills of smoke models be evaluated under a wide range of applicable conditions through systematic simulations of past events with existing data. Three models were evaluated in this research: CALPUFF, DAYSMOKE and CMAQ. Different prescribed burn and wildfire episodes occurring throughout the …

Fire And Aquatic Ecosystems In The Context Of Climate Change: A Synthesis For Improved Management, Charles Luce, Penelope Morgan, Kate Dwire, John Buffington, Bruce Rieman, Zack Holden, Matt Dare, Dan Isaak, Claire Mcgrath

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire will be the proverbial eye-of-the-needle through which many western U.S. mountain, forest, and stream ecosystems will pass as the climate changes. Historic observations show increased dryness and temperatures accompanying more widespread fire and forest die-off. These events may punctuate gradual changes to ecosystems, or may be a mechanism driving stepwise changes in ecosystems. Most western ecosystems are strongly tied to cycles of fire and recovery, and the changing nature of fire will have profound consequences. There is no question that vulnerability assessments of western U.S. ecosystems need to account for fire in their calculus. The biophysical template of the …

Synthesis Of Knowledge Of Extreme Fire Behavior: Volume I For Fire Managers, Paul A. Werth, Brian E. Potter, Craig B. Clements, Mark. A. Finney, Scott L. Goodrick, Martin E. Alexander, Miguel G. Cruz, Jason A. Forthofer, Sara S. Mcallister

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group definition of extreme fire behavior (EFB) indicates a level of fire behavior characteristics that ordinarily precludes methods of direct control action. One or more of the following is usually involved: high rate of spread, prolific crowning/ spotting, presence of fire whirls, and strong convection column. Predictability is difficult because such fires often exercise some degree of influence on their environment and behave erratically, sometimes dangerously. Alternate terms include “blow up” and “fire storm.” Fire managers examining fires over the last 100 years have come to understand many of the factors necessary for EFB development. This …

Fire Ecology And Management Of Non-Forested Ecosystems In Western North America. Final Report: Description Of Organizational Meetings And Development Of A Publication Plan, Matt Brooks

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

It has been almost 30 years since the last major book on the ecology and management of fire was published that contained extensive information from non-forested ecosystems across western North America (Wright and Bailey 1982). During subsequent years there have been notable books that have focused largely on forested ecosystems (e.g. Agee 1993), and there was one very recent book that addressed many important grassland, shrubland, woodland, and forest areas, but its geographic extent was confined to California (Sugihara et al. 2006). No single book has since matched the geographic scope associated with non-forested ecosystems in western North America as …

Laboratory Of Tree-Ring Research And School Of Natural Resources And The Environment, Thomas W. Swetnam, Donald Falk, Elaine K. Sutherland, Peter M. Brown, Timothy J. Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Understanding the role of climate variation in governing fire regimes remains one of the central needs in contemporary fire science and management. Ideally, this understanding should encompass both historical and current fire-climatology, and inform both basic science and ecosystem management. In this project, Fire and Climate Synthesis (FACS) we undertook a detailed synthesis of both paleofire and modern fire based on compilations of existing data sets. We also analyzed three major thematic pathways by which climate has impacted fire policy, including direct and indirect climate effects on fire policy. Paleofire. We assembled the largest and most comprehensive data set of …

Fire Regimes Of Montane Grasslands Of The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, Donald A. Falk, Craig D. Allen, Robert Parmenter, Thomas Swetnam, Clifford Dils

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Montane grasslands are an important ecosystem type in Southwestern landscapes, occurring from the forest borders of piñon-juniper woodland to high elevation subalpine and alpine ecosystems. Thus, they often represent a mosaic element embedded in the forest landscape matrix, playing key roles in processing water and nutrients, and providing habitat for unique suites of species, often at higher levels of diversity than those found in surrounding uplands. Soils, local temperature and moisture gradients, and disturbance all play roles in determining the distribution and extent of montane grasslands. Of these factors, fire plays the most dynamic role in regulating the location and …

Fuel Reduction Treatment Longevity And Crown Response In Interior Ponderosa Pine Forests Of Northern California, Martin W. Ritchie, Carl N. Skinner, Jianwei Zhang

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

With increasing interest in fuels treatments to address the high risk of severe fires in the western United States, there is an attendant need to quantify the effectiveness of such treatments. In addition to the immediate effect of reducing levels of combustible material and the attendant impact on fire intensity, resource managers also need to quantify or forecast the longevity of such treatments. Treatments that produce significant, but short-lived reductions in risk of severe wildfire may not be meeting the goals and objectives of managers. This temporal component needs further study and is the subject of this proposal. There are …

Fuel Treatments In Mixed-Pine Forests In The Great Lakes Region: A Comprehensive Guide To Planning And Implementation, Eric Toman, Stanley Gehrt, Charles Goebel, David M. Hix, Roger Williams, Robyn Wilson, Sarah Mccaffrey

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fuel management decisions are made within a larger context of resource management characterized by multiple objectives including ecosystem restoration, wildlife management, commodity production (from timber to less traditional forest products), and provision of recreation opportunities and amenity values. Implementation of fuel treatments is strongly influenced by their perceived influence on and compatibility with overarching management objectives. In some cases these objectives may be complementary while in others they may involve difficult tradeoffs. Such tradeoffs are only further complicated by institutional mandates, limited availability of information, and complex ownership patterns. Like natural resource managers across the U.S., those in the Great …

Ethnic Minorities And Food Security In Northern Thailand, Monalisa Diamond

Capstone Collection

The issue of food security is complex. By analyzing the relationship between international, national and local society, one can better contextualize food security issues. Using an embedded research design (with a qualitative leaning) supported by quantitative data, research is conducted via surveys, interviews and focus groups. This research design was chosen to offset limited sample sizes with quantitative data to strengthen findings. Research findings were cross analyzed to identify three emergent themes. The three cross-cutting themes identified and analyzed are: Thai citizenship, employment and chemical pesticide use (chemical pesticide use did not arise among Burmese refugees and is only applicable …

Proceedings Of The 2011 International Conference On Karst Hydrogeology And Ecosystems, Jason Samuel Polk, Leslie A. North

Environmental Sustainability Books

Jointly sponsored by the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, the National Cave & Karst Research Institute, and the International Association of Hydrogeologists, the 2011 International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems was held at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucy on 8-10 June 2011. Topics include karst geomorphology, engineering and modeling, isotope geochemistry, and cultural and educational aspects of karst environments.

Abundance And Size Of Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Bugensis) Veligers In Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, Shawn Gerstenberger, Sara Ann Mueting, Wai Hing Wong

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

The planktonic veligers of the invasive quagga mussel were present year-round from April 2008 to March 2009 in Lake Mead, with high abundance from September to October (>20 veligers/L), whereas the percentage of competent veligers, in terms of the ability to settle, peaked from November 2008 to January 2009 (>60%). The results from this experiment are useful in understanding the life history and population dynamics of quagga mussels in the lower Colorado River Basin.

Overcoming The Obstacles To Sustainability In Ghana, Ashley M. Scott

CMC Senior Theses

For several decades following its independence from Great Britain, Ghana’s policies continued to promote over-extraction of natural resources to the detriment of its economy and rural communities.  Agricultural and forestry policy has gradually evolved to foster more sustainable and equitable practices, as in building partnerships with the private sector to fund infrastructure improvements.  Policy has recently recognized the dire need to adopt agricultural practices and means of forest resource extraction that are compatible with ecological stewardship.  However, many shortcomings are still apparent.  Large logging operations completely disregard forestry regulations with impunity, whereas rural sustenance extractors are severely punished in the …

A Tale Of Two Carbon Sinks: Can Forest Carbon Management Serve As A Framework To Implement Ocean Iron Fertilization As A Climate Change Treaty Compliance Mechanism?, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Any post-Kyoto climate change treaty regime must seek to fully engage the use of carbon sinks to complement emissions reduction measures in order to comply with the treaty's mandates. The Kyoto Protocol did not include avoided deforestation as a mechanism for earning emission reduction credits. However, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) quickly gained popularity as a viable climate change compliance strategy in the period immediately preceding the negotiations at the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen in 2009. The Copenhagen Accord is replete with references to REDD as a focus for the international community's progression …

Toward An Integrated History To Guide The Future, Sander Van Der Leeuw, Robert Costanza, Steve Aulenbach, Simon Brewer, Michael Burek, Sarah Cornell, Carole L. Crumley, J. A. Dearing, Catherine Downy, Lisa J. Graumlich, Scott Heckbert, Michelle Hegmon, Kathy A. Hibbard, Stephen T. Jackson, Ida Kubiszewski, Paul Sinclair, Sverker Sörlin, W. L. Steffen

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Many contemporary societal challenges manifest themselves in the domain of human?environment interactions. There is a growing recognition that responses to these challenges formulated within current disciplinary boundaries, in isolation from their wider contexts, cannot adequately address them. Here, we outline the need for an integrated, transdisciplinary synthesis that allows for a holistic approach, and, above all, a much longer time perspective. We outline both the need for and the fundamental characteristics of what we call ?integrated history.? This approach promises to yield new understandings of the relationship between the past, present, and possible futures of our integrated human?environment system. We …

(Editorial) A Long Term View Of Rare Plant Reintroduction. A Response To Godefroid Et Al. 2011: How Successful Are Plant Reintroductions?, Matthew A. Albrecht, Edward O. Guerrant Jr., Joyce Maschinski, Kathryn Kennedy

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is an editorial response to Godefroidet al. (2011). How successful are plant species reintroductions? Biological Conservation 144, 672-682.

Invasive Species And Climate Change, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

ISSUE

Climate change interacts with and can often amplify the negative impacts of invasive species. These interactions are not fully appreciated or understood. They can result in threats to critical ecosystem functions on which our food system and other essential provisions and services depend as well as increase threats to human health. The Invasive Species Advisory Committee to the National Invasive Species Council recognizes the Administration’s commitment to dealing proactively with global climate change. However, unless we recognize and act on the impact of climate change and its interaction with ecosystems and invasive species, we will fall further behind in …

Guano Exploitation In Madagascar, Christina Buliga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture in Madagascar continues to remain largely undeveloped. Out of the eighty percent of Malagasy individuals that live in rural areas an overwhelming sixty five percent practice subsistence agriculture. With respect to the country as a whole this means that out of Madagascar's 58.2 million hectares of available land only 5.2 percent (3 million hectares) are farmed. And out of these 3 million hectares only 67% are cultivated permanently and only 11% are fertilized.

While there are several reasons for why Madagascar’s agriculture has remained largely undeveloped and for why Madagascar continues to rely on imported crops to meet its …

Unlv Magazine, Tony Allen, Shane Bevell, Donna Mcaleer, Ched Whitney, Cate Weeks

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Empirical Geographic Modeling Of Switchgrass Yields In The United States, Henriette I. Jager, Latha M. Baskaran, Craig C. Brandt, Ethan B. Davis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a perennial grass native to the United States that has been studied as a sustainable source of biomass fuel. Although many field‐scale studies have examined the potential of this grass as a bioenergy crop, these studies have not been integrated. In this study, we present an empirical model for switchgrass yield and use this model to predict yield for the conterminous United States. We added environmental covariates to assembled yield data from field trials based on geographic location. We developed empirical models based on these data. The resulting empirical models, which account for spatial …

Algal Biomass Accrual In Relation To Nutrient Availability Along A Longitudinal Gradient In The Upper Green River, Kentucky, Mary Douglas Penick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nutrient limitation in aquatic ecosystems results from a deficiency in nitrogen or phosphorus levels relative to cellular growth needs. Nutrient limitation of freshwater systems is a function of biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors include vascular and nonvascular plant community composition. Abiotic factors include underlying bedrock and land-use activities (e.g. agriculture, septic systems). Nutrient availability directly affects growth, productivity, and community structure of primary producers. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the relationship between ambient algal biomass. and in-stream nutrient levels along the longitudinal course of a river through a transition from weak to well-developed underlying …

Integrated Fisheries Management Report. West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia.

Fisheries Management Papers

This report on the West Coast Demersal Scalefish fishery is the third in a series of Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM) resource reports required under the Government policy on IFM. Under this policy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Fisheries is required to approve a sustainability report for each fishery, which includes a clear statement on the recommended harvest level.

A Bycatch Action Plan For The Pilbara Fish Trawl Interim Managed Fishery., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

The effect of commercial fishing on bycatch species and the marine ecosystem generally, has emerged as a significant national and international issue. Environmental issues associated with bycatch – including impacts on the ecology of non-target species of fish and wildlife – are important issues to address in reducing the impacts, or potential impacts, of commercial fisheries.

In 1998, the National Standing Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture developed a national policy on fisheries bycatch. In 1999, the (then) State Minister for Fisheries adopted the national policy as his position on bycatch for Western Australia. The main objective of the policy is …

Invasive Species And Public Investment In The Green Economy, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species and Public Investment in the Green Economy, approved by ISAC on June 24, 2010

ISSUE

Invasive species are intricately linked to the economy. Trade, travel, and transport facilitate their spread. Invasive species management requires extensive human and financial resources. The impacts of invasive species can substantially undermine economic growth and sustainable development. United States Executive Order (EO) 13112 defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states that Federal agencies should …“not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that are likely …

Marine Bioinvasions And Climate Change, James T. Carlton, Sandra C. Lindstrom, Celia M. Smith, Jennifer E. Smith

National Invasive Species Council

BACKGROUND

Invasive species are second only to habitat destruction as the greatest cause of species endangerment and global biodiversity loss. Invasive species can cause severe and permanent damage to the ecosystems they invade. Consequences of invasion include competition with or predation upon native species, hybridization, carrying or supporting harmful pathogens and parasites that may affect wildlife and human health, disturbing ecosystem function through alteration of food webs and nutrient recycling rates, acting as ecosystem engineers and altering habitat structure, and degradation of the aesthetic quality of our natural resources. In many cases we may not fully know the native animals …

Greening The Green Revolution: Moving Beyond Chemicals To Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Elizabeth G. Crawley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture has dominated the economy of many developing countries for centuries, which has led to development policies that center on agricultural development. An obvious approach to improved production is to decrease agricultural losses in the fields and increase efficiency to markets. This study focuses on the developmental role of pesticides and chemical fertilizers on non-traditional agricultural export farming and the adoption of IPM techniques. With farmers in the Comayagua Valley of Honduras, an Asian vegetable production center for the country, as the study population, the costs and benefits of planting oriental vegetables was examined. Statistical analysis was used to examine …

Are Biotechnology And Sustainable Agriculture Compatible?, David E. Ervin, Leland L. Glenna, Raymond Adelard Jussaume

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agricultural biotechnology has been largely opposed by advocates in the sustainable agriculture movement, despite claims by the technology’s proponents that it holds the promise to deliver both production (economic) and environmental benefits, two legs of the sustainability stool. We argue in this paper that participants in this polarized debate are talking past each other because assumptions about biotechnology and sustainability remain simplistic and poorly defined. Genetically engineered (GE) herbicide-resistant and insect-resistant crop varieties are the most visible current forms of agricultural biotechnology, and thus the form of biotechnology that many in the sustainability movement react to. However, these crops represent …

Interview With Steve Jones, Us Forest Service, 2010 (Audio), Steve Jones

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Steve Jones by Scott Swenson at Hood River, Oregon on May 25th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Judy Combs, Kaiser Permanente, 2010 (Audio), Judy Combs

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Judy Combs by Nazer Frias at Clackamas, Oregon on May 17th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Jeff Luebbers, Us Forest Service, 2010 (Audio), Jeff Luebbers

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jeff Luebbers by Chelsea Saurman on May 13th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Adaptivearc And The Future Of The Energy Industry, Trevor Chase

Earth and Soil Sciences

No abstract provided.