Sustainability Commons^™

Decolonizing Food Systems Research – The Case Of Household Agricultural Food Access In Bikotiba, Togo, Katryna Maria Kibler

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Indigenous West African farmers are among the most climate change threatened globally. Food insecurity is prevalent in West Africa because ecological, social, political, and economic instabilities, and globalization worsen climate pressures. In this study, I collaborated with the community of Bikotiba (bih-CO-ti-buh), Togo, to understand their household agricultural food access, one aspect of resilience to food insecurity. I adopted a feminist approach of reflexivity, radical vulnerability, and radical empathy, combined with decolonizing principles, to argue that there could be an ethical way for well-trained Western researchers to engage Indigenous communities, if negotiated carefully. Together, Indigenous Research Assistants and I developed …

Environmental Hygiene For Covid-19: It's All About The Mask, Daniel B. Oerther, Mona Shattell

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Projected Impact Of Mid-21st Century Climate Change On Wildfire Hazard In A Major Urban Watershed Outside Portland, Oregon Usa, Andy Mcevoy, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Andres Holz, Arielle J. Catalano, Kelly E. Gleason

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characterizing wildfire regimes where wildfires are uncommon is challenged by a lack of empirical information. Moreover, climate change is projected to lead to increasingly frequent wildfires and additional annual area burned in forests historically characterized by long fire return intervals. Western Oregon and Washington, USA (westside) have experienced few large wildfires (fires greater than 100 hectares) the past century and are characterized to infrequent large fires with return intervals greater than 500 years. We evaluated impacts of climate change on wildfire hazard in a major urban watershed outside Portland, OR, USA. We simulated wildfire occurrence and fire regime characteristics under …

Fish And Macroinvertebrate Response To Restoration And Conservation Efforts, Madison C. Cogar

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Fish and macroinvertebrate response to restoration and conservation efforts varies in regards to the size and structure of the system (e.g. headwater streams in WV versus large rivers such as the Mississippi River). This project reviews fish and macroinvertebrate rebound in treated acid mine drainage (AMD) streams in WV as well as macroinvertebrate drift patterns in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. AMD is a product of a chemical reaction resulting in an acidic water outflow from mining sites, which may harm aquatic life. As a response, passive AMD treatment systems have been installed. I tested the effectiveness of remediation by …

Corn And Soybean Response To Wastewater-Recycled Phosphorus Fertilizers, Shane Ylagan

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to recycle phosphorus (P) from wastewaters could provide a sustainable, continuous source of P that might also help protect surface water quality from P enrichment. The mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) is an understudied material that can be created from Pcontaining wastewater and has been shown to have agricultural fertilizer value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of electrochemically precipitated struvite (ECST), chemically precipitated struvite (Crystal Green; CG), diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), rock phosphate (RP), and triple super phosphate (TSP) on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) response in a 79-day greenhouse pot …

Landscape-Scale Differences Among Cities Alter Common Species’ Responses To Urbanization, Mason Fidino, Travis Gallo, Elizabeth W. Lehrer, Maureen H. Murray, Cria Kay, Heather A. Sander, Brandon Macdougall, Carmen M. Salsbury, Travis J. Ryan, Julia L. Angstmann, J. Amy Belaire, Barbara Dugelby, Chris Schell, Theodore Stankowich, Max Amaya, David Drake, Sheryl H. Hursh, Adam A. Ahlers, Jacque Williamson, Laurel M. Hartley, Amanda J. Zellmer, Kelly Simon

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Understanding how biodiversity responds to urbanization is challenging, due in part to the single-city focus of most urban ecological research. Here, we delineate continent-scale patterns in urban species assemblages by leveraging data from a multi-city camera trap survey and quantify how differences in greenspace availability and average housing density among 10 North American cities relate to the distribution of eight widespread North American mammals. To do so, we deployed camera traps at 569 sites across these ten cities between 18 June and 14 August. Most data came from 2017, though some cities contributed 2016 or 2018 data if it was …

Benefits Of Bioenergy For The Sustainable Development Of Sudan, Arwa Ibrahim

International Programs

This poster discusses bioenergy and its potential benefits for Sudan’s Sustainable Development.

Geology, Soils And Climate Of The Margaret River Wine Region, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

All other publications

This report is an extract from the broader description and analysis of the Geology, soils and climate of Western Australia's wine regions. It expands on the brief descriptions in the second edition of 'Viticulture' (Coombe & Dry 2004) concerning the soils and landscapes of Western Australia’s main wine growing regions. We have tailored this report extract to the specific needs of the Margaret River wine region. It contains local soil names and soil-landscape zones and systems maps.

The wine industry recognises the importance of giving customers an understanding of the vines’ environment and how that may influence wine character …

A Survey Of Dairy-Goat Keeping In Zanzibar, Tiffanie Stone, Charles A. Francis, L. O. Eik

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Dairy goats with improved genetics for milk production were recently introduced onto small-scale farms in Zanzibar through governmental and non-governmental projects. These projects were meant to support small-scale farmers by improving both income and household nutrition through milk production. No follow up had been conducted to understand what effects dairy goat keeping had on these small-scale farms, or how they could be improved. A survey of 193 dairy goat farmers in Zanzibar was conducted, including 30% and 60% of all dairy goat farmers on Unguja and Pemba, the two largest islands, respectively. The objective was to understand the impact keeping …

Drivers Of Rural Development Strategies At The Farm Level: A Case Study On Circular Agriculture In The Netherlands, Anna Berger Mulder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sustainability of the agricultural sector worldwide is increasingly being pressurized by ecological, economic, and social developments. The Dutch government is promoting enhancing circular agriculture as an important rural development strategy in response to the challenges the sector is facing. All farmers in the country will have to be involved in closed cycles by 2030, but many farmers do not want to or cannot make this transition. This study aims to identify the different factors that influence a farmer’s decision to transition towards circular agriculture. Based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with already transitioned farmers, a policy officer, a consultant, and …

Projected Surface Water For Fruit And Vegetable Irrigation Under A Changing Climate In The Us, Marty Matlock, Greg Thoma, Kieu Ngoc Le, Eric Cummings, Zach Morgan, Andrew Shaw

Water Systems

Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, resulting in climate impacts, are raising concerns over the hydrologic cycle and its effects upon agricultural productivity. If rainfall patterns change, meeting an increased demand for fruits and vegetables will pose a challenge for domestic production regions in the United States (U.S.). Information on potential water supply scarcity in the current production regions provides decision makers with critical information for risk mitigation for future production. We used a hydrologic balance-based model of historic and future water availability to evaluate risk of available irrigation water to support major fruit and vegetable production the US. …

Storm Surges In The Bohai Sea: The Role Of Waves And Tides, Yuanyi Li, Huan Feng, Guillaume Vigouroux, Dekui Yuan, Guangyu Zhang, Xiaodi Ma, Kun Lei

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A storm surge is a complex phenomenon in which waves, tide and current interact. Even though wind is the predominant force driving the surge, waves and tidal phase are also important factors that influence the mass and momentum transport during the surge. Devastating storm surges often occur in the Bohai Sea, a semi-enclosed shallow sea in North China, due to extreme storms. However, the effects of waves on storm surges in the Bohai Sea have not been quantified and the mechanisms responsible for the higher surges that affect part of the Bohai Sea have not been thoroughly studied. In this …

La Habana: A History Of Society, Livelihood, Movement, And Land Use On The Iquitos-Nauta Highway, Katie Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With increasing infrastructural projects and land titling in the Peruvian Amazon, many changes are occurring within small roadside communities. In this case study, we investigate how these changes impact livelihoods, land use, travel patterns, and social relations within the broader concepts of development, privatization of land, and commodification of nature. Specifically we focus on the caserío La Habana situated on the Iquitos-Nauta highway in the Loreto region of Peru. Semi-formal interviews and ethnographic methods were conducted to gather information on social organization, history of the community, land use practices, migration patterns, opinions on the road, and livelihood strategies. After data …

Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Northern California’s coastal marine ecosystems support one of the most productive and biodiverse habitats on the planet. Bull kelp forests (Nereocystic lutkeana) form habitats for an abundance of marine mammals, sea bird, fish, and invertebrates. In recent years, compounding ecological and climatic factors have disrupted the balance of the bull kelp forests and led to an unprecedented loss of bull kelp biomass and canopy cover. These areas that are typically teeming with marine life have shifted into a stable state of sea urchin barrens due to over grazing of bull kelp by purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus pupuratus). These sea urchin …

A Comparison Of Fuel Reduction Methods For Wildfire Risk Management And Climate Change Resiliency In Mixed Conifer Forests In The Sierra Nevada, Heather Navle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires in the mixed conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada have been a common and natural disturbance for thousands of years, historically occurring every 3 to 30 years. The flora and fauna of the mixed conifer forest have evolved to depend on low to moderate severity wildfires for reproduction, foraging, and habitat. However, the Sierra Nevada has experienced dramatic environmental changes over the past ~150 years as a result of three main factors: wildfire suppression, climate change, and habitat loss. Because of the threat wildfires pose to human lives, property and timber harvest, they have been suppressed to an extent …

Shifting Public Perception: Climate Change Means Living With Fire And Smoke, Robert Froembling

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

The urgency to prepare for the climate crisis has never been greater. We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction and the effects are only going to accelerate. We will inherit more wildfires, larger wildfires, and more frequent wildfires.

This piece is not meant to stoke fear in its readers or be depressing, but to shift public perception on what our future holds by evaluating the laws and science presented to us. This piece will look at regional and federal regulations and assess the increased rate of forest fires and the grave public health concerns from stagnant smoke specifically …

The Microscopic Threat With A Macroscopic Impact: Microplastics Along The Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Emma Wightman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics have been found in large quantities in marine water samples and biota around the world. These microplastics, when present in the marine environment, decrease water quality and negatively impact marine life. This research quantified and classified marine plastic pollution along the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT), in order to understand how this plastic is entering the ocean and the scope of the microplastic contamination in the northern SEFRT. Surface and bottom water samples were collected at 7 sites along the SEFRT for 6 months, filtered, and microscopically analyzed for microplastic content and composition using Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR). Classification …

In Situ Plant Uptake Of Excess Nutrients And Consequential Alteration Of Rhizosphere Dynamics, Srusti Maddala

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The use of phytoremediation in ecological remediation projects has numerous benefits including soil stabilization and nutrient uptake. Recently, microdialysis, a diffusion-based sampling technique commonly used in biomedical research, has been recognized as a candidate for monitoring chemical changes in the rhizosphere. The real-time, in situ data it provides about nutrient diffusion may improve the management and success of restoration projects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to employ the technique of microdialysis in the novel application of quantifying the diffusive flux of inorganic nitrogen compounds in the rhizosphere of native plants of Arkansas. The microdialysis technique was first optimized …

Year Long Water Quality Analysis Of White Horn Brook, Kevin Dyer

Senior Honors Projects

KEVIN DYER (Marine Biology)

Year-long Analysis of the Water Quality of White Horn Brook

Sponsor: Thomas Boving (Geological Sciences)

Water is the foundation for all life on earth and is the most vital resource on this planet. Despite this, oceans and waterways all over the world are being polluted and exploited in ways detrimental to their fundamental hydrologic functions. For instance, excess nitrate levels can lead to eutrophication which gives rise to harmful algae blooms. Low pH can cause the breakdown of CaCO3 exoskeletons of organisms, such mollusks. High temperature variations are major stressors to living things and can cause …

Design Of A Shallow-Aero Ebb And Flow Hydroponics System And Associated Educational Module For Tri Cycle Farms, Julie Halveland

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tri Cycle Farms, whose main mission is to reduce food insecurity in their community, is a non- profit urban farm in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The “Tri” in their name refers to the three parts of their foundation: giving a third of their yield to volunteers, giving a third to local food pantries, and selling a third to sustain the farm and demonstrate the economy of local food production. They want to expand on the third part and have a vision of building a hydroponic greenhouse with the intention that it will create more crops to sell and give, as well as …

Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Ammonia Volatilization From Soil Amended With Excreta From Ruminants Fed Alternative Forage-Based Diets, Samuel Park

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forage-based ruminant diets supplemented with condensed tannins or polyphenolic-containing legumes may alter nitrogen (N) metabolism in the animal and reduce gas emissions from soil receiving excreta. The objective of the study was to determine if soil receiving urine or manure from sheep fed forage diets supplemented with condensed tannin or polyphenolic-containing legumes would decrease N gas emissions. Two field trials were conducted: in the first trial, sheep were fed alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) silage diets supplemented with 0, 9, 18, or 27% sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneate [Dumont de Courset] G. Don) (n = 4). In the second trial sheep were …

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis Of Mangrove Ecosystems Using Gis, Kayla Caldwell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is accelerating beyond what is natural due to excessive emissions from human activities. The sea level has been rising for many years and is currently at a rate of 3.6 mm/yr. Mangroves are known to only keep pace with a sea level rate of less than 1.2 mm/yr. Mangroves are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels if they are not able to keep pace through vertical sediment accretion or inland migration. To test the vulnerability of the south Florida mangrove ecosystems to sea level rise, this study analyzed changes in the mangrove forest coverage of the Oleta River …

On-Site And External Energy Harvesting In Underground Wireless, Usman Raza, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Energy efficiency is vital for uninterrupted long-term operation of wireless underground communication nodes in the field of decision agriculture. In this paper, energy harvesting and wireless power transfer techniques are discussed with applications in underground wireless communications (UWC). Various external wireless power transfer techniques are explored. Moreover, key energy harvesting technologies are presented that utilize available energy sources in the field such as vibration, solar, and wind. In this regard, the Electromagnetic(EM)- and Magnetic Induction(MI)-based approaches are explained. Furthermore, the vibration-based energy harvesting models are reviewed as well. These energy harvesting approaches lead to design of an efficient wireless underground …

295— Biomimicry: Investigating The Active Site Model Of Lactate Racemase, Stephanie Podguski, Maisy Ross

GREAT Day Posters

Because of humans’ heavy impact on nature with industrialization and resource extraction, biomimetics, also known as biomimicry, is a study that has emerged. Biomimetics utilizes observations from nature to comprehend the principles of underlying mechanisms and apply concepts that may benefit science, medicine, engineering and the like. An area of biochemistry we are applying this to is the lactate racemase enzyme.This metalloenzyme is found in many prokaryotic organisms and catalyzes the interconversion between the two optical isomers of lactic acid. The structure of this enzyme consists of a square-planar nickel (II) ion coordinated by a histidine residue and a pincer …

An Ecopath With Ecosim Analysis On Offshore Petroleum Platform Influences On Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Valentin Gomez

LSU Master's Theses

Offshore oil and gas platforms have had a significant presence in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1950s. An important secondary function of these structures is that they provide artificial habitat to fisheries, most notably Red snapper. Policy changes intended to reduce the risk associated with aging infrastructure have reduced the number of standing platforms from 4044 to 1867 from 2001 to 2018. The effect this loss of habitat has on Red snapper was tested by creating three scenarios of platform changes and modeling the perturbation from 2005 to 2050. The simulation was accomplished using the ecological model Ecopath with …

Presence Of Glyphosate In First Order Streams Associated With Rainfall Events, Julie Platz

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Glyphosate is widely used in the United States and has recently been described as both mobile and persistent in soils and bodies of water. There is little research however, on the variability of glyphosate concentration in runoff based on different land use types. For this study an evaluation of samples from different land uses are used to assess glyphosate concentrations in first order streams during a runoff event. The intent was to compare three sites with a. known commercial applications, b. known lack of applications (organic), and c. assumed limited application of glyphosate. There was no significant difference in glyphosate …

Rockhounding, Seafaring, And Other Material Tales For The End Of The World, Noemie Fortin

The Goose

In the face of accelerated environmental degradation and climate instability, the future of the Earth and of all life on earth is difficult to visualize. Therefore, the different mediums through which we consider environmental issues are just as important as the actions we take to address them. Focusing on three projects combining art, science, and activism, this article suggests a compilation of material tales. They tell stories of plastic rocks and aluminum nuggets where the protagonists are partly finely crafted objects, partly waste materials, and sometimes both at once. Artists Kelly Jazvac, Yesenia Thibeault-Picazo, and the collective Studio Swine collaborate …

Valorization Of Carrot Processing Waste, Alexandra M. Duval

Master's Theses

Commercial carrot processors produce up to 175,000 tons of carrot waste annually. Carrot Mash (CM) is the term referring to the waste by-product of peeled baby carrot processing. Transportation of carrot processing waste is expensive due to its high- water content (approx. 83-95%). High in bioactive compounds (carotenoids) and dietary fibers, it is expected that its conversion into a value-added by-product is of interest to the carrot processing industry. Hemicellulose-rich plant materials have proven to be a source of oligosaccharides, which are known for their beneficial prebiotic activity. The objectives of this research were to: 1) determine the effect of …

Global Pattern And Change Of Cropland Soil Organic Carbon During 1901-2010: Roles Of Climate, Atmospheric Chemistry, Land Use And Management, Wei Ren, Kamaljit Banger, Bo Tao, Jia Yang, Yawen Huang, Hanqin Tian

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands is a key property of soil quality for ensuring food security and agricultural sustainability, and also plays a central role in the global carbon (C) budget. When managed sustainably, soils may play a critical role in mitigating climate change by sequestering C and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. However, the magnitude and spatio-temporal patterns of global cropland SOC are far from well constrained due to high land surface heterogeneity, complicated mechanisms, and multiple influencing factors. Here, we use a process-based agroecosystem model (DLEM-Ag) in combination with diverse spatially-explicit gridded environmental data to …

Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Shark Bay Invertebrate Fisheries, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, Department) in Western Australia (WA) uses an Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) approach that considers all relevant ecological as well as social, economic and governance issues to deliver community outcomes (Fletcher et al. 2010; 2012). Ecological risk assessments (ERAs) are undertaken periodically to assess the impacts of fisheries on all the different components of the aquatic environments in which they operate.