Sustainability Commons^™

U.S. Department Of Energy Commercial Reference Building Models Of The National Building Stock, Michael Deru, Kristin Field, Daniel Studer, Kyle Benne, Brent Griffith, Paul Torcellini, Bing Liu, Mark Halverson, Dave Winiarski, Michael Rosenberg, Mehry Yazdanian, Joe Huang, Drury Crawley

Publications (E)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program has set the aggressive goal of producing marketable net-zero energy buildings by 2025. This goal will require collaboration between the DOE laboratories and the building industry. We developed standard or reference energy models for the most common commercial buildings to serve as starting points for energy efficiency research. These models represent fairly realistic buildings and typical construction practices. Fifteen commercial building types and one multifamily residential building were determined by consensus between DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and represent approximately two-thirds …

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

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

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 …

Meeting Reports: Research On Coupled Human And Natural Systems (Chans): Approach, Challenges, And Strategies, Marina Alberti, Heidi Asbjornsen, Lawrence A. Baker, Nicholas Brozovic, Laurie E. Drinkwater, Scott A. Drzyzga, Claire A. Jantz, José Fragoso, Daniel S. Holland, Timothy A. Kohler, Jianguo Liu, William J. Mcconnell, Herbert D.G. Maschner, James D.A. Millington, Michael Monticino, Guillermo Podestá, Robert Gilmore Pontius, Charles L. Redman, Nicholas J. Reo, David Sailor, Gerald Urquhart

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding the complexity of human–nature interactions is central to the quest for both human well-being and global sustainability. To build an understanding of these interactions, scientists, planners, resource managers, policymakers, and communities increasingly are collaborating across wide-ranging disciplines and knowledge domains. Scientists and others are generating new integrated knowledge on top of their requisite specialized knowledge to understand complex systems in order to solve pressing environmental and social problems (e.g., Carpenter et al. 2009). One approach to this sort of integration, bringing together detailed knowledge of various disciplines (e.g., social, economic, biological, and geophysical), has become known as the study …

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting The Global Standard, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Ashok K. Chapagain, Maite M. Aldaya, Mesfin Mekonnen

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This book contains the global standard for 'water footprint assessment' as developed and maintained by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). It covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It also includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options. A shared standard on definitions and calculation methods is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint accounts as a basis for formulating sustainable …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Baselines Newsletter, No. 7, Winter/Spring 2011, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Baselines: The Natural Resources Law Center Newsletter (2007-2011)

No abstract provided.

Wind Energy Potential For Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants In La Guajira, Colombia, Carlos Martinez-Smit

Faculty-Selected Student Works

Project report required by the Master of Science Degree in Renewable and Clean Energy.

Abstract:

The region of La Guajira, located in the north of Colombia, has a lot of potential for wind power with annual average wind speeds up to 11 m/s at 10 m height in some locations, according to the national wind map. Most of the wind potential is located in Upper Guajira, where 90% of the population is indigenous Wayuu people (among the country’s poorest population) and it is also characterized with low precipitation, 500 mm/yr, high evapotranspiration, 1500 mm/yr, and low humidity. All this creates …

Ua12/13 2011 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. AASHE’s mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. The organization provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research. For more information about AASHE, visit www.aashe.org.

In early 2010, Western Kentucky University became a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). STARS® is a …

Will Climate Change Alter Wildfire Behavior And Effects In Seasonally-Dry Wetlands?, Leda Kobziar Dr., Adam Watta Dr., J. Michael Camp Mr., Marissa Streiffel Ms., Alex Kattan Mr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The effects of edge on ecosystems is well documented on animal and plant species, as well as a number of ecosystem attributes. A substantial determinant of ecological edge effects is the effect of edge on microclimate parameters such as temperature and humidity. These effects have been described in detail in upland communities, but not in wetland forests. Of particular interest is whether hydrologic influence trumps edge effect; in other words, does the influence of inundation create a hydrologic “switch” that overwhelms edge effect? In a landscape with numerous wetland forest patches subject to seasonal hydrologic fluctuations, I measured microclimate in …

Vegetation Impacts Of Recurring Fires On Sagebrush Ecosystems In Washington: Implications For Conservation And Rehabilitation, J. D. Bakker, P. W. Dunwiddie, S. A. Hall, J. R. Evans, G, M. Davies, E. Detterweiler-Robinson

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Thousands of hectares of high quality sagebrush shrub-steppe burned in south-central Washington in 2000 and 2007, particularly on the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE) on the Hanford Reach National Monument. Extensive rehabilitation efforts took place on ALE to control invasive species and establish native species following each of these fires. Permanent vegetation monitoring plots were established throughout this area in the mid-1990s, remonitored in 2001-2004, and monitored again in 2009-2010. This combination of rehabilitation treatments and monitoring provided a unique opportunity to better understand the individual and cumulative effects of recurring fires and restoration in this landscape. We investigated changes …

The Influence Of Prescribed Fire And Understory Fuels Mastication On Soil Carbon Respiration Rates In Flatwoods Forests, Leda Kobziar, David Godwin, Michael Camp, Dawn Mckinstry, Marissa Steifel, Alex Kattan, Daniel Godwin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Soil CO2 efflux (Rs) is a significant flux of carbon dioxide from ecosystem soils to the atmosphere and is a critical component of the total ecosystem carbon budget. Rs fluxes are comprised of autotrophic (Ra) sources of CO2 produced by plant roots and associated rhizosphere fungi and heterotrophic (Rh) sources of CO2 produced by aerobic soil microbes. A variety of forest management activities, including prescribed fire and mechanical fuels mastication treatments have been shown to significantly influence Rs rates in forests of the Western United States (US), yet these relationships are not well known for southeastern US forests. Prescribed fire …

Comprehensive Fuels Treatment Pratices Guide For Mixed Conifer Forests: California, Central And Southern Rockies, And The Southwest, Alexander M. Evans, Rick G. Everett, Scott L. Stephens, James A. Youtz

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The goal of this guide is to provide a resource for managers of mixed conifer forests of the Southwestern plateaus and uplands, the Central and Southern Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges in Southern California. Mixed conifer forests have different species, structures, and spatial patterns in these regions but, in general, we focus on forests with a mix of ponderosa or Jeffrey pine, Douglas-fir, true firs, and aspen. The guide includes a comprehensive review of historic conditions, past land use, natural fire regimes, impacts of altered fire regimes, and future prospects, given climate change, for …

A Regional Experiment To Evaluate Effects Of Fire And Fire Surrogate Treatments In The Sagebrush Biome, James Mclver, Dave Pyke, Hugh Barrett, Mark Brunson, Steve Bunting, Jeanne C. Chambers, Carla D'Antonio, Paul Doescher, Dale Johnson, Sherm Karl, Steve Knick, Rick Miller, Mike Pellant, Fred Pierson, Kim Rollins, Bruce Roundy, Gene Schupp, Robin Tausch, David Turner, Mike Wisdom

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

SageSTEP is a comprehensive regional experiment that provides critical information to managers faced with a sagebrush steppe ecosystem that is increasingly at risk from wildfire, invasive plants, and climate change. The experiment provides managers with information that can be used to restore ecological communities across the 100+ million acres of the sagebrush biome. It is designed to match the temporal and spatial scales at which managers operate, is intended to reduce management risk and uncertainty of catastrophic wildfire to the greatest degree possible, and provides managers with information that allows them to better understand tradeoffs inherent in the choice of …

Climate, Fire And Carbon: Tipping Points And Landscape Vulnerability In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Anthony L. Westerling, Monica G. Turner, William H. Romme, Michael G. Ryan

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

More frequent fires under climate warming are likely to alter terrestrial carbon (C) stocks by reducing the amount of C stored in biomass and soil. However, the thresholds of fire frequency that could shift landscapes from C sinks to C sources under future climates and whether these are likely to be exceeded during the coming century are not known. We used the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) as a case study to explore the conditions under which future climate and fire regimes would result in tipping points of C source/sink dynamics. We asked: (1) How great a change in climate and …

Compiling, Synthesizing And Analyzing Existing Boreal Forest Fire History Data In Alaska, Diana L. Olson, James B. Cronan, Donald Mckenzie, Jennifer L. Barnes, Anne E. Camp, Mike Tjoelker, Jennifer Northway, Paige Eagle

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Wildland fires play a critical role in maintaining the ecological integrity of boreal forests in Alaska. Identifying and maintaining natural fire regimes is an important component of fire management. There are numerous research projects that directly or indirectly address historical fire regimes in the Alaskan boreal forest, but many are unpublished, have many unprocessed dendrochronological (tree age and fire scar) samples, or their data were used for other purposes. Furthermore, no assessment of these data exists to understand how fire has historically affected the boreal forest ecosystems of Alaska. The goal of this project was to compile and synthesize existing …

Development Of A California Fire Science Delivery Consortium, Scott Stephens Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

I have submitted several final reports to the Joint Fire Sciences Program over the years but this one is different. This project was funded to write the full proposals for the California Fire Sciences Consortium. We used the funds from this grant to create the team for the consortium and wrote the proposal that was funded by the JFS. In that regard we accomplished all that we had proposed for this project. This report will be relatively brief because the project objective was to write a full proposal for consideration of the JFS Board.

Doubling Knowledge On Fire And Eastern Invasive Plants In The Fire Effects Information System (Feis), Jane Kapler Smith, Kristin Zouhar, Janet L. Fryer

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Managers have been coming to the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) for reviews of scientific knowledge about fire effects since 1986. Prior to this project, FEIS provided relatively little coverage of invasive plant species in the eastern United States: In 2008, the system contained 52 species reviews of eastern invasive plants covering 69 taxa. The system now contains 105 reviews of eastern invasive plants covering 139 taxa. Thus the project has doubled the information in FEIS on eastern invasive plants. In fact, the information has more than doubled, since the numbers above do not include updates of 5 reviews, addition …

Effects Of Blowdown, Salvage Logging, And Wildfire On Regeneration And Fuel Characteristics In Minnesota’S Forests, Shawn Fraver, Brian Palik, John B. Bradford, Doug Shinneman, Anthony D'Amato

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The patchiness resulting from a sequence of recent disturbances – blowdown, salvage logging, and wildfire – provided an excellent opportunity to assess the impacts of these disturbances, singly and in combination, on (1) wildfire severity (2) post-disturbance vegetation responses, (3) ecosystem carbon stocks, and (4) soil mercury (Hg) accumulation or loss in jack pine (P. banksiana) forests of northern Minnesota. Considering issue 1, our results suggest that salvage logging reduced the intensity (heat released) of the subsequent fire. However, its effect on severity (impact to the system) differed between the tree crowns and forest floor. Considering issue 2, our results …

Evaluating Post-Fire Salvage Logging Effects On Erosion, Peter R. Robichaud, William J. Elliot, Lee Macdonald, Robert Coats, Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Sarah A. Lewis, Louise E. Ashmun, Robert E. Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Legal challenges have delayed numerous post-fire salvage logging operations, which often results in lost economic value of the burned timber and unrecovered legal expenses. The scientific literature has shed little light on the additive effect of salvage logging operations on post-fire runoff, erosion, flooding, and sedimentation. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand the impacts of post-fire salvage operations so that land managers can evaluate the relative and cumulative effects of different salvage logging practices. Intensive, multi-scale studies are needed because the effects of post-fire logging are superimposed on the effect of wildfires; rates and processes change according …

Evaluating Post-Fire Salvage Logging Effects On Erosion, Peter R. Robichaud, William J. Elliot, Lee Macdonald, James Saveland, Craig Busskohl, Steve Howes, Aaron Everett, Robert Coats, Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Sarah A. Lewis, Louise E. Ashmun, Robert E. Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Legal challenges have delayed numerous post-fire salvage logging operations, which often results in lost economic value of the burned timber and unrecovered legal expenses. The scientific literature has shed little light on the additive effect of salvage logging operations on post-fire runoff, erosion, flooding, and sedimentation. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand the impacts of post-fire salvage operations so that land managers can evaluate the relative and cumulative effects of different salvage logging practices. Intensive, multi-scale studies are needed because the effects of post-fire logging are superimposed on the effect of wildfires; rates and processes change according …

Equipment And Strategies To Enhance The Post-Wildfire Establishment And Persistence Of Great Basin Native Plants, Nancy Shaw, Beth Newingham, Amy C. Ganguli, Ann L. Hild, Robert D. Cox, Jim Truax, Mike Pellant, David Pyke, Dan Ogle, Loren St. John

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Annual grass invasion in the Great Basin has increased fire size, frequency and severity. Post-fire restoration to provide functional native plant communities is critical to improve resistance to weed invasion. Our ability to successfully re-establish mixtures of native grasses, forbs and shrubs, however, is limited. We examined the effects of the standard rangeland drill and a minimum-till drill, seeding strategies for small-seeded species, and Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) seeding rates on seeding success in burned shrub communities at four sites in the northern Great Basin. Seeded and recovering vegetation, as well as soil …

Evaluation And Improvement Of Smoke Plume Rise Models, Yongqiang Liu Dr., Gary Achtemeier Dr., Scott Goodrick Dr., Bill Jackson Dr., John Qu Dr.

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The purpose of this JFSP project was to evaluate and improve the performance of Daysmoke in simulating smoke plume rise of prescribed burning. A combined approach of field measurement, numerical modeling, and dynamical and statistical analysis was used. Smoke plume height was measured with a ceilometer for 20 prescribed burns in the southeastern U.S. The measured data was used to validate Daysmoke simulation. An empirical smoke plume rise model was developed based on the RAWS observations. Daysmoke was improved by including the number of multiple updraft cores. Regional air quality modeling was conducted with smoke plume rise provided by Daysmoke. …

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 …