Sustainability Commons^™

Comparisons Of Drought Institutions Between The U.S. And Korea, Sungbyung Chae

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Drought occurs in basically dry area around the area of less precipitation but it affects all around the world that can occur anywhere there is a deficit of rainfall from expected levels. This happened by the extreme climate event over land lower precipitation over a period of months to years. This could affect agricultural systems around the world, within food, ecologically atmosphere condition and also the habitation food security. From the developing in the modern technology, since the environment of nature is the basic element of living creature, human would be facing the challenging of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food …

Student Perception Of Industrial Agriculture: Effects On Migrant Workers And The Environment, Brigitta Bogue, Emma Sorensen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Companies such as Tyson Foods and Costco are creating problems through their use of industrial farming practices in Nebraska, such as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and monocropping, to generate profit at the cost of humans and the environment. Those most affected are migrant farmworkers from Mexico. The environment is threatened because CAFOs generate greenhouse gases, and pollute nearby waterways with nitrogen. This paper addresses the following research questions: Are students’ perceptions of industrial agricultural companies, such as Costco and Tyson, positive or negative? Are students aware of these issues? How do these perceptions affect issues of sustainability and environmental …

Activity Patterns Of Nebraskan Wildlife On A Prairie Landscape, Dillon Hanson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Avoiding a particular species temporally can be an effective way to live amongst predator and competing species when spatial avoidance is not available. If a predator and prey species overlap temporally there is potential for high predation of the prey species by the predator, while if two predators overlap temporally there is high potential for competition and a loss of opportunities and resources for each species. I assessed if native mammalian species on a natural prairie landscape showed signs of avoidance through their activity patterns. I used photographic sampling to quantify the temporal activity patterns of species at Spring Creek …

The Impact Of Urbanization And Land-Use Change In Lincoln, Nebraska, Andrew Rose

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study will take place in Lincoln Nebraska to investigate population density and urban encroachment onto agricultural lands. With urbanization on the rise we will inevitably face land use issues in the future. This research will investigate one strategy on how to build the city of Lincoln while using agriculture as a focal point. Keeping land sparing techniques in mind as we build will be an important component to saving enough land to grow food, shelter, and clothing for a growing population. One important question that will be looked at in this research is how urban expansion has consumed agricultural …

Climate Action Plan Framework For University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lila Peterson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Nitrate Contamination And Nitrogen Isotope Compositions In The Bazile Groundwater Management Area: A Water Quality Study. Creighton, Ne, Sydney Corcoran

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Surface water nitrogen contamination is a pervasive issue in Nebraska, and agricultural practices are the main source of nitrogen input to streams (Spalding and Exner, 1993). Nitrate can come from inorganic fertilizers such as anhydrous ammonia, or animal waste. Studies have been conducted on nitrates dating back to 1947 (Addleman, 1985). The Bazile Groundwater Management Area (BGMA) located in northeast Nebraska has historically had high nitrate contamination. This qualitative study assesses the seasonal sources of nitrogen to stream water. It is predicted that the source of input is from commercial synthetic fertilizers. By using nitrogen- oxygen isotope methods, the source …

The Role Of Dendrology In Analyzing Past Climatic And Historical, Anna Sonnenfeld

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The study of dendroclimatology uses tree growth responses to climate variables to reconstruct regional, national, and global chronologies from tree-rings (Speer, 2010). The species of focus was Q. macrocarpa (bur oak) located in Spring Creek Prairie because of its potential to hold a chronological history of environmental limitations and management practices in the area. The objective of this research is to: 1) determine the impact of available soil moisture on the annual growth of Q. macrocarpa in Wachiska Woods, 2) determine the effect of management practices on Q. macrocarpa annual growth in Wachiska Woods. Eight Q. macrocarpa specimens were identified; …

Consumer Response To Sustainable Practices Within The Fashion Industry, Gage Mruz

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study was conducted online through an environmental company called Greenstain, a registered LLC who provides environmentally sustainable solutions and plants a tree for every item they sell. The purpose of the study is to analyze consumer response to the eco-friendly apparel and other sustainable solutions offered by Greenstain after educating consumers on the extent to which the fashion industry is impacting the natural environment and the practices they can utilize to reduce these negative impacts. The sample size included any person with access to Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Scientists in the world have reached an overwhelming consensus that climate …

Hydroponics: Effect Of Ph On Different Cucumber Varieties, Mikaela Krumrei

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Plants are generally grown using soil as the main medium to supply the essentials necessary for growth, but as population grows and land decreases it is important to expand the knowledge of other growth mediums such as hydroponics. The purpose of this study is to provide information on hydroponic growing systems, specifically how the pH of the water effects cucumber plant growth and if different varieties of cucumber plants may have varying reactions to the pH. The hypothesis was that the plants would grow efficiently at pH of 5.0 and worst at pH of 7.5. This experiment was conducted in …

The Effect Of Land Development In Small Communities On A People's Sense Of Place, Alivia Michalski

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Sense of place is an extensively researched concept that refers to the relationship (cultural, economic, societal, spiritual, and physical) between a person and their surroundings. Often a person’s sense of place, or connection to the land, can lead them to develop strong place attachment, or a human-place bond, with certain physical locations. Studies done on place attachment show that people with strong connections to natural areas where they live are more willing to demonstrate environmentally responsible behavior. This kind of behavior is important in the upcoming years, as communities begin to expand, develop more land, and use more resources. In …

A Comparison Of Modern Power: Environmental Impacts, Seth Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There are many aspects of environmental influences that must be considered when evaluating power production methods. Over the course of a six-month literature review this study covered the environmental impact and sustainability of four different power production methods: coal, solar, wind, and nuclear. This study then used the information gathered to create a set of criteria by which each would be evaluated. The goal of this study was to determine the power production method that would deliver the most energy with the least amount of environmental impact. Further, the scope of this study is limited to the midwestern states of …

How Do Non-Formal Environmental Education Experiences Shape Pro-Environmental Behavior, Megan Petsch

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper attempts to define what behaviors are, what motivates behavior, and how environmental education programs can shape pro-environmental behavior using three factors: social interaction, program structure, and various teaching methods. Data was gathered using a systematic literature review that looked at the purpose and objectives of the paper, methods used for collecting data such as demographics (age, race, gender, location, etc.), the papers focused areas of research, and results. A thematic analysis was also used to code collected data into the themes. The themes that emerged while analyzing the data include social interactions, program structure, and teaching methods. Results …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Paul Flanagan, Bill Sorensen, Jamie Lahowetz, Emily Brown, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Climate4Cities.......................2-3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

THREDDS workshop...............5

AASC webinar...........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Droughtscape, Spring 2019, Cory Matteson

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

Contents

From the Director

Wet and cool conditions bring drought relief to the West

Notable numbers from Q1

Drought impact summary, 1st quarter 2019

New research examines drought effects on state recreation areas

At Ethiopian space science workshop, NDMC climatologist sees promise in preparing for drought

U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands now part of U.S. Drought Monitor

Water conservation tips for drought, flood and other disasters

Upcoming events

Umphlett Qci March 2019, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature Anomalies

Plains Snowpack

Agriculture

Energy

Transportation

Temperature

Precipitation

Limits To The World’S Green Water Resources For Food, Feed, Fiber, Timber, And Bioenergy, Joep F. Schyns, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Martijn J. Booij, Rick J. Hogeboom, Mesfin Mekonnen

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Green water––rainfall over land that eventually flows back to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration––is the main source of water to produce food, feed, fiber, timber, and bioenergy. To understand how freshwater scarcity constrains production of these goods, we need to consider limits to the green water footprint (WFg), the green water flow allocated to human society. However, research traditionally focuses on scarcity of blue water––groundwater and surface water. Here we expand the debate on water scarcity by considering green water scarcity (WSg). At 5 × 5 arc-minute spatial resolution, we quantify WFg and the maximum sustainable level to this footprint (WFg,m), …

Assessing Landscape Scale Heterogeneity In Irrigation Water Use With Remote Sensing And In Situ Monitoring, T. Foster, I. Z. Goncalves, I. Campos, C. M.U. Neale, N. Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding how irrigation is used across agricultural landscapes is essential to support efforts to grow more food while reducing pressures on limited freshwater resources. However, to date, few studies have analyzed the underlying spatial and temporal variability in farmers’ individual water use decisions at a landscape scale.Wecompare estimates of irrigation water requirements derived using state-of-the-art remote sensing models with metered abstraction records for 1400 fields over a 13 year period in the US state of Nebraska, one of the world’s most intensively irrigated agricultural regions. Weshow that farmers’ observed water use decisions often diverge significantly from biophysical estimates of crop …

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

In the race to enhance agricultural productivity, irrigation will become more dependent on poorly characterized and virtually unmonitored sources of water. Increased use of irrigation water has led to impaired water and soil quality in many areas. Historically, soil salinization and reduced crop productivity have been the primary focus of irrigation water quality. Recently, there is increasing evidence for the occurrence of geogenic contaminants in water. The appearance of trace elements and an increase in the use of wastewater has highlighted the vulnerability and complexities of the composition of irrigation water and its role in ensuring proper crop growth, and …

Twenty-Three Unsolved Problems In Hydrology (Uph) – A Community Perspective, Günter Blöschl, Christopher M. U. Neale, A Cast Of Thousands

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused …

Impact Of The Application Of Domestic Wastewater By Subsurface Drip Irrigation On The Soil Solution In Sugarcane Cultivation, Aline Azevedo Nazário, Ivo Zution Gonçalves, Eduardo Augusto Agnellos Barbosa, Leonardo Nazário Silva Dos Santos, Daniel Rodrigues Cavalcante Feitosa, Edson Eiji Matsura

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The agricultural use of domestic sewage is a viable alternative for recycling nutrients; however, there is concern regarding the impact of its use due to the concentration of chemical elements present in this type of effluent. The use of principal component analysis determines the existence or lack of anomalous samples and the relations between measured variables and their relative contribution among samples that help in monitoring the impact of the use of effluents on soil chemical components. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify nutrient ions present in the soil solution during the first ratoon sugarcane irrigated with …

Public Attitudes About Private Forest Management And Government Involvement In The Southeastern United States, Melissa M. Kreye, Renata Rimsaite, Damian C. Adams

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

In the southern United States the country’s top wood-producing region, factors such as intergenerational land transfer and population spillover from urban areas have resulted in forestland conversion and reduced production of critical ecosystem services associated with forest systems (e.g., timber, clean water supply, wildlife habitat). Public attitudes, which drive forestland policy prescriptions, may also be evolving due to the way people experience and perceive forests (e.g., recreation), and think about the role of government in private forest decisions. These changes have significant implications for forestland management and the forest-based economy, both locally and globally. We present the results of a …

Mapping Regional Turbulent Heat Fluxes Via Assimilation Of Modis Land Surface Temperature Data Into An Ensemble Kalman Smoother Framework, Xinlei He, Tongren Xu, Sayed M. Bateni, Christopher M. U. Neale, Shaomin Liu, Thomas Auligne, Kaicun Wang, Shoudong Zhu

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Estimation of turbulent heat fluxes via variational data assimilation (VDA) approaches has been the subject of several studies. The VDA approaches need an adjoint model that is difficult to derive. In this study, remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are assimilated into the heat diffusion equation within an ensemble Kalman smoother (EnKS) approach to estimate turbulent heat fluxes. The EnKS approach is tested in the Heihe River Basin (HRB) in northwest China. The results show that the EnKS approach can estimate turbulent heat fluxes by assimilating low temporal resolution LST data from …

Agricultural Water Transfers In The Western United States, Richael Young, Nicholas Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Irrigation for agricultural production represents the largest consumptive use of water in the western United States. Understanding the ways in which agricultural producers respond to physical and institutional water scarcity is therefore key to managing water risk. One of the important risk management tools available to agricultural producers is the ability to transfer water across space and time. Water transfers range from very informal handshake agreements between neighbors to very formal transfers of real property across large distances with mandatory state and federal reporting. Given the range of potential water transfer mechanisms, there are significant knowledge gaps on the variety, …

2019 Nebraska Water Productivity Report, Mesfin Mekonnen, Christopher Michael Usher Neale, Chittaranjan Ray, Galen E. Erickson, Adam Liska, Haishun Yang, Thiago L. Romanelli, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Nebraska’s agricultural production is diverse and vast, ranking the state fourth in total value of agricultural products in the U.S. The state is a national leader in terms of agricultural production: it is the third largest producer of corn and second largest in cattle production. Nebraska is also the second largest producer of ethanol and distillers’ grains. The production and use of these three commodities are highly interlinked. Corn is a major input in livestock feed and the ethanol industry. Ethanol plants then produce distillers’ grains as a co-product that is also used as livestock feed, thus forming what the …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Gannon Rush, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Year in review............................2

Drought THIRA toolkit...........3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Other HPRCC news.................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Role Of Sea Surface Temperatures In Forcing Circulation Anomalies Driving U.S. Great Plains Pluvial Years, Paul X. Flanagan, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jason C. Furtado, Elinor R. Martin, Xiangming Xiao

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

In the U.S. Great Plains (GP), diagnosing precipitation variability is key in developing an understanding of the present and future availability of water in the region. Building on previous work investigating U.S. GP pluvial years, this study usesERAtwentieth century (ERA-20C) reanalysis data to investigate key circulation anomalies driving GP precipitation anomalies during a subset of GP pluvial years (called in this paper Pattern pluvial years). With previous research showing links between tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and GP climate variability, this study diagnoses the key circulation anomalies through an analysis of SSTs and their influence on the atmosphere. …

Water For A Hungry World: Innovation In Water And Food Security: Proceedings Of The 2019 Water For Food Global Conference. Lincoln., Daugherty Water For Food Global Institute

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Administrative Materials

Welcome and Opening Remarks : Mike Boehm, Vice President and Vice Chancellor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska ; Peter G. McCornick, Executive Director, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska

How the Irrigation Industry is Driving the Future through Efficient Technologies. Speaker: Deborah Hamlin, CEO, Irrigation Association

Sustainable Solutions for Water and Food Security — Business Perspectives. Speaker: Mark Edge, Director of Collaborations for Developing Countries, Bayer

Value of Water. Speakers: Dustin Garrick, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford ; …

Growing A Water And Food Secure Future: Annual Report Fy2019 (July 1, 2018 To June 30, 2019), Robert B. Daugherty Water For Food Global Institute

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Administrative Materials

Ensuring water and food security for our growing world is an audacious goal – exactly what Bob Daugherty sought to achieve by creating the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska nearly 10 years ago. He, along with leaders and supporters within the University of Nebraska, the state and well beyond, understood that a collective and committed effort on wise water management was essential to producing enough food to feed the world while sustaining our valuable and limited water resources. For decades, many dedicated people around the world have striven to overcome the challenges of …

The Cost Of Forest Preservation In The Brazilian Amazon: The “Arc Of Deforestation”, Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We estimate the trade-off between agricultural production and forest preservation for the municipalities in Brazil’s agricultural frontier, the so-called “arc of deforestation,” using census and deforestation data for 2006. We use a nonparametric directional output distance function that allows us to identify the gradients of the production possibility frontier, which are the trade-offs of interest. We found that, on average, $979 is forgone in annual livestock, timber, and grain revenues to conserve 1 hectare of forest. This translates, ceteris paribus, to an average present value of costs to permanently sequester CO2 of $16.36/t, higher than most previous estimates.

Influence Of Land Cover And Soil Moisture Based Brown Ocean Effect On An Extreme Rainfall Event From A Louisiana Gulf Coast Tropical System, Udaysankar S. Nair, Eric Rappin, Emily Foshee, Warren Smith, Roger A. Pielke Sr., Rezaul Mahmood, Jonathan L. Case, Clay B. Blankenship, Marshall Shepherd, Joseph A. Santanello, Dev Niyogi

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Extreme flooding over southern Louisiana in mid-August of 2016 resulted from an unusual tropical low that formed and intensified over land. We used numerical experiments to highlight the role of the ‘Brown Ocean’ effect (where saturated soils function similar to a warm ocean surface) on intensification and it’s modulation by land cover change. A numerical modeling experiment that successfully captured the flood event (control) was modified to alter moisture availability by converting wetlands to open water, wet croplands, and dry croplands. Storm evolution in the control experiment with wet antecedent soils most resembles tropical lows that form and intensify over …