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Full-Text Articles in Geography

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 35. Natural Selection By Evolution., Charles H. Smith Mar 2025

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 35. Natural Selection By Evolution., Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823?1913) is remembered, with Charles Darwin, as the co-originator of the concept of evolution by natural selection. But Wallace’s framing of the idea increasingly became one in which natural selection itself was regarded as a law of nature, not a theory per se.


Promoting Equity: Embracing Food Justice In The Transformation Of The Food Systems For Bipoc Communities, Frank Yeboah Adusei Feb 2025

Promoting Equity: Embracing Food Justice In The Transformation Of The Food Systems For Bipoc Communities, Frank Yeboah Adusei

Journal of Extension

The food justice movement addresses systemic food inequities impacting BIPOC communities, rooted in civil rights and environmental justice movements. It advocates for fair access to culturally relevant food, combating food deserts, and promoting food sovereignty. Recognizing intersectionality, it emphasizes collaboration to dismantle systemic barriers. This study aims to understand BIPOC communities' challenges and effective strategies, stressing the importance of collaborative efforts for lasting systemic change. Extension professionals face challenges but can contribute through equity-focused strategies, community engagement, and partnerships, advancing food justice and fostering inclusive food systems.


Spatiotemporal Trends In Anopheles Funestus Breeding Habitats, Grace R. Aduvukha, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Bester Tawona Mudereri, Onisimo Mutanga, John Odindi, Henri E.Z. Tonnang Feb 2025

Spatiotemporal Trends In Anopheles Funestus Breeding Habitats, Grace R. Aduvukha, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Bester Tawona Mudereri, Onisimo Mutanga, John Odindi, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Effective identification and control of malaria vector larval breeding habitats are crucial for the management and eradication of malaria. Despite its importance, the last decade has seen a decline in data availability and intervention efforts due to reduced attention and prioritization. This study addresses the geographic data scarcity concerning Anopheles funestus larval breeding habitats in a malaria-prone region of western Kenya. Employing a two-step methodological approach, we integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and rule-based fuzzy logic analysis to evaluate the spatiotemporal similarity or divergence of these habitats. The analysis spanned a five-year interval, 2008, 2013, and 2018 with 2013 serving …


Scaling Arctic Landscape And Permafrost Features Improves Active Layer Depth Modeling, Wouter Hantson, Daryl Yang, Shawn P. Serbin, Joshua B. Fisher, Daniel J. Hayes Jan 2025

Scaling Arctic Landscape And Permafrost Features Improves Active Layer Depth Modeling, Wouter Hantson, Daryl Yang, Shawn P. Serbin, Joshua B. Fisher, Daniel J. Hayes

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tundra ecosystems in the Arctic store up to 40% of global below-ground organic carbon but are exposed to the fastest climate warming on Earth. However, accurately monitoring landscape changes in the Arctic is challenging due to the complex interactions among permafrost, micro-topography, climate, vegetation, and disturbance. This complexity results in high spatiotemporal variability in permafrost distribution and active layer depth (ALD). Moreover, these key tundra processes interact at different scales, and an observational mismatch can limit our understanding of intrinsic connections and dynamics between above and below-ground processes. Consequently, this could limit our ability to model and anticipate how ALD …


Forest Above-Ground Biomass Estimation Using Nasa Gedi Lidar Waveforms And Global Tree Allometry, Ian Grant Jan 2025

Forest Above-Ground Biomass Estimation Using Nasa Gedi Lidar Waveforms And Global Tree Allometry, Ian Grant

Theses and Dissertations

Above-ground forest biomass plays a crucial role in global carbon cycles, yet accurately estimating biomass at global scales remains challenging. This thesis addresses two key challenges in processing NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) space-borne lidar data to estimate above-ground biomass density (AGBD): accounting for global variation in forest structure and developing robust physical interpretations of lidar returns. The first component of the thesis analyzes global patterns of tree allometry using the Tallo tree allometry dataset, examining relationships between tree dimensions across biomes, continents, and plant functional types. This analysis reveals consistent allometry across continents for some biomes (e.g., tropical …


Coffee Farmgate Price And Post-Harvest Processing In Honduras., Isaac Desouza Jan 2025

Coffee Farmgate Price And Post-Harvest Processing In Honduras., Isaac Desouza

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Volatile commodity markets and changing climate expose coffee farmers to price and production risk. Proponents recommend specialty coffee as a strategy to combat price risk, because its unique attributes differentiate it from commodity coffee. Extrinsic and intrinsic attributes define specialty coffee and affect prices at many levels of the supply chain. Despite much work on extrinsic attributes, little is known about how intrinsic attributes relate to farmgate price. Post-harvest processing is itself an intrinsic trait and driver of coffee quality. In 2024 we surveyed 261 coffee farmers from La Paz, Honduras, to uncover relationships between capital, post-harvest processing, and farmgate …


Restored Wetlands Show Rapid Vegetation Recovery And Substantial Surface-Water Expansion, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Kunwar K. Singh Jan 2025

Restored Wetlands Show Rapid Vegetation Recovery And Substantial Surface-Water Expansion, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Kunwar K. Singh

Center for Geospatial Science, Education & Analytics Faculty Publications

Ecological restoration is essential for improving the ecological integrity of degraded ecosystems to enhance ecosystem services and biodiversity. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of wetland restoration on retired cranberry farms by analyzing vegetation recovery and surface-water dynamics using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) derived from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. To quantify temporal dynamics of both vegetation recovery and surface-water cover, we identified the spectral distinctions among restored wetland plant communities. Our results indicated the emergence of distinct plant communities upon restoration. Restored wetlands in general showed significant and progressive vegetation recovery and expanding …


Examining Short Term Drainage Impacts To Soil Health In Hydric And Non-Hydric Soils Of Waseca County, Minnesota, Ely Hartl Jan 2025

Examining Short Term Drainage Impacts To Soil Health In Hydric And Non-Hydric Soils Of Waseca County, Minnesota, Ely Hartl

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Subsurface drainage is implemented throughout the Midwest United States to remove excess moisture from soil to enhance crop growth. Hydric soils are ubiquitous throughout Minnesota and are commonly drained due to their historically saturated conditions. Changing a soil's hydrology can impact its formation and properties. The alteration of physical, biological, and chemical soil properties can occur to both hydric and non-hydric soils, impacting overall soil health. The purpose of this study is to examine the short-term effects of tile drainage on the soil health of hydric and non-hydric soils in southern Minnesota. Research methods include: 1) collect soil-sediment cores to …


Spatial Implications Of Potential Treeline Campfire Restrictions In Selected Usfs-Managed Colorado Wildernesses, Rebecca Hippensteel Jan 2025

Spatial Implications Of Potential Treeline Campfire Restrictions In Selected Usfs-Managed Colorado Wildernesses, Rebecca Hippensteel

Masters Projects

High-elevation ecosystems in Colorado’s Wilderness areas are ecologically sensitive and particularly vulnerable to campfire impacts, which can damage vegetation, alter soil chemistry, and degrade wilderness character. This study presents a preliminary proof of concept evaluating the spatial implications of banning campfires at or above 11,000 feet—used here as a proxy for treeline—in twelve U.S. Forest Service-managed Wilderness areas. Using 30-meter resolution Digital Elevation Models from the USGS National Map and Earth Explorer, a raster-based analysis in ArcGIS Pro identified and quantified acreage above 11,000 feet. Across the twelve Wilderness areas, 268,601 acres were found to lie above treeline, representing an …


Wildlife Distribution Mapping And Analysis In Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Using Site And Satellite Imagery Data, Pinho Joaquim Munhequeira Mr Jan 2025

Wildlife Distribution Mapping And Analysis In Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Using Site And Satellite Imagery Data, Pinho Joaquim Munhequeira Mr

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

One of Mozambique's most important conservation sites, Gorongosa National Park has seen critical ecological changes over the past several decades resulting from climate variability, habitat loss, and political instability. This research integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing to examine the relationship between vegetation dynamics and wildlife population, and distribution. The main goals of this study are to evaluate the spatial distribution of particular wildlife species: buffalo (Syncerus caffer), elephant (Loxodonta africana), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), and zebra (Equus quagga), and determine the impact of vegetation density and land cover on their …


Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski Jan 2025

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …


Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski Jan 2025

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …


Impact Of Geography On Institutions In Agricultural And Nomadic Societies, Haiwen Zhou Jan 2025

Impact Of Geography On Institutions In Agricultural And Nomadic Societies, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

How geography affects the choice of institutions is studied in a theoretical model. In this model, nations are located around a circle. Rulers compete through choosing tax rates, the level of military spending, and the degree of formality of institutions. Geographic condition is captured by population density. It is shown that societies with higher population densities choose lower tax rates, establish more formal institutions, and give government officials lower levels of autonomies than those with lower population densities do. A higher level of external threats induces a ruler to choose a higher level of autonomy for officials. The model is …


Impacts Of Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis Zimmerman) On Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda L.) Canopy And Water Use In The Homochitto National Forest, Mississippi, Usa, Sasha Goodnow, Yun Yang, Hui Liu, Ashley Schulz Jan 2025

Impacts Of Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Frontalis Zimmerman) On Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda L.) Canopy And Water Use In The Homochitto National Forest, Mississippi, Usa, Sasha Goodnow, Yun Yang, Hui Liu, Ashley Schulz

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

Abiotic and biotic forest disturbances can have many impacts to forest ecosystem services, including to forest water use. Studies on impacts to forest evapotranspiration have been conducted on the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in western North America, but not on the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis), which is a native pest of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), in the southeastern United States. Stressed pine trees produce pheromones that attract southern pine beetles and, with enough stressed trees, beetle populations can quickly grow to epidemic levels and attack healthy trees, which results in widespread tree mortality. …


Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes Jan 2025

Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the spatiotemporal signatures of fire in North American grassland ecosystems. In three chapters, I explore different aspects of fire history in the northern Great Plains. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on the Euro-American Settlement Period (ca. 1850–1950 C.E.). Fire histories from six different lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills are compared with two periods of historic drought and the establishment of United States Post Offices. Five of the six records show increased levels of biomass burning during the initial phases of Euro-American Settlement. Chapter 3 is a long-term (ca. 15,000 years), high-resolution fire history and …


Above And Belowground Biomass Of A Multidecadal Restored Tallgrass Prairie Chronosequence And Its Influence On Soil Carbon Dynamics, Adam John Bauer Jan 2025

Above And Belowground Biomass Of A Multidecadal Restored Tallgrass Prairie Chronosequence And Its Influence On Soil Carbon Dynamics, Adam John Bauer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Evidence supports the idea that tallgrass prairie restoration has the potential to sequester carbon, but the influences of site age and quality on restored tallgrass prairie carbon dynamics are not well known. This dissertation characterizes a multidecadal tallgrass prairie chronosequence and evaluates the influence of both restoration quality and time since restoration on biomass and soil carbon dynamics using both remotely sensed and field data collected from Nachusa Grasslands tallgrass prairie restorations. It also expands on the traditional aspatial analyses using geographically weighted data to examine the spatiotemporal variation in environmental variables that influence restored tall grass prairie carbon dynamics. …


Remote Sensing - Based Mapping And Analysis Of Winter Cover Crop Adoption For Sustainable Agriculture, Minnehaha County, Belinda Buechler Jan 2025

Remote Sensing - Based Mapping And Analysis Of Winter Cover Crop Adoption For Sustainable Agriculture, Minnehaha County, Belinda Buechler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Winter cover crops planted by farmers such as cereal rye, crimson clover, radishes, hairy vetch, and winter wheat are used to conserve and protect the soil during winter. These crops offer numerous benefits such as improving soil health, reducing erosion, fixing nitrogen, increasing carbon sequestration, and weed suppression. Over time, winter cover cropping has been recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice and has gained attention from Federal and State conservation programs, farmers, and non-governmental organizations. Due to their vital benefits, agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conversation Services (NRCS) have partnered with cost-share programs …


Earth Observations Reveal Impacts Of Climate Variability On Maize Cropping Systems In Sub-Saharan Africa, Adomas Liepa, Michael Thiel, Hannes Taubenböck, Doris Klein, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters, Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt, Insa Otte, Tobias Landmann, Zeyaur R. Khan, Michael Ochieng Obondo, Frank Chidawanyika, Emily A. Martin, Tobias Ullmann Jan 2025

Earth Observations Reveal Impacts Of Climate Variability On Maize Cropping Systems In Sub-Saharan Africa, Adomas Liepa, Michael Thiel, Hannes Taubenböck, Doris Klein, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters, Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt, Insa Otte, Tobias Landmann, Zeyaur R. Khan, Michael Ochieng Obondo, Frank Chidawanyika, Emily A. Martin, Tobias Ullmann

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In Kenya, climate variability and change threaten smallholder, rainfed farms, with crop failures, yield reductions, and pest infestations. Efficient agroecological strategies, such as Push-Pull intercropping, offer documented benefits including pest control, improved soil fertility, and water conservation compared to traditional maize monocropping. To date, no studies exist comparing traditional maize monocropping and Push-Pull intercropping using earth observation tools over several growing seasons in East Africa. Our research addresses this by harmonizing Landsat 7, 8, 9 with Sentinel-2 remote sensing time series from 2016 to 2023. Phenological metrics of 15 growing seasons are extracted based on a threshold method using the …


Annual Diversity Of Honey Bee Pollen Sources In Two Pumpkin Growing Landscapes, Machakos County, Kenya, Marystella W. Nang’Oni, Muo Kasina, Rebecca Karanja, Mary M. Guantai, Rahab N. Kinyanjui, Evanson R. Omuse, Michael H.G. Lattorff, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Marian Adan, Samira A. Mohamed, Thomas Dubois Jan 2025

Annual Diversity Of Honey Bee Pollen Sources In Two Pumpkin Growing Landscapes, Machakos County, Kenya, Marystella W. Nang’Oni, Muo Kasina, Rebecca Karanja, Mary M. Guantai, Rahab N. Kinyanjui, Evanson R. Omuse, Michael H.G. Lattorff, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Marian Adan, Samira A. Mohamed, Thomas Dubois

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Multi-floral foraging sources for honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) have been threatened by landscape changes and unsustainable farming practices. In East Africa, the biodiversity of forage resources that could support honey bees, especially in agricultural lands, remains least explored. This study investigated pollen diversity for honey bees in Yatta and Masinga Sub-counties in Machakos County, Kenya. Honey bee hives were installed on eight pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne ex Lam) farms (one hive per farm) in two varying landscape vegetation classes (low and medium) based on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Pollen traps were installed at the hive entrance and pollen …


Tourism Carrying Capacity At Petungkriyono Forest And Its Supporting Areas, Nurwidya Ambarwati Dec 2024

Tourism Carrying Capacity At Petungkriyono Forest And Its Supporting Areas, Nurwidya Ambarwati

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Supported by a variety of diversity and landscapes, the development of tourism in the Petungkriyono area is growing rapidly. Optimizing ecotourism services in the Petungkriyono forest without disrupting the ecosystem and damaging the environment can be done by limiting the number of visitors at tourism sites. This study aims to find out information about the tourism capacity of some tourist attractions in the local forest. This study uses the Cifuentes model to predict the maximum number of visitor capacities that can be accommodated in a tourist attraction called Physical Carrying Capacity (PCC), Real Carrying Capacity (RCC), and Effective Carrying Capacity …


Redefining Approaches For Measuring Landscape Subsidence And Permafrost Degradation In Arctic Tundra Environments, Tabatha Lynn Fuson Dec 2024

Redefining Approaches For Measuring Landscape Subsidence And Permafrost Degradation In Arctic Tundra Environments, Tabatha Lynn Fuson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As climate change accelerates in the Arctic, the degradation of permafrost is leading to significant landscape transformation in tundra landscapes. This dissertation investigates the multifaceted responses of permafrost systems to warming, focusing on the dynamics of surface elevation changes and active layer thickness (ALT) across the North Slope of Alaska. In this study, I explore the capacity of repeat Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technology for modeling tundra features and detecting surface subsidence, specifically how different climate and landscape conditions during scanning impact TLS model precision. We also compare TLS model precision estimates to TLS model accuracy by comparing elevation values …


Time Series Decomposition Of Land Surface Temperature For Long-Term Trend Forecasting And Impact On Nesting Sea Turtle Habitats In The Arabian Gulf, Sachi Perera, Rommel H. Maneja, Mohamed Allali, Cyril Rakovski, Erik Linstead, Daniele Struppa, Ali Qasem, Hesham El-Askary Dec 2024

Time Series Decomposition Of Land Surface Temperature For Long-Term Trend Forecasting And Impact On Nesting Sea Turtle Habitats In The Arabian Gulf, Sachi Perera, Rommel H. Maneja, Mohamed Allali, Cyril Rakovski, Erik Linstead, Daniele Struppa, Ali Qasem, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Improving land surface temperature (LST) modeling is vital for mitigating climate change effects on various ecosystems and marine habitats such as important sea turtle habitats. Over the past decade, extreme temperatures have likely significantly affected nesting sea turtle habitats in the Arabian Gulf, with predominantly female hatchlings creating an imbalance in the sex ratio. Such shifts have profound implications for these habitats’ long-term survival and conservation management. This study leverages statistical machine learning models to measure ongoing temporal variations in LST. We break down the LST time series into trend, seasonal, and noise components using classical decomposition methods like X11, …


Seasonal Dynamics In Land Surface Temperature In Response To Land Use Land Cover Changes Using Google Earth Engine, Lei Feng, Sajjad Hussain, Narcisa G. Pricope, Sana Arshad, Aqil Tariq, Li Feng, Muhammad Mubeen, Rana Waqar Aslam, Mohammed S. Fnais, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary Sep 2024

Seasonal Dynamics In Land Surface Temperature In Response To Land Use Land Cover Changes Using Google Earth Engine, Lei Feng, Sajjad Hussain, Narcisa G. Pricope, Sana Arshad, Aqil Tariq, Li Feng, Muhammad Mubeen, Rana Waqar Aslam, Mohammed S. Fnais, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are critical for evaluating global spatiotemporal trends, especially regarding climate change and urbanization. This study investigates the dynamics of Landsat surface temperature (LST) in response to LULC changes and their effects on the seasonal microclimate in Kasur District, Pakistan. Using the Google Earth Engine platform, we employed a random forest algorithm to detect LULC changes (cropland, forest, built-up, fallow, barren, and water) and analyze seasonal spectral indices from Landsat imagery for 1988, 2002, and 2022. Significant LULC changes were observed, including a 9.8% increase in built-up areas, a 4.2% decrease in cropland, …


An Automated Machine Learning Approach To The Retrieval Of Daily Soil Moisture In South Korea Using Satellite Images, Meteorological Data, And Digital Elevation Model, Nari Kim, Soo-Jin Lee, Eunha Sohn, Mija Kim, Seonkyeong Seong, Seung Hee Kim, Yangwon Lee Sep 2024

An Automated Machine Learning Approach To The Retrieval Of Daily Soil Moisture In South Korea Using Satellite Images, Meteorological Data, And Digital Elevation Model, Nari Kim, Soo-Jin Lee, Eunha Sohn, Mija Kim, Seonkyeong Seong, Seung Hee Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Soil moisture is a critical parameter that significantly impacts the global energy balance, including the hydrologic cycle, land–atmosphere interactions, soil evaporation, and plant growth. Currently, soil moisture is typically measured by installing sensors in the ground or through satellite remote sensing, with data retrieval facilitated by reanalysis models such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). However, the suitability of these methods for capturing local-scale variabilities is insufficiently validated, particularly in regions like South Korea, where land surfaces are highly complex and heterogeneous. In contrast, artificial intelligence …


Wolverine Habitat Suitability Analysis In Lake County, Colorado, Using Gis, Jake Hostnik Aug 2024

Wolverine Habitat Suitability Analysis In Lake County, Colorado, Using Gis, Jake Hostnik

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This project explores the reintroduction of the wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) to Colorado’s mountainous regions, where the species has been extirpated due to habitat destruction and human activities. The study uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify optimal habitats for wolverine reintroduction, considering factors like snowpack duration, prey availability, and human disturbance. By creating a GIS-based habitat suitability model, this research will guide conservationists in selecting reintroduction sites. The project addresses the species' role in maintaining alpine ecosystem balance and contributes to the broader understanding of biodiversity restoration in the face of climate change. Results will inform future conservation planning …


Key Largo Mangrove Population Monitoring: A Remote Sensing Analysis And Classification Methodology Review, David Lackajs Aug 2024

Key Largo Mangrove Population Monitoring: A Remote Sensing Analysis And Classification Methodology Review, David Lackajs

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Mangrove forests are some of the world's most bio-diverse habitats, providing essential services to the surrounding coasts. Removal of these habitats has a devastating impact on the ecosystems within them. The Florida Keys are some of the last areas in the United States with extensive mangrove populations. One specific area, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, has been under state protection since 1959. For that reason, mangrove forest habitats there are less fragmented. This study uses remotely sensed imagery to quantify and analyze mangrove populations in this area using two methods: sub-pixel analysis and supervised classification. The …


A Lifetime Of Climate Changes: Female Farmers' Perceptions Of Climate Change Impacts To Well-Being And Livelihood In Antigua And Barbuda, Jamie Matthews Aug 2024

A Lifetime Of Climate Changes: Female Farmers' Perceptions Of Climate Change Impacts To Well-Being And Livelihood In Antigua And Barbuda, Jamie Matthews

Capstone Collection

This capstone project emphasizes the value of smallholder farmers working on small island developing states (SIDS) in an era of climate change—with a particular focus on female farmers in light of the global feminization of agriculture. This research study engaged female farmers living in Antigua and Barbuda, a SIDS in the Caribbean, to capture their perceptions of climate risks and the impacts climate change has had on their well-being and livelihood. Qualitative data was collected via life history interviews (LHI), as well as focus group discussions (FGD). These methodologies addressed the primary questions of this research: (i) How do female …


Living Dead Forests: Assessing Detrital Services In Puget Sound Pseudotsuga Menziesii Ecosystems, Forrest Becker Aug 2024

Living Dead Forests: Assessing Detrital Services In Puget Sound Pseudotsuga Menziesii Ecosystems, Forrest Becker

Capstone Collection

Coarse woody debris (CWD), the detrital result of down wood recruitment, contributes to wildlife habitat, nutrient cycling, morphological processes like soil formation, and each forest’s sense of place but if undermanaged can fuel wildfires or obstruct stakeholder use. Despite its ubiquity in Puget Sound Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in Washington, USA, few studies quantify the exact ecosystem services which down wood provides. This study seeks to understand how forest managers can estimate the ecosystem services of down wood and how human communities perceive down wood management between community, public, and private Douglas fir (P. menziesii) …


Gps Accuracy Of Smartphones For Crowdsourcing Research, Derron L. Dike Aug 2024

Gps Accuracy Of Smartphones For Crowdsourcing Research, Derron L. Dike

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

ABSTRACT GPS Accuracy of Smartphones for Crowdsourcing Research Derron Dike Utilizing crowdsourcing with smartphones as a method for field data collection can contribute an array of data for scientific studies and land management applications. This study used crowdsourcing to examine smartphone built-in GPS performance for providing location-specific information with potential forestry applications. The usability of smartphones for GPS data collection in forestry studies or other practical applications is dependent on the level of accuracy required for those applications. A Smartphone Accuracy Trial was designed to test the GPS accuracy performance of current smartphones. Participants used the ArcGIS Field Maps application …


Transforming Grassland Conservation: Challenges And Opportunities Across Law, Policy, And Human Dimensions, Conor D. Barnes Aug 2024

Transforming Grassland Conservation: Challenges And Opportunities Across Law, Policy, And Human Dimensions, Conor D. Barnes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Great Plains social-ecological systems are facing growing pressure from complex, ‘wicked’ problems. Addressing these problems will require integrating ecological resilience and complex systems thinking concepts into our legal framework in order to better reflect the changing ecological reality of the Great Plains and promote flexibility and adaptability in the face of that change. In this dissertation, I examine how past and present policy priorities have affected social-ecological systems on the Great Plains, and how ecological resilience and complex systems thinking might be applied to grassland management policy. In Chapter 2, I examine the rapid progress made in the adoption of …