Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Historic Distribution And Ecology Of Tall-Grass Prairie In Western Canada, Darcy C. Henderson, Nicola Koper

The Prairie Naturalist

Rapid settlement and agricultural development of western Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s nearly eliminated the tall-grass prairie, and pre-empted a detailed description by ecologists. A combination of literature review and historical ecological analysis of soils, climate, and composition data are applied to estimate the historic distribution, and area occupied by tall-grass prairie in southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The resulting area estimate of 20,830 km² is more than three times any previously reported value. Some confusion of terms from the first half of the 1900s, and the impact of invasive species on vegetation patterns observed …

Prairie Restoration: Bridging The Past And The Future, Daryl D. Smith

The Prairie Naturalist

Tallgrass prairie once dominated most of mid-continent North America. Conversion of this prairie to cropland was rapid and extensive. Today, it is the most decimated ecosystem in North America with less than two percent remaining. Prairie reconstruction began at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in the 1930s. Thirty years later, exemplary initiatives by a group of highly motivated restorationists in Illinois and Iowa became a part of the legacy of restoration ecology. Their work generated widespread public interest in prairie restoration and initiated the ongoing biennial North American Prairie Conference. Since then, practitioners have made significant advances in reconstruction and …

Effects Of Compost On Prairie Seedling Establishment And Seed Production, Thomas R. Rosburg, Emiy Sibigtroth, Adam Palmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Compost is a commonly used soil amendment in horticultural and agricultural practices that is generally known to improve soil conditions and plant growth. We conducted a field experiment to investigate the application of compost to prairie production plots as a method to improve seedling establishment and growth and the seed production of established plants. We evaluated the effect of compost depth and tillage on the survivorship, growth, reproduction and ecophysiology of several prairie plant species commonly used in restoration. Results were mixed; for some species, transplants in compost–amended plots incurred lower survivorship and reduced growth compared to control plots. When …

Reproductive Failure In Largeleaf Wild Indigo In A Restored Prairie In Southeastern Minnesota, Neal D. Mundahl

The Prairie Naturalist

Native prairie restorations in many regions of the United States have been hindered by various herbivores consuming plant reproductive parts or products. I conducted field studies of a population of largeleaf wild indigo (Baptisia lactea) on a restored prairie in southeastern Minnesota during the growing seasons of 2010–2012 to determine the cause(s) of repeated reproductive failure. I assessed plants for browsing damage caused by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the period of flowering and with a deer exclosure experiment involving caged and non-caged plants. I compared reproductive output (numbers of seed pods, viable seeds) of caged …

Association Of Soil Conditions And Grass Species With Variable Cover Of Leafy Spurge, Terence P. Mcgonigle, Jeremy L. Timmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Variation in soil conditions and grass cover was assessed across a range of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) cover values on a sandy rangeland in Manitoba, Canada. Soil conditions varied by site but not in relation to cover of leafy spurge. We observed a significant negative relationship between total grass cover and increasing cover of leafy spurge. Only porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea [Trin.] Barkworth) had a negative relationship with leafy spurge, falling from high cover at low weed occurrence to only trace levels at the highest leafy spurge abundance. Neither prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha [Ledeb.] Schult.), rough …

Soil Chemical Responses To Fire Seasonality And Frequency In A Texas Grassland, Domingo M. Jariel Jr., R. James Ansley, Betty A. Kramp, David L. Jones

The Prairie Naturalist

On a clay-loam mixed grassland dominated by honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) in northern Texas, we quantified soil pH, soil organic carbon (OC), electrical conductivity (EC), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) in response to various effects of summer and winter fire treatments from 1991–1996. We conducted summer fire between August and September, and winter fire between January and March. Treatments that included summer fires increased soil pH, EC, Na, and Cu and temporarily decreased soil OC and Mn (P ≤ 0.05). The winter fire treatment …

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project: The Study Of Glacial Recession From Within, Eduardo L. Cartaya

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project is a National Speleological Society (NSS) sponsored study on the unique system of glacier caves located on the Sandy Glacier on the western flank of Mt Hood, Oregon. While the study primarily targets the structure, layout and ice volume change of the ever moving cave system by conducting annual grade 5 surveys, numerous tangential observations and trends have been recorded that are of great interest to the study of glacial recession, watershed hydrology, micro-biology and astro-biology, as well as the study of organic specimens and remains being thawed out of the ice mass by the …

Stable Isotope Composition Of Perennial Ice In Caves As An Aid To Charaterizinging Ice Cave Types, Charles J. Yonge

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

Stable isotope studies of perennial ice from western North American ice caves suggest that three main types can be defined: cold trap, permafrost, and cold zone. Some complex cave systems may comprise two or more types. While 14 caves were sampled from the region, in this study, 9 definitive sites were examined in more detail where they exemplified classic perennial ice features: massive ice, hoar frost, ice stalagmites and so on. Stable isotopes of the ice (d¹⁸O and d²H) assist in the understanding the origin of the freezing moisture, whether from direct snow (cold trap), moist …

Biomass Scoping Study: Opportunities For Agriculture In Western Australia, Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, Melissa Weybury

Bulletins 4000 -

This 2014 report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).

Evaluation Of Evaporative Drivers And Hydrologic Influences Using Energy And Water Budget Techniques At A Shallow Saline Lake In The Western Sandhills Of Nebraska, Usa, Colin Peake

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The western Sandhills of Nebraska contain many shallow lakes and wetlands that interact strongly with groundwater and the overlying atmosphere. The region is semi-arid, and most of the lakes are saline, supporting a wide range of ecosystems. Water levels and salt concentrations are highly sensitive to variations in precipitation, evaporation, and groundwater fluxes, making the Sandhills an excellent laboratory for examining the effects of climate on the water balance of interdunal lakes. In this study, we investigate the atmospheric controls on evaporation rates, as well as the water balance of Alkali Lake, one of the more saline lakes in the …

Building Envelope For Energy-Efficient Residential Homes, A Case Study For The U.S. Department Of Energy Challenge Home Student Design Competition, Milica Tajsic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the continuous rise of population and expansion of urban areas, the need for additional housing and infrastructure is growing rapidly. Building sector is consuming a vast majority of the natural resources to meet the needs of urbanization and is in need of efficient, sustainable solutions that are viable for the customer, the economy and the environment. The building sector is both the problem and the solution to the issues of the carbon footprint of our society (Architecture 2030, 2011).

The envelope (roofs, walls, and foundations) and windows typically account for 36% of overall energy use, or about 14.3 quads …

Venturing Through The Tall Grass: Experiencing The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, Christie L. Borkowsky, Erin Zahradka

The Prairie Naturalist

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve (hereafter the Preserve) was established in 1989 with a goal of protecting a vanishing habitat and to educate the general public of the importance of native grasslands (M. Latta, Nature Manitoba, personal communication). Starting in the early 1990s, an annual Prairie Day event was organized in early August to provide a means of interaction between prairie enthusiasts, the general public and local residents. Self-guiding interpretive trails with rustic amenities were established in 1996 and 2004. School programs, tours, and a simple two-page newsletter have been used to promote the Preserve and bring out visitors …

Project Prairie And Tallgrass Education On The Rice Lake Plains: A Journey From 1870 To Today And Beyond, Todd Farrell, Mark Rupke, Mark Stabb

The Prairie Naturalist

Project Prairie began in 2011 as a curriculum-linked integrated environmental studies program to showcase the Rice Lake Plains (RLP), a tallgrass prairie landscape of sandy rolling hills located at the eastern extent of the Oak Ridges Moraine in southern Ontario. Project Prairie provides educators both indoor and outdoor activities that support their curriculum and share the story of the RLP. Project Prairie provides teacher and student resources that focus on the RLP from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. Learning objectives of Project Prairie are developed from the subjects of science, social science, language arts, geography, history, and Aboriginal culture. …

Notes: Oriental Bittersweet In Grasslands Near Eastern Bluebird Nest Boxes, Neal D. Mundahl

The Prairie Naturalist

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.; hereafter OB) is an invasive, woody vine that has been expanding its range westward in North America since its introduction from East Asia in the mid-1700s for horticultural purposes (Albright et al. 2009, United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] 2012). Although typically a woodland problem in the United States (McNab and Meeker 1987), OB can invade grassland habitats (Fike and Niering 1999), likely sprouting from seeds dropped by birds and mammals (McNab and Meeker 1987, Greenberg et al. 2001, Sarver et al. 2008) and often developing into large, shrub-like tangles of intertwining stems (Fike …

Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve: Providing Habitat For Protected And Provincially Rare Species, Christie L. Borkowsky

The Prairie Naturalist

The establishment of the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in 1989 secured some of the largest and highest quality parcels of tall grass prairie remaining in the province. Shortly after securement by either Nature Manitoba (formerly Manitoba Naturalists Society) or Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation, seasonal staff from the Critical Wildlife Habitat Program (CWHP) began inventory efforts to document the various floral and faunal species occurring on these acquisitions. With the addition of the Nature Conservancy of Canada to the Preserve partnership, the Preserve has grown in size to nearly 5,000 ha. The list of species identified on the Preserve has …

Potential Impacts Of Bison Wallows On A Restored Tallgrass Prairie Community, Kimran Miller, Johanna Foster, Kristen Nielsen, Mary O'Loughlin

The Prairie Naturalist

When bison (Bos bison) repeatedly roll on the ground, they denude vegetation and create wallows (semi-permanent bare areas) that alter the native prairie plant community. Responses to these wallow-related disturbances are not as well documented in restored prairies. From 1 June to 1 September 2010 and from 3 June to 6 August 2011, we examined potential responses at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, a restored prairie with resident bison. We hypothesized that plants and beetles would vary along a disturbance gradient. Our predictions were: (1) near wallows, plants with weedy lifestyles would have highest cover and biomass compared …

A Floristic Survey Of Selected Sites In The Loup River Valley, Nance County, Nebraska, Diane M. Flynn, Steven J. Rothenberger

The Prairie Naturalist

The Loup River Valley of Nebraska contains natural, undisturbed wet meadows with significant plant diversity. Even though these sites are infrequent and are often intermixed with heavily grazed pastures or cultivated fields, they support numerous plant and animal species that do not occur elsewhere. We surveyed three study sites (an ungrazed wet meadow; a grazed wet meadow; and a riparian area) that totaled approximately 68.8 ha during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. We compiled an annotated vascular plants checklist for the study area that included 244 plant species of which about 49% (119) were new county records. The mean …

Climate Change: Threats To Social Welfare And Social Justice Requiring Social Work Intervention, Lauren Caroline Achstatter

21st Century Social Justice

The article looks at climate change though a social development framework, with emphasis on social justice and social welfare. It evaluates how market-based capitalism continues to contribute to the problem while ignoring the warnings from the scientific community. The article goes on to report that despite the devastation of climate change, concerns – mainly financial in nature - continue to hinder progress towards reform. The article then argues that given the evidence, climate change qualifies as a topic of interest for social workers. The article goes on to advocate for social work involvement highlighting some suggested areas for action.

A Conservation Status Index, As An Auxiliary Tool For The Management Of Cave Environments, Christiane Ramos Donato, Adauto De Souza Ribeiro, Leandro De Sousa Souto

International Journal of Speleology

The conservation of the Speleological Heritage involves bioecological, geomorphological and anthropogenic studies, both from inside the caves and from the external environments that surround them. This study presents a method to rank caves according to their priority for conservation and restoration. Nine caves were evaluated: indicators related to the environmental impacts and the vulnerability status presented by those caves (intrinsic features) and the values scored in a ‘Cave Conservation Index’ (CCI) were established. We also used a rapid assessment protocol to measure cave vulnerability for prioritization of conservation/restoration actions (RAP-cr) comparing natural cavities with the same lithology, due …

Juvenile Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) And White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus) Behavior Near Water-Diversion Fish Screens: Experiments In A Laboratory Swimming Fume, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Natalie Ho, Joseph J. Cech Jr., A. Peter Klimley, Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Water diversions that extract fresh water for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses, as well as export to southern California, are prevalent throughout the Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed. Many water diversions are fitted with fish-exclusion screens designed to prevent fish from entrainment (i.e., being drawn in). The impact of fish screens on the behavior of migrating juvenile fishes remains largely unknown, especially for threatened species such as sturgeon. We placed individual juvenile green (Acipenser medirostris) or white (Acipenser transmontanus) sturgeon in a laboratory swimming flume in the presence of standard fish screens (2 mm bar spacing) at two …