Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

The Impacts Of Nature-Based Sediment Restoration Practices On Coastal Wetland Soil Biogeochemistry, Jacob Z. Cheng

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal marshes provide many valuable ecosystem services. However, these wetlands are threatened worldwide, being subject to sea level rise, sediment starvation, subsidence, coastal edge erosion, etc. Many efforts are being made to counteract this wetland loss and preserve the ecosystem services. Two such methods are sediment diversion and the thin layer placement (TLP) of dredged sediment.

Sediment diversion involves reconnecting the main channel of a river body to disconnected wetlands, supplying much needed soil-building materials. However, this method affects the salinity of the waters, introducing large amounts of freshwater into the system. Salinity changes can affect marsh biogeochemistry. Most ecological …

Where East Meets West: Phylogeography Of The High Arctic North American Brant Goose, Robert E. Wilson, W. Sean Boyd, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, David H. Ward, Preben Clausen, Kathryn M. Dickson, Barwolt S. Ebbinge, Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson, George K. Sage, Jolene R. Rearick, Dirk V. Derksen, Sandra L. Talbot

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Genetic variation in Arctic species is often influenced by vicariance during the Pleistocene, as ice sheets fragmented the landscape and displaced populations to low-and high-latitude refugia. The formation of secondary contact or suture zones during periods of ice sheet retraction has important consequences on genetic diversity by facilitating genetic connectivity between formerly isolated populations. Brant geese (Branta bernicla) are a maritime migratory waterfowl (Anseriformes) species that almost exclusively uses coastal habitats. Within North America, brant geese are characterized by two phenotypically distinct subspecies that utilize disjunct breeding and wintering areas in the northern Pacific and Atlantic. In the …

Within-Field Soil Moisture Variability And Time-Invariant Spatial Structures Of Agricultural Fields In The Us Midwest, Yi Yang, Bin Peng, Kaiyu Guan, Ming Pan, Trenton E. Franz, Michael H. Cosh, Carl J. Bernacchi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding soil moisture variability and estimating high-resolution soil moisture at subfield to field scales is critical for agricultural research and applications. However, systematic investigation of subfield scale soil moisture variability over cropland is still lacking from both measurement and satellite remote sensing. In this study, we aim to investigate (1) the characteristics of within-field soilmoisture distribution over typical cropland in the US Midwest and (2) the capabilities of satellite remote sensing in capturing the spatiotemporal variabilities of soil moisture at subfield scale. Specifically, we conducted soil moisture field experiments in three typical commercial agricultural fields (∼85 acres per field) in …

The Biomechanics Of Ursine Predation: Investigating The Force Generation And Mechanical Properties Of Bear Claws And Teeth In Predatory Behavior, Katie Dooley, Megan Doxey, Josh Jewell, Tom Smith

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Studied over 2,200 human-bear conflicts in North America and witnessed the shear force that bears can exert to access food and eliminate any threats.
• Polar bears at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City punctured and bent high density polyurethane (HDPE) objects when playing with them.
• This prompted research into the force it takes bears to puncture objects with their canines and claws.

Reproduce Or Live Longer?: A Life History Analysis Of Black Bears In A Semiarid Environment, Brenden M. Orocu, Cambria Armstrong, Janene Auger, Hal L. Black, Randy T. Larsen, Brock R. Mcmillan, Mark C. Belk

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

In population demographics, each population has an age stage vital rate (fecundity and survival) in its life history that has the greatest influence on the asymptotic population growth rate, λ.

American black bears (Ursus americanus) are found throughout North America. Other studies on population demographics have focused on populations in higher resource availability areas but none in semiarid environments where resource scarcity is a result of the variable climate.

Objective

Our objective was to determine if factors influencing population dynamics of black bears in semi-arid environments were similar to factors affecting population dynamics in mesic environments where …

Considerations For The Use Of Porcine Organ Donation Models In Preclinical Organ Donor Intervention Research, Frazer I. Heinis, Shaheed Merani, Nicholas W. Markin, Kim F. Duncan, Michael J. Moulton, Lance Fristoe, William E. Thorell, Raechel A. Sherrick, Tami R. Wells, Matthew T. Andrews, Marian Urban

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Use of animal models in preclinical transplant research is essential to the optimization of human allografts for clinical transplantation. Animal models of organ donation and preservation help to advance and improve technical elements of solid organ recovery and facilitate research of ischemia–reperfusion injury, organ preservation strategies, and future donor-based interventions. Important considerations include cost, public opinion regarding the conduct of animal research, translational value, and relevance of the animal model for clinical practice. We present an overview of two porcine models of organ donation: donation following brain death (DBD) and donation following circulatory death (DCD). The cardiovascular anatomy and physiology …

Trading Policy, Practice And Prospect On Marine Carbon Sequestration In China, Jingming Dong, Zifei Liu, Limei Chen

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Marine carbon sequestration trading is the inherent requirement and effective mechanism for marine eco-civilization development, maritime economic strategy. The research compares and analyzes the policies and practices of China’s marine carbon sequestration trading, and looks forward its future development tendency. It is pointed points out that under the framework of the national Dual Carbon goals, especially in “1+N” policy, the top-level system of China’s marine carbon sequestration trading has initially formed. Many relevant industry standards have been introduced and implemented at the national level. Then at the local level, some regions have introduced and implemented marine carbon sequestration calculation guidelines …

Long Term Monitoring And Research On Temperate Glaciers And Related Environments Provide Technological Support For Regional Sustainable Development, Shijin Wang, Shichang Kang, Tuo Chen, Yuanqing He, Meixue Yang, Quanlian Li, Hewen Niu, Tao Pu, Binglin Zhang, Yanjun Che, Wanqin Guo, Xingguo Yan, Xinggang Ma, Rongjun Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

After nearly 20 years of development, the Yulong Snow Mountain National Field Observation and Research Station for Cryosphere and Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences has built a field comprehensive observation system and data online visualization platform of temperate glacier and environment integrating observation, research, demonstration, and service. Based on the long-term positioning monitoring of temperate glaciers and the environment, and focusing on key scientific issues related to sustainable development in temperate glacier areas, this study deeply analyzes the mechanism of changes in temperate glaciers, reveals the hydrological, microorganisms, and climatic effects of temperate glacier change, evaluates the effectiveness of …

Yulong Snow Mountain National Field Observation And Research Station For Cryosphere And Sustainable Development

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

No abstract provided.

Challenges And Countermeasures For Lithium Resources In China And Analysis Of Global Distribution And Industry Status, Lirong Dou, Huaqing Liu, Dekuan Chang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With the rapid development of the global new energy industry, the strategic significance of lithium mineral resources is becoming increasingly pronounced. As a crucial material essential to the primary sectors of electric vehicles and energy storage batteries, the security of the lithium supply chain directly influences the industrial and economic development of the country. Global lithium resource reserves are primarily concentrated in several key countries, including Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Australia. Although China possesses a significant amount of lithium reserves, it faces challenges such as high mining difficulty, stringent environmental protection regulations, and low ore grades. These factors contribute to …

New Situation And Risk Coping Strategy Of Supply Chain Security Of Lithium Battery Industry Chain In China, Peng Du, Xuhua Qiu, Yusen Bai, Dong Guo

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Lithium battery industry is the core of supporting modern energy transformation and technological innovation of traffic electrification. In recent years, China’s lithium battery industry chain and supply chain security is facing new situations such as international trade and geopolitical conflicts, core technology dependence, and changes in domestic investment and financing environment. Based on the perspective of global supply chain management and industrial technology innovation, this study systematically analyzes the supply chain security of lithium battery industry chain in China, discusses the necessity of strategic cooperation of resources worldwide, independent innovation of technology, and optimization of supply chain management, and puts …

Describing Undergraduate Students’ Reasoning And Use Of Evidence During Argumentation About Socioscientific Issues Systems, P. Citlally Jimenez, Ashley R. Alred, Jenny M. Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Introduction: We conducted research in a post-secondary, large-enrollment science literacy course that asks students to apply multidisciplinary scientific evidence when providing an argument about the potential social and ecological consequences of policy solutions to socioscientific issues (SSI).

Methods: Coding schemes were developed to describe students’ levels of proficiency in constructing arguments about the nature of SSI systems and were created through inductive coding of student arguments about SSI systems embedded within a structured decision-making process.

Results: The coding schemes included student practices in 1) providing reasoning about the potential consequences of multiple solutions for an SSI, 2) …

Combining Multi-View Uav Photogrammetry, Thermal Imaging, And Computer Vision Can Derive Cost-Effective Ecological Indicators For Habitat Assessment, Qiao Hu, Ligang Zhang, Jeff Drahota, Wayne Woldt, Dana Varner, Andy Bishop, Ted Lagrange, Christopher M. U. Neale, Zhenghong Tang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Recent developments in Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs), thermal imaging, and Automachine learning (AutoML) have shown high potential for precise wildlife surveys but have rarely been studied for habitat assessment. Here, we propose a framework that leverages these advanced techniques to achieve cost-effective habitat quality assessment from the perspective of actual wildlife community usage. The framework exploits vision intelligence hidden in the UAV thermal images and AutoML methods to achieve cost-effective wildlife distribution mapping, and then derives wildlife use indicators to imply habitat quality variance. We conducted UAV-based thermal wildlife surveys at three wetlands in the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Experiments were …

Challenges To Reindeer, Reciprocity, And Indigenous Sami Sovereignty Amidst The Impact Of Green Energy Developments, Lisa Heikka-Huber

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

The Indigenous people of Europe known as the Sami, (also spelled Saami) many of whom live throughout the world, have continued to maintain active nomadic communities today as their ancestors did. A wide spanning region of Northern Europe’s Arctic Zone or Sampi often referred to as Fennoscandia, encompasses four countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula (Roland & Löffler, 2012). The nomadic Sami people follow the migration pathways of their reindeer herds through the wilderness bi-annually. This paper will discuss many perspectives, including the battle Sami people and other Indigenous communities have endured while combating green energy development from …

Accuracy Of Nitrate Hysteresis And Flushing For Agricultural Watersheds In The Midwest, Noah Rudko, Sara K. W. Mcmillian, Jane Frankenberger, François Birgand

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

Storm event-based metrics, such as hysteresis (HI) and flushing (FI), are used to differentiate nitrate pathways and sources, which is essential for watershed management. Estimations of these event-based metrics typically use high frequency (15-minute – hourly) measurements, but daily data are also used due to their greater availability. To date, there has been no study assessing how using lower frequency samples affect the accuracy of HI and FI, which could skew interpretation of potential nutrient pathways and sources. We used continuous measurements of nitrate collected at 9 watersheds throughout the Midwest spanning 448 storms. HI and FI were estimated from …

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Copper Production, Xiaohan Wu

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

Copper demand will surge significantly in the context of global renewable energy technology implementation, but its production is an energy-intensive process. It is crucial to choose the best production method to reduce environmental damage in terms of the enormous copper supply. This research develops a multi-criteria life cycle assessment model for the three main copper production routes- pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and bioleaching. We complied material and energy flow data to assess each route's life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cost, and resource efficiency. Results indicate bioleaching emits the least GHG emissions (4.09 kg-CO2 eq/kg copper) among the three routes. Hydrometallurgy is …

When And Why Ecological Systems Respond To The Rate Rather Than The Magnitude Of Environmental Changes, Karen C. Abbott

Faculty Scholarship

Ecologists and conservation biologists have become quite familiar with the concept of tipping points: abrupt changes in an ecosystem's state that occur after a period of relative stasis. Most of the familiar ecological examples of tipping points occur either because a once-stable state has lost stability, or the system has been subjected to a particularly large perturbation and transitions to an alternative stable state, distinct from the pre-perturbed state. A different class of tipping points, known as rate-induced tipping (or r-tipping) points, are likely present in many ecological communities but remain little known in the field. Rate-induced tipping occurs when …

Development Of A Composite Drought Indicator For Operational Drought Monitoring In The Mena Region, Karim Bergaoui, Makram Belhaj Fraj, Stephen Fragaszy, Ali Ghanim, Omar Hamadin, Emad Al‑Karablieh, Jawad Al‑Bakri, Mona Fakih, Abbas Fayad, Fadi Comair, Mohamed Yessef, Hayat Ben Mansour, Haythem Belgrissi, Kristi Arsenault, Christa Peters‑Lidard, Sujay Kumar, Abheera Hazra, Wanshu Nie, Michael Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Rachael Mcdonnell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies’ technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor …

Publications And Other Works By R. F. Diffendal, Jr., Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Articles
Chapters in Books
Books
Field Guides
Geologic Maps
Other Maps
Cover Photographs
Other Photographs
Newspaper and Other Articles
Test-Hole Logs
Television Programs
Geonotes
Abstracts
Reviews
Manuscripts Accepted (A), Submitted (S), or in Preparation (P)
Geologic Maps in Press
Geologic Maps-Nebraska
Public Documents
Miscellaneous Publications
Editing

Updated March 2024

What Waterfowl Hunters Want: Exploring Heterogeneity In Hunting Trip Preferences, Katherine A. Sainsbury, Howard W. Harshaw, David C. Fulton, Nicholas W. Cole, Ashley A. Dayer, Jennie N. Duberstein, Andrew H. Raedeke, Rudy M. Schuster, Mark P. Vrtiska

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Canadian and American waterfowl hunters were surveyed to identify their hunting trip preferences. Respondents were individuals that were now participating or had participated in waterfowl hunting, and most had hunted the majority of the last five years. We identified four latent classes of waterfowl hunters that varied in their preferences for harvest, access effort, length of travel, quantity of waterfowl seen, and the potential for interference/competition. We found a diminishing return associated with the number of waterfowl harvested, and that ‘devoted’ and ‘local’ hunters did not perceive appreciable benefit from harvesting more birds beyond harvesting a single bird. Results highlight …