Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Improving Farmers’ Perception And Use Of Climate Predictions In Farming Decisions: A Transition Model, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Qi Hu, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Gary D. Lynne, Roger H. Bruning

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Despite tremendous efforts to improve weather and climate predictions and to inform farmers about the use of such weather products, farmers’ attitudes toward forecast use remain poor and farmer use of forecasts has not increased. This paper describes features of a new conceptual model for facilitating farmers’ use of weather products and offers preliminary evidence for its effectiveness based on a test-of-concept prototype. The prototype system provides farmers with contextualized information, the opportunity to use that information in relevant farming contexts, and collaborative interaction with other users. In addition, scaffolding and feedback are incorporated in the model to enhance learning …

Resource Selection By Elk In An Agro-Forested Landscape Of Northwestern Nebraska, David M. Baasch, Justin W. Fischer, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Andrew J. Tyre, Joshua J. Millspaugh, James W. Merchant, Jerry D. Volesky

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In recent years, elk have begun recolonizing areas east of the Rocky Mountains that are largely agroforested ecosystems composed of privately owned land where management of elk is an increasing concern due to crop and forage depredation and interspecific disease transmission. We used a Geographic Information System, elk use locations (n = 5013), random locations (n = 25,065), discrete-choice models, and information-theoretic methods to test hypotheses about elk resource selection in an agro-forested landscape located in the Pine Ridge region of northwestern Nebraska, USA. Our objectives were to determine landscape characteristics selected by female elk and identify publicly owned land …

Designing Payments For Ecosystem Services, James Salzman

Faculty Scholarship

This Policy Series by James Salzman brings attention to a rapidly developing phenomenon—payments for ecosystem services (PES).

Salzman, the Samuel F. Mordecai Professor of Law and the Nicholas Institute Professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University, explains when and where ecosystem services can be provided by voluntary markets rather than government actions. The key to understanding how PES work is rooted in the basis of any voluntary market transaction—gains from trade. One party agrees to take action because another party offers an incentive. Both parties benefit. A beekeeper, for example, brings her hives to an orchard to provide pollination services …