Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Natural Resource System Size Can Be Used For Managing Recreational Use, Derek S. Kane, Kevin L. Pope, Keith D. Koupal, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski, Mark A. Kaemingk

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Outdoor recreation provides societal benefits that are often measured by the amount of use natural resource systems receive. Still, the amount of resource use natural resource systems receive is often unknown or unstudied. Monitoring and quantifying resource use is often logistically difficult and costly but is paramount to optimize societal benefits. Identifying a simple and readily available metric that can indicate the quantity of recreational use of natural resource systems would benefit natural resource management. Using recreational angler participation data during an 11-year study period from 73 public waterbodies in Nebraska, USA, we developed a resource size-use model that demonstrates …

Implementing Just Climate Adaptation Policy: An Analysis Of Recognition, Framing, And Advocacy Coalitions In Boston, U.S.A., Jeffrey T. Malloy, Catherine Ashcraft, Paul Kirshen, Thomas G. Safford, Semra Aytur, Shannon H. Rogers

Faculty Publications

Cities face intersectional challenges implementing climate adaptation policy. This research contributes to scholarship dedicated to understanding how policy implementation affects socially vulnerable groups, with the overarching goal of promoting justice and equity in climate policy implementation. We apply a novel framework that integrates social justice theory and the advocacy coalition framework to incrementally assess just climate adaptation in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Boston made an ambitious commitment to address equity as part of its climate planning and implementation efforts. In this paper, we evaluate the first implementation stage over the period 2016–2019 during which Boston developed coastal resilience …

Enhanced Photo-Fenton Activity Using Magnetic Cu0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 Nanoparticles As A Recoverable Catalyst For Degrading Organic Contaminants, Athaphon Angkaew, Chainarong Sakulthaew, Matura Nimtim, Saksit Imman, Tunlawit Satapanajaru, Nopparat Suriyachai, Torpong Kreetachat, Steven Comfort, Chanat Chokejaroenrat

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Interest in using various nanoparticle catalysts to activate H₂O₂ with light for organic contaminant and wastewater treatment is steadily increasing. We successfully synthesized magnetically recoverable Cu_0.5Mn_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles using a simple co-precipitation method followed by melamine-assisted calcination. Material characterization revealed that melamine acted as a coordinating agent during the calcination process that promoted a ferrite structure. Copper (Cu)-substitution effectively decreased material aggregation and promoted catalytic activities. Cu_0.5Mn_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles showed outstanding catalytic performance on several organic contaminants (87.6–100.0% removal within 2 h). Using oxytetracycline (OTC) …

Held At Bay: A Case Study Of A Lake Community’S Effort To Prevent A Zebra Mussel Invasion, Benjamin Breske

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This case study was completed in a lake community in the upper midwestern United States. It seeks to understand the social factors that allowed a lake community to establish an effort to protect against a zebra mussel invasion, as well as the perceptions of the different stakeholders and the steps they took to get the effort going. Rural community action is important for the sustainability of many of the world’s natural resources as these communities are often the first line of defense. Understanding how efforts like this one come together is vital for creating similar efforts elsewhere. I conducted a …

The Evolution Of Wildland Fire Risk Management, Matthew Holte

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Wildland Fire risk management has long been a topic of much discussion. In the past we have focused on immediate danger and how to mitigate it, recently we have started to look at risk with a long-term view. Throughout this paper we will discuss the history of wildland fire, wildland fire policy, and how we got to where we are today. We will also look at how the two different styles of risk management and how we need to use them in a complementary fashion to provide safety to our firefighters, public, and the natural resources that we are protecting.

Bison Influences On Composition And Diversity Of Riparian Plant Communities In Yellowstone National Park, J. Boone Kauffman, Dian Lyn Cummings, Cimarron Kauffman, Robert L. Beschta, Jeremy Brooks, Keeley Macneill, William J. Ripple

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Riparian zones are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the Intermountain West, USA, and provide valuable ecosystem services, including high rates of biotic productivity, nutrient processing, and carbon storage. Thus, their sustainability is a high priority for land managers. Large ungulates affect composition and structure of riparian/stream ecosystems through herbivory and physical effects, via trailing and trampling. Bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have been characterized as “ecosystem engineers” because of their demonstrated effects on phenology, aboveground productivity of grasses, and woody vegetation structure. Bison have greatly increased in numbers during the last two decades …

A Novel Vaccine Candidate Against Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (Rhdv2) Confers Protection In Domestic Rabbits, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Bethany Cominsky, Stephanie Porter, J. Jeffrey Root, Amber Schueler, Gary Anderson, Sara Vanderwal, Andy Benson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

OBJECTIVE To evaluate efficacy of a novel vaccine against rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) in domestic rabbits.

ANIMALS 40 New Zealand White rabbits obtained from a commercial breeder.

PROCEDURES Rabbits were vaccinated and held at the production facility for the duration of the vaccination phase and transferred to Colorado State University for challenge with RHDV2. Rabbits were challenged with oral suspensions containing infectious virus and monitored for clinical disease for up to 10 days. Rabbits that died or were euthanized following infection were necropsied, and livers were evaluated for viral RNA via RT-PCR.

RESULTS None of the vaccinated animals …

How Impervious Are Solar Arrays? On The Need For Geomorphic Assessment Of Energy Transition Technologies, Charles Shobe

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Staying within manageable global temperature rise scenarios (i.e., 1.5° C) requires rapid decarbonization of energy sources. Research on the energy transition typically focuses on engineering, socioeconomic, and political challenges related to implementation of renewable energy technologies. Yet many facets of the energy transition are intricately intertwined with earth surface processes. Projects that advance the energy transition affect surface hydrology, sediment transport, and landscape evolution. Geomorphic processes likewise set the feasibility of energy transition projects. Here I use the lens of a recent policy debate to examine a case study that illustrates the key role of surface processes in determining the …

Assessing Turgor Loss Point In Bottomland Hardwood Trees Using Leaf Spectroscopy, Alexandra M. Eisley

LSU Master's Theses

Climate change is expected to radically alter our planet’s forests, with higher frequencies of drought- and flood-induced mortality events posing a challenge for forest managers and biologists. Research into the factors underlying plant tolerance to environmental stressors is therefore gaining popularity for incorporation into projective and earth system modeling using remote sensing measures. Leaf turgor loss point (TLP) is a key trait associated with drought tolerance among plants and is defined as the water potential at which leaf turgor pressure reaches zero, causing wilting. Here, I investigated patterns of TLP across the landscape and its role as an indicator of …

From Biowaste To Product: The Functionalization Of Biochar For Agricultural And Environmental Applications, Baoyue Zhou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Biochar is a porous carbonated substance that is manufactured through pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks in an oxygen-deficiency environment. The production of biochar from agricultural waste materials provides a potential solution for eliminating pollution while improving carbon sequestration. While biochar is shown to provide multiple benefits to soil health and fertility, its use in environmental remediation has been hampered by its low affinity for hazardous anionic species and the difficulty in isolating from water phase. To overcome these obstacles, various efforts have been made to modify biochar surface chemistry and morphology.

Fe/Mg co-doped biochar composites from sugarcane harvest residue were prepared …

Evaluating Human Pressure On Mangrove Vegetation In Nigeria : A Case Study Of The Niger Delta, Bashir Shehu Abubakar

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Mangrove Ecosystem Services And Conservation Priorities By Decision-Makers And Key Stakeholders In Nigeria, Saratu Inuwa Audu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Highlighting The Disconnect Between Legislation And Sustainable Cannabis, Johnathon A. Macias

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

Current legislation takes little regard for two major issues challenging the cannabis industry. The carbon footprint and legislation of cannabis are looked at where it is realized that neither is currently sustainable long-term. Solutions that require social responsibility from the legislation to preserve the culture and industry are delved into.

Extraction, Analysis, And Occurrence Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Wastewater And After Municipal Biosolids Land Application To Determine Agricultural Loading, Justin Caniglia, Daniel D. Snow, Tiffany Messer, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Given the ubiquitous detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) within numerous soil and water environmental compartments, there is a need for global understanding of current methodologies for extracting water, solids, polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), and plant tissue for these substances. This study provides details of several current extraction methods, demonstrates the use of POCIS in monitoring these compounds in a wastewater environment, and provides evidence of detectable levels of certain PFAS compounds within Midwestern municipalities and agroecosystems. Validated extraction procedures help characterize occurrence and release of 18 PFAS in a midwestern wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), surface water, …

Evaluating Optical Remote Sensing Methods For Estimating Leaf Area Index For Corn And Soybean, Rohit Nandan, Varaprasad Bandaru, Jiaying He, Craig Daughtry, Prasanna Gowda, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The leaf area index (LAI) is a key crop biophysical variable influencing many vegetation processes. Spatial LAI estimates are essential to develop and improve spatial modeling tools to monitor vegetation conditions at large regional scales. Numerous optical remote sensing methods have been explored to retrieve crop-specific LAI at a regional scale using satellite observations. However, a major challenge is selecting a method that performance well under various conditions without local scale calibration. As such, we assessed the performance of existing statistical and physical approaches, developed based on parametric, non-parametric and radiative transfer model (RTM)-look-up-table based inversion, using field observations from …

Accuracies Of Field Co2–H2O Data From Open-Path Eddy-Covariance Flux Systems: Assessment Based On Atmospheric Physics And Biological Environment, Xinhua Zhou, Tian Gao, Ning Zheng, Bai Yang, Yanlei Li, Fengyuan Yu, Tala Awada, Jiaojun Zhu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Ecosystem CO₂–H₂O data measured by infrared gas analyzers in open-path eddy-covariance (OPEC) systems have numerous applications, such as estimations of CO₂ and H₂O fluxes in the atmospheric boundary layer. To assess the applicability of the data for these estimations, data uncertainties from analyzer measurements are needed. The uncertainties are sourced from the analyzers in zero drift, gain drift, cross-sensitivity, and precision variability. These four uncertainty sources are individually specified for analyzer performance, but so far no methodology exists yet to combine these individual sources into a composite uncertainty for the specification of an …

Silver Carp Hypopthalmichthys Molitrix Movements In The Lower Tennessee And Lower Cumberland River, Miranda Belanger, Timothy Spier

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix are an invasive species making up a large portion of the fish biomass in the lower portions of the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. This species is expanding its range throughout the upper portions of these rivers, beginning with Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Silver Carp rarely spawn in Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, but they can enter these reservoirs through the lock chamber. Thus, the bottleneck created by lock chambers can be used to control expansion of invasive Silver Carp. Although Silver Carp movement patterns have been studied in other portions of the Tennessee …

A Long-Term Vision For An Ecologically Sound Platte River, Andrew J. Caven, Melissa M. Mosier, Kristal Stoner, Bill Taddicken, Brice Krohn, Ashley Gramza, Craig R. Allen, Mike Carter, Michelle Koch, Kirk D. Schroeder, Sarah Bailey, Rich Walters, Brian C. Chaffin, Erica Gnuse, Amy Jones, Kate Bird

Zea E-Books Collection

The Platte River extends about 310 mi (499 km) from North Platte, Nebraska, to its terminus at the Missouri River confluence near Plattsmouth, Nebraska. The Platte River Valley is a continentally significant ecosystem that serves as a major stopover for migratory waterbirds in the Central Flyway including the endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana) and >1 million Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) at the peak of spring migration. However, the Platte River Valley also supports a great diversity of avifauna including grassland breeding birds, native stream fish, vascular plants, herpetofauna, mammals, pollinators, and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Despite ongoing conservation …

Advancing The Scholarship And Practice Of Stakeholder Engagement In Working Landscapes: A Co‑Produced Research Agenda, Weston M. Eaton, Morey Burnham, Tahnee Robertson, J. G. Arbuckle, Kathryn J. Brasier, Mark E. Burbach, Sarah P. Church, Georgia Hart-Fredeluces, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Grace Wildermuth, Katherine N. Canfield, Carolina Córdova, Casey D. Chatelain, Lara B. Fowler, Mennatullah Mohamed Zein Elabdeen Hendway, Christine J. Kirchhoff, Marisa K. Manheim, Rubén O. Martinez, Anne Mook, Christina A. Mullin, A. Laurie Murrah-Hanson, Christiana O. Onabola, Lauren E. Parker, Elizabeth A. Redd, Chelsea Schelly, Michael L. Schoon, W. Adam Sigler, Emily Smit, Tiff Van Huysen, Michelle R. Worosz, Carrie Eberly, Andi Rogers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Participatory approaches to science and decision making, including stakeholder engagement, are increasingly common for managing complex socio-ecological challenges in working landscapes. However, critical questions about stakeholder engagement in this space remain. These include normative, political, and ethical questions concerning who participates, who benefits and loses, what good can be accomplished, and for what, whom, and by who. First, opportunities for addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion interests through engagement, while implied in key conceptual frameworks, remain underexplored in scholarly work and collaborative practice alike. A second line of inquiry relates to research–practice gaps. While both the practice of doing engagement …

Fabrication Of Ternary Nanoparticles For Catalytic Ozonation To Treat Parabens: Mechanisms, Efficiency, And Effects On Ceratophyllum Demersum L. And Eker Leiomyoma Tumor-3 Cells, Apiladda Pattanateeradetch, Chainarong Sakulthaew, Athaphon Angkaew, Samak Sutjarit, Thapanee Poompoung, Yao-Tung Lin, Clifford E. Harris, Steven Comfort, Chanat Chokejaroenrat

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The use of parabens in personal care products can result in their leakage into water bodies, especially in public swimming pools with insufficient water treatment. We found that ferrite-based nanomaterials could catalytically enhance ozone efficiency through the production of reactive oxygen species. Our objective was to develop a catalytic ozonation system using ternary nanocomposites that could minimize the ozone supply while ensuring the treated water was acceptable for disposal into the environment. A ternary CuFe₂O₄/CuO/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite (CF) delivered excellent degradation performance in catalytic ozonation systems for butylparaben (BP). By calcining with melamine, we …