Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Sustainability, Efficiency And Equitability Of Water Consumption And Pollution In Latin America And The Caribbean, Mesfin Mekonnen, Markus Pahlow, Maite M. Aldaya, Erika Zarate

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the sustainability, efficiency and equity of water use in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by means of a geographic Water Footprint Assessment (WFA). It aims to provide understanding of water use from both a production and consumption point of view. The study identifies priority basins and areas from the perspectives of blue water scarcity, water pollution and deforestation. Wheat, fodder crops and sugarcane are identified as priority products related to blue water scarcity. The domestic sector is the priority sector regarding water pollution from nitrogen. Soybean and pasture are priority products related to deforestation. We estimate …

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2014 Annual Report, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2014 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the fourth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight plant community monitoring plots to collect data on the vegetation at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort that will sample eight of 20 randomly located upland plots every year, so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for three years, on a five-year rotating basis. Additionally, NGPN staff also visited …

Understanding Virginia’S Vulnerability To Climate Change, Tom Steinfeldt, Chris Coil, Hans-Peter Plag

MARI Documents

No abstract provided.

2015 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Understanding Farmers’ Perceptions And The Effects Of Shea Tree Vitellaria Paradoxa Distribution In Agroforestry Parklands Of The Upper West Region, Ghana, Fahimeh Baziari

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Agroforestry parklands represent a vast majority of the agricultural landscape under subsistent-oriented farming in semi-arid West Africa. Parklands are characterized by the growth of well- maintained trees (e.g., shea) on cultivated fields as a result of both environmental and human influences. Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) provides a cultural and economic benefit to the local people of Ghana, especially women. Periods between traditional fallow rotation systems have reduced recently due to agricultural development and a demand for higher production. As a result, shea trees, which regenerate during fallow periods, has decreased over the landscape. The aim of this study was …

An Anomaly-Based Method For Identifying Signals Of Spring And Autumn Low-Temperature Events In The Yangtze River Valley, China, Weihong Qian, Yun Cheng, Man Jiang, Qi Hu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

June 2015 QIAN ET AL. Vol. 54 1216-1233

Controlling Environmental Crisis Messages In Uncontrollable Media Environments: The 2011 Case Of Blue-Green Algae On Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees, Ok, Alicia Mason, James Triplett

Faculty Submissions

This chapter documents a content analysis of 62 media reports related to the 2011 blue-green algae (BGA) outbreak on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma. A three-stage crisis model is used to understand the media framing and crisis communication related to the event. Media reports were categorized according to modality. The data set included: traditional media reports (n=21, 33%), online blogs (n=7, 11%), and online press releases (n=34, 54%). These units of analysis represent both controlled and uncontrolled media representations of the crisis event. The objectives of this analysis are to understand how risk and crisis communication strategies were utilized …

Eeflux: A Landsat-Based Evapotranspiration Mapping Tool On The Google Earth Engine, Richard Allen, Charles Morton, Baburao Kamble, Ayse Kilic, Justin Huntington, David Thau, Noel Gorelick, Tyler Erickson, Rebecca Moore, Ricardo Trezza, Ian C. Ratcliffe, Clarence Robison

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

“EEFlux” is an acronym for ‘Earth Engine Evapotranspiration Flux.’ EEFlux is based on the operational surface energy balance model “METRIC” (Mapping ET at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration), and is a Landsat-imagebased process. Landsat imagery supports the production of ET maps at resolutions of 30 m, which is the scale of many human-impacted and human-interest activities including agricultural fields, forest clearcuts and vegetation systems along streams. ET over extended time periods provides valuable information regarding impacts of water consumption on Earth resources and on humans. EEFlux uses North American Land Data Assimilation System hourly gridded weather data collection for energy …

Fitting Measured Evapotranspiration Data To The Fao56 Dual Crop Coefficient Method, R G. Allen, Ayse Kilic, Andrew Suyker, Jane A. Okalebo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The FAO-56 publication of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization contains guidelines on constructing and applying a ‘dual crop coefficient’ method to characterize the behavior of evapotranspiration (ET) on a day to day basis. The dual crop coefficient (Kc) method substantially improves the ability to fit simulated with measured data, as compared to the ‘single’ Kc method, by partitioning evaporation from soil (Es) from transpiration from vegetation. This permits the separate estimation of Es when there are known wetting events from precipitation and irrigation and assists in explaining behavior of measured data. The application of the dual Kc method is …

Density Dependent Double Brooding In Piping Plovers (Charadrius Melodus) In The Northern Great Plains, Usa, Kelsi L. Hunt, Lauren R. Dinan, Meryl J. Friedrich, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen, Daniel H. Catlin, James D. Fraser

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) are primarily monogamous birds that usually raise only one brood per season, but rare instances of double brooding have been documented. Piping Plovers breeding in the northern Great Plains, USA were studied in two locations: the Missouri River near the Gavins Point Dam (2005- 2013) and the lower Platte River (2008-2013). There were 25 confirmed instances of double brooding on the Missouri River across the 9-year duration of the study. There were no instances of double brooding observed locally on the lower Platte River. However, in 2013, two female Piping Plovers successfully hatched eggs …

Evaluating Recreationists’ Awareness And Attitudes Toward Piping Plovers (Charadrius Melodus) At Lake Mcconaughy, Nebraska, Usa, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) are shorebirds federally protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act that often nest on beaches in proximity to human recreation. We evaluated whether awareness of piping plovers and their legally protected status and attitudes toward species management varied between groups of recreationists at Lake McConaughy, Keith County, Nebraska, USA. Awareness of piping plovers varied primarily by the respondents’ number of annual visits to Lake McConaughy; the respondents’ age, sex, or location of primary residence had less influence. Recreationists with increased awareness of piping plovers and their protected status did not have more favorable attitudes toward plovers …

Space Use, Daily Movements, And Roosting Behavior Of Male Wild Turkeys During Spring In Louisiana And Texas, John T. Gross, Andrew R. Little, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Because wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are an important game species and turkey hunter numbers are increasing, the need for better information on how turkeys use their environment is critical. With the recent advent of GPS technology suitable for use on wild turkeys, we are now able to collect data on a scale not previously possible. We used backpack style GPS units to detail home range and core area sizes, daily movement distances, and roosting characteristics of male Eastern (M. g. silvestris) and Rio Grande (M. g. intermedia) wild turkeys in Louisiana and Texas. Mean …

Habitat Characteristics Of Eastern Wild Turkey Nest And Ground-Roost Sites In 2 Longleaf Pine Forests, Mary M. Streich, Andrew R. Little, Michael J. Chamberlain, L. Mike Connor, Robert J. Warren

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Managing and restoring longleaf pine forests throughout the Southeast is a conservation priority. Prescribed fire is an integral part of these activities, as it is the primary means of controlling hardwood encroachment and maintaining native groundcover. Nest site and preflight brood groundroost site selection of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) has not been well studied in longleaf pine systems. Therefore, we determined habitat characteristics associated with wild turkey nests and ground-roosts in 2 longleaf pine forests in southwestern Georgia. We radio-tagged 45 female turkeys and evaluated habitat characteristics associated with 84 nests and 51 ground-roosts during the …

Sturgeon In The Sacramento–San Joaquin Watershed: New Insights To Support Conservation And Management, A. Peter Klimley, Eric D. Chapman, Joseph J. Cech Jr., Dennis E. Cocherell, Nann A. Fangue, Marty Gingras, Zachary Jackson, Emily A. Miller, Ethan A. Mora, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Andrea M. Schreier, Alicia Seesholtz, Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael J. Thomas, David Woodbury, Megan T. Wyman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The goal of a day-long symposium on March 3, 2015, Sturgeon in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Watershed: New Insights to Support Conservation and Management, was to present new information about the physiology, behavior, and ecology of the green (Acipenser medirostris) and white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) to help guide enhanced management and conservation efforts within the Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed. This symposium identified current unknowns and highlighted new electronic tracking technologies and physiological techniques to address these knowledge gaps. A number of presentations, each reviewing ongoing research on the two species, was followed by a round-table discussion, in which …

Fish-Protection Devices At Unscreened Water Diversions Can Reduce Entrainment: Evidence From Behavioural Laboratory Investigations, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Timothy D. Mussen, Ali Ercan, Hossein Bandeh, M. Levent Kavvas, Joseph J. Cech Jr., Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Diversion (i.e. extraction) of water from rivers and estuaries can potentially affect native wildlife populations if operation is not carefully managed. For example, open, unmodified water diversions can act as a source of injury or mortality to resident or migratory fishes from entrainment and impingement, and can cause habitat degradation and fragmentation. Fish-protection devices, such as exclusion screens, louvres or sensory deterrents, can physically or behaviourally deter fish from approaching or being entrained into water diversions. However, empirical assessment of their efficacy is often lacking or is investigated only for particular economically or culturally important fishes, such as salmonids. The …

Reviews And Syntheses: Optical Sampling Of The Flux Tower Footprint, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this review is to address the reasons and methods for conducting optical remote sensing within the flux tower footprint. Fundamental principles and conclusions gleaned from over 2 decades of proximal remote sensing at flux tower sites are reviewed. The organizing framework used here is the light-use efficiency (LUE) model, both because it is widely used, and because it provides a useful theoretical construct for integrating optical remote sensing with flux measurements. Multiple ways of driving this model, ranging from meteorological measurements to remote sensing, have emerged in recent years, making it a convenient conceptual framework for comparative …

Response Of A Stoichiometrically Imbalanced Ecosystem To Manipulation Of Nutrient Supplies And Ratios, Zarraz M. Lee, Laura Steger, Jessica R. Corman, Marc Neveu, Amisha T. Poret-Peterson, Valeria Souza, James J. Elser

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is a desert ecosystem that hosts a large diversity of water bodies. Many surface waters in this basin have imbalanced nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) stoichiometry (total N:P > 100 by atoms), where P is likely to be a limiting nutrient. To investigate the effects of nutrient stoichiometry on planktonic and sediment ecosystem components and processes, we conducted a replicated in situ mesocosm experiment in Lagunita, a shallow pond located in the southwest region of the basin. Inorganic N and P were periodically added to mesocosms under three different N:P regimes (P only, N:P = 16 and …

The Importance Of Lake-Specific Characteristics For Water Quality Across The Continental United States, Emily K. Read, Vijay P. Patil, Samantha K. Oliver, Amy L. Hetherington, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Jacob A. Zwart, Kirsten M. Winters, Jessica R. Corman, Emily R. Nodine, R. Iestyn Woolway, Hilary A. Dugan, Aline Jaimes, Arianto B. Santoso, Grace S. Hong, Luke A. Winslow, Paul C. Hanson, Kathleen C. Weathers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Lake water quality is affected by local and regional drivers, including lake physical characteristics, hydrology, landscape position, land cover, land use, geology, and climate. Here, we demonstrate the utility of hypothesis testing within the landscape limnology framework using a random forest algorithm on a national-scale, spatially explicit data set, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 National Lakes Assessment. For 1026 lakes, we tested the relative importance of water quality drivers across spatial scales, the importance of hydrologic connectivity in mediating water quality drivers, and how the importance of both spatial scale and connectivity differ across response variables for five …

Community Structure And Biogeochemical Impacts Of Microbial Life On Floating Pumice, J. J. Elser, M. Bastidas Navarro, J. R. Corman, H. Emick, M. Kellom, C. Laspoumaderes, Z. M. Lee, A. T. Poret-Peterson, E. Balseiro, B. Modenutti

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Volcanic eruptions are a widespread force of geological and ecological disturbance and present recurrent opportunities for the study of biological responses to novel habitat formation. However, scientific study of such events is difficult given their short duration and often distant location. Here we report results from opportunistic sampling of unique volcano-generated habitats formed during the 2011 explosive eruption in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle complex (Chile), when massive amounts of pumice were ejected, creating novel floating substrata that have never before been characterized from a microbiological perspective. DNA sequencing revealed a dynamic community of microbes that came to inhabit the pumice, with …