Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 18, 2015, Chris Fenimore

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 18, 2015 (8/18/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 11, 2015, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 11, 2015 (8/11/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 4, 2015, Mark D. Svoboda

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 4, 2015 (8/4/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Radiocarbon Isotopic Classification Of Deep Tropical Forest Soils, Brooke Butler, Karis J. Mcfarlane, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Katherine A. Heckman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Tropical forest soils have an important role in global carbon (C) stocks. Small changes in the cycling of C could drastically affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and active cycling of carbon in a forest community. Currently, little is understood of how tropical forest soils will respond to the increasing global temperatures. To examine the effects of warming/ drought on losses of older versus younger soil C pools, we implemented radiocarbon (14C) isotopic characterization of various soil plot samples and depths from the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. 14C was measured using Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS) from catalytically condensed carbon …

Naturalists’ Perspectives On The Use Of Mobile Technology During A Nature Hike, Aubin Marishka Radzewicz St. Clair

Master's Theses

Naturalists act as our link between scientific knowledge and the public’s understanding of natural history and conservation efforts. In order for them to succeed, they need access to reference materials as well as up-to-date information (Mankin, Warner, & Anderson, 1999). Incorporating mobile technology (i.e. tablets) into naturalists’ endeavors in natural history and environmental education can be used as supportive and educational tools. My project investigated how newly trained naturalists used tablet technology while leading groups of children on nature hikes. I investigated naturalists’ views on the use of mobile technology as a tool during the hikes. My research was guided …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 28, 2015, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for July 28, 2015 (7/28/15) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 21, 2015, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 21, 2015 (7/21/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 14, 2015, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 14, 2015 (7/14/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 7, 2015, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 7, 2015 (7/7/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Modeling Gross Primary Production Of Maize And Soybean Croplands Using Light Quality, Temperature, Water Stress, And Phenology, Anthony L. Nguy-Robertson, Andrew E. Suyker, Xiangming Xiao

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Vegetation productivity metrics, such as gross primary production (GPP) may be determined from the efficiency with which light is converted into photosynthates, or light use efficiency (ϵ). Therefore, accurate measurements and modeling of ϵ is important for estimating GPP in each ecosystem. Previous studies have quantified the impacts of biophysical parameters on light use efficiency based GPP models. Here we enhance previous models utilizing four scalars for light quality (i.e., cloudiness), temperature, water stress, and phenology for data collected from both maize and soybean crops at three Nebraska AmeriFlux sites between 2001 and 2012 (maize: 26 field-years; soybean: …

Parent-Offspring Resemblance In Colony-Specific Adult Survival Of Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Erin A. Roche, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Survival is a key component of fitness. Species that occupy discrete breeding colonies with different characteristics are often exposed to varying costs and benefits associated with group size or environmental conditions, and survival is an integrative net measure of these effects. We investigated the extent to which survival probability of adult (≥ 1-year old) cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) occupying different colonies resembled that of their parental cohort and thus whether the natal colony had long-term effects on individuals. Individuals were cross-fostered between colonies soon after hatching and their presence as breeders monitored at colonies in the western Nebraska …

Droughtscape, Summer 2015, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column

New Drought Risk Management Research Center

Second quarter 2015 climate summary

Second quarter 2015 impacts summary

Caribbean region an innovator in drought early warning

Wind River Reservation tribes move toward drought planning

Ranchers, U.S. Forest Service, University of Arizona co-develop drought plans

Summer blockbuster from CoCoRaHS: Assessing Drought in the U.S

Western states drought coordinators meet

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, E. Hunt, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Visit from Office of Science and Technology Policy...........2

Partnership spotlight.............2

AWDN information.................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................3

Product highlight....................4

Research highlight..................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

An Assessment Of The Hydrologic Connection Between Blacktail Creek And A Riverine Wetland For Nutrients Processing Potential, Jonathan Ball

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Silver Bow Creek (Blacktail Creek to Warm Springs Creek) is listed as impaired for nitrates, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the Montana 2014 draft 303(d) list. Blacktail Creek, a head water to Silver Bow Creek, flows approximately 17 miles before joining Silver Bow Creek in Butte, MT. Previous studies have shown that nutrient concentrations in Blacktail Creek are significantly higher than the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) target concentrations. In the literature, constructed (treatment) wetlands have been popularly used as an effective Best Management Practice (BMP) to process nutrients from municipal, industrial, and livestock wastewater. While there has …

Short-Term Response Of Holcus Lanatus L. (Common Velvetgrass) To Chemical And Manual Control At Yosemite National Park, Usa, Laura J. Jones, Steven M. Ostoja, Matthew L. Brooks, Martin Hutten

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

One of the highest priority invasive species at both Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks is Holcus lanatus L. (common velvetgrass), a perennial bunchgrass that invades mid-elevation montane meadows. Despite velvetgrass being a high priority species, there is little information available on control techniques. The goal of this project was to evaluate the short-term response of a single application of common chemical and manual velvetgrass control techniques. The study was conducted at three montane sites in Yosemite National Park. Glyphosate spotspray treatments were applied at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0% concentrations, and compared with hand pulling to evaluate …

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 30, 2015, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 30, 2015 (6/30/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

A High-Altitude Balloon Platform For Determining Regional Uptake Of Carbon Dioxide Over Agricultural Landscapes, Angela M. Bouche

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere are an important part of the global carbon cycle, and quantifying the carbon dioxide exchanges between them is helpful in predicting the uptake of carbon dioxide from anthropogenic sources by the biosphere in the future. In the Midwestern United States, agricultural systems cover a large part of the landscape, so understanding their role in influencing the global carbon budget is crucial as anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide grow larger. Carbon dioxide exchanges can be measured by eddy covariance at the ecosystem level (bottom-up approach) or regionally by inversion techniques (top-down approach). Here we describe …

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 23, 2015, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 23, 2015 (6/23/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, June 16, 2015, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for June 16, 2015 (6/16/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

An Analysis Of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Outmigration Speed And Survival In Response To Habitat Features: Sacramento River From Knights Landing To Sacramento, California, Natalie N. Mcnair

Master's Theses

Outmigration is an important life stage for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) survival in the Sacramento River, and yet our understanding of their behavior and needs during this time is limited. To gain a better understanding of their survival and movement rates during outmigration, late fall run Chinook salmon smolts were tracked using acoustic telemetry techniques. Habitat features were measured and quantified throughout the study area to evaluate how Chinook salmon respond to key levee features including shade, instream woody material, and aquatic vegetation. The overall average movement speed through the entire study area was 0.77 m/s with an …