Ua12/13 2010 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University],
2010
Western Kentucky University
Ua12/13 2010 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability
Sustainability Publications and Resources
As I reflect on the past year, I am filled with pride and hope by our progress in becoming a more sustainable WKU. The milestones are significant: completion of our first building for which we will seek LEED certification, sustainability included as a core commitment in the WKU Strategic Guide for 2010-2012 and a Resolution for Education for Sustainability adopted, the first Education for Sustainability faculty retreat, the Energy Savings Performance Contract project initiated and nearly completed, and WKU included in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges. These are but a few of the accomplishments made in 2010. …
What Should Be Done With The Revenues From A Carbon Cap And Auction System?,
2010
Portland State University
What Should Be Done With The Revenues From A Carbon Cap And Auction System?, Robert Costanza, Joshua C. Farley
Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations
In this article the author discusses the use of the revenues which can be generated from a carbon cap and auction system in the U.S. They believe that auction system will be politically feasible if all individuals share generated revenues equally. A significant fraction from the revenue should pay for related projects like researching and developing renewable energy in developing countries. The shareholders in this atmospheric commons should be both the current and future generations.
The Search For Real, Integrative Solutions,
2010
Portland State University
The Search For Real, Integrative Solutions, Robert Costanza
Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations
The article presents the author's views on the inaugural issue of the journal. He states that the journal is aimed at building a shared vision in the society. He believes that one of the reasons for the society's inability to make progress is because of the academia, media, law and politics cast complex problems as polar opposites, which is known as argument culture that the journal aims to resolve.
Salt Marsh Zonal Migration And Ecosystem Service Change In Response To Global Sea Level Rise: A Case Study From An Urban Region,
2010
Texas A&M University
Salt Marsh Zonal Migration And Ecosystem Service Change In Response To Global Sea Level Rise: A Case Study From An Urban Region, Rusty A. Feagin, M. Luisa Martinez, Gabriela Mendoza-Gonzalez, Robert Costanza
Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations
Coastal wetland plants are expected to respond to global sea level rise by migrating toward higher elevations. Housing, infrastructure, and other anthropogenic modifications are expected to limit the space available for this potential migration. Here, we explore the ecological and economic effects of projected Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 report sea level changes at the plant community scale using the highest horizontal (1 m) and vertical (0.01 m) resolution data available, using a 6 x 6 km area as an example. Our findings show that salt marshes do not always lose land with increasing rates of sea level …
Portland State University Climate Action Plan, 2010,
2010
Portland State University
Portland State University Climate Action Plan, 2010, Fletcher Beaudoin, Noelle Studer-Spevak
Campus Sustainability Office Publications, Reports and Presentations
In June 2007, Portland State University (PSU) joined this effort by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The commitment challenged PSU to form a committee to oversee climate efforts, track carbon emissions, and develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to move toward carbon neutrality. This document fulfills the final requirement for ACUPCC and supports regional climate goals of partner agencies, such as those described in the 2009 City of Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan.
An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region,
2010
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia
An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig
Technical Bulletins
The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …
The Communicative Construction Of Safety In Wildland Firefighting,
2010
University of California Santa Barbara
The Communicative Construction Of Safety In Wildland Firefighting, Jody Jahn, Linda Putnam, Anne Black
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This document is a summary of a mixed methods dissertation that examined the communicative construction of safety in wildland firefighting. For the dissertation, I used a twostudy mixed methods approach, examining the communicative accomplishment of safety from two perspectives: high reliability organizing (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 1999), and safety climate (Zohar, 1980). In Study One, 27 firefighters from two functionally similar wildland firefighting crews were interviewed about their crew-level interactions involved in implementing safety rules and firefighting tasks. These critical incident narratives (Flanagan, 1954; Gremler, 2004) were compared to extract workgroup level similarities and differences in interaction patterns relating to …
The Role Of Adaptive Capacity In Creating Fire-Adapted Human Communities,
2010
USDA Forest Service
The Role Of Adaptive Capacity In Creating Fire-Adapted Human Communities, Pamela J. Jakes, Matthew S. Carroll, Travis B. Paveglio, Soren Newman
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
In this research we sought answers to the question: What are the social characteristics and conditions of human communities that promote adaptive capacity for wildfire? The Quadrennial Fire Review (USDA and USDI 2009) promotes a goal of “achieving fire-adapted communities” in the wildland urban interface (WUI), and identifies metrics for determining whether a community is fire-adapted. While these metrics address some of the biophysical conditions necessary for fire-adapted human communities, they offer little insight into the social elements that promote or sustain adaptive capacity. Adaptive capacity refers to the individual and collective resources, capabilities, and actions that alleviate the risk …
2010 Western Mensurationists’ Conference,
2010
University of Montana
2010 Western Mensurationists’ Conference, David Affleck, John Goodburn, Christopher Keyes, Renate Bush
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
The 2010 Western Mensurationists’ Conference in Missoula, MT, drew together forest scientists and land managers with primary expertise in the measurement and modeling of forest resources. The meeting provided an opportunity to focus the collective technical expertise of this group on crossdisciplinary conifer crown modeling issues that are of increasing importance to existing and emerging forest management strategies in western North America. Thus, a special invited session on conifer crown modeling results and opportunities was added to the conference agenda together with a participatory workshop on crown modeling needs and challenges. Funding was provided by the Joint Fire Science Program …
A Proposal To Improve Performance Of The Forest Vegetation Simulator - Fire And Fuels Extension,
2010
US Forest Service
A Proposal To Improve Performance Of The Forest Vegetation Simulator - Fire And Fuels Extension, Dave C. Cawrse, Michael G. Van Dyke, Nicolas Nicholas L. Crookston, Donald Robinson, Sarah Beukema
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and its associated Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE) have been used to provide information required by larger software systems like the Interagency Fuels Treatment - Decision Support System (IFT-DSS). Interacting with FVS in an automated fashion has been difficult, and simulations with very large numbers of stands, such as those necessary for landscape analyses for fire planning, could take a significant amount of time to process. This project was designed to: (A) develop a requirements document considering Service Oriented Architecture and how that may apply to FVS, and how FVS will be used interactively; (B) …
Assessment Of Canopy Fuel Loading Across A Heterogeneous Landscape Using Lidar,
2010
USDA Forest Service
Assessment Of Canopy Fuel Loading Across A Heterogeneous Landscape Using Lidar, Kenneth L. Clark, Nicholas Skowronski, Michael Gallagher, Nicholas Carlo, Michael Farrell, Melanie R. Maghirang
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Our research used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems coupled with sequential harvesting of Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) to quantify canopy fuels in three dimensions across a large, heterogeneous landscape impacted by multiple wildfires, prescribed burns and insect defoliation events. We used a three-tiered approach; 1) calibration of upward sensing profiling LiDAR data with sequential harvesting of 20 x 20 meter plots to quantify the mass of foliage, branches and stems in Pitch pine canopies in 1-meter height layers, 2) scaling results to the landscape scale using previously-published relationships between upward sensing and downward sensing scanning LiDAR systems in …
Annual Brome Biocontrol After Wildfire Using A Native Fungal Seed Pathogen,
2010
USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
Annual Brome Biocontrol After Wildfire Using A Native Fungal Seed Pathogen, Susan E. Meyer, Phil S. Allen, Julie Beckstead, Michael Gregg, Heidi Newsome, Kathleen Harcksen, Gary Kidd, Glenn Paulsen, Karen Prentice, Dana Quinney, David Wilderman, Stephanie Carlson, Suzette Clement, Duane Smith, Thom Stewart, Katie Merrill, Keith Merrill, Kedra Foote, Stephen Harrison, Kelly Bergen, Brian Connelly, Trevor Davis, Sandra Dooley, Michael Huck, Laura Street, Lauren Miller
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
A major problem in post-fire restoration of semi-arid shrublands dominated by annual bromes is the presence of carryover seed banks that cannot be controlled using conventional methods. These seeds can provide significant competition for seeded species in the years following treatment. We investigated the feasibility of using a naturally occurring seed pathogen, the ascomycete Pyrenophora semeniperda, as a biocontrol organism for eliminating this carryover seed bank. We carried out the necessary technology development to create and apply field inoculum to cheatgrass- or red brome-infested areas (both burned and unburned) at six sites located in three states across two years of …
Changes In Vegetation And Fuels Due To The Warm Fire On The Kaibab National Forest,
2010
Northern Arizona University
Changes In Vegetation And Fuels Due To The Warm Fire On The Kaibab National Forest, Melissa A. Mcmaster, Andrea Thode, Brian Brost, Matthew Williamsen, Ethan Aumack, Dave Mertz
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Fire is a significant and essential disturbance in ponderosa pine ecosystems but the management and the re-introduction of fire across the landscape is a difficult task for land managers. In this study we worked with land managers, stakeholders and researchers to examine the effects of a large wildfire on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. We analyzed litter and duff depth, downed woody debris and understory vegetation responses to low and high burn severity and assessed the response of the understory vegetation to seeding with Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum in high severity burn areas. To assist land managers in future …
Continued Evaluation Of Post-Fire Recovery And Treatment Effectiveness For Validation Of The Ermit Erosion Model,
2010
USDA Forest Service
Continued Evaluation Of Post-Fire Recovery And Treatment Effectiveness For Validation Of The Ermit Erosion Model, Peter R. Robichaud, William J. Elliot, Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Sarah A. Lewis, Louise E. Ashmun, Peter M. Wohlgemuth, Robert E. Brown
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
The use and cost of post-fire emergency stabilization treatments continues to grow. To help maximize the impact of these treatments, many assessment teams use the Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) erosion model to predict postfire erosion and mitigation effects. However, despite several completed JFSP projects, the long-term effects of these treatments remain unknown, and the ERMiT model has not been validated. Long-term post-fire erosion and runoff data on a variety of mulches and erosion barriers were collected using 12 existing sites throughout the Western U.S. The agricultural straw and wood strand mulch treatments were very effective at reducing erosion and …
Effectiveness Of Fuel Treatments For Mitigating Wildfire Severity: A Manager‐Focused Review And Synthesis,
2010
Omi Associates
Effectiveness Of Fuel Treatments For Mitigating Wildfire Severity: A Manager‐Focused Review And Synthesis, Philip N. Omi, Erik J. Martinson Mr.
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
The 2008 Request for Applications from the Joint Fire Science Program called for a synthesis of the extant literature that addresses the effectiveness of fuel treatments. We employed a four‐pronged approach to address this task, including several scoping exercises with land managers, a literature review, a meta‐analysis, and development of an online pictorial database.
An Enhanced Online Piled Fuels Biomass Calculator,
2010
USDA Forest Service
An Enhanced Online Piled Fuels Biomass Calculator, Clinton S. Wright, Paige C. Eagle
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
A web-programming project was undertaken to allow users of the online Hand-piled Fuels Biomass Calculator to also estimate the volume, biomass and potential emissions of mechanically piled fuels. Machine pile calculations encoded in the decision support software CONSUME 3.0 were added to the online Calculator to achieve this objective. In addition, the ability to batch process piled fuels data was added to the online Calculator to ease data input for large analysis projects. A stand-alone version of the Calculator was developed for users without access to the Internet. As it is executed within a standard web browser (e.g., Microsoft Internet …
Evaluating The Effects Of Pinyon Thinning Treatments At A Wildland Urban Interface,
2010
US Geological Survey
Evaluating The Effects Of Pinyon Thinning Treatments At A Wildland Urban Interface, J. R. Matchett, Matthew L. Brooks, Anne Halford, Dale Johnson, Helen Smith
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This study evaluated the short-term effects of thinning methods for pinyon pine woodlands at two sites in the southwestern Great Basin. Both cut/pile/burn and mastication treatments were equally effective at reducing the target fuels which were mature, live pinyon trees. Application costs though differed substantially, with the cut/pile/burn technique being less expensive. Thinning treatments increased the abundance of herbaceous vegetation, although in some cases the strength of the increase was constrained by the level of pre-treatment tree dominance. Increases in perennial grass cover and density in response to thinning were usually greatest at lower levels of pre-treatment pinyon dominance, whereas …
Exploring The Traditional Use Of Fire In The Coastal Mountains Of Central California,
2010
University of California
Exploring The Traditional Use Of Fire In The Coastal Mountains Of Central California, Brent E. Johnson, Rand R. Everett, Kent G. Lightfoot, Charles J. Stiplen
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This study brought together a team of ecologists, archaeologists, environmental historians, indigenous peoples, and land managers within a research framework combining an ethnographic investigation of traditional practices with cutting-edge paleoecological techniques to answer questions about Indian utilization of fire as an ecological and cultural landscape management tool in Central Coastal California. The study was designed around four key elements: (1) examining fire regimes for research sites using a combination of fire scar dendrochronology, phytoliths, archaeology, historical information, and traditional ecological knowledge; (2) attempting to formalize a methodology for using phytoliths to estimate the fire return interval and intensity in grassland …
Fire Regimes Of The Southern Appalachian Mountains:
Temporal And Spatial Variability Over Multiple Scales
And Implications For Ecosystem Management,
2010
Texas A&M University
Fire Regimes Of The Southern Appalachian Mountains: Temporal And Spatial Variability Over Multiple Scales And Implications For Ecosystem Management, Charles W. Lafon, Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, Sally P. Horn, Robert N. Klein
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Information about historic fire regimes and the departure of current fire regimes from historic conditions is essential for guiding and justifying management actions, such as prescribed burning programs for ecosystem process restoration and fuel reduction. Such information is noticeably lacking for the southern Appalachian Mountains, where human populations are encroaching onto wildland areas, and where decades of fire exclusion have contributed to the decline of fire-associated communities and also to altered fuel loads. We address this knowledge gap via a multi-scale investigation of the variability in fire regimes over time and space using tree-ring reconstructions of fire history and stand …
Fuel Consumption And Smoke Emissions From Landscape-Scale Burns In Eastern Hardwoods,
2010
US Forest Service
Fuel Consumption And Smoke Emissions From Landscape-Scale Burns In Eastern Hardwoods, Matthew Dickinson, Ann Acheson, Robert Kremens
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Our project used remotely-sensed infrared radiation measurements to estimate fuel consumption in eastern mixed-oak forests and facilitated the development of smoke management expertise and processes for complying with EPA regulations in Ohio and Kentucky. As a result of two workshops, Ohio developed a Smoke Management Plan designed to ensure that best management practices were being used across land ownerships and to facilitate mandated information sharing with the Ohio EPA and US EPA. Ohio also established a Prescribed Fire Council as a result of this process. Kentucky opted for a less formal response to EPA regulations, establishing a Prescribed Fire Council …
