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State policies can support renewable energy development by driving markets, providing certainty in the investment market, and incorporating the external benefits of the technologies into cost/benefit calculations. Using statistical analyses and policy design best practices, this paper quantifies the impact of state-level policies on renewable energy development in order to better understand the role of policy on development and inform policy makers on the policy mechanisms that provide maximum benefit. The results include the identification of connections between state policies and renewable energy development, as well as a discussion placing state policy efforts in context with other factors that influence the...
The purpose of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) cropland national assessment is to quantify the environmental benefits of conservation programs at the regional and national levels, which include both onsite and instream water quality benefits. Modeling is an effective tool for environmental assessment at the regional and national scale due to the complexities in nature at this scale. Two simulation models, the Agricultural Policy Environmental extender (APEX) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), were used for the CEAP cropland national assessment. A subset of National Resources Inventory (NRI) sample points was selected to serve as "representative fields" for the CEAP cropland survey...
Six small, predominantly agricultural (> 70%) watersheds in the Conesus Lake catchment of New York State, USA, were selected to test the impact of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on mitigation of nonpoint nutrient sources and soil loss from farms to downstream aquatic systems. Over a 5-year period, intensive stream water monitoring and analysis of covariance provided estimates of marginal means of concentration and loading for each year weighted by covariate discharge. Significant reductions in total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, nitrate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total suspended solids concentration and flux occurred by the second year and third year of implementation. At Graywood Gully, where Whole...
Nuisance blooms of heterocystous Cyanobacteria in Lake Winnipeg have nearly doubled in size since the mid 1990s. The increases are the result of a recent rapid increase in loading and concentration of phosphorus. The rapid increase in phosphorus is largely the result of two factors. The first factor is the result of rapidly increased livestock production and use of synthetic fertilizer in the Red River Valley, with smaller contributions of phosphorus from the city of Winnipeg and other human development in the Red and Winnipeg river basins. The second factor is the increased frequency and intensity of spring floods in the Red River watershed in recent years, which have greatly enhanced the transfer of phosphorus...
The global mean surface temperature increased 0.85°C during the period 1880 – 2012. Some climate models predict an additional warming of up 2 to 4 ◦ C over the next 100 years for the primary breeding grounds for North American ducks. Such an increase has been predicted to reduce mid - continent breeding duck populations by >70%. Managing continental duck populations in the face of climate change requires understanding how waterfowl have responded to historical spatio - temporal climatic variation. However, such responses to climate may be obscured by how ducks respond to variation in land cover. We estimated effects of climate on settlement patterns of breeding ducks in the Prairie - Parkland Region (PPR), boreal...
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Grasslands comprise a small part of the Chihuahuan Desert but are vital to the biological diversity of the ecoregion. Characteristic grasses of the Chihuahuan Desert are tobosa (Pleuraphis mutica) and black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) but other common species include alakali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), big alkali sacaton (S. wrightii), mesa dropseed (S. flexuosus), blue grama (B. gracilis), sideoats grama (B. curtipendula ), hairy grama (B. hirsuta), slender grama (B. filiformis), chino grama (B. brevista), spruce top grama (B. chondrosioides), bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri), several three awns (Aristida spp.), and fluff grass (Dasyochloa pulchela) (Johnson 1974, Dinerstein et al. 2000). Many of the sites discussed...
Conclusions:Owls avoided agricultural lands (due to prey availability), used grass-forb areas for foraging, and avoided croplands and grazed pasture. 95% of all movements occurred within 600 meters of the nest burrows.Thresholds/Learnings:At a minimum, a 600m radius should be maintained around burrowing owl nests in order to ensure the survival of burrowing owls
Conclusions:Wetland extent, proximity of wetlands to the sampling station, and the position of a wetland in a watershed (downstream wetlands have greater influence on water quality) influence water quality.Thresholds/Learnings:
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Synopsis: This study evaluates whether previous observations of a higher percentage of parasitism and parasitoid diversity in a complex agricultural landscape, relative to a simple landscape, represent a general phenomenon. Rates of parasitism and parasitoid diversity of the armyworm (Pseudaletia unipuncta) were assessed in three replicate (Onondaga, Ingham, and Benton) regions in southern Michigan. Within each region, a simple landscape (primarily cropland) and a complex landscape (cropland intermixed with mid and late successional noncrop habitats) were identified through analysis of aerial photographs. In each landscape, three maize fields were selected, and second to fourth instar P. unipuncta were released...
This report, released by the Energy andBiodiversity Initiative (EBI), is the resultof a collaborative effort by representa-tives of the nine member companiesand conservation organizations of theInitiative. The views expressed hereindo not necessarily represent the viewsof every EBI member.EBI members recognize that there is a continuing public debate aroundbiodiversity conservation and oil andgas operations. Although EBI was notintended to resolve all the issues in-volved in this debate, we believe theEBI products and process will make a significant contribution to con-structive dialogue to accompany thatdebate. We welcome your commentsand feedback on this document or any other EBI products.
State policies can support renewable energy development by driving markets, providing certainty in the investment market, and incorporating the external benefits of the technologies into cost/benefit calculations. Using statistical analyses and policy design best practices, this paper quantifies the impact of state-level policies on renewable energy development in order to better understand the role of policy on development and inform policy makers on the policy mechanisms that provide maximum benefit. The results include the identification of connections between state policies and renewable energy development, as well as a discussion placing state policy efforts in context with other factors that influence the...
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The Lesser Prairie Chicken Focal Area represents an area of interest pertaining to the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).Working Lands for Wildlife is a partnership between NRCS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to use agency technical expertise and financial assistance from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program to combat the decline of seven specific wildlife species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other species with similar habitat needs. The WLFW project will target species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other...
Abstract (from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S143383191400105X): Floodplain forests are extremely productive for agriculture and historical floodplain forests have been converted to prime agricultural land throughout the world, resulting in disruption of ecosystem functioning. Given that flooding may increase with climate change and reforestation will increase resiliency to climate change, we tested whether reforested floodplains also have great potential to store carbon and the effects of even modest increases in forested acreage on carbon storage. To calculate potential aboveground biomass in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (LMAV) of the United States, we determined current and historical...
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Conclusions: Report presents a framework for assessing the condition of Southern Alberta’s natural assets and their ability to provide ecosystem goods and services. Measurable indicators of ecosystem services, including broad and fine scale landscape indicators, were also distilled from a literature review. Thresholds/Learnings: Wetland cover should be maintained at >15% for watersheds with high potential for phosphorus loading & eutrophication. Impervious cover should be maintained at or below 25% in heavily urbanizing watersheds. Synopsis: This report develops a framework for assessing the condition of Southern Alberta’s natural assets and their resulting ability to provide ecosystem goods and services. The...
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Synopsis: Wind erosion control is typically needed in areas with low and variable precipitation and frequent droughts, and where high winds, high temperature and consequent high evaporation are common conditions, such as in southern Alberta. Potential average annual erosion rates from wind erosion are predicted using the wind erosion equation E= f(I, K, C, L, V) where I is the soil erodibility index, K is the soil-ridge-roughness factor, C is the climactic factor, L is the unsheltered, weighted travel distance of the wind across a field and V is the equivalent vegetated cover. Wind erosion can be controlled with one or more of the following five basic principles of wind erosion control: · Reduce field widths...
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Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information. Soil surveys can be used for general farm, local, and wider area planning. Onsite investigation is needed in some cases, such as soil quality assessments and certain conservation and engineering applications....
map background search result map search result map Ecosystem Goods and Services Southern Alberta Assessment of Natural Asset Condition Does agricultural landscape structure affect parasistism and parasitoid diversity? Basic principles of wind erosion control Web Soil Survey Status and Distribution of Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands in the United States and Mexico Lesser Prairie Chicken Focal Area (WLFW) Illinois - Grassland Focus Areas (INAI Sites) UMRGLR JV - Wetland Breeding Bird Habitat Priorities Minnesota - Presettlement Vegetation Ohio - Original Vegetation Does agricultural landscape structure affect parasistism and parasitoid diversity? Ohio - Original Vegetation Illinois - Grassland Focus Areas (INAI Sites) Ecosystem Goods and Services Southern Alberta Assessment of Natural Asset Condition Minnesota - Presettlement Vegetation Lesser Prairie Chicken Focal Area (WLFW) Status and Distribution of Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands in the United States and Mexico UMRGLR JV - Wetland Breeding Bird Habitat Priorities Basic principles of wind erosion control Web Soil Survey