WorldWideScience

Sample records for rangelands electronic resource

  1. Rangeland and water resources

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Session B3 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland and water resources. ... The theme of optimsing integrated catchment management will be treated ... land system, catchment, basin), with a focus on law, policy and implementation.

  2. Conserving rangeland resources. | Mentis | African Journal of Range ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... goal-attainment, (5) try to correct departures, and (6) align individual and societal interests by manipulating market-forces. Keywords: altruism; conservation; Conservation implementation; Conservation properties; human activity; Human values; philosophy; Range resources; rangeland; Rangelands; Science philosophy

  3. Discussion of submitted posters for Section 2.3 (Rangeland Germplasm Resources)

    Science.gov (United States)

    As part of the IX International Rangeland Congress held in Rosario, Argentina, a total of 70 posters from 17 countries were submitted to Section 2.3 (Rangeland Germplasm Resources). These posters documented research conducted in five major regions of the world: South America, North America, Africa...

  4. Ranch business planning and resource monitoring for rangeland sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristie A. Maczko; John A. Tanaka; Michael Smith; Cindy Garretson-Weibel; Stanley F. Hamilton; John E. Mitchell; Gene Fults; Charles Stanley; Dick Loper; Larry D. Bryant; J. K. (Rooter) Brite

    2012-01-01

    Aligning a rancher's business plan goals with the capability of the ranch's rangeland resources improves the viability and sustainability of family ranches. Strategically monitoring the condition of soil, water, vegetation, wildlife, livestock production, and economics helps inform business plan goals. Business planning and resource monitoring help keep...

  5. Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 4: Fishery and rangeland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.

    2007-01-01

    This fourth part is the continuation of the third part on agricultural products. The major fishery and rangeland products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The aquatic production, mainly relying on freshwater and seawater breeding, Enhancement policy of fishery resources, including closed fishing season system, construction of artificial fish reefs and ecological fish breeding, etc., is discussed in detail. The degradation of the major rangeland areas, hay yields and intake rangeland resources by the livestock, are also described associated with the strategic adjustment and comprehensive program to protect rangeland resources during the study period

  6. RANGELAND DEGRADATION: EXTENT, IMPACTS, AND ALTERNATIVE RESTORATION TECHNIQUES IN THE RANGELANDS OF ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Mussa Abdulahi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland degradation remains a serious impediment to improve pastoral livelihoods in the lowlands of Ethiopia. This review paper presents an overview of the extent of rangeland degradation, explores its drivers, discusses the potential impacts of rangeland degradation and also suggests alternative rangeland restoration techniques. It is intended to serve as an exploratory tool for ensuing more detailed quantitative analyses to support policy and investment programs to address rangeland degradation in Ethiopia. The extent of rangeland degradation increases with time, and the productivity of rangelands are losing if not given due attention. The major drivers leading to rangeland degradation includes climate change, overgrazing, bush encroachment, population pressure, drought, and government policy, encroachment of rain fed agriculture and decline of traditional resource management institution. Degradation of rangeland has resulted in substantial declines in rangeland condition, water potential, soil status, and animal performance, livestock holding at the household level and community become destitute. Another consequence of rangeland degradation is linked to food insecurity, poverty to the extent of food aid, expansion of aridity and the need for alternative livelihood and income diversification. Moreover, it has increasingly become a threat to the pastoral production systems, and has contributed towards increases in poverty and tribal conflicts over grazing land and water resources. In spite of these impacts, the adoption of alternative restoration techniques in the country is highly insufficient. To address rangeland degradation problems, there is a strong need to substantially increase the investments and strengthen the policy support for sustainable land management.

  7. Rangeland resource trends in the United States: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    John E. Mitchell

    2000-01-01

    This report documents trends in America's rangelands as required by the Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. The Forest Service has conducted assessments of the rangeland situation for 30 years. Over this period, rangeland values and uses have gradually shifted from concentrating upon forage production and meeting increasing demand for red meat to a more...

  8. 75 FR 8036 - Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project AGENCY: Forest... Rangeland Project area. The analysis will determine if a change in management direction for livestock grazing is needed to move existing resource conditions within the Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project area...

  9. RANGELAND SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee Spangler; George F. Vance; Gerald E. Schuman; Justin D. Derner

    2012-03-31

    Rangelands occupy approximately half of the world's land area and store greater than 10% of the terrestrial biomass carbon and up to 30% of the global soil organic carbon. Although soil carbon sequestration rates are generally low on rangelands in comparison to croplands, increases in terrestrial carbon in rangelands resulting from management can account for significant carbon sequestration given the magnitude of this land resource. Despite the significance rangelands can play in carbon sequestration, our understanding remains limited. Researchers conducted a literature review to identify sustainably management practices that conserve existing rangeland carbon pools, as well as increase or restore carbon sequestration potentials for this type of ecosystem. The research team also reviewed the impact of grazing management on rangeland carbon dynamics, which are not well understood due to heterogeneity in grassland types. The literature review on the impact of grazing showed a wide variation of results, ranging from positive to negative to no response. On further review, the intensity of grazing appears to be a major factor in controlling rangeland soil organic carbon dynamics. In 2003, researchers conducted field sampling to assess the effect of several drought years during the period 1993-2002. Results suggested that drought can significantly impact rangeland soil organic carbon (SOC) levels, and therefore, carbon sequestration. Resampling was conducted in 2006; results again suggested that climatic conditions may have overridden management effects on SOC due to the ecological lag of the severe drought of 2002. Analysis of grazing practices during this research effort suggested that there are beneficial effects of light grazing compared to heavy grazing and non-grazing with respect to increased SOC and nitrogen contents. In general, carbon storage in rangelands also increases with increased precipitation, although researchers identified threshold levels of

  10. Assessment of water resource potential for common use of cow and goat by GIS (Case study: Boroujerd Rangeland, Sarab Sefid, Iran)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ariapour, A; Karami, K; Sadr, A

    2014-01-01

    One of the most important factors to sustainability utilization of natural potential by rangeland grazing suitability is water resources suitability. This study is a model for quantitative, qualitative and spatial distance assessment of water resource's propriety for goat and cow grazing based on geographic information systems (GIS) in Boroujerd Sarab Sefid rangeland, Lorestan province, Iran 2013. In this research from combining three factors such as quantity, quality and water resource's distances; the final model of degree of propriety of water resources for goat and cow grazing is characterized. Results showed that slope factor was the reason of limitation, and it is considered as a limiting factor in propriety of water resources, so in terms of access to water resources for goat grazing, 4856.4 ha (100%) located in S1 classes and for cow grazing, 4023.14 ha (68.6%) located in S1(suitability) classes, 1,187 ha (20.24%) in S2 classes and 654.8 ha (11.16%) located in S3 classes, respectively for both. So according to the results the rangelands in this region are most suitable for goat because of terrain and weather but this, in combination with, cow hasbandry will allow diversity of economic production and stability of incomes

  11. Remote sensing applications for monitoring rangeland vegetation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Remote sensing techniques hold considerable promise for the inventory and monitoring of natural resources on rangelands. A significant lack of information concerning basic spectral characteristics of range vegetation and soils has resulted in a lack of rangeland applications. The parameters of interest for range condition ...

  12. Future scenarios of impacts to ecosystem services on California rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd, Kristin; Alvarez, Pelayo; Flint, Lorraine; Flint, Alan

    2014-01-01

    The 18 million acres of rangelands in the Central Valley of California provide multiple benefits or “ecosystem services” to people—including wildlife habitat, water supply, open space, recreation, and cultural resources. Most of this land is privately owned and managed for livestock production. These rangelands are vulnerable to land-use conversion and climate change. To help resource managers assess the impacts of land-use change and climate change, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their cooperators developed scenarios to quantify and map changes to three main rangeland ecosystem services—wildlife habitat, water supply, and carbon sequestration. Project results will help prioritize strategies to conserve these rangelands and the ecosystem services that they provide.

  13. Sustaining working rangelands: Insights from rancher decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grazed rangeland ecosystems encompass diverse global land resources, and are complex social-ecological systems from which society demands both goods (e.g., livestock and forage production) and services (e.g., abundant and high quality water). In the dialogue on rangeland conservation and sustainable...

  14. A Dynamic Model of California's Hardwood Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard B. Standiford; Richard E. Howitt

    1991-01-01

    Low profitability of hardwood rangeland management, and oak tree harvesting for firewood markets and forage enhancement has led to concern about the long-term sustainability of the oak resource on rangelands. New markets for recreational hunting may give value to oaks for the habitat they provide for game species, and broaden the economic base for managers. A ranch...

  15. Pastoral Decision-Making: An Empirical Investigation of Rangeland Use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacPeak, J.

    1999-01-01

    Recent research in range ecology suggests that the process of resource degradation in African arid and semi-arid rangelands may be less reliant on how many animals are kept on the rangeland than on where these animals are kept. Analysis of pastoralist land use decisions indicated that rangeland condition influences livestock keeping. However, it was found that food and income production strategies, herd characteristics play critical roles in livestock keeping decisions

  16. Water conservation for semi-arid rangelands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Willis, W.O.

    1983-01-01

    Water deficiency is most often the cause for low forage production on rangelands in semi-arid and arid regions. Water conservation methods have been developed but additional research is needed to develop the best management practices for various climatic regions. Poor management is another major cause of low rangeland production. Better management, including the application of research findings, depends on attitudes, policies, adaptability of findings, resources for implementation and a good understanding of the governing biotic and abiotic factors. (author)

  17. Very High Resolution Panoramic Photography to Improve Conventional Rangeland Monitoring 1994

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland monitoring often includes repeat photographs as a basis for documentation and although photographic equipment and electronics have been evolving rapidly, basic rangeland photo monitoring methods have changed little over time. Ground based digital photography is underutilized, especially s...

  18. Management of communal rangelands - the dialogue between science and indigenous knowledge: the case of the Eastern Cape

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dube, S

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Communal area rangeland resource users are an important part of the rangeland ecosystem; rangeland management policies and practice should, therefore, accommodate their socio-cultural practices and knowledge. Indigenous knowledge (IK) is often...

  19. Assessing the impacts of livestock production on biodiversity in rangeland ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkemade, Rob; Reid, Robin S.; van den Berg, Maurits; de Leeuw, Jan; Jeuken, Michel

    2013-01-01

    Biodiversity in rangelands is decreasing, due to intense utilization for livestock production and conversion of rangeland into cropland; yet the outlook of rangeland biodiversity has not been considered in view of future global demand for food. Here we assess the impact of future livestock production on the global rangelands area and their biodiversity. First we formalized existing knowledge about livestock grazing impacts on biodiversity, expressed in mean species abundance (MSA) of the original rangeland native species assemblages, through metaanalysis of peer-reviewed literature. MSA values, ranging from 1 in natural rangelands to 0.3 in man-made grasslands, were entered in the IMAGE-GLOBIO model. This model was used to assess the impact of change in food demand and livestock production on future rangeland biodiversity. The model revealed remarkable regional variation in impact on rangeland area and MSA between two agricultural production scenarios. The area of used rangelands slightly increases globally between 2000 and 2050 in the baseline scenario and reduces under a scenario of enhanced uptake of resource-efficient production technologies increasing production [high levels of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (high-AKST)], particularly in Africa. Both scenarios suggest a global decrease in MSA for rangelands until 2050. The contribution of livestock grazing to MSA loss is, however, expected to diminish after 2030, in particular in Africa under the high-AKST scenario. Policies fostering agricultural intensification can reduce the overall pressure on rangeland biodiversity, but additional measures, addressing factors such as climate change and infrastructural development, are necessary to totally halt biodiversity loss. PMID:22308313

  20. Climate change effects on rangelands and rangeland management: Affirming the need for monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. Mccollum; John A. Tanaka; Jack A. Morgan; John E. Mitchell; William E. Fox; Kristie A. Maczko; Lori Hidinger; Clifford S. Duke; Urs P. Kreuter

    2017-01-01

    Uncertainty as to the extent and magnitude of changes in conditions that might occur due to climate change poses a problem for land and resource managers as they seek to adapt to changes and mitigate effects of climate variability. We illustrate using scenarios of projected future conditions on rangelands in the Northern Great Plains and Desert Southwest of the United...

  1. Contrasting watershed-scale trends in runoff and sediment yield complicate rangeland water resources planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Matthew D.; Marcantonio, Franco; Allison, Mead A.; McAlister, Jason; Wilcox, Bradford P.; Fox, William E.

    2016-06-01

    Rangelands cover a large portion of the earth's land surface and are undergoing dramatic landscape changes. At the same time, these ecosystems face increasing expectations to meet growing water supply needs. To address major gaps in our understanding of rangeland hydrologic function, we investigated historical watershed-scale runoff and sediment yield in a dynamic landscape in central Texas, USA. We quantified the relationship between precipitation and runoff and analyzed reservoir sediment cores dated using cesium-137 and lead-210 radioisotopes. Local rainfall and streamflow showed no directional trend over a period of 85 years, resulting in a rainfall-runoff ratio that has been resilient to watershed changes. Reservoir sedimentation rates generally were higher before 1963, but have been much lower and very stable since that time. Our findings suggest that (1) rangeland water yields may be stable over long periods despite dramatic landscape changes while (2) these same landscape changes influence sediment yields that impact downstream reservoir storage. Relying on rangelands to meet water needs demands an understanding of how these dynamic landscapes function and a quantification of the physical processes at work.

  2. Botanical Criteria of Baharkish Rangeland in Quchan, Khorasan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    University of Mashhad International Campus, Mashhad, I.R of IRAN ... ABSTRACT: Rangelands are natural ecosystems containing a range of resources of genetic ..... Ecology of world vegetation. .... Science Journal of Islamic Azad University,.

  3. Management of Collective Rangelands in Rhamna (Morocco ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Management of Collective Rangelands in Rhamna (Morocco) ... reduce the pressure on natural resources and promote sustainable management. ... Project status ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science Fellows ... and adaptive water management: Innovative solutions from the Global South”.

  4. Integrating the Indigenous Knowledge of Borana Pastoralists into Rangeland Management Strategies in Southern Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2005-01-01

    Pastoralists' indigenous knowledge (IK) about ecology and social organization led to rangeland-management strategies appropriate to deal with the erratic rainfall in African drylands. Herd mobility was traditionally practiced as the key strategy to make use of the scattered rangeland resources on a large scale.

  5. Recovery of rangelands : the functioning of soil seed banks in a semi-arid African savanna

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tessema, Z.K.

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands in Africa provide important forage resources for herbivores; particularly perennial grasses provide grazing for domestic and wild herbivores. However, semi-arid African rangelands experience severe vegetation and soil degradation due to heavy grazing, causing negative impacts

  6. Forests, rangelands and climate change in Southern Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Naidoo, Sasha

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an analysis of the implications of climate change for forests and rangelands in southern Africa. The extent of the resources and their economic and social functions and drivers of change is outlined. The vulnerability...

  7. A synoptic review of U.S. rangelands: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew Clark Reeves; John E. Mitchell

    2012-01-01

    The Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 requires the USDA Forest Service to conduct assessments of resource conditions. This report fulfills that need and focuses on quantifying extent, productivity, and health of U.S. rangelands. Since 1982, the area of U.S. rangelands has decreased at an average rate of 350,000 acres per year owed mostly to conversion to...

  8. Managing the livestock– Wildlife interface on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    du Toit, Johan T.; Cross, Paul C.; Valeix, Marion

    2017-01-01

    On rangelands the livestock–wildlife interface is mostly characterized by management actions aimed at controlling problems associated with competition, disease, and depredation. Wildlife communities (especially the large vertebrate species) are typically incompatible with agricultural development because the opportunity costs of wildlife conservation are unaffordable except in arid and semi-arid regions. Ecological factors including the provision of supplementary food and water for livestock, together with the persecution of large predators, result in livestock replacing wildlife at biomass densities far exceeding those of indigenous ungulates. Diseases are difficult to eradicate from free-ranging wildlife populations and so veterinary controls usually focus on separating commercial livestock herds from wildlife. Persecution of large carnivores due to their depredation of livestock has caused the virtual eradication of apex predators from most rangelands. However, recent research points to a broad range of solutions to reduce conflict at the livestock–wildlife interface. Conserving wildlife bolsters the adaptive capacity of a rangeland by providing stakeholders with options for dealing with environmental change. This is contingent upon local communities being empowered to benefit directly from their wildlife resources within a management framework that integrates land-use sectors at the landscape scale. As rangelands undergo irreversible changes caused by species invasions and climate forcings, the future perspective favors a proactive shift in attitude towards the livestock–wildlife interface, from problem control to asset management.

  9. EVALUATION AND MAPPING OF RANGELANDS DEGRADATION USING REMOTELY SENSED DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Ajorlo

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available The empirical and scientifically documents prove that misuse of natural resource causes degradation in it. So natural resources conservation is important in approaching sustainable development aims. In current study, Landsat Thematic Mapper images and grazing gradient method have been used to map the extent and degree of rangeland degradation. In during ground-based data measuring, factors such as vegetation cover, litter, plant diversity, bare soil, and stone & gravels were estimated as biophysical indicators of degradation. The next stage, after geometric correction and doing some necessary pre-processing practices on the study area’s images; the best and suitable vegetation index has been selected to map rangeland degradation among the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI, and Perpendicular Vegetation Index (PVI. Then using suitable vegetation index and distance parameter was produced the rangelands degradation map. The results of ground-based data analysis reveal that there is a significant relation between increasing distance from critical points and plant diversity and also percentage of litter. Also there is significant relation between vegetation cover percent and distance from village, i.e. the vegetation cover percent increases by increasing distance from villages, while it wasn’t the same around the stock watering points. The result of analysis about bare soil and distance from critical point was the same to vegetation cover changes manner. Also there wasn’t significant relation between stones & gravels index and distance from critical points. The results of image processing show that, NDVI appears to be sensitive to vegetation changes along the grazing gradient and it can be suitable vegetation index to map rangeland degradation. The degradation map shows that there is high degradation around the critical points. These areas need urgent attention for soil conservation. Generally, it

  10. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship-notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons-do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  11. Transcending Landscapes: Working Across Scales and Levels in Pastoralist Rangeland Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Lance W.; Ontiri, Enoch; Alemu, Tsegaye; Moiko, Stephen S.

    2017-08-01

    Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons offers some guidance on how to conceptualize governance in rangeland landscapes, some elements of commons scholarship—notably the "design principles" for effective governance of commons—do not seem to apply neatly to governance in pastoralist rangeland settings. This paper examines three cases where attempts have been made to foster effective landscape governance in such settings to consider how the materiality of commons influences the nature of cross-scale and cross-level interactions, and how these interactions affect governance. In all three cases, although external actors seemed to work appropriately and effectively at community and landscape levels, landscape governance mechanisms have been facing great challenges arising from relationships beyond the landscape, both vertically to higher levels of decision-making and horizontally to communities normally residing in other landscapes. The cases demonstrate that fostering effective landscape-level governance cannot be accomplished only through action at the landscape level; it is a task that must be pursued at multiple levels and in relation to the connections across scales and levels. The paper suggests elements of a conceptual framework for understanding cross-level and cross-scale elements of landscape governance, and offers suggestions for governance design in pastoralist rangeland settings.

  12. The Role of Rural Communities in Conservation of Rangelands in Mahneshan Township

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kobra Karimi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the action of rangeland-depended livestock holders regarding rangeland conservation, including protection and rehabilitation activities and to analyse relevant influencing factors, using a mixed method of survey and case study. The data were collected through analysing existing documents, focus groups, semi-structured and structured interviews using questionnaires submitted to 204 rural livestock holders in the Mahneshan Township. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS and AMOS software. According to the results farmers’ knowledge regarding the role, importance and factors affecting rangeland degradation was relatively high, however they had a low level of knowledge and action about mechanical conservation techniques. The action of livestock holders in terms of biological conservation activities and grazing management showed a positive and signifincat corrletaion with variables such as implementing of rangeland projects, their interaction with external institutions, participating in extension training courses, education level and irrigated and rainfed agricultural land size. Moreover, based on a path analysis, 37% of the variance of the farmers’ actions regarding the rangeland conservation was explained by the variables such as rangeland rehabilitation actions, farmers’ conservation knowledge, farmers’ interaction with natural resources experts, beekeeping, and participating in extension training courses. Promotional and extension activities and farmers’ interaction with experts have a positive effect in enhancing farmers’ knowledge and actions for sustainable rangeland use and conservation.

  13. Valuation of rangeland ecosystem services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gascoigne, W.R.

    2011-01-01

    Economic valuation lends itself well to the anthropocentric orientation of ecosystem services. An economic perspective on ecosystems portrays them as natural assets providing a flow of goods and services valuable to individuals and society collectively. A few examples include the purification of drinking water, reduced risk from flooding and other extreme events, pollination of agricultural crops, climate regulation, and recreation opportunities from plant and animal habitat maintenance, among many others. Once these goods and services are identified and quantified, they can be monetized to complete the valuation process. The monetization of ecosystem goods and services (in the form of dollars) provides a common metric that allows for cross-comparison of attributes and evaluation of differing ecological scenarios. Complicating the monetization process is the fact that most of these goods and services are public and non-market in nature; meaning they are non-rival and non-exclusive and are typically not sold in a traditional market setting where monetary values are revealed. Instead, one must employ non-market valuation techniques, with primary valuation methods typically being very time and resource consuming, intimidating to non-economists, and often impractical. For these reasons, benefit transfer methods have gained popularity. This methodology harnesses the primary collection results of existing studies to make inferences about the economic values of non-market goods and services at an alternative policy site (in place and/or in time). For instance, if a primary valuation study on oak reestablishment on rangelands in southern California yielded a value of $30 per-acre associated with water regulation, this result can be transferred, with some adjustments, to say something about the value of an acre of oaks on rangelands in northern portions of the state. The economic valuation of rangeland ecosystem services has many roles. Economic values may be used as input

  14. The GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity Activity: Recent Progress and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerschman, J. P.; Held, A. A.; Donohue, R. J.; Renzullo, L. J.; Sims, N.; Kerblat, F.; Grundy, M.

    2015-12-01

    Rangelands and pastures cover about a third of the world's land area and support livestock production which represents ~40% of global agricultural gross domestic product. The global consumption of animal protein shows a clear increasing trend, driven by both total population and per capita income increases, putting a growing pressure on the sustainability of grazing lands worldwide. Despite their relevance, rangelands have received less attention than croplands regarding global monitoring of the resource productivity and condition. The Rangelands and Pasture Productivity (RaPP) activity is a component within the Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative established under the Group on Earth Observations (GEOGLAM) in 2013. GEOGLAM RaPP is aimed at providing the global community with the means to monitor the world's rangelands and pastures on a routine basis, and the capacity to produce animal protein in real-time, at global, regional and national levels. Since its launch two years ago GEOGLAM RAPP has made progress in the four implementation elements. These include: 1- the establishment of community of practice; 2- the development of a global monitoring system for rangeland condition; 3- the establishment of pilot sites in main rangeland systems for satellite data products validation and model testing; and 4- integration with livestock production models. Three international workshops have been held building the community of practice. A prototype monitoring system that provides global visualisations and querying capability of vegetation cover data and anomalies has been established. Pilot sites, mostly in areas with long records of field measurements of rangeland condition and productivity have been proposed for nine countries. The link to global livestock models, including physical and economic components, have been established. Future challenges for GEOGLAM RaPP have also been identified and include: better representation of the areas occupied by rangelands

  15. Ecology and utilization of desert shrub rangelands in Iraq

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thalen, Derk Catharinus Peter

    1979-01-01

    When grazing is the accepted land use, vegetation is the key resource. The present study deals with the desert shrub rangelands of lraq, which contain the major characteristics of such an area, having been under grazing for many centuries. Emphasis is given to the ecology and utilization of the

  16. Earth observation for rangeland monitoring

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ramoelo, Abel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available .kashan.co.za] INTRODUCTION Grass nitrogen (N), as an indicator of rangeland quality, plays a crucial role in understanding the distribution, densities and feeding patterns of both wild herbivores and livestock. Zebras and livestock in the grazing and agricultural lands... ? How can grass nitrogen be mapped for assessing and monitoring of rangeland quality at wider or regional scales? ? Conventional point-based techniques for assessing rangeland quality proved to be expensive, laborious and time consuming...

  17. Carbon fluxes on North American rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tony Svejcar; Raymond Angell; James A. Bradford; William Dugas; William Emmerich; Albert B. Frank; Tagir Gilmanov; Marshall Haferkamp; Douglas A. Johnson; Herman Mayeux; Pat Mielnick; Jack Morgan; Nicanor Z. Saliendra; Gerald E. Schuman; Phillip L. Sims; Kereith Snyder

    2008-01-01

    Rangelands account for almost half of the earth's land surface and may play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle. We studied net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of C on eight North American rangeland sites over a 6-yr period. Management practices and disturbance regimes can influence NEE; for consistency, we compared ungrazed and undisturbed rangelands...

  18. Multi-scale wind erosion monitoring and assessment for US rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wind erosion is a major resource concern for rangeland managers. Although wind erosion is a naturally occurring process in many drylands, land use activities, and land management in particular, can accelerate wind-driven soil loss – impacting ecosystem dynamics and agricultural production, air quali...

  19. Criterion III: Maintenance of rangeland productive capacity [Chapter 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    G. R. Evans; R. A. Washmgton-Allen; R. D. Child; J. E. Mitchell; B. R. Bobowskl; R. V. Loper; B. H. Allen-Diaz; D. W. Thompson; G. R. Welling; T. B. Reuwsaat

    2010-01-01

    Maintenance of rangeland productive capacity is one of five criteria established by the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable (SRR) to monitor and assess rangeland sustainable management. Within this criterion, six indicators were developed through the Delphi Process and the expert opinions of academicians, rangeland scientists, rangeland management agency personnel, non-...

  20. Measuring ecological function on California's rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porzig, E.

    2016-12-01

    There is a need for a better understanding of ecosystem processes on rangelands and how management decisions influence these processes on scales that are both ecologically and socially relevant. Point Blue Conservation Science's Rangeland Monitoring Network is a coordinated effort to collect standardized data on birds, vegetation, and soils on rangelands throughout California. We work with partners, including private landowners, land trusts, state and federal agencies, and others, to measure bird and plant abundance and diversity and three soil dynamic properties (water infiltration, bulk density, and organic carbon). Here, we present data from our first two years of monitoring on over 50 ranches in 17 counties. By collecting data on the scope and scale of variation in ecological function across rangelands and the relationship with management practices, we aim to advance rangeland management, restoration, and conservation.

  1. Emerging issues and challenges in conservation of biodiversity in the rangelands of Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jafari Kideghesho

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Tanzania rangelands are a stronghold for biodiversity harbouring a variety of animal and plant species of economic, ecological and socio-cultural importance. Efforts to protect these resources against destruction and loss have involved, among other things, setting aside some tracks of land as protected areas in the form of national parks, nature reserves, game reserves, game controlled and wildlife management areas. However, these areas and adjacent lands have long been subjected to a number of emerging issues and challenges, which complicate their management, thus putting the resources at risk of over exploitation and extinction. These issues and challenges include, among other things, government policies, failure of conservation (as a form of land use to compete effectively with alternative land uses, habitat degradation and blockage of wildlife corridors, overexploitation and illegal resource extraction, wildfires, human population growth, poverty, HIV/AIDS pandemic and human-wildlife conflicts. In this paper, we review the emerging issues and challenges in biodiversity conservation by drawing experience from different parts of Tanzania. The paper is based on the premise that, understanding of the issues and challenges underpinning the rangelands is a crucial step towards setting up of plausible objectives, strategies and plans that will improve and lead to effective management of these areas. We conclude by recommending some proactive measures that may enhance the sustainability of the rangeland resources for the benefit of the current and future generations.

  2. Session A5 Rangelands as dynamic systems Role of wildlife in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rangelands in southern Africa are increasingly being used for conservation, ecotourism, game farming and hunting. This impacts people's livelihoods and the state of natural resources. Complimentarity and competition between wildlife and domestic livestock can be explored. Theme: This session focuses on ecosystem ...

  3. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semiarid rangelands in the western United States have been or are being invaded by introduced annual weeds that negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat. Rehabilitation and restoration of these rangelands are challenging due to inter-annual climate and sub-seasonal ...

  4. Rangelands: Where Anthromes Meet Their Limits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan F. Sayre

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Defining rangelands as anthromes enabled Ellis and Ramankutty (2008 to conclude that more than three-quarters of Earth’s land is anthropogenic; without rangelands, this figure would have been less than half. They classified all lands grazed by domestic livestock as rangelands, provided that human population densities were low; similar areas without livestock were excluded and classified instead as ‘wildlands’. This paper examines the empirical basis and conceptual assumptions of defining and categorizing rangelands in this fashion. Empirically, we conclude that a large proportion of rangelands, although used to varying degrees by domesticated livestock, are not altered significantly by this use, especially in arid, highly variable environments and in settings with long evolutionary histories of herbivory by wild animals. Even where changes have occurred, the dynamics and components of many rangelands remain structurally and functionally equivalent to those that preceded domestic livestock grazing or would be found in its absence. In much of Africa and Asia, grazing is so longstanding as to be inextricable from ‘natural’ or reference conditions for those sites. Thus, the extent of anthropogenic biomes is significantly overstated. Conceptually, rangelands reveal the dependence of the anthromes thesis on outdated assumptions of ecological climax and equilibrium. Coming to terms with rangelands—how they can be classified, understood, and managed sustainably—thus offers important lessons for understanding anthromes and the Anthropocene as a whole. At the root of these lessons, we argue, is not the question of human impacts on ecosystems but property relations among humans.

  5. The Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model: A dynamic approach for predicting soil loss on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this study we present the improved Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM V2.3), a process-based erosion prediction tool specific for rangeland application. The article provides the mathematical formulation of the model and parameter estimation equations. Model performance is assessed agains...

  6. Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: Symposium proceedings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. Uresk; Greg L. Schenbeck; James T. O' Rourke

    1997-01-01

    These proceedings are the result of a symposium, "Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands" held on August 17, 1995 in Fort Robinson State Park, NE. The purpose of this symposium was to provide a forum to discuss how elements of rangeland biodiversity are being conserved today. We asked, "How resilient and sustainable are rangeland systems to the...

  7. A systematic review of US rangeland social science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland science aims to create knowledge to sustain rangeland social-ecological systems over the long term. Range science has made substantial progress on understanding ecological dynamics of rangeland systems and the management practices that sustain them, and these findings have been systematica...

  8. Rangeland monitoring and assessment: a review

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ramoelo, Abel

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Rangelands provide vast landscapes for grazing and foraging for livestock and wildlife. Services of rangelands are diverse and generally provide food for millions of the world’s population, especially the rural and sometimes poor communities...

  9. A RANGELAND GRASSHOPPER INSURANCE PROGRAM

    OpenAIRE

    Skold, Melvin D.; Davis, Robert M.

    1995-01-01

    The incidence of benefits and costs from controlling rangeland grasshoppers on public grazing lands poses problems of economic efficiency and distributional equity. Public grasshopper control programs operate like public disaster assistance. However, grasshopper infestations are an insurable risk. This article proposes a rangeland grasshopper insurance program which reduces the economic inefficiencies and distributional inequities of the existing program.

  10. Developing an operational rangeland water requirement satisfaction index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senay, Gabriel B.; Verdin, James P.; Rowland, James

    2011-01-01

    Developing an operational water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI) for rangeland monitoring is an important goal of the famine early warning systems network. An operational WRSI has been developed for crop monitoring, but until recently a comparable WRSI for rangeland was not successful because of the extremely poor performance of the index when based on published crop coefficients (K c) for rangelands. To improve the rangeland WRSI, we developed a simple calibration technique that adjusts the K c values for rangeland monitoring using long-term rainfall distribution and reference evapotranspiration data. The premise for adjusting the K c values is based on the assumption that a viable rangeland should exhibit above-average WRSI (values >80%) during a normal year. The normal year was represented by a median dekadal rainfall distribution (satellite rainfall estimate from 1996 to 2006). Similarly, a long-term average for potential evapotranspiration was used as input to the famine early warning systems network WRSI model in combination with soil-water-holding capacity data. A dekadal rangeland WRSI has been operational for east and west Africa since 2005. User feedback has been encouraging, especially with regard to the end-of-season WRSI anomaly products that compare the index's performance to ‘normal’ years. Currently, rangeland WRSI products are generated on a dekadal basis and posted for free distribution on the US Geological Survey early warning website at http://earlywarning.usgs.gov/adds/

  11. Rangeland Brush Estimation Toolbox (RaBET): An Approach for Evaluating Brush Management Conservation Efforts in Western Grazing Lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holifield Collins, C.; Kautz, M. A.; Skirvin, S. M.; Metz, L. J.

    2016-12-01

    There are over 180 million hectares of rangelands and grazed forests in the central and western United States. Due to the loss of perennial grasses and subsequent increased runoff and erosion that can degrade the system, woody cover species cannot be allowed to proliferate unchecked. The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has allocated extensive resources to employ brush management (removal) as a conservation practice to control woody species encroachment. The Rangeland-Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) has been tasked with determining how effective the practice has been, however their land managers lack a cost-effective means to conduct these assessments at the necessary scale. An ArcGIS toolbox for generating large-scale, Landsat-based, spatial maps of woody cover on grazing lands in the western United States was developed through a collaboration with NRCS Rangeland-CEAP. The toolbox contains two main components of operation, image generation and temporal analysis, and utilizes simple interfaces requiring minimum user inputs. The image generation tool utilizes geographically specific algorithms developed from combining moderate-resolution (30-m) Landsat imagery and high-resolution (1-m) National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial photography to produce the woody cover scenes at the Major Land Resource (MLRA) scale. The temporal analysis tool can be used on these scenes to assess treatment effectiveness and monitor woody cover reemergence. RaBET provides rangeland managers an operational, inexpensive decision support tool to aid in the application of brush removal treatments and assessing their effectiveness.

  12. Principles of optimizing animal production from rangeland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubbendieck, J.; Waller, S.S.

    1983-01-01

    Increasing world population is one of the dominant factors escalating demands for the world's natural resources. Range and forage resources, which are used primarily for food and fibre, could be more efficiently used if management techniques were improved. The principles of managing forage resources are directly associated with both the growth and development of plants and the actions and needs of the grazing animal. An understanding of the effects of environmental factors and herbage removal (frequency, intensity and season of defoliation) on growth and regrowth of plants is the first step towards optimizing animal productivity from rangelands. Most potential changes will fit into three categories: (1) increase the quantity of forage, (2) improve the quality of forage, and (3) improve use of forage. The principles of grazing management can be separated into four intricately related categories: (1) proper degree of grazing, (2) proper season of grazing, (3) proper kind of livestock, and (4) proper distribution of grazing. Grazing management is affected by the manner in which both improvements and manipulation of vegetation affect forage yield and quality. The adaptation and application of existing knowledge to individual locations will be one step towards optimizing animal production from rangeland. Some of the problems may be solved through better dissemination of present knowledge through existing educational programmes, while others will require expanded programmes of information dissemination. A third group of problems may also be solved with present technology, but the solutions are not currently economical. Some of the problems will be solved only through expanded research. These research efforts need to be directed towards grazing or browsing animals, plant resources and the interaction between plants and animals. Application of nuclear techniques will be an integral part of this research. (author)

  13. USDA internet tool to estimate runoff and soil loss on rangelands: rangelands hydrology and erosion model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands are the most dominant land cover type in the United States (770 million acres) with approximately 53% of the nation’s rangelands owned and managed by the private sector, while approximately 43% are managed by the federal government. Information on the type, extent, and spatial location of...

  14. Meeting wild bees' needs on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Some arid rangeland regions, notably those with warm dry climates of the temperate zones, host great diversities of native bees, primarily non-social species among which are many floral specialists. Rangeland bee faunas are threatened indirectly by invasive exotic weeds wherever these displace nat...

  15. Soil Moisture Variability and its Effects on Herbage Production in Semi-arid Rangelands of Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Too, D.K.; Trlica, M.J.; Swift, D.M.; Musembi, D.K.

    1999-01-01

    Results obtained from recent studies focused on rangelands potential as influenced by human activity and climatic factors in the semi-arid and arid pastoral ecosystems of Northern Kenya indicated great temporal and spatial forage production variability. The objective of the studies was to document primary production in relation to water stress (drought), herbivory and direct human activities. Efforts also focused on finding possibilities of increasing productivity while conserving the finite resources for sustainable use. Laboratory, field and numerical methods were employed over several seasons and years. Forb and grass production was more variable than that of the browse (dwarf shrub) layer. Compared to forbs and dwarf shrubs, the grass layer contributed less to the total production in all seasons, indicating that the region had less potential for grazers compared to browsers. Spatial-temporal variation in rangeland carrying capacity reflected the great spatial heterogeneity in vegetation types and production. Similarly, seasonal differences were very evident, with highest estimates in the long rainy and the lowest during the dry and short rainy seasons, respectively. Factors limiting rangeland production potential were identified to be moisture deficiency, resource-use conflicts, an increasing and partially sedentarised nomadic population, overgrazing, tree felling, and land degradation (desert encroachment). Measures that can improve rangeland production potential and provide a better way of life for the inhabitants of the region include: (a) identification of land degradation (e.g. by means of bio-indicators and Geographical Information Systems, GIS); (b) technical interventions (i.e. soil and water conservation, restoration of degraded areas, fodder production); (c) social-economic interventions (i.e. resolution of resource-use conflicts, alleviation of poverty, infrastructure development improvement of livestock marketing channels etc.) and (d) continued

  16. Current situation of rangelands in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alicia Melgoza-Castillo

    2006-01-01

    Rangelands are natural areas with certain characteristics that make them unsuitable for agriculture. They include several types of vegetation such as deserts, grasslands, shrubs, forests, and riparian areas. Cattle ranching, along with the products and services it engenders, is a prime activity that rangelands have traditionally supported.

  17. Soil Properties and Plant Biomass Production in Natural Rangeland Management Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romeu de Souza Werner

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Improper management of rangelands can cause land degradation and reduce the economic efficiency of livestock activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil properties and quantify plant biomass production in four natural rangeland management systems in the Santa Catarina Plateau (Planalto Catarinense of Brazil. The treatments, which included mowed natural rangeland (NR, burned natural rangeland (BR, natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after harrowing (IH, and natural rangeland improved through the introduction of plant species after chisel plowing (IC, were evaluated in a Nitossolo Bruno (Nitisol. In the improved treatments, soil acidity was corrected, phosphate fertilizer was applied, and intercropped annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum, velvet grass (Holcus lanatus, and white clover (Trifolium repens were sown. Management systems with harrowed or chisel plowed soil showed improved soil physical properties; however, the effect decreased over time and values approached those of burned and mowed natural rangelands. Natural rangeland systems in the establishment phase had little influence on soil organic C. The mowed natural rangeland and improved natural rangeland exhibited greater production of grazing material, while burning the field decreased production and increased the proportion of weeds. Improvement of the natural rangelands increased leguminous biomass for pasture.

  18. Bridging Drought – Resilience in Rangeland Management in Times of Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Isele, Judith

    2014-01-01

    Organic livestock farming in semiarid regions greatly depends on the sustainable management of the natural rangeland as the resource for livestock sustenance. High stock density in combination with short grazing and long recovery periods achieve effective rainfall utilisation and considerably higher fodder production resulting in a high degree of resilience in drought situations.

  19. Study on Rangeland production Potential and its Limitations in the Semi-Arid lands of Northern Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keya, G.A.; Hornetz, B.

    1999-01-01

    Results obtained from recent studies focused on rangeland potential as influenced by human activity and climatic factors in the semi-arid and pastoral ecosystems of Northern Kenya indicated great temporal and spatial forage production variability. The objective of the studies was to document the primary production potential in relation to water stress (drought), herbivory and direct human activities. Efforts also focused on finding possibilities of increasing productivity while conserving the finite resources for sustainable use. Laboratory field and numeric methods were employed over several seasons and years. Forb and grass production was more viable than that of the brows (dwarf shrub) layer. Compared to forbs and dwarf shrubs, The grass layer contributed less to the total of production in all seasons, indicating that the region had less potential for grazers compared to browsers. Spatial-temporal variations in rangeland carrying capacity reflected the great spatial heterogeneity in vegetation types and production. Similarly, seasonal difference were very evident, with highest estimates in the long rainy and lowest during the dry and short rainy seasons, respectively. Factors limiting rangeland production potential and were identified to be moisture deficiency, resource-use conflicts, an increasing and partial sedentarised nomadic population, overgrazing, tree felling, and land degradation (desert encroachment). Measures that can increase rangelands production potential and provide a better way of life for the inhabitants of the region include: (a) identification of land degradation (e.g. by means of bio-indicators and Geographical Information systems, GIS); (b) technical interventions (i.e. soil and water conservation,restoration of degraded ares, fodder production); (c)socio-economic interventions (i.e. resolution of resource-use conflicts, alleviation of poverty, infrastructure development, improvement of livestock marketing channels, etc) and (d) continued

  20. Livestock systems and rangeland degradation in the new World Atlas of Desertification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucca, Claudio; Reynolds, James F.; Cherlet, Michael

    2015-04-01

    Livestock systems and rangeland degradation in the new World Atlas of Desertification Land degradation and desertification (LDD), which are widespread in global rangelands, are complex processes. They are caused by multiple (but limited) number of biophysical and socioeconomic drivers that lead to an unbalance in the capacity of the land to sustainably produce ecosystem services and economic value. Converging evidence indicates that the key biophysical and socioeconomic drivers include agricultural or pastoral land use and management practices, population growth, societal demands (e.g., urbanization), and climate change (e.g., increasing aridity and drought). The new World Atlas of Desertification (WAD) describes these global issues, documents their spatial change, and highlights the importance of these drivers in relation to land degradation processes. The impacts of LDD on the atmosphere, on water and on biodiversity are also covered. The WAD spatially illustrates relevant types of livestock and rangeland management systems, related (over-under) use of resources, various management activities, and some of the common features and transitions that contribute to LDD. For example, livestock grazing in marginal areas is increasing due to competition with agricultural encroachment and, hence, vulnerable lands are under threat. The integration of stratified global data layers facilitates identifying areas where stress on the land system can be linked to underlying causal issues. One of the objectives of the new WAD is to provide synthesis and tools for scientists and stakeholders to design sustainable solutions for efficient land use in global rangelands.

  1. Robustness and management adaptability in tropical rangelands: a viability-based assessment under the non-equilibrium paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accatino, F; Sabatier, R; De Michele, C; Ward, D; Wiegand, K; Meyer, K M

    2014-08-01

    Rangelands provide the main forage resource for livestock in many parts of the world, but maintaining long-term productivity and providing sufficient income for the rancher remains a challenge. One key issue is to maintain the rangeland in conditions where the rancher has the greatest possibility to adapt his/her management choices to a highly fluctuating and uncertain environment. In this study, we address management robustness and adaptability, which increase the resilience of a rangeland. After reviewing how the concept of resilience evolved in parallel to modelling views on rangelands, we present a dynamic model of rangelands to which we applied the mathematical framework of viability theory to quantify the management adaptability of the system in a stochastic environment. This quantification is based on an index that combines the robustness of the system to rainfall variability and the ability of the rancher to adjust his/her management through time. We evaluated the adaptability for four possible scenarios combining two rainfall regimes (high or low) with two herding strategies (grazers only or mixed herd). Results show that pure grazing is viable only for high-rainfall regimes, and that the use of mixed-feeder herds increases the adaptability of the management. The management is the most adaptive with mixed herds and in rangelands composed of an intermediate density of trees and grasses. In such situations, grass provides high quantities of biomass and woody plants ensure robustness to droughts. Beyond the implications for management, our results illustrate the relevance of viability theory for addressing the issue of robustness and adaptability in non-equilibrium environments.

  2. A review of concentrated flow erosion processes on rangelands: fundamental understanding and knowledge gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Concentrated flow erosion processes are distinguished from splash and sheetflow processes in their enhanced ability to mobilize and transport large amounts of soil, water and dissolved elements. On rangelands, soil, nutrients and water are scarce and only narrow margins of resource losses are tolera...

  3. Maintaining ecosystem services through continued livestock production on California rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, S.; Becchetti, T.

    2015-12-01

    Nearly 40% of California is rangeland comprising the largest land type in California and providing forage for livestock, primarily beef cattle. In addition to forage, rangelands provide a host of ecosystem systems services, including habitat for common and endangered species, fire fuels management, pollination services, clean water, viewsheds, and carbon sequestration. Published research has documented that most of these ecosystem services are positively impacted by managed livestock grazing and rancher stewardship. Ranchers typically do not receive any monetary reimbursement for their stewardship in providing these ecosystem services to the public. Markets have been difficult to establish with limited ability to adequately monitor and measure services provided. At the same time, rangelands have been experiencing rapid conversion to urbanization and more profitable and intensive forms of agriculture such as almond and walnut orchards. To prevent further conversion of rangelands and the loss of the services they provide, there needs to be a mechanism to identify and compensate landowners for the value of all products and services being received from rangelands. This paper considers two methods (opportunity cost and avoided cost) to determine the value of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) for rangelands. PES can raise the value of rangelands, making them more competitive financially. Real estate values and University of California Cooperative Extension Cost Studies, were used to demonstrate the difference in value (lost opportunity cost) between the primary products of rangelands (livestock production) and the products of the converted rangelands (almond and walnut orchards). Avoided costs for vegetation management and habitat creation and maintenance were used to establish the value of managed grazing. If conversion is to be slowed or stopped and managed grazing promoted to protect the ecosystem services rangelands provide, this value could be compensated through

  4. Fodder Biomass Monitoring in Sahelian Rangelands Using Phenological Metrics from FAPAR Time Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdoul Aziz Diouf

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Timely monitoring of plant biomass is critical for the management of forage resources in Sahelian rangelands. The estimation of annual biomass production in the Sahel is based on a simple relationship between satellite annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and in situ biomass data. This study proposes a new methodology using multi-linear models between phenological metrics from the SPOT-VEGETATION time series of Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR and in situ biomass. A model with three variables—large seasonal integral (LINTG, length of growing season, and end of season decreasing rate—performed best (MAE = 605 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.68 across Sahelian ecosystems in Senegal (data for the period 1999–2013. A model with annual maximum (PEAK and start date of season showed similar performances (MAE = 625 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.64, allowing a timely estimation of forage availability. The subdivision of the study area in ecoregions increased overall accuracy (MAE = 489.21 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.77, indicating that a relation between metrics and ecosystem properties exists. LINTG was the main explanatory variable for woody rangelands with high leaf biomass, whereas for areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation, it was the PEAK metric. The proposed approach outperformed the established biomass NDVI-based product (MAE = 818 kg·DM/ha and R2 = 0.51 and should improve the operational monitoring of forage resources in Sahelian rangelands.

  5. Sustainable rangeland management, economic growth, and a cautious role for the SRM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in the art and science of rangeland management increased dramatically during the 20th century and it was out of this interest that the profession of rangeland management was born. As public interest in rangeland management grew, so did the number, breadth, and depth of rangeland management ...

  6. Weather-centric rangeland revegetation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardegree, Stuart P.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Brunson, Mark W.; Germino, Matthew; Hegewisch, Katherine C.; Moffet, Corey A.; Pilliod, David S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Boehm, Alex R.; Meredith, Gwendwr R.

    2018-01-01

    Invasive annual weeds negatively impact ecosystem services and pose a major conservation threat on semiarid rangelands throughout the western United States. Rehabilitation of these rangelands is challenging due to interannual climate and subseasonal weather variability that impacts seed germination, seedling survival and establishment, annual weed dynamics, wildfire frequency, and soil stability. Rehabilitation and restoration outcomes could be improved by adopting a weather-centric approach that uses the full spectrum of available site-specific weather information from historical observations, seasonal climate forecasts, and climate-change projections. Climate data can be used retrospectively to interpret success or failure of past seedings by describing seasonal and longer-term patterns of environmental variability subsequent to planting. A more detailed evaluation of weather impacts on site conditions may yield more flexible adaptive-management strategies for rangeland restoration and rehabilitation, as well as provide estimates of transition probabilities between desirable and undesirable vegetation states. Skillful seasonal climate forecasts could greatly improve the cost efficiency of management treatments by limiting revegetation activities to time periods where forecasts suggest higher probabilities of successful seedling establishment. Climate-change projections are key to the application of current environmental models for development of mitigation and adaptation strategies and for management practices that require a multidecadal planning horizon. Adoption of new weather technology will require collaboration between land managers and revegetation specialists and modifications to the way we currently plan and conduct rangeland rehabilitation and restoration in the Intermountain West.

  7. Using remotely sensed imagery to monitor savanna rangeland deterioration through woody plant proliferation: a case study from communal and biodiversity conservation rangeland sites in Mokopane, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Munyati, C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available rangeland, whereas the communal rangelands were getting more opened up by livestock trampling. Rangeland management practices of fire utilisation, stocking levels and stock concentration account for the differing trends. Lightly grazed and heavily grazed...

  8. State-and-transition model archetypes: a global taxonomy of rangeland change

    Science.gov (United States)

    State and transition models (STMs) synthesize science-based and local knowledge to formally represent the dynamics of rangeland and other ecosystems. Mental models or concepts of ecosystem dynamics implicitly underlie all management decisions in rangelands and thus how people influence rangeland sus...

  9. Rangeland dynamics in South Omo Zone of Southern Ethiopia: Assessment of rangeland condition in relation to altitude and Grazing types

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Terefe, A.; Ebro, A.; Tessema, Z.K.

    2010-01-01

    A study was undertaken in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the Southern Ethiopia with the objective to determine the condition of the rangelands for grazing animals as influenced by altitude and grazing types. The rangelands in each of the study districts were stratified based on altitude and

  10. New Tools to Estimate Runoff, Soil Erosion, and Sustainability of Rangeland Plant Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands are the largest land cover type in the world. Degradation from mismanagement, desertification, and drought impact more than 50% of rangelands across the globe. The USDA Agricultural Research Service has been evaluating sustainability of rangeland for over 40-years by conducted rangeland r...

  11. A planning support system for rangeland allocation in Iran : case of Chadegan sub-region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Farahpour, M.

    2002-01-01

    Rangelands, like other natural resources are subject to many changes. In Iran, one of the changes is the land tenure reform, that may have significant effects on both the land and the land user. Land tenure changes not only affect the life of the present, but also that of next generations,

  12. Adaptive management for complex communal rangelands in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Many of the intransigent problems facing the world arise in complex systems. In this paper, I propose that communal rangelands in South Africa be recognised as complex social–ecological systems and that one of the reasons that development initiatives have had little impact on improving livelihoods and rangeland ...

  13. Criterion IV: Social and economic indicators of rangeland sustainability (Chapter 5)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. McCollum; Louis E. Swanson; John A. Tanaka; Mark W. Brunson; Aaron J. Harp; L. Allen Torell; H. Theodore Heintz

    2010-01-01

    Social and economic systems provide the context and rationale for rangeland management. Sustaining rangeland ecosystems requires attention to the social and economic conditions that accompany the functioning of those systems. We present and discuss economic and social indicators for rangeland sustainability. A brief conceptual basis for each indicator is offered,...

  14. An Integrated Social, Economic, and Ecologic Conceptual (ISEEC) framework for considering rangeland sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    William E. Fox; Daniel W. McCollum; John E. Mitchell; Louis E. Swanson; Urs P. Kreuter; John A. Tanaka; Gary R. Evans; H. Theodore Heintz; Robert P. Breckenridge; Paul H. Geissler

    2009-01-01

    Currently, there is no standard method to assess the complex systems in rangeland ecosystems. Decision makers need baselines to create a common language of current rangeland conditions and standards for continued rangeland assessment. The Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable (SRR), a group of private and public organizations and agencies, has created a forum to discuss...

  15. PERSPECTIVES ON RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Heady, Harold F.

    2011-01-01

    This paper reviews changes in rangeland ecology and management in the U.S.A. over the last 65 years and speculates on future changes. Emphasis has shifted from livestock management to ecological and environmental concerns, hence "rangeland ecology." The term "range management" may have outlived its usefulness and may also be detrimental to our image. The vision that we have of ourselves is not the same as others have of us. Many members of the Society for Range Management (SRM) and most of ou...

  16. Meat fatty acid and cholesterol level of free-range broilers fed on grasshoppers on alpine rangeland in the Tibetan Plateau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Tao; Liu, Zhiyun; Qin, Liping; Long, Ruijun

    2012-08-30

    Meat safety and nutrition are major concerns of consumers. The development of distinctive poultry production methods based on locally available natural resources is important. Grasshoppers are rich in important nutrients and occur in dense concentrations in most rangelands of northern China. Foraging chickens could be used to suppress grasshopper infestations. However, knowledge of the fatty acid content of meat from free-range broilers reared on alpine rangeland is required. Rearing conditions and diet did not significantly (P > 0.05) affect concentrations of saturated fatty acid (SFA), arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid or the ratio of total n-6 to total n-3 fatty acids. Breast muscle of chickens that had consumed grasshoppers contained significantly (P 0.05) higher than intensively reared birds. Compared with meat from intensively reared birds, meat from free-range broilers had less cholesterol and higher concentrations of total lipid and phospholipids. Chickens eating grasshoppers in rangeland produce superior quality meat and reduce the grasshopper populations that damage the pastures. This provides an economic system of enhanced poultry-meat production, which derives benefits from natural resources rather than artificial additives. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Electronic Resource Management and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Kimberly R.

    2015-01-01

    We have now reached a tipping point at which electronic resources comprise more than half of academic library budgets. Because of the increasing work associated with the ever-increasing number of e-resources, there is a trend to distribute work throughout the library even in the presence of an electronic resources department. In 2013, the author…

  18. Meeting wild bees' needs on Western US rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    James H. Cane

    2011-01-01

    Rangelands are areas that are too arid, or with soils too shallow, to support either forests or cultivated agriculture, but that nonetheless produce enough vegetation for livestock grazing. Some arid rangeland regions, notably those with warm, dry climates in temperate zones (e.g., the warm deserts of the United States and adjacent Mexico, parts of Australia, South...

  19. Ecologic, Economic, and Social Considerations for Rangeland Sustainability: An Integrated Conceptual Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniel W. McCollum; H. Theodore Jr. Heintz; Aaron J. Harp; John A. Tanaka; Gary R. Evans; David Radloff; Louis E. Swanson; William E. III Fox; Michael G. Sherm Karl; John E. Mitchell

    2006-01-01

    Use and sustainability of rangelands are inherently linked to the health and sustainability of the land. They are also inherently linked to the social and economic infrastructures that complement and support those rangelands and rangeland uses. Ecological systems and processes provide the biological interactions underlying ecosystem health and viability. Social and...

  20. Ecohydrologic impacts of rangeland fire on runoff and erosion: A literature synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick B. Pierson; C. Jason Williams

    2016-01-01

    Fire can dramatically influence rangeland hydrology and erosion by altering ecohydrologic relationships. This synthesis presents an ecohydrologic perspective on the effects of fire on rangeland runoff and erosion through a review of scientific literature spanning many decades. The objectives are: (1) to introduce rangeland hydrology and erosion concepts necessary for...

  1. A description of rangeland on commercial and communal land ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Analysis of a Landsat TM image from a rangeland near Peddie, Eastern Cape, revealed differences in two vegetation indices (normalised difference vegetation index, NDVI, and moving standard deviation index, MSDI) between communal and commercial rangeland. It was suggested that the difference in the MSDI reflected ...

  2. Managing climate change risks in rangeland systems [Chapter 15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; Nadine A. Marshall

    2017-01-01

    The management of rangelands has long involved adapting to climate variability to ensure that economic enterprises remain viable and ecosystems sustainable; climate change brings the potential for change that surpasses the experience of humans within rangeland systems. Adaptation will require an intentionality to address the effects of climate change. Knowledge of...

  3. Ecological evaluation of rangeland quality in dry subtropics of Azerbaijan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasanova, A. F.

    2014-12-01

    The results of ecological evaluation of soil-landscape complexes of winter rangelands of Gobustan with the use of energy criteria are discussed. The diagnostic characteristics of soil fertility and correction coefficients for the thickness of texture of soil horizons, soil salinization, soil erosion, and microelemental composition of soils have been used to separate the soils of winter rangelands into several quality groups. A larger part of the soils belongs to the medium quality group with the mean weighted quality factor (bonitet) of 52. Special assessment scales have been suggested for the differential ecological assessment and monitoring of the rangelands. In the past 40 years, the area of steppe landscapes has decreased from 22.7 to 12%, whereas the area of semideserts has increased up to 64%. The area of best-quality soils within the studied rangelands had decreased by three times, and their average quality factor has decreased from 92 to 86.

  4. Introduced and invasive species in novel rangeland ecosystems: friends or foes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belnap, Jayne; Ludwig, John A.; Wilcox, Bradford P.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Dean, W. Richard J.; Hoffmann, Benjamin D.; Milton, Sue J.

    2012-01-01

    Globally, new combinations of introduced and native plant and animal species have changed rangelands into novel ecosystems. Whereas many rangeland stakeholders (people who use or have an interest in rangelands) view intentional species introductions to improve forage and control erosion as beneficial, others focus on unintended costs, such as increased fire risk, loss of rangeland biodiversity, and threats to conservation efforts, specifically in nature reserves and parks. These conflicting views challenge all rangeland stakeholders, especially those making decisions on how best to manage novel ecosystems. To formulate a conceptual framework for decision making, we examined a wide range of novel ecosystems, created by intentional and unintentional introductions of nonnative species and land-use–facilitated spread of native ones. This framework simply divides decision making into two types: 1) straightforward–certain, and 2) complex–uncertain. We argue that management decisions to retain novel ecosystems are certain when goods and services provided by the system far outweigh the costs of restoration, for example in the case of intensively managed Cenchrus pastures. Decisions to return novel ecosystems to natural systems are also certain when the value of the system is low and restoration is easy and inexpensive as in the case of biocontrol of Opuntia infestations. In contrast, decisions whether to retain or restore novel ecosystems become complex and uncertain in cases where benefits are low and costs of control are high as, for example, in the case of stopping the expansion of Prosopis and Juniperus into semiarid rangelands. Decisions to retain or restore novel ecosystems are also complex and uncertain when, for example, nonnative Eucalyptus trees expand along natural streams, negatively affecting biodiversity, but also providing timber and honey. When decision making is complex and uncertain, we suggest that rangeland managers utilize cost–benefit analyses

  5. Re-creating the commons and re-configuring Maasai women’s roles on the rangelands in the face of fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline S Archambault

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Throughout the world pastoralists today face a particularly daunting challenge of intensified rangeland fragmentation combined with human population growth and climate change. In many pastoral settings, rangelands are undergoing processes of fragmentation due to tenure transformations, as previously communal lands are privatized into individual holdings. Such processes of enclosure have raised concerns over the long-term costs on pastoral communities and on rangeland eco-systems. This paper explores pastoral responses and adaptations to enclosure based on long-term ethnographic engagement in a Maasai community in Southern Kenya that has recently privatized. Detailed family case studies and herd tracking illuminate the ways in which families try to re-create the commons by relying on social networks for free access to resources. In particular, women’s social networks (for example, their kin, affines, friends, or religious associates seem to play an important role. This paper calls attention to the need to better understand women’s changing roles in pastoral governance and production and the implications these new roles have for women’s well-being and for pastoralism in the face of fragmentation.

  6. Regional Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management ... A Progress Report

    OpenAIRE

    1996-01-01

    In August 1995, new BLM regulations for rangeland administration went into effect. The new regulations require BLM to establish regional standards for rangeland health and guidelines for grazing management. This publication is a report on the alternatives being considered for the Montana/Dakotas Rangeland Health Standards and Guidelines process.

  7. An Application of BLM's Riparian Inventory Procedure to Rangeland Riparian Resources in the Kern and Kaweah River Watersheds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patricia Gradek; Lawrence Saslaw; Steven Nelson

    1989-01-01

    The Bakersfield District of the Bureau of Land Management conducted an inventory of rangeland riparian systems using a new method developed by a Bureau-wide task force to inventory, monitor and classify riparian areas. Data on vegetation composition were collected for 65 miles of streams and entered into a hierarchical vegetation classification system. Ratings of...

  8. The value of milk in rangelands in Mandera County, Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngugi, Keziah; Ertsen, Maurits

    2015-04-01

    Lack of water over expansive regions in Greater Horn of Africa created the rangelands and rangelands created pastoralism. Pastoralism involve keeping of large livestock herds and movement in search of resources, mainly water, pasture, medicine and wild foods. Several studies have been done in the last century and findings pointed at pastoralism being primitive and unsustainable. It has been predicted it would die in the last century but in the rangelands, pastoralism lives on and it is resilient. This study is based in Mandera, a pastoralism county in Kenya that neighbors Ethiopia to the North and Somalia to the East. The study sought to investigate contribution of milk to pastoralism resilience. Interviews were conducted in the field among the pastoralists, women groups, transporters, traders, government officials and consumers of milk. These information was corroborated with actual field investigations in the expansive rangelands of Mandera County. Pastoralists rarely slaughter or sell their livestock even when the animals waste away during droughts. This is because they have been through such cycles before and observed livestock make tremendous recovery when the right conditions were restored. Rangelands lack infrastructure, there are no roads, schools, telephone or hospitals. Pastoralists diet is comprised of rice, wheat and milk. It was established milk was the main source of income among pastoralists in Mandera County. From milk, the pastoralists make income that is used to purchase the other foodstuffs. Milk is available on daily basis in large quantities owing to the large number of livestock. Unfortunately, every pastoralist household produce copious amounts of milk, thus no local demand and transport infrastructure is nonexistent, making sale of milk a near impossible task. The findings showed the pastoralists have established unique routes through which milk reach the markets in urban centers where demand is high. Urbanization sustain pastoralism. These

  9. Earth stewardship on rangelands: Coping with ecological, economic, and political marginality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands encompass 30-40 percent of Earth's land surface and support 1-2 billion people. Their predominant use is extensive livestock production by pastoralists and ranchers. But rangelands are characterized by ecological, economic, and political marginality, and higher-value, more intensive land ...

  10. Stakeholder Theory and Rangeland Management: The Importance of Ranch Income Dependence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elias, S.; Roche, L. M.; Elias, E.

    2016-12-01

    The California drought beginning in 2012 has been driven by reduced precipitation and record high temperatures. Hydrologic drought in the Southwest United States is projected to become the new climatology of the region. While ranchers are considered naturally adaptive, often adeptly altering management based upon conditions, the projected increased aridity may challenge rangeland management. Certain rancher characteristics are likely to impact how well ranchers adapt. Based on Stakeholder Theory (ST), we hypothesize that the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches as a source of income would serve as a predictor of several key variables related to ranching adaptation and success. Data were obtained from 507 ranchers throughout the State of California via the Rangeland Decision-Making Survey implemented by University of California, Davis in 2010, just prior to the unprecedented California drought. Consistent with the ST urgency facet, results of linear regression analyses indicate the more dependent ranchers are on their ranches for their income, the more aware they are of USDA ranching initiatives (β = 0.19, p < .001) and state ranching initiatives (β = 0.10, p < .05). In addition, more dependent ranchers are more likely to use multiple and diverse sources of information about ranching (β = 0.18, p < .001), are more likely to realize the severity and extent of the most recent drought's impacts (β = 0.18, p < .001), and were more likely to have a drought management plan in place during the most recent drought (β = 0.18, p < .001). These findings are important in relation to both outreach/extension efforts and rangeland research. Outreach/extension efforts should take into account that people less dependent on their ranches are less aware of resources, as well as, less prepared to adapt to drought. Researchers should control for the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches for income in order to ensure more accurate findings.

  11. Electronic Resource Management Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Ellingsen

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Computer applications which deal with electronic resource management (ERM are quite a recent development. They have grown out of the need to manage the burgeoning number of electronic resources particularly electronic journals. Typically, in the early years of e-journal acquisition, library staff provided an easy means of accessing these journals by providing an alphabetical list on a web page. Some went as far as categorising the e-journals by subject and then grouping the journals either on a single web page or by using multiple pages. It didn't take long before it was recognised that it would be more efficient to dynamically generate the pages from a database rather than to continually edit the pages manually. Of course, once the descriptive metadata for an electronic journal was held within a database the next logical step was to provide administrative forms whereby that metadata could be manipulated. This in turn led to demands for incorporating more information and more functionality into the developing application.

  12. Fire impact on soil-water repellency and functioning of semi-arid croplands and rangelands: Implications for prescribed burnings and wildfires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavi, Ilan; Barkai, Daniel; Knoll, Yaakov M.; Glion, Hiam Abu; Katra, Itzhak; Brook, Anna; Zaady, Eli

    2017-03-01

    An unintended fire outbreak during summer 2015 in the semi-arid Israeli Negev resulted in the burning of extensive croplands and rangelands. The rangelands have been managed over the long term for occasional grazing, while the croplands have been utilized for rainfed wheat cropping. Yet, during the studied year, the croplands were left fallow, allowing the growth of herbaceous vegetation, which was harvested and baled for hay before the fire outbreak. The study objectives were to investigate the impacts of fire, land-use, and soil depth on water-repellency and on the status and dynamics of some of the most important organic and mineral soil resources. Additionally, we aimed to assess the severity of this fire outbreak. The soil-water repellency was studied by measuring the soil's water drop penetration time (WDPT) and critical surface tension (CST). A significant effect of fire on soil hydrophobicity was recorded, with a slight increase in mean WDPT and a slight decrease in mean CST in the burnt sites than in the non-burnt sites. Yet, soil hydrophobicity in the burnt lands was rather moderate and remained within the water repellency's lowest class. A significant effect of land-use on the means of WDPT and CST was also recorded, being eleven-fold greater and 7% smaller, respectively, in the rangelands than in the croplands. This is consistent with the almost eightfold greater mean above-ground biomass recorded in the non-burnt rangelands than in the non-burnt post-harvest croplands, revealing the positive relations between available fuel load and soil-water repellency. The effect of soil depth was significant for CST but not for WDPT. Overall, the gathered data suggest that fire severity was low to moderate. Fire was also found to significantly affect the fire severity only slightly increased the soil water repellency, and at the same time, increased on-site availability of some important soil resources. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that such fires could impose

  13. Climate impacts on agriculture: Implications for forage and rangeland production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izaurralde, Roberto C.; Thomson, Allison M.; Morgan, Jack; Fay, Philip; Polley, Wayne; Hatfield, Jerry L.

    2011-04-19

    Projections of temperature and precipitation patterns across the United States during the next 50 years anticipate a 1.5 to 2°C warming and a slight increase in precipitation as a result of global climate change. There have been relatively few studies of climate change impacts on pasture and rangeland (grazingland) species compared to those on crop species, despite the economic and ecological importance of the former. Here we review the literature on pastureland and rangeland species to rising CO2 and climate change (temperature, and precipitation) and discuss plant and management factors likely to influence pastureland and rangeland responses to change (e.g., community composition, plant competition, perennial growth habit, seasonal productivity, and management methods). Overall, the response of pasture species to increased [CO2] is consistent with the general response of C3 and C4 type vegetation, although significant exceptions exist. Both pastureland and rangeland species should exhibit an acceleration of metabolism and development due to earlier onset of spring green-up and longer growing seasons. However, in the studies reviewed here, C3 pasture species increased their photosynthetic rates by up to 40% while C4 species exhibited no increase in photosynthesis. In general, it is expected that increases in [CO2] and precipitation would enhance rangeland net primary production (NPP) while increased air temperatures would either increase or decrease NPP. Much of this uncertainty in response is due to uncertain future projections of precipitation, both globally and regionally. For example, if annual precipitation changes little or declines, rangeland plant response to warming temperatures and rising [CO2] may be neutral or may decline due to increased water stress. This review reveals the need for comprehensive studies of climate change impacts on the pasture ecosystem including grazing regimes, mutualistic relationships (e.g., plant roots-nematodes; N

  14. Bush encroachment dynamics and rangeland management implications in the Horn of Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands in the Horn of Africa have been undergoing a rapid shift from herbaceous to woody plant dominance in the past decades, threatening subsistence livestock herding and pastoral food security. Despite of significant rangeland management implications, quantification of the spatial extent of en...

  15. Electronic Resources Management Project Presentation 2012

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2012-11-05

    This presentation describes the electronic resources management project undertaken by the KAUST library. The objectives of this project is to migrate information from MS Sharepoint to Millennium ERM module. One of the advantages of this migration is to consolidate all electronic resources into a single and centralized location. This would allow for better information sharing among library staff.

  16. Vegetation - Herbivory Dynamics in Rangeland Ecosystems: Geospatial Modeling for Savanna and Wildlife Conservation in California and Namibia

    OpenAIRE

    Tsalyuk, Miriam

    2014-01-01

    Rangelands cover about half of Earth's land surface, encompass considerable biodiversity, and provide pivotal ecosystem services. However, rangelands across the globe face degradation due to changes in climate, land use, and management. Moreover, since herbivory is fundamental to rangeland ecosystem dynamics, shifts in the distribution of herbivores lead to overgrazing and desertification. To better understand, predict, and prevent changes on rangelands it is important to monitor these landsc...

  17. PRINCIPLES OF CONTENT FORMATION EDUCATIONAL ELECTRONIC RESOURCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О Ю Заславская

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers modern possibilities of information and communication technologies for the design of electronic educational resources. The conceptual basis of the open educational multimedia system is based on the modular architecture of the electronic educational resource. The content of the electronic training module can be implemented in several versions of the modules: obtaining information, practical exercises, control. The regularities in the teaching process in modern pedagogical theory are considered: general and specific, and the principles for the formation of the content of instruction at different levels are defined, based on the formulated regularities. On the basis of the analysis, the principles of the formation of the electronic educational resource are determined, taking into account the general and didactic patterns of teaching.As principles of the formation of educational material for obtaining information for the electronic educational resource, the article considers: the principle of methodological orientation, the principle of general scientific orientation, the principle of systemic nature, the principle of fundamentalization, the principle of accounting intersubject communications, the principle of minimization. The principles of the formation of the electronic training module of practical studies in the article include: the principle of systematic and dose based consistency, the principle of rational use of study time, the principle of accessibility. The principles of the formation of the module for monitoring the electronic educational resource can be: the principle of the operationalization of goals, the principle of unified identification diagnosis.

  18. The interconnectedness between landowner knowledge, value, belief, attitude, and willingness to act: policy implications for carbon sequestration on private rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Seth L; Ma, Zhao

    2014-02-15

    Rangelands can be managed to increase soil carbon and help mitigate emissions of carbon dioxide. This study assessed Utah rangeland owner's environmental values, beliefs about climate change, and awareness of and attitudes towards carbon sequestration, as well as their perceptions of potential policy strategies for promoting carbon sequestration on private rangelands. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and a statewide survey of Utah rangeland owners, and were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Over two-thirds of respondents reported some level of awareness of carbon sequestration and a generally positive attitude towards it, contrasting to their lack of interest in participating in a relevant program in the future. Having a positive attitude was statistically significantly associated with having more "biocentric" environmental values, believing the climate had been changing over the past 30 years, and having a stronger belief of human activities influencing the climate. Respondents valued the potential ecological benefits of carbon sequestration more than the potential financial or climate change benefits. Additionally, respondents indicated a preference for educational approaches over financial incentives. They also preferred to work with a private agricultural entity over a non-profit or government entity on improving land management practices to sequester carbon. These results suggest potential challenges for developing technically sound and socially acceptable policies and programs for promoting carbon sequestration on private rangelands. Potential strategies for overcoming these challenges include emphasizing the ecological benefits associated with sequestering carbon to appeal to landowners with ecologically oriented management objectives, enhancing the cooperation between private agricultural organizations and government agencies, and funneling resources for promoting carbon sequestration into existing land management and

  19. Threats to Mediterranean rangelands: a case study based on the views of citizens in the Viotia prefecture, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyriazopoulos, Apostolos P; Arabatzis, Garyfallos; Abraham, Eleni M; Parissi, Zoi M

    2013-11-15

    Rangelands in Greece constitute a very important natural resource as they occupy 40% of the total surface. Not only is their forage production essential for the development of extensive livestock farming, but also they play a key role in outdoor recreational activities, protection from erosion, provision of water supplies and biodiversity conservation. However, land use changes, inappropriate management and wildfires threaten their existence. The research was conducted among the citizens of Viotia prefecture, an area close to Athens, Greece, using personal interviews with a structured questionnaire in 2008. The aim was to record citizens' opinions regarding the threats to rangelands. The results suggest that the main threats as perceived by the respondents, are land use changes especially for urban development, and wildfires. The application of cluster analysis highlighted the differentiation among the respondents in ranking these threats. The more ecologically aware citizens recognised that mismanagement, abandonment and agriculture also threaten rangelands. These threats can have a considerable impact on the lives of the local people. Policy makers and managers should take the opinions of local citizens into consideration, and engage them in decision making so that sustainable management policies could be applied. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Plant/life form considerations in the rangeland hydrology and erosion model (RHEM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resilience of rangeland to erosion has largely been attributed to adequate plant cover; however, plant life/growth form, and individual species presence can have a dramatic effect on hydrologic and erosion dynamics on rangelands. Plant life/growth form refers to genetic tendency of a plant to grow i...

  1. Implementing CORAL: An Electronic Resource Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitfield, Sharon

    2011-01-01

    A 2010 electronic resource management survey conducted by Maria Collins of North Carolina State University and Jill E. Grogg of University of Alabama Libraries found that the top six electronic resources management priorities included workflow management, communications management, license management, statistics management, administrative…

  2. Climate change and North American rangelands: Assessment of mitigation and adaptation strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; David D. Briske; Joel R. Brown; H. Wayne Polley; Bruce A. McCarl; Derek W. Bailey

    2013-01-01

    Recent climatic trends and climate model projections indicate that climate change will modify rangeland ecosystem functions and the services and livelihoods that they provision. Recent history has demonstrated that climatic variability has a strong influence on both ecological and social components of rangeland systems and that these systems possess substantial...

  3. Managing electronic resources a LITA guide

    CERN Document Server

    Weir, Ryan O

    2012-01-01

    Informative, useful, current, Managing Electronic Resources: A LITA Guide shows how to successfully manage time, resources, and relationships with vendors and staff to ensure personal, professional, and institutional success.

  4. Applying a dryland degradation framework for rangelands: the case of Mongolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamsranjav, C; Reid, R S; Fernández-Giménez, M E; Tsevlee, A; Yadamsuren, B; Heiner, M

    2018-04-01

    Livestock-caused rangeland degradation remains a major policy concern globally and the subject of widespread scientific study. This concern persists in part because it is difficult to isolate the effects of livestock from climate and other factors that influence ecosystem conditions. Further, degradation studies seldom use multiple plant and soil indicators linked to a clear definition of and ecologically grounded framework for degradation assessment that distinguishes different levels of degradation. Here, we integrate two globally applicable rangeland degradation frameworks and apply them to a broad-scale empirical data set for the country of Mongolia. We compare our assessment results with two other recent national rangeland degradation assessments in Mongolia to gauge consistency of findings across assessments and evaluate the utility of our framework. We measured livestock-use impacts across Mongolia's major ecological zones: mountain and forest steppe, eastern steppe, steppe, and desert steppe. At 143 sites in 36 counties, we measured livestock-use and degradation indicators at increasing distances from livestock corrals in winter-grazed pastures. At each site, we measured multiple indicators linked to our degradation framework, including plant cover, standing biomass, palatability, species richness, forage quality, vegetation gaps, and soil surface characteristics. Livestock use had no effect on soils, plant species richness, or standing crop biomass in any ecological zone, but subtly affected plant cover and palatable plant abundance. Livestock effects were strongest in the steppe zone, moderate in the desert steppe, and limited in the mountain/forest and eastern steppes. Our results aligned closely with those of two other recent country-wide assessments, suggesting that our framework may have widespread application. All three assessments found that very severe and irreversible degradation is rare in Mongolia (1-18% of land area), with most rangelands

  5. Livestock-rangeland management practices and community perceptions towards rangeland degradation in South Omo zone of Southern Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Admasu, T.; Abule, E.; Tessema, Z.K.

    2010-01-01

    A survey was conducted in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the South Omo zone of Ethiopia, with the objectives of assessing the range-livestock management practices and perceptions of the different pastoral groups (Hamer, Benna, and Tsemay) towards rangeland degradation. This information is

  6. Rangeland monitoring using remote sensing: comparison of cover estimates from field measurements and image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ammon Boswell

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland monitoring is important for evaluating and assessing semi-arid plant communities. Remote sensing provides an effective tool for rapidly and accurately assessing rangeland vegetation and other surface attributes such as bare soil and rock. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of remote sensing as a surrogate for field-based sampling techniques in detecting ground cover features (i.e., trees, shrubs, herbaceous cover, litter, surface, and comparing results with field-based measurements collected by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Range Trent Program. In the field, five 152 m long transects were used to sample plant, litter, rock, and bare-ground cover using the Daubenmire ocular estimate method. At the same location of each field plot, a 4-band (R,G,B,NIR, 25 cm pixel resolution, remotely sensed image was taken from a fixed-wing aircraft. Each image was spectrally classified producing 4 cover classes (tree, shrub, herbaceous, surface. No significant differences were detected between canopy cover collected remotely and in the field for tree (P = 0.652, shrub (P = 0.800, and herbaceous vegetation (P = 0.258. Surface cover was higher in field plots (P < 0.001, likely in response to the methods used to sample surface features by field crews. Accurately classifying vegetation and other features from remote sensed information can improve the efficiency of collecting vegetation and surface data. This information can also be used to improve data collection frequency for rangeland monitoring and to efficiently quantify ecological succession patterns.

  7. Restoring Degraded Rangelands in Jordan: Optimizing Mechanized Micro-Water Harvesting Technique Using Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Continuous population growth, recent refugee movement and migration as well as boundary restrictions and their implications on the nomadic lifestyle are additive pressure on rangelands throughout the Middle East. In particular, overgrazing through increased livestock herds threatens the Jordanian ra...

  8. Rangeland Use Rights Privatisation Based on the Tragedy of the Commons: A Case Study from Tibet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonten Nyima Yundannima

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland use rights privatisation based on a tragedy of the commons assumption has been the backbone of state policy on rangeland management and pastoralism in China. Through an empirical case study from Pelgon county, Tibet Autonomous Region in China, this paper provides an empirical analysis of rangeland use rights privatisation. It shows that the tragedy of the commons is not the correct model to apply to Tibetan pastoralism because pasture use in Tibet has never been an open-access institution. Thus, when the tragedy of the commons model is applied as a rationale for rangeland use rights privatisation, the result is not what is intended by the policy, but rather a misfit to features of pastoralism and thus disruption of the essence of pastoralism, i.e. mobility and flexibility. The paper further shows that a hybrid institution combining household rangeland tenure with community-based use with user fees is a restoration of the pastoralist institution. This demonstrates the capacity of pastoralists to create adaptive new institutions congruent with the interdependent and integrated nature of pastoralism consisting of three components: pastoralists, livestock, and rangeland.

  9. Global view of remote sensing of rangelands: Evolution, applications, future pathways [Chapter 10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt Reeves; Robert A. Washington-Allen; Jay Angerer; E. Raymond Hunt; Ranjani Wasantha Kulawardhana; Lalit Kumar; Tatiana Loboda; Thomas Loveland; Graciela Metternicht; R. Douglas. Ramsey

    2015-01-01

    The term "rangeland" is rather nebulous, and there is no single definition of rangeland that is universally accepted by land managers, scientists, or international bodies (Lund, 2007; Reeves and Mitchell, 2011). Dozens and possibly hundreds (Lund, 2007) of definitions and ideologies exist because various stakeholders often have unique objectives...

  10. Application of the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model to Ecological Site Descriptions and Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    The utility of Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) and State-and-Transition Models (STMs) concepts in guiding rangeland management hinges on their ability to accurately describe and predict community dynamics and the associated consequences. For many rangeland ecosystems, plant community dynamics ar...

  11. Heat dosage and oviposition depth influence egg mortality of two common rangeland grasshopper species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland fire is a common naturally occurring event and management tool, with the amount and structure of biomass controlling transfer of heat belowground. Temperatures grasshopper eggs are exposed to during rangeland fires are mediated by species specific oviposition traits. This experiment examin...

  12. Bayesian estimation of shrubs diversity in rangelands under two management systems in northern Syria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niane, A.A.; Singh, M.; Struik, P.C.

    2014-01-01

    The diversity of shrubs in rangelands of northern Syria is affected by the grazing management systems restricted by the increase in human and livestock populations. To describe and estimate diversity and compare the rangeland grazing management treatments, two popular indices for diversity, the

  13. Water resources (Chapter 12)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas C. Brown; Romano Foti; Jorge Ramirez

    2012-01-01

    In this chapter, we focus on the vulnerability of U.S. freshwater supplies considering all lands, not just forest and rangelands. We do not assess the condition of those lands or report on how much of our water supply originates on lands of different land covers or ownerships, because earlier Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment work addressed these topics....

  14. Invasive Plants on Rangelands: a Global Threat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Invasive plant species are spreading and invading rangelands at an unprecedented rate costing ranchers billions of dollars to control invasive plants each year. In its simplest form, the invasion process has four primary stages, including introduction, establishment, spread and colonization. Th...

  15. Agricultural, Runoff, Erosion and Salinity (ARES) Database to Better Evaluate Rangeland State and Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands comprise approximately 40% of the earth’s surface and are the largest land cover type in the world. Degradation from mismanagement, desertification, and drought impact more than 50% of rangelands across the globe. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been evaluating means of r...

  16. Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on energy-Part 5: Resource structure and intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, G.Q.; Chen, B.

    2007-01-01

    This paper is the continuation of the fourth part on fishery and rangeland. The total resource inflow to the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 is investigated in four parts published afore. The total resource energy input corresponds to GDP is presented in comparison with the purchasing power parity in this paper. The structure of the resource energy inflow is also outlined. Finally, a novel concept referred to as resource intensity is suggested to serve as a basic indicator to illustrate the real status of the economic development in China

  17. Gender Analysis Of Electronic Information Resource Use: The Case ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Based on the findings the study concluded that access and use of electronic information resources creates a “social digital divide” along gender lines. The study ... Finally, the library needs to change its marketing strategies on the availability of electronic information resources to increase awareness of these resources.

  18. Rehabilitation of community-owned, mixed-use rangelands: Lessons from the Ewaso ecosystem in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Globally, 10-20% of arid and semi-arid rangelands have been classified as severely degraded (UNCCD 1994; MEA 2005), and in sub-Saharan Africa specifically, 70% of rangelands are considered moderately to severely degraded (Dregne 1992; UNCCD 1994). Given that these drylands make up 43% of Africa’s la...

  19. Multiscale sagebrush rangeland habitat modeling in southwest Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homer, Collin G.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Meyer, Debra K.; Coan, Michael J.; Bowen, Zachary H.

    2009-01-01

    Sagebrush-steppe ecosystems in North America have experienced dramatic elimination and degradation since European settlement. As a result, sagebrush-steppe dependent species have experienced drastic range contractions and population declines. Coordinated ecosystem-wide research, integrated with monitoring and management activities, would improve the ability to maintain existing sagebrush habitats. However, current data only identify resource availability locally, with rigorous spatial tools and models that accurately model and map sagebrush habitats over large areas still unavailable. Here we report on an effort to produce a rigorous large-area sagebrush-habitat classification and inventory with statistically validated products and estimates of precision in the State of Wyoming. This research employs a combination of significant new tools, including (1) modeling sagebrush rangeland as a series of independent continuous field components that can be combined and customized by any user at multiple spatial scales; (2) collecting ground-measured plot data on 2.4-meter imagery in the same season the satellite imagery is acquired; (3) effective modeling of ground-measured data on 2.4-meter imagery to maximize subsequent extrapolation; (4) acquiring multiple seasons (spring, summer, and fall) of an additional two spatial scales of imagery (30 meter and 56 meter) for optimal large-area modeling; (5) using regression tree classification technology that optimizes data mining of multiple image dates, ratios, and bands with ancillary data to extrapolate ground training data to coarser resolution sensors; and (6) employing rigorous accuracy assessment of model predictions to enable users to understand the inherent uncertainties. First-phase results modeled eight rangeland components (four primary targets and four secondary targets) as continuous field predictions. The primary targets included percent bare ground, percent herbaceousness, percent shrub, and percent litter. The

  20. Users satisfaction with electronic information resources and services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated users satisfaction on the use of electronic information resources and services in MTN Net libraries in ABU & UNIBEN. Two objectives and one null hypotheses were formulated and tested with respect to the users' satisfaction on electronic information resources and services in MTN Net libraries in ...

  1. Opportunities and obstacles for rangeland conservation in San Diego County, California, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen A. Farley

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Working landscapes such as rangelands are increasingly recognized as having high conservation value, providing a variety of ecosystem services, including food, fiber, habitat, recreation, open space, carbon storage, and water, in addition to a broad range of social benefits. However, conversion of rangelands to other land uses has been prevalent throughout the western United States, leading to greater attention in the conservation community to the importance of collaborating with private landowners. The level of interest in collaborative conservation among private landowners and the types of conservation programs they choose to participate in depend on the social, economic, and environmental context. We used GIS analysis and interviews with ranchers to evaluate rangeland conversion and participation in conservation programs among ranchers in San Diego County, California, USA, which is part of a biodiversity hotspot with high plant species richness and a large number of endemic and rare species. We found that > 25% of rangelands were converted to other uses, primarily urbanization, over the past 25 years while the area of public rangeland increased by 9%. Interviews revealed that ranchers in San Diego County have had limited involvement with most conservation programs, and a critical factor for nonparticipation was providing programs access to private land, along with other issues related to trust and social values. Among ranchers who had participated in conservation programs, the payment level and the agency or organization administering the program were key factors. Our results provide insight into factors influencing whether and when ranchers are likely to participate in conservation initiatives and illustrate that private and public land conservation are strongly linked and would be more effective if the two strategies were better integrated.

  2. Comparison of LANDSAT-2 and field spectrometer reflectance signatures of south Texas rangeland plant communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, A. J.; Escobar, D. E.; Gausman, H. W.; Everitt, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

    1982-01-01

    The accuracy was assessed for an atmospheric correction method that depends on clear water bodies to infer solar and atmospheric parameters for radiative transfer equations by measuring the reflectance signature of four prominent south Texas rangeland plants with the LANDSAT satellite multispectral scanner (MSS) and a ground based spectroradiometer. The rangeland plant reflectances produced by the two sensors were correlated with no significant deviation of the slope from unity or of the intercept from zero. These results indicated that the atmospheric correction produced LANDSAT MSS estimates of rangeland plant reflectances that are as accurate as the ground based spectroradiometer.

  3. Vegetation restoration on degraded rangelands through the use of microcatchment and brush packs in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lesoli, MS

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland degradation results in declining functional capacity, increased poverty, and food insecurity. Major changes in rangeland surface morphology and soil characteristics have a drastic effect on the primary productivity of the rangeland...

  4. 1976 Inter-university symposium on renewable resource assessment and programming: executive summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billy G. Pemberton

    1977-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare an assessment of the nation's renewable resources and a program that will assure an adequate future supply of these resources. Responsibility for this work is assigned to the Forest Service. An inter-university symposium was held in 1976 to evaluate...

  5. Effects of climate change on rangeland vegetation in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 7

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt C. Reeves; Mary E. Manning; Jeff P. DiBenedetto; Kyle A. Palmquist; William K. Lauenroth; John B. Bradford; Daniel R. Schlaepfer

    2018-01-01

    Rangelands are dominated by grass, forb, or shrub species, but are usually not modified by using agronomic improvements such as fertilization or irrigation (Lund 2007; Reeves and Mitchell 2011) as these lands would normally be considered pastures. Rangeland includes grassland, shrubland, and desert ecosystems, alpine areas, and some woodlands (box 7.1). This chapter...

  6. Hydrologic ramifications of an increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    The increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-dry forest continuum in the western United States (US) presents landscape-scale consequences relative runoff and erosion. Much of the Intermountain West now exists in a state in which rangeland and woodland wildfires stimulated by invasive che...

  7. Seasonal food habits of swift fox (Vulpes velox) in cropland and rangeland landscapes in western Kansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sovada, M.A.; Roy, C.C.; Telesco, D.J.

    2001-01-01

    Food habits of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) occupying two distinct landscapes (dominated by cropland versus rangeland) in western Kansas were determined by analysis of scats collected in 1993 and 1996. Frequencies of occurrence of prey items in scats were compared between cropland and rangeland areas by season. Overall, the most frequently occurring foods of swift foxes were mammals (92% of all scats) and arthropods (87%), followed by birds (24%), carrion (23%), plants (15%) and reptiles (4%). No differences were detected between landscapes for occurrence of mammals, arthropods or carrion in any season (P ≥ 0.100). Plants, specifically commercial sunflower seeds, were consumed more frequently in cropland than in rangeland in spring (P = 0.004) and fall (P = 0.001). Birds were more common in the swift fox diet in cropland than in rangeland during the fall (P = 0.008), whereas reptiles occurred more frequently in the diet in rangeland than in cropland during spring (P = 0.042). Variation in the diet of the swift fox between areas was most likely due to its opportunistic foraging behavior, resulting in a diet that closely links prey use with availability.

  8. Reorienting land degradation towards sustainable land management: linking sustainable livelihoods with ecosystem services in rangeland systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, M S; Stringer, L C; Dougill, A J; Perkins, J S; Atlhopheng, J R; Mulale, K; Favretto, N

    2015-03-15

    This paper identifies new ways of moving from land degradation towards sustainable land management through the development of economic mechanisms. It identifies new mechanisms to tackle land degradation based on retaining critical levels of natural capital whilst basing livelihoods on a wider range of ecosystem services. This is achieved through a case study analysis of the Kalahari rangelands in southwest Botswana. The paper first describes the socio-economic and ecological characteristics of the Kalahari rangelands and the types of land degradation taking place. It then focuses on bush encroachment as a way of exploring new economic instruments (e.g. Payments for Ecosystem Services) designed to enhance the flow of ecosystem services that support livelihoods in rangeland systems. It does this by evaluating the likely impacts of bush encroachment, one of the key forms of rangeland degradation, on a range of ecosystem services in three land tenure types (private fenced ranches, communal grazing areas and Wildlife Management Areas), before considering options for more sustainable land management in these systems. We argue that with adequate policy support, economic mechanisms could help reorient degraded rangelands towards more sustainable land management. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. A comparison of the effects of different rangeland management ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A comparison of the effects of different rangeland management systems on ... Three management systems exploit these areas: commercial livestock ranching, communal livestock ranching and game ranching. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  10. DEVELOPMENTS IN MONITORING RANGELANDS USING REMOTELY-SENSED CROSS-FENCE COMPARISONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. D. Kilpatrick

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a new method for the use of earth-observation images to assess relative land condition over broad regions, using a cross-fence comparison methodology. It controls for natural spatial and temporal variables (e.g. rainfall, temperature soils, ecosystem so that we can objectively monitor rangelands and other areas for the effects of management. The method has been tested with small and large scale theoretical models, as well as a case study in South Australian rangelands. This method can also be applied in other systems and experiments such as field trials of crop varieties as a robust spatial statistic.

  11. Organizational matters of competition in electronic educational resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ирина Карловна Войтович

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the experience of the Udmurt State University in conducting competitions of educational publications and electronic resources. The purpose of such competitions is to provide methodological support to educational process. The main focus is on competition of electronic educational resources. The technology of such contests is discussed through detailed analysis of the main stages of the contest. It is noted that the main task of the preparatory stage of the competition is related to the development of regulations on competition and the definition of criteria for selection of the submitted works. The paper also proposes a system of evaluation criteria of electronic educational resources developed by members of the contest organizing committee and jury members. The article emphasizes the importance of not only the preparatory stages of the competition, but also measures for its completion, aimed at training teachers create quality e-learning resources.

  12. Assessing Rangeland Attributes On Semi-Arid Zone Of North Darfur State Sudan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Almontasir A. M. Mohamed

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The study was conducted over a two years period of 2012 and 2013 at three sites of Alfashir locality Ummarahik 25km north of Alfashir Fashar in eastern part of Alfashir about 5km and Berka 30km west of Alfashir Western Sudan in semi-arid zone. The aim of this study was to assess rangeland attributes. Measurements of plant density vegetation cover range production and carrying capacity were assessed. Results showed that total forage production was low and inadequate to satisfy requirements of livestock for inhabiting the area average range production all over the area was found to be 50.68 kgha and 59.21 kgha for the seasons 2012 and 2013 respectively. The average ground cover was about 34.71 and 42.41 for two seasons. The average plant density for the first season was 27.1 plantm2 while the average plant density for the second season was 29.4 plantm2. The study concluded that unwise utilization and exploitation of the rangelands particularly by man causes range deterioration and serious reduction in range production in both quantity and quality so the study suggested that improvement and rehabilitation such lands rangelands should be done. Further research work is needed to assess rangeland attributes across different ecological zones in North Darfur State.

  13. China's Rangelands under Stress : A comparative study of pasture commons in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ho, P.P.S.

    2000-01-01

    China's economic reforms have exacerbated the problems of over-grazing and desertification in the country's pastoral areas. In order to deal with rangeland degradation, the Chinese government has resorted to nationalization, or semi-privatization. Since the implementation of rangeland policy has

  14. The challenge of integrated rangeland monitoring: synthesis address

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The utility of monitoring and its guiding principles will only work effectively where good environmental governance is practiced by users and producers affecting rangeland ecosystems. Keywords: adaptive management, complex, environmental governance, human impacts, multi-scale, socio-ecological. African Journal of ...

  15. Effect of management on rangeland phytomass, cover and condition ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    similarity of management effects on rangeland condition and forage provision across major dryland biomes. Taking a macro-ecological perspective, we analysed if management effects differed between South Africa's central grassland and ...

  16. CHALLENGES OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES IN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper discusses the role of policy for proper and efficient library services in the electronic era. It points out some of the possible dangers of embarking in electronic resources without a proper focus at hand. Thus, it calls for today's librarians and policy makers to brainstorm and come up with working policies suitable to ...

  17. Spatial distribution of overland flow and sediment yield in semi-arid rangelands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarah, P.; Lavee, H.

    2009-01-01

    Feedbacks and mutual links exist among soil, vegetation and water; they enable co-evolution of these features within eco-geomorphic systems, These relations are fragile, especially in semi-arid areas where grazing is the main land use. The simples subdivision of the surface of many semi-arid rangelands is into a two-component mosaic pattern comprising shrub patches interspersed with open spaces, with the former acting s skinks for water and other resources, and the latter as sources. However close observations in areas under grazing in the northern Negev region of Israel suggested that the spatial patterns of surface components is more complicated, and that the open space between shrubs consists of two components: herbaceous areas, separated by trampling routes that support no vegetation. (Author)

  18. Runoff and soil erosion from two rangeland sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Historically over 50 years of rainfall/runoff research using rainfall simulators has been conducted at various rangeland sites in the West, however these sites rarely have consecutive yearly measurements. This limits the understanding of dynamic annual conditions and the interactions of grazing, pla...

  19. Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) community composition in the rangeland of the northern slopes of The Qilian Mountains in northwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, T; Liu, Z Y; Qin, L P; Long, R J

    2015-01-01

    In order to describe grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) species composition, diversity, abundance, and density of four rangelands types, we compared the grasshopper community composition and dynamics in the rangeland of the northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains. In total, 55 grasshopper species were collected from 2007 to 2009, representing three families and six subfamilies. The subfamily Oedipodinae was dominant, followed by Gomphocerinae and Catantopinae. Species abundance varied among rangeland types (RTs). The greatest abundance of grasshoppers was found in mountain rangeland, while the lowest abundance of grasshoppers was caught in alpine shrublands. Three species (Chorthippus cf. brunneus (Thunberg) (Acrididae), Chorthippus Dubius (Zubovski), and Gomphocerus licenti (Chang) were broadly distributed in the four RTs and constituted 7.5% of all grasshoppers collected. Ch. dubius was very abundant in desert rangeland and alpine shrubland. Bryodema dolichoptera Yin et Feng Eremippus qilianshanensis Lian and Zheng, and Filchnerella qilianshanensis Xi and Zheng (Pamphagidae) were endemic to the region of the Qilian Mountains. Species similarity between RTs ranged from 17.8 to 51.6 based on the Renkonen index. Similarly, the Sörensen index indicated a wide separation in species composition among RTs. The abundance of the eight most common species showed obvious differences among RTs and years. On average, mountain rangeland had the highest density values in 2007 and 2008, and alpine shrubland supported the smallest density. The densities in desert and mountain rangeland in 2007 were significantly higher than in 2008, while alpine rangeland and shrublands did not present obvious differences among years. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  20. Hydrologic Impacts Associated with the Increased Role of Wildland Fire Across the Rangeland-Xeric Forest Continuum of the Great Basin and Intermountain West, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Boll, J.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.

    2011-12-01

    The increased role of wildland fire across the rangeland-xeric forest continuum in the western United States (US) presents landscape-scale consequences relative runoff and erosion. Concomitant climate conditions and altered plant community transitions in recent decades along grassland-shrubland-woodland-xeric forest transitions have promoted frequent and large wildland fires, and the continuance of the trend appears likely if current or warming climate conditions prevail. Much of the Great Basin and Intermountain West in the US now exists in a state in which rangeland and woodland wildfires stimulated by invasive cheatgrass and dense, horizontal and vertical fuel layers have a greater likelihood of progressing upslope into xeric forests. Drier moisture conditions and warmer seasonal air temperatures, along with dense fuel loads, have lengthened fire seasons and facilitated an increase in the frequency, severity and area burned in mid-elevation western US forests. These changes potentially increase the overall hydrologic vulnerability across the rangeland-xeric forest continuum by spatially and temporally increasing soil surface exposure to runoff and erosion processes. Plot-to-hillslope scale studies demonstrate burning may increase event runoff and/or erosion by factors of 2-40 over small-plots scales and more than 100-fold over large-plot to hillslope scales. Anecdotal reports of large-scale flooding and debris-flow events from rangelands and xeric forests following burning document the potential risk to resources (soil loss, water quality, degraded aquatic habitat, etc.), property and infrastructure, and human life. Such risks are particularly concerning for urban centers near the urban-wildland interface. We do not yet know the long-term ramifications of frequent soil loss associated with commonly occurring runoff events on repeatedly burned sites. However, plot to landscape-scale post-fire erosion rate estimates suggest potential losses of biologically

  1. Use of Electronic Resources in a Private University in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined awareness and constraints in the use of electronic resources by lecturers and students of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria. It aimed at justifying the resources expended in the provision of electronic resources in terms of awareness, patronage and factors that may be affecting awareness and use ...

  2. Impact of Rangeland Degradation on Soil Physical, Chemical

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    major threats to enhance a sustainable pastoral-livestock production in Ethiopia. ... overall negative impact on the soil physical and chemical characteristics, demanding ... chemical properties (Gemedo et al., 2006) as well as the rangeland .... parameters such as life forms (annuals and perennials), plant forms (woody plant,.

  3. Rangeland Ecosystem Services: Nature's Supply and Humans' Demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem services are the benefits that society receives from nature and they include the regulation of climate, the pollination of crops, the provisioning of intellectual inspiration and recreational environment, as well as many essential goods such as food, fiber, and wood. Rangeland ecosystem se...

  4. Electronic Resources Management System: Recommendation Report 2017

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-01

    This recommendation report provides an overview of the selection process for the new Electronic Resources Management System. The library has decided to move away from Innovative Interfaces Millennium ERM module. The library reviewed 3 system as potential replacements namely: Proquest 360 Resource Manager, Ex Libris Alma and Open Source CORAL ERMS. After comparing and trialling the systems, it was decided to go for Proquest 360 Resource Manager.

  5. Book title: Rangelands systems: Processes, management and challenges - Chapter title: Invasive plant species and novel ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands represent the dominant land use systems in many countries of the world and provide sociological and cultural benefits to millions of people in both rural and urban areas. The undesirable impacts of rangeland weeds have been recognized for well over 100 years and infest between 41 and 51 ...

  6. use of electronic resources by graduate students of the department

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    respondent's access electronic resources from the internet via Cybercafé .There is a high ... KEY WORDS: Use, Electronic Resources, Graduate Students, Cybercafé. INTRODUCTION ... Faculty of Education, University of Uyo, Uyo. Olu Olat ...

  7. A conceptual tool for improving rangeland management decision ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... the LLM concept should be seen as a continuous and evolving learning process that will be updated over the long term through decision support to include several other components essential to implement effective and sustainable rangeland management practices by local land users. Keywords: desertification; indicators ...

  8. Interpreting and Correcting Cross-scale Mismatches in Resilience Analysis: a Procedure and Examples from Australia's Rangelands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John A. Ludwig

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Many rangelands around the globe are degraded because of mismatches between the goals and actions of managers operating at different spatial scales. In this paper, we focus on identifying, interpreting, and correcting cross-scale mismatches in rangeland management by building on an existing four-step resilience analysis procedure. Resilience analysis is an evaluation of the capacity of a system to persist in the face of disturbances. We provide three examples of cross-scale resilience analysis using a rangeland system located in northern Australia. The system was summarized in a diagram showing key interactions between three attributes (water quality, regional biodiversity, and beef quality, which can be used to indicate the degree of resilience of the system, and other components that affect these attributes at different scales. The strengths of cross-scale interactions were rated as strong or weak, and the likely causes of mismatches in strength were interpreted. Possible actions to correct cross-scale mismatches were suggested and evaluated. We found this four-step, cross-scale resilience analysis procedure very helpful because it reduced a complex problem down to manageable parts without losing sight of the larger-scale whole. To build rangeland resilience, many such cross-scale mismatches in management will need to be corrected, especially as the global use of rangelands increases over the coming decades.

  9. Influencing adaptation processes on the Australian rangelands for social and ecological resilience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadine A. Marshall

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Resource users require the capacity to cope and adapt to climate changes affecting resource condition if they, and their industries, are to remain viable. Understanding individual-scale responses to a changing climate will be an important component of designing well-targeted, broad-scale strategies and policies. Because of the interdependencies between people and ecosystems, understanding and supporting resilience of resource-dependent people may be as important an aspect of effective resource management as managing the resilience of ecological components. We refer to the northern Australian rangelands as an example of a system that is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and look for ways to enhance the resilience of the system. Vulnerability of the social system comprises elements of adaptive capacity and sensitivity to change (resource dependency as well as exposure, which is not examined here. We assessed the adaptive capacity of 240 cattle producers, using four established dimensions, and investigated the association between adaptive capacity and climate sensitivity (or resource dependency as measured through 14 established dimensions. We found that occupational identity, employability, networks, strategic approach, environmental awareness, dynamic resource use, and use of technology were all positively correlated with at least one dimension of adaptive capacity and that place attachment was negatively correlated with adaptive capacity. These results suggest that adaptation processes could be influenced by focusing on adaptive capacity and these aspects of climate sensitivity. Managing the resilience of individuals is critical to processes of adaptation at higher levels and needs greater attention if adaptation processes are to be shaped and influenced.

  10. Scale effects on runoff and soil erosion in rangelands: observations and estimations with predictors of different availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Runoff and erosion estimates are needed for rangeland management decisions and evaluation of ecosystem services derived from rangeland conservation practices. The information on the effect of scale on the runoff and erosion, and on the choice of runoff and erosion predictors, remains scarce. The obj...

  11. Electronic resource management practical perspectives in a new technical services model

    CERN Document Server

    Elguindi, Anne

    2012-01-01

    A significant shift is taking place in libraries, with the purchase of e-resources accounting for the bulk of materials spending. Electronic Resource Management makes the case that technical services workflows need to make a corresponding shift toward e-centric models and highlights the increasing variety of e-formats that are forcing new developments in the field.Six chapters cover key topics, including: technical services models, both past and emerging; staffing and workflow in electronic resource management; implementation and transformation of electronic resource management systems; the ro

  12. Utilization of electronic information resources by academic staff at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the utilization of Electronic Information resources by the academic staff of Makerere University in Uganda. It examined the academic staff awareness of the resources available, the types of resources provided by the Makerere University Library, the factors affecting resource utilization. The study was ...

  13. Yield Response of Mediterranean Rangelands under a Changing Climate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daliakopoulos, Ioannis N.; Panagea, Ioanna S.; Tsanis, Ioannis K.; Grillakis, Manolis G.; Koutroulis, Aristeidis G.; Hessel, Rudi; Mayor, Angeles G.; Ritsema, Coen J.

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the Mediterranean rangelands degradation trends is a key element of mitigating their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience. Climate change and its inherent effects on mean temperature and the precipitation variability can regulate the magnitude, frequency and duration of

  14. Presidential address - 1999 Towards a national rangeland policy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There are some problems with the publication of the journal, but Council hopes to have our ... The first is that all agencies funded through DACST will be reviewed ... to improve our understanding of management issues in communal rangeland. ... All current programmes to rehabilitate degraded land contain budgets for the ...

  15. Electronic Resources Management Project Presentation 2012

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2012-01-01

    This presentation describes the electronic resources management project undertaken by the KAUST library. The objectives of this project is to migrate information from MS Sharepoint to Millennium ERM module. One of the advantages of this migration

  16. Management applicability of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis across Mongolian rangeland ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Takehiro; Okubo, Satoru; Okayasu, Tomoo; Jamsran, Undarmaa; Ohkuro, Toshiya; Takeuchi, Kazuhiko

    2009-03-01

    The current growing body of evidence for diversity-disturbance relationships suggests that the peaked pattern predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) may not be the rule. Even if ecologists could quantify the diversity-disturbance relationship consistent with the IDH, the applicability of the IDH to land management has rarely been addressed. We examined two hypotheses related to the generality and management applicability of the IDH to Mongolian rangeland ecosystems: that the diversity-disturbance relationship varies as a function of landscape condition and that some intermediate scales of grazing can play an important role in terms of sustainable rangeland management through a grazing gradient approach. We quantified the landscape condition of each ecological site using an ordination technique and determined two types of landscape conditions: relatively benign and harsh environmental conditions. At the ecological sites characterized by relatively benign environmental conditions, diversity-disturbance relationships were generally consistent with the IDH, and maximum diversity was observed at some intermediate distance from the source of the grazing gradient. In contrast, the IDH was not supported at most (but not all) sites characterized by relatively harsh environmental conditions. The intermediate levels of grazing were generally located below the ecological threshold representing the points or zones at which disturbance should be limited to prevent drastic changes in ecological conditions, suggesting that there is little "conundrum" with regard to intermediate disturbance in the studied systems in terms of land management. We suggest that the landscape condition is one of the primary factors that cause inconsistencies in diversity-disturbance relationships. The ecological threshold can extend its utility in rangeland management because it also has the compatibility with the maintenance of species diversity. This study thus suggests that some

  17. Multi-agency Oregon Pilot: Working towards a national inventory and assessment of rangelands using onsite data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul L. Patterson; James Alegria; Leonard Jolley; Doug Powell; J. Jeffery Goebel; Gregg M. Riegel; Kurt H. Riitters; Craig. Ducey

    2014-01-01

    Rangelands are lands dominated by grasses, forbs, and shrubs and are managed as a natural ecosystem. Although these lands comprise approximately 40 percent of the landmass of the continental United States, there is no coordinated effort designed to inventory, monitor, or assess rangeland conditions at the national scale. A pilot project in central Oregon with the U.S....

  18. Rangeland restoration for Hirola, the world's most endangered antelope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland restoration can improve habitat for threatened species such as the hirola antelope (Beatragus hunteri) that inhabit savannas of eastern Kenya. However, restoration success likely varies across soil types and target restoration species, as well as according to restoration approach. We teste...

  19. Exploring the invasion of rangelands by Acacia mearnsii (black ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Reducing A. mearnsii canopy could promote grass production while encouraging carbon sequestration. Given the high AGB and clearing costs, it may be prudent to adopt the 'novel ecosystems' approach in managing infested landscapes. Keywords: grassland, invasive plants, landscape ecology, rangeland condition ...

  20. Practical guide to electronic resources in the humanities

    CERN Document Server

    Dubnjakovic, Ana

    2010-01-01

    From full-text article databases to digitized collections of primary source materials, newly emerging electronic resources have radically impacted how research in the humanities is conducted and discovered. This book, covering high-quality, up-to-date electronic resources for the humanities, is an easy-to-use annotated guide for the librarian, student, and scholar alike. It covers online databases, indexes, archives, and many other critical tools in key humanities disciplines including philosophy, religion, languages and literature, and performing and visual arts. Succinct overviews of key eme

  1. State and transition models: Theory, applications, and challenges. In: Briske, D.D. Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    State and transition models (STMs) are used for communicating about ecosystem change in rangelands and other ecosystems, especially the implications for management. The fundamental premise that rangelands can exhibit multiple states is now widely accepted. The current application of STMs for managem...

  2. Rangeland degradation in two watersheds of Lebanon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darwish, T; Faour, G.

    2008-01-01

    A complex and rugged nature characterizes the Lebanese mountains.The climatic pattern prevailing in the country, deforestation and man made erosion caused increased rangeland degradation. The purpose of this study was to monitor two contrasting watersheds, representing the Lebanese agro-ecological zones, to analyze the vegetation dynamics and trace the state of rangeland degradation. The Kfarselouane (205 km2) and Aarsal (316.7 km2) watersheds are located in the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain chain and characterized by sub humid and semi-arid climate respectively.Using multitemporal spot vegetation images between 1999 and 2005 to analyze the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) revealed some improvement of the vegetation cover over recent years in Kfaselouane with a steady state in Aarsal. The NDVI trend curve inclines in spring and declines in summer and fall. Judging by the time scale amplitude change and highest magnitude between the peak and lower NDVI level in Aarsal, an increased vulnerability to drought is observed in the dry Lebanese areas. Comparing land cover/use in Aarsal area between 1962 and 2000 using aerial photos and large resolution Indian satellite images (IRS) showed wood fragmentation and slight increase of the degenerated forest cover from 1108 ha to 1168 ha. Landuse change was accompanied by a simultaneous increase of cultivated lands (mostly fruit trees) from 932 ha to 4878 ha with absence of soil conservation and water harvesting practices. On the contrary, grasslands decreased from 29581 ha to 25000 ha. In Kfarselouane, the area of grassland was invaded by forestland where rangeland decreased from 8073 ha to 3568 ha and woodland increased from 5766 ha to 11800 ha. Forest expansion occurred even at the account of unproductive land which decreased from 2668 ha to 248 ha, while cultivated lands did not reveal any substantial change. Based on animals' seasonal feeding pattern, a mismatch between land carrying capacity and grazing

  3. Utilisation of Electronic Information Resources By Lecturers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study assesses the use of information resources, specifically, electronic databases by lecturers/teachers in Universities and Colleges of Education in South Western Nigeria. Information resources are central to teachers' education. It provides lecturers/teachers access to information that enhances research and ...

  4. Ecology and Conservation of Acacia senegal in the Rangelands ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ecology and Conservation of Acacia senegal in the Rangelands ofLuwero and Nakasongola Districts. Jacob Godfrey Agea, Joseph Obua, Sara Namirembe, Mukadasi Buyinza, Daniel Waiswa. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL ...

  5. Advances in modeling soil erosion after disturbance on rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Research has been undertaken to develop process based models that predict soil erosion rate after disturbance on rangelands. In these models soil detachment is predicted as a combination of multiple erosion processes, rain splash and thin sheet flow (splash and sheet) detachment and concentrated flo...

  6. Discipline, availability of electronic resources and the use of Finnish National Electronic Library - FinELib

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanna Torma

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This study elaborated relations between digital library use by university faculty, users' discipline and the availability of key resources in the Finnish National Electronic Library (FinELib, Finnish national digital library, by using nationwide representative survey data. The results show that the perceived availability of key electronic resources by researchers in FinELib was a stronger predictor of the frequency and purpose of use of its services than users' discipline. Regardless of discipline a good perceived provision of central resources led to a more frequent use of FinELib. The satisfaction with the services did not vary with the discipline, but with the perceived availability of resources.

  7. The Role of the Acquisitions Librarian in Electronic Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomerantz, Sarah B.

    2010-01-01

    With the ongoing shift to electronic formats for library resources, acquisitions librarians, like the rest of the profession, must adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of electronic resources by keeping up with trends and mastering new skills related to digital publishing, technology, and licensing. The author sought to know what roles…

  8. Analysis of Pedagogic Potential of Electronic Educational Resources with Elements of Autodidactics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor A.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: in recent years didactic properties of electronic educational resources undergo considerable changes, nevertheless, the question of studying of such complete phenomenon as “an electronic educational resource with autodidactics elements” remains open, despite sufficient scientific base of researches of the terms making this concept. Article purpose – determination of essence of electronic educational resources with autodidactics elements. Materials and Methods: the main method of research was the theoretical analysis of the pedagogical and psychological literature on the problem under study. We used the theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization methods, the method of interpretation, pedagogical modeling, and empirical methods (observation, testing, conversation, interview, analysis of students’ performance, pedagogical experiment, peer review. Results: we detected the advantages of electronic educational resources in comparison with traditional ones. The concept of autodidactics as applied to the subject of research is considered. Properties of electronic educational resources with a linear and nonlinear principle of construction are studied.The influence of the principle of construction on the development of the learners’ qualities is shown. We formulated an integral definition of electronic educational resources with elements of autodidactics, namely, the variability, adaptivity and cyclicity of training. A model of the teaching-learning process with electronic educational resources is developed. Discussion and Conclusions: further development of a problem will allow to define whether electronic educational resources with autodidactics elements pedagogical potential for realization of educational and self-educational activity of teachers have, to modify technological procedures taking into account age features of students, their specialties and features of the organization of process of training of

  9. Preservation and conservation of electronic information resources of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The major holdings of the broadcast libraries of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) are electronic information resources; therefore, providing safe places for general management of these resources have aroused interest in the industry in Nigeria for sometimes. The need to study the preservation and conservation of ...

  10. Building an electronic resource collection a practical guide

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Stuart D

    2004-01-01

    This practical book guides information professionals step-by-step through building and managing an electronic resource collection. It outlines the range of electronic products currently available in abstracting and indexing, bibliographic, and other services and then describes how to effectively select, evaluate and purchase them.

  11. Phenomapping of rangelands in South Africa using time series of RapidEye data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parplies, André; Dubovyk, Olena; Tewes, Andreas; Mund, Jan-Peter; Schellberg, Jürgen

    2016-12-01

    Phenomapping is an approach which allows the derivation of spatial patterns of vegetation phenology and rangeland productivity based on time series of vegetation indices. In our study, we propose a new spatial mapping approach which combines phenometrics derived from high resolution (HR) satellite time series with spatial logistic regression modeling to discriminate land management systems in rangelands. From the RapidEye time series for selected rangelands in South Africa, we calculated bi-weekly noise reduced Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. For the growing season of 2011⿿2012, we further derived principal phenology metrics such as start, end and length of growing season and related phenological variables such as amplitude, left derivative and small integral of the NDVI curve. We then mapped these phenometrics across two different tenure systems, communal and commercial, at the very detailed spatial resolution of 5 m. The result of a binary logistic regression (BLR) has shown that the amplitude and the left derivative of the NDVI curve were statistically significant. These indicators are useful to discriminate commercial from communal rangeland systems. We conclude that phenomapping combined with spatial modeling is a powerful tool that allows efficient aggregation of phenology and productivity metrics for spatially explicit analysis of the relationships of crop phenology with site conditions and management. This approach has particular potential for disaggregated and patchy environments such as in farming systems in semi-arid South Africa, where phenology varies considerably among and within years. Further, we see a strong perspective for phenomapping to support spatially explicit modelling of vegetation.

  12. Analysis of Human Resources Management Strategy in China Electronic Commerce Enterprises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Fang

    The paper discussed electronic-commerce's influence on enterprise human resources management, proposed and proved the human resources management strategy which electronic commerce enterprise should adopt from recruitment strategy to training strategy, keeping talent strategy and other ways.

  13. Using XML Technologies to Organize Electronic Reference Resources

    OpenAIRE

    Huser, Vojtech; Del Fiol, Guilherme; Rocha, Roberto A.

    2005-01-01

    Provision of access to reference electronic resources to clinicians is becoming increasingly important. We have created a framework for librarians to manage access to these resources at an enterprise level, rather than at the individual hospital libraries. We describe initial project requirements, implementation details, and some preliminary results.

  14. IMPACT OF WOODY PLANTS SPECIES ON SOIL PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES ALONG GRAZING GRADIENTS IN RANGELANDS OF EASTERN ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Mussa Abdulahi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In the lowlands of arid and semiarid rangelands woody plants plays an important role in soil fertility maintenance, providing food, medicine, cosmetics, fodder, fuel wood and pesticides. A better understanding of the interaction of woody plants on their immediate environment is needed to guide optimum management of native vegetation in the production landscapes. However, the impact of woody plant species on soil properties remains poorly understood. This study evaluates the impact of two dominant woody plant species (A. senegal and B. aegyptica on soil physico-chemical properties along grazing gradients in rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. Six trees of each species were selected from light, moderate and heavy grazing sites.  Soil sample data at two depths (0-15 and 16-30 cm were collected from under and open areas of A. senegal and B. aegyptica from each grazing sites, and analysed for nutrient contents. The nutrient status of soil under both woody species was significantly higher especially with regard to soil organic matter (4.37%, total nitrogen (0.313%, and available phosphorus (11.62 than the open grassland with soil organic matter (3.82%, total nitrogen (0.246%, and available phosphorus (10.94 mg/Kg soil for A. Senegal. The soil organic matter (3.93%, total nitrogen (0.285%, available phosphorus (11.66 mg/Kg soil were significantly higher than open grassland with soil organic matter (3.52%, total nitrogen (0.218%, available phosphorus (10.73 mg/Kg soil for B. aegyptica. This was more pronounced in the top 15 cm of soil under A. senegal woody plant species and on the light and moderate grazing site. Therefore, this tree has a significant effect on soil fertility improvement in resource poor rangelands and as a result, it is important to retain scattered A. senegal and B. aegyptica plants in the lowlands of eastern Ethiopia.

  15. Electronic Resources and Mission Creep: Reorganizing the Library for the Twenty-First Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stachokas, George

    2009-01-01

    The position of electronic resources librarian was created to serve as a specialist in the negotiation of license agreements for electronic resources, but mission creep has added more functions to the routine work of electronic resources such as cataloging, gathering information for collection development, and technical support. As electronic…

  16. Ecosystem water availability in juniper versus sagebrush snow-dominated rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Western Juniper (J. occidentalis Hook.) now dominates over 3.6 million ha of rangeland in the Intermountain Western US. Critical ecological relationships among snow distribution, water budgets, plant community transitions, and habitat requirements for wildlife, such as sage grouse, remain poorly und...

  17. Parameterization of erodibility in the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    The magnitude of erosion from a hillslope is governed by the availability of sediment and connectivity of runoff and erosion processes. For undisturbed rangelands, sediment is primarily detached and transported by rainsplash and sheetflow (splash-sheet) processes in isolated bare batches, but sedime...

  18. Introducing cattle grazing to a noxious weed-dominated rangeland shifts plant communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh S. Davy

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Invasive weed species in California's rangelands can reduce herbaceous diversity, forage quality and wildlife habitat. Small-scale studies (5 acres or fewer have shown reductions of medusahead and yellow starthistle using prescribed grazing on rangelands, but little is published on the effects of pasture-scale (greater than 80 acres prescribed grazing on weed control and plant community responses. We report the results of a 6-year collaborative study of manager-applied prescribed grazing implemented on rangeland that had not been grazed for 4 years. Grazing reduced medusahead but did not alter yellow starthistle cover. Medusahead reductions were only seen in years that did not have significant late spring rainfall, suggesting that it is able to recover from heavy grazing if soil moisture is present. Later season grazing appears to have the potential to suppress medusahead in all years. In practice, however, such grazing is constrained by livestock drinking water availability and forage quality, which were limited even in years with late spring rainfall. Thus, we expect that grazing treatments under real-world constraints would reduce medusahead only in years with little late spring rainfall. After 10 years of grazing exclusion, the ungrazed plant communities began to shift, replacing medusahead with species that have little value, such as ripgut and red brome.

  19. Rangelands Vegetation under Different Management Systems and Growth Stages in North Darfur State, Sudan (Range Attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed AAMA Mohamed

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted at Um Kaddada, North Darfur State, Sudan, at two sites (closed and open for two consecutive seasons 2008 and 2009 during flowering and seed setting stages to evaluate range attributes at the locality. A split plot design was used to study vegetation attributes. Factors studied were management systems (closed and open and growth stages (flowering and seed setting. Vegetation cover, plant density, carrying capacity, and biomass production were assessed. Chemical analyses were done for selected plants to determine their nutritive values. The results showed high significant differences in vegetation attributes (density, cover and biomass production between closed and open areas. Closed areas had higher carrying capacity compared to open rangelands. Crude protein (CP and ash contents of range vegetation were found to decrease while Crude fiber (CF and Dry matter yield (DM had increased with growth. The study concluded that closed rangelands are better than open rangelands because it fenced and protected. Erosion index and vegetation degradation rate were very high. Future research work is needed to assess rangelands characteristics and habitat condition across different ecological zones in North Darfur State, Sudan.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i3.11093 International Journal of Environment Vol.3(3 2014: 332-343

  20. Use of biosolids to enhance rangeland forage quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarland, Michael J; Vasquez, Issaak Romero; Vutran, MaiAnh; Schmitz, Mark; Brobst, Robert B

    2010-05-01

    Biosolids land application was demonstrated to be a potentially cost-effective means for restoring forage productivity and enhancing soil-moisture-holding capacity on disturbed rangelands. By land-applying aerobically digested, anaerobically digested, composted, and lime-stabilized biosolids on rangeland test plots at rates of up to 20 times (20X) the estimated nitrogen-based agronomic rate, forage yields were found to increase from 132.8 kg/ha (118.2 lb/ac) (control plots) to 1182.3 kg/ha (1052.8 lb/ac). Despite the environmental benefits associated with increased forage yield (e.g., reduced soil erosion, improved drainage, and enhanced terrestrial carbon sequestration), the type of forage generated both before and after biosolids land application was found to be dominated by invasive weeds, all of which were characterized as having fair to poor nutritional value. Opportunistic and shallow rooting invasive weeds not only have marginal nutritional value, they also limit the establishment of native perennial grasses and thus biodiversity. Many of the identified invasive species (e.g., Cheatgrass) mature early, a characteristic that significantly increases the fuel loads that support the increased frequency and extent of western wildfires.

  1. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

  2. Electronic Resources Management System: Recommendation Report 2017

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    This recommendation report provides an overview of the selection process for the new Electronic Resources Management System. The library has decided to move away from Innovative Interfaces Millennium ERM module. The library reviewed 3 system

  3. Agroforestry potential of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of luwero ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agroforestry potential of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of luwero and Nakasongola districts. Jacob Godfrey Agea, Joseph Obua, Sara Namirembe, Mukadasi Buyinza, Daniel Waiswa. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

  4. Session B1 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland auditing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Social, economic and cultural needs, values and expectations will be examined together with the biophysical technologies and approaches which underlie auditing in rangeland science. Adaptive frameworks which enhance sustainable strategic responses, and the state of art in scale dilemmas will be addressed. A hybrid ...

  5. Session A6 Rangelands as dynamic systems — Fragmentation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biological complexity in rangelands arises from spatially-linked ecological states and processes. Herbivores, humans and other agents integrate distinct spatial units into complex systems by moving among and exploiting these units. Spatial heterogeneity plays a central role in the structure and function of grazed ...

  6. Prescribed Fire Effects on Runoff, Erosion, and Soil Water Repellency on Steeply-Sloped Sagebrush Rangeland over a Five Year Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.

    2014-12-01

    Fire is an inherent component of sagebrush steppe rangelands in western North America and can dramatically affect runoff and erosion processes. Post-fire flooding and erosion events pose substantial threats to proximal resources, property, and human life. Yet, prescribed fire can serve as a tool to manage vegetation and fuels on sagebrush rangelands and to reduce the potential for large catastrophic fires and mass erosion events. The impact of burning on event hydrologic and erosion responses is strongly related to the degree to which burning alters vegetation, ground cover, and surface soils and the intensity and duration of precipitation. Fire impacts on hydrologic and erosion response may be intensified or reduced by inherent site characteristics such as topography and soil properties. Parameterization of these diverse conditions in predictive tools is often limited by a lack of data and/or understanding for the domain of interest. Furthermore, hydrologic and erosion functioning change as vegetation and ground cover recover in the years following burning and few studies track these changes over time. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of prescribed fire on vegetation, ground cover, soil water repellency, and hydrologic and erosion responses 1, 2, and 5 yr following burning of a mountain big sagebrush community on steep hillslopes with fine-textured soils. The study site is within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, southwestern Idaho, USA. Vegetation, ground cover, and soil properties were measured over plot scales of 0.5 m2 to 9 m2. Rainfall simulations (0.5 m2) were used to assess the impacts of fire on soil water repellency, infiltration, runoff generation, and splash-sheet erosion. Overland flow experiments (9 m2) were used to assess the effects of fire-reduced ground cover on concentrated-flow runoff and erosion processes. The study results provide insight regarding fire impacts on runoff, erosion, and soil water repellency in the immediate and

  7. The Internet School of Medicine: use of electronic resources by medical trainees and the reliability of those resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egle, Jonathan P; Smeenge, David M; Kassem, Kamal M; Mittal, Vijay K

    2015-01-01

    Electronic sources of medical information are plentiful, and numerous studies have demonstrated the use of the Internet by patients and the variable reliability of these sources. Studies have investigated neither the use of web-based resources by residents, nor the reliability of the information available on these websites. A web-based survey was distributed to surgical residents in Michigan and third- and fourth-year medical students at an American allopathic and osteopathic medical school and a Caribbean allopathic school regarding their preferred sources of medical information in various situations. A set of 254 queries simulating those faced by medical trainees on rounds, on a written examination, or during patient care was developed. The top 5 electronic resources cited by the trainees were evaluated for their ability to answer these questions accurately, using standard textbooks as the point of reference. The respondents reported a wide variety of overall preferred resources. Most of the 73 responding medical trainees favored textbooks or board review books for prolonged studying, but electronic resources are frequently used for quick studying, clinical decision-making questions, and medication queries. The most commonly used electronic resources were UpToDate, Google, Medscape, Wikipedia, and Epocrates. UpToDate and Epocrates had the highest percentage of correct answers (47%) and Wikipedia had the lowest (26%). Epocrates also had the highest percentage of wrong answers (30%), whereas Google had the lowest percentage (18%). All resources had a significant number of questions that they were unable to answer. Though hardcopy books have not been completely replaced by electronic resources, more than half of medical students and nearly half of residents prefer web-based sources of information. For quick questions and studying, both groups prefer Internet sources. However, the most commonly used electronic resources fail to answer clinical queries more than half

  8. A review of climate change effects on terrestrial rangeland birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. M. Finch; K. E. Bagne; M. M. Friggens; D. M. Smith; K. M. Brodhead

    2011-01-01

    We evaluated existing literature on predicted and known climate change effects on terrestrial rangeland birds. We asked the following questions: 1) How does climate change affect birds? 2) How will birds respond to climate change? 3) Are species already responding? 4) How will habitats be impacted?

  9. Determining termite diversity in arid Namibian rangelands – a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Three methods of sampling termite diversity in arid rangelands were tested in Namibia during the wet (March) and dry (October) seasons of 1998. Six sites were chosen: one pair on each of three farms representing a gradient of land use intensity. At each site, two adjacent plots of 1 ha each were sampled: one plot by a ...

  10. The Role of Rangelands in Diversified Farming Systems: Innovations, Obstacles, and Opportunities in the USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan F. Sayre

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Discussions of diversified farming systems (DFS rarely mention rangelands: the grasslands, shrublands, and savannas that make up roughly one-third of Earth's ice-free terrestrial area, including some 312 million ha of the United States. Although ranching has been criticized by environmentalists for decades, it is probably the most ecologically sustainable segment of the U.S. meat industry, and it exemplifies many of the defining characteristics of DFS: it relies on the functional diversity of natural ecological processes of plant and animal (reproduction at multiple scales, based on ecosystem services generated and regenerated on site rather than imported, often nonrenewable, inputs. Rangelands also provide other ecosystem services, including watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation, and tourism. Even where non-native or invasive plants have encroached on or replaced native species, rangelands retain unusually high levels of plant diversity compared with croplands or plantation forests. Innovations in management, marketing, incentives, and easement programs that augment ranch income, creative land tenure arrangements, and collaborations among ranchers all support diversification. Some obstacles include rapid landownership turnover, lack of accessible U.S. Department of Agriculture certified processing facilities, tenure uncertainty, fragmentation of rangelands, and low and variable income, especially relative to land costs. Taking advantage of rancher knowledge and stewardship, and aligning incentives with production of diverse goods and services, will support the sustainability of ranching and its associated public benefits. The creation of positive feedbacks between economic and ecological diversity should be the ultimate goal.

  11. Fish and other aquatic resource trends in the United States: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew J. Loftus; Curtis H. Flather

    2012-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the status and trends in the Nation's renewable natural resources including fish and other aquatic species and their habitats. Data from a number of sources are used to document trends in habitat quality, populations, resource use, and patterns of imperilment...

  12. ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF LATIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Yu. Balalaieva

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the current state of development of e-learning content in the Latin language. It is noted that the introduction of ICT in the educational space has expanded the possibility of studying Latin, opened access to digital libraries resources, made it possible to use scientific and educational potential and teaching Latin best practices of world's leading universities. A review of foreign and Ukrainian information resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is given. Much attention was paid to the didactic potential of local and online multimedia courses of Latin, electronic textbooks, workbooks of interactive tests and exercises, various dictionaries and software translators, databases and digital libraries. Based on analysis of the world market of educational services and products the main trends in the development of information resources and electronic books are examined. It was found that multimedia courses with interactive exercises or workbooks with interactive tests, online dictionaries and translators are the most widely represented and demanded. The noticeable lagging of Ukrainian education and computer linguistics in quantitative and qualitative measures in this industry is established. The obvious drawback of existing Ukrainian resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is their noninteractive nature. The prospects of e-learning content in Latin in Ukraine are outlined.

  13. Session B1 Management for sustainable use — Rangeland auditing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We need to monitor the capacity of healthy rangeland to support a broad suite of ecosystem services for a wide range of stakeholders — in a fair, objective and representative way. ... A hybrid session structure will be utilised: distilling wisdom from relevant posters; formal presentations; and stimulating structured debate.

  14. Elektronik Bilgi Kaynaklarının Seçimi / Selection of Electronic Information Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pınar Al

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available For many years, library users have used only from the printed media in order to get the information that they have needed. Today with the widespread use of the Web and the addition of electronic information resources to library collections, the use of information in the electronic environment as well as in printed media is started to be used. In time, such types of information resources as, electronic journals, electronic books, electronic encyclopedias, electronic dictionaries and electronic theses have been added to library collections. In this study, selection criteria that can be used for electronic information resources are discussed and suggestions are provided for libraries that try to select electronic information resources for their collections.

  15. Access to electronic resources by visually impaired people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Craven

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Research into access to electronic resources by visually impaired people undertaken by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management has not only explored the accessibility of websites and levels of awareness in providing websites that adhere to design for all principles, but has sought to enhance understanding of information seeking behaviour of blind and visually impaired people when using digital resources.

  16. Power and limitation of soil properties as predictors of rangeland health and ecosystem functioning in a Northern mixed-grass prairie[Abstract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil properties are thought to affect rangeland ecosystem functioning (e.g. primary productivity, hydrology), and thus soil variables that are consistently correlated with key ecosystem functions may be general indicators of rangeland health. We summarize results from several studies in mixed-grass...

  17. Temperament affects rangeland use patterns and reproductive performance of beef cows

    Science.gov (United States)

    • The American beef industry is paying more attention to cattle temperament, but studies examining relationships between temperaments and grazing behavior or animal performance on rangelands are limited. • We studied range beef cow temperaments using the behavioral syndromes framework. Cows classifi...

  18. California's forest resources. Preliminary assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-01-01

    This Preliminary Assessment was prepared in response to the California Forest Resources Assessment and Policy Act of 1977 (FRAPA). This Act was passed to improve the information base upon which State resource administrators formulate forest policy. The Act provides for this report and a full assessment by 1987 and at five year intervals thereafter. Information is presented under the following chapter titles: introduction to the forest resources assessment program; the forest area: a general description; classifications of the forest lands; the watersheds; forest lands and the air resource; fish and wildlife resources; the forested rangelands; the wilderness; forest lands as a recreation resource; the timber resource; wood energy; forest lands and the mineral, fossil fuels, and geothermal energy resources; mathematically modeling California's forest lands; vegetation mapping using remote sensing technology; important forest resources legislation; and, State and cooperative State/Federal forestry programs. Twelve indexes, a bibliography, and glossary are included. (JGB)

  19. Library training to promote electronic resource usage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Tove Faber; Tibyampansha, Dativa; Ibrahim, Glory

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Increasing the usage of electronic resources is an issue of concern for many libraries all over the world. Several studies stress the importance of information literacy and instruction in order to increase the usage. Design/methodology/approach: The present article presents the results...

  20. Why and How to Measure the Use of Electronic Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Bernon

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available A complete overview of library activity implies a complete and reliable measurement of the use of both electronic resources and printed materials. This measurement is based on three sets of definitions: document types, use types and user types. There is a common model of definitions for printed materials, but a lot of questions and technical issues remain for electronic resources. In 2006 a French national working group studied these questions. It relied on the COUNTER standard, but found it insufficient and pointed out the need for local tools such as web markers and deep analysis of proxy logs. Within the French national consortium COUPERIN, a new working group is testing ERMS, SUSHI standards, Shibboleth authentication, along with COUNTER standards, to improve the counting of the electronic resources use. At this stage this counting is insufficient and its improvement will be a European challenge for the future.

  1. Fodder Biomass Monitoring in Sahelian Rangelands Using Phenological Metrics from FAPAR Time Series

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diouf, Abdoul Aziz; Brandt, Martin Stefan; Verger, Aleixandre

    2015-01-01

    Timely monitoring of plant biomass is critical for the management of forage resources in Sahelian rangelands. The estimation of annual biomass production in the Sahel is based on a simple relationship between satellite annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and in situ biomass data....... This study proposes a new methodology using multi-linear models between phenological metrics from the SPOT-VEGETATION time series of Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) and in situ biomass. A model with three variables—large seasonal integral (LINTG), length of growing season......, and end of season decreasing rate—performed best (MAE = 605 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.68) across Sahelian ecosystems in Senegal (data for the period 1999–2013). A model with annual maximum (PEAK) and start date of season showed similar performances (MAE = 625 kg·DM/ha; R2 = 0.64), allowing a timely estimation...

  2. Vulnerability of amphibians to climate change: implications for rangeland management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karen E. Bagne; Deborah M. Finch; Megan M. Friggens

    2011-01-01

    Many amphibian populations have declined drastically in recent years due to a large number of factors including the emerging threat of climate change (Wake 2007). Rangelands provide important habitat for amphibians. In addition to natural wetlands, stock tanks and other artificial water catchments provide habitat for many amphibian species (Euliss et al. 2004).

  3. Analysis reveals potential rangeland impacts if Williamson Act eliminated

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William C. Wetzel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available California budget cuts have resulted in dramatic reductions in state funding for the Williamson Act, a land protection program that reduces property taxes for the owners of 15 million acres of California farms and rangeland. With state reimbursements to counties eliminated, the decision to continue Williamson Act contracts lies with individual counties. We investigated the consequences of eliminating the Williamson Act, using a geospatial analysis and a mail questionnaire asking ranchers for plans under a hypothetical elimination scenario. The geospatial analysis revealed that 72% of rangeland parcels enrolled in Williamson Act contracts contained habitat important for statewide conservation goals. Presented with the elimination scenario, survey respondents reported an intention to sell 20% of their total 496,889 acres. The tendency of survey participants to respond that they would sell land was highest among full-time ranchers with low household incomes and without off-ranch employment. A majority (76% of the ranchers who reported that they would sell land predicted that the buyers would develop it for nonagricultural uses, suggesting substantial changes to California's landscape in a future without the Williamson Act.

  4. 25 CFR 166.307 - Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze adjacent trust or non-trust rangelands not...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... § 166.307 Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze adjacent trust or non-trust rangelands not... trust or non-trust rangeland in common with the permitted land. Grazing capacity will be established... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Will the grazing capacity be increased if I graze...

  5. Euler European Libraries and Electronic Resources in Mathematical Sciences

    CERN Document Server

    The Euler Project. Karlsruhe

    The European Libraries and Electronic Resources (EULER) Project in Mathematical Sciences provides the EulerService site for searching out "mathematical resources such as books, pre-prints, web-pages, abstracts, proceedings, serials, technical reports preprints) and NetLab (for Internet resources), this outstanding engine is capable of simple, full, and refined searches. It also offers a browse option, which responds to entries in the author, keyword, and title fields. Further information about the Project is provided at the EULER homepage.

  6. Reality of rangeland degradation mapping with remote sensing: the South African experience

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wessels, Konrad J

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Globally there is an urgent need for standardized, quantitative measures rangeland degradation. Over the past 10 years in South Africa (SA), significant research efforts have been directed at this challenge, using diverse methods and data...

  7. Effects of Electronic Information Resources Skills Training for Lecturers on Pedagogical Practices and Research Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhukuvhani, Crispen; Chiparausha, Blessing; Zuvalinyenga, Dorcas

    2012-01-01

    Lecturers use various electronic resources at different frequencies. The university library's information literacy skills workshops and seminars are the main sources of knowledge of accessing electronic resources. The use of electronic resources can be said to have positively affected lecturers' pedagogical practices and their work in general. The…

  8. Salinity mobilization and transport from rangelands: assessment, recommendations, and knowledge gaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    The purpose of the salinity project is to improve the understanding of sources and transport mechanisms in rangeland catchments that deliver dissolved solids (salts) to streams within the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) through a review of relevant literature on what is known about the impact of r...

  9. 75 FR 55345 - Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for the Socorro Field Office Resource Management...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-10

    ... where public and private lands abut one another); and (6) Regional heritage/tourism opportunities on the... rangeland resources, lands with wilderness characteristics, and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (Trail). As a result of the protests, minor editorial modifications and technical clarifications were...

  10. Determining RUSLE P-factors for stonebunds and trenches in rangeland and cropland, Northern Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taye, Gebeyehu; Poesen, Jean; Vanmaercke, Matthias; Van Wesemael, Bas; Tesfay, Samuel; Teka, Daniel; Nyssen, Jan; Deckers, Jozef; Haregeweyn, Nigussie

    2017-04-01

    The implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures in the Ethiopian highlands is a top priority to reduce soil erosion rates and to enhance the sustainability of agroecosystem. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of many of these measures for different hillslope and land use conditions remains currently poorly understood. As a result, the overall effects of these measures at regional or catchment scale remain hard to quantify. This study addresses this knowledge gap by determining the cover-management (C) and support practice (P) factors of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), for commonly used SWC measures in semi-arid environments (i.e. stone bunds, trenches and a combination of both). Calculations were based on soil loss data collected with runoff plots in Tigray, northern Ethiopia (i.e. 21 runoff plots of 600 to 1000 m2, monitored during 2010, 2011 and 2012). The runoff plots were installed in rangeland and cropland sites corresponding to a gentle (5%), medium (12%) and steep (16%) slope gradients. The C and P factors of the RUSLE were calculated following the recommended standard procedures. Results show that the C-factor for rangeland ranges from 0.31 to 0.98 and from 0.06 to 0.39 for cropland. For rangeland, this large variability is due to variations in vegetation cover caused by grazing. In cropland, C-factors vary with tillage practices and crop types. The calculated P-factors ranged from 0.32 to 0.74 for stone bunds, from 0.07 to 0.65 for trenches and from 0.03 to 0.22 for a combination of both stone bunds and trenches. This variability is partly due to variations in the density of the implemented measures in relation to land use (cropland vs rangeland) and slope angles. However, also annual variations in P factor values are highly significant. Especially trenches showed a very significant decline of effectiveness over time, which is attributable to their reduced static storage capacity as a result of sediment deposition (e.g. for

  11. Towards a remote sensing based indicator of rangeland ecosystem resistance and resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Understanding ecosystem resistance and resilience to disturbance and invasive species is critical to the sustainable management of rangeland systems. In this context, resistance refers to the inherent ability of an ecosystem to resist disturbance, while resilience refers to the capacity of an ecosys...

  12. Electronic Commerce Resource Centers. An Industry--University Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulledge, Thomas R.; Sommer, Rainer; Tarimcilar, M. Murat

    1999-01-01

    Electronic Commerce Resource Centers focus on transferring emerging technologies to small businesses through university/industry partnerships. Successful implementation hinges on a strategic operating plan, creation of measurable value for customers, investment in customer-targeted training, and measurement of performance outputs. (SK)

  13. Evaluating new SMAP soil moisture for drought monitoring in the rangelands of the US High Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velpuri, Naga Manohar; Senay, Gabriel B.; Morisette, Jeffrey T.

    2016-01-01

    Level 3 soil moisture datasets from the recently launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite are evaluated for drought monitoring in rangelands.Validation of SMAP soil moisture (SSM) with in situ and modeled estimates showed high level of agreement.SSM showed the highest correlation with surface soil moisture (0-5 cm) and a strong correlation to depths up to 20 cm.SSM showed a reliable and expected response of capturing seasonal dynamics in relation to precipitation, land surface temperature, and evapotranspiration.Further evaluation using multi-year SMAP datasets is necessary to quantify the full benefits and limitations for drought monitoring in rangelands.

  14. Grazing management, resilience and the dynamics of a fire driven rangeland system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anderies, J.M.; Janssen, M.A.; Walker, B.H.

    2002-01-01

    We developed a stylized mathematical model to explore the effects of physical, ecological, and economic factors on the resilience of a managed fire-driven rangeland system. Depending on grazing pressure, the model exhibits one of three distinct configurations: a fire-dominated, grazing-dominated, or

  15. Vulnerability of cattle production to climate change on U.S. rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt C. Reeves; Karen E. Bagne

    2016-01-01

    We examined multiple climate change effects on cattle production for U.S. rangelands to estimate relative change and identify sources of vulnerability among seven regions. Climate change effects to 2100 were projected from published models for four elements: forage quantity, vegetation type trajectory, heat stress, and forage variability. Departure of projections from...

  16. Application of MODIS Land Products to Assessment of Land Degradation of Alpine Rangeland in Northern India with Limited Ground-Based Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masahiro Tasumi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Land degradation of alpine rangeland in Dachigam National Park, Northern India, was evaluated in this study using MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS land products. The park has been used by a variety of livestock holders. With increasing numbers of livestock, the managers and users of the park are apprehensive about degradation of the grazing land. However, owing to weak infrastructure for scientific and statistical data collection and sociopolitical restrictions in the region, a lack of quality ground-based weather, vegetation, and livestock statistical data had prevented scientific assessment. Under these circumstances, the present study aimed to assess the rangeland environment and its degradation using MODIS vegetation, snow, and evapotranspiration products as primary input data for assessment. The result of the analysis indicated that soil water content and the timing of snowmelt play an important role in grass production in the area. Additionally, the possibility of land degradation in heavily-grazed rangeland was indicated via a multiple regression analysis at a decadal timescale, whereas weather conditions, such as rainfall and snow cover, primarily explained year-by-year differences in grass production. Although statistical uncertainties remain in the results derived in this study, the satellite-based data and the analyses will promote understanding of the rangeland environment and suggest the potential for unsustainable land management based on statistical probability. This study provides an important initial evaluation of alpine rangeland, for which ground-based information is limited.

  17. Improving dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) simulation of western U.S. rangelands vegetation seasonal phenology and productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerns, B. K.; Kim, J. B.; Day, M. A.; Pitts, B.; Drapek, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    Ecosystem process models are increasingly being used in regional assessments to explore potential changes in future vegetation and NPP due to climate change. We use the dynamic global vegetation model MAPSS-Century 2 (MC2) as one line of evidence for regional climate change vulnerability assessments for the US Forest Service, focusing our fine tuning model calibration from observational sources related to forest vegetation. However, there is much interest in understanding projected changes for arid rangelands in the western US such as grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. Rangelands provide many ecosystem service benefits and local rural human community sustainability, habitat for threatened and endangered species, and are threatened by annual grass invasion. Past work suggested MC2 performance related to arid rangeland plant functional types (PFT's) was poor, and the model has difficulty distinguishing annual versus perennial grasslands. Our objectives are to increase the model performance for rangeland simulations and explore the potential for splitting the grass plant functional type into annual and perennial. We used the tri-state Blue Mountain Ecoregion as our study area and maps of potential vegetation from interpolated ground data, the National Land Cover Data Database, and ancillary NPP data derived from the MODIS satellite. MC2 historical simulations for the area overestimated woodland occurrence and underestimated shrubland and grassland PFT's. The spatial location of the rangeland PFT's also often did not align well with observational data. While some disagreement may be due to differences in the respective classification rules, the errors are largely linked to MC2's tree and grass biogeography and physiology algorithms. Presently, only grass and forest productivity measures and carbon stocks are used to distinguish PFT's. MC2 grass and tree productivity simulation is problematic, in particular grass seasonal phenology in relation to seasonal patterns

  18. Forage seeding in rangelands increases production and prevents weed invasion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josh Davy

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Increasing forage productivity in the Sierra foothill rangelands would help sustain the livestock industry as land availability shrinks and lease rates rise, but hardly any studies have been done on forage selections. From 2009 to 2014, in one of the first long-term and replicated studies of seeding Northern California's Mediterranean annual rangeland, we compared the cover of 22 diverse forages to determine their establishment and survivability over time. Among the annual herbs, forage brassica (Brassica napus L. and chicory (Cichorium intybus L. proved viable options. Among the annual grasses, soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum performed well. However, these species will likely require frequent reseeding to maintain dominance. Long-term goals of sustained dominant cover (> 3 years are best achieved with perennial grasses. Perennial grasses that persisted with greater than 50% cover were Berber orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata, Flecha tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum and several varieties of hardinggrass (Phalaris aquatica L., Perla koleagrass, Holdfast, Advanced AT. In 2014, these successful perennials produced over three times more dry matter (pounds per acre than the unseeded control and also suppressed annual grasses and yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L. cover.

  19. Dairy cattle on Norwegian alpine rangelands – grazing preferences and milk quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sickel, H; Abrahamsen, R K; Eldegard, K; Lunnan, T; Norderhaug, A; Petersen, M.A.; Sickel, M.; Steenhuisen, F.; Ohlson, M.

    2014-01-01

    The results from the study ‘Effects of vegetation and grazing preferences on the quality of alpine dairy products’ will be presented. The main objective of the project was to investigate the connections bet - ween alpine rangeland vegetation, landscape use and grazing preferences of free ranging

  20. Estimating Rangeland Forage Production Using Remote Sensing Data from a Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Devine, S.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Covello, S.; Larsen, R.; O'Geen, A. T.

    2017-12-01

    California rangelands cover 23 million hectares and support a $3.4 billion annual cattle industry. Rangeland forage production varies appreciably from year-to-year and across short distances on the landscape. Spatially explicit and near real-time information on forage production at a high resolution is critical for effective rangeland management, especially during an era of climatic extremes. We here integrated a multispectral MicaSense RedEdge camera with a 3DR solo quad-copter and acquired time-series images during the 2017 growing season over a topographically complex 10-hectare rangeland in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Soil moisture and temperature sensors were installed at 16 landscape positions, and vegetation clippings were collected at 36 plots to quantify forage dry biomass. We built four centimeter-level models for forage production mapping using time series of sUAS images and ground measurements of forage biomass and soil temperature and moisture. The biophysical model based on Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory estimated forage production reasonably well with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.86 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 424 kg/ha when the soil parameters were included, and a R2 of 0.79 and a RMSE of 510 kg/ha when only remote sensing and topographical variables were included. We built two empirical models of forage production using a stepwise variable selection technique, one with soil variables. Results showed that cumulative absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and elevation were the most important variables in both models, explaining more than 40% of the spatio-temporal variance in forage production. Soil moisture accounted for an additional 29% of the variance. Illumination condition was selected as a proxy for soil moisture in the model without soil variables, and accounted for 18% of the variance. We applied the remote sensing-based models to map daily forage production at 30-cm resolution for the

  1. Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillan, Jeffrey K; Karl, Jason W; Duniway, Michael; Elaksher, Ahmed

    2014-11-01

    Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for assessing rangeland health and monitoring riparian areas, post-fire recovery, available forage for livestock, and wildlife habitat. Federal land management agencies are directed to monitor and manage rangelands at landscapes scales, but traditional field methods for measuring vegetation heights are often too costly and time consuming to apply at these broad scales. Most emerging remote sensing techniques capable of measuring surface and vegetation height (e.g., LiDAR or synthetic aperture radar) are often too expensive, and require specialized sensors. An alternative remote sensing approach that is potentially more practical for managers is to measure vegetation heights from digital stereo aerial photographs. As aerial photography is already commonly used for rangeland monitoring, acquiring it in stereo enables three-dimensional modeling and estimation of vegetation height. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of estimating shrub heights from high-resolution (HR, 3-cm ground sampling distance) digital stereo-pair aerial images. Overlapping HR imagery was taken in March 2009 near Lake Mead, Nevada and 5-cm resolution digital surface models (DSMs) were created by photogrammetric methods (aerial triangulation, digital image matching) for twenty-six test plots. We compared the heights of individual shrubs and plot averages derived from the DSMs to field measurements. We found strong positive correlations between field and image measurements for several metrics. Individual shrub heights tended to be underestimated in the imagery, however, accuracy was higher for dense, compact shrubs compared with shrubs with thin branches. Plot averages of shrub height from DSMs were also strongly correlated to field measurements but consistently underestimated. Grasses and forbs were generally too small to be detected with the resolution of the DSMs. Estimates of

  2. The economic impact of global climate change on Mediterranean rangeland ecosystems. A Space-for-Time approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleischer, Aliza; Sternberg, Marcelo

    2006-01-01

    Global Climate Change (GCC) can bring about changes in ecosystems and consequently in their services value. Here we show that the urban population in Israel values the green landscape of rangelands in the mesic Mediterranean climate region and is willing to pay for preserving it in light of the expected increasing aridity conditions in this region. Their valuation of the landscape is higher than that of the grazing services these rangelands provide for livestock growers. These results stem from a Time-for-Space approach with which we were able to measure changes in biomass production and rainfall at four experimental sites along an aridity gradient. (author)

  3. Analytical approaches to quality assurance and quality control in rangeland monitoring data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Producing quality data to support land management decisions is the goal of every rangeland monitoring program. However, the results of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) efforts to improve data quality are rarely reported. The purpose of QA and QC is to prevent and describe non-sampling...

  4. Revolutionary land use change in the 21st century: Is (rangeland) science relevant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapidly increasing demand for food, fiber and fuel together with new technologies and the mobility of global capital are driving revolutionary changes in land use throughout the world. Efforts to increase land productivity include conversion of millions of hectares of rangelands to crop production, ...

  5. USE OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES WHEN TRAINING IN WORK WITH SPREADSHEETS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Х А Гербеков

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Today the tools for maintaining training courses based on opportunities of information and communication technologies are developed. Practically in all directions of preparation and on all subject matters electronic textbook and self-instruction manuals are created. Nevertheless the industry of computer educational and methodical materials actively develops and gets more and more areas of development and introduction. In this regard more and more urgent is a problem of development of the electronic educational resources adequate to modern educational requirements. Creation and the organization of training courses with use of electronic educational resources in particular on the basis of Internet technologies remains a difficult methodical task.In article the questions connected with development of electronic educational resources for use when studying the substantial line “Information technologies” of a school course of informatics in particular for studying of spreadsheets are considered. Also the analysis of maintenance of a school course and the unified state examination from the point of view of representation of task in him corresponding to the substantial line of studying “Information technologies” on mastering technology of information processing in spreadsheets and the methods of visualization given by means of charts and schedules is carried out.

  6. Current stage of the restoration of Chernozems in rangeland ecosystems of the steppe zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusanov, A. M.

    2015-06-01

    The results of two rounds of soil and geobotanic surveys of rangeland ecosystems in the steppe zone are presented. The same sites with southern chernozems (Calcic Chernozems) under steppe plant communities at different stages of pasture degradation were investigated at the end of the 1980s, when they suffered maximum anthropogenic loads, and in 2011-2013, after a long period of relative rest. In the 1980s, degradation of soil physical properties in rangeland ecosystems under the impact of long-term unsustainable management was noted. At the same time, it was found that the major qualitative and quantitative properties of humus in the chernozems were preserved independently from the level of pasture degradation. The following period of moderate grazing pressure had a favorable effect on the soil properties. Owing to the good characteristics of the soil humus, the restoration of the physical properties of chernozems-including their structural state, water permeability, and bulk density-took place in a relatively short period. It is argued that the soil bulk density is a natural regulator of the species composition of steppe vegetation, because true grasses (Poaceae)-typical representatives of the steppe flora-have a fibrous root system requiring the soils with low density values. The improvement of the properties of chernozems is related to the development of secondary ecosystems with a higher portion of grasses in place of damaged rangelands and to the increase in the area of nominal virgin phytocenoses.

  7. Human-modified landscapes: patterns of fine-scale woody vegetation structure in communal savannah rangelands

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Fisher, T

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available structure in five communal rangelands around 12 settlements in Bushbuckridge, a municipality in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve (South Africa). The importance of underlying abiotic factors was evaluated by measuring size class distributions across...

  8. Is "Holisitc Resource Management" the answer for African Rangelands?

    OpenAIRE

    Bayer, W.; Niamir, M.; A. Waters-Bayer

    1987-01-01

    Metadata only record In Pastoral Network Newsletter No. 23, mention was made of a workshop on Holistic Resource Management (HRM) held 15-17 December 1986 in Uppsala, Sweden. The workshop was organized on behalf of SIDA by the consulting firm Terra Nova and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Participants were mainly from Swedish universities and development agencies, but also included a few individuals form Denmark, Norway, USA and Germany. The sole lecturer was Mr. Allan Savo...

  9. Land use and soil organic matter in South Africa 1: A review on spatial variability and the influence of rangeland stock production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pearson N.S. Mnkeni

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Degradation of soil as a consequence of land use poses a threat to sustainable agriculture in South Africa, resulting in the need for a soil protection strategy and policy. Development of such a strategy and policy require cognisance of the extent and impact of soil degradation processes. One of the identified processes is the decline of soil organic matter, which also plays a central role in soil health or quality. The spatial variability of organic matter and the impact of grazing and burning under rangeland stock production are addressed in this first part of the review. Data from uncoordinated studies showed that South African soils have low organic matter levels. About 58% of soils contain less than 0.5% organic carbon and only 4% contain more than 2% organic carbon. Furthermore, there are large differences in organic matter content within and between soil forms, depending on climatic conditions, vegetative cover, topographical position and soil texture. A countrywide baseline study to quantify organic matter contents within and between soil forms is suggested for future reference. Degradation of rangeland because of overgrazing has resulted in significant losses of soil organic matter, mainly as a result of lower biomass production. The use of fire in rangeland management decreases soil organic matter because litter is destroyed by burning. Maintaining or increasing organic matter levels in degraded rangeland soils by preventing overgrazing and restricting burning could contribute to the restoration of degraded rangelands. This restoration is of the utmost importance because stock farming uses the majority of land in South Africa.

  10. Climate-change adaptation on rangelands: Linking regional exposure with diverse adaptive capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    David D. Briske; Linda A. Joyce; H. Wayne Polley; Joel R. Brown; Klaus Wolter; Jack A. Morgan; Bruce A. McCarl; Derek W. Bailey

    2015-01-01

    The ecological consequences of climate change are predicted to vary greatly throughout US rangelands. Projections show warming and drying in the southern Great Plains and the Southwest, warmer and drier summers with reduced winter snowpack in the Northwest, and warmer and wetter conditions in the northern Great Plains. Primarily through their combined effects on soil...

  11. Analytical Study of Usage of Electronic Information Resources at Pharmacopoeial Libraries in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil Tyagi

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to know the rate and purpose of the use of e-resource by the scientists at pharmacopoeial libraries in India. Among other things, this study examined the preferences of the scientists toward printed books and journals, electronic information resources, and pattern of using e-resources. Non-probability sampling specially accidental and purposive technique was applied in the collection of primary data through administration of user questionnaire. The sample respondents chosen for the study consists of principle scientific officer, senior scientific officer, scientific officer, and scientific assistant of different division of the laboratories, namely, research and development, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacovigilance, pharmacology, pharmacogonosy, and microbiology. The findings of the study reveal the personal experiences and perceptions they have had on practice and research activity using e-resource. The major findings indicate that of the total anticipated participants, 78% indicated that they perceived the ability to use computer for electronic information resources. The data analysis shows that all the scientists belonging to the pharmacopoeial libraries used electronic information resources to address issues relating to drug indexes and compendia, monographs, drugs obtained through online databases, e-journals, and the Internet sources—especially polices by regulatory agencies, contacts, drug promotional literature, and standards.

  12. Movement and spatial proximity patterns of rangeland-raised Raramuri Criollo cow-calf pairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objective of this study was to compare movement patterns of nursing vs. nonnursing mature cows and to characterize cow-calf proximity patterns in two herds of Raramuri Criollo cattle. Herds grazed rangeland pastures in southern New Mexico (4355 ha) and west-central Chihuahua, Mexico (633 ha)'' A...

  13. Page 170 Use of Electronic Resources by Undergraduates in Two ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    undergraduate students use electronic resources such as NUC virtual library, HINARI, ... web pages articles from magazines, encyclopedias, pamphlets and other .... of Nigerian university libraries have Internet connectivity, some of the system.

  14. Searls prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae) for rangeland revegetation: Phenotypic and genetic evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishor Bhattarai; Shaun Bushman; Douglas A. Johnson; John G. Carman

    2011-01-01

    Few North American legumes are available for use in rangeland revegetation in the western USA, but Searls prairie clover [Dalea searlsiae (A. Gray) Barneby] is one that holds promise. Commercial-scale seed production of this species could address the issues of unreliable seed availability and high seed costs associated with its wildland seed collection. To evaluate its...

  15. Model of e-learning with electronic educational resources of new generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Loban

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the article: improving of scientific and methodical base of the theory of the е-learning of variability. Methods used: conceptual and logical modeling of the е-learning of variability process with electronic educational resource of new generation and system analysis of the interconnection of the studied subject area, methods, didactics approaches and information and communication technologies means. Results: the formalization complex model of the е-learning of variability with electronic educational resource of new generation is developed, conditionally decomposed into three basic components: the formalization model of the course in the form of the thesaurusclassifier (“Author of e-resource”, the model of learning as management (“Coordination. Consultation. Control”, the learning model with the thesaurus-classifier (“Student”. Model “Author of e-resource” allows the student to achieve completeness, high degree of didactic elaboration and structuring of the studied material in triples of variants: modules of education information, practical task and control tasks; the result of the student’s (author’s of e-resource activity is the thesaurus-classifier. Model of learning as management is based on the principle of personal orientation of learning in computer environment and determines the logic of interaction between the lecturer and the student when determining the triple of variants individually for each student; organization of a dialogue between the lecturer and the student for consulting purposes; personal control of the student’s success (report generation and iterative search for the concept of the class assignment in the thesaurus-classifier before acquiring the required level of training. Model “Student” makes it possible to concretize the learning tasks in relation to the personality of the student and to the training level achieved; the assumption of the lecturer about the level of training of a

  16. Evaluating Structural and Functional Characteristics of Various Ecological Patches in Different Range Conditions (Case Study: Semi -Steppe Rangeland of Aghche-Isfahan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Jafari

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Rangeland condition assessment plays an important role in determining range health and applying appropriate management programs. This study aimed to evaluate the structure and function of a semi-steppe rangeland using Landscape Function Analysis technique (LFA in different land conditions in western Isfahan province, Iran. For this purpose, 4, 3 and 7 sites in different rangeland condition classes including very poor, poor, and moderate were selected respectively. In each site, a 30-meter transect was established and all kinds of patches and inter patches were identified and their lengths and widths were recorded. Also, in each ecological patch, 11 indicators of soil surface characteristics with three replications were measured, and their status was scored according to LFA method. The functionality indices of all the sites including soil stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were measured. According to the statistical analysis results, most of the structural characteristics (number of patches, patch length, patch area index, landscape organization index and functional indices (infiltration, stability and nutrient cycling status varied significantly (α= 5% between rangeland sites with moderate and very poor condition. The changes of these structural and functional characteristics were not significant between range sites with moderate and poor, and also poor and very poor range conditions. According to the findings of this study, patch types' functionalities did not vary significantly in both rangeland sites with moderate and very poor conditions. The nutrient cycling index in patches formed by ‘forb, shrub and grass’ with poor range condition was significantly more than ‘forb’ and ‘grass’ patches. The study of range site functionality can assist managers in identifying possible ecological thresholds and prioritizing the sub-catchments and vegetation types for implementing range improvement practices.

  17. A survey of the use of electronic scientific information resources among medical and dental students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aarnio Matti

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To evaluate medical and dental students' utilization of electronic information resources. Methods A web survey sent to 837 students (49.9% responded. Results Twenty-four per cent of medical students and ninteen per cent of dental students searched MEDLINE 2+ times/month for study purposes, and thiry-two per cent and twenty-four per cent respectively for research. Full-text articles were used 2+ times/month by thirty-three per cent of medical and ten per cent of dental students. Twelve per cent of respondents never utilized either MEDLINE or full-text articles. In multivariate models, the information-searching skills among students were significantly associated with use of MEDLINE and full-text articles. Conclusion Use of electronic resources differs among students. Forty percent were non-users of full-text articles. Information-searching skills are correlated with the use of electronic resources, but the level of basic PC skills plays not a major role in using these resources. The student data shows that adequate training in information-searching skills will increase the use of electronic information resources.

  18. Access to electronic information resources by students of federal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper discusses access to electronic information resources by students of Federal Colleges of Education in Eha-Amufu and Umunze. Descriptive survey design was used to investigate sample of 526 students. Sampling technique used was a Multi sampling technique. Data for the study were generated using ...

  19. Adoption and use of electronic information resources by medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the adoption and use of electronic information resources by medical science students of the University of Benin. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and 390 students provided the data. Data collected were analysed with descriptive Statistics(Simple percentage and ...

  20. Composted manure application promotes long-term invasion of semi-arid rangeland by Bromus tectorum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Composted organic matter derived from sewage treatment facilities or livestock manure from feedlots is often applied to rangelands of western North America to increase soil fertility, forage production, forage quality, and soil carbon (C) storage. This practice can have a number of undesirable side ...

  1. Evaluating soil moisture and hydraulic conductivity in semi-arid rangeland soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whitaker, M.P.L.

    1993-01-01

    The US DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (DOE-OCRWM) Fellowship Program supports various disciplines of academic research related to the isolation of radionuclides from the biosphere. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of a university research application in the specific discipline of hydrology and water resources (a multi-disciplinary field encompassing engineering and the earth sciences), and to discuss how this research pertains to the objectives of the DOE-OCRWM Fellowship Program. The university research application is twofold: One portion focuses on the spatial variability of soil moisture (θ) and the other section compares point measurements with small watershed estimates of hydraulic conductivity (K) in a semi-arid rangeland soil in Arizona. For soil moisture measurements collected over a range of horizontal sampling intervals, no spatial correlation was evident. This outcome is reassuring to computer modelers who have assumed no spatial correlation for soil moisture over smaller scales. In regard to hydraulic conductivity, point measurements differed significantly from small watershed estimates of hydraulic conductivity which were derived from a calibrated and verified rainfall-runoff computer model. The estimates of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were obtained from previous computer simulations in which measured data was collected in the same research location as the present study

  2. Scales of snow depth variability in high elevation rangeland sagebrush

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedesche, Molly E.; Fassnacht, Steven R.; Meiman, Paul J.

    2017-09-01

    In high elevation semi-arid rangelands, sagebrush and other shrubs can affect transport and deposition of wind-blown snow, enabling the formation of snowdrifts. Datasets from three field experiments were used to investigate the scales of spatial variability of snow depth around big mountain sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) at a high elevation plateau rangeland in North Park, Colorado, during the winters of 2002, 2003, and 2008. Data were collected at multiple resolutions (0.05 to 25 m) and extents (2 to 1000 m). Finer scale data were collected specifically for this study to examine the correlation between snow depth, sagebrush microtopography, the ground surface, and the snow surface, as well as the temporal consistency of snow depth patterns. Variograms were used to identify the spatial structure and the Moran's I statistic was used to determine the spatial correlation. Results show some temporal consistency in snow depth at several scales. Plot scale snow depth variability is partly a function of the nature of individual shrubs, as there is some correlation between the spatial structure of snow depth and sagebrush, as well as between the ground and snow depth. The optimal sampling resolution appears to be 25-cm, but over a large area, this would require a multitude of samples, and thus a random stratified approach is recommended with a fine measurement resolution of 5-cm.

  3. Where Do Electronic Books Fit in the College Research Arsenal of Resources?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbier, Patricia

    2007-01-01

    Student use of electronic books has become an accepted supplement to traditional resources. Student use and satisfaction was monitored through an online course discussion board. Increased use of electronic books indicate this service is an accepted supplement to the print book collection.

  4. Success of seeding native compared with introduced perennial vegetation for revegetating medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millions of hectares of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle &Young) rangeland have been invaded by medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski), an exotic annual grass that degrades wildlife habitat, reduces forage production, and decreases biodiversity....

  5. Separating the cows from the trees: toward development of national definitions of forest and rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    H. Gyde Lund

    2007-01-01

    This paper introduces issues surrounding the need for national definitions of forest and rangeland, and it review types of definitions in use, reviews past agreements and their status, and finally gives recommendations as to what should be done next.

  6. Energy budgets and resistances to energy transport in sparsely vegetated rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, W.D.

    1992-01-01

    Partitioning available energy between plants and bare soil in sparsely vegetated rangelands will allow hydrologists and others to gain a greater understanding of water use by native vegetation, especially phreatophytes. Standard methods of conducting energy budget studies result in measurements of latent and sensible heat fluxes above the plant canopy which therefore include the energy fluxes from both the canopy and the soil. One-dimensional theoretical numerical models have been proposed recently for the partitioning of energy in sparse crops. Bowen ratio and other micrometeorological data collected over phreatophytes growing in areas of shallow ground water in central Nevada were used to evaluate the feasibility of using these models, which are based on surface and within-canopy aerodynamic resistances, to determine heat and water vapor transport in sparsely vegetated rangelands. The models appear to provide reasonably good estimates of sensible heat flux from the soil and latent heat flux from the canopy. Estimates of latent heat flux from the soil were less satisfactory. Sensible heat flux from the canopy was not well predicted by the present resistance formulations. Also, estimates of total above-canopy fluxes were not satisfactory when using a single value for above-canopy bulk aerodynamic resistance. ?? 1992.

  7. Revolutionary land use change in the 21st century: Is (rangeland) science relevant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrick, J.E.; Brown, J.R.; Bestelmeyer, B.T.; Andrews, S.S.; Baldi, G.; Davies, J.; Duniway, M.; Havstad, K.M.; Karl, J.W.; Karlen, D.L.; Peters, Debra P.C.; Quinton, J.N.; Riginos, C.; Shaver, P.L.; Steinaker, D.; Twomlow, S.

    2012-01-01

    Rapidly increasing demand for food, fiber, and fuel together with new technologies and the mobility of global capital are driving revolutionary changes in land use throughout the world. Efforts to increase land productivity include conversion of millions of hectares of rangelands to crop production, including many marginal lands with low resistance and resilience to degradation. Sustaining the productivity of these lands requires careful land use planning and innovative management systems. Historically, this responsibility has been left to agronomists and others with expertise in crop production. In this article, we argue that the revolutionary land use changes necessary to support national and global food security potentially make rangeland science more relevant now than ever. Maintaining and increasing relevance will require a revolutionary change in range science from a discipline that focuses on a particular land use or land cover to one that addresses the challenge of managing all lands that, at one time, were considered to be marginal for crop production. We propose four strategies to increase the relevance of rangeland science to global land management: 1) expand our awareness and understanding of local to global economic, social, and technological trends in order to anticipate and identify drivers and patterns of conversion; 2) emphasize empirical studies and modeling that anticipate the biophysical (ecosystem services) and societal consequences of large-scale changes in land cover and use; 3) significantly increase communication and collaboration with the disciplines and sectors of society currently responsible for managing the new land uses; and 4) develop and adopt a dynamic and flexible resilience-based land classification system and data-supported conceptual models (e.g., state-and-transition models) that represent all lands, regardless of use and the consequences of land conversion to various uses instead of changes in state or condition that are

  8. Mother-Offspring Interactions in Raramuri Criollo Cattle on New Mexico and Chihuahua (Mexico) Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland beef cows spend approximately six months of a typical year raising their calf. This endeavor is known to significantly alter a dam’s grazing behavior and spatial distribution patterns. The objective of this study was to characterize cow-calf contact events in two herds of Raramuri Criollo ...

  9. Deforestation of "degraded" rangelands: The Argentine Chaco enters the next stage of the Anthropocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twenty years ago I completed my Master’s work in the Chaco forests of northern Argentina. The native forests are, in fact, rangelands. In addition to livestock grazing, there is timber extraction, wildlife harvest (think tegu lizard cowboy boots), and charcoal production. I took part in a project co...

  10. Mapping Erosion and Salinity Risk Categories Using GIS and the Rangeland Hydrology Erosion Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Up to fifteen percent of rangelands in the state of Utah in the United States are classified as being in severely eroding condition. Some of these degraded lands are located on saline, erodible soils of the Mancos Shale formation. This results in a disproportionate contribution of sediment, salinity...

  11. Strategic Planning for Electronic Resources Management: A Case Study at Gustavus Adolphus College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulseberg, Anna; Monson, Sarah

    2009-01-01

    Electronic resources, the tools we use to manage them, and the needs and expectations of our users are constantly evolving; at the same time, the roles, responsibilities, and workflow of the library staff who manage e-resources are also in flux. Recognizing a need to be more intentional and proactive about how we manage e-resources, the…

  12. REVIEW OF MOODLE PLUGINS FOR DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FROM LANGUAGE DISCIPLINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Today the problem of designing multimedia electronic educational resources from language disciplines in Moodle is very important. This system has a lot of different, powerful resources, plugins to facilitate the learning of students with language disciplines. This article presents an overview and comparative analysis of the five Moodle plugins for designing multimedia electronic educational resources from language disciplines. There have been considered their key features and functionality in order to choose the best for studying language disciplines in the Moodle. Plugins are compared by a group of experts according to the criteria: efficiency, functionality and easy use. For a comparative analysis of the plugins it is used the analytic hierarchy process.

  13. IMPACT OF Acacia drepanolobium (AN INVASIVE WOODY SPECIES ON GUM-RESIN RESOURCES AND LOCAL LIVELIHOOD IN BORANA, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayana Abdeta

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the impact of Acacia drepanolobium, a species threatening rangeland resources including Gum-resin production and pastoralists’ livelihoods in Borana. Data were collected through vegetation surveys, key informant interviews, use of formal questionnaires and focus group discussions. We found a total of 22 woody species in the study area. A. drepanolobium was found to be the most dominant (22% and abundant (65% invasive woody species with an importance value index (IVI of 103. According to our respondents, A. drepanolobium was the first widely expanded woody species followed by Dichrostachys cinerea and A. mellifera. Eighty seven percent of our respondents ranked A. drepanolobium as the most invading woody species during their life time. Overall, our results demonstrated that the impact of A. drepanolobium had greatly affected the condition of rangeland vegetation. The implication is that the reduction in the capacity of rangelands for livestock grazing could reduce the resilience of local livelihood under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, pastoralists’ perception indicated that the expansion of A. drepanolobium had reduced the survival of Gum-resin producing species. Generally, the shift from cattle based pastoral economy to mixed livestock types could be attributed to the expansion of A. drepanolobium that forced the community to shift their mode of production. We confirmed that A. drepanolobium is an invasive indigenous woody species with multiple effects on the ecology of rangelands and on the livelihood security of pastoral communities.

  14. Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web 2.0 and Its Implications For Library And Information Practice In Nigeria. ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader). If you would like more ...

  15. THE MODEL OF LINGUISTIC TEACHERS’ COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT ON DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE MOODLE SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of developing the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system. The concept of "the competence of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system" is justified and defined. Identified and characterized the components by which the levels of the competency development of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system should be assessed. Developed a model for the development of the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system, which is based on the main scientific approaches, used in adult education, and consists of five blocks: target, informative, technological, diagnostic and effective.

  16. Developing Humanities Collections in the Digital Age: Exploring Humanities Faculty Engagement with Electronic and Print Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachaluba, Sarah Buck; Brady, Jessica Evans; Critten, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    This article is based on quantitative and qualitative research examining humanities scholars' understandings of the advantages and disadvantages of print versus electronic information resources. It explores how humanities' faculty members at Florida State University (FSU) use print and electronic resources, as well as how they perceive these…

  17. Problems in implementing improved range management on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: Africa; Australia; Livestock development; Pastoral communities; Rangeland development; Rangeland systems; Sustainability; development; ecology; holism; pastoralism; range management; strategies; environment; water; health; crop production; rangelands; resource management; north africa; holistic approach ...

  18. Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) pooled tetraploid accessions for U.S. Intermountain rangeland reclamation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanford A. Young; Jason Vernon; Nancy Shaw

    2013-01-01

    Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus [Scribn. & Merr.] A. Love) is an important perennial, hardy, long-lived, cool season C3 native grass of rangeland plant communities throughout much of western United States and Canada. All classes of livestock and wildlife, including large and small birds and mammals, utilise the grass year round for food and protection due to its 2-3...

  19. Bio solids Effects in Chihuahuan Desert Rangelands: A Ten-Year Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wester, D.B; Sosebee, R.E; Fish, E.B; Villalobos, J.C; Zartman, R.E; Gonzalez, R.M; Jurado, P.; Moffet, C.A

    2011-01-01

    Arid and semiarid rangelands are suitable for responsible bio solids application. Topical application is critical to avoid soil and vegetation disturbance. Surface-applied bio solids have long-lasting effects in these ecosystems. We conducted a 10-year research program investigating effects of bio solids applied at rates from 0 to 90 dry Mg ha -1 on soil water infiltration; runoff and leachate water quality; soil erosion; forage production and quality; seedling establishment; plant physiological responses; nitrogen dynamics; bio solids decomposition; and grazing animal behavior and management. Bio solids increased soil water infiltration and reduced erosion. Effects on soil water quality were observed only at the highest application rates. Bio solids increased soil nitrate-nitrogen. Bio solids increased forage production and improved forage quality. Bio solids increased leaf area of grasses; photosynthetic rates were not necessarily increased by bio solids. Bio solids effects on plant establishment are expected only under moderately favorable conditions. Over an 82-mo exposure period, total organic carbon, nitrogen, and total and available phosphorus decreased and inorganic matter increased. Grazing animals spent more time grazing, ruminating, and resting in bio solids-treated areas; positive effects on average daily gain were observed during periods of higher rainfall. Our results suggest that annual bio solids application rates of up to 18 Mg ha -1 are appropriate for desert rangelands.

  20. 75 FR 33239 - Rangeland Allotment Management Planning on the Fall River West and Oglala Geographic Areas, Fall...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-11

    ...The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzing the management of rangeland vegetation resources, which includes livestock grazing, on the National Forest System (NFS) lands within the Oglala Geographic Area (OGA) of the Oglala National Grassland on the Pine Ridge Ranger District and the West Geographic Area (WGA) of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland on the Fall River Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest (Analysis Area) areas as mapped by the 2001 Nebraska National Forest Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). A Notice of Intent (NOI) for this project was published February 22, 2008 (73 No. 36 FR 9760- 9762). More than six months have elapsed since the projected draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) date in that original NOI. This revised NOI is being issued to update the project schedule. There will be a record of decision (ROD) for each geographic area. Proposed management actions would be implemented beginning in the year 2012. The agency gives notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur on the proposal so interested and affected people may become aware of how they may participate in the process and contribute to the final decision.

  1. Incorporating biodiversity into rangeland health: Plant species richness and diversity in great plains grasslands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.

    2011-01-01

    Indicators of rangeland health generally do not include a measure of biodiversity. Increasing attention to maintaining biodiversity in rangelands suggests that this omission should be reconsidered, and plant species richness and diversity are two metrics that may be useful and appropriate. Ideally, their response to a variety of anthropogenic and natural drivers in the ecosystem of interest would be clearly understood, thereby providing a means to diagnose the cause of decline in an ecosystem. Conceptual ecological models based on ecological principles and hypotheses provide a framework for this understanding, but these models must be supported by empirical evidence if they are to be used for decision making. To that end, we synthesize results from published studies regarding the responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that are of management concern in Great Plains grasslands, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. In the published literature, moderate grazing generally has a positive effect on these metrics in tallgrass prairie and a neutral to negative effect in shortgrass prairie. The largest published effects on richness and diversity were caused by moderate grazing in tallgrass prairies and nitrogen fertilization in shortgrass prairies. Although weather is often cited as the reason for considerable annual fluctuations in richness and diversity, little information about the responses of these metrics to weather is available. Responses of the two metrics often diverged, reflecting differences in their sensitivity to different types of changes in the plant community. Although sufficient information has not yet been published for these metrics to meet all the criteria of a good indicator in Great Plains Grasslands, augmenting current methods of evaluating rangeland health with a measure of plant species richness would reduce these shortcomings and provide information critical to managing for biodiversity.

  2. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus Corriente steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranchers that raise Criollo cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Raramuri Criollo (RC) steers are commonly raised for beef and finished on rangelands, while Corriente (CR) are often raised for rodeo sports. No data exist on weight gains and grazing behavior of ran...

  3. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus crossbred steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranchers that raise Raramuri Criollo (RC) cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Growing and finishing RC or RC-crossbred steers on rangeland pastures is increasingly common; however, no data exist on their weight gains or grazing behavior. We tracked the weight a...

  4. Comparative Assessment of Goods and Services Provided by Grazing Regulation and Reforestation in Degraded Mediterranean Rangelands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Papanastasis, Vasilios P.; Bautista, Susana; Chouvardas, Dimitrios; Mantzanas, Konstantinos; Papadimitriou, Maria; Garcia Mayor, Angeles; Koukioumi, Polina; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Vallejo, Ramon V.

    2017-01-01

    Several management actions are applied to restore ecosystem services in degraded Mediterranean rangelands, which range from adjusting the grazing pressure to the removal of grazers and pine plantations. Four such actions were assessed in Quercus coccifera L. shrublands in northern Greece: (i)

  5. Moisture, plant-plant interactions and herbivory as drivers of rangeland restoration success in the western US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restoration efforts in the western US occur across a diverse array of plant communities and climatic conditions. Restoration is likely constrained by different factors in different locations, but few efforts have compared the outcomes of rangeland restoration experiments across broad spatial scales....

  6. Electronic resource management systems a workflow approach

    CERN Document Server

    Anderson, Elsa K

    2014-01-01

    To get to the bottom of a successful approach to Electronic Resource Management (ERM), Anderson interviewed staff at 11 institutions about their ERM implementations. Among her conclusions, presented in this issue of Library Technology Reports, is that grasping the intricacies of your workflow-analyzing each step to reveal the gaps and problems-at the beginning is crucial to selecting and implementing an ERM. Whether the system will be used to fill a gap, aggregate critical data, or replace a tedious manual process, the best solution for your library depends on factors such as your current soft

  7. Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes Grasshoppers following Ingestion of Rangeland Plant Species Harboring Vesicular Stomatitis Virus▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drolet, Barbara S.; Stuart, Melissa A.; Derner, Justin D.

    2009-01-01

    Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants. Our objectives were to determine the stability of VSV on common plant species of U.S. Northern Plains rangelands and to assess the potential of these plant species as a source of virus for grasshoppers. Fourteen plant species were exposed to VSV and assayed for infectious virus over time (0 to 24 h). The frequency of viable virus recovery at 24 h postexposure was as high as 73%. The two most common plant species in Northern Plains rangelands (western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii] and needle and thread [Hesperostipa comata]) were fed to groups of grasshoppers. At 3 weeks postfeeding, the grasshopper infection rate was 44 to 50%. Exposure of VSV to a commonly used grasshopper pesticide resulted in complete viral inactivation. This is the first report demonstrating the stability of VSV on rangeland plant surfaces, and it suggests that a significant window of opportunity exists for grasshoppers to ingest VSV from contaminated plants. The use of grasshopper pesticides on pastures would decrease the incidence of a virus-amplifying mechanical vector and might also decontaminate pastures, thereby decreasing the inter- and intraherd spread of VSV. PMID:19286779

  8. Infection of Melanoplus sanguinipes grasshoppers following ingestion of rangeland plant species harboring vesicular stomatitis virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drolet, Barbara S; Stuart, Melissa A; Derner, Justin D

    2009-05-01

    Knowledge of the many mechanisms of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) transmission is critical for understanding of the epidemiology of sporadic disease outbreaks in the western United States. Migratory grasshoppers [Melanoplus sanguinipes (Fabricius)] have been implicated as reservoirs and mechanical vectors of VSV. The grasshopper-cattle-grasshopper transmission cycle is based on the assumptions that (i) virus shed from clinically infected animals would contaminate pasture plants and remain infectious on plant surfaces and (ii) grasshoppers would become infected by eating the virus-contaminated plants. Our objectives were to determine the stability of VSV on common plant species of U.S. Northern Plains rangelands and to assess the potential of these plant species as a source of virus for grasshoppers. Fourteen plant species were exposed to VSV and assayed for infectious virus over time (0 to 24 h). The frequency of viable virus recovery at 24 h postexposure was as high as 73%. The two most common plant species in Northern Plains rangelands (western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii] and needle and thread [Hesperostipa comata]) were fed to groups of grasshoppers. At 3 weeks postfeeding, the grasshopper infection rate was 44 to 50%. Exposure of VSV to a commonly used grasshopper pesticide resulted in complete viral inactivation. This is the first report demonstrating the stability of VSV on rangeland plant surfaces, and it suggests that a significant window of opportunity exists for grasshoppers to ingest VSV from contaminated plants. The use of grasshopper pesticides on pastures would decrease the incidence of a virus-amplifying mechanical vector and might also decontaminate pastures, thereby decreasing the inter- and intraherd spread of VSV.

  9. Electronic Resource Management System. Vernetzung von Lizenzinformationen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Selbach

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In den letzten zehn Jahren spielen elektronische Ressourcen im Bereich der Erwerbung eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle: Eindeutig lässt sich hier ein Wandel in den Bibliotheken (fort vom reinen Printbestand zu immer größeren E-Only-Beständen feststellen. Die stetig wachsende Menge an E-Ressourcen und deren Heterogenität stellt Bibliotheken vor die Herausforderung, die E-Ressourcen effizient zu verwalten. Nicht nur Bibliotheken, sondern auch verhandlungsführende Institutionen von Konsortial- und Allianzlizenzen benötigen ein geeignetes Instrument zur Verwaltung von Lizenzinformationen, welches den komplexen Anforderungen moderner E-Ressourcen gerecht wird. Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG unterstützt ein Projekt des Hochschulbibliothekszentrums des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (hbz, der Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg, der Verbundzentrale des Gemeinsamen Bibliotheksverbundes (GBV und der Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt, in dem ein bundesweit verfügbares Electronic Ressource Managementsystem (ERMS aufgebaut werden soll. Ein solches ERMS soll auf Basis einer zentralen Knowledge Base eine einheitliche Nutzung von Daten zur Lizenzverwaltung elektronischer Ressourcen auf lokaler, regionaler und nationaler Ebene ermöglichen. Statistische Auswertungen, Rechteverwaltung für alle angeschlossenen Bibliotheken, kooperative Datenpflege sowie ein über standardisierte Schnittstellen geführter Datenaustausch stehen bei der Erarbeitung der Anforderungen ebenso im Fokus wie die Entwicklung eines Daten- und Funktionsmodells. In the last few years the importance of electronic resources in library acquisitions has increased significantly. There has been a shift from mere print holdings to both e- and print combinations and even e-only subscriptions. This shift poses a double challenge for libraries: On the one hand they have to provide their e-resource collections to library users in an appealing way, on the other hand they have to manage these

  10. Rangeland livestock production: Developing the concept of sustainability on the Santa Rita Experimental Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    George B. Ruyle

    2003-01-01

    The Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was established in 1903 at the behest of concerned stockmen and researchers as the first facility in the United States set aside to study range livestock production. At the time, severe overgrazing of the public domain had seriously reduced carrying capacities of Southwestern rangelands. Researchers on the SRER developed and...

  11. The Electron Microscopy Outreach Program: A Web-based resource for research and education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sosinsky, G E; Baker, T S; Hand, G; Ellisman, M H

    1999-01-01

    We have developed a centralized World Wide Web (WWW)-based environment that serves as a resource of software tools and expertise for biological electron microscopy. A major focus is molecular electron microscopy, but the site also includes information and links on structural biology at all levels of resolution. This site serves to help integrate or link structural biology techniques in accordance with user needs. The WWW site, called the Electron Microscopy (EM) Outreach Program (URL: http://emoutreach.sdsc.edu), provides scientists with computational and educational tools for their research and edification. In particular, we have set up a centralized resource containing course notes, references, and links to image analysis and three-dimensional reconstruction software for investigators wanting to learn about EM techniques either within or outside of their fields of expertise. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  12. Effect of canopy cover and canopy background variables on spectral profiles of savanna rangeland bush encroachment species based on selected Acacia species (mellifera, tortilis, karroo) and Dichrostachys cinerea at Mokopane, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Munyati, C

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The proliferation of woody plant species on savanna rangelands (i.e. bush encroachment) degrades rangeland quality, thereby threatening the biodiversity conservation effort as well as pastoral farming. Hyperspectral remote sensing offers...

  13. Technical Communicator: A New Model for the Electronic Resources Librarian?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulseberg, Anna

    2016-01-01

    This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronic resources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the…

  14. The usefullness of ERTS-1 and supporting aircraft data for monitoring plant development in rangeland environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carneggie, D. M.; Degloria, S. D.

    1972-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analysis of ERTS-1 MSS imagery of annual and perennial rangeland in California yields the following observations: (1) Sufficient geomorphological detail can be resolved to differentiate upland and bottomland range sites in the foothill range areas. (2) Dry and green meadowland can be differentiated on MSS band 5. (3) Color composites prepared by NASA-Goddard were useful for locating perennial rangeland with varying amounts of herbaceous ground cover. (4) The ERTS-1 images received and interpreted cover nearly 50% of the state of California and show nearly two-thirds of the annual grassland type. (5) Satellite imagery obtained during the late summer season should be optimum for differentiating grassland from brushland and forested land. (6) The ERTS-1 imagery clearly shows areas which at one time were part of the annual grassland but which are now used for dry land farming (cropping of cereal grains). Similarly, the imagery show areas which have been converted from brushland to grassland.

  15. Estimating climate change effects on net primary production of rangelands in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthew C. Reeves; Adam L. Moreno; Karen E. Bagne; Steven W. Running

    2014-01-01

    The potential effects of climate change on net primary productivity (NPP) of U.S. rangelands were evaluated using estimated climate regimes from the A1B, A2 and B2 global change scenarios imposed on the biogeochemical cycling model, Biome-BGC from 2001 to 2100. Temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure deficit, day length, solar radiation, CO2 enrichment and nitrogen...

  16. MODEL OF AN ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE OF NEW GENERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoliy V. Loban

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The mathematical structure of the modular architecture of an electronic educational resource (EER of new generation, which allows to decompose the process of studying the subjects of the course at a hierarchically ordered set of data (knowledge and procedures for manipulating them, to determine the roles of participants of process of training of and technology the development and use of EOR in the study procrate.

  17. Three-dimensional framework of vigor, organization, and resilience (VOR) for assessing rangeland health: a case study from the alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuan-yuan; Dong, Shi-kui; Wen, Lu; Wang, Xue-xia; Wu, Yu

    2013-12-01

    Rangeland health assessments play an important role in providing qualitative and quantitative data about ecosystem attributes and rangeland management. The objective of this study is to test the feasible of a modified model and visualize the health in a three-dimensional model. A modified Costanza model was employed, and eight indicators, including the biomass, biodiversity, and carrying capacity [associated with the vigor, organization, and resilience (VOR)] were applied. An entropy method was also developed to calculate the weight of each indicator, and a three-dimensional framework was applied to visualize the indicators and health index. The conceptual model was demonstrated using data from a case study on the alpine rangeland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, one of the globally important grassland biomes being severely degraded by natural and human factors. The health indices of four grassland plots at different levels of degradation were calculated using a modified approach to measuring their VOR. The results indicated that the least disturbed plot was relatively healthy compared to the other plots. In addition, the health indices presented in the three-dimensional VOR framework decreased in a consistent manner across the four plots along the disturbance gradients. Such rangeland health assessments should be integrated with management efforts to insure their long-term sustainable use.

  18. AERO: A Decision Support Tool for Wind Erosion Assessment in Rangelands and Croplands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galloza, M.; Webb, N.; Herrick, J.

    2015-12-01

    Wind erosion is a key driver of global land degradation, with on- and off-site impacts on agricultural production, air quality, ecosystem services and climate. Measuring rates of wind erosion and dust emission across land use and land cover types is important for quantifying the impacts and identifying and testing practical management options. This process can be assisted by the application of predictive models, which can be a powerful tool for land management agencies. The Aeolian EROsion (AERO) model, a wind erosion and dust emission model interface provides access by non-expert land managers to a sophisticated wind erosion decision-support tool. AERO incorporates land surface processes and sediment transport equations from existing wind erosion models and was designed for application with available national long-term monitoring datasets (e.g. USDI BLM Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring, USDA NRCS Natural Resources Inventory) and monitoring protocols. Ongoing AERO model calibration and validation are supported by geographically diverse data on wind erosion rates and land surface conditions collected by the new National Wind Erosion Research Network. Here we present the new AERO interface, describe parameterization of the underpinning wind erosion model, and provide a summary of the model applications across agricultural lands and rangelands in the United States.

  19. Water movement through the unsaturated zone of the High Plains Aquifer in the Central Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska, 2008-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steele, Gregory V.; Gurdak, Jason J.; Hobza, Christopher M.

    2014-01-01

    Uncertainty about the effects of land use and climate on water movement in the unsaturated zone and on groundwater recharge rates can lead to uncertainty in water budgets used for groundwater-flow models. To better understand these effects, a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Central Platte Natural Resources District was initiated in 2007 to determine field-based estimates of recharge rates in selected land-use areas of the Central Platte Natural Resources District in Nebraska. Measured total water potential and unsaturated-zone profiles of tritium, chloride, nitrate as nitrogen, and bromide, along with groundwater-age dates, were used to evaluate water movement in the unsaturated zone and groundwater recharge rates in the central Platte River study area. Eight study sites represented an east-west precipitation contrast across the study area—four beneath groundwater-irrigated cropland (sites 2, 5, and 6 were irrigated corn and site 7 was irrigated alfalfa/corn rotation), three beneath rangeland (sites 1, 4, and 8), and one beneath nonirrigated cropland, or dryland (site 3). Measurements of transient vertical gradients in total water potential indicated that periodic wetting fronts reached greater mean maximum depths beneath the irrigated sites than beneath the rangeland sites, in part, because of the presence of greater and constant antecedent moisture. Beneath the rangeland sites, greater temporal variation in antecedent moisture and total water potential existed and was, in part, likely a result of local precipitation and evapotranspiration. Moreover, greater variability was noticed in the total water potential profiles beneath the western sites than the corresponding eastern sites, which was attributed to less mean annual precipitation in the west. The depth of the peak post-bomb tritium concentration or the interface between the pre-bomb/post-bomb tritium, along with a tritium mass balance, within sampled soil profiles were used to

  20. Development of the crop residue and rangeland burning in the 2014 National Emissions Inventory using information from multiple sources

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This workbook contains all the activity data, emission factor data, and ancillary data used to compute crop residue burning and rangeland emissions for the 2014 NEI...

  1. Biomass increases go under cover: woody vegetation dynamics in South African rangelands

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mograbi, PJ

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available and ranging (LiDAR) data The communal rangelands were surveyed with airborne laser mapping as part of a Carnegie Airborne Observatory (http://cao.ciw.edu/) campaign in April 2008 and April 2012, concur- rently with the collected fieldwork data in 2012. Small... permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All data necessary to replicate the results of this study are contained within the paper and its...

  2. Positives and pathologies of natural resource management on private land-conservation areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clements, Hayley S; Cumming, Graeme S

    2017-06-01

    In managed natural resource systems, such as fisheries and rangelands, there is a recognized trade-off between managing for short-term benefits and managing for longer term resilience. Management actions that stabilize ecological attributes or processes can improve productivity in the supply of ecosystem goods and services in the short term but erode system resilience at longer time scales. For example, fire suppression in rangelands can increase grass biomass initially but ultimately result in an undesirable, shrub-dominated system. Analyses of this phenomenon have focused largely on how management actions influence slow-changing biophysical system attributes (such as vegetation composition). Data on the frequency of management actions that reduce natural ecological variation on 66 private land-conservation areas (PLCAs) in South Africa were used to investigate how management actions are influenced by manager decision-making approaches, a largely ignored part of the problem. The pathology of natural resource management was evident on some PLCAs: increased focus on revenue-generation in decision making resulted in an increased frequency of actions to stabilize short-term variation in large mammal populations, which led to increased revenues from ecotourism or hunting. On many PLCAs, these management actions corresponded with a reduced focus on ecological monitoring and an increase in overstocking of game (i.e., ungulate species) and stocking of extralimitals (i.e., game species outside their historical range). Positives in natural resource management also existed. Some managers monitored slower changing ecological attributes, which resulted in less-intensive management, fewer extralimital species, and lower stocking rates. Our unique, empirical investigation of monitoring-management relationships illustrates that management decisions informed by revenue monitoring versus ecological monitoring can have opposing consequences for natural resource productivity and

  3. Grazing exclusion, substrate type, and drought frequency affect plant community structure in rangelands of the arid unpredictable Arabian Deserts

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Keblawy, Ali; El-Sheikh, Mohamed

    2017-04-01

    Grazing and drought can adversely affect the ecology and management of rangeland ecosystems. Several management actions have been applied to restore species diversity and community structure in degraded rangelands of the unpredictable arid environment. Protection from grazing is considered as a proper approach for restoration of degraded rangelands, but this depends on substrate type and sometime is hindered with water deficiency (drought). In this study, the effect of protection from grazing animals on species diversity and plant community structure was assessed after a dry and wet periods in both sandy and gravelly substrates in the Dubai Desert Conservation reserve (DDCR), United Arab Emirates. Two sites were selected during November 2012 on the two substrate types (fixed sandy flat and gravel plain) in the arid DDCR. An enclosure was established in each site. Plant community attributes (plant cover, density, frequency, species composition, and diversity indices) were assessed in a number of permanent plots laid inside and outside each enclosure during November 2012, April 2014 and April 2016. The results showed that protection improved clay content, but decreased the organic matters. Interestingly, the protection reduced the concentrations of most estimated nutrients, which could be attributed to the high turnover rate of nutrients associated grazing and low decomposition of accumulated dry plants of non-protected sites. Protection significantly increased all plant community attributes, but the only significant effect was for plant density. Plant density was almost twice greater inside than outside the enclosures. During the dry period, protection resulted in significantly greater deterioration in cover, density and all diversity indices in gravel, compared to sandy sites. Most of the grasses and shrubby plants had died in the gravel plains. However, plant community of the gravel plains was significantly restored after receiving considerable rainfalls. The

  4. Asymmetric ecological and economic responses for rangeland restoration: A case study of tree thickening in Queensland, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecological and economic thresholds are important considerations when making decisions about safeguarding or restoring degraded rangelands. When degradation levels have passed a threshold, most managers figure it is either time to take action or too late to take action depending on the particular c...

  5. Evaluation of environmental change in rangelands of Uzbekistan with application of nuclear techniques approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasyrov, M.G.; Safarov, A.N.; Osmanov, B.S.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Desertification and land degradation are a problem of major importance in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected nearly 50% of land areas as a result of extended droughts and human mismanagement of cultivated and rangelands. Due to several factors such as soil erosion, overgrazing, collection of plants and other anthropogenic activities the most part of these biomes are under degradation. The problem of assessments of current status of rangelands becomes very important days after days. Therefore, it needs to work out and implement new time and labor saving methods of assessment of current status of natural biomes. Soil erosion is a natural process caused by water, wind, and ice that have affected the earth's surface since the beginning if time. Man's activities often accelerate soil erosion. Soil erosion and its off-site, downstream damages are major concerns around the world causing losses in soil productivity, degradation of landscape, degradation of water quality, and loss of soil organic carbon. Current techniques for assessing soil erosion are (1) long-term soil erosion plot monitoring, (2) field surveys, and (3) soil erosion models (Evans, 1995). Each of this techniques has strengths and weaknesses. Over the last 30 years, research has shown the potential of using radioactive fallout 137 Cs to provide timely and quantitative estimates of soil erosion and redeposition at point, field, and reconnaissance scales. Applications of 137 Cs o provide an independent measurement of soil erosion rates, patterns, and redepositions are well-documented (Ritchie and McHenry, 1990). The unique advantages of the 137 Cs technique to study soil erosion rates and patterns are that it (a) requires only one trip to the field; (b) provides results quickly; (c) allows retrospective assessment of soil erosion rates; (d) provides average losses for 35 to 40 year period thus is less influenced by extreme

  6. Mountain home known geothermal resource area: an environmental analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spencer, S.G.; Russell, B.F. (eds.)

    1979-09-01

    The Mountain Home KGRA encompasses an area of 3853 hectares (ha) at the foot of the Mount Bennett Hills in Elmore County, Idaho. The site is associated with an arid climate and high winds that generate an acute dust problem. The KGRA lies adjacent to the northwest-southeast trending fault zone that reflects the northern boundary of the western Snake River Plain graben. Data indicate that a careful analysis of the subsidence potential is needed prior to extensive geothermal development. Surface water resources are confined to several small creeks. Lands are utilized for irrigated farmlands and rangeland for livestock. There are no apparent soil limitations to geothermal development. Sage grouse and mule deer are the major species of concern. The potential of locating significant heritage resources other than the Oregon Trail or the bathhouse debris appears to be relatively slight.

  7. Effects of feral free-roaming horses on semi-arid rangeland ecosystems: an example from the sagebrush steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feral horses (Equus caballus) are viewed as a symbol of freedom and power; however, they are also a largely unmanaged, non-native grazer in North America, South America, and Australia. Information on their influence on vegetation and soil characteristics in semi-arid rangelands has been limited by ...

  8. The changing role of shrubs in rangeland-based livestock production systems: Can shrubs increase our forage supply?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Projected global increases in ruminant numbers and loss of native grasslands will present a number of challenges for livestock agriculture. Escalated demand for livestock products may stimulate interest in using shrubs on western rangelands. A paradigm shift is needed to change the role of shrubs in...

  9. Geospatial Data as a Service: The GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity Map Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, B. J. K.; Antony, J.; Guerschman, J. P.; Larraondo, P. R.; Richards, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Empowering end-users like pastoralists, land management specialists and land policy makers in the use of earth observation data for both day-to-day and seasonal planning needs both interactive delivery of multiple geospatial datasets and the capability of supporting on-the-fly dynamic queries while simultaneously fostering a community around the effort. The use of and wide adoption of large data archives, like those produced by earth observation missions, are often limited by compute and storage capabilities of the remote user. We demonstrate that wide-scale use of large data archives can be facilitated by end-users dynamically requesting value-added products using open standards (WCS, WMS, WPS), with compute running in the cloud or dedicated data-centres and visualizing outputs on web-front ends. As an example, we will demonstrate how a tool called GSKY can empower a remote end-user by providing the data delivery and analytics capabilities for the GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity (RAPP) Map tool. The GEOGLAM RAPP initiative from the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its Agricultural Monitoring subgroup aims at providing practical tools to end-users focusing on the important role of rangelands and pasture systems in providing food production security from both agricultural crops and animal protein. Figure 1, is a screen capture from the RAPP Map interface for an important pasture area in the Namibian rangelands. The RAPP Map has been in production for six months and has garnered significant interest from groups and users all over the world. GSKY, being formulated around the theme of Open Geospatial Data-as-a-Service capabilities uses distributed computing and storage to facilitate this. It works behind the scenes, accepting OGC standard requests in WCS, WMS and WPS. Results from these requests are rendered on a web-front end. In this way, the complexities of data locality and compute execution are masked from an end user. On-the-fly computation of

  10. Future scenarios: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    . USDA Forest Service.

    2012-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) mandates a periodic assessment of the conditions and trends of the Nation's renewable resources on forests and rangelands. The RPA Assessment includes projections of resource conditions and trends 50 years into the future. The 2010 RPA Assessment used a set of future scenarios to provide a...

  11. Effects of different management regimes on soil erosion and surface runoff in semi-arid to sub-humid rangelands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oudenhoven, van A.P.E.; Veerkamp, C.J.; Alkemade, Rob; Leemans, Rik

    2015-01-01

    Over one billion people's livelihoods depend on dry rangelands through livestock grazing and agriculture. Livestock grazing and other management activities can cause soil erosion, increase surface runoff and reduce water availability. We studied the effects of different management regimes on soil

  12. A potential to monitor nutrients as an indicator of rangeland quality using space borne remote sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramoelo, A; Madonsela, S; Mathieu, R; Van der Korchove, R; Kaszta, Z; Wolf, E; Cho, M A

    2014-01-01

    Global change consisting of land use and climate change could have huge impacts on food security and the health of various ecosystems. Leaf nitrogen (N) is one of the key factors limiting agricultural production and ecosystem functioning. Leaf N can be used as an indicator of rangeland quality which could provide information for the farmers, decision makers, land planners and managers. Leaf N plays a crucial role in understanding the feeding patterns and distribution of wildlife and livestock. Assessment of this vegetation parameter using conventional methods at landscape scale level is time consuming and tedious. Remote sensing provides a synoptic view of the landscape, which engenders an opportunity to assess leaf N over wider rangeland areas from protected to communal areas. Estimation of leaf N has been successful during peak productivity or high biomass and limited studies estimated leaf N in dry season. The objective of this study is to monitor leaf N as an indicator of rangeland quality using WorldView 2 satellite images in the north-eastern part of South Africa. Series of field work to collect samples for leaf N were undertaken in the beginning of May (end of wet season) and July (dry season). Several conventional and red edge based vegetation indices were computed. Simple regression was used to develop prediction model for leaf N. Using bootstrapping, indicator of precision and accuracy were analyzed to select a best model for the combined data sets (May and July). The may model for red edge based simple ratio explained over 90% of leaf N variations. The model developed from the combined data sets with normalized difference vegetation index explained 62% of leaf N variation, and this is a model used to estimate and map leaf N for two seasons. The study demonstrated that leaf N could be monitored using high spatial resolution with the red edge band capability

  13. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina P. Lavrentieva

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The article highlights the causes of insufficient effective use of electronic learning resources and sets out the guidelines on ways to solve the aforementioned problems. The set of didactic, methodical, psychological, pedagogical, design and ergonomic quality requirements is considered for evaluation, selection and application of information and communication technologies in the educational process. The most appropriate mechanisms for the ICT introduction into the learning process are disclosed as it should meet the specific learning needs of the student and the objectives of the educational process. The guidance for psycho-educational assessment of quality of electronic educational resources is provided. It is argued that the effectiveness of the ICT use is to be improved by means of quality evaluation mechanisms involved into the educational process.

  14. Availability, Use and Constraints to Use of Electronic Information Resources by Postgraduates Students at the University of Ibadan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dare Samuel Adeleke

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Availability, awareness and use of electronic resources provide access to authoritative, reliable, accurate and timely access to information. The use of electronic information resources (EIRs can enable innovation in teaching and increase timeliness in research of postgraduate students which will eventual result into encouragement of the expected research-led enquiry in this digital age. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Samples of 300 of postgraduate students within seven out 13 Faculties were randomly selected. Data were collected using questionnaire designed to elicit response from respondents and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics methods percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Results indicated that internet was ranked most available and used in the university. Low level of usage of electronic resources, in particular, full texts data bases is linked to a number of constraints: Interrupted power supply was ranked highest among other factors as speed and capacity of computers, retrieval of records with high recall and low precision, retrieving records relevant to information need, lack of knowledge of search techniques to retrieve information effectively, non possession of requisite IT skills and problems accessing the internet. The study recommended that usage of electronic resources be made compulsory, intensifying awareness campaigns concerning the availability, training on use of electronic resources and the problem of power outage be addressed.

  15. A Study on Developing Evaluation Criteria for Electronic Resources in Evaluation Indicators of Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Younghee

    2010-01-01

    This study aimed to improve the current state of electronic resource evaluation in libraries. While the use of Web DB, e-book, e-journal, and other e-resources such as CD-ROM, DVD, and micro materials is increasing in libraries, their use is not comprehensively factored into the general evaluation of libraries and may diminish the reliability of…

  16. An overview of the rangelands atmosphere hydrosphere biosphere interaction study experiment in northeastern Asia (RAISE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugita, Michiaki; Asanuma, Jun; Tsujimura, Maki; Mariko, Shigeru; Lu, Minjiao; Kimura, Fujio; Azzaya, Dolgorsuren; Adyasuren, Tsokhio

    2007-01-01

    SummaryIntensive observations, analysis and modeling within the framework of the rangelands atmosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere interaction study experiment in northeastern Asia (RAISE) project, have allowed investigations into the hydrologic cycle in the ecotone of forest-steppe, and its relation to atmosphere and ecosystem in the eastern part of Mongolia. In this region, changes in the climate have been reported and a market oriented economy was introduced recently, but their impact on the natural environment is still not well understood. In this RAISE special issue, the outcome is presented of the studies carried out by six groups within RAISE, namely: (1) Land-atmosphere interaction analysis, (2) ecosystem analysis and modeling, (3) hydrologic cycle analysis, (4) climatic modeling, (5) hydrologic modeling, and (6) integration. The results are organized in five relevant categories comprising (i) hydrologic cycle including precipitation, groundwater, and surface water, (ii) hydrologic cycle and ecosystem, (iii) surface-atmosphere interaction, (iv) effect of grazing activities on soils, plant ecosystem and surface fluxes, and (v) future prediction. Comparison with studies on rangelands in other parts of the world, and some future directions of studies still needed in this region are also summarized.

  17. Common garden comparisons of reproductive, forage and weed suppression potential of rangeland rehabilitation grasses of the Great Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Common garden experiments are a means to remove environmental effects. Using 8 species of perennial rangeland grasses, we established a common garden (3 reps x28 plants = 84 plants/species). We found that ‘Hycrest’ crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria sp...

  18. Monitoring Forage Production of California Rangeland Using Remote Sensing Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Dahlgren, R. A.; O'Geen, A. T.; Roche, L. M.; Smith, A. M.; Flavell, D.

    2016-12-01

    Pastures and rangeland cover more than 10 million hectares in California's coastal and inland foothill regions, providing feeds to livestock and important ecosystem services. Forage production in California has a large year-to-year variation due to large inter-annual and seasonal variabilities in precipitation and temperature. It also varies spatially due to the variability in climate and soils. Our goal is to develop a robust and cost-effective tool to map the near-real-time and historical forage productivity in California using remote sensing observations from Landsat and MODIS satellites. We used a Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory: the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) is determined by (i) the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and the (ii) light use efficiency (LUE): ANPP = APAR * LUEmax * f(T) * f(SM), where LUEmax is the maximum LUE, and f(T) and f(SM) are the temperature and soil moisture constrains on LUE. APAR was estimated with Landsat and MODIS vegetation index (VI), and LUE was calibrated with a statewide point dataset of peak forage production measurements at 75 annual rangeland sites. A non-linear optimization was performed to derive maximum LUE and the parameters for temperature and soil moisture regulation on LUE by minimizing the differences between the estimated and measured ANPP. Our results showed the satellite-derived annual forage production estimates correlated well withcontemporaneous in-situ forage measurements and captured both the spatial and temporal productivity patterns of forage productivity well. This remote sensing algorithm can be further improved as new field measurements become available. This tool will have a great importance in maintaining a sustainable range industry by providing key knowledge for ranchers and the stakeholders to make managerial decisions.

  19. Influence of forest and rangeland management on anadromous fish habitat in Western North America: economic considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    William R. tech. ed. Meehan

    1985-01-01

    Although many effects of forest and rangeland management on anadromous fisheries are difficult to measure, economic methods for the evaluation of costs and benefits can be helpful. Such methods can be used to address questions of equity as well as efficiency. Evaluations of equity can show who bears the costs and who captures the benefits of management actions, but...

  20. National projections of forest and rangeland condition indicators: a supporting technical document for the 1999 RPA assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John Hof; Curtis Flather; Tony Baltic; Stephen. Davies

    1999-01-01

    The 1999 forest and rangeland condition indicator model is a set of independent econometric production functions for environmental outputs (measured with condition indicators) at the national scale. This report documents the development of the database and the statistical estimation required by this particular production structure with emphasis on two special...

  1. THE MODEL OF LINGUISTIC TEACHERS’ COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT ON DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE MOODLE SYSTEM

    OpenAIRE

    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2017-01-01

    The article is devoted to the problem of developing the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system. The concept of "the competence of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system" is justified and defined. Identified and characterized the components by which the levels of the competency development of teachers of language disciplines on designing ...

  2. Morphological and molecular characterization of an uninucleated cyst-producing Entamoeba spp. in captured Rangeland goats in Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Habsi, Khalid; Yang, Rongchang; Ryan, Una; Jacobson, Caroline; Miller, David W

    2017-02-15

    Uninucleated Entamoeba cysts measuring 7.3×7.7μm were detected in faecal samples collected from wild Rangeland goats (Capra hircus) after arrival at a commercial goat depot near Geraldton, Western Australia at a prevalence of 6.4% (8/125). Sequences were obtained at the 18S rRNA (n=8) and actin (n=5) loci following PCR amplification. At the 18S locus, phylogenetic analysis grouped the isolates closest with an E. bovis isolate (FN666250) from a sheep from Sweden with 99% similarity. At the actin locus, no E. bovis sequences were available, and the isolates shared 94.0% genetic similarity with E. suis from a pig in Western Japan. This is the first report to describe the morphology and molecular characterisation of Entamoeba from Rangeland goats in Western Australia and the first study to produce actin sequences from E. bovis-like Entamoeba sp. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Determining the level of awareness of the physicians in using the variety of electronic information resources and the effecting factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papi, Ahmad; Ghazavi, Roghayeh; Moradi, Salimeh

    2015-01-01

    Understanding of the medical society's from the types of information resources for quick and easy access to information is an imperative task in medical researches and management of the treatment. The present study was aimed to determine the level of awareness of the physicians in using various electronic information resources and the factors affecting it. This study was a descriptive survey. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The study population included all the physicians and specialty physicians of the teaching hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and numbered 350. The sample size based on Morgan's formula was set at 180. The content validity of the tool was confirmed by the library and information professionals and the reliability was 95%. Descriptive statistics were used including the SPSS software version 19. On reviewing the need of the physicians to obtain the information on several occasions, the need for information in conducting the researches was reported by the maximum number of physicians (91.9%) and the usage of information resources, especially the electronic resources, formed 65.4% as the highest rate with regard to meeting the information needs of the physicians. Among the electronic information databases, the maximum awareness was related to Medline with 86.5%. Among the various electronic information resources, the highest awareness (43.3%) was related to the E-journals. The highest usage (36%) was also from the same source. The studied physicians considered the most effective deterrent in the use of electronic information resources as being too busy and lack of time. Despite the importance of electronic information resources for the physician's community, there was no comprehensive knowledge of these resources. This can lead to less usage of these resources. Therefore, careful planning is necessary in the hospital libraries in order to introduce the facilities and full capabilities of the

  4. Managing Selection for Electronic Resources: Kent State University Develops a New System to Automate Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downey, Kay

    2012-01-01

    Kent State University has developed a centralized system that manages the communication and work related to the review and selection of commercially available electronic resources. It is an automated system that tracks the review process, provides selectors with price and trial information, and compiles reviewers' feedback about the resource. It…

  5. End-of-life resource recovery from emerging electronic products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parajuly, Keshav; Habib, Komal; Cimpan, Ciprian

    2016-01-01

    Integrating product design with appropriate end-of-life (EoL) processing is widely recognized to have huge potentials in improving resource recovery from electronic products. In this study, we investigate both the product characteristics and EoL processing of robotic vacuum cleaner (RVC), as a case...... of emerging electronic product, in order to understand the recovery fate of different materials and its linkage to product design. Ten different brands of RVC were dismantled and their material composition and design profiles were studied. Another 125 RVCs (349 kg) were used for an experimental trial...... at a conventional ‘shred-and-separate’ type preprocessing plant in Denmark. A detailed material flow analysis was performed throughout the recycling chain. The results show a mismatch between product design and EoL processing, and the lack of practical implementation of ‘Design for EoL’ thinking. In the best...

  6. The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan: U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington D.C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy Actionable Science Plan Team

    2016-01-01

    The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy (hereafter Strategy, DOI 2015) outlined the need for coordinated, science-based adaptive management to achieve long-term protection, conservation, and restoration of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem. A key component of this management approach is the identification of knowledge gaps that limit...

  7. Use of electronic sales data to tailor nutrition education resources for an ethnically diverse population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyles, H; Rodgers, A; Ni Mhurchu, C

    2010-02-01

    Nutrition education may be most effective when personally tailored. Individualised electronic supermarket sales data offer opportunities to tailor nutrition education using shopper's usual food purchases. The present study aimed to use individualised electronic supermarket sales data to tailor nutrition resources for an ethnically diverse population in a large supermarket intervention trial in New Zealand. Culturally appropriate nutrition education resources (i.e. messages and shopping lists) were developed with the target population (through two sets of focus groups) and ethnic researchers. A nutrient database of supermarket products was developed using retrospective sales data and linked to participant sales to allow tailoring by usual food purchases. Modified Heart Foundation Tick criteria were used to identify 'healthier' products in the database suitable for promotion in the resources. Rules were developed to create a monthly report listing the tailored and culturally targeted messages to be sent to each participant, and to produce automated, tailored shopping lists. Culturally targeted nutrition messages (n = 864) and shopping lists (n = 3 formats) were developed. The food and nutrient database (n = 3000 top-selling products) was created using 12 months of retrospective sales data, and comprised 60%'healthier' products. Three months of baseline sales data were used to determine usual food purchases. Tailored resources were successfully mailed to 123 Māori, 52 Pacific and 346 non-Māori non-Pacific participants over the 6-month trial intervention period. Electronic supermarket sales data can be used to tailor nutrition education resources for a large number of ethnically diverse supermarket shoppers.

  8. Availability, Level of Use and Constraints to Use of Electronic Resources by Law Lecturers in Public Universities in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amusa, Oyintola Isiaka; Atinmo, Morayo

    2016-01-01

    (Purpose) This study surveyed the level of availability, use and constraints to use of electronic resources among law lecturers in Nigeria. (Methodology) Five hundred and fifty-two law lecturers were surveyed and four hundred and forty-two responded. (Results) Data analysis revealed that the level of availability of electronic resources for the…

  9. The role of fire in managing for biological diversity on native rangelands of the Northern Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carolyn Hull Sieg

    1997-01-01

    A strategy for using fire to manage for biological diversity on native rangelands in the Northern Great Plains incorporates an understanding of its past frequency, timing and intensity. Historically, lightning and humans were the major fire setters, and the role of fire varied both in space and time. A burning regime that includes fires at various intervals, seasons...

  10. A systematic review of portable electronic technology for health education in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHenry, Megan S; Fischer, Lydia J; Chun, Yeona; Vreeman, Rachel C

    2017-08-01

    The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the literature of how portable electronic technologies with offline functionality are perceived and used to provide health education in resource-limited settings. Three reviewers evaluated articles and performed a bibliography search to identify studies describing health education delivered by portable electronic device with offline functionality in low- or middle-income countries. Data extracted included: study population; study design and type of analysis; type of technology used; method of use; setting of technology use; impact on caregivers, patients, or overall health outcomes; and reported limitations. Searches yielded 5514 unique titles. Out of 75 critically reviewed full-text articles, 10 met inclusion criteria. Study locations included Botswana, Peru, Kenya, Thailand, Nigeria, India, Ghana, and Tanzania. Topics addressed included: development of healthcare worker training modules, clinical decision support tools, patient education tools, perceptions and usability of portable electronic technology, and comparisons of technologies and/or mobile applications. Studies primarily looked at the assessment of developed educational modules on trainee health knowledge, perceptions and usability of technology, and comparisons of technologies. Overall, studies reported positive results for portable electronic device-based health education, frequently reporting increased provider/patient knowledge, improved patient outcomes in both quality of care and management, increased provider comfort level with technology, and an environment characterized by increased levels of technology-based, informal learning situations. Negative assessments included high investment costs, lack of technical support, and fear of device theft. While the research is limited, portable electronic educational resources present promising avenues to increase access to effective health education in resource-limited settings, contingent

  11. Remote sensing data in Rangeland assessment and monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamid, Amna Ahmed; Ali, Mohamed M.

    1999-01-01

    The main objective of the paper is to illustrate the potential of remote sensing data in the study and monitoring of environmental changes in western Sudan where considerable part of the area is under rangeland use. Data from NOAA satellite AVHRR sensor as well as thematic mapper Tm was used to assess the environment of the area during 1982-1997. The AVHRR data was processed into vegetation index (NDVI) images. Image analysis and classification was done using image display and analysis (IDA) GIS method to study vegetation condition in time series. The obtained information from field observations. The result showed high correlation between the information the work concluded the followings: NDVI images and thematic mapper data proved to be efficient in environment change analysis. NOAA AVHRR satellite data can provide an early-warning indicator of an approaching disaster. Remote sensing integrated into a GIS can contribute effectively to improve land management through better understanding of environment variability.(Author)

  12. SAGES: a suite of freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheri L Lewis

    Full Text Available Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations.

  13. Use and Cost of Electronic Resources in Central Library of Ferdowsi University Based on E-metrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Davarpanah

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of electronic journals in Ferdowsi University, Iran based on e-metrics. The paper also aimed to emphasize the analysis of cost-benefit and the correlation between the journal impact factors and the usage data. In this study experiences of Ferdowsi University library on licensing and usage of electronic resources was evaluated by providing a cost-benefit analysis based on the cost and usage statistics of electronic resources. Vendor-provided data were also compared with local usage data. The usage data were collected by tracking web-based access locally, and by collecting vender-provided usage data. The data sources were one-year of vendor-supplied e-resource usage data such as Ebsco, Elsevier, Proquest, Emerald, Oxford and Springer and local usage data collected from the Ferdowsi university web server. The study found that actual usage values differ for vendor-provided data and local usage data. Elsevier has got the highest usage degree in searches, sessions and downloads. Statistics also showed that a small number of journals satisfy significant amount of use while the majority of journals were used less frequent and some were never used at all. The users preferred the PDF rather than HTML format. The data in subject profile suggested that the provided e-resources were best suited to certain subjects. There was no correlation between IF and electronic journal use. Monitoring the usage of e-resources gained increasing importance for acquisition policy and budget decisions. The article provided information about local metrics for the six surveyed vendors/publishers, e.g. usage trends, requests per package, cost per use as related to the scientific specialty of the university.

  14. Sediment budgets and source determinations using fallout Cesium-137 in a semiarid rangeland watershed, Arizona, USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritchie, Jerry C.; Nearing, Mark A.; Rhoton, Fred E.

    2009-01-01

    Analysis of soil redistribution and sediment sources in semiarid and arid watersheds provides information for implementing management practices to improve rangeland conditions and reduce sediment loads to streams. The purpose of this research was to develop sediment budgets and identify potential sediment sources using 137 Cs and other soil properties in a series of small semiarid subwatersheds on the USDA ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed near Tombstone, Arizona, USA. Soils were sampled in a grid pattern on two small subwatersheds and along transects associated with soils and geomorphology on six larger subwatersheds. Soil samples were analyzed for 137 Cs and selected physical and chemical properties (i.e., bulk density, rocks, particle size, soil organic carbon). Suspended sediment samples collected at measuring flume sites on the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed were also analyzed for these properties. Soil redistribution measured using 137 Cs inventories for a small shrub-dominated subwatershed and a small grass-dominated subwatershed found eroding areas in these subwatersheds were losing -5.6 and -3.2 t ha -1 yr -1 , respectively; however, a sediment budget for each of these subwatersheds, including depositional areas, found net soil loss to be -4.3 t ha -1 yr -1 from the shrub-dominated subwatershed and -0.1 t ha -1 yr -1 from the grass-dominated subwatershed. Generally, the suspended sediment collected at the flumes of the six other subwatersheds was enriched in silt and clay. Using a mixing model to determine sediment source indicated that shrub-dominated subwatersheds were contributing most of the suspended sediment that was measured at the outlet flume of the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed. The two methodologies (sediment budgets and sediment source analyses) indicate that shrub-dominated systems provide more suspended sediment to the stream systems. The sediment budget studies also suggest that sediment yields measured at the outlet of a

  15. Building and Managing Electronic Resources in Digital Era in India with Special Reference to IUCAA and NIV, Pune: A Comparative Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, H. K.; Singh, S. N.

    2015-04-01

    This paper discusses and presents a comparative case study of two libraries in Pune, India, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Information Centre and Library of National Institute of Virology (Indian Council of Medical Research). It compares how both libraries have managed their e-resource collections, including acquisitions, subscriptions, and consortia arrangements, while also developing a collection of their own resources, including pre-prints and publications, video lectures, and other materials in an institutional repository. This study illustrates how difficult it is to manage electronic resources in a developing country like India, even though electronic resources are used more than print resources. Electronic resource management can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, various problems can be solved, and use of the materials will be enhanced.

  16. Modelling tree dynamics to assess the implementation of EU policies related to afforestation in SW Spain rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herguido, Estela; Pulido, Manuel; Francisco Lavado Contador, Joaquín; Schnabel, Susanne

    2017-04-01

    In Iberian dehesas and montados, the lack of tree recruitment compromises its long-term sustainability. However, in marginal areas of dehesas shrub encroachment facilitates tree recruitment while altering the distinctive physiognomic and cultural characteristics of the system. These are ongoing processes that should be considered when designing afforestation measures and policies. Based on spatial variables, we modeled the proneness of a piece of land to undergo tree recruitment and the results were related with the afforestation measures carried out under the UE First Afforestation Agricultural Land Program between 1992 and 2008. We analyzed the temporal tree population dynamics in 800 randomly selected plots of 100 m radius (2,510 ha in total) in dehesas and treeless pasturelands of Extremadura (hereafter rangelands). Tree changes were revealed by comparing aerial images taken in 1956 with orthophotographs and infrared ones from 2012. Spatial models that predict the areas prone either to lack tree recruitment or with recruitment were developed and based on three data mining algorithms: MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines), Random Forest (RF) and Stochastic Gradient Boosting (Tree-Net, TN). Recruited-tree locations (1) vs. locations of places with no recruitment (0) (randomly selected from the study areas) were used as the binary dependent variable. A 5% of the data were used as test data set. As candidate explanatory variables we used 51 different topographic, climatic, bioclimatic, land cover-related and edaphic ones. The statistical models developed were extrapolated to the spatial context of the afforested areas in the region and also to the whole Extremenian rangelands, and the percentage of area modelled as prone to tree recruitment was calculated for each case. A total of 46,674.63 ha were afforested with holm oak (Quercus ilex) or cork oak (Quercus suber) in the studied rangelands under the UE First Afforestation Agricultural Land Program. In

  17. Estimating grass nutrients and biomass as an indicator of rangeland (forage) quality and quantity using remote sensing in Savanna ecosystems

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ramoelo, Abel

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available and grass quantity, respectively. The objective of the study is to estimate and map leaf N and biomass as an indicator of rangeland quality and quantity using vegetation indices derived from one RapidEye image taken at peak productivity. The study...

  18. [Use of internet and electronic resources among Spanish intensivist physicians. First national survey].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Tello, V; Latour-Pérez, J; Añón Elizalde, J M; Palencia-Herrejón, E; Díaz-Alersi, R; De Lucas-García, N

    2006-01-01

    Estimate knowledge and use habits of different electronic resources in a sample of Spanish intensivists: Internet, E-mail, distribution lists, and use of portable electronic devices. Self-applied questionnaire. A 50-question questionnaire was distributed among Spanish intensivists through the hospital marketing delegates of a pharmaceutical company and of electronic forums. A total of 682 questionnaires were analyzed (participation: 74%). Ninety six percent of those surveyed used Internet individually: 67% admitted training gap. Internet was the second source of clinical consultations most used (61%), slightly behind consultation to colleagues (65%). The pages consulted most were bibliographic databases (65%) and electronic professional journals (63%), with limited use of Evidence Based Medicine pages (19%). Ninety percent of those surveyed used e-mail regularly in the practice of their profession, although 25% admitted that were not aware of its possibilities. The use of E-mail decreased significantly with increase in age. A total of 62% of the intensivists used distribution lists. Of the rest, 42% were not aware of its existence and 32% admitted they had insufficient training to handle them. Twenty percent of those surveyed had portable electronic devices and 64% considered it useful, basically due to its rapid consultation at bedside. Female gender was a negative predictive factor of its use (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.2-0.63; p=0.0002). A large majority of the Spanish intensivists use Internet and E-mail. E-mail lists and use of portable devices are still underused resources. There are important gaps in training and infrequent use of essential pages. There are specific groups that require directed educational policies.

  19. Model of e-learning with electronic educational resources of new generation

    OpenAIRE

    A. V. Loban; D. A. Lovtsov

    2017-01-01

    Purpose of the article: improving of scientific and methodical base of the theory of the е-learning of variability. Methods used: conceptual and logical modeling of the е-learning of variability process with electronic educational resource of new generation and system analysis of the interconnection of the studied subject area, methods, didactics approaches and information and communication technologies means. Results: the formalization complex model of the е-learning of variability with elec...

  20. Abandoned seasonal livestock migration reflected by plant functional traits: A case study in Kyrgyz rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoppe, Franziska; Zhusui Kyzy, Taalaigul; Usupbaev, Adilet; Schickoff, Udo

    2017-04-01

    At least 30% of Kyrgyz pasture areas are considered to be subject to vegetation and soil degradation. Since animal husbandry is the economic basis to sustain people's livelihoods, rangeland degradation presents a threat for the majority of the population. Recently, the usage of plant functional traits as a powerful tool for the characterization of vegetation dynamics in response to anthropogenic and natural disturbances has been put forward. Grazing is one of the most severe disturbances on vegetation, which concerns equally the loss of area and biomass. Because grazing is both depending on and affecting plant functional traits, important insights can be generated, based on this codependency. We hypothesized that the contrasting grazing intensity of summer and winter pastures is reflected by the chosen traits. We used traits such as plant height, flowering start, growth form as well as SLA (Specific Leaf Area) and LMA (Leaf Mass per Area). Based on former phytosociological classification of the main pasture types (summer and winter pastures), community structure and the traits of dominant plant species were analyzed. Our results showed that on winter pastures grazing decreased plant height and SLA and favored plants with an earlier flowering start as well as rosette plants and ascending plants. We conclude that the study of trait composition in relation to anthropogenic disturbances can provide important insights into the mechanism of plant response to grazing in high-altitude rangelands.

  1. Endemic shrubs in temperate arid and semiarid regions of northern China and their potentials for rangeland restoration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Jianmin; Yang, Hongxiao; Lu, Qi; Zhang, Xiaoyan

    2015-06-03

    Some endemic shrubs in arid and semiarid ecosystems are in danger of extinction, and yet they can play useful roles in maintaining or restoring these ecosystems, thus practical efforts are needed to conserve them. The shrubs Amygdalus pedunculata Pall., Amygdalus mongolica (Maxim.) Ricker and Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Maxim. ex Kom.) Cheng f. are endemic species in arid and semiarid regions of northern China, where rangeland desertification is pronounced due to chronic overgrazing. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that these endemic shrubs have developed adaptations to arid and semiarid environments and could play critical roles as nurse species to initiate the process of rangeland recovery. Based on careful vegetation surveys, we analysed the niches of these species in relation to precipitation, temperature and habitats. All sampling plots were categorized by these endemics and sorted by the non-metric multidimensional scaling method. Species ratios of each life form and species co-occurrence rates with the endemics were also evaluated. Annual average temperature and annual precipitation were found to be the key factors determining vegetation diversity and distributions. Amygdalus pedunculata prefers low hills and sandy land in temperate semiarid regions. Amygdalus mongolica prefers gravel deserts of temperate semiarid regions. Ammopiptanthus mongolicus prefers sandy land of temperate arid regions. Communities of A. pedunculata have the highest diversity and the largest ratios of long-lived grass species, whereas those of A. mongolicus have the lowest diversity but the largest ratios of shrub species. Communities of A. mongolica are a transition between the first two community types. These findings demonstrate that our focal endemic shrubs have evolved adaptations to arid and semiarid conditions, thus they can be nurse plants to stabilize sand ground for vegetation restoration. We suggest that land managers begin using these shrub species to restore

  2. Impact of Knowledge Resources Linked to an Electronic Health Record on Frequency of Unnecessary Tests and Treatments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Kenneth; Grad, Roland; Pluye, Pierre; Nowacki, Amy; Hickner, John

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Electronic knowledge resources have the potential to rapidly provide answers to clinicians' questions. We sought to determine clinicians' reasons for searching these resources, the rate of finding relevant information, and the perceived clinical impact of the information they retrieved. Methods: We asked general internists, family…

  3. Electronic Document Management: A Human Resource Management Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Groenewald

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available This case study serve as exemplar regarding what can go wrong with the implementation of an electronic document management system. Knowledge agility and knowledge as capital, is outlined against the backdrop of the information society and knowledge economy. The importance of electronic document management and control is sketched thereafter. The literature review is concluded with the impact of human resource management on knowledge agility, which includes references to the learning organisation and complexity theory. The intervention methodology, comprising three phases, follows next. The results of the three phases are presented thereafter. Partial success has been achieved with improving the human efficacy of electronic document management, however the client opted to discontinue the system in use. Opsomming Die gevalle studie dien as voorbeeld van wat kan verkeerd loop met die implementering van ’n elektroniese dokumentbestuur sisteem. Teen die agtergrond van die inligtingsgemeenskap en kennishuishouding word kennissoepelheid en kennis as kapitaal bespreek. Die literatuurstudie word afgesluit met die inpak van menslikehulpbronbestuur op kennissoepelheid, wat ook die verwysings na die leerorganisasie en kompleksietydsteorie insluit. Die metodologie van die intervensie, wat uit drie fases bestaan, volg daarna. Die resultate van die drie fases word vervolgens aangebied. Slegs gedeelte welslae is behaal met die verbetering van die menslike doeltreffendheid ten opsigte van elektroniese dokumentbestuur. Die klient besluit egter om nie voort te gaan om die huidige sisteem te gebruik nie.

  4. Seedbed preparation influence on morphometric characteristics of perennial grasses of a semi-arid rangeland in Kenya

    OpenAIRE

    Opiyo, Francis EO; Ekaya, Wellington N; Nyariki, Dickson M; Mureithi, Stephen Mwangi

    2011-01-01

    Semi-arid rangelands in Kenya are an important source of forage for both domestic and wild animals. However, indigenous perennial grasses notably Cenchrus ciliaris (African foxtail grass), Eragrostis superba (Maasai love grass) and Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye grass) are disappearing at an alarming rate. Efforts to re-introduce them through restoration programs have often yielded little success. This can partly be attributed to failure of topsoil to capture and store scarce water to me...

  5. Assessment of Landsat multispectral scanner spectral indexes for monitoring arid rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musick, H. B.

    1984-01-01

    Correlations between spectral indices and vegetation parameters in south-central New Mexico were used to determine the utility of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) spectral indices in arid rangeland monitoring. In addition, spectral index change for 1976-1980 was calculated from retrospective MSS data and compared with qualitative ground truth in order to evaluate vegetation change detection by means of spectral indices. Brightness index change consistently differentiated between cover increase and decrease, but index change appears to have been offset from true cover change; this may at least partly be attributed to the failure of the methods used to standardize MSS scenes for differences in sensor response. Green vegetation indices, by contrast to brightness indices, failed to consistently differentiate between cover increase and decrease.

  6. The Rangeland Vegetation Simulator: A user-driven system for quantifying production, succession, disturbance and fuels in non-forest environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt Reeves; Leonardo Frid

    2016-01-01

    Rangeland landscapes occupy roughly 662 million acres in the coterminous U.S. (Reeves and Mitchell 2011) and their vegetation responds quickly to climate and management, with high relative growth rates and inter-annual variability. Current national decision support systems in the U.S. such as the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFT-DSS) require...

  7. Challenges in the implementation of an electronic surveillance system in a resource-limited setting: Alerta, in Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soto Giselle

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Infectious disease surveillance is a primary public health function in resource-limited settings. In 2003, an electronic disease surveillance system (Alerta was established in the Peruvian Navy with support from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment (NMRCD. Many challenges arose during the implementation process, and a variety of solutions were applied. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss these issues. Methods This is a retrospective description of the Alerta implementation. After a thoughtful evaluation according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC guidelines, the main challenges to implementation were identified and solutions were devised in the context of a resource-limited setting, Peru. Results After four years of operation, we have identified a number of challenges in implementing and operating this electronic disease surveillance system. These can be divided into the following categories: (1 issues with personnel and stakeholders; (2 issues with resources in a developing setting; (3 issues with processes involved in the collection of data and operation of the system; and (4 issues with organization at the central hub. Some of the challenges are unique to resource-limited settings, but many are applicable for any surveillance system. For each of these challenges, we developed feasible solutions that are discussed. Conclusion There are many challenges to overcome when implementing an electronic disease surveillance system, not only related to technology issues. A comprehensive approach is required for success, including: technical support, personnel management, effective training, and cultural sensitivity in order to assure the effective deployment of an electronic disease surveillance system.

  8. IDESSA: An Integrative Decision Support System for Sustainable Rangeland Management in Southern African Savannas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Hanna; Authmann, Christian; Dreber, Niels; Hess, Bastian; Kellner, Klaus; Morgenthal, Theunis; Nauss, Thomas; Seeger, Bernhard; Tsvuura, Zivanai; Wiegand, Kerstin

    2017-04-01

    Bush encroachment is a syndrome of land degradation that occurs in many savannas including those of southern Africa. The increase in density, cover or biomass of woody vegetation often has negative effects on a range of ecosystem functions and services, which are hardly reversible. However, despite its importance, neither the causes of bush encroachment, nor the consequences of different resource management strategies to combat or mitigate related shifts in savanna states are fully understood. The project "IDESSA" (An Integrative Decision Support System for Sustainable Rangeland Management in Southern African Savannas) aims to improve the understanding of the complex interplays between land use, climate patterns and vegetation dynamics and to implement an integrative monitoring and decision-support system for the sustainable management of different savanna types. For this purpose, IDESSA follows an innovative approach that integrates local knowledge, botanical surveys, remote-sensing and machine-learning based time-series of atmospheric and land-cover dynamics, spatially explicit simulation modeling and analytical database management. The integration of the heterogeneous data will be implemented in a user oriented database infrastructure and scientific workflow system. Accessible via web-based interfaces, this database and analysis system will allow scientists to manage and analyze monitoring data and scenario computations, as well as allow stakeholders (e. g. land users, policy makers) to retrieve current ecosystem information and seasonal outlooks. We present the concept of the project and show preliminary results of the realization steps towards the integrative savanna management and decision-support system.

  9. Considering Point-of-Care Electronic Medical Resources in Lieu of Traditional Textbooks for Medical Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, LaDonna S; Wallace, Michelle M; Adams, Courtney R; Kaufman, Michelle L; Snyder, Courtney L

    2015-09-01

    Selecting resources to support didactic courses is a critical decision, and the advantages and disadvantages must be carefully considered. During clinical rotations, students not only need to possess strong background knowledge but also are expected to be proficient with the same evidence-based POC resources used by clinicians. Students place high value on “real world” learning and therefore may place more value on POC resources that they know practicing clinicians use as compared with medical textbooks. The condensed nature of PA education requires students to develop background knowledge and information literacy skills over a short period. One way to build that knowledge and those skills simultaneously is to use POC resources in lieu of traditional medical textbooks during didactic training. Electronic POC resources offer several advantages over traditional textbooks and should be considered as viable options in PA education.

  10. Survey of Beaver-related Restoration Practices in Rangeland Streams of the Western USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilliod, David S.; Rohde, Ashley T.; Charnley, Susan; Davee, Rachael R.; Dunham, Jason B.; Gosnell, Hannah; Grant, Gordon E.; Hausner, Mark B.; Huntington, Justin L.; Nash, Caroline

    2018-01-01

    Poor condition of many streams and concerns about future droughts in the arid and semi-arid western USA have motivated novel restoration strategies aimed at accelerating recovery and increasing water resources. Translocation of beavers into formerly occupied habitats, restoration activities encouraging beaver recolonization, and instream structures mimicking the effects of beaver dams are restoration alternatives that have recently gained popularity because of their potential socioeconomic and ecological benefits. However, beaver dams and dam-like structures also harbor a history of social conflict. Hence, we identified a need to assess the use of beaver-related restoration projects in western rangelands to increase awareness and accountability, and identify gaps in scientific knowledge. We inventoried 97 projects implemented by 32 organizations, most in the last 10 years. We found that beaver-related stream restoration projects undertaken mostly involved the relocation of nuisance beavers. The most common goal was to store water, either with beaver dams or artificial structures. Beavers were often moved without regard to genetics, disease, or potential conflicts with nearby landowners. Few projects included post-implementation monitoring or planned for longer term issues, such as what happens when beavers abandon a site or when beaver dams or structures breach. Human dimensions were rarely considered and water rights and other issues were mostly unresolved or addressed through ad-hoc agreements. We conclude that the practice and implementation of beaver-related restoration has outpaced research on its efficacy and best practices. Further scientific research is necessary, especially research that informs the establishment of clear guidelines for best practices.

  11. Survey of beaver-related restoration practices in rangeland streams of the western USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilliod, David S.; Rohde, Ashley T.; Charnley, Susan; Davee, Rachael R; Dunham, Jason B.; Gosnell, Hannah; Grant, Gordon E.; Hausner, Mark B.; Huntington, Justin L.; Nash, Caroline

    2018-01-01

    Poor condition of many streams and concerns about future droughts in the arid and semi-arid western USA have motivated novel restoration strategies aimed at accelerating recovery and increasing water resources. Translocation of beavers into formerly occupied habitats, restoration activities encouraging beaver recolonization, and instream structures mimicking the effects of beaver dams are restoration alternatives that have recently gained popularity because of their potential socioeconomic and ecological benefits. However, beaver dams and dam-like structures also harbor a history of social conflict. Hence, we identified a need to assess the use of beaver-related restoration projects in western rangelands to increase awareness and accountability, and identify gaps in scientific knowledge. We inventoried 97 projects implemented by 32 organizations, most in the last 10 years. We found that beaver-related stream restoration projects undertaken mostly involved the relocation of nuisance beavers. The most common goal was to store water, either with beaver dams or artificial structures. Beavers were often moved without regard to genetics, disease, or potential conflicts with nearby landowners. Few projects included post-implementation monitoring or planned for longer term issues, such as what happens when beavers abandon a site or when beaver dams or structures breach. Human dimensions were rarely considered and water rights and other issues were mostly unresolved or addressed through ad-hoc agreements. We conclude that the practice and implementation of beaver-related restoration has outpaced research on its efficacy and best practices. Further scientific research is necessary, especially research that informs the establishment of clear guidelines for best practices.

  12. Resource conservation approached with an appropriate collection and upgrade-remanufacturing for used electronic products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlamparet, Gabriel I; Tan, Quanyin; Stevels, A B; Li, Jinhui

    2018-03-01

    This comparative research represents an example for a better conservation of resources by reducing the amount of waste (kg) and providing it more value under the umbrella of remanufacturing. The three discussed cases will expose three issues already addressed separately in the literature. The generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) interacts with the environmental depletion. In this article, we gave the examples of addressed issues under the concept of remanufacturing. Online collection opportunity eliminating classical collection, a business to business (B2B) implementation for remanufactured servers and medical devices. The material reuse (recycling), component sustainability, reuse (part harvesting), product reuse (after repair/remanufacturing) indicates the recovery potential using remanufacturing tool for a better conservation of resources adding more value to the products. Our findings can provide an overview of new system organization for the general collection, market potential and the technological advantages using remanufacturing instead of recycling of WEEE or used electrical and electronic equipment. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Effects of the Use of Electronic Human Resource Management (EHRM Within Human Resource Management (HRM Functions at Universities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chux Gervase Iwu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study set out to examine the effect of e-hrm systems in assisting human resource practitioners to execute their duties and responsibilities. In comparison to developed economies of the world, information technology adoption in sub-Saharan Africa has not been without certain glitches. Some of the factors that are responsible for these include poor need identification, sustainable funding, and insufficient skills. Besides these factors, there is also the issue of change management and users sticking to what they already know. Although, the above factors seem negative, there is strong evidence that information systems such as electronic human resource management present benefits to an organization. To achieve this, a dual research approach was utilized. Literature assisted immensely in both the development of the conceptual framework upon which the study hinged as well as in the development of the questionnaire items. The study also made use of an interview checklist to guide the participants. The findings reveal a mix of responses that indicate that while there are gains in adopting e-hrm systems, it is wiser to consider supporting resources as well as articulate the needs of the university better before any investment is made.

  14. Electronic human resource management: Enhancing or entrancing?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Poisat

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: This article provides an investigation into the current level of development of the body of knowledge related to electronic human resource management (e-HRM by means of a qualitative content analysis. Several aspects of e-HRM, namely definitions of e-HRM, the theoretical perspectives around e-HRM, the role of e-HRM, the various types of e-HRM and the requirements for successful e-HRM, are examined. Research purpose: The purpose of the article was to determine the status of e-HRM and examine the studies that report on the link between e-HRM and organisational productivity. Motivation for the study: e-HRM has the capacity to improve organisational efficiency and leverage the role of human resources (HR as a strategic business partner. Main findings: The notion that the implementation of e-HRM will lead to improved organisational productivity is commonly assumed; however, empirical evidence in this regard was found to be limited. Practical/managerial implications: From the results of this investigation it is evident that more research is required to gain a greater understanding of the influence of e-HRM on organisational productivity, as well as to develop measures for assessing this influence. Contribution: This article proposes additional areas to research and measure when investigating the effectiveness of e-HRM. It provides a different lens from which to view e-HRM assessment whilst keeping it within recognised HR measurement parameters (the HR value chain. In addition, it not only provides areas for measuring e-HRM’s influence but also provides important clues as to how the measurements may be approached.

  15. Rangeland -- Plant response to elevated CO{sub 2}. Progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-08-01

    An experiment is being designed to examine the influence of elevating CO2 levels on tallgrass prairie rangeland. Changes in biomass production, photosynthesis rates, and species composition (C3 versus C4) over time are to be examined. This report covers the period from August 15, 1988 to January 1, 1989. During this period the authors have had planning meetings in Manhattan, KS, and Washington, DC, with various investigators of the measurement and modeling groups within the elevated CO{sub 2} program. During this period detailed discussions with regard to the methodology were carried out. In addition, short-term experiments and prototype constructions were completed to assess design and materials. Because of changes in the methodology and, to a certain degree, the scope, they are requesting changes in the funding cycle to implement the project at the beginning of the growing cycle of the tallgrass prairie.

  16. Identifying and evaluating electronic learning resources for use in adult-gerontology nurse practitioner education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Hilaire J; Belza, Basia; Baker, Margaret; Christianson, Phyllis; Doorenbos, Ardith; Nguyen, Huong

    2014-01-01

    Enhancing existing curricula to meet newly published adult-gerontology advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) competencies in an efficient manner presents a challenge to nurse educators. Incorporating shared, published electronic learning resources (ELRs) in existing or new courses may be appropriate in order to assist students in achieving competencies. The purposes of this project were to (a) identify relevant available ELR for use in enhancing geriatric APRN education and (b) to evaluate the educational utility of identified ELRs based on established criteria. A multilevel search strategy was used. Two independent team members reviewed identified ELR against established criteria to ensure utility. Only resources meeting all criteria were retained. Resources were found for each of the competency areas and included formats such as podcasts, Web casts, case studies, and teaching videos. In many cases, resources were identified using supplemental strategies and not through traditional search or search of existing geriatric repositories. Resources identified have been useful to advanced practice educators in improving lecture and seminar content in a particular topic area and providing students and preceptors with additional self-learning resources. Addressing sustainability within geriatric APRN education is critical for sharing of best practices among educators and for sustainability of teaching and related resources. © 2014.

  17. Systematic review of electronic surveillance of infectious diseases with emphasis on antimicrobial resistance surveillance in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattanaumpawan, Pinyo; Boonyasiri, Adhiratha; Vong, Sirenda; Thamlikitkul, Visanu

    2018-02-01

    Electronic surveillance of infectious diseases involves rapidly collecting, collating, and analyzing vast amounts of data from interrelated multiple databases. Although many developed countries have invested in electronic surveillance for infectious diseases, the system still presents a challenge for resource-limited health care settings. We conducted a systematic review by performing a comprehensive literature search on MEDLINE (January 2000-December 2015) to identify studies relevant to electronic surveillance of infectious diseases. Study characteristics and results were extracted and systematically reviewed by 3 infectious disease physicians. A total of 110 studies were included. Most surveillance systems were developed and implemented in high-income countries; less than one-quarter were conducted in low-or middle-income countries. Information technologies can be used to facilitate the process of obtaining laboratory, clinical, and pharmacologic data for the surveillance of infectious diseases, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR) infections. These novel systems require greater resources; however, we found that using electronic surveillance systems could result in shorter times to detect targeted infectious diseases and improvement of data collection. This study highlights a lack of resources in areas where an effective, rapid surveillance system is most needed. The availability of information technology for the electronic surveillance of infectious diseases, including AMR infections, will facilitate the prevention and containment of such emerging infectious diseases. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. The influence of grazing intensity on soil properties and degradation processes in Mediterranean rangelands (Extremadura, SW Spain)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulido-Fernández, Manuel; Schnabel, Susanne; Francisco Lavado-Contador, Joaquín

    2014-05-01

    Rangelands cover vast extensions of land in Spain (>90,000 km2), where a total amount of 13 millions of domestic animals graze extensively their pastures. By clear-cutting shrubs, removing selected trees and by cultivation, these rangelands were created from former Mediterranean oak forests, mainly composed by holm oak and cork oak (Quercus ilex rotundifolia and Q. suber) as tree species, Nowadays this land system is exploited economically in large farms (>100 ha), most of them held on private ownership (80% of total) and dedicated to extensive ranching. Overgrazing is common and the excessive stocking rates may deteriorate soil quality, causing economic losses and environmental damage. Many studies have been developed on the effects of livestock grazing over soil properties and degradation processes, most of them by only comparing extreme cases (e.g. ungrazed vs. grazed or overgrazed areas). The main goal of this study is to contribute to the understanding on how animal grazing affects soil properties and degradation processes. The study is particularly focused on soil compaction and sheet erosion as related to the reduction of vegetation cover by defoliation. Soil properties were analysed from 119 environmental units selected from 56 farms distributed throughout the region of Extremadura (SW Spain). The units are representative of different rangeland types, i.e. scrublands of Retama sphaerocarpa, dehesas (wooded rangelands) and treeless grasslands. Soil surface cover was determined along transects in September 2010 (antecedent rainfall: 413-923 mm) considering the following classes: bare ground, grasses, mosses, litter, stones (<2 mm) and rock outcrops. Farmer interviews were also conducted in order to quantify stocking rates and to assess land management in 12 out of 56 farms. In the farms where transects and farmer interviews could not be carried out, bare soil surface and livestock densities were estimated. Bare soil surface was determined by classifying

  19. From Millennium ERM to Proquest 360 Resource Manager: Implementing a new Electronic Resources Management System ERMS in an International Graduate Research University in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    An overview of the Recommendation Study and the subsequent Implementation of a new Electronic Resources Management system ERMS in an international graduate research university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It covers the timeline, deliverables

  20. Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syzdykova, Assel; Malta, André; Zolfo, Maria; Diro, Ermias; Oliveira, José Luis

    2017-11-13

    Despite the great impact of information and communication technologies on clinical practice and on the quality of health services, this trend has been almost exclusive to developed countries, whereas countries with poor resources suffer from many economic and social issues that have hindered the real benefits of electronic health (eHealth) tools. As a component of eHealth systems, electronic health records (EHRs) play a fundamental role in patient management and effective medical care services. Thus, the adoption of EHRs in regions with a lack of infrastructure, untrained staff, and ill-equipped health care providers is an important task. However, the main barrier to adopting EHR software in low- and middle-income countries is the cost of its purchase and maintenance, which highlights the open-source approach as a good solution for these underserved areas. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of open-source EHR systems based on the requirements and limitations of low-resource settings. First, we reviewed existing literature on the comparison of available open-source solutions. In close collaboration with the University of Gondar Hospital, Ethiopia, we identified common limitations in poor resource environments and also the main requirements that EHRs should support. Then, we extensively evaluated the current open-source EHR solutions, discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and their appropriateness to fulfill a predefined set of features relevant for low-resource settings. The evaluation methodology allowed assessment of several key aspects of available solutions that are as follows: (1) integrated applications, (2) configurable reports, (3) custom reports, (4) custom forms, (5) interoperability, (6) coding systems, (7) authentication methods, (8) patient portal, (9) access control model, (10) cryptographic features, (11) flexible data model, (12) offline support, (13) native client, (14) Web client,(15) other clients, (16) code

  1. Improving Field-Based Experimental Research to Compliment Contemporary Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangeland management has long been described as both a science and an art (Stoddart et al. 1975). Certainly, the management of rangeland resources, especially during the last half of the 20th century, can be characterized as practices commonly informed by science. There are a number of management...

  2. Multifrequency passive microwave observations of soil moisture in an arid rangeland environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, T. J.; Schmugge, T. J.; Parry, R.; Kustas, W. P.; Ritchie, J. C.; Shutko, A. M.; Khaldin, A.; Reutov, E.; Novichikhin, E.; Liberman, B.

    1992-01-01

    A cooperative experiment was conducted by teams from the U.S. and U.S.S.R. to evaluate passive microwave instruments and algorithms used to estimate surface soil moisture. Experiments were conducted as part of an interdisciplinary experiment in an arid rangeland watershed located in the southwest United States. Soviet microwave radiometers operating at wavelengths of 2.25, 21 and 27 cm were flown on a U.S. aircraft. Radio frequency interference limited usable data to the 2.25 and 21 cm systems. Data have been calibrated and compared to ground observations of soil moisture. These analyses showed that the 21 cm system could produce reliable and useful soil moisture information and that the 2.25 cm system was of no value for soil moisture estimation in this experiment.

  3. Evaluation of Rambouillet, Polypay, and Romanov-White Dorper x Rambouillet ewes mated to terminal sires in an extensive rangeland production system: Lamb production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewe productivity (i.e., total numbers or weight of lamb weaned ÷ number of breeding ewes) is a key indicator of lamb production efficiency. This second-generation study compared various measures of ewe productivity and ewe and lamb performance in an extensive rangeland production system of ewes of 3...

  4. A common-garden study of resource-island effects on a native and an exotic, annual grass after fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Amber N.; Germino, Matthew J.

    2012-01-01

    Plant-soil variation related to perennial-plant resource islands (coppices) interspersed with relatively bare interspaces is a major source of heterogeneity in desert rangelands. Our objective was to determine how native and exotic grasses vary on coppice mounds and interspaces (microsites) in unburned and burned sites and underlying factors that contribute to the variation in sagebrush-steppe rangelands of the Idaho National Lab, where interspaces typically have abiotic crusts. We asked how the exotic cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and native bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata [Pursh] A. Löve) were distributed among the microsites and measured their abundances in three replicate wildfires and nearby unburned areas. We conducted a common-garden study in which soil cores from each burned microsite type were planted with seed of either species to determine microsite effects on establishment and growth of native and exotic grasses. We assessed soil physical properties in the common-garden study to determine the intrinsic properties of each microsite surface and the retention of microsite soil differences following transfer of soils to the garden, to plant growth, and to wetting/drying cycles. In the field study, only bluebunch wheatgrass density was greater on coppice mounds than interspaces, in both unburned and burned areas. In the common-garden experiment, there were microsite differences in soil physical properties, particularly in crust hardness and its relationship to moisture, but soil properties were unaffected by plant growth. Also in the experiment, both species had equal densities yet greater dry mass production on coppice-mound soils compared to interspace soils, suggesting microsite differences in growth but not establishment (likely related to crust weakening resulting from watering). Coppice-interspace patterning and specifically native-herb recovery on coppices is likely important for postfire resistance of this rangeland to cheatgrass.

  5. Evaluation of three electronic report processing systems for preparing hydrologic reports of the U.S Geological Survey, Water Resources Division

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiltner, G.J.

    1990-01-01

    In 1987, the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey undertook three pilot projects to evaluate electronic report processing systems as a means to improve the quality and timeliness of reports pertaining to water resources investigations. The three projects selected for study included the use of the following configuration of software and hardware: Ventura Publisher software on an IBM model AT personal computer, PageMaker software on a Macintosh computer, and FrameMaker software on a Sun Microsystems workstation. The following assessment criteria were to be addressed in the pilot studies: The combined use of text, tables, and graphics; analysis of time; ease of learning; compatibility with the existing minicomputer system; and technical limitations. It was considered essential that the camera-ready copy produced be in a format suitable for publication. Visual improvement alone was not a consideration. This report consolidates and summarizes the findings of the electronic report processing pilot projects. Text and table files originating on the existing minicomputer system were successfully transformed to the electronic report processing systems in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format. Graphics prepared using a proprietary graphics software package were transferred to all the electronic report processing software through the use of Computer Graphic Metafiles. Graphics from other sources were entered into the systems by scanning paper images. Comparative analysis of time needed to process text and tables by the electronic report processing systems and by conventional methods indicated that, although more time is invested in creating the original page composition for an electronically processed report , substantial time is saved in producing subsequent reports because the format can be stored and re-used by electronic means as a template. Because of the more compact page layouts, costs of printing the reports were 15% to 25

  6. Use and User Perception of Electronic Information Resources: A Case Study of Siva Institute of Frontier Technology, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Velmurugan Chandran

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims to explore the use and user perception of electronic resources in Siva Institute of Frontier Technology, India. A total number of 123 users were taken into account for the study through a questionnaire-based survey method. A well-structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to the selected 200 students and staff members. 123 copies of the questionnaires were returned dully filled in and the overall response rate was 61.50 percent. The questionnaire contained both open- and close-ended questions. The collected data were classified, analyzed, and tabulated by using simple statistical methods. This study covers the impact of electronic resources on students and faculty in their academic pursuit.

  7. A preliminary categorization of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment as secondary metal resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oguchi, Masahiro; Murakami, Shinsuke; Sakanakura, Hirofumi; Kida, Akiko; Kameya, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as secondary metal resources. → The content and the total amount of metals in specific equipment are both important. → We categorized 21 EEE types from contents and total amounts of various metals. → Important equipment types as secondary resources were listed for each metal kind. → Collectability and possible collection systems of various EEE types were discussed. - Abstract: End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between natural resource development and metal recovery from end-of-life EEE and found that metal content and total annual amount of metal contained in each type of end-of-life EEE should be considered in secondary resource development, as well as the collectability of the end-of-life products. We then categorized 21 EEE types into five groups and discussed their potential as secondary metal resources. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and CRT TVs were evaluated as the most important sources of common metals, and personal computers, mobile phones, and video games were evaluated as the most important sources of precious metals. Several types of small digital equipment were also identified as important sources of precious metals; however, mid-size information and communication technology (ICT) equipment (e.g., printers and fax machines) and audio/video equipment were shown to be more important as a source of a variety of less common metals. The physical collectability of each type of EEE was roughly characterized by unit size and number of end-of-life products generated annually. Current collection systems in Japan were examined and potentially appropriate collection

  8. Physical impact of grazing by sheep on the dynamics of Nama ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    UFS

    Physical impact of sheep grazing on arid Karoo subshrub/grass rangeland,. South Africa ... sustainability of rangeland resources, soil and vegetation responses to various grazing systems (Teague &. Dowhower .... The only significant decrease (F3,4 = 18.14, P <0.01) in basal cover of the total herbaceous layer for the 1995 ...

  9. High resolution mapping of soil organic carbon stocks using remote sensing variables in the semi-arid rangelands of eastern Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bin; Waters, Cathy; Orgill, Susan; Gray, Jonathan; Cowie, Annette; Clark, Anthony; Liu, De Li

    2018-07-15

    Efficient and effective modelling methods to assess soil organic carbon (SOC) stock are central in understanding the global carbon cycle and informing related land management decisions. However, mapping SOC stocks in semi-arid rangelands is challenging due to the lack of data and poor spatial coverage. The use of remote sensing data to provide an indirect measurement of SOC to inform digital soil mapping has the potential to provide more reliable and cost-effective estimates of SOC compared with field-based, direct measurement. Despite this potential, the role of remote sensing data in improving the knowledge of soil information in semi-arid rangelands has not been fully explored. This study firstly investigated the use of high spatial resolution satellite data (seasonal fractional cover data; SFC) together with elevation, lithology, climatic data and observed soil data to map the spatial distribution of SOC at two soil depths (0-5cm and 0-30cm) in semi-arid rangelands of eastern Australia. Overall, model performance statistics showed that random forest (RF) and boosted regression trees (BRT) models performed better than support vector machine (SVM). The models obtained moderate results with R 2 of 0.32 for SOC stock at 0-5cm and 0.44 at 0-30cm, RMSE of 3.51MgCha -1 at 0-5cm and 9.16MgCha -1 at 0-30cm without considering SFC covariates. In contrast, by including SFC, the model accuracy for predicting SOC stock improved by 7.4-12.7% at 0-5cm, and by 2.8-5.9% at 0-30cm, highlighting the importance of including SFC to enhance the performance of the three modelling techniques. Furthermore, our models produced a more accurate and higher resolution digital SOC stock map compared with other available mapping products for the region. The data and high-resolution maps from this study can be used for future soil carbon assessment and monitoring. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Principles of formation of the content of an educational electronic resource on the basis of general and didactic patterns of learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ольга Юрьевна Заславская

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the influence of the development of technical means of teaching on the effectiveness of educational and methodical resources. Modern opportunities of information and communication technologies allow creating electronic educational resources that represent educational information that automates the learning process, provide information assistance, if necessary, collect and process statistical information on the degree of development of the content of the school material by schoolchildren, set an individual trajectory of learning, and so on. The main principle of data organization is the division of the training course into separate sections on the thematic elements and components of the learning process. General regularities include laws that encompass the entire didactic system, and in specific (particular cases, those whose actions extend to a separate component (aspect of the system. From the standpoint of the existence of three types of electronic training modules in the aggregate content of the electronic learning resource - information, control and module of practical classes - the principles of the formation of the electronic learning resource, in our opinion, should regulate all these components. Each of the certain principles is considered in the groups: scientific orientation, methodological orientation, systemic nature, accounting of interdisciplinary connections, fundamentalization, systematic and dosage sequence, rational use of study time, accessibility, minimization, operationalization of goals, unified identification diagnosis.

  11. The geomorphic legacy of water and erosion control structures in a semiarid rangeland watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Mary H.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Sayre, N.F.; Shaw, Jeremy R.

    2018-01-01

    Control over water supply and distribution is critical for agriculture in drylands where manipulating surface runoff often serves the dual purpose of erosion control. However, little is known of the geomorphic impacts and legacy effects of rangeland water manipulation infrastructure, especially if not maintained. This study investigated the geomorphic impacts of structures such as earthen berms, water control gates, and stock tanks, in a semiarid rangeland in the southwestern USA that is responding to both regional channel incision that was initiated over a century ago, and a more recent land use change that involved cattle removal and abandonment of structures. The functional condition of remnant structures was inventoried, mapped, and assessed using aerial imagery and lidar data. Headcut initiation, scour, and channel incision associated with compromised lateral channel berms, concrete water control structures, floodplain water spreader berms, and stock tanks were identified as threats to floodplains and associated habitat. Almost half of 27 identified lateral channel berms (48%) have been breached and 15% have experienced lateral scour; 18% of 218 shorter water spreader berms have been breached and 17% have experienced lateral scour. A relatively small number of 117 stock tanks (6%) are identified as structurally compromised based on analysis of aerial imagery, although many currently do not provide consistent water supplies. In some cases, the onset of localized disturbance is recent enough that opportunities for mitigation can be identified to alter the potentially damaging erosion trajectories that are ultimately driven by regional geomorphic instability. Understanding the effects of prior land use and remnant structures on channel and floodplain morphologic condition is critical because both current land management and future land use options are constrained by inherited land use legacy effects.

  12. Global Operational Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration System for Water Resources Management: Case Study for the State of New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halverson, G. H.; Fisher, J.; Magnuson, M.; John, L.

    2017-12-01

    An operational system to produce and disseminate remotely sensed evapotranspiration using the PT-JPL model and support its analysis and use in water resources decision making is being integrated into the New Mexico state government. A partnership between the NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) has enabled collaboration with a variety of state agencies to inform decision making processes for agriculture, rangeland, and forest management. This system improves drought understanding and mobilization, litigation support, and economic, municipal, and ground-water planning through interactive mapping of daily rates of evapotranspiration at 1 km spatial resolution with near real-time latency. This is facilitated by daily remote sensing acquisitions of land-surface temperature and near-surface air temperature and humidity from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Terra satellite as well as the short-term composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and albedo provided by MODIS. Incorporating evapotranspiration data into agricultural water management better characterizes imbalances between water requirements and supplies. Monitoring evapotranspiration over rangeland areas improves remediation and prevention of aridification. Monitoring forest evapotranspiration improves wildlife management and response to wildfire risk. Continued implementation of this decision support system should enhance water and food security.

  13. Using RapidEye and MODIS Data Fusion to Monitor Vegetation Dynamics in Semi-Arid Rangelands in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Tewes

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Image time series of high temporal and spatial resolution capture land surface dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes. We applied the ESTARFM (Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model algorithm to multi-spectral images covering two semi-arid heterogeneous rangeland study sites located in South Africa. MODIS 250 m resolution and RapidEye 5 m resolution images were fused to produce synthetic RapidEye images, from June 2011 to July 2012. We evaluated the performance of the algorithm by comparing predicted surface reflectance values to real RapidEye images. Our results show that ESTARFM predictions are accurate, with a coefficient of determination for the red band 0.80 < R2 < 0.92, and for the near-infrared band 0.83 < R2 < 0.93, a mean relative bias between 6% and 12% for the red band and 4% to 9% in the near-infrared band. Heterogeneous vegetation at sub-MODIS resolution is captured adequately: A comparison of NDVI time series derived from RapidEye and ESTARFM data shows that the characteristic phenological dynamics of different vegetation types are reproduced well. We conclude that the ESTARFM algorithm allows us to produce synthetic remote sensing images at high spatial combined with high temporal resolution and so provides valuable information on vegetation dynamics in semi-arid, heterogeneous rangeland landscapes.

  14. From Millennium ERM to Proquest 360 Resource Manager: Implementing a new Electronic Resources Management System ERMS in an International Graduate Research University in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-17

    An overview of the Recommendation Study and the subsequent Implementation of a new Electronic Resources Management system ERMS in an international graduate research university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It covers the timeline, deliverables and challenges as well as lessons learnt by the Project Team.

  15. Spatially explicit rangeland erosion monitoring using high-resolution digital aerial imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillan, Jeffrey K.; Karl, Jason W.; Barger, Nichole N.; Elaksher, Ahmed; Duniway, Michael C.

    2016-01-01

    Nearly all of the ecosystem services supported by rangelands, including production of livestock forage, carbon sequestration, and provisioning of clean water, are negatively impacted by soil erosion. Accordingly, monitoring the severity, spatial extent, and rate of soil erosion is essential for long-term sustainable management. Traditional field-based methods of monitoring erosion (sediment traps, erosion pins, and bridges) can be labor intensive and therefore are generally limited in spatial intensity and/or extent. There is a growing effort to monitor natural resources at broad scales, which is driving the need for new soil erosion monitoring tools. One remote-sensing technique that can be used to monitor soil movement is a time series of digital elevation models (DEMs) created using aerial photogrammetry methods. By geographically coregistering the DEMs and subtracting one surface from the other, an estimate of soil elevation change can be created. Such analysis enables spatially explicit quantification and visualization of net soil movement including erosion, deposition, and redistribution. We constructed DEMs (12-cm ground sampling distance) on the basis of aerial photography immediately before and 1 year after a vegetation removal treatment on a 31-ha Piñon-Juniper woodland in southeastern Utah to evaluate the use of aerial photography in detecting soil surface change. On average, we were able to detect surface elevation change of ± 8−9cm and greater, which was sufficient for the large amount of soil movement exhibited on the study area. Detecting more subtle soil erosion could be achieved using the same technique with higher-resolution imagery from lower-flying aircraft such as unmanned aerial vehicles. DEM differencing and process-focused field methods provided complementary information and a more complete assessment of soil loss and movement than any single technique alone. Photogrammetric DEM differencing could be used as a technique to

  16. The Synthesis of the Hierarchical Structure of Information Resources for Management of Electronic Commerce Entities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krutova Anzhelika S.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to develop the theoretical bases for the classification and coding of economic information and the scientific justification of the content of information resources of an electronic commerce enterprise. The essence of information resources for management of electronic business entities is investigated. It is proved that the organization of accounting in e-commerce systems is advisable to be built on the basis of two circuits: accounting for financial flows and accounting associated with transformation of business factors in products and services as a result of production activities. There presented a sequence of accounting organization that allows to combine the both circuits in a single information system, which provides a possibility for the integrated replenishment and distributed simultaneous use of the e-commerce system by all groups of users. It is proved that the guarantee of efficient activity of the information management system of electronic commerce entities is a proper systematization of the aggregate of information resources on economic facts and operations of an enterprise in accordance with the management tasks by building the hierarchy of accounting nomenclatures. It is suggested to understand nomenclature as an objective, primary information aggregate concerning a certain fact of the economic activity of an enterprise, which is characterized by minimum requisites, is entered into the database of the information system and is to be reflected in the accounting system. It is proposed to build a database of e-commerce systems as a part of directories (constants, personnel, goods / products, suppliers, buyers and the hierarchy of accounting nomenclatures. The package of documents regulating the organization of accounting at an enterprise should include: the provision on the accounting services, the order on the accounting policy, the job descriptions, the schedules of information exchange, the report card and

  17. Conflict Management Strategies for Rangeland Resources

    OpenAIRE

    Rasmussen, G.A.

    1995-01-01

    Metadata only record Numerous strategies have been developed to cope with conflicts. Collaborative processes are one group of conflict management strategies used. When successful these processes have several common features: they are voluntary, build trust, develop a shared vision, and use consensus. These techniques have often led to false expectations because the source of the conflict was ignored or adequately trained facilitators were not used. The source of the conflict (lack of infor...

  18. Performance and effects of land cover type on synthetic surface reflectance data and NDVI estimates for assessment and monitoring of semi-arid rangeland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olexa, Edward M.; Lawrence, Rick L

    2014-01-01

    Federal land management agencies provide stewardship over much of the rangelands in the arid andsemi-arid western United States, but they often lack data of the proper spatiotemporal resolution andextent needed to assess range conditions and monitor trends. Recent advances in the blending of com-plementary, remotely sensed data could provide public lands managers with the needed information.We applied the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM) to five Landsat TMand concurrent Terra MODIS scenes, and used pixel-based regression and difference image analyses toevaluate the quality of synthetic reflectance and NDVI products associated with semi-arid rangeland. Pre-dicted red reflectance data consistently demonstrated higher accuracy, less bias, and stronger correlationwith observed data than did analogous near-infrared (NIR) data. The accuracy of both bands tended todecline as the lag between base and prediction dates increased; however, mean absolute errors (MAE)were typically ≤10%. The quality of area-wide NDVI estimates was less consistent than either spectra lband, although the MAE of estimates predicted using early season base pairs were ≤10% throughout the growing season. Correlation between known and predicted NDVI values and agreement with the 1:1regression line tended to decline as the prediction lag increased. Further analyses of NDVI predictions,based on a 22 June base pair and stratified by land cover/land use (LCLU), revealed accurate estimates through the growing season; however, inter-class performance varied. This work demonstrates the successful application of the STARFM algorithm to semi-arid rangeland; however, we encourage evaluation of STARFM’s performance on a per product basis, stratified by LCLU, with attention given to the influence of base pair selection and the impact of the time lag.

  19. Controlling user access to electronic resources without password

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Fred Hewitt

    2015-06-16

    Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes pre-determining an association of the restricted computer resource and computer-resource-proximal environmental information. Indicia of user-proximal environmental information are received from a user requesting access to the restricted computer resource. Received indicia of user-proximal environmental information are compared to associated computer-resource-proximal environmental information. User access to the restricted computer resource is selectively granted responsive to a favorable comparison in which the user-proximal environmental information is sufficiently similar to the computer-resource proximal environmental information. In at least some embodiments, the process further includes comparing user-supplied biometric measure and comparing it with a predetermined association of at least one biometric measure of an authorized user. Access to the restricted computer resource is granted in response to a favorable comparison.

  20. Mapping Erosion Risk in California's Rangelands Using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salls, W. B.; O'Geen, T. T.

    2015-12-01

    Soil loss constitutes a multi-faceted problem for agriculture: in addition to reducing soil fertility and crop yield, it compromises downstream water quality. Sediment itself is a major issue for aquatic ecosystems, but also serves as a vector for transporting nutrients, pesticides, and pathogens. Rangelands are thought to be a contributor to water quality degradation in California, particularly in the northern Coast Range. Though total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) have been imposed in some watersheds, and countless rangeland water quality outreach activities have been conducted, the connection between grazing intensity recommendations and changes in water quality is poorly understood at the state level. This disconnect gives rise to poorly informed regulations and discourages adoption of best management practices by ranchers. By applying the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) at a statewide scale, we highlighted areas most prone to erosion. We also investigated how two different grazing intensity scenarios affect modeled soil loss. Geospatial data layers representing the USLE parameters—rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, and cover—were overlaid to model annual soil loss. Monitored suspended sediment data from a small North Coast watershed with grazing as the predominant land use was used to validate the model. Modeled soil loss values were nearly one order of magnitude higher than monitored values; average soil loss feeding the downstream-most site was modeled at 0.329 t ha-1 yr-1, whereas storm-derived sediment passing the site over two years was calculated to be 0.037 t ha-1 yr-1. This discrepancy may stem from the fact that the USLE models detached sediment, whereas stream monitoring reflects sediment detached and subsequently transported to the waterway. Preliminary findings from the statewide map support the concern that the North Coast is particularly at risk given its combination of intense rain, erodible soils, and

  1. Electronic theses and dissertations: a review of this valuable resource for nurse scholars worldwide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodfellow, L M

    2009-06-01

    A worldwide repository of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) could provide worldwide access to the most up-to-date research generated by masters and doctoral students. Until that international repository is established, it is possible to access some of these valuable knowledge resources. ETDs provide a technologically advanced medium with endless multimedia capabilities that far exceed the print and bound copies of theses and dissertations housed traditionally in individual university libraries. CURRENT USE: A growing trend exists for universities worldwide to require graduate students to submit theses or dissertations as electronic documents. However, nurse scholars underutilize ETDs, as evidenced by perusing bibliographic citation lists in many of the research journals. ETDs can be searched for and retrieved through several digital resources such as the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (http://www.ndltd.org), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (http://www.umi.com), the Australasian Digital Theses Program (http://adt.caul.edu.au/) and through individual university web sites and online catalogues. An international repository of ETDs benefits the community of nurse scholars in many ways. The ability to access recent graduate students' research electronically from anywhere in the world is advantageous. For scholars residing in developing countries, access to these ETDs may prove to be even more valuable. In some cases, ETDs are not available for worldwide access and can only be accessed through the university library from which the student graduated. Public access to university library ETD collections is not always permitted. Nurse scholars from both developing and developed countries could benefit from ETDs.

  2. Effects of land use change and management on SOC and soil quality in Mediterranean rangelands areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parras-Alcántara, Luis; Lozano-García, Beatriz; Requejo, Ana; Zornoza, Raúl

    2017-04-01

    INTRODUCTION Rangelands in the Iberian Peninsula occupy more than 90,000 km2. These rangelands were created from the former Mediterranean oak forests, mainly composed of holm oak and cork oak (Quercus ilex rotundifolia and Quercus suber), by clear-cutting shrubs, removing selected trees and cultivating. These man-made landscapes are called 'dehesas' in Spain and 'montados' in Portugal. Between 1955 and 1981, more than 5,000 km2 of dehesas was converted from pastureland to cultivated land. This process has been accelerated since 1986 owing to subsidies from the European Common Agricultural Policy (Parras-Alcántara et al., 2015a). The role that natural rangelands play in the global carbon cycle is extremely important, accounting for 10-30% of the world's total soil organic carbon (SOC), in addition, SOC concentration is closely related to soil quality and vegetation productivity (Brevik, 2012). Therefore, to study the land use and management changes is important, particularly in Mediterranean soils, as they are characterized by low organic carbon content, furthermore, the continuous use of ploughing for grain production is the principal cause of soil degradation. Therefore, land use decisions and management systems can increase or decrease SOC content and stock (Corral-Fernández et al., 2013; Parras-Alcántara et al., 2014, 2015a and 2015b; Parras-Alcántara and Lozano-García, 2014) MATERIAL AND METHODS A field study was conducted to determine the land use change (Mediterranean evergreen oak woodland to olive grove and cereal, all of them managed under conventional tillage and under conservationist practices) effects on SOC stocks and the soil quality (Stratification Ratio) in Los Pedroches valley, southern Spain. RESULTS Results for the present study indicate that management practices had little effect on SOC storage in dehesas. The stratification ratio was >2 both under conventional tillage and under organic farming, so, soils under dehesa had high quality

  3. Library resources on the Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, Nancy L.

    1995-07-01

    Library resources are prevalent on the Internet. Library catalogs, electronic books, electronic periodicals, periodical indexes, reference sources, and U.S. Government documents are available by telnet, Gopher, World Wide Web, and FTP. Comparatively few copyrighted library resources are available freely on the Internet. Internet implementations of library resources can add useful features, such as full-text searching. There are discussion lists, Gophers, and World Wide Web pages to help users keep up with new resources and changes to existing ones. The future will bring more library resources, more types of library resources, and more integrated implementations of such resources to the Internet.

  4. Integrating Science and Land Management for the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) in Southwestern Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, D. C.; Heilman, P.; Nearing, M.; Speath, K.; Hernandez, M.; Wei, H.; Holifield-Collins, C.; Kautz, M.; Nichols, M.; Barlow, J.; Guertin, P.; Burns, S.; Stone, J. J.; Weltz, M.; Metz, L.; Norfleet, L.; Duriancik, L.; Johnson, M.

    2013-12-01

    Farm Bill legislation enacted by Congress in 2002 directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess of the benefits and efficacy of conservation practices provided by a variety of USDA programs. Benefits include improved agricultural production, reduction of erosion and associated nutrient losses, improved water quality, improved soil resilience, and improved habitat among others. To conduct the assessment, the USDA initiated CEAP or the Conservation Effects Assessment Project in 2003, which included a national assessment complemented by small watershed studies. The national assessment started in eastern and midwestern cultivated croplands and has now progressed to western rangelands. This presentation will discuss the challenges of assessing the effects of rangeland conservation practices in a period of unusually hot and dry climatic conditions in the Cienega Creek Watershed (CCW) located southeast of Tucson, Arizona. As is common in the western U.S., the CCW consists of a patchwork of private and public lands in the west with much of the public lands leased for grazing cattle. The watershed also has high recreational value and provides many ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat qualities and flood protection to Tucson. A combination of monitoring, modeling, and remote sensing was utilized in the assessment. Conservation spending in the watershed ramped up in 1997. However, the 16-year period from 1997-2012 contains almost half of the 23 driest seasons (lowest 20 percentile) from the 117-year observed precipitation record. Initial results indicate that Landsat remotely sensed images can be effectively used to estimate both green and senescent canopy cover. This enabled detection of the impacts of drought and changes in canopy cover from practices such as prescribed fire and mechanical brush removal. Cienega Creek Watershed - Land Ownership

  5. ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ONLINE SUPPORT OF MODERN CHEMISTRY CLASSES IN SPECIALIZED SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria D. Tukalo

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article contains material of some modern electronic educational resources that can be used via the Internet to support the modern chemistry classes in specialized school. It was drawn attention to the educational chemical experiments as means of knowledge; simulated key motivational characteristics to enhance students interest for learning subjects, their cognitive and practical activity in the formation of self-reliance and self-creative; commented forecasts for creating of conditions to enhance the creative potential of students in a modern learning environment.

  6. Selection and Evaluation of Electronic Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doğan Atılgan

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Publication boom and issues related to controlling and accession of printed sources have created some problems after World War II. Consequently, publishing industry has encountered the problem of finding possible solution for emerged situation. Industry of electronic publishing has started to improve with the rapid increase of the price of printed sources as well as the problem of publication boom. The first effects of electronic publishing were appeared on the academic and scholarly publications then electronic publishing became a crucial part of all types of publications. As a result of these developments, collection developments and service policies of information centers were also significantly changed. In this article, after a general introduction about selection and evaluation processes of electronic publications, the subscribed databases by a state and a privately owned university in Turkey and their usage were examined.

  7. An Exploratory study on the use of LibAnswers to Resolve, Track and Monitor Electronic Resources Issues: The KAUST Library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    An Exploratory study on KAUST library use of LibAnswers in resolving electronic resources questions received in LibAnswers. It describes the findings of the questions received in LibAnswers. The author made suggestions based on the findings to improve the reference services in responding to e-resources questions.

  8. An Exploratory study on the use of LibAnswers to Resolve, Track and Monitor Electronic Resources Issues: The KAUST Library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-03

    An Exploratory study on KAUST library use of LibAnswers in resolving electronic resources questions received in LibAnswers. It describes the findings of the questions received in LibAnswers. The author made suggestions based on the findings to improve the reference services in responding to e-resources questions.

  9. The level of the usage of the human resource information system and electronic recruitment in Croatian companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snježana Pivac

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Performing business according to contemporary requirements influences companies for continuous usage of modern managerial tools, such as a human resource information system (HRIS and electronic recruitment (ER. Human resources have been recognised as curtail resources and the main source of a competitive advantage in creation of successful business performance. In order to attract and select the top employees, companies use quality information software for attracting internal ones, and electronic recruitment for attracting the best possible external candidates. The main aim of this paper is to research the level of the usage of HRIS and ER within medium-size and large Croatian companies. Moreover, the additional aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship among the usage of these modern managerial tools and the overall success of human resource management within these companies. For the purpose of this paper, primary and secondary research has been conducted in order to reveal the level of the usage of HRIS and ER as well as the overall success of human resource management in Croatian companies. The companies’ classification (HRIS and ER is done by using the non-hierarchical k-means cluster method as well as the nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test. Further, the companies are ranked by the multicriteria PROMETHEE method. Relevant nonparametric tests are used for testing the overall companies’ HRM. Finally, binary logistic regression is estimated, relating binary variable HRM and HRIS development. After detailed research, it can be concluded that large Croatian companies apply HRIS in majority (with a positive relation to HRM performance, but still require certain degrees of its development.

  10. The electronic encapsulation of knowledge in hydraulics, hydrology and water resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Michael B.

    The rapidly developing practice of encapsulating knowledge in electronic media is shown to lead necessarily to the restructuring of the knowledge itself. The consequences of this for hydraulics, hydrology and more general water-resources management are investigated in particular relation to current process-simulation, real-time control and advice-serving systems. The generic properties of the electronic knowledge encapsulator are described, and attention is drawn to the manner in which knowledge 'goes into hiding' through encapsulation. This property is traced in the simple situations of pure mathesis and in the more complex situations of taxinomia using one example each from hydraulics and hydrology. The consequences for systems architectures are explained, pointing to the need for multi-agent architectures for ecological modelling and for more general hydroinformatics systems also. The relevance of these developments is indicated by reference to ongoing projects in which they are currently being realised. In conclusion, some more general epistemological aspects are considered within the same context. As this contribution is so much concerned with the processes of signification and communication, it has been partly shaped by the theory of semiotics, as popularised by Eco ( A Theory of Semiotics, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1977).

  11. RESEARCH OF INFLUENCE OF QUALITY OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ON QUALITY OF TRAINING WITH USE OF DISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. M. Kravtsov

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Communication improving of educational processes requires today new approaches to the management arrangements and forming of educational policy in the field of distance learning, which is based on the use of modern information and communication technologies. An important step in this process is the continuous monitoring of the development and implementation of information technology and, in particular, the distance learning systems in higher educational establishments. The main objective of the monitoring is the impact assessment on the development of distance learning following the state educational standards, curricula, methodical and technical equipment and other factors; factors revelation that influence the implementation and outcomes of distance learning; results comparison of educational institution functioning and distance education systems in order to determine the most efficient ways of its development. The paper presents the analysis results of the dependence of the quality of educational services on the electronic educational resources. Trends in educational services development was studied by comparing the quality influence of electronic educational resources on the quality of educational services of higher pedagogical educational institutions of Ukraine as of 2009-2010 and 2012-2013. Generally, the analysis of the survey results allows evaluating quality of the modern education services as satisfactory and it can be said that almost 70% of the success of their future development depends on the quality of the used electronic educational resources and distance learning systems in particular.

  12. Decision Making in Rangelands: An Integrated Modeling Approach to Resilience and Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galvin, K. A.; Ojima, D. S.; Boone, R. B.

    2007-12-01

    Rangelands comprise approximately 25% of the earth's surface and these landscapes support more than 20 million people and most of the world's charismatic megafauna. Most of the people who live in these regions of the world herd domestic livestock and some do limited cultivation so they are dependent directly on the environment for their livelihoods. But change is rapidly changing the environments upon which these people depend through such factors as population pressures, land use and land tenure changes, climate variability, and policy changes which fragment their resources and thus their ability to earn a living. How can we understand change in this linked human-environment system? The study of complex biophysical and human systems can be greatly assisted by appropriate simulation models that integrate what is known about ecological and human decision-making processes. We have developed an integrated modeling system for Kajiado, Kenya where land use management decisions have implications for economics and the ecosystem. In this paper we look at how land use decisions, that is, livestock movement patterns have implications for societal economics and ecosystem services. Research that focuses on local behavior is important because it is at that level where fundamental decisions are made regarding events like extreme climate and changes such as land tenure policy and it is here where resilience is manifested. The notion that broad recommendation domains can be identified for a broad set of people and large regions coping with change is becoming increasingly hard to trust given the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the systems we are looking at, and the complexity of the world we now live in. Why is this important? The only way the research community is going to make great progress in attaining objectives that do confer resilience (on social and ecological systems) is through much better targeting ability, a large part of which seem to be intimately entwined with

  13. Tracking the Flow of Resources in Electronic Waste - The Case of End-of-Life Computer Hard Disk Drives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib, Komal; Parajuly, Keshav; Wenzel, Henrik

    2015-10-20

    Recovery of resources, in particular, metals, from waste flows is widely seen as a prioritized option to reduce their potential supply constraints in the future. The current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment system is more focused on bulk metals, where the recycling rate of specialty metals, such as rare earths, is negligible compared to their increasing use in modern products, such as electronics. This study investigates the challenges in recovering these resources in the existing WEEE treatment system. It is illustrated by following the material flows of resources in a conventional WEEE treatment plant in Denmark. Computer hard disk drives (HDDs) containing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets were selected as the case product for this experiment. The resulting output fractions were tracked until their final treatment in order to estimate the recovery potential of rare earth elements (REEs) and other resources contained in HDDs. The results further show that out of the 244 kg of HDDs treated, 212 kg comprising mainly of aluminum and steel can be finally recovered from the metallurgic process. The results further demonstrate the complete loss of REEs in the existing shredding-based WEEE treatment processes. Dismantling and separate processing of NdFeB magnets from their end-use products can be a more preferred option over shredding. However, it remains a technological and logistic challenge for the existing system.

  14. Hydrologic Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Associated With the Increased Role of Fire on Western Landscapes, Great Basin, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. J.; Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Spaeth, K. E.; Hardegree, S. P.; Clark, P. E.; Moffet, C. A.; Al-Hamdan, O. Z.; Boll, J.

    2010-12-01

    Landscape-scale plant community transitions and altered fire regimes across Great Basin, USA, rangelands have increased the likelihood of post-fire flooding and erosion events. These hazards are particularly concerning for western urban centers along the rangeland urban-wildland interface where natural resources, property, and human life are at risk. Extensive conversion of 4-7 million hectares of Great Basin shrub-steppe to cheatgrass-dominated (Bromus tectorum) grasslands has increased the frequency and size of wildland fires within these ecosystems. Fire frequencies have increased by more than an order of magnitude and occur on 3-10 year intervals across much of the cheatgrass-dominated landscape. Extensive tree (Pinus spp. and Juniperus spp.) encroachment into wooded shrub-steppe has increased heavy fuel loads. Ladder fuels in these ecosystems promote rapidly spreading, high-intensity and severe ground-surface-crown fires. These altered fuel structures across much of the historical Great Basin shrub-steppe have initiated an upsurge in large rangeland wildfires and have increased the spatial and temporal vulnerability of these landscapes to amplified runoff and erosion. Resource and infrastructure damages, and loss of life have been reported due to flooding following recent large-scale burning of western rangelands and dry forests. We present a decade of post-fire rangeland hydrologic research that provides a foundation for conceptual modeling of the hydrologic impacts associated with an increased role of rangeland wildfires. We highlight advancements in predictive tools to address this large-scale phenomenon and discuss vital research voids requiring attention. Our geographic emphasis is the Great Basin Region, however, these concepts likely extend elsewhere given the increased role of fire in many geographic regions and across rangeland-to-forest ecotones in the western United States.

  15. Combined effects of leaf litter and soil microsite on decomposition process in arid rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrera, Analía Lorena; Bertiller, Mónica Beatriz

    2013-01-15

    The objective of this study was to analyze the combined effects of leaf litter quality and soil properties on litter decomposition and soil nitrogen (N) mineralization at conserved (C) and disturbed by sheep grazing (D) vegetation states in arid rangelands of the Patagonian Monte. It was hypothesized that spatial differences in soil inorganic-N levels have larger impact on decomposition processes of non-recalcitrant than recalcitrant leaf litter (low and high concentration of secondary compounds, respectively). Leaf litter and upper soil were extracted from modal size plant patches (patch microsite) and the associated inter-patch area (inter-patch microsite) in C and D. Leaf litter was pooled per vegetation state and soil was pooled combining vegetation state and microsite. Concentrations of N and secondary compounds in leaf litter and total and inorganic-N in soil were assessed at each pooled sample. Leaf litter decay and soil N mineralization at microsites of C and D were estimated in 160 microcosms incubated at field capacity (16 month). C soils had higher total N than D soils (0.58 and 0.41 mg/g, respectively). Patch soil of C and inter-patch soil of D exhibited the highest values of inorganic-N (8.8 and 8.4 μg/g, respectively). Leaf litter of C was less recalcitrant and decomposed faster than that of D. Non-recalcitrant leaf litter decay and induced soil N mineralization had larger variation among microsites (coefficients of variation = 25 and 41%, respectively) than recalcitrant leaf litter (coefficients of variation = 12 and 32%, respectively). Changes in the canopy structure induced by grazing disturbance increased leaf litter recalcitrance, and reduced litter decay and soil N mineralization, independently of soil N levels. This highlights the importance of the combined effects of soil and leaf litter properties on N cycling probably with consequences for vegetation reestablishment and dynamics, rangeland resistance and resilience with implications

  16. Fusing MODIS with Landsat 8 data to downscale weekly normalized difference vegetation index estimates for central Great Basin rangelands, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyte, Stephen; Wylie, Bruce K.; Rigge, Matthew B.; Dahal, Devendra

    2018-01-01

    Data fused from distinct but complementary satellite sensors mitigate tradeoffs that researchers make when selecting between spatial and temporal resolutions of remotely sensed data. We integrated data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra satellite and the Operational Land Imager sensor aboard the Landsat 8 satellite into four regression-tree models and applied those data to a mapping application. This application produced downscaled maps that utilize the 30-m spatial resolution of Landsat in conjunction with daily acquisitions of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) that are composited and temporally smoothed. We produced four weekly, atmospherically corrected, and nearly cloud-free, downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions (maps) built from these models. Model results were strong with R2 values ranging from 0.74 to 0.85. The correlation coefficients (r ≥ 0.89) were strong for all predictions when compared to corresponding original MODIS NDVI data. Downscaled products incorporated into independently developed sagebrush ecosystem models yielded mixed results. The visual quality of the downscaled 30-m synthetic MODIS NDVI predictions were remarkable when compared to the original 250-m MODIS NDVI. These 30-m maps improve knowledge of dynamic rangeland seasonal processes in the central Great Basin, United States, and provide land managers improved resource maps.

  17. Assessing the Influence of Precipitation Variability on the Vegetation Dynamics of the Mediterranean Rangelands using NDVI and Machine Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daliakopoulos, Ioannis; Tsanis, Ioannis

    2017-04-01

    Mitigating the vulnerability of Mediterranean rangelands against degradation is limited by our ability to understand and accurately characterize those impacts in space and time. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a radiometric measure of the photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by green vegetation canopy chlorophyll and is therefore a good surrogate measure of vegetation dynamics. On the other hand, meteorological indices such as the drought assessing Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) are can be easily estimated from historical and projected datasets at the global scale. This work investigates the potential of driving Random Forest (RF) models with meteorological indices to approximate NDVI-based vegetation dynamics. A sufficiently large number of RF models are trained using random subsets of the dataset as predictors, in a bootstrapping approach to account for the uncertainty introduced by the subset selection. The updated E-OBS-v13.1 dataset of the ENSEMBLES EU FP6 program provides observed monthly meteorological input to estimate SPI over the Mediterranean rangelands. RF models are trained to depict vegetation dynamics using the latest version (3g.v1) of the third generation GIMMS NDVI generated from NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors. Analysis is conducted for the period 1981-2015 at a gridded spatial resolution of 25 km. Preliminary results demonstrate the potential of machine learning algorithms to effectively mimic the underlying physical relationship of drought and Earth Observation vegetation indices to provide estimates based on precipitation variability.

  18. Evaluation of Columbia, USMARC-Composite, Suffolk, and Texel rams as terminal sires in an extensive rangeland production system: I. Ewe productivity and crossbred lamb survival and preweaning growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    A 3-yr study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate Columbia, Suffolk, USMARC-Composite (Composite), and Texel breeds as terminal sires in an extensive rangeland production system. The objective was to estimate breed-of-ram effects on ewe fertility, prolificacy, and dystocia, and sire breed effe...

  19. Ecological site-based assessments of wind and water erosion: informing accelerated soil erosion management in rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Nicholas P.; Herrick, Jeffrey E.; Duniway, Michael C.

    2014-01-01

    Accelerated soil erosion occurs when anthropogenic processes modify soil, vegetation or climatic conditions causing erosion rates at a location to exceed their natural variability. Identifying where and when accelerated erosion occurs is a critical first step toward its effective management. Here we explore how erosion assessments structured in the context of ecological sites (a land classification based on soils, landscape setting and ecological potential) and their vegetation states (plant assemblages that may change due to management) can inform systems for reducing accelerated soil erosion in rangelands. We evaluated aeolian horizontal sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion rates for five ecological sites in southern New Mexico, USA, using monitoring data and rangeland-specific wind and water erosion models. Across the ecological sites, plots in shrub-encroached and shrub-dominated vegetation states were consistently susceptible to aeolian sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion. Both processes were found to be highly variable for grassland and grass-succulent states across the ecological sites at the plot scale (0.25 Ha). We identify vegetation thresholds that define cover levels below which rapid (exponential) increases in aeolian sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion occur across the ecological sites and vegetation states. Aeolian sediment flux and fluvial erosion in the study area can be effectively controlled when bare ground cover is 100 cm in length is less than ~35%. Land use and management activities that alter cover levels such that they cross thresholds, and/or drive vegetation state changes, may increase the susceptibility of areas to erosion. Land use impacts that are constrained within the range of natural variability should not result in accelerated soil erosion. Evaluating land condition against the erosion thresholds identified here will enable identification of areas susceptible to accelerated soil erosion and the development of

  20. Ecological site‐based assessments of wind and water erosion: informing accelerated soil erosion management in rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Nicholas P; Herrick, Jeffrey E; Duniway, Michael C

    Accelerated soil erosion occurs when anthropogenic processes modify soil, vegetation, or climatic conditions causing erosion rates at a location to exceed their natural variability. Identifying where and when accelerated erosion occurs is a critical first step toward its effective management. Here we explored how erosion assessments structured in the context of ecological sites (a land classification based on soils, landscape setting, and ecological potential) and their vegetation states (plant assemblages that may change due to management) can inform systems for reducing accelerated soil erosion in rangelands. We evaluated aeolian horizontal sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion rates for five ecological sites in southern New Mexico, USA, using monitoring data and rangeland-specific wind and water erosion models. Across the ecological sites, plots in shrub-encroached and shrub-dominated vegetation states were consistently susceptible to aeolian sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion. Both processes were found to be highly variable for grassland and grass–succulent states across the ecological sites at the plot scale (0.25 ha). We identified vegetation thresholds that define cover levels below which rapid (exponential) increases in aeolian sediment flux and fluvial sediment erosion occur across the ecological sites and vegetation states. Aeolian sediment flux and fluvial erosion in the study area could be effectively controlled when bare ground cover was 100 cm in length was less than ∼35%. Land use and management activities that alter cover levels such that they cross thresholds, and/or drive vegetation state changes, may increase the susceptibility of areas to erosion. Land use impacts that are constrained within the range of natural variability should not result in accelerated soil erosion. Evaluating land condition against the erosion thresholds identified here will enable identification of areas susceptible to accelerated soil erosion and the

  1. 77 FR 64350 - State of Arizona Resource Advisory Council Meetings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-19

    ... indicated below. DATES: The RAC will meet on November 28 for Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines... update on BLM programs and issues; update on the ASARCO Ray Land Exchange; updates on the United States...

  2. Using mobile electronic devices to deliver educational resources in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazal, Jonathan Robert; Ludwig, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    Developing countries have far fewer trained radiography professionals than developed countries, which exacerbates the limited access to imaging services. The lack of trained radiographers reflects, in part, limited availability of radiographer-specific educational resources. Historically, organizations that provided such resources in the developing world faced challenges related to the limited stock of current materials as well as expenses associated with shipping and delivery. Four mobile electronic devices (MEDs) were loaded with educational content (e-books, PDFs, and digital applications) spanning major radiography topics. The MEDs were distributed to 4 imaging departments in Ghana, India, Nepal, and Nigeria based on evidence of need for radiography-specific resources, as revealed by survey responses. A cost comparison of postal delivery vs digital delivery of educational content was performed. The effectiveness of delivering additional content via Wi-Fi transmission also was evaluated. Feedback was solicited on users' experience with the MEDs as a delivery tool for educational content. An initial average per e-book expense of $30.05, which included the cost of the device, was calculated for the MED delivery method compared with $15.56 for postal delivery of printed materials. The cost of the MED delivery method was reduced to an average of $10.05 for subsequent e-book deliveries. Additional content was successfully delivered via Wi-Fi transmission to all recipients during the 3-month follow-up period. Overall user feedback on the experience was positive, and ideas for enhancing the MED-based method were identified. Using MEDs to deliver radiography-specific educational content appears to be more cost effective than postal delivery of printed materials on a long-term basis. MEDs are more efficient for providing updates to educational materials. Customization of content to department needs, and using projector devices could enhance the usefulness of MEDs for

  3. Success criteria for electronic medical record implementations in low-resource settings: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, Fleur; Tilahun, Binyam; Dugas, Martin

    2015-03-01

    Electronic medical record (EMR) systems have the potential of supporting clinical work by providing the right information at the right time to the right people and thus make efficient use of resources. This is especially important in low-resource settings where reliable data are also needed to support public health and local supporting organizations. In this systematic literature review, our objectives are to identify and collect literature about success criteria of EMR implementations in low-resource settings and to summarize them into recommendations. Our search strategy relied on PubMed queries and manual bibliography reviews. Studies were included if EMR implementations in low-resource settings were described. The extracted success criteria and measurements were summarized into 7 categories: ethical, financial, functionality, organizational, political, technical, and training. We collected 381 success criteria with 229 measurements from 47 articles out of 223 articles. Most papers were evaluations or lessons learned from African countries, published from 1999 to 2013. Almost half of the EMR systems served a specific disease area like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The majority of criteria that were reported dealt with the functionality, followed by organizational issues, and technical infrastructures. Sufficient training and skilled personnel were mentioned in roughly 10%. Political, ethical, and financial considerations did not play a predominant role. More evaluations based on reliable frameworks are needed. Highly reliable data handling methods, human resources and effective project management, as well as technical architecture and infrastructure are all key factors for successful EMR implementation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Autecology of Astragalus arpilobus Kar. & Kir, a promised species for restoration of the winter rangelands in the northeast of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Jankju

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Studying the autecology of range plants provides the basic information on their ecological requirements, cultivation methods and the interactions with the prevailing environment. Such information is necessary for a proper range management. Some ecological characteristics of Astragalus arpilobus Kar. & Kir., were studied in the winter rangelands of Northern Khorasan province. It was naturally growing in Jargalan, Bojnourd, where the altitudinal range varied 500-600 a.s.l, slope 20-100%, and the average annual rainfall 236.85 mm. Soil properties were: loamy texture, average organic matter, low fertility, pH 7.32 and EC 2.30 ds.m-1. A. aripilobus started vegetative growth at the early March, flowering during early May, seed production during June, and terminated its yearly growth at early July. The highest nutritive values and forage quality were at the beginning of growth, which was gradually decreased towards the end of growth season. Crude protein (CP, and ash were decreased whereas acid detergent fiber (ADF, natural detergent fiber (NDF, and dry matter (DM increased by the growing season. Seeds were easily established within pots; however, seed germination rate was low (24%, which by sand paper scarification was increased up to 51%. In conclusion, feasibility of seedling establishment, high nutritive value, and concurrence of plant phenology with the time of maximum need to fodder, by livestocks, propose A. arpilobus as a promising forage plant species for restoration of the winter rangelands in Northern Khorasan province.

  5. Climate science information needs among natural resource decision-makers in the Northwest US

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Allen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Managing water resources, air quality, forests, rangelands and agricultural systems in the context of climate change requires a new level of integrated knowledge. In order to articulate a role for university-based research teams as providers of climate services, this paper analyzes environmental change concerns and expectations about climate models among natural resources decision-makers in the Northwest US. Data were collected during a series of workshops organized by researchers from BioEarth, a regional earth systems modeling initiative. Eighty-three stakeholders from industry, government agencies and non-governmental organizations engaged with a team of academic researchers developing integrated biophysical and economic climate modeling tools. Analysis of transcripts of workshop discussions, surveys, and questionnaires reveals diverse attitudes among stakeholders about: 1 preferred modes of engaging in climate science research, 2 specific concerns and questions about climate change impacts, and 3 the most relevant and usable scope and scale of climate change impacts projections. Diverse concerns and information needs among natural resource decision-makers highlight the need for research teams to define clear and precise goals for stakeholder engagement. Utilizing the skills of research team members who have communication and extension expertise is pivotally important. We suggest impactful opportunities for research teams and natural resource decision-makers to interface and learn from one another. Effective approaches include structuring group discussions to identify gaps in existing climate change impacts information, explicitly considering changing policies, technologies and management practices, and exploring possible unintended consequences of decisions.

  6. Large scale 20mm photography for range resources analysis in the Western United States. [Casa Grande, Arizona, Mercury, Nevada, and Mojave Desert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tueller, P. T.

    1977-01-01

    Large scale 70mm aerial photography is a valuable supplementary tool for rangeland studies. A wide assortment of applications were developed varying from vegetation mapping to assessing environmental impact on rangelands. Color and color infrared stereo pairs are useful for effectively sampling sites limited by ground accessibility. They allow an increased sample size at similar or lower cost than ground sampling techniques and provide a permanent record.

  7. Soils as a Solution: The Potential of Rangelands to Contribute to Climate Change Mitigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, W. L.; Ryals, R.; DeLonge, M. S.; Owen, J. J.

    2015-12-01

    The majority of soil-related climate change research has focused on describing the problem - estimating rates of carbon (C) losses and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from natural and managed ecosystems. More research is needed to explore potential solutions to climate change through mitigation and adaptation. Here we report on an integrated set of studies aimed at critically evaluating the biogeochemical potential of rangeland soils to help mitigate climate change, while improving the sustainability and productivity of food production systems. We explored direct effects through enhanced net primary production (NPP) and soil C sequestration, and indirect effects through diversion of high emitting sources to lower emitting organic matter dynamics. We used a combination of long- and short-term field experiments, modeling, laboratory assays, life cycle assessment (LCA), and meta-analyses in consultation with a diverse group of stakeholders from both the private and public sectors. We found that organic matter amendments held particularly strong potential. Compost amendments increased soil C storage by 0.5-1.0 Mg C ha-1 y-1 in surface soils over 5 y, and increased NPP and water holding capacity. We measured 1.0 Mg of new C ha-1 y-1 over 3 y. Long-term amendment of cattle manure increased surface soil C by 19.0±7.3 Mg C ha-1 relative to unmanured fields. However, field and modeling experiments suggested that manure amendments lead to large nitrous oxide emissions that eventually eliminated CO2e benefits, whereas compost amendments continued to benefit climate for decades longer. An LCA identified a broader range of climate impacts. When scaled to an area of 25% of California's rangelands, new C sequestered following compost amendments (21 million Mg CO2e) exceeded emissions from cattle (15 million Mg CO2e); diverting organics from waste streams to amendments led to additional GHG savings. In collaboration with our partners, our research contributed to the development of

  8. Electronic Human Resources Management (e-HRM Adoption Studies: Past and Future Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Winarto Winarto

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Electronic human resource management (e-HRM systems become more widely used by profit and non-profit organization. However, the field currently lacks sound theoretical frameworks that can be useful in addressing a key issue concerning the implementation of e-HRM systems, in particular to obtain a better understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of e-HRM systems. The objective of this paper is to provide a foundation towards the development of a theoretical framework for the implementation of e-HRM systems and develop a conceptual model that would reflect the nature of e-HRM systems’ adoption through systematic literature review. Adopting Crossan and Apaydin’s procedure of systematic review, this paper investigated 21 empirical papers of electronics human resources management, then categorized them into 4 characteristics which influence the adoption; System and technology characteristics; Organizational characteristics; User/individual characteristics, and Environmental and contextual characteristics. Finally, the e-HRM adoption research framework is drawn and based on the framework; avenues for future research are discussed.   Bahasa Indonesia Abstrak: Manajemen sumber daya manusia elektronik (selanjutnya disebut dengan e-HRM semakin banyak digunakan oleh organisasi profit dan nonprofit. Namun, bidang dan topik ini belum memiliki kerangka teori yang mapan, yang dapat digunakan untuk menganalisis isu-isu terkait penerapan e-HRM, terutama mengenai faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi adopsi sistem e-HRM. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memberikan landasan bagi pengembangan kerangka teoritis untuk implementasi sistem e-HRM dan mengembangkan model konseptual yang akan menggambarkan adopsi sistem e-HRM melalui tinjauan literatur sistematis. Mengadopsi prosedur dan metode Crossan dan Apaydin untuk melakukan telaah literatur secara sistematis, paper ini menyelidiki 21 publikasi empiris manajemen sumber daya manusia elektronik dari 2

  9. Science framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to long-term strategic conservation actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.C. Chambers; J.L. Beck; J.B. Bradford; J. Bybee; S. Campbell; J. Carlson; T.J. Christiansen; K.J. Clause; G. Collins; M.R. Crist; J.B. Dinkins; K.E. Doherty; F. Edwards; S. Espinosa; K.A. Griffin; P. Griffin; J.R. Haas; S.E. Hanser; D.W. Havlina; K.F. Henke; J.D. Hennig; L.A. Joyce; F.M. Kilkenny; S.M. Kulpa; L.L. Kurth; J.D. Maestas; M. Manning; K.E. Mayer; B.A. Mealor; C. McCarthy; M. Pellant; M.A. Perea; K.L. Prentice; D.A. Pyke; L.A. Wiechman; A. Wuenschel

    2017-01-01

    The Science Framework is intended to link the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy with long-term strategic conservation actions in the sagebrush biome. The Science Framework provides a multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies within the sagebrush biome. The emphasis...

  10. Improving Electronic Resources through Holistic Budgeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusik, James P.; Vargas, Mark A.

    2009-01-01

    To establish a more direct link between its collections and the educational goals of Saint Xavier University, the Byrne Memorial Library has adopted a "holistic" approach to collection development. This article examines how traditional budget practices influenced the library's selection of resources and describes how holistic collection…

  11. The Climate-Population Nexus in the East African Horn: Emerging Degradation Trends in Rangeland and Pastoral Livelihood Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pricope, N. G.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

    2014-12-01

    Increasing climate variability and extreme weather conditions along with declining trends in both rainfall and temperature represent major risk factors affecting agricultural production and food security in many regions of the world. We identify regions where significant rainfall decrease from 1979-2011 over the entire continent of Africa couples with significant human population density increase. The rangelands of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia in the East African Horn remain one of the world's most food insecure regions, yet have significantly increasing human populations predominantly dependent on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Vegetation in this region is characterized by a variable mosaic of land covers, generally dominated by grasslands necessary for agro-pastoralism, interspersed by woody vegetation. Recent assessments indicate that widespread degradation is occurring, adversely impacting fragile ecosystems and human livelihoods. Using two underutilized MODIS products, we observe significant changes in vegetation patterns and productivity over the last decade all across the East African Horn. We observe significant vegetation browning trends in areas experiencing drying precipitation trends in addition to increasing population pressures. We also found that the drying precipitation trends only partially statistically explain the vegetation browning trends, further indicating that other factors such as population pressures and land use changes are responsible for the observed declining vegetation health. Furthermore, we show that the general vegetation browning trends persist even during years with normal rainfall conditions such as 2012, indicating potential long-term degradation of rangelands on which approximately 10 million people depend. These findings have serious implications for current and future regional food security monitoring and forecasting as well as for mitigation and adaptation strategies in a region where population is expected

  12. Clinician‐selected Electronic Information Resources do not Guarantee Accuracy in Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs. A review of: McKibbon, K. Ann, and Douglas B. Fridsma. “Effectiveness of Clinician‐selected Electronic Information Resources for Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 13.6 (2006: 653‐9.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Ingrid Preddie

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To determine if electronic information resources selected by primary care physicians improve their ability to answer simulated clinical questions.Design – An observational study utilizing hour‐long interviews and think‐aloud protocols.Setting – The offices and clinics of primary care physicians in Canada and the United States.Subjects – Twenty‐five primary care physicians of whom 4 were women, 17 were from Canada, 22 were family physicians,and 24 were board certified.Methods – Participants provided responses to 23 multiple‐choice questions. Each physician then chose two questions and looked for the answers utilizing information resources of their own choice. The search processes, chosen resources and search times were noted. These were analyzed along with data on the accuracy of the answers and certainties related to the answer to each clinical question prior to the search.Main results – Twenty‐three physicians sought answers to 46 simulated clinical questions. Utilizing only electronic information resources, physicians spent a mean of 13.0 (SD 5.5 minutes searching for answers to the questions, an average of 7.3(SD 4.0 minutes for the first question and 5.8 (SD 2.2 minutes to answer the second question. On average, 1.8 resources were utilized per question. Resources that summarized information, such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate and Clinical Evidence, were favored 39.2% of the time, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed 35.7%, and Internet resources including Google 22.6%. Almost 50% of the search and retrieval strategies were keyword‐based, while MeSH, subheadings and limiting were used less frequently. On average, before searching physicians answered 10 of 23 (43.5% questions accurately. For questions that were searched using clinician‐selected electronic resources, 18 (39.1% of the 46 answers were accurate before searching, while 19 (42.1% were accurate after searching. The difference of

  13. A fuzzy multi-objective linear programming approach for integrated sheep farming and wildlife in land management decisions: a case study in the Patagonian rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metternicht, Graciela; Blanco, Paula; del Valle, Hector; Laterra, Pedro; Hardtke, Leonardo; Bouza, Pablo

    2015-04-01

    Wildlife is part of the Patagonian rangelands sheep farming environment, with the potential of providing extra revenue to livestock owners. As sheep farming became less profitable, farmers and ranchers could focus on sustainable wildlife harvesting. It has been argued that sustainable wildlife harvesting is ecologically one of the most rational forms of land use because of its potential to provide multiple products of high value, while reducing pressure on ecosystems. The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is the most conspicuous wild ungulate of Patagonia. Guanaco ?bre, meat, pelts and hides are economically valuable and have the potential to be used within the present Patagonian context of production systems. Guanaco populations in South America, including Patagonia, have experienced a sustained decline. Causes for this decline are related to habitat alteration, competition for forage with sheep, and lack of reasonable management plans to develop livelihoods for ranchers. In this study we propose an approach to explicitly determinate optimal stocking rates based on trade-offs between guanaco density and livestock grazing intensity on rangelands. The focus of our research is on finding optimal sheep stocking rates at paddock level, to ensure the highest production outputs while: a) meeting requirements of sustainable conservation of guanacos over their minimum viable population; b) maximizing soil carbon sequestration, and c) minimizing soil erosion. In this way, determination of optimal stocking rate in rangelands becomes a multi-objective optimization problem that can be addressed using a Fuzzy Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) approach. Basically, this approach converts multi-objective problems into single-objective optimizations, by introducing a set of objective weights. Objectives are represented using fuzzy set theory and fuzzy memberships, enabling each objective function to adopt a value between 0 and 1. Each objective function indicates the satisfaction of

  14. Use of local pastoral species to increase fodder production of the saline rangelands in southern Tunisia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tlili, Abderrazak; Tarhouni, Mohamed; Cardà, Artemi; Neffati, Mohamed

    2017-04-01

    Climate changes associated with multiple destructive human activities accelerate the degradation process of the natural rangelands around the world and especially the vulnerable areas such as the dryland ecosystems (Anaya-Romero et al., 2015; Eskandari et al., 2016; Muños Rojas et al., 2016; Vicente-Serrano et al., 2016). The vegetation cover and the biomass production of these ecosystems are decreasing and this is resulting in land degradation due to the soil erosion and changes in soil quality due to the abuse and misuse of the soil resources (Cerdà et al., 2016; Prosdocimi et al., 2016; Keesstra et al., 2016). To cope with such threats, it is necessary to develop some management techniques (restoration, plantation…) to enhance the biomass production and the carbon sequestration of the degraded rangelands (Muñoz-Rojas et al., 2016; Tarhouni et al., 2016). The valorization of saline water by planting pastoral halophyte species in salt-affected soils as well as the marginal areas are considered among the valuable tools to increase the rangeland production in dry areas. In this work, the ability of four plants (Atriplex halimus L. (Amaranthaceae), Atriplex mollis Desf. (Amaranthaceae), Lotus creticus L. (Fabaceae) and Cenchrus ciliaris L. (Poaceae)) to grow and to produce are tested under a field saline conditions (water and soil). Non-destructive method (Vegmeasure) is used to estimate the biomass production of these species. Chemical (crude protein, moisture and ash contents) and biochemical analyses (sugars, tannins and polyphenols contents) are also undertaken. Two years after plantation, the obtained results showed the ability of the four species to survive and to grow under high salinity degree. A strong positive correlation was obtained between the canopy cover and the dry biomass of the four studied species. Hence, the restoration of saline soils can be ensured by planting local halophytes. Acknowledgements. The research leading to these results has

  15. Review of material recovery from used electric and electronic equipment-alternative options for resource conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friege, Henning

    2012-09-01

    For waste from electric and electronic equipment, the WEEE Directive stipulates the separate collection of electric and electronic waste. As to new electric and electronic devices, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive bans the use of certain chemicals dangerous for man and environment. From the implementation of the WEEE directive, many unsolved problems have been documented: poor collection success, emission of dangerous substances during collection and recycling, irretrievable loss of valuable metals among others. As to RoHS, data from the literature show a satisfying success. The problems identified in the process can be reduced to some basic dilemmas at the borders between waste management, product policy and chemical safety. The objectives of the WEEE Directive and the specific targets for use and recycling of appliances are not consistent. There is no focus on scarce resources. Extended producer responsibility is not sufficient to guarantee sustainable waste management. Waste management reaches its limits due to problems of implementation but also due to physical laws. A holistic approach is necessary looking at all branch points and sinks in the stream of used products and waste from electric and electronic equipment. This may be done with respect to the general rules for sustainable management of material streams covering the three dimensions of sustainable policy. The relationships between the players in the field of electric and electronic devices have to be taken into account. Most of the problems identified in the implementation process will not be solved by the current amendment of the WEEE Directive.

  16. Charting a Course through CORAL: Texas A&M University Libraries' Experience Implementing an Open-Source Electronic Resources Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartnett, Eric; Beh, Eugenia; Resnick, Taryn; Ugaz, Ana; Tabacaru, Simona

    2013-01-01

    In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronic resources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS,…

  17. Ecology, mobility and labour: dynamic pastoral herd management in an uncertain world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butt, B

    2016-11-01

    In this review, the author discusses how pastoralism, and its many constituent components, is increasingly being recognised as in tune with the changing political and ecological nature of rangelands. He describes ways in which the literature reflects this changing attitude, outlines how rangelands respond to changes in climate and explores the evolving use of livestock resources. In addition, he describes the growing recognition of factors other than livestock density that affect rangeland vegetation (i.e. density-independent relationships). The author explains how terms such as 'carrying capacity', 'overgrazing' and 'desertification' are often taken out of their social and political context when describing rangeland pastoralism. Next, he describes the growing recognition by the development community of the importance of the mobility model, particularly in relation to changing ecologies and politics. Finally, he outlines how labour, a central focus of pastoral herd management, is a fluid component of pastoral systems in response to changing political and ecological circumstances.

  18. Designing a model of electronic human resource management’s implementation at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirali Seyednaghavi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available : In the first phase of this study a model for electronic human resource management in government agencies based on new public services was explored by using software MAXQDA, then in the second phase, relationship between the elements of the theory were tested using software Smart PLS2. So the aim of this study is to design a model of electronic human resource management’s implementation at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. In this regard, according to Strauss and Corbin’s structured plan, five hypotheses were tested. Quantitative data analysis indicates that the pressures of the policies and global perspectives cause to move toward e-HRM. Among the contextual conditions macro structural mechanisms, considerations of actors, governance considerations have a significant impact on the strategy of new public services and therefore lead to the consequences of its implementation in public organizations. The findings suggest that e-HRM does not have a positive and meaningful impact on new public services, and in our country, although the recent political developments have somehow removed the gap between public policy makers, administrators, and the public, but there is still a long way to go.

  19. How could herd mobility be used to manage resources and livestock ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We consider these scenarios as starting points for discussions on future management options that pastoralists in Namaqualand may wish to consider as the managers of rangeland commons. Keywords: grazing management, herd mobility, Namaqualand, semi-arid. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2013, ...

  20. The module of methodical support in system of electronic educational resources as the innovative element of the modern maintenance of formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ольга Николаевна Крылова

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The article introduces some results of research, which were devoted to evaluation of tearches' mobility to introduce innovations in the contents of education. The author considers innovative potential of modules of the methodical support for system of electronic educational resources.

  1. Impact of Electronic Resources and Usage in Academic Libraries in Ghana: Evidence from Koforidua Polytechnic & All Nations University College, Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akussah, Maxwell; Asante, Edward; Adu-Sarkodee, Rosemary

    2015-01-01

    The study investigates the relationship between impact of electronic resources and its usage in academic libraries in Ghana: evidence from Koforidua Polytechnic & All Nations University College, Ghana. The study was a quantitative approach using questionnaire to gather data and information. A valid response rate of 58.5% was assumed. SPSS…

  2. Utilization of Electronic Information Resources by Undergraduate Students of University of Ibadan: A Case Study of Social Sciences and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owolabi, Sola; Idowu, Oluwafemi A.; Okocha, Foluke; Ogundare, Atinuke Omotayo

    2016-01-01

    The study evaluated utilization of electronic information resources by undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1872 undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan, from which a…

  3. Shaping the Electronic Library--The UW-Madison Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Charles W., Ed.; Frazier, Ken; Pope, Nolan F.; Gorman, Peter C.; Dentinger, Sue; Boston, Jeanne; Phillips, Hugh; Daggett, Steven C.; Lundquist, Mitch; McClung, Mark; Riley, Curran; Allan, Craig; Waugh, David

    1998-01-01

    This special theme section describes the University of Wisconsin-Madison's experience building its Electronic Library. Highlights include integrating resources and services; the administrative framework; the public electronic library, including electronic publishing capability and access to World Wide Web-based and other electronic resources;…

  4. Controlling user access to electronic resources without password

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Fred Hewitt

    2017-08-22

    Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes obtaining an image from a communication device of a user. An individual and a landmark are identified within the image. Determinations are made that the individual is the user and that the landmark is a predetermined landmark. Access to a restricted computing resource is granted based on the determining that the individual is the user and that the landmark is the predetermined landmark. Other embodiments are disclosed.

  5. The use of quality benchmarking in assessing web resources for the dermatology virtual branch library of the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamel Boulos, M N; Roudsari, A V; Gordon, C; Muir Gray, J A

    2001-01-01

    In 1998, the U.K. National Health Service Information for Health Strategy proposed the implementation of a National electronic Library for Health to provide clinicians, healthcare managers and planners, patients and the public with easy, round the clock access to high quality, up-to-date electronic information on health and healthcare. The Virtual Branch Libraries are among the most important components of the National electronic Library for Health. They aim at creating online knowledge based communities, each concerned with some specific clinical and other health-related topics. This study is about the envisaged Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries of the National electronic Library for Health. It aims at selecting suitable dermatology Web resources for inclusion in the forthcoming Virtual Branch Libraries after establishing preliminary quality benchmarking rules for this task. Psoriasis, being a common dermatological condition, has been chosen as a starting point. Because quality is a principal concern of the National electronic Library for Health, the study includes a review of the major quality benchmarking systems available today for assessing health-related Web sites. The methodology of developing a quality benchmarking system has been also reviewed. Aided by metasearch Web tools, candidate resources were hand-selected in light of the reviewed benchmarking systems and specific criteria set by the authors. Over 90 professional and patient-oriented Web resources on psoriasis and dermatology in general are suggested for inclusion in the forthcoming Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries. The idea of an all-in knowledge-hallmarking instrument for the National electronic Library for Health is also proposed based on the reviewed quality benchmarking systems. Skilled, methodical, organized human reviewing, selection and filtering based on well-defined quality appraisal criteria seems likely to be the key ingredient in the envisaged National electronic Library for

  6. There is a Relationship between Resource Expenditures and Reference Transactions in Academic Libraries. A Review of: Dubnjakovic, A. (2012. Electronic resource expenditure and the decline in reference transaction statistics in academic libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(2, 94-100. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2012.01.001

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annie M. Hughes

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To provide an analysis of the impact of expenditures on electronic resourcesand gate counts on the increase or decrease in reference transactions.Design – Analysis of results of existing survey data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES 2006 Academic Library Survey(ALS.Setting – Academic libraries in the United States.Subjects – 3925 academic library respondents.Methods – The author chose to use survey data collected from the 2006 ALS conducted bythe NCES. The survey included data on various topics related to academic libraries, but in the case of this study, the author chose to analyze three of the 193 variables included. The three variables: electronic books expenditure, computer hardware and software, and expenditures on bibliographic utilities, were combined into one variable called electronic resource expenditure. Gate counts were also considered as a variable. Electronic resource expenditure was also split as a variable into three groups: low, medium, and high. Multiple regression analysis and general linear modeling, along with tests of reliability, were employed. Main Results – The author determined that low, medium, and high spenders with regard to electronic resources exhibited differences in gate counts, and gate counts have an effect on reference transactions in any given week. Gate counts tend to not have much of an effect on reference transactions for the higher spenders, and higher spenders tend to have a higher number of reference transactions overall. Low spenders have lower gate counts and also a lower amount of reference transactions.Conclusion – The findings from this study show that academic libraries spending more on electronic resources also tend to have an increase with regard to reference transactions. The author also concludes that library spaces are no longer the determining factor with regard to number of reference transactions. Spending more on electronic resources is

  7. Electronic resources access and usage among the postgraduates of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... and usage among the postgraduates of a Nigerian University of Technology. ... faced by postgraduates in using e-resources include takes too much time to find, ... Resources, Access, Use, Postgraduat, Students, University, Technology, Nigeria ... By Country · List All Titles · Free To Read Titles This Journal is Open Access.

  8. RPA tree-level database users guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick D. Miles; Scott A. Pugh; Brad Smith; Sonja N. Oswalt

    2014-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 calls for a periodic assessment of the Nation's renewable resources. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the U.S. Forest Service supports the RPA effort by providing information on the forest resources of the United States. The RPA tree-level database (RPAtreeDB) was generated...

  9. Electronic Safety Resource Tools -- Supporting Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Commercialization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barilo, Nick F.

    2014-09-29

    The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrogen Safety Program conducted a planning session in Los Angeles, CA on April 1, 2014 to consider what electronic safety tools would benefit the next phase of hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization. A diverse, 20-person team led by an experienced facilitator considered the question as it applied to the eight most relevant user groups. The results and subsequent evaluation activities revealed several possible resource tools that could greatly benefit users. The tool identified as having the greatest potential for impact is a hydrogen safety portal, which can be the central location for integrating and disseminating safety information (including most of the tools identified in this report). Such a tool can provide credible and reliable information from a trustworthy source. Other impactful tools identified include a codes and standards wizard to guide users through a series of questions relating to application and specific features of the requirements; a scenario-based virtual reality training for first responders; peer networking tools to bring users from focused groups together to discuss and collaborate on hydrogen safety issues; and a focused tool for training inspectors. Table ES.1 provides results of the planning session, including proposed new tools and changes to existing tools.

  10. Impact of animal density on cattle nutrition in dry Mediterranean rangelands: a faecal near-IR spectroscopy-aided study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landau, S Y; Dvash, L; Yehuda, Y; Muklada, H; Peleg, G; Henkin, Z; Voet, H; Ungar, E D

    2018-02-01

    In the context of determining the sustainable carrying capacity of dry-Mediterranean herbaceous rangelands, we examined the effect of animal density on cattle nutrition, which is fundamental to animal performance and welfare. The effects on dietary components of low (0.56 cows/ha; L) and high (1.11 cows/ha; H) animal densities were monitored for three consecutive years in grazing beef cows. In the dry season (summer and early autumn), cows had free access to N-rich poultry litter (PL) given as a dietary supplement. In each season, near-IR spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to predict the chemical composition of herbage samples (ash, NDF, CP, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) content from IVDMD). Near-IR spectroscopy was applied also to faecal samples to determine the chemical composition of the diet selected by the animal, as well as the contents of ash, NDF and CP in the faeces themselves. A faecal-NIRS equation was applied to estimate the dietary proportion of PL. Seasonal categories were green, dry without PL supplementation and dry with it. We found no effects of animal density on nutrition during the green season but effects were apparent when cows consumed dry pasture. Ash content predicted by faecal NIRS was higher in the diet than in plant samples clipped from pasture, which infers that cows ingested soil. Dietary and faecal ash contents were higher (Panimals. During the dry period, dietary contents of ME were higher in L than in H (Panimal health, the above results cast doubts on the long-term sustainability of the higher of the animal densities tested. Although it may be sustainable vis-à-vis the vegetation, treatment H may have exceeded the boundaries of what is acceptable for cow health. Chemical information revealed with NIRS can be used to evaluate whether animal densities are compatible with animal health and welfare standards and can play a role in determining the carrying capacity of Mediterranean rangelands.

  11. EFFECTIVE ELECTRONIC TUTORIAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei A. Fedoseev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes effective electronic tutorials creation and application based on the theory of pedagogy. Herewith the issues of necessary electronic tutorial functional, ways of the educational process organization with the use of information and communication technologies and the logistics of electronic educational resources are touched upon. 

  12. Using a Multi-Method Approach to Examine Social-Ecological Vulnerability to Climate Change and Natural Resource Policies on the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, J.; Hopping, K. A.; Yeh, E.; Nyima, Y.; Galvin, K.; Boone, R.; Dorje, T.; Ojima, D. S.

    2012-12-01

    from the experiment and the indigenous knowledge study suggest that Kobresia pygmaea, the dominant plant species and the primary grazing resource, is vulnerable to warming. Moreover, several lines of evidence suggest that warming is causing delayed spring phenology, with important ecosystem and livelihood implications. Herders are observing climatic and ecological changes, knowledge which is important for adaptation, but people whose livelihoods are most directly derived from the rangelands, those situated at higher elevations, and those who are more mobile across the landscape are most attuned to these changes. These results suggest that rangeland degradation and delayed spring phenology are occurring, and that climate warming may be responsible for these changes. While additional snow may improve ecological conditions, the warming-induced degradation may make the social-ecological system more vulnerable to large snowstorm events. Our findings suggest that climate adaptation strategies should address the effects of both climate warming and the changing nature of extreme weather events and should also encourage land use policies that will maintain these systems under change. Moreover, policies that encourage mobility and rangeland-based livelihoods will enhance adaptation to climate change.

  13. Renewable energy resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellabban, Omar S.; Abu-Rub, Haitham A.; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2014-01-01

    Electric energy security is essential, yet the high cost and limited sources of fossil fuels, in addition to the need to reduce greenhouse gasses emission, have made renewable resources attractive in world energy-based economies. The potential for renewable energy resources is enormous because...... they can, in principle, exponentially exceed the world's energy demand; therefore, these types of resources will have a significant share in the future global energy portfolio, much of which is now concentrating on advancing their pool of renewable energy resources. Accordingly, this paper presents how...... renewable energy resources are currently being used, scientific developments to improve their use, their future prospects, and their deployment. Additionally, the paper represents the impact of power electronics and smart grid technologies that can enable the proportionate share of renewable energy...

  14. Preference and Use of Electronic Information and Resources by Blind/Visually Impaired in NCR Libraries in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shailendra Kumar

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to determine the preference and use of electronic information and resources by blind/visually impaired users in the leading National Capital Region (NCR libraries of India. Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool for data collection with the help of questionnaires. The 125 in total users surveyed in all the five libraries were selected randomly on the basis of willingness of the users with experience of working in digital environments to participate in the survey. The survey results were tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Excel software and 'Stata version 11'. The findings reveal that ICT have a positive impact in the lives of people with disabilities as it helps them to work independently and increases the level of confidence among them. The Internet is the most preferred medium of access to information among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. The 'Complexity of content available on the net' is found as the major challenge faced during Internet use by blind users of NCR libraries. 'Audio books on CDs/DVDs and DAISY books' are the most preferred electronic resources among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. This study will help the library professionals and organizations/institutions serving people with disabilities to develop effective library services for blind/visually impaired users in the digital environment on the basis of findings on information usage behavior in the study.

  15. Grassland ecology and diversity (Ecologia y diversidad de pastizales)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurie B. Abbott

    2006-01-01

    Grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert region are ecologically and economically important. These grasslands are valued for their rangeland, wildlife, watershed, and recreation resources. Biological diversity also raises the value of grassland communities. The potential for multiple uses within the region increases as the diversity of the resource base increases. In order...

  16. Forest Service programs, authorities, and relationships: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ervin G. Schuster; Michael A. Krebs

    2003-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974, as amended, directs the Forest Service to prepare and update a renewable resources assessment that would include "a description of Forest Service programs and responsibilities , their interrelationships, and the relationship of these programs and responsibilities to public and private...

  17. High altitude survival: conflicts between pastoralism and wildlife in the Trans-Himalaya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mishra, C.

    2001-01-01

    Keywords : Pastoralism, agriculture, wildlife, Himalaya, competition, bharal, yak, livestock, snow leopard, wolf, herbivore, ungulate, resource, rangeland, steppe, mountain

    How harmonious is the coexistence between pastoralism and

  18. Effects of climate change on agriculture and environment in the semi-arid tropic - with Senegal as an example

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasmussen, K.

    2001-01-01

    Some of the likely effects of the climate changes, projected by IPCC, on agriculture and environment in Senegal have been described. If rainfall does indeed increase, as suggested by the IPCC WG1 report, reversal of negative trends in vegetation productivity, associated with the droughts of the last decades on the 20 th Century, will be expected to occur. Present tendencies towards encroachment of crop cultivation on rangelands will be reinforced. These effects are likely to be economically beneficial to Senegal, yet their importance will be determined by the extent to which other factors will counteract them. With respect to crop and rangeland productivity nutrient-limitations will become increasingly important if not avoided by increased application of mineral fertilizers which is presently uneconomical. If rainfall does not increase significantly, the probable higher temperatures will tend to decrease crop and rangeland productivity, due to an increase in evapotranspirations rates. Also, the competition for water resources is likely to be intensified, especially the water resources of the Senegal River which are shared by four countries. The greater international focus on climate issues also affects Senegal by putting an economic value on carbon storage and avoidance of emissions of greenhouse gases. Current trends of expanding agriculture into rangelands and woodland areas imply a reduction in the storage of carbon in vegetation and soils. The use of fire as a natural resource management practice may have significant impacts on emissions, and may therefore be affected by emission policies. The challenge for Senegal will be to develop policies and preparedness in order to adapt to the changes that are likely to come. Presently, government policies are only to a very limited extent taking the projected change into consideration. (LN)

  19. Library usage patterns in the electronic information environment. Electronic journals, Use studies, Libraries, Medical libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Franklin

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the methodology and results from Web-based surveys of more than 15,000 networked electronic services users in the United States between July 1998 and June 2003 at four academic health sciences libraries and two large main campus libraries serving a variety of disciplines. A statistically valid methodology for administering simultaneous Web-based and print-based surveys using the random moments sampling technique is discussed and implemented. Results from the Web-based surveys showed that at the four academic health sciences libraries, there were approximately four remote networked electronic services users for each in-house user. This ratio was even higher for faculty, staff, and research fellows at the academic health sciences libraries, where more than five remote users for each in-house user were recorded. At the two main libraries, there were approximately 1.3 remote users for each in-house user of electronic information. Sponsored research (grant funded research accounted for approximately 32% of the networked electronic services activity at the health sciences libraries and 16% at the main campus libraries. Sponsored researchers at the health sciences libraries appeared to use networked electronic services most intensively from on-campus, but not from in the library. The purpose of use for networked electronic resources by patrons within the library is different from the purpose of use of those resources by patrons using the resources remotely. The implications of these results on how librarians reach decisions about networked electronic resources and services are discussed.

  20. Merging Methods to Manage Uncertainty: Combining Simulation Modeling and Scenario Planning to Inform Resource Management Under Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, B. W.; Schuurman, G. W.; Symstad, A.; Fisichelli, N. A.; Frid, L.

    2017-12-01

    Managing natural resources in this era of anthropogenic climate change is fraught with uncertainties around how ecosystems will respond to management actions and a changing climate. Scenario planning (oftentimes implemented as a qualitative, participatory exercise for exploring multiple possible futures) is a valuable tool for addressing this challenge. However, this approach may face limits in resolving responses of complex systems to altered climate and management conditions, and may not provide the scientific credibility that managers often require to support actions that depart from current practice. Quantitative information on projected climate changes and ecological responses is rapidly growing and evolving, but this information is often not at a scale or in a form that is `actionable' for resource managers. We describe a project that sought to create usable information for resource managers in the northern Great Plains by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, researchers, resource managers, and climate adaptation specialists co-produced a simulation model in conjunction with scenario planning workshops to inform natural resource management in southwest South Dakota. Scenario planning for a wide range of resources facilitated open-minded thinking about a set of divergent and challenging, yet relevant and plausible, climate scenarios and management alternatives that could be implemented in the simulation. With stakeholder input throughout the process, we built a simulation of key vegetation types, grazing, exotic plants, fire, and the effects of climate and management on rangeland productivity and composition. By simulating multiple land management jurisdictions, climate scenarios, and management alternatives, the model highlighted important tradeoffs between herd sizes and vegetation composition, and between the short- versus long-term costs of invasive species management. It also identified impactful uncertainties related to the

  1. Prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode infections in goat flocks on semi-arid rangelands of northeastern Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivas-Salazar, Raquel; Estrada-Angulo, Alfredo; Mellado, Miguel; Aguilar-Caballero, Armando Jacinto; Castro-Pérez, Beatriz Isabel; Gutiérrez-Blanco, Eduardo; Ruiz-Zárate, Fernando

    2018-04-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection in goat flocks on semi-arid rangelands of northeastern Mexico (25° N, 350-400 mm annual precipitation). The study included 668 pluriparous goats from 18 herds in five municipalities of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Five genetic groups were considered (predominance of Boer, Nubian, Alpine, Saanen, and Toggenburg). Fecal samples were taken from the rectum of each animal to determine the number of eggs per gram (EPG) of GIN. The prevalence of flocks with GIN infections was 88.9%. Similar results were observed for the number of goats infected in the flocks. The Alpine breed presented the highest prevalence and highest EPG loads of GIN, whereas Boer and Nubian were the genetic groups with the lowest (P arid zones of Mexico was found a high prevalence of infections with gastrointestinal nematodes. The municipality and the breed of the animals were factors that showed influence on this prevalence and the level of infection of the goats.

  2. Electronic resources of the rare books and valuable editions department of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University: open access for research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    І. К. Журавльова

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes tasks that electronic collections of rare books fulfill: broad access for readers to rare and valuable editions providing, preservation of ensuring of the original. On the example of the electronic collection of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University – «eScriptorium: electronic archive of rare books and manuscripts for research and education» the possibility of the full-text resources of the valuable editions using is shown. The principles of creation, structure, chronological frameworks, directions of adding the documents to the archive are represented. The perspectives of the project development are outlined as well as examples of the digital libraries of the European countries and Ukraine are provided, the actual task of preserving the originals of the rare books of the country is raised, the innovative approaches to serving users with electronic resources are considered. The evidences of cooperation of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University with the largest world digital libraries: World Digital Library and Europeana are provided.

  3. Electronic tracking of human resource skills and knowledge, just in time training, manageable due diligence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolodziej, M.A. [Quick Test International Inc., (Canada). Canadian Technology Human Resource Board; Baker, O. [KeySpan Energy Canada, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2001-06-01

    KeySpan Energy Canada is in the process of obtaining recognition of various occupational profiles including pipeline operators, inspectors, and field and plant operators from various certifying organizations. The process of allowing individuals to obtain certification is recognized by Canadian Technology Human Resources Board as a step towards national standards for technologists and technicians. Proven competency is a must for workers in todays oil industry in response to increasingly stringent government safety regulations, environmental concerns and high public scrutiny. Quick Test international Inc. has developed a management tool in collaboration with end users at KeySpan Energy Canada. It is an electronic, Internet based competency tool for tracking personal competencies and maintaining continued competency. Response to the tool has been favourable. 2 refs., 4 figs.

  4. Forest statistics for Arkansas' Ouachita counties - 1995

    Science.gov (United States)

    James F. Rosson; Jack D. London

    1997-01-01

    Periodic surveys of forest resources are authorized by the Forest Service and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978. These surveys are a continuing, nationwide undertaking by the Regional Experiment Stations of the USDA Forest Service. In the Southern United States, these surveys are conducted by the two Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Research Work...

  5. Population and harvest trends of big game and small game species: a technical document supporting the USDA Forest Service Interim Update of the 2000 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis H. Flather; Michael S. Knowles; Stephen J. Brady

    2009-01-01

    This technical document supports the Forest Service's requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends...

  6. Geographic patterns of at-risk species: A technical document supporting the USDA Forest Service Interim Update of the 2000 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis H. Flather; Michael S. Knowles; Jason McNees

    2008-01-01

    This technical document supports the Forest Service's requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. It updates past reports on the trends and geographic patterns of species formally listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. We...

  7. Wildlife population and harvest trends in the United States: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis H. Flather; Michael S. Knowles; Martin F. Jones; Carol Schilli

    2013-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the nation's renewable natural resources. Data from many sources were used to document recent historical trends in big game, small game, migratory game birds, furbearers, nongame, and imperiled species. Big game and waterfowl have...

  8. Institutions and Self-Governing Social Systems: Linking Reflexivity and Institutional Theories for Cybersecurity and Other Commons Governance Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Kenneth Norman

    2012-01-01

    A "commons" is the conventional term that describes a widely accessible and shared resource, such as an ocean, open rangeland, a public park, or public portions of the Internet, which is difficult to exclude or limit use once naturally provided or humanly produced. Ruin of a commons can result when individuals use the resource recklessly…

  9. Composite Analysis of Landuse and Groundwater Resources of Rod-Kohi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arshad Ashraf

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Rod-kohi system of irrigation is often generally referred to as flood irrigation or spate irrigation system in which floods of the hill torrents are diverted into plain area for irrigation purpose. In rod-kohi region where uncertainty exists in flood water availability for irrigation use, groundwater is a valuable resource used mainly as supplement source of irrigation. The region, being rich in natural resources, is remained far behind in terms of data availability and data quality, the situation that has affected incredibly the needs of future planning and development. In the present study, major landuse/landcover classes of the region were identified and delineated using Landsat ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus image data and related with groundwater potential for interactive analysis in GIS (Geographic Information System. The potential groundwater zones were delineated and assessed on the basis of aquifer characteristics in the region. Rangeland and exposed rocks were identified over 70% of the rod-kohi region i.e. total area about 42 Mha (Million hectares. Share of cropped area and bare soil or culturable waste was about 3.5 and 15.4%, respectively. High and medium potential of groundwater were estimated in about 2.3 Mha out of which 60% exist under bare soil, 16% under cropped area and the rest underneath other landuse classes. High efficiency irrigation techniques like drip and rain-gun system need to be adopted in areas having substantial groundwater potential in order to sustain agriculture production. The study would provide base for detail investigation

  10. Response of aboveground carbon balance to long-term, experimental shifts in precipitation seasonality is contingent on plant community type in cold-desert rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinhardt, K.; McAbee, K.; Germino, M. J.; Bosworth, A.

    2016-12-01

    Semi-arid rangelands have been identified as potential carbon (C) sinks. However, the degree of net C storage or release in water-limited systems is a function of precipitation amount and timing, as well as plant community composition. In northern latitudes of western North America, climate models predict increases in wintertime precipitation and decreases in summertime precipitation. In theory, this should boost C storage in cold-desert ecosystems that have deep-rooted woody plants due to greater wintertime soil water storage that enhances summertime productivity. However, there are few long-term, manipulative field-based studies investigating how shrub- and grass-dominated rangelands will respond to changing precipitation patterns. We measured aboveground C pools and fluxes at leaf, soil, and ecosystem scales over the 2014 growing season on plots that had supplemental precipitation added in either winter or summer for 21 years, in shrub- and exotic-bunchgrass-dominated plots. We hypothesized that increased winter precipitation would stimulate aboveground C uptake and storage relative to ambient conditions, in our cold-desert-adapted plant species. We further hypothesized that long-term gains in aboveground C storage due to precipitation manipulations would be greater in plots containing shrubs. Our hypotheses were generally supported: ecosystem C uptake and long-term biomass accumulation were greater in winter- and summer-irrigated plots compared to control plots in both vegetation communities. However, substantial increases in aboveground biomass occurred only in winter-irrigated plots that contained shrubs. Our findings suggest that increases in winter precipitation will enhance C storage of this widespread ecosystem, provided that the ecosystems have resisted conversion to exotic grassland.

  11. The Biomedical Resource Ontology (BRO) to enable resource discovery in clinical and translational research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, Jessica D; Whetzel, Patricia L; Anderson, Kent; Borromeo, Charles D; Dinov, Ivo D; Gabriel, Davera; Kirschner, Beth; Mirel, Barbara; Morris, Tim; Noy, Natasha; Nyulas, Csongor; Rubenson, David; Saxman, Paul R; Singh, Harpreet; Whelan, Nancy; Wright, Zach; Athey, Brian D; Becich, Michael J; Ginsburg, Geoffrey S; Musen, Mark A; Smith, Kevin A; Tarantal, Alice F; Rubin, Daniel L; Lyster, Peter

    2011-02-01

    The biomedical research community relies on a diverse set of resources, both within their own institutions and at other research centers. In addition, an increasing number of shared electronic resources have been developed. Without effective means to locate and query these resources, it is challenging, if not impossible, for investigators to be aware of the myriad resources available, or to effectively perform resource discovery when the need arises. In this paper, we describe the development and use of the Biomedical Resource Ontology (BRO) to enable semantic annotation and discovery of biomedical resources. We also describe the Resource Discovery System (RDS) which is a federated, inter-institutional pilot project that uses the BRO to facilitate resource discovery on the Internet. Through the RDS framework and its associated Biositemaps infrastructure, the BRO facilitates semantic search and discovery of biomedical resources, breaking down barriers and streamlining scientific research that will improve human health. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Electronic Recruitment at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    The Human Resources Department switches to electronic recruitment. From now on whenever you are involved in a recruitment action you will receive an e-mail giving you access to a Web folder. Inside you will find a shortlist of applications drawn up by the Human Resources Department. This will allow you to consult the folder, at the same time as everyone else involved in the recruitment process, for the vacancy you are interested in. This new electronic recruitment system, known as e-RT, will be introduced in a presentation given at 10 a.m. on 11 February in the Main Auditorium. Implemented by AIS (Administrative Information Services) and the Human Resources Department, e-RT will cover vacancies open in all of CERN's recruitment programmes. The electronic application system was initially made available to technical students in July 2003. By December it was extended to summer students, fellows, associates and Local Staff. Geraldine Ballet from the Recruitment Service prefers e-RT to mountains of paper! The Hu...

  13. Plastics disassembly versus bulk recycling: engineering design for end-of-life electronics resource recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rios, Pedro; Stuart, Julie Ann; Grant, Ed

    2003-12-01

    Annual plastic flows through the business and consumer electronics manufacturing supply chain include nearly 3 billion lb of high-value engineering plastics derived from petroleum. The recovery of resource value from this stream presents critical challenges in areas of materials identification and recycling process design that demand new green engineering technologies applied together with life cycle assessment and ecological supply chain analysis to create viable plastics-to-plastics supply cycles. The sustainable recovery of potentially high-value engineering plastics streams requires that recyclers either avoid mixing plastic parts or purify later by separating smaller plastic pieces created in volume reduction (shredding) steps. Identification and separation constitute significant barriers in the plastics-to-plastics recycling value proposition. In the present work, we develop a model that accepts randomly arriving electronic products to study scenarios by which a recycler might identify and separate high-value engineering plastics as well as metals. Using discrete eventsimulation,we compare current mixed plastics recovery with spectrochemical plastic resin identification and subsequent sorting. Our results show that limited disassembly with whole-part identification can produce substantial yields in separated streams of recovered engineering thermoplastics. We find that disassembly with identification does not constitute a bottleneck, but rather, with relatively few workers, can be configured to pull the process and thus decrease maximum staging space requirements.

  14. Merge of terminological resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lina; Braasch, Anna

    2012-01-01

    In our globalized world, the amount of cross-national communication increases rapidly, which also calls for easy access to multi-lingual high quality terminological resources. Sharing of terminology resources is currently becoming common practice, and efficient strategies for integration...... – or merging – of terminology resources are strongly needed. This paper discusses prerequisites for successful merging with the focus on identification of candidate duplicates of a subject domain found in the resources to be merged, and it describes automatic merging strategies to be applied to such duplicates...... in electronic terminology resources. Further, some perspectives of manual, supplementary assessment methods supporting the automatic procedures are sketched. Our considerations are primarily based on experience gained in the IATE and EuroTermBank projects, as merging was a much discussed issue in both projects....

  15. Wildlife-associated recreation trends in the United States: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda H. Mockrin; Richard A. Aiken; Curtis H. Flather

    2012-01-01

    The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the Nation's renewable natural resources. In this report, we document recent and historical trends in hunting and wildlife watching to fulfill RPA requirements. Using data from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife...

  16. All projects related to Morocco | Page 2 | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Topics. - Any -, Miscellaneous, Development, Science and Technology, Social Policy, Economics, Environment, Evaluation, Food and Agriculture ... Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources. Project ... Management of Collective Rangelands in Rhamna (Morocco) ... Region: Morocco, Canada, France.

  17. Complete electronics self-teaching guide with projects

    CERN Document Server

    Boysen, Earl

    2012-01-01

    An all-in-one resource on everything electronics-related! For almost 30 years, this book has been a classic text for electronics enthusiasts. Now completely updated for today's technology, this latest version combines concepts, self-tests, and hands-on projects to offer you a completely repackaged and revised resource. This unique self-teaching guide features easy-to-understand explanations that are presented in a user-friendly format to help you learn the essentials you need to work with electronic circuits. All you need is a general understanding of electronics concepts such as Oh

  18. Optimising the management of complex dynamic ecosystems. An ecological-economic modelling approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hein, L.G.

    2005-01-01

    Keywords: ecological-economic modelling; ecosystem services; resource use; efficient; sustainability; wetlands, rangelands.

  19. Oscillator clustering in a resource distribution chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Postnov, D.; Sosnovtseva, Olga; Mosekilde, Erik

    2005-01-01

    separate the inherent dynamics of the individual oscillator from the properties of the coupling network. Illustrated by examples from microbiological population dynamics, renal physiology, and electronic oscillator theory, we show how competition for primary resources in a resource distribution chain leads...

  20. Power Electronics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, Florin; Ciobotaru, Mihai; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2008-01-01

    is to change the electrical power production sources from the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy resources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power generation, power transmission/distribution and end-user application. This paper discuss the most...... emerging renewable energy sources, wind energy, which by means of power electronics are changing from being a minor energy source to be acting as an important power source in the energy system. Power electronics is the enabling technology and the presentation will cover the development in wind turbine...... technology from kW to MW, discuss which power electronic solutions are most feasible and used today....

  1. Effects of livestock grazing on grasshopper abundance on a native rangeland in Montana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Kevin M; Olson, Bret E; Wallander, Roseann; Rolston, Marni G; Seibert, Catherine E

    2010-06-01

    Livestock grazing can affect habitat quality for grasshoppers through effects on food and oviposition site availability, microclimate, and other factors. Because of this, some authors have suggested that grazing programs can be used to help manage pest grasshopper populations. In a 6-yr study, we controlled access of cattle to replicated experimental plots on an Agropyron spicatum/Poa sandbergii pasture to create consistent year-to-year differences in postgrazing plant cover, with resultant affects on microclimate. After sampling grasshoppers multiple times after grazing treatments each summer, we found evidence of between-treatment differences in grasshopper abundance for the entire assemblage during 4 of the 6 yr. Some species, including Melanoplus sanguinipes (perhaps the worse rangeland grasshopper pest in the western United States), tended to be more abundant on ungrazed plots, whereas Melanoplus gladstoni often had greater densities on heavily-grazed plots. The effect of grazing on grasshopper densities in this study was lower in magnitude and less consistent among years than in a study we conducted simultaneously at a nearby site where the vegetation was dominated by the exotic species crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum). Our results generally support proposals that grazing could be used to reduce pest grasshopper densities, although the effectiveness of a particular grazing scheme may vary among sites, years, and grasshopper and vegetation assemblages.

  2. Using a dynamic model to assess trends in land degradation by water erosion in Spanish Rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibáñez, Javier; Francisco Lavado-Contador, Joaquín; Schnabel, Susanne; Pulido-Fernández, Manuel; Martínez Valderrama, Jaime

    2014-05-01

    This work presents a model aimed at evaluating land degradation by water erosion in dehesas and montados of the Iberian Peninsula, that constitute valuable rangelands in the area. A multidisciplinary dynamic model was built including weather, biophysical and economic variables that reflect the main causes and processes affecting sheet erosion on hillsides of the study areas. The model has two main and two derived purposes: Purpose 1: Assessing the risk of degradation that a land-use system is running. Derived purpose 1: Early warning about land-use systems that are particularly threatened by degradation. Purpose 2: Assessing the degree to which different factors would hasten degradation if they changed from the typical values they show at present. Derived purpose 2: Evaluating the role of human activities on degradation. Model variables and parameters have been calibrated for a typical open woodland rangeland (dehesa or montado) defined along 22 working units selected from 10 representative farms and distributed throughout the Spanish region of Extremadura. The model is the basis for a straightforward assessment methodology which is summarized by the three following points: i) The risk of losing a given amount of soil before a given number of years was specifically estimated as the percentage of 1000 simulations where such a loss occurs, being the simulations run under randomly-generated scenarios of rainfall amount and intensity and meat and supplemental feed market prices; ii) Statistics about the length of time that a given amount of soil takes to be lost were calculated over 1000 stochastic simulations run until year 1000, thereby ensuring that such amount of soil has been lost in all of the simulations, i.e. the total risk is 100%; iii) Exogenous factors potentially affecting degradation, mainly climatic and economic, were ranked in order of importance by means of a sensitivity analysis. Particularly remarkable in terms of model performance is the major role

  3. Electronic conferencing for continuing medical education: a resource survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternberg, R J

    1986-10-01

    The use of electronic technologies to link participants for education conferences is an option for providers of Continuing Medical Education. In order to profile the kinds of electronic networks currently offering audio- or videoteleconferences for physician audiences, a survey was done during late 1985. The information collected included range of services, fees, and geographic areas served. The results show a broad diversity of providers providing both interactive and didactic programming to both physicians and other health care professionals.

  4. Water use and the thermoregulatory behaviour of kangaroos in arid regions: insights into the colonisation of arid rangelands in Australia by the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Terence J; McTavish, Kirsten J; Munn, Adam J; Holloway, Joanne

    2006-01-01

    The Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) occurs mostly in the wetter regions of eastern Australia. However, in the past 30-40 years it has moved into more arid regions (rainfall Kangaroo (Macropus rufus). An increased access to water (supplied for domestic stock) may explain this range extension, but changes in the availability of preferred feed could also be involved. The water use, drinking patterns and thermoregulatory behaviour of these two species of kangaroo have been examined in a semi-free range study, during summer at an arid rangeland site. Foraging was largely nocturnal in both species and during the day they behaved to reduce heat loads. This was especially so for M. giganteus, which showed greater shade seeking. However, it still used more water (72 +/- 2.6 mL kg(-1) day(-1), mean +/- SE) than M. rufus (56 +/- 7.6 mL kg(-1) day(-1)) and drank twice as frequently. Although M. giganteus produced a less concentrated urine (1422 +/- 36 mosmol kg(-1)) than M. rufus (1843 +/- 28 mosmol kg(-1)), kidney physiology did not explain all of the differences in water metabolism between the species. Water from the feed and faecal water retention also appear to be involved. Broadly, a better access to reliable water and the utilisation of mesic microhabitats has enabled M. giganteus to make inroads into the changing rangelands of eastern Australia. However, changes in the vegetation, due to stock grazing, have also favoured M. giganteus, which is a grass eating specialist.

  5. Utilization of bio-resources by low energy electron beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kume, Tamikazu

    2003-01-01

    Utilization of bio-resources by radiation has been investigated for recycling the natural resources and reducing the environmental pollution. Polysaccharides such as chitosan and sodium alginate were easily degraded by irradiation and induced various kinds of biological activities, i.g. anti-microbial activity, promotion of plant growth, suppression of heavy metal stress, phytoalexins induction. Radiation degraded chitosan was effective to enhance the growth of plants in tissue culture. It was demonstrated that the liquid sample irradiation system using low energy EB was effective for the preparation of degraded polysaccharides. Methylcellulose (MC) can be crosslinked under certain radiation condition as same as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and produced the biodegradable hydrogel for medical and agricultural use. Treatment of soybean seeds by low energy EB enhanced the growth and the number of rhizobia on the root. (author)

  6. Adaptation of mathematical educational content in e-learning resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuliya V. Vainshtein

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern trends in the world electronic educational system development determine the necessity of adaptive learning intellectual environments and resources’ development and implementation. An upcoming trend in improvement the quality of studying mathematical disciplines is the development and application of adaptive electronic educational resources. However, the development and application experience of adaptive technologies in higher education is currently extremely limited and does not imply the usage flexibility. Adaptive educational resources in the electronic environment are electronic educational resources that provide the student with a personal educational space, filled with educational content that “adapts” to the individual characteristics of the students and provides them with the necessary information.This article focuses on the mathematical educational content adaptation algorithms development and their implementation in the e-learning system. The peculiarity of the proposed algorithms is the possibility of their application and distribution for adaptive e-learning resources construction. The novelty of the proposed approach is the three-step content organization of the adaptive algorithms for the educational content: “introductory adaptation of content”, “the current adaptation of content”, “estimative and a corrective adaptation”. For each stage of the proposed system, mathematical algorithms for educational content adaptation in adaptive e-learning resources are presented.Due to the high level of abstraction and complexity perception of mathematical disciplines, educational content is represented in the various editions of presentation that correspond to the levels of assimilation of the course material. Adaptation consists in the selection of the optimal edition of the material that best matches the individual characteristics of the student. The introduction of a three-step content organization of the adaptive

  7. BITES RATE ON NATIVE VEGETATION BY TRASHUMANCE GOATS GRAZING IN MOUNTAIN RANGELAND IN NUDO MIXTECO, MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.J. Franco-Guerra

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to determine the habits of grazing-browsing by the rate of bites and rate of consumption in the dry matter (MS of the diet of goats under transhumance grazing in mountain rangelands of Nudo Mixteco, being the natural vegetation in the different strata. Six animals of different age and sex were randomly chosen. Direct observation of grazing method was used to determine the rate of bites/min and the rate of consumption by layers. Analyzes of variance was performed and the Tukey test was used for mean comparison test was used (HSD Tukey (α, 0.05. The values of both variables were small, which may be due to the great diversity of plants and their varied morphology which induces the goat won on the one hand to spend more time in the choice of food becoming more selective and on the other, to carry out bites smaller in those plants whose leaf surface is of the type megafilia or in those woody whose leaves are very small (microphilia 2.25 cm2 to 20.25 cm2.

  8. Pastoralism and wildlife: historical and current perspectives in the East African rangelands of Kenya and Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lankester, F; Davis, A

    2016-11-01

    The relationship between pastoralists, their livestock, wildlife and the rangelands of East Africa is multi-directional, complex and long-standing. The tumultuous events of the past century, however, have rewritten the nature of this relationship, reshaping the landscapes that were created, and relied upon, by both pastoralists and wildlife. Presently, much of the interaction between wildlife and pastoralists takes place in and around protected areas, the most contentious occurring in pastoral lands surrounding national parks. In conservation terminology these areas are called buffer zones. In the past century buffer zones have been shaped by, and contributed to, restrictive conservation policies, expropriation of land, efforts to include communities in conservation, both positive and negative wildlife/livestock interactions, and political tensions. In this review paper, the authors outline the history that shaped the current relationship between pastoralists, livestock and wildlife in buffer zones in East Africa and highlight some of the broader issues that pastoralists (and pastoralism as an effective livelihood strategy) now face. Finally, they consider some of the sustainable and equitable practices that could be implemented to improve livelihoods and benefit wildlife and pastoralism alike.

  9. Internet and Electronic Information Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-12-01

    centers to form consortia and share electronic information sources. Although traditional resource sharing arrangements encouraged competition rather...outside world, through public relations and through marketing information products or services, to its own competitive advantage (Davenport 1997: 193-217... electronic information sources are a challenge for electronic information managers. Libraries and information centers are no longer “the only game in town

  10. Impacts of climate change on invasive Lantana camara L ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    staylor

    lantana's potential distribution may expand further inland into new areas in KwaZulu-Natal and ... particularly prominent in the savannah and Indian Ocean ... invaders on biodiversity, water resources and rangeland ..... modelling and uncertainty in future global greenhouse gas emission patterns (Kriticos et al., 2006).

  11. Multiple strategies for resilient livelihoods in communal areas of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The cash and non-cash benefits derived from livestock, as well as the wide range of secondary resources harvested from communal rangelands, make an important contribution to livelihood diversification and, hence, resilience. Rural development policy should therefore not focus narrowly on commercialisation of livestock ...

  12. Electronic Information Access and Utilization by Makerere University Students in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisam Magara

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives – The objectives of this study were to establish the level of computer utilization skills of Makerere University (Uganda Library and Information Science (LIS students; to determine the use of electronic information resources by LIS students; to determine the attitudes of LIS students towards electronic information resources; and to establish the problems faced by LIS students in accessing electronic information resources.Methods – A questionnaire survey was used for data collection.Results – The majority of Library and Information Science students at Makerere University depend on university computers for their work, and very few of them access the library’s e-resources. The few who access e-resources are self-taught. The majority of students surveyed were unaware of Emerald and EBSCO databases relevant to Library and Information Science students, and they found accessing eresources time-consuming. Conclusion – The study concluded that a concerted effort is needed by both LIS lecturers and university librarians in promoting use of the library’s electronic resources.

  13. Dynamic models for distributed generation resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morched, A.S. [BPR Energie, Sherbrooke, PQ (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Distributed resources can impact the performance of host power systems during both normal and abnormal system conditions. This PowerPoint presentation discussed the use of dynamic models for identifying potential interaction problems between interconnected systems. The models were designed to simulate steady state behaviour as well as transient responses to system disturbances. The distributed generators included directly coupled and electronically coupled generators. The directly coupled generator was driven by wind turbines. Simplified models of grid-side inverters, electronically coupled wind generators and doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) were presented. The responses of DFIGs to wind variations were evaluated. Synchronous machine and electronically coupled generator responses were compared. The system model components included load models, generators, protection systems, and system equivalents. Frequency responses to islanding events were reviewed. The study demonstrated that accurate simulations are needed to predict the impact of distributed generation resources on the performance of host systems. Advances in distributed generation technology have outpaced the development of models needed for integration studies. tabs., figs.

  14. Availability of Electronic Resources for Service Provision in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study also revealed that majority of the University libraries have adequate basic infrastructure for effective electronic information services. ... acquired by the library are put into maximal use by the library clientele, thereby ensuring the achievement of the library's objective which is satisfying the users, information needs.

  15. Emotional Intelligence Research within Human Resource Development Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnia, Forouzan; Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review and synthesize pertinent emotional intelligence (EI) research within the human resource development (HRD) scholarship. Design/methodology/approach: An integrative review of literature was conducted and multiple electronic databases were searched to find the relevant resources. Using the content…

  16. Water resources in the Klein Karoo: the challenge of sustainable development in a water-scarce area

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Le Maitre, David C

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available (1), 33–42. 39. Booysen J. and Rowswell D.I. (1983). The drought problem in the Karoo areas. Proc. Grassl. Soc. S. Afr. 18, 40–45. 40. du Pisani L.G., Fouche H.J. and Venter J.C. (1998). Assessing rangeland drought in South Africa. Agric. Syst. 57...

  17. Faecal near-IR spectroscopy to determine the nutritional value of diets consumed by beef cattle in east Mediterranean rangelands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landau, S Y; Dvash, L; Roudman, M; Muklada, H; Barkai, D; Yehuda, Y; Ungar, E D

    2016-02-01

    Rapid assessment of the nutritional quality of diets ingested by grazing animals is pivotal for successful cow-calf management in east Mediterranean rangelands, which receive unpredictable rainfall and are subject to hot-spells. Clipped vegetation samples are seldom representative of diets consumed, as cows locate and graze selectively. In contrast, faeces are easily sampled and their near-IR spectra contain information about nutrients and their utilization. However, a pre-requisite for successful faecal near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FNIRS) is that the calibration database encompass the spectral variability of samples to be analyzed. Using confined beef cows in Northern and Southern Israel, we calibrated prediction equations based on individual pairs of known dietary attributes and the NIR spectra of associated faeces (n=125). Diets were composed of fresh-cut green fodder of monocots (wheat and barley), dicots (safflower and garden pea) and natural pasture collected at various phenological states over 2 consecutive years, and, optionally, supplements of barley grain and dried poultry litter. A total of 48 additional pairs of faeces and diets sourced from cows fed six complete mixed rations covering a wide range of energy and CP concentrations. Precision (linearity of calibration, R2cal, and of cross-validation, R2cv) and accuracy (standard error of cross-validation, SEcv) were criteria for calibration quality. The calibrations for dietary ash, CP, NDF and in vitro dry matter digestibility yielded R2cal values >0.87, R2cv of 0.81 to 0.89 and SEcv values of 16, 13, 39 and 31 g/kg dry matter, respectively. Equations for nutrient intake were of low quality, with the exception of CP. Evaluation of FNIRS predictions was carried out with grazing animals supplemented or not with poultry litter, and implementation of the method in one herd over 2 years is presented. The potential usefulness of equations was also established by calculating the Mahalanobis (H

  18. To get or not to get: the KAUST library e-resources acquisition experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2014-06-01

    In the challenging times of budget cuts and reviews, libraries are faced with issues, among others, such as justifying acquisition, negotiating deals and reviewing current subscriptions (pertaining to electronic resources). With the rapid increase in growth of electronic resources, libraries have to continuously assess their acquisition models and policies to constantly ensure that they are balancing their budget and users’ needs as well. This paper highlights the role played by Technical and IT department of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) library (Saudi Arabia) in acquiring the electronic resources (electronic books, electronic journals, databases, image and reference) for the community. It will describe the processes during the early days when KAUST library was inaugurated; how electronic resources were acquired and what went through during those days. The paper will elaborate further how the acquisition model has evolved and the various important roles played by the library staff in ensuring that acquisitions/subscriptions are justified, within the budget and provides ROI for the library. King Abdullah University is a graduate research university which opened in September 2009 with its first cohort of 800 graduate students (25% female) taught by 100 faculties. The focus of study and research in the university are: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. The university library started with 10 staff. The library has a “state-of-the-art learning and information resource center supporting graduate education and advanced scientific research” (KAUST, 2010).

  19. EFFECT OF SEASON ON SERUM COPPER AND ZINC CONCENTRATIONS IN CROSSBRED GOATS HAVING DIFFERENT REPRODUCTIVE STATUS UNDER SEMIARID RANGELAND CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO STATE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Fernando Vázquez-Armijo

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The effect of season (rainy: RS, and dry: DS and reproductive status on copper (Cu and zinc (Zn concentrations in blood serum of crossbred goats (BW= 36.01 ± 1.59 kg were studied under semiarid rangeland conditions in Southern Mexico State. Blood samples from 80 crossbred goats were taken each season (RS and DS. The goats were clustered into 10 different groups considering their reproductive status. Concentrations of Cu and Zn in serum were assayed using atomic absorption. Data were analyzed using a general linear model procedure for a completely randomized design and differences among means were examined using a Tukey test. Blood serum concentrations of Cu and Zn were affected by reproductive status and season (P

  20. Utilisation of Online Resources among Undergraduates in Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Electronic book (e-book) was mostly utilized as against Ejournals and E-thesis, while mobile phones and cybercafés remain the channels used in accessing online resources. it was discovered that incessant power supply, slow Internet connectivity and lack of time to access the information resources are constraints to ...

  1. In-filled reservoirs serving as sediment archives to analyse soil organic carbon erosion – Taking a closer look at the Karoo rangelands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krenz, Juliane; Greenwood, Philip; Kuhn, Brigitte

    The semi-arid rangelands of the Great Karoo region in South Africa, which are nowadays characterized by badlands on the foot slopes of upland areas and complex gully systems in valley bottoms, have experienced a number of environmental changes. With the settlement of European farmers in the late ......th century agricultural activities increased, leading to overgrazing which probably acted as a trigger to land degradation. As a consequence of higher water demands and shifting rainfall patterns, many dams and small reservoirs have been constructed to provide drinking water for cattle...... or to facilitate irrigation during dry periods. Most of these dams are now filled with sediment and many have become breached, revealing sediment archives that can be used to analyse land use changes as well as carbon erosion and deposition during the last ca. 100 years. In this ongoing project, a combination...

  2. Automotive electronics design fundamentals

    CERN Document Server

    Zaman, Najamuz

    2015-01-01

    This book explains the topology behind automotive electronics architectures and examines how they can be profoundly augmented with embedded controllers. These controllers serve as the core building blocks of today’s vehicle electronics. Rather than simply teaching electrical basics, this unique resource focuses on the fundamental concepts of vehicle electronics architecture, and details the wide variety of Electronic Control Modules (ECMs) that enable the increasingly sophisticated "bells & whistles" of modern designs.  A must-have for automotive design engineers, technicians working in automotive electronics repair centers and students taking automotive electronics courses, this guide bridges the gap between academic instruction and industry practice with clear, concise advice on how to design and optimize automotive electronics with embedded controllers.

  3. Gaseous Electronics Tables, Atoms, and Molecules

    CERN Document Server

    Raju, Gorur Govinda

    2011-01-01

    With the constant emergence of new research and application possibilities, gaseous electronics is more important than ever in disciplines including engineering (electrical, power, mechanical, electronics, and environmental), physics, and electronics. The first resource of its kind, Gaseous Electronics: Tables, Atoms, and Molecules fulfills the author's vision of a stand-alone reference to condense 100 years of research on electron-neutral collision data into one easily searchable volume. It presents most--if not all--of the properly classified experimental results that scientists, researchers,

  4. The Frustrated Nerds Project--Resources for Systems Administrators in Higher Education: A Resource Webliography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henninger, Jessamyn; Aber, Susan Ward

    2010-01-01

    Systems Architects and Information Technology administrators working in higher education help faculty, staff, and student computer users. Yet, who helps them? What resources do these professionals value? A case study was conducted using purposeful sampling and data collection through electronic interview to gather the preferred information-seeking…

  5. Human Resource Development in Hybrid Libraries

    OpenAIRE

    Prakasan, E. R.; Swarna, T.; Vijai Kumar, *

    2000-01-01

    This paper explores the human resources and development implications in hybrid libraries. Due to technological changes in libraries, which is a result of the proliferation of electronic resources, there has been a shift in workloads and workflow, requiring staff with different skills and educational backgrounds. Training of staff at all levels in information technology is the key to manage change, alleviate anxiety in the workplace and assure quality service in the libraries. Staff developmen...

  6. Preservation of and Permanent Access to Electronic Information Resources

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hodge, Gail

    2004-01-01

    The rapid growth in the creation and dissemination of electronic information has emphasized the digital environment's speed and ease of dissemination with little regard for its long-term preservation and access...

  7. Implementating Information Technology in E-Human Resource Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina-Dana Popescu (Mitu

    2016-01-01

    More and more organizations have been replacing face-to-face human resource managementactivities with electronic human resource management, which is considered as one of the keyfactors that every organization needs to focus. Considering that human resource management isone of the necessary needs of today’s business, the goal of this article is to establish the importanceof human resource management (HRM, to examine recent research in e-HRM in order to evaluatethe cumulated evidence on the relationship between HRM and e-HRM and to outline the impact ofe-HRM on human resource. Many specialists underlined the fact that human resource requiresmore attention and careful management than any other resource of an organization. This paperalso deals with the influence of Internet and information technology on work and human resourcemanagement.

  8. 7 CFR 1942.310 - Other considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... basis of age and title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Public Law 101-336, which prohibits... environmental resources of rural areas such as important farmlands and forest lands, prime rangelands, wetlands.... The applicant may use guide 2 of this subpart as an example in preparing the resolution. Future...

  9. Composite analysis of landuse and groundwater resources of rod-kohi region of pakistan using geoinformatics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashraf, A.; Mustafa, N.; Iqbal, M.B.

    2015-01-01

    Rod-kohi system of irrigation is often generally referred to as flood irrigation or spate irrigation system in which floods of the hill torrents are diverted into plain area for irrigation purpose. In rod-kohi region where uncertainty exists in flood water availability for irrigation use, groundwater is a valuable resource used mainly as supplement source of irrigation. The region, being rich in natural resources, is remained far behind in terms of data availability and data quality, the situation that has affected incredibly the needs of future planning and development. In the present study, major landuse/landcover classes of the region were identified and delineated using Landsat ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) image data and related with groundwater potential for interactive analysis in GIS (Geographic Information System). The potential groundwater zones were delineated and assessed on the basis of aquifer characteristics in the region. Rangeland and exposed rocks were identified over 70% of the rod-kohi region i.e. total area about 42 Mha (Million hectares). Share of cropped area and bare soil or culturable waste was about 3.5 and 15.4%, respectively. High and medium potential of groundwater were estimated in about 2.3 Mha out of which 60% exist under bare soil, 16% under cropped area and the rest underneath other landuse classes. High efficiency irrigation techniques like drip and rain-gun system need to be adopted in areas having substantial groundwater potential in order to sustain agriculture production. The study would provide base for detail investigation. (author)

  10. Looking for Guidelines for the Production of Electronic Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landoni, M.; Wilson, R.; Gibb, F.

    2001-01-01

    Reports the results of two studies of electronic book production, including production on the World Wide Web, and explains EBONI (Electronic Books On-screen Interface) that focuses on the evaluation of electronic resources and compiling guidelines for publishing electronic materials on the Internet for the United Kingdom higher education…

  11. impact of the use of electronic resources on research output

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    manda

    ... Julita Nawe. University of Dar Es Salaam Library, P.O. Box 35092, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania .... significantly, while 28.3% observed that quality of service to the community had improved .... resources and evaluate them is an important area.

  12. Social Studies Online Resources. Media Corner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Jeri, Ed.

    1995-01-01

    Maintains that three types of social studies activities are found on the information highway: (1) electronic mail; (2) information; and (3) conferencing. Describes examples of each. Discusses commercial services and resource materials and provides references to online services. (CFR)

  13. Green Supply Chain Collaboration for Fashionable Consumer Electronics Products under Third-Party Power Intervention—A Resource Dependence Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiuh-Biing Sheu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Under third-party power intervention (TPPI, which increases uncertainty in task environments, complex channel power interplays and restructuring are indispensable among green supply chain members as they move toward sustainable collaborative relationships for increased viability and competitive advantage. From the resource dependence perspective, this work presents a novel conceptual model to investigate the influence of political and social power on channel power restructuring and induced green supply chain collaboration in brander-retailer bidirectional green supply chains of fashionable consumer electronics products (FCEPs. An FCEP refers to the consumer electronics product (e.g., personal computers, mobile phones, computer notebooks, and game consoles with the features of a well-known brand associated, a short product lifecycle, timely and fashionable design fit for market trends, and quick responsiveness to the variations of market demands. The proposed model is tested empirically using questionnaire data obtained from retailers in the FCEP brander-retailer distribution channels. Analytical results reveal that as an extension of political and social power, TPPI positively affects the reciprocal interdependence of dyadic members and reduces power asymmetry, thereby enhancing the collaborative relationship of dyadic members and leading to improved green supply chain performance. Therein, reciprocal interdependence underlying collaborative relationship is the key to reducing the external environmental uncertainties in the TPPI context.

  14. Electron beam pasteurised oil palm waste: a potential feed resource

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mat Rasol Awang; Hassan Hamdani Mutaat; Tamikazu Kume; Tachibana, H.

    2002-01-01

    Pasteurization of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was performed using electron beam single sided irradiation. The dose profiles of oil palm EFB samples for different thickness in both directions X and Y were established. The results showed the usual characteristics dose uniformity as sample thickness decreased. The mean average absorbed dose on both sides at the surface and bottom of the samples for different thickness samples lead to establishing depth dose curve. Based on depth dose curve and operation conditions of electron beam machine, the process throughput for pasteurized oil palm EFB were estimated. (Author)

  15. The Use of Electronic Resources by Academic Staff at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tella, Adeyinka; Orim, Faith; Ibrahim, Dauda Morenikeji; Memudu, Suleiman Ajala

    2018-01-01

    The use of e-resources is now commonplace among academics in tertiary educational institutions the world over. Many academics including those in the universities are exploring the opportunities of e-resources to facilitate teaching and research. As the use of e-resources is increasing particularly among academics at the University of Ilorin,…

  16. Building the electronic industry's roadmaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulton, William R.

    1995-02-01

    JTEC panelists found a strong consistency among the electronics firms they visited: all the firms had clear visions or roadmaps for their research and development activities and had committed resources to ensure that they achieve targeted results. The overarching vision driving Japan's electronics industry is that of achieving market success through developing appealing, high-quality, low-cost consumer goods - ahead of the competition. Specifics of the vision include improving performance, quality, and portability of consumer electronics products. Such visions help Japanese companies define in detail the roadmaps they will follow to develop new and improved electronic packaging technologies.

  17. Herbaceous Legume Encroachment Reduces Grass Productivity and Density in Arid Rangelands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas C Wagner

    Full Text Available Worldwide savannas and arid grasslands are mainly used for livestock grazing, providing livelihood to over a billion people. While normally dominated by perennial C4 grasses, these rangelands are increasingly affected by the massive spread of native, mainly woody legumes. The consequences are often a repression of grass cover and productivity, leading to a reduced carrying capacity. While such encroachment by woody plants has been extensively researched, studies on similar processes involving herbaceous species are rare. We studied the impact of a sustained and massive spread of the native herbaceous legume Crotalaria podocarpa in Namibia's escarpment region on the locally dominant fodder grasses Stipagrostis ciliata and Stipagrostis uniplumis. We measured tussock densities, biomass production of individual tussocks and tussock dormancy state of Stipagrostis on ten 10 m x 10 m plots affected and ten similarly-sized plots unaffected by C. podocarpa over eight consecutive years and under different seasonal rainfalls and estimated the potential relative productivity of the land. We found the percentage of active Stipagrostis tussocks and the biomass production of individual tussocks to increase asymptotically with higher seasonal rainfall reaching a maximum around 300 mm while the land's relative productivity under average local rainfall conditions reached only 40% of its potential. Crotalaria podocarpa encroachment had no effect on the proportion of productive grass tussocks, but reduced he productivity of individual Stipagrostis tussocks by a third. This effect of C. podocarpa on grass productivity was immediate and direct and was not compensated for by above-average rainfall. Besides this immediate effect, over time, the density of grass tussocks declined by more than 50% in areas encroached by C. podocarpa further and lastingly reducing the lands carrying capacity. The effects of C. podocarpa on grass productivity hereby resemble those of woody

  18. Phenology-based, remote sensing of post-burn disturbance windows in rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankeya, Joel B.; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Ravi, Sujith

    2013-01-01

    Wildland fire activity has increased in many parts of the world in recent decades. Ecological disturbance by fire can accelerate ecosystem degradation processes such as erosion due to combustion of vegetation that otherwise provides protective cover to the soil surface. This study employed a novel ecological indicator based on remote sensing of vegetation greenness dynamics (phenology) to estimate variability in the window of time between fire and the reemergence of green vegetation. The indicator was applied as a proxy for short-term, post-fire disturbance windows in rangelands; where a disturbance window is defined as the time required for an ecological or geomorphic process that is altered to return to pre-disturbance levels. We examined variability in the indicator determined for time series of MODIS and AVHRR NDVI remote sensing data for a database of ∼100 historical wildland fires, with associated post-fire reseeding treatments, that burned 1990–2003 in cold desert shrub steppe of the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau of the western USA. The indicator-based estimates of disturbance window length were examined relative to the day of the year that fires burned and seeding treatments to consider effects of contemporary variability in fire regime and management activities in this environment. A key finding was that contemporary changes of increased length of the annual fire season could have indirect effects on ecosystem degradation, as early season fires appeared to result in longer time that soils remained relatively bare of the protective cover of vegetation after fires. Also important was that reemergence of vegetation did not occur more quickly after fire in sites treated with post-fire seeding, which is a strategy commonly employed to accelerate post-fire vegetation recovery and stabilize soil. Future work with the indicator could examine other ecological factors that are dynamic in space and time following disturbance – such as nutrient cycling

  19. A travel cost analysis of nonconsumptive wildlife-associated recreation in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    William T. Zawacki; Allan Marsinko; J. Michael Bowker

    2000-01-01

    Increased emphasis on sustainable resource management in forestry has effectuated a demand for various nontimber values. Nonconsumptive wildlife recreation is an important nontimber service produced on forest and rangeland. Travel cost models and data from the 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation are used to estimate the demand...

  20. Historical and projected climate in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; Marian Talbert; Darrin Sharp; Jeffrey Morisette; John Stevenson

    2018-01-01

    Climate influences the ecosystem services we obtain from forest and rangelands. Climate is described by the long-term characteristics of precipitation, temperature, wind, snowfall, and other measures of weather that occur over a long period in a particular place, and is typically expressed as long-term average conditions. Resource management practices are implemented...

  1. Generating relevant climate adaptation science tools in concert with local natural resource agencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micheli, L.; Flint, L. E.; Veloz, S.; Heller, N. E.

    2015-12-01

    To create a framework for adapting to climate change, decision makers operating at the urban-wildland interface need to define climate vulnerabilities in the context of site-specific opportunities and constraints relative to water supply, land use suitability, wildfire risks, ecosystem services and quality of life. Pepperwood's TBC3.org is crafting customized climate vulnerability assessments with selected water and natural resource agencies of California's Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Mendocino counties under the auspices of Climate Ready North Bay, a public-private partnership funded by the California Coastal Conservancy. Working directly with managers from the very start of the process to define resource-specific information needs, we are developing high-resolution, spatially-explicit data products to help local governments and agency staff implement informed and effective climate adaptation strategies. Key preliminary findings for the region using the USGS' Basin Characterization Model (at a 270 m spatial resolution) include a unidirectional trend, independent of greater or lesser precipitation, towards increasing climatic water deficits across model scenarios. Therefore a key message is that managers will be facing an increasingly arid environment. Companion models translate the impacts of shifting climate and hydrology on vegetation composition and fire risks. The combination of drought stress on water supplies and native vegetation with an approximate doubling of fire risks may demand new approaches to watershed planning. Working with agencies we are exploring how to build capacity for protection and enhancement of key watershed functions with a focus on groundwater recharge, facilitating greater drought tolerance in forest and rangeland systems, and considering more aggressive approaches to management of fuel loads. Lessons learned about effective engagement include the need for extended in-depth dialog, translation of key climate adaptation questions into

  2. Resources to Manage a Private Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aigner, John; Cheek, Fredricka; Donati, Georgia; Zuravicky, Dori

    1997-01-01

    Includes four theme articles: "The Digital Toolkit: Electronic Necessities for Private Practice" (John Aigner); "Organizing a Private Practice: Forms, Fees, and Physical Set-up (Fredricka Cheek); "Career Development Resources: Guidelines for Setting Up a Private Practice Library" (Georgia Donati); and "Books to…

  3. How best to quantify soil seed banks in arid rangelands of the Nama Karoo?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreber, Niels

    2011-02-01

    Sampling design and three sample treatments prior the application of the seedling emergence method were tested in order to find the best method for seed bank quantification in arid Nama Karoo rangelands. I analyzed species composition and seed densities by contrasting undercanopy and open-matrix samples from two soil depths and by comparing the effects of cold-, heat-, and no stratification on germination rates of species in a greenhouse setting. The soil seed bank showed minimal similarity to the standing vegetation, with only 20 plant species germinated. Spatial distribution of seeds was highly heterogeneous. Nearly 90% of germinated seeds were located in 0- to 4-cm compared to >4- to 8-cm soil depth. Undercanopy seed banks contained significantly more species and seeds than open-matrix seed banks. Neither the number nor the diversity of seeds germinated differed significantly among the three treatments. Cold stratification tended to detect more species and seeds only at >4- to 8-cm soil depth. The results highlight the importance of spatial heterogeneity in the accurate evaluation of soil seed banks in the arid Nama Karoo and the importance of considering seasonal variability in the availability of readily germinable seeds. Data also suggest that sample pretreatment in germination trials may give little return for cost and effort, which emphasizes that it is more important to choose the sampling design most likely to give a representative number of seed bank species. Further studies are needed to analyze seed bank dynamics and species-specific germination requirements to promote recruitment of plant taxa underrepresented in the seed bank.

  4. Current status of electron beam treatment of flue gas in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhiguang

    2006-01-01

    Fossil resource especially coal will remain the main energy resource in China over the next 3 ∼4 decades. Pollution of flue gas from fossil power station is one problem being desiderated to solve since 1990's. Electron beam treatment of flue gas as an advanced technique has been developed and used by some institutes and industries in China. The current status of flue gas treatment using electron beam and the development of electron accelerator in China are reviewed. (author)

  5. Multiscale guidance and tools for implementing a landscape approach to resource management in the Bureau of Land Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Sarah K.; Carr, Natasha B.; Miller, Kevin H.; Wood, David J.A.

    2017-01-19

    monitoring data needed to inform a landscape approach. We propose six core, broad-scale indicators of natural resource status and condition: the amount, spatial distribution, patch size and connectivity of ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and the pattern of existing development across the landscape. Additional supplemental broad-scale indicators may include fire return intervals, distributions of invasive species, and vulnerability of ecosystems to a changing climate. Landscape intactness is an additional derived indicator that is calculated from one or more of the core and supplemental broad-scale indicators. We then outline a process for assessing broad-scale indicators that is consistent with the overall BLM Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring process, facilitating development of a multiscale natural resource monitoring program. Finally, we describe how broad-scale indicators of natural resource status and condition may guide field monitoring implemented through the BLM Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring program and help address complex management questions.In chapter 4, we consider the specific question of assessing the ecological integrity of rangelands across the western United States. We first define ecological integrity and its relation to land health. We then suggest that a combination of six local-scale indicators collected through field sampling at individual sites and five complementary broad-scale indicators together provide information on the composition, structure, and function of rangelands. The terrestrial monitoring indicators collected at the level of individual field sites are the amount of bare ground, vegetation composition (including invasive plants and plants of management concern), vegetation height, and the proportion of the soil surface in large intercanopy gaps. The broad-scale indicators are vegetation amount, distribution, patch size, connectivity, and productivity, along with the pattern of terrestrial development. Our suggested approach

  6. Science You Can Use Bulletin: Coming to a landscape near you: Natural resource changes in the Interior West

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank Sturges; Linda Joyce; Tom Brown; Curt Flather; Miranda Mockrin; Matt Reeves

    2013-01-01

    In the coming decades, population growth, economic growth, and associated land-use changes - in concert with climate change - will influence forests and rangelands in the Interior West. Society’s demand for ecosystem goods and services continues to increase as human and biophysical change alter the productive capacity of these lands. The 2010 RPA Assessment uses...

  7. Wildfire management in the U.S. Forest Service: a brief history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geoffrey H. Donovan; Thomas C. Brown

    2005-01-01

    Forest and rangeland fire was once a common land management tool. Native Americans as well as early settlers and prospectors used fire for various purposes. But as the country gradually filled with more settlers, and as forest resources became more precious, fire began to be viewed as more of a problem than a tool.

  8. Criteria for deciding about forestry research programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert Z. Callaham

    1981-01-01

    In early 1979, the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, was required to decide several significant issues affecting its future research program. These decisions were in response to requirements of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). The decisions required information that was not either available or assembled. Most...

  9. The Battle over Pastures: The Hidden War in Afghanistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liz Alden Wily

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Rangelands (‘pastures’ constitute a large and valuable natural resource in Afghanistan. Millions of rural people shape their agro-pastoral or pastoral livelihoods around this asset. In many ways, the territorial history of Afghanistan may be written through the lens of ancient and continuing battles between ethnic groups for possession of alpine pastures. In more recent times, this battle has centred on control of the Hindu Kush, the rich highland pastures of central Afghanistan. This paper focuses on the worsening conflict over this resource and the diminishing opportunities for its resolution, as new pressures mount. Despite numerous government initiatives, the Karzai Administration has failed to get to grips with the ownership issues underpinning this contestation and the associated seasonal armed conflict. As rangelands are made more available for purchase in the marketplace and as a surge in mining developments eats into pastures, more conflict may be expected, deepening divisions not only between ethnicities, but also between rich and poor, and between the people and the state.

  10. Where Doctors Read Health Information Resources and Their ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Resources Media Preferences. Obianuju E. ... The survey research design was adopted for the study. ... media of assessing health information are the internet, electronic databases, textbooks, journals and .... for Social Sciences (SPSS).

  11. eLearning resources to supplement postgraduate neurosurgery training.

    OpenAIRE

    Stienen, MN; Schaller, K; Cock, H; Lisnic, V; Regli, L; Thomson, S

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: In an increasingly complex and competitive professional environment, improving methods to educate neurosurgical residents is key to ensure high-quality patient care. Electronic (e)Learning resources promise interactive knowledge acquisition. We set out to give a comprehensive overview on available eLearning resources that aim to improve postgraduate neurosurgical training and review the available literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A MEDLINE query was performed, using the search ter...

  12. Electronic Commerce: Government Services in the New Millennium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Terrence A., Ed.

    1998-01-01

    This newsletter features innovations in resource management and information technology to support New York State government. The newsletter contains the following six sections: (1) "Electronic Commerce: Government Services in the New Millennium" -- examining the need for government involvement in electronic commerce policy and…

  13. The Northeastern area's objectives and beliefs responses regarding forests and grasslands: 2004 survey results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lori B. Shelby; Deborah J. Shields; Michael D. Miller; Donna L. Lybecker; Brian M. Kent; Vesna Bashovska

    2009-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service revises its Strategic Plan according to the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act. The goals and objectives included in the Strategic Plan are developed from natural resource trend data (Forest and Rangeland Renewable Planning Act) and from public input such as the results from this telephone survey. The purpose of this report is to...

  14. Electronic Publishing Approaches to Curriculum: Videotex, Teletext and Databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aumente, Jerome

    1986-01-01

    Describes the Journalism Resources Institute (JRI) of Rutgers University in terms of its administrative organization, computer resources, computer facilities use, involvement in electronic publishing, use of the Dow Jones News/Retrieval Database, curricular options, and professional continuing education. (AYC)

  15. PERii electronic journals: Assessing access and use by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Peter G. Underwood

    institutional subscription to electronic journals through the Programme for Enhancement of .... These strategies include the promotion and marketing of these .... assist students and other library users to access PERii electronic journals resources. ..... Smith, H. Bukirwa, H. Mukasa, O. Snell, P. Adeh-Nsoh, S. Mbuyita, ...

  16. Electronic Information – Threat or Challenge to Librarians and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Electronic Information – Threat or Challenge to Librarians and Library Buildings. ... electronic resources because as new things and methods emerge, they exist ... that world trends in the paper industry and Internet use do not justify the fears ...

  17. Success factors for implementing and sustaining a mature electronic medical record in a low-resource setting: a case study of iSanté in Haiti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deRiel, E; Puttkammer, N; Hyppolite, N; Diallo, J; Wagner, S; Honoré, J G; Balan, J G; Celestin, N; Vallès, J S; Duval, N; Thimothé, G; Boncy, J; Coq, N R L; Barnhart, S

    2018-03-01

    Electronic health information systems, including electronic medical records (EMRs), have the potential to improve access to information and quality of care, among other things. Success factors and challenges for novel EMR implementations in low-resource settings have increasingly been studied, although less is known about maturing systems and sustainability. One systematic review identified seven categories of implementation success factors: ethical, financial, functionality, organizational, political, technical and training. This case study applies this framework to iSanté, Haiti's national EMR in use in more than 100 sites and housing records for more than 750 000 patients. The author group, consisting of representatives of different agencies within the Haitian Ministry of Health (MSPP), funding partner the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Haiti, and implementing partner the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), identify successes and lessons learned according to the seven identified categories, and propose an additional cross-cutting category, sustainability. Factors important for long-term implementation success of complex information systems are balancing investments in hardware and software infrastructure upkeep, user capacity and data quality control; designing and building a system within the context of the greater eHealth ecosystem with a plan for interoperability and data exchange; establishing system governance and strong leadership to support local system ownership and planning for system financing to ensure sustainability. Lessons learned from 10 years of implementation of the iSanté EMR system are relevant to sustainability of a full range of increasingly interrelated information systems (e.g. for laboratory, supply chain, pharmacy and human resources) in the health sector in low-resource settings. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene

  18. A study on the utilization of serial resources in selected tertiary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study on the utilization of serial resources in selected tertiary institutions in Ogun State. ... Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science ... Serial resources are publications either in printed form or electronic format issued in successive parts usually having numerical or chronological designations and intended to be ...

  19. Modeling antecedents of electronic medical record system implementation success in low-resource setting hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilahun, Binyam; Fritz, Fleur

    2015-08-01

    With the increasing implementation of Electronic Medical Record Systems (EMR) in developing countries, there is a growing need to identify antecedents of EMR success to measure and predict the level of adoption before costly implementation. However, less evidence is available about EMR success in the context of low-resource setting implementations. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by examining the constructs and relationships of the widely used DeLone and MacLean (D&M) information system success model to determine whether it can be applied to measure EMR success in those settings. A quantitative cross sectional study design using self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from 384 health professionals working in five governmental hospitals in Ethiopia. The hospitals use a comprehensive EMR system since three years. Descriptive and structural equation modeling methods were applied to describe and validate the extent of relationship of constructs and mediating effects. The findings of the structural equation modeling shows that system quality has significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.32, P quality has significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.44, P service quality has strong significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.36, P effect of EMR use on user satisfaction was not significant. Both EMR use and user satisfaction have significant influence on perceived net-benefit (β = 0.31, P mediating factor in the relationship between service quality and EMR use (P effect on perceived net-benefit of health professionals. EMR implementers and managers in developing countries are in urgent need of implementation models to design proper implementation strategies. In this study, the constructs and relationships depicted in the updated D&M model were found to be applicable to assess the success of EMR in low resource settings. Additionally, computer literacy was found to be a mediating factor in EMR use and user satisfaction of

  20. Application of ICT-based Learning Resources for University Inorganic Chemistry Course Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatyana M. Derkach

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The article studies expediency and efficiency of various ICT-based learning resources use in university inorganic chemistry course training, detects difference of attitudes toward electronic resources between students and faculty members, which create the background for their efficiency loss