Ambivalence in the Woods: Baltimore Resident Perceptions of Local Forest Patches

Abstract

Wild urban forests may elicit positive and negative emotions, both at a community level and within an individual. This paper examines resident perceptions and use of local forest patches in Baltimore, Maryland across four case study neighborhoods selected for differences in homeownership and forest patch management. Semi-structured interview data reveal residents’ strongly ambivalent attitudes toward urban wilderness across all study sites with only nuanced differences in perceptions based on homeownership and management regime. Baltimore residents living adjacent to forest patches were found to experience some of the restorative benefits associated with immersion in wild nature, even when they do not actually enter the woods. Positive experiences were balanced by negative emotions resulting from the perception that urban wilderness is chaotic and unpredictable. These ambivalent feelings may influence the benefits derived from these urban green spaces, as well as local residents’ desires for their future structure and function as social-ecological spaces.     

Long-Term Trends in Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, USA, Related to Water Quality

Chesapeake Bay supports a diverse assemblage of marine and freshwater species of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) whose broad distributions are generally constrained by salinity. An annual aerial SAV monitoring program and a bi-monthly to monthly water quality monitoring program have been conducted throughout Chesapeake Bay since 1984. We performed an analysis of SAV abundance and up to 22 environmental variables potentially influencing SAV growth and abundance (1984–2006). Historically, SAV abundance has changed dramatically in Chesapeake Bay, and since 1984, when SAV abundance was at historic low levels, SAV has exhibited complex changes including long-term (decadal) increases and decreases, as well as some large, single-year changes. Chesapeake Bay SAV was grouped into three broad-scale community-types based on salinity regime, each with their own distinct group of species, and detailed analyses were conducted on these three community-types as well as on seven distinct case-study areas spanning the three salinity regimes. Different trends in SAV abundance were evident in the different salinity regimes. SAV abundance has (a) continually increased in the low-salinity region; (b) increased initially in the medium-salinity region, followed by fluctuating abundances; and (c) increased initially in the high-salinity region, followed by a subsequent decline. In all areas, consistent negative correlations between measures of SAV abundance and nitrogen loads or concentrations suggest that meadows are responsive to changes in inputs of nitrogen. For smaller case-study areas, different trends in SAV abundance were also noted including correlations to water clarity in high-salinity case-study areas, but nitrogen was highly correlated in all areas. Current maximum SAV coverage for almost all areas remain below restoration targets, indicating that SAV abundance and associated ecosystem services are currently limited by continued poor water quality, and specifically high nutrient concentrations, within Chesapeake Bay. The nutrient reductions noted in some tributaries, which were highly correlated to increases in SAV abundance, suggest management activities have already contributed to SAV increases in some areas, but the strong negative correlation throughout the Chesapeake Bay between nitrogen and SAV abundance also suggests that further nutrient reductions will be necessary for SAV to attain or exceed restoration targets throughout the bay.     

The impact of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on shallow groundwater chemistry: observations at a natural analog site and implications for carbon sequestration

In a natural analog study of risks associated with carbon sequestration, impacts of CO₂ on shallow groundwater quality have been measured in a sandstone aquifer in New Mexico, USA. Despite relatively high levels of dissolved CO₂, originating from depth and producing geysering at one well, pH depression and consequent trace element mobility are relatively minor effects due to the buffering capacity of the aquifer. However, local contamination due to influx of brackish waters in a subset of wells is significant. Geochemical modeling of major ion concentrations suggests that high alkalinity and carbonate mineral dissolution buffers pH changes due to CO₂ influx. Analysis of trends in dissolved trace elements, chloride, and CO₂ reveal no evidence of in situ trace element mobilization. There is clear evidence, however, that As, U, and Pb are locally co-transported into the aquifer with CO₂-rich brackish water. This study illustrates the role that local geochemical conditions will play in determining the effectiveness of monitoring strategies for CO₂ leakage. For example, if buffering is significant, pH monitoring may not effectively detect CO₂ leakage. This study also highlights potential complications that CO₂ carrier fluids, such as brackish waters, pose in monitoring impacts of geologic sequestration.     

An investigation of the behavior of Cu and Cr during iron meteorite crystallization

Abstract— The measured Cu and Cr contents in magmatic iron meteorites appear to contradict the behavior predicted by experimental fractional crystallization studies currently available. To investigate the origin of Cu and Cr concentrations observed in these meteorites, a thorough set of solid metal/liquid metal experiments were conducted in the Fe‐Ni‐S system. In addition to Cu and Cr, partitioning values were also determined for As, Au, Bi, Co, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rh, Ru, Sb, Sn, V, and Zn from the experiments. Experimental results for Cu and Cr showed similar chalcophile partitioning behavior, whereas these elements have differently sloped trends within magmatic iron meteorite groups. Thus, fractional crystallization alone cannot control both the Cu and Cr concentrations in these iron meteorite groups. A simple fractional crystallization model based on our experimental Cu partitioning results was able to match the Cu versus Au trend observed in the S‐poor IVB iron meteorite group but not the decreasing Cu versus Au trends in the IIAB and IIIAB groups or the unique S‐shaped Cu versus Au trend in the IVA group. However, the crystallization model calculations were found to be very sensitive to the specific choice for the mathematical expression of D(Cu), suggesting that any future refinement of the parameterization of D(Cu) should include a reassessment of the Cu fractional crystallization trends. The Cr versus Au trends in magmatic iron meteorite groups are steeper than those of Cu and not explained by fractional crystallization. Other influences, such as the removal of chromite from the crystallizing system or sampling biases during iron meteorite compositional analyses, are likely responsible for the Cr trends in magmatic iron meteorite groups.     

Putting health inequities on the map: social epidemiology meets medical/health geography––an ecosocial perspective

To put on the map: according to the Oxford English Dictionary, whatever is so placed occupies “an important or prominent position” and is “of some account or importance.” In this brief commentary, I take the opportunity to reflect on several articles by medical/health geographers and others regarding our Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project and my research, as a social epidemiologist, on the myriad ways racism can harm health. In both cases, my work on these topics has been motivated by my desire, starting a quarter of a century ago, to put health inequities on the map: as a topic of public concern, research, and action. The insightful and informative points and questions raised by the geography-oriented articles underscore the importance of bringing the best of our respective disciplinary insights and expertise to illuminate the profound connections between social justice and public health, between our bodily truths and the body politic, so as to further the goal of embodying equity––in an ecologically sustainable world.     

Understanding youth transition as ‘Becoming’: Identity, time and futurity

Drawing on recent work in psychology, philosophy, and youth geographies, this article responds to calls for theoretical rigour in children’s geographies by developing the concept of becoming for youth transitions research. Becoming has been used by psychologist Gordon Allport (1955) in his work on the processual nature of personal identity, while Elizabeth Grosz (1999) has used the concept of becoming to explore conceptions of time as a lived experience, focusing on the dynamics of time as duration. This article uses the unifying concept of futurity to tie together the works of Allport and Grosz, exploring how the concept of becoming can be used to consider the inherent complexities of contemporary youth transitions. To demonstrate the value of working with these reconceptualizations, examples of becoming will be explored through research with visually impaired young people. This research productively uses narrative and a life mapping technique to capture the messiness of becoming, seeing transition through the scale of a life and important life events.     

The welfare benefit of a home’s location: an empirical comparison of spatial and non-spatial model estimates

This article compares results from non-spatial and new spatial methods to examine the reliability of welfare estimates (direct and multiplier effects) for locational housing attributes in Seattle, WA. In particular, we assess if OLS with spatial fixed effects is able to account for the spatial structure in a way that represents a viable alternative to spatial econometric methods. We find that while OLS with spatial fixed effects accounts for more of the spatial structure than simple OLS, it does not account for all of the spatial structure. It thus does not present a viable alternative to the spatial methods. Similar to existing comparisons between results from non-spatial and established spatial methods, we also find that OLS generates higher coefficient and direct effect estimates for both structural and locational housing characteristics than spatial methods do. OLS with spatial fixed effects is closer to the spatial estimates than OLS without fixed effects but remains higher. Finally, a comparison of the direct effects with locally weighted regression results highlights spatial threshold effects that are missed in the global models. Differences between spatial estimators are almost negligible in this study.     

Evaluation of LPM permafrost distribution in NE Asia reconstructed and downscaled from GCM simulations

A high‐resolution map of potential frozen ground distribution in NE Asia (90–150°E, 25–60°N) at the period of the Last Permafrost Maximum (LPM, c. 21 000 years ago) was dually reconstructed by means of a statistical classification using air freezing and thawing indices and a topographical downscaling using a digital relief model (ETOPO1). Background LPM climate data were derived from global climate model simulations of the Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project, Phase II (PMIP2). The reconstructed LPM map shows the southward shift of the southern limit of climate‐driven permafrost by 400–1500 km, with the greatest advance in the western sector (90–110°E), encompassing an area from central Siberia to most of the Altai area. The advance of environmentally conditional permafrost and seasonally frozen ground was greatest in the eastern sector (110–150°E), with an average shift of about 450 km. The descent of the lower limit of LPM alpine permafrost was in the range of 400–800 m. A comparison of the reconstructed map with published literature shows that this method, simplistically constructed yet effectively recognizing seasonality, continentality and topography, captures local features better than more elaborate methods. The sensitivity examination of a constant atmospheric lapse rate shows that altitudes of 2000–5000 m a.s.l. were most sensitive, though with only a limited effect on overall LPM distribution.