Tracking a Governance Transition: Identifying and Measuring Indicators of Social Forestry on the Willamette National Forest

Abstract

National Forests in the United States have undergone a spatially and temporally uneven governance transition in response to social and economic pressures and contemporary policy changes, with many national forest units moving from a wholly government-led “dominant federal” model to a more collaborative “social forestry” model in which nonfederal actors have greater influence and authority. Here we report on an effort to develop a suite of indicators designed to capture some of the most tangible elements of a transition from dominant federal to social forestry modes of governance. We pilot test these data on the Willamette National Forest using data from a variety of sources internal and external to the USDA Forest Service. We assess the suitability of these indicators for tracking governance transitions and discuss their applicability to other national forest units nationwide.     

Using GIS in Areawide Pest Management: A Case Study in South Dakota

Infestations of corn rootworms (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) create economic and environmental concerns in the Corn Belt region of the United States. To supplement the population control tactics of areawide pest management programs, we believe that a better understanding of the spatial relationships between biotic and abiotic or physical factors at the landscape scale is needed. Our research used several geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial analytical techniques to examine relationships between corn rootworm metapopulation dynamics, soil texture, and elevation. Within GIS, several spatially explicit procedures were used that include an interpolation technique, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and contingency analysis. Corn rootworm metapopulation distributions were found to be aggregated and related to soil texture and elevation. We review techniques and discuss our preferences for using particular spatially explicit procedures. The information derived from the spatial analyses demonstrates how GIS can be used in areawide pest management to provide inputs for spatially explicit models to predict future pest populations and formulate more well‐informed pest management decisions. The techniques described in this paper could easily be extended to study the spatial dynamics between other pest populations in agricultural landscapes.     

Surface sediment gases as indicators of subsurface hydrocarbons – examining the record in laboratory and field studies

Near-surface sediment gases are commonly examined in surface geochemistry surveys to evaluate subsurface hydrocarbon generation and entrapment. Sediment gases reside in interstitial spaces, bound to mineral or organic surfaces, and/or entrapped in carbonate inclusions. Characterizing migrated sediment gases with minimal compositional and isotopic fractionation is challenging, and different methods are currently in use to extract and analyze surface sediment gases. These methods have not been compared in controlled laboratory experiments. The key to calibration experiments is to know the charge gas composition and thus have a basis to evaluate the sediment gas extraction procedure.     

Ten best practices to strengthen stewardship and sharing of water science data in Canada

Water science data are a valuable asset that both underpins the original research project and bolsters new research questions, particularly in view of the increasingly complex water issues facing Canada and the world. Whilst there is general support for making data more broadly accessible, and a number of water science journals and funding agencies have adopted policies that require researchers to share data in accordance with the findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) principles, there are still questions about effective management of data to protect their usefulness over time. Incorporating data management practices and standards at the outset of a water science research project will enable researchers to efficiently locate, analyse and use data throughout the project lifecycle, and will ensure the data maintain their value after the project has ended. Here, some common misconceptions about data management are highlighted, along with insights and practical advice to assist established and early career water science researchers as they integrate data management best practices and tools into their research. Freely available tools and training opportunities made available in Canada through Global Water Futures, The Gordon Foundation DataStream, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada Portage Network, Compute Canada, and university libraries, among others are compiled. These include webinars, training videos, and individual support for the water science community that together enable researchers to protect their data assets and meet the expectations of journals and funders. The perspectives shared here have been developed as part of the Global Water Futures programme's efforts to improve data management and promote the use of common data practices and standards in the context of water science in Canada. Ten best practices are proposed that may be broadly applicable to other disciplines in the natural sciences and can be adopted and adapted globally.     

Community geography for precarious researchers: examining the intricacies of mutually beneficial and co-produced knowledge

At the center of community geography is a commitment to mutually beneficial and co-produced knowledge. While the intricacies of managing these two commitments are often well-articulated for community partners, university faculty and their undergraduate students, the experiences of precariously positioned researchers (such as graduate students or those who work outside the university) remain under-examined. Therefore, through a reflection on the authors’ personal experiences facilitating community geography projects, this paper takes seriously the experiences of precariously positioned researchers. We highlight how the privileging of co-production creates moments of dissonance for precariously placed researcher’s experiences of mutually beneficial research. We argue that precarity, particularly when paired with privilege, results in heightened feelings of risk that may lead researchers to compromise their own ethics or values to ensure both the ongoing continuation of the partnership and the desired goals of the community partners. As we work to further establish community geography, we call for more nuanced considerations of how the entanglements fostered through co-production impact experiences of mutually beneficial research for differently positioned researchers, particularly for those situated within in the neoliberal university.

     

Dayglow emissions of the O2 Herzberg bands and the Rayleigh backscattered spectrum of the earth

Numerous fluorescent emissions from the Herzberg bands of molecular oxygen lie in the spectral region 242–300 nm. This coincides with the wavelength range used by orbiting spectrometers which observe the Rayleigh backscattered spectrum of the earth for the purpose of monitoring the vertical distribution of stratospheric ozone. Model calculations indicate that Herzberg band emissions in the dayglow could provide significant contamination of the ozone measurements if the quenching rate of O₂(A³Σ) is sufficiently small. This is especially true near 255 nm, where the most intense fluorescent emissions relative to the Rayleigh scattered signal are located and where past satellite measurements show a persistent excess radiance above that expected for a pure ozone absorbing and molecular scattering atmosphere. However, very small quenching rates are adequate to reduce the dayglow emission to negligible levels. Available laboratory data have not definitely established the quenching on the rate of O₂(A³Σ) as a function of vibrational level, and such information is required before the Herzberg band contributions can be evaluated with confidence.     

Debris avalanches and debris flows transformed from collapses in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico – behavior, and implications for hazard assessment

Volcanoes of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) have yielded numerous sector and flank collapses during Pleistocene and Holocene times. Sector collapses associated with magmatic activity have yielded debris avalanches with generally limited runout extent (e.g. Popocatépetl, Jocotitlán, and Colima volcanoes). In contrast, flank collapses (smaller failures not involving the volcano summit), both associated and unassociated with magmatic activity and correlating with intense hydrothermal alteration in ice-capped volcanoes, commonly have yielded highly mobile cohesive debris flows (e.g. Pico de Orizaba and Nevado de Toluca volcanoes). Collapse orientation in the TMVB is preferentially to the south and northeast, probably reflecting the tectonic regime of active E–W and NNW faults. The differing mobilities of the flows transformed from collapses have important implications for hazard assessment. Both sector and flank collapse can yield highly mobile debris flows, but this transformation is more common in the cases of the smaller failures. High mobility is related to factors such as water content and clay content of the failed material, the paleotopography, and the extent of entrainment of sediment during flow (bulking). The ratio of fall height to runout distance commonly used for hazard zonation of debris avalanches is not valid for debris flows, which are more effectively modeled with the relation inundated area to failure or flow volume coupled with the topography of the inundated area.     

Further testing of the Integrated Hydrology Model (InHM): event‐based simulations for a small rangeland catchment located near Chickasha,Oklahoma

In the paper that is the foundation for this study, VanderKwaak and Loague (2001. Water Resources Research 37 : 999–1013) reported a demonstration of a fully coupled comprehensive physics‐based hydrologic‐response model, InHM (Integrated Hydrology Model), for two rainfall‐runoff events from the small rangeland catchment known as R‐5. The InHM simulations reported herein address (in three phases) limitations in the VanderKwaak and Loague (2001. Water Resources Research 37 : 999–1013) simulations. In Phase I, a new finite‐element mesh was selected to represent R‐5. In Phase II, with the new mesh in place, evaporation was considered for the R‐5 events. In Phase III, with the new mesh in place and evaporation considered, the geology of R‐5 was approximated. Each phase, compared with the results reported by VanderKwaak and Loague (2001. Water Resources Research 37 : 999–1013), shows a change in the simulated near‐surface response. The performance of InHM for 15 R‐5 events is also reported herein. The results from two stages of model calibration are presented. The uncertainty in initial soil‐water content estimates for event‐based simulation is shown to be a major limitation for physics‐based models. The performance of InHM, relative to past event‐based simulation efforts with a quasi‐physically based rainfall‐runoff model, is better for both peak stormflow and the time to peak stormflow, but worse for stormflow depth. The InHM simulations reported here set the stage for continuous simulation of near‐surface response for the R‐5 catchment with InHM. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of methods to collect and analyze gasoline range (C5–C12) hydrocarbons from seabed sediments as indicators of subsurface hydrocarbon generation and entrapment

Gasoline range hydrocarbons (C₅–C₁₂) are usually associated with petroleum generation, yet few surface geochemical surveys have attempted to evaluate the gasoline range hydrocarbons in near-surface marine sediments. This is due to the difficulty in capturing and analyzing this volatile range of hydrocarbons with minimum loss and evaporative fractionation. In this study, a Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (HSPME) method was developed and evaluated for the purpose of capturing the gasoline range of hydrocarbons within unconsolidated sediment using a solventless protocol.