A Framework for Assessing Collaborative Capacity in Community-Based Public Forest Management

Community-based collaborative groups involved in public natural resource management are assuming greater roles in planning, project implementation, and monitoring. This entails the capacity of collaborative groups to develop and sustain new organizational structures, processes, and strategies, yet there is a lack of understanding what constitutes collaborative capacity. In this paper, we present a framework for assessing collaborative capacities associated with community-based public forest management in the US. The framework is inductively derived from case study research and observations of 30 federal forest-related collaborative efforts. Categories were cross-referenced with literature on collaboration across a variety of contexts. The framework focuses on six arenas of collaborative action: (1) organizing, (2) learning, (3) deciding, (4) acting, (5) evaluating, and (6) legitimizing. Within each arena are capacities expressed through three levels of social agency: individuals, the collaborative group itself, and participating or external organizations. The framework provides a language and set of organizing principles for understanding and assessing collaborative capacity in the context of community-based public forest management. The framework allows groups to assess what capacities they already have and what more is needed. It also provides a way for organizations supporting collaboratives to target investments in building and sustaining their collaborative capacities. The framework can be used by researchers as a set of independent variables against which to measure collaborative outcomes across a large population of collaborative efforts.     

An energy systems view of sustainability: emergy evaluation of the San Luis Basin, Colorado

Energy Systems Theory (EST) provides a framework for understanding and interpreting sustainability. EST implies that "what is sustainable" for a system at any given level of organization is determined by the cycles of change originating in the next larger system and within the system of concern. The pulsing paradigm explains the ubiquitous cycles of change that apparently govern ecosystems, rather than succession to a steady state that is then sustainable. Therefore, to make robust decisions among environmental policies and alternatives, decision-makers need to know where their system resides in the cycles of change that govern it. This theory was examined by performing an emergy evaluation of the sustainability of a regional system, the San Luis Basin (SLB), CO. By 1980, the SLB contained a climax stage agricultural system with well-developed crop and livestock production along with food and animal waste processing. The SLB is also a hinterland in that it exports raw materials and primary products (exploitation stage) to more developed areas. Emergy indices calculated for the SLB from 1995 to 2005 revealed changes in the relative sustainability of the system over this time. The sustainability of the region as indicated by the renewable emergy used as a percent of total use declined 4%, whereas, the renewable carrying capacity declined 6% over this time. The Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI) showed the largest decline (27%) in the sustainability of the region. The total emergy used by the SLB, a measure of system well-being, was fairly stable (CV?=?0.05). In 1997, using renewable emergy alone, the SLB could support 50.7% of its population at the current standard of living, while under similar conditions the U.S. could support only 4.8% of its population. In contrast to other indices of sustainability, a new index, the Emergy Sustainable Use Index (ESUI), which considers the benefits gained by the larger system compared to the potential for local environmental damage, increased 34% over the period.     

A simple model to assess nitrogen and phosphorus contamination in ungauged surface drainage networks: application to the Massaciuccoli Lake Catchment, Italy

Modeling is a common practice to evaluate factors affecting water quality in environmental systems impaired by point and nonpoint losses of N and P. Nevertheless, in situations with inadequate information, such as ungauged basins, a balance between model complexity and data availability is necessary. In this paper, we applied a simplified analytical model to an artificially drained floodplain in central-western Italy to evaluate the importance of different nutrient sources and in-stream retention processes and to identify critical source areas. We first considered only a set of chemical concentrations in water measured from February through May 2008 and from November 2008 through February 2009. We then broadened available data to include water discharge and hydraulic-head measurements to construct a hydrogeological model using MODFLOW-2000 and to evaluate the reliability of the simplified method. The simplified model provided acceptable estimates of discharge (ranging from 0.03-0.75 m s) and diffuse nutrient inputs from water table discharge and in-stream retention phenomena. Estimates of PO-P and total P retention (ranging from 1.0 to 0.6 μg m s and from 1.18 to 0.95 μg m s for PO-P and total P, respectively) were consistent with the range of variability in literature data. In contrast, the higher temporal variability of nitrate concentrations decreased model accuracy, suggesting the need for more intensive monitoring. The model also separated the dynamics of different reaches of the drainage network and identified zones considered critical source areas and buffer zones where pollutant transport is reduced.     

Precision placement of separated dairy sludge improves early phosphorus nutrition and growth in corn ( L.)

Efficient use of manure nutrients by crops is necessary to minimize losses to the environment. This field study examined the possibility of replacing side-banded mineral P with precision-placed high-P sludge (6.2-11.0% dry matter) obtained after settling dairy manure slurry. The sludge was injected at about 30 kg P ha (36.0-51.2 m ha) into the soil at corn row spacing, and the corn was planted 5, 10, and 15 cm beside the injection furrow. Controls included no added P and side-banded commercial P fertilizer. The treatments were tested on corn with low and high root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM). The study showed that sludge did not impede AM root colonization, corn germination, or seedling growth. Corn plants with both high and low levels of AM colonization responded to the sludge from the three-leaf stage and showed the greatest benefit at the six-leaf stage. Corn responded more to sludge placed at 5 than at 15 cm from the corn rows, whereas the response at the 10-cm spacing was intermediate. There was little difference in seedling growth or final harvest parameters between the side-banded fertilizer P and the 5-cm sludge treatment. The results show a new way to use manure nutrients, namely precision-placement sludge for corn. This may obviate the need for chemical fertilizers for improving farm nutrient balances. Other anticipated benefits are less energy use for hauling and injection of the sludge fraction and reduced risk of nutrient loss by runoff and volatilization (ammonia) and nuisance odors due to injection.     

Investigation of an Escherichia coli environmental benchmark for waterborne pathogens in agricultural watersheds in Canada

Canada's National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative sought to develop an environmental benchmark for low-level waterborne pathogen occurrence in agricultural watersheds. A field study collected 902 water samples from 27 sites in four intensive agricultural watersheds across Canada from 2005 to 2007. Four of the sites were selected as reference sites away from livestock and human fecal pollution sources in each watershed. Water samples were analyzed for Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and the water quality indicator E. coli. The annual mean number of pathogen species was higher at agricultural sites (1.54 ± 0.07 species per water sample) than at reference sites (0.75 ± 0.14 species per water sample). The annual mean concentration of E. coli was also higher at agricultural sites (491 ± 96 colony-forming units [cfu] 100 mL(-1)) than at reference sites (53 ± 18 cfu 100 mL(-1)). The feasibility of adopting existing E. coli water quality guideline values as an environmental benchmark was assessed, but waterborne pathogens were detected at agricultural sites in 80% of water samples with low E. coli concentrations (<100 cfu 100 mL(-1)). Instead, an approach was developed based on using the natural background occurrence of pathogens at reference sites in agricultural watersheds to derive provisional environmental benchmarks for pathogens at agricultural sites. The environmental benchmarks that were derived were found to represent E. coli values lower than geometric mean values typically found in recreational water quality guidelines. Additional research is needed to investigate environmental benchmarks for waterborne pathogens within the context of the "One World, One Health" perspective for protecting human, domestic animal, and wildlife health.     

The Control of an Invasive Bivalve, Corbicula fluminea, Using Gas Impermeable Benthic Barriers in a Large Natural Lake

Anoxia can restrict species establishment in aquatic systems and the artificial promotion of these conditions can provide an effective control strategy for invasive molluscs. Low abundances (2-20 m(-2)) of the nonnative bivalve, Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), were first recorded in Lake Tahoe, CA-NV in 2002 and by 2010 nuisance-level population densities (>10,000 m(-2)) were observed. A non-chemical control method using gas impermeable benthic barriers to reduce dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations available to C. fluminea was tested in this ultra-oligotrophic natural lake. In 2009, the impact of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) sheets (9 m(2), n = 6) on C. fluminea beds was tested on 1-7 day intervals over a 56 day period (August-September). At an average water temperature of 18 °C, DO concentrations under these small barriers were reduced to zero after 72 h resulting in 100 % C. fluminea mortality after 28 days. In 2010, a large EPDM barrier (1,950 m(2)) was applied to C. fluminea populations for 120 days (July-November). C. fluminea abundances were reduced over 98 % after barrier removal, and remained significantly reduced (>90 %) 1 year later. Non-target benthic macroinvertebrate abundances were also reduced, with variable taxon-specific recolonization rates. High C. fluminea abundance under anoxic conditions increased the release of ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus from the sediment substrate; but levels of unionized ammonia were low at 0.004-0.005 mg L(-1). Prolonged exposure to anoxia using benthic barriers can provide an effective short term control strategy for C. fluminea.     

Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It?1

Kenney, Melissa A., Peter R. Wilcock, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Nicholas E. Flores, and Daniela C. Martínez, 2012. Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It? Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 603-615. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00635.x Abstract: Public investment in urban stream restoration is growing, yet little has been done to quantify whether its benefits outweigh its cost. The most common drivers of urban stream projects are water quality improvement and infrastructure protection, although recreational and aesthetic benefits are often important community goals. We use standard economic methods to show that these contributions of restoration can be quantified and compared to costs. The approach is demonstrated with a case study in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with a legal mandate to reduce its pollutant load. Typical urban stream restoration costs of US$500-1,200 per foot are larger than the cost of the least expensive alternatives for management of nitrogen loads from stormwater (here, detention ponds, equivalent to $30-120 per foot of restored stream) and for protecting infrastructure (rip-rap armoring of streambanks, at $0-120 per foot). However, the higher costs of stream restoration can in some cases be justified by its aesthetic and recreational benefits, valued using a contingent valuation survey at $560-1,100 per foot. We do not intend to provide a definitive answer regarding the worth of stream restoration, but demonstrate that questions of worth can be asked and answered. Broader application of economic analysis would provide a defensible basis for understanding restoration benefits and for making restoration decisions.     

Impact of Climate Change on Fish Population Dynamics in the Baltic Sea: A Dynamical Downscaling Investigation

Understanding how climate change, exploitation and eutrophication will affect populations and ecosystems of the Baltic Sea can be facilitated with models which realistically combine these forcings into common frameworks. Here, we evaluate sensitivity of fish recruitment and population dynamics to past and future environmental forcings provided by three ocean-biogeochemical models of the Baltic Sea. Modeled temperature explained nearly as much variability in reproductive success of sprat (Sprattus sprattus; Clupeidae) as measured temperatures during 1973-2005, and both the spawner biomass and the temperature have influenced recruitment for at least 50 years. The three Baltic Sea models estimate relatively similar developments (increases) in biomass and fishery yield during twenty-first century climate change (ca. 28 % range among models). However, this uncertainty is exceeded by the one associated with the fish population model, and by the source of global climate data used by regional models. Knowledge of processes and biases could reduce these uncertainties.     

The Water Table: The Shifting Foundation of Life on Land

Hyperarid, arid, and semi-arid lands represent over a third of the Earth’s land surface, and are home to over 38 % of the increasing world population. Freshwater is a limiting resource on these lands, and withdrawal of groundwater substantially exceeds recharge. Withdrawals of groundwater for expanding agricultural and domestic use severely limit water availability for groundwater dependent ecosystems. We examine here, with emphasis on quantitative data, case histories of groundwater withdrawals at widely differing scales, on three continents, that range from the impact of a few wells, to the outcomes of total appropriation of flow in a major river system. The case histories provide a glimpse of the immense challenge of replacing groundwater resources once they are severely depleted, and put into sharp focus the question whether the magnitude of the current and future human, economic, and environmental consequences and costs of present practices of groundwater exploitation are adequately recognized.