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Piloting urban ecosystem accounting for the United States

In this study, we develop urban ecosystem accounts in the U.S., using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) framework. Most ecosystem accounts focus on regional and national scales, which are appropriate for many ecosystem services. However, ecosystems provide substantial services in cities, improving quality of life and contributing to resili
Authors
Mehdi Heris, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Charles Rhodes, Austin Troy, Ariane Middel, Kristina G. Hopkins, John Matuszak

National ecosystem services classification system (NESCS) plus

No abstract available.
Authors
Tammy Newcomer-Johnson, Faye Andrews, Joel Corona, Theodore H. DeWitt, Matthew C. Harwell, Charles Rhodes, Paul Ringold, Marc J. Russell, Paramita Sinha, George Van Houtven

Memorial to Waite Osterkamp 1939-2020

No abstract available.
Authors
Julio L. Betancourt, John R. Gray, Cliff R. Hupp, Wijlliam W. Emmett, Terry Toy

Farmer behavior under groundwater management scenarios: Implications for groundwater conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Concern about sustained availability of fresh groundwater for agricultural use in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) mounts as groundwater levels decline. We evaluate elasticities of demand for groundwater and other agricultural inputs, as well as overall and output specific economies of scale for four major irrigated commodities (rice, corn, soybeans, and cotton) in the MAP region. Additionally
Authors
Mustapha Alhassan, Emily J. Pindilli, Collin B Lawrence

Scenarios for valuing sample information in natural resources

Uncertainty is ubiquitous in natural resource systems, science and management. Sample data are obtained in order to reduce uncertainty, thereby increasing knowledge and improving resource management, but sampling always comes at a cost of some sort. Is that cost worthwhile? Analysis of the value of sample information (VSI) addresses this question.In this paper we develop the valuation of sample in
Authors
Byron K. Williams, Eleanor D. Brown

Supporting natural resource-management decisions — The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) — 2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop

The second U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Economics Training Workshop (hereafter “Workshop”) was held during September 25–27, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support DOI’s mission. Building on the first workshop in 2017, the second Workshop, jointly convened by the DOI Office of Policy Analysis and the
Authors
Mustapha Alhassan, Emily J. Pindilli, Christian S.L. Crowley, Carl D. Shapiro, Benjamin M. Simon

Economic valuation of health benefits from using geologic data to communicate radon risk potential

Background: Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide and represents a major health concern within and outside the United States. Mitigating exposure to radon is especially critical in places with high rates of tobacco smoking (e.g., Kentucky, USA), as radon-induced lung cancer is markedly greater among people exposed to tobacco smoke. Despite homes being a common source
Authors
Scott J. Chiavacci, Carl D. Shapiro, Emily J. Pindilli, Clyde F. Casey, Mary Kay Rayens, Amanda T. Wiggins, William M. Andrews, Ellen J. Hahn

Climate dipoles as continental drivers of plant and animal populations

Ecological processes, such as migration and phenology, are strongly influenced by climate variability. Studying these processes often relies on associating observations of animals and plants with climate variability indices, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. A characteristic of climate indices is the simultaneous emergence of opposite extremes of temperature and precipitation across contin
Authors
Benjamin Zuckerberg, Courtenay Strong, Jalene LaMontagne, Scott St. George, Julio L. Betancourt, Walter D. Koenig

Paleo-metagenomics of North American fossil packrat middens: Past biodiversity revealed by ancient DNA

Fossil rodent middens are powerful tools in paleoecology. In arid parts of western North America, packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens preserve plant and animal remains for tens of thousands of years. Midden contents are so well preserved that fragments of endogenous ancient DNA (aDNA) can be extracted and analyzed across millennia. Here, we explore the use of shotgun metagenomics to study the aDNA obta
Authors
Grace Moore, Michael Tessler, Seth Cunningham, Julio L. Betancourt, Robert Harbert

Multi-resource analysis: A proof of concept study of natural resource tradeoffs in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, using the net resources assessment (NetRA) decision support tool

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing a multi-resource analysis (MRA) line of products to inform land-use decision makers. Specifically, MRA products will integrate scientific information, include considerations for natural resource interrelations, and quantify the effects of resource management decisions in biophysical, economic, and societal terms. As part of the estab
Authors
Richard Bernknopf, Craig Broadbent, Dadhi Adhikari, Saleh Mamun, Vince Tidwell, Christopher Babis, Emily J. Pindilli

Employing an ecosystem services framework to deliver decision ready science

Public land managers have limited information to allow for the integration and balancing of multiple objectives in land management decisions including the social (cultural and health), economic (monetary and nonmonetary), and environmental aspects. In this article, we document an approach to consider the many facets of decision making by incorporating them into a decision context using an ecosyst
Authors
Emily J. Pindilli, Dianna M. Hogan, Zhiliang Zhu

Sampling and analysis frameworks for inference in ecology

1. Reliable statistical inference is central to ecological research, much of which seeks to estimate population attributes and their interactions. The issue of sampling design and its relationship to inference has become increasingly important due to rapid proliferation of modeling methodology (line transect modeling, capture-recapture, estimation of occurrence, model selection procedures, hierarc
Authors
Byron K. Williams, Eleanor D. Brown