Theses and Dissertations - Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship
Recent Submissions
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Pastoral development in the Sahel
Ecological, geographic, economic and anthropological literature pertaining to the Sahel is reviewed in order to provide a basis for pastoral development policy. Great variability in annual primary production is the principal ... -
Disturbance promotes native bee biodiversity in a southwestern ponderosa pine forest
Native bees are critical components of ecosystems where they provide an estimated 85% of pollination services. In recent decades, reports of global decline in bee populations have drawn concern from conservationists, ... -
Policy tools for carnivore reintroduction: lessons learned from past wolf reintroductions in the western United States
In November 2020, Colorado citizens passed a historic vote to reintroduce gray wolves to the state. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), the state wildlife agency, was tasked with creating management plans and policy. Wildlife ... -
From the tree to the forest: the influence of a sparse canopy on stand scale snow water equivalent
The canopy of an individual tree has a negative effect on the accumulation of snow around tree boles, resulting in a decrease in snow depth inward from the edge of the canopy to the tree trunk. This influence of trees on ... -
Geostatistical methods for estimating snowmelt contribution to the seasonal water balance in an alpine watershed
The performance of nine spatial interpolation models was evaluated to estimate snowmelt contributions to streamflow in the West Glacier Lake watershed (0.61 km2), in the Snowy Range Mountains of Wyoming. Streamflow from ... -
Snowpack depletion modeling using fast all-season soil strength (FASST) and SnowModel in a high-elevation, high relief catchment in the central Rocky Mountains
In the western United States, snowmelt from mountain basins has historically provided 70-90% of annual runoff and the winter snowpack acts as a reservoir to store water for spring and summer soil moisture and stream recharge. ... -
Instream flow methodologies: an evaluation of the Tennant method for higher gradient streams in the national forest system lands in the western U.S.
In 1976 Donald Tennant introduced a method for determining instream flow requirements for fish, known as the 'Montana method', or more commonly the Tennant method. The method uses a percentage of average annual flow (AAF) ... -
Assessment of digital land cover maps for hydrological modeling of the Yampa River Basin, Colorado, USA
In order to produce satisfactory results from hydrologic models, it is imperative to use good input data. Today there is a multitude of different land cover maps available, and determining which input data map for the model ... -
Evaluation of ultrasonic snow depth sensors for automated surface observing systems (ASOS)
In the 1990's the National Weather Service deployed automated surface observing systems at hundreds of airport locations across the country. Prior to the automation, human observers made snow observations every six hours. ... -
Modeling approach to estimating snow cover depletion and soil moisture recharge in a semi-arid climate at two NASA CLPX, A
Snow cover depletion and soil moisture recharge are small segments, but crucial hydrological components for cryospheric regions of the earth. The abilities of a one-dimensional mass and energy balance model (SNTHERM) to ... -
Effects of input data degradation on hydrological model performance for a snowmelt dominated watershed, The
The quality and quantity of hydrometeorological data used as input to a hydrologic model is varied and the output compared to observed historical flows. Temperature and precipitation data were used to feed the National ... -
Linked livelihoods, land-use, and identities on transitioning landscapes in northeastern Colorado: a social-ecological study
To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document. -
Effects of post-fire logging on microclimate and surface fuels, The
Wildfire is increasing in size and severity in forests of the western US, driven by climate change and land management practices during the 20th century. Altered fire regimes have resulted in a greater need for knowledge ... -
Wildfire-water supply risk in montane watersheds of Colorado: baseline assessment and evaluation of mitigation strategies
This is a multi-part dissertation examining wildfire-water supply risks and the mitigation effectiveness of land and fire management solutions. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 were prepared independently for publication elsewhere. ... -
Mapping values at risk, assessing building loss and evaluating stakeholder expectations of wildfire mitigation in the wildland-urban interface
The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is an area where residential development extends into undeveloped land. When WUI development occurs in hazard-prone fire-adapted ecosystems, wildfires can have detrimental impacts on human ... -
Building a prescribed fire program on the Colorado Front Range: the role of landowner engagement
Despite recognition of the value of prescribed fire in scientific literature and policy, a number of factors impede its widespread implementation in the United States. Social acceptance of prescribed fire is a key factor, ... -
Ecological effects of multiple disturbances on subalpine forest structure and recovery in a changing climate, The
Due to the shifting global climate, the severity, size, and frequency of climate-driven disturbances are increasing, inevitably causing disturbances to interact in time and space. Bark beetle epidemics and wildfires have ... -
Trampling by cattle negatively impacts invasive yellow-flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) under flooded conditions
Yellow-Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus L.) is a non-native, invasive wetland plant in North America that disrupts riparian ecosystem processes. Due to its physiological and morphological characteristics, I. pseudacorus has the ... -
Evaluation of UAS flight parameters for rapid monitoring of forest characteristics
Forest managers are increasingly turning to finer spatial and temporal resolution data for monitoring forest structure in a rapidly changing world. Traditionally utilized networks of field plots for inventorying forest ... -
Unmanned aerial systems for forest structure mapping: assessments of area-based and individual tree monitoring
Characterization of forest structure is important for management-related decision making, especially in the wake of disturbance. Increasingly, observations of forest structure are needed at both finer resolution and across ...
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