SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Census Data Extractor A toolset to select and save U.S. Census data
Get PDFTo help communities better understand and manage urban forests, the USDA Forest Service has developed the i-Tree software suite (www.itreetools.org). To include demographic data in future versions of i-Tree, the Forest Service sought a simpler way to obtain geographically-linked data from the U.S. Census Bureau. At present, the Census Bureau has not provided a way to efficiently download specific statistics for large areas. Data from the Census Bureau website is typically spread across many data files, none of which have headers or other ways to quickly reference the data. To minimize errors from manually retrieving and collating the data, I designed the Census Data Extractor, a toolset that uses the R and Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programs. In the VBA portion, the user selects the statistics that they want from a graphical user interface, and several output files are generated. In the R portion, the VBA output files are accessed and the selected statistics for each data report are consolidated into a single text file. The toolset can be used to obtain data from the 2010 Decennial Census and the 2006-2010 American Communities Survey 5-Year Estimates, which contain the most up-to-date, detailed information available. A case study is presented where demographic data is obtained and compared to tree health data within the City of Syracuse, NY
Bee and Wasp Species Diversity at a Restored Wetland in Seneca Falls, New York
Get PDFWhen monitoring the health and any changes in an ecosystem, having a baseline of species present in the area is important to be able to monitor changes over time. I was interested in the bee and wasp species richness at the Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve in Seneca Falls, New York as it is a five year old restored wetland with a diverse range of habitat types. I hypothesized that the esker habitat, at the crux between wetland and upland habitat would have the greatest species richness. Using cup traps and sweep netting, I obtained and identified specimens from five major wetland types observed at the wetland. I found a total of 34 bee and wasp species, but could not detect any significant differences between habitat types
Suppress Competing Vegetation around Willow Snow Fence
No full textMowing around willow living snow fences until plants are well established (1 - 2 growing seasons) ensures plant survival and rapid growth rates.https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1011/thumbnail.jp
Dutchscape: Analyzing Landscape Infrastructure in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Get PDFThis project examines the potential of landscape infrastructure integration of transport infrastructure into public space in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, via supporting case studies. The case studies include a hybrid office space at Tussen de Bogen, a green corridor at Churchill-laan, and an innovative stormwater management . landscape at Rietlandpark station. Case studies are comprehensively described with diagrams and supportive images for repositioning infrastructure as a viable medium for addressing issues of transit, urbanism, and ecology. A fourth site at Sloterdijk Station will showcase a conceptual design based on landscape infrastructure principles
Out with the Old, In with the New? Comparing the effectiveness and visitor attitudes between a digital trail guide and a traditional paper booklet for self-guided interpretive walks at the Adirondack Interpretive Center
Get PDFWhile the impact and use of technology in our everyday lives are significantly increasing, the impact of nature is in great decline. Society has become more interested in staying connected via smartphones and computers and less comfortable with or fascinated by the outdoors. This declining attention to the outdoors has led to a large disconnect between society nature and numerous human actions that threaten the wellbeing of our environment. These trends suggest a potential role technology can play in interpretive efforts to reestablish society’s connection with nature. To assess this possibility, a digital trail guide was constructed using a preexisting paper booklet created for self-guided interpretive walks along the Sucker Brook Trail at the Adirondack Interpretive Center (AIC) in Newcomb, NY. The goal of developing this digital guide was to compare its effectiveness and reception by visitors with that of the traditional paper booklet. Assessment of visitor experiences and attitudes were to be measured using post-experiences surveys of either form of the walk. The lack of wireless internet and cell phone service along AIC’s trails presented initial challenges in the development of the digital guide. The unforeseen challenge of inconsistent compatibilities of PDF Portfolios on computers and handheld devices delayed implementation of the digital trial booklet and the associated data collection. Despite this, this research project has important implications in interpretive product design and raises an interesting aspect in the debate among interpreters regarding the role technology should play in these fields. Further research and development of the digital trail guide will be essential in completion of this research project
Relationships Between Overstory and Understory Tree Composition and Light Environment in an Old Growth Forest, Adirondacks, NY
Get PDFDensity of tree seedlings and saplings can be considerably influenced by light availability and the overstory canopy composition. We examined whether forest understory light environment could be predicted by overstory composition in an old growth northern hardwood forest at Huntington Wildlife Forest in the central Adirondacks, NY. We also tested whether the overstory composition and light environment could be used to predict the understory tree composition. Existing continuous forest inventory data were used to quantify the overstory and we collected additional data on tree seedlings and saplings. We characterized the light environment using hemispherical canopy photography. Percent canopy openness was positively correlated with the proportion of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) in the overstory. Understory tree species richness was not predicted by light environment or by the overstory. Yet seedling and sapling density of certain tree species could be predicted by certain overstory characteristics. Density of understory beech was positively correlated with the proportion of overstory beech basal area; however, the densities of other tree species in the understory were not as well correlated with the proportion of overstory conspecifics. Understanding these relationships may help shed light on factors influencing regeneration dynamics in this Adirondack old growth forest. Additionally, since forests in the region have been impacted by beech bark disease the results of this study help elucidate the overstory-understory dynamics in the presence of this disturbance
Testing and Analyzing Surface Water Quality of Yue-Guan Canal in Yueqing, China
Get PDFThe rapid industrialization in eastern China has made great contributions to the growth of the country’s economy while also degrading the environmental quality. Yet the government is reluctant to release the environmental information to the public, resulting in a barrier for concerned citizens to participate. This study focuses on the water quality of Yue-Guan Canal in Yueqing, Zhejiang, where private rural enterprises have mushroomed since the 1980s. The objective of this study is to 1) test the water quality of the canal based on pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), copper (Cu), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and hexavalent chromium (Cr VI); 2) determine the relation between water quality and land use and land cover (LULC), and model the water quality of the whole canal based on LULC; and 3) make the information available to the public via an online geographic information system (GIS) platform. I chose six sampling sites along this 27 km canal, and collected samples on 3 workdays and 3 non-workdays in December 2012 and January 2013. I found an excess of NH3-N made the water samples of all sites fail to meet the national standards for Class V water. I created regression models for pH, TDS and Cu in relation to LULC, but all resulted in low R2 values, which may suggest point sources contribute more pollutants than non-point sources. I published the map and the data as a web application for the public
Living Snow Fence Design
Get PDFThe design of living snow fences involves several components. This fact sheet offers a general protocol for the basic elements of design: Fence Orientation, Snow Fall, Fetch Distance, Snow Transport, Required Height, Selecting a Design Age, Optical Porosity, Fence Capacity, and Setback. The general guidelines presented here are adapted from “Controlling blowing and drifting snow with snow fences and road design” (Tabler, 2003), and “Climatological analysis for snow mitigation in New York State” (Tabler, 2000). It is recommended that these sources be consulted to supplement the basic information provided in this fact sheet. After the site assessment phase has sufficiently identified the blowing/drifting snow problem at a site (see Fact Sheet #2 of this series and Chapter 4 in Tabler 2003), the steps in this fact sheet can be followed in the order in which they are presented to create a basic living snow fence design to address the problem. A case-study example from a real living snow fence designed using this step-by-step protocol is provided at the end of the fact sheet
Honeysuckle Living Snow Fence
No full textHoneysuckle Living Snow Fence along Route 167 (Manheim Center, NY)https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1029/thumbnail.jp
NC Brown Center Annual Report 2012-2013
Get PDFHighlights of the year July 1, 2012- June 30, 2013:
• Syracuse Asbestos Testing Laboratory Testing Services (SALTS) lab accreditation, Nov 30, 2012 by NYSDOH ELAP program (NYS Lab ID No. 12002)
• SALTS Fiber Counting Course- Robert P. Smith instructed and certified the first four graduates from ESF to complete the Phase Contrast Microscopy Fiber Analysis Course: Beth Ann Arthur, Tiffany Brookins-Little, Kaitlyn Smith and Jeremy Sullivan
• A proposal was submitted February 2013 to the NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program for a new transmission electron microscope. The proposal MRI: Acquisition of a Cryo Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscope seeks federal financial support for the acquisition of a cryo field emission scanning transmission electron microscope (FES/TEM) to replace the current 30 year old transmission electron microscope in the NC Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies at SUNY-ESF.
• New Class offered: Medical and Industrial Applications of Electron Microscopy as part of the new Microscopy Minor
• Offered NC Brown Ultrastructure Center expertise and services to the following businesses: United Corrstack, Lockheed Martin, Welch Allyn, Actuant Cortland Company, Ready Rubber Co, Syracuse Research Corporation, Upstate Freshwater Institute, Glantec Inspection Services, GYMO Engineering, JAG Corporation, Bronze Contracting, Watts Architecture and Engineering, Car-Freshner Corp., Winandy Associates, ABS; and more than 60 researchers (Appendix 1) from ESF, Syracuse University and Upstate Medical Hospital.
• St. John’s University donated film for the transmission electron microscope in the amount of $2000.
• Initiated FACES scheduling system for on-line log-in for ESF and outside users of the electron microscopes http://faces.ccrc.uga.edu/
• Thirty-two students, faculty and industrial clients used the TEM, while twenty-six used the Scanning EM. All users were multiple users. Users of the TEM recorded 1362 images.
• Class demonstrations were provided for courses at ESF: EFB 440 Mycology, EFB 104 Intro Biology, FCH 381 Instrumental Analysis (10 lectures/demonstrations