SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Living Snow Fence Site Preparation
Get PDFAfter the site assessment and design phases, it is important to properly prepare the site before planting a living snow fence. Investing adequate time and resources in thorough site preparation will improve growth rates and long-term survival. Site preparation will minimize the time it takes for a living snow fence to become effective, and maximize the return on investment. The practices listed in this fact sheet are considered best management practices that can be applied to all types of living snow fences. This includes all species of evergreen trees and woody shrubs recommended for living snow fences. The site preparation tasks summarized here can be followed in the order they appear to achieve sufficient site preparation and improve the health and vigor of living snow fences. Roadside environmental conditions can be stressful to plants in a number of ways. Site preparation improves site conditions as much as possible to give living snow fences an advantage over competing species in stressful roadside conditions
Spatial Knowledge and Landscape Cognition
Get PDFCity of canals, bikes, tulips, and stroopwafels. You\u27re here and it\u27s time to get going, time to see the city.But how do you get where you\u27re going, how do you find your way home. Follow a map? Ask for directions? Wander aimlessly until you give up and decide to pay for a cab? This report looks at how we place ourselves in our surroundings, how we communicate spatial relationships and what implications our spatial knowledge has on our understanding of the world
Molecular Investigation of the Bioluminescent Fungus Mycena chlorophos: Comparison between a Vouchered Museum Specimen and Field Samples from Taiwan
Get PDFThere are 71 species of bioluminescent fungi belonging to at least three distinct evolutionary lineages. Mycena chlorophos is a bioluminescent species that is distributed in tropical climates, especially in Southeastern Asia, and the Pacific. This research examined Mycena chlorophos from Taiwan using molecular techniques to compare the identity of a named museum specimens and field samples. For this research, field samples were collected in Taiwan and compared with a specimen provided by the National Museum of Natural Science, Taiwan (NMNS). Specific locations for collection were chosen based on previous GIS data provided by NMNS. FTA DNA extraction cards were used to collect fresh DNA from fruiting bodies. The samples were brought back to the lab at SUNY-ESF located in Syracuse, N. Y. where DNA extraction, PCR amplification and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS region) were performed. The ITS region, or fungal barcode was sequenced from these PCR products. The RFLP patterns and ITS sequences showed that the field samples and museum specimen were probably the same species, supported by BLAST search in Genbank. This study has raised questions about the mechanisms of long distance fungal spore dispersal, and suggests possible future research in taxonomic and interdisciplinary study of Mycena chlorophos
The behavioral effects of boat noise on fish populations in Oneida Lake, NY
Get PDFThe impacts of boat noise on various fish species have gained an increasing amount of attention in the scientific community. The objective of this experiment was to determine the behavioral effects of boat noise on fish populations in Oneida Lake. A second objective was to analyze the frequency and audibility of boat noise and compare normal conditions to those during a bass tournament. An underwater camera was used to capture fish behavior and a hydrophone was used to simultaneously record boat noise at the Oneida Lake Shore Park boat launch. A 1–sided paired test determined no significant increase in the number of fish present (p=0.107), the number of swimming fish (p=0.097), and the number of stationary fish (p=0.312) between periods of no boat noise and periods of boat noise. A 1-sided t-test found no significant increase in the number of boats (p=0.212) or in the audibility (p=0.402) or presence (p=0.498) of boats during the bass tournament. These results could imply that these fish have habituated to boat noise or are minimally affected due to low hearing sensitivity. Due to the potential to alter ecosystem functioning, it is important to determine how anthropogenic disturbances such as boat noise can impact the biology of fish populations and to monitor increases in noise pollution over time
Planting Living Snow Fences
Get PDFTwo general categories of plant materials, rooted and unrooted, can be used for living snow fences. The planting techniques used with rooted plant materials are different from the techniques used with unrooted plant materials. Types of rooted planting stock include balled & burlapped (B&B), potted, bareroot, and seedlings. Types of unrooted planting stock include species that can be planted as single stem cuttings without pre-formed roots such as shrub-willows. Step by step planting techniques for both rooted and unrooted stock are provided in this fact sheet in the general order they should be performed
Identifying Communities of Concern: A Tract Level Analysis of the Food Landscape in Syracuse, New York
Get PDFFood security is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as access by all members of the household to enough food to live an active, healthy life at all times. Food security has also been identified as an important public health concern, subsequently amplifying interest in identifying communities with limited accessibility to quality food retailers. The primary focus of this analysis was to identify communities of heightened food security concern in Syracuse, NY based on three measures of physical accessibility: proximity to the nearest grocer, diversity of grocers within 1km, and variety of grocers based on the average distance to the three nearest grocers; and social deprivation. Further, I hypothesized areas with the greatest social deprivation would also exhibit reduced physical accessibility to quality food retailers. Spatial analysis was conducted using Environmental Systems Research Inc. (ESRI) ArcMap 10 software. Twenty-five percent of census tracts throughout Syracuse exhibit high or very high food security concern. These communities are clustered predominantly in the southern portion of the city, although additional areas of concern can be found in the northwest and eastern parts of Syracuse. Although the majority of these communities exhibit high levels of social deprivation, some also illustrate the lowest levels of deprivation. As a result, the communities of food security concern identified through this analysis are not representative of traditional “food deserts,” but rather a combination of “food deserts” and “food hinterlands.” There was no correlation between social deprivation and physical accessibility to quality food retailers observed within this analysis
Investigation on Emissions from Buses with Compressed Natural Gas and Diesel Engines
Get PDFThis project investigated the chemical composition of exhaust emissions from buses with three types of engines and estimated annual emissions of key compounds including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ethyne (C2H2), ethane (C2H6), ethene (C2H4), propane (C3H8), and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from buses in the city of Syracuse. Exhaust samples were taken from one bus with a CNG ISL engine, one with a diesel ISL engine, and the final one with a C Gas plus engine in the idling, cruising, acceleration, and deceleration modes. The emissions were estimated both in kg per year and kg per km over three CENTRO bus routes that service the Syracuse University area. Carbon dioxide was the most dominant chemical in the exhaust emissions for all engines over all the routes, and the diesel engine produced the most out of the three engine types. The diesel engine had the highest CO2 mixing ratio with a value of 304,501 ppmv when cruising. That value is 295,879 ppmv above the next largest mixing ratio, which was emitted by the diesel engine when decelerating and was equal to 8,622 ppmv. The diesel created 2.27 x 109 kg CO2 for a single bus per year. The second most dominant chemical was methane. The C Gas Plus created the most CH4 with a cruising mode mixing ratio of 273 ppmv. It released 3.26 x 105 kg of methane per year. Of the VOCs, C3H8 had the highest mixing ratio for a given engine running mode in more cases than any of the others. Those cases were when the C Gas Plus was idling (7.0403 ppmv), the diesel was accelerating (11.497 ppmv), and when the C Gas Plus was cruising (8.7813 ppmv). Ethene produced by the C Gas Plus engine had the highest mixing ratio for deceleration (7.2748 ppmv). The CNG ISL produced 2.56 x 107 kg of emissions per year, the diesel created 2.27 x 109 kg/yr, and the C Gas Plus made 2.43 x 107 kg/yr
Norway Spruce Living Snow Fence-2 (2013)
No full textNorway Spruce Living Snow Fence along Route 28 (Columbia Center, NY)https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1030/thumbnail.jp
Small Mammal Bait Preference and Methods of Population Size Estimation in Subarctic and Arctic Ecosystems
Get PDFSmall mammals are commonly captured in baited traps for management-related estimates of population size and species diversity. Bait preferences by species may alter their trappability, affecting abundance or diversity estimates. Here our objective was to evaluate whether the trappability of different species varied according to bait type at 3 sites in interior Alaska. Between July and August of 2011, we deployed 200 Sherman live-traps spaced 10 meters apart at each site for 5 nights, and alternated 2 commonly used baits (a peanut butter/oat mixture or oats alone). We live-captured 52 animals of 6 species at the White Mountains site, 70 animals of 4 species at the Middle Tanana site, and 40 animals of 4 species at the Brooks Range site. We then tested for differences in initial capture and recapture rates using a McNemar’s test. No significant differences were observed between bait types for any variable or species. A machine-learning program, TreeNet, provided further evidence that bait type explained less variance and was less predictive of the initial capture or recapture of a species than elevation, ground cover, or shrub cover. Thus, estimates of relative abundance and species diversity should be robust across studies, although different baits than those tested may have greater effects for certain small mammal groups. Further investigation should be pursued into whether this lack of preference is a result of food limitations caused by a short growing season in higher latitudes
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Bike Library Program
Get PDFMany cities and universities around the world are considering bike share and bike library programs in their sustainability plans. In such programs bikes are made available for participants to check out from a designated location and use for an allocated amount of time. As seniors we realized how heavily we have relied on our bikes these past four years. Overall, biking is very popular on campus, and a program that allows students to check out bikes for very low costs allows our campus to implement sustainable practices and encourages biking. During this project we studied bike share programs in the United States and around the world. We researched aspects of bike share programs including size, costs, and overall benefits. Cities have reported benefits including improved fitness of residents, decreased CO2 emissions, decreased need for vehicular parking, and increased pressure to improve bike infrastructure. In addition, this program offers a sustainable solution to some of the challenges ESF will face in the future such as parking constraints. In order to create a successful program at SUNY ESF we conducted surveys, made general observations about bike transportation, and talked to various administrators. In the end, we developed a bike library program to fit the needs and constraints of SUNY ESF. In doing so, we hope to increase accessibility and connectivity between the campus and other areas of interest such as grocery stores, cultural points, and the city. We expect our program to expand as ridership increases, spreading to the rest of university hill and beyond