This dissertation consists of three essays that collectively address the importance of accounting for spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependence of environmental assets and natural resources in policy making. The first essay examines the value of different wetland ecosystem services using an expanded meta-dataset of valuation studies in North America. The...
In the study of rebuilding and recovery after natural disasters in the United States, little attention is paid to understanding how and why people rebuild following recurring, small-scale events, like wildfire. Hazard and risk literature, instead, is focused on understanding how larger communities with greater resources, economics, and social capital,...
Increasing grain yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a challenging task, because yield is a complex trait controlled by many genes and highly influenced by environmental factors. The genetic control of yield components and other traits associated with yield may be less complex and thus more manageable for breeding....
This dissertation consists of three essays on meta-analysis, benefit transfer and recreation use valuation. The first two essays were based on the sportsfishing valuation literature in the US and Canada while the third essay was based on a study
site in the Philippines and selected study sites from the US....
Riparian zones are ecotones between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Processes in streams are strongly influenced by riparian forest communities, age, stage and structure. Temperate forests across much of North America, including riparian areas, are recovering from historic land clearing with many stands in the stem-exclusion phase of development in which...