A method based on fatty acid (FA) analysis is used to profile microbial community structure (MCS). Various extraction protocols are available, which alter the types of FAs extracted from soils. The more time consuming but widely used protocol extracts only FAs from phospholipids (PLFA). This technique is desirable because PLFAs...
This dissertation investigates the relative importance of firm-specific and
geographic characteristics for export behavior in the Chilean primary and processed
food industries. The first essay develops a new method for measuring geographic
characteristics to account for economic activity in adjacent, but separate spatial units.
In the application to the Chilean...
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami raised concern among marine park managers and
hazard mitigation professionals about the significant impact of major coastal hazards
on marine park natural resources and ecosystems. The main reason for this concern is
the strong linkage of marine parks and their rich assortment of ecosystem services...
Solanum species differ in their degree of frost tolerance and cold acclimation capacity. Cultivated potato species of Solanum tuberosum L. are frost-sensitive, incapable of cold acclimation, and have a maximum freezing tolerance of –3°C. Solanum commersonii Dun is frost-tolerant and can survive to –5ºC pre-acclimation and –10ºC post-acclimation. Breeding attempts...
Has consumer activism been successful in its efforts to effect social, political, and economic changes and to empower consumers? This research seeks to answer this question by developing a viable evaluation framework for conceptualizing and measuring impacts of consumer activism. The Political Process Model and New Social Movement Theory provide...
According to USDA research, Oregon in 2002 had the highest rate of hunger and one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the United States. Although the margin of error involved with these statistics indicates that the state may not actually be at the top of the list, a...
The effect of nitrogen on influencing the competitive balance between a shrub, Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyolningensis (ARTRW) and a perennial grass Stipa
thurberiana (STTH) in a sagebrush steppe community was determined. Nitrogen levels were altered on 5x5 in plots by applying 4.5 gun2 of nitrogen in the form of ammonium...
The goal of this dissertation is to examine the effectiveness of high intensity-short duration goat browsing for the control of Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) and English ivy (Hedera helix), two widespread noxious weeds in the Pacific Northwest.
The effects of goat browsing on Himalayan blackberry vigor, as quantified by densities...
With Animal Welfare issues are becoming more prominent in the animal agriculture community, especially with the passing of California’s Proposition 2 during the November 2008 elections. This proposition, known as the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, mandates that laying hens, pigs and veal calves have the ability to stand...
The main objective of this study was to offer an alternative methodology for
forest sector modeling in developing economies. To this effect, a policy preference
function was developed and estimated using data from the forest sector of the Cote
d'Ivoire.
The justification for this alternative framework for forest sector analysis...