What drives private landowner decisions? Exploring non-native grass management in the eastern Great Plains.

Non-native grasses used as forage for domestic livestock can negatively impact ecosystem services provided by grasslands. In the U.S., most grazed grasslands are privately owned so the introduction and reduction of non-native grasses are both driven by landowner behavior. Yet, the social factors that shape non-native grass management are rarely explored. To address this knowledge gap, we evaluated how decisions to reduce these grasses through practices such as herbicide application, prescribed fire, and physical removal are influenced by attitudes, norms, and perceived ability. We administered a mixed mode (mailback and online) survey in 2017 to landowners in the eastern Great Plains of the U.S., in a region where cattle production remains the predominant land-use. Using structural equation modeling with parceling, we tested hypotheses related to management decisions derived from a model integrating two theories - the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model. In this analysis, we identified perceived ability (i.e., access to time, skills, or other necessary resources) as a barrier to adoption for landowners who were already willing to manage non-native grasses. Positive attitudes toward management and increased social norm pressures were both associated with increased sentiments of moral responsibility to reduce non-native grasses. These personal norms, together with attitudes, positively influenced willingness to control non-native grasses. Further, we observed that social norms related to expectations of neighbors had more influence on personal norms than the social norms from natural resource agencies. The power of norms to explain individual management decisions suggests that landowners could be engaged in landscape-scale initiatives by leveraging moral responsibility and influential social groups.

Upper midwest climate variations: farmer responses to excess water risks.

Persistent above average precipitation and runoff and associated increased sediment transfers from cultivated ecosystems to rivers and oceans are due to changes in climate and human action. The US Upper Midwest has experienced a 37% increase in precipitation (1958-2012), leading to increased crop damage from excess water and off-farm loss of soil and nutrients. Farmer adaptive management responses to changing weather patterns have potential to reduce crop losses and address degrading soil and water resources. This research used farmer survey ( = 4778) and climate data (1971-2011) to model influences of geophysical context, past weather, on-farm flood and saturated soils experiences, and risk and vulnerability perceptions on management practices. Seasonal precipitation varied across six Upper Midwest subregions and was significantly associated with variations in management. Increased warm-season precipitation (2007-2011) relative to the past 40 yr was positively associated with no-till, drainage, and increased planting on highly erodible land (HEL). Experience with saturated soils was significantly associated with increased use of drainage and less use of no-till, cover crops, and planting on HEL. Farmers in counties with a higher percentage of soils considered marginal for row crops were more likely to use no-till, cover crops, and plant on HEL. Respondents who sell corn through multiple markets were more likely to have planted cover crops and planted on HEL in 2011.This suggests that regional climate conditions may not well represent individual farmers' actual and perceived experiences with changing climate conditions. Accurate climate information downscaled to localized conditions has potential to influence specific adaptation strategies.

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: The Roles of Trust in Sources of Climate Information, Climate Change Beliefs, and Perceived Risk.

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers' trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management).

Elevated congenital heart disease birth prevalence rates found in Central Vietnam and dioxin TCDD residuals from the use of 2, 4, 5-T herbicides (Agent Orange) in the Da Nang region.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) birth prevalence rate in Da Nang City and two adjacent provinces in Central Vietnam reported by Giang et al. in 2019 was 20.09/1000 births, much higher than any CHD birth rates previously reported. In this current study, three physicians trained in pediatric cardiology reanalyzed and reclassified the Giang et al 2019 cardiac anomalies data, eliminating singular small PDAs and separating cardiac defects into 27 contemporary CHD subgroups. These CHD subgroups were then statistically compared with Liu et al. 2019 Global CHD birth prevalence study of Asian Low-Middle Income Countries (LMIC) CHD subgroup rate of 9.34/1000 births (95% CI 8.07-10.70). Despite applying newer diagnostic criteria and refining the cardiac anomalies data, the Da Nang region continued to show significantly (p<0.0001) elevated total CHD birth prevalence rates at 14.71/1000 births (95% CI 12.74-16.69) compared to the Asian LMIC CHD birth prevalence rate 9.34/1000 births. This finding raises the question of whether environmental persistence of the contaminant dioxin TCDD from 2,4,5-T herbicides (Agent Orange) used during the Vietnam War (1961-1971) in the Da Nang region might be a factor associated with elevated CHD birth prevalence, as it is not present in other LMIC surrounding Vietnam. We recommend testing of soils and sediments in rural and agricultural areas in Central Vietnam that received high volume applications of contaminated herbicides to assess the relationship of the higher CHD birth prevalence rate and the presence of residual dioxin TCDD. Enhanced fetal cardiac echocardiograpy in the region to screen for CHD would enable early interventions and could improve outcomes for infants and children.

Bottled water: United States consumers and their perceptions of water quality.

Consumption of bottled water is increasing worldwide. Prior research shows many consumers believe bottled water is convenient and has better taste than tap water, despite reports of a number of water quality incidents with bottled water. The authors explore the demographic and social factors associated with bottled water users in the U.S. and the relationship between bottled water use and perceptions of the quality of local water supply. They find that U.S. consumers are more likely to report bottled water as their primary drinking water source when they perceive that drinking water is not safe. Furthermore, those who give lower ratings to the quality of their ground water are more likely to regularly purchase bottle water for drinking and use bottle water as their primary drinking water source.

Selecting socio-economic metrics for watershed management.

The selection of social and economic metrics to document baseline conditions and analyze the dynamic relationships between ecosystems and human communities are important decisions for scientists, managers, and watershed citizens. A large variety of social and economic data is available but these have limited use without theoretical frameworks. In this paper, several frameworks for reviewing social-ecosystem relations are offered, namely social sanctions, sense of place, civic structure, and cultural differences. Underlying all of these frameworks are attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that affect which questions are asked and which indicators are chosen. Much work and significant challenges remain in developing a standard set of spatially based socio-economic metrics for watershed management.