Private Landowners Research Articles

Investigating the interactions between spatiotemporal land use/land cover dynamics and private land ownership

Increasing population caused by migration from rural to urban leads the cities, whose ownership is primarily public, to spread over forest areas and agricultural lands in their periphery. Today, simulation models created by geospatial data mining (GDM) techniques are frequently used to model the effects of uncontrolled urban sprawl on land use/land cover (LULC) changes. However, most of these models have yet to consider the impact of ownership diversities. The study’s main purpose is to investigate the interactions and interdependencies between Spatiotemporal LULC changes and private land ownership and monitor the precipitous urban sprawl through simulation models created by GDM techniques. In this context, the Sancaktepe district of Istanbul, where the population growth is rapid and the LULC change is very excessive, was chosen as the study area. CORINE LULC data for 1990, 2000, and 2018 were used in the study. Two hybrid prediction models were produced for 2040 by integrating multi-layer perception (MLP) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms with Markov Chains (MC) method. A base model was prepared with the intersection of these two to take protection precautions in the short and medium term. According to the results, it was determined by MLP that private land ownership significantly affects LULC. In addition, the pressure of urbanization on forests and agricultural lands, most of which are publicly owned, increases, and urban sprawl causes informal settlement.

습지보호지역의 지정에 따른 보상과 생태계서비스지불제 계약

The Wetland Conservation Act was enacted in 1999 as an implementation law of the Ramsar Convention to efficiently conserve and manage wetlands that are a treasure trove of biodiversity and have the function of purifying pollutants. Designation of wetland protection areas and restrictions on activities under the Wetland Conservation Act are inevitable regulations to achieve the public interest purpose of wetland conservation, but since a significant portion of Korea's inland wetlands are private land, it creates the problem of restrictions on the exercise of ownership rights for land owners. The Wetlands Conservation Act only recognizes the provision of compensation for losses suffered due to wetland surveys and the right to claim purchase by land owners. However, it is appropriate for Korea's Wetland Conservation Act to also establish a new regulation that recognizes claims for compensation in cases where land cannot be used for its original purpose due to designation as a wetland protection area or when the owner incurs property loss due to restrictions on land use.
 There is a need to expand the introduction of economic incentive policies that have the effect of improving the efficiency of environmental conservation policies or promoting innovation based on the voluntariness of economic actors. The introduction of the contract of payment for ecosystem service under the Biodiversity Act, which took effect in 2020, has the purpose of shifting the paradigm of environmental conservation from regulation-centered to incentive-based. In order for the contract of payment for ecosystem service to be activated in the future, supplementation or expansion is necessary in terms of contract recipients, contract target area, target business type, and contract period. Private landowners within wetland protection areas can alleviate or supplement problems such as restrictions on land ownership by signing an contract of payment for ecosystem service to create and manage wetlands and receive compensation. However, since this is a factual problem and not a fundamental legal solution, provisions such as compensation should be enacted in the Wetland Conservation Act.
 In addition, wetland conservation and management can be strengthened through contract of payment for ecosystem service, so active use of this is necessary. Since the limitations of wetland conservation management under the Wetland Conservation Act can be supplemented through contract of payment for ecosystem services under the Biological Diversity Act, there is a need to actively utilize contract of payment for ecosystem service. The contract of payment for ecosystem service can efficiently conserve and manage wetlands based on cooperation and active management activities with land owners.

Experiences with wildfire are associated with private landowners’ management decisions, relationships, and perceptions of risk

As human populations grow and anthropogenic change increases, costly wildland fires increasingly affect rural, public–private interface landscapes. Climate change, a history of fire suppression, and biological invasions are increasing fire risk in systems worldwide. Fires that ignite in one jurisdiction can spread across ownership boundaries, with the result that landscape-scale fire management and planning requires understanding differential fire response and management across jurisdictions. To illuminate relationships between landowner attitudes and fire management and their experience with past wildfires, we combined geospatial wildfire data from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) database and survey response data from 586 private landowners across three national park-centered ecosystems in the American West. We aimed to examine whether landowners’ attitudes toward their land, neighbors, public agencies, and fire itself were related to (a) whether they had experienced fire on their parcels, and (b) the extent and severity of the most recent fire event and the time elapsed since that fire. We found that the degree to which respondents reported that they manage for fire is related to whether a fire had burned on their parcels during their land tenure or, if prior to their tenure, within two years of their acquisition of the land. For those respondents that had thus experienced fire, their level of concern about wildfire, interactions with neighbors and public agencies, and perception that their land contributed to a broader economic or natural system were all related to the time that had elapsed since the fire. Furthermore, total burned area and the percent of the burn that was high severity interacted with time since fire to predict respondents’ attitudes and perceptions. Our findings illustrate the importance of personal past experiences in shaping private land managers’ relationships and viewpoints, as well as the likelihood that they invest in current fire management.

Forest landowner values and perspectives of prescribed fire in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region of the United States

BackgroundFire is an important ecological process that shapes structures and compositions in many ecosystems worldwide. Changes in climate, land use, and long-term fire exclusion have altered historic fire regimes often leading to more intense and severe wildfires and loss of biodiversity. There is an increasing interest by resource managers to reintroduce fire in historically fire-dependent ecosystems while enhancing the provision of ecosystem services. Restoring fire, however, is complicated by a diverse mix of public and private land ownerships in regions like the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US, where private lands make up the majority (~ 70%) but prescribed burning is less common. To help inform policies that promote prescribed burning on private lands, we conducted a regional survey of forest landowners regarding their perspectives and willingness to pay (WTP) for prescribed fire as a management tool. We also used spatial hotspot analysis to detect regional variations in landowner opinions.ResultsRespondents had limited knowledge and experience with burning overall, but many also perceived fire as a low-risk tool and were trusting of burning professionals. Most landowners (64%) expressed interest in a variety of prescribed fire programs to help achieve management outcomes. Preferred outcomes include protecting forest health, controlling invasive species, and wildlife habitat. Also significant in explaining landowner choices were economic (e.g., cost of burning), governance (e.g., state coordination, cost-share assistance, and access to consultants), and demographic factors. According to two models, the mean WTP for the prescribed fire was $10 ha−1 and $40 ha−1 ($4 ac−1 and $16 ac−1) but could be as high as $220 ha−1 ($89 ac−1) for specific outcomes and programs. Spatial analysis revealed a north–south gradient in landowner opinions across the region, with opinions about burning more positive in the south. Pennsylvania landowners were unique within our study in that they placed the highest economic value on prescribed fire, despite having limited knowledge and experience.ConclusionsThere is significant support by landowners to use prescribed fire to achieve management objectives on private lands in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region. Pennsylvania landowners, in particular, were strongly motivated to use prescribed fire; however, knowledge and experience are severely limited. Education, technical support, financial assistance, and access to professionals will be important for helping landowners use prescribed fire to achieve management objectives.

Influence of Riparian Conditions on Physical Instream Habitats in Trout Streams in Southeastern Minnesota, USA

Rivers across the globe experience and respond to changes within the riparian corridor. Disturbance of the riparian corridor can affect warmwater, intermediate, and coldwater streams, which can negatively influence instream physical structure and biological communities. This study focused on assessing the influence of the riparian habitat on instream structure within the Whitewater River, a coldwater stream system within an agricultural watershed in southeastern Minnesota, USA. To understand the influence of the riparian zone on the physical instream habitat, twenty variables (riparian, n = 9; instream, n = 11) were measured at 57 sites across three forks of the Whitewater using a transect method every 10 m across a 150 m reach. We used a modified Wentworth scale approach to assess coarse and fine substrates to describe habitat conditions. Canonical correlation detected significant associations between riparian and instream variables across the river forks, and indicated that wider riparian buffers, more bank grass and shrubs, longer overhanging vegetation, limited bare soil, and more rocks on banks were significantly associated with increased instream cover, high levels of coarse substrates with reduced embeddedness, increased pool habitats, and reduced fine sediments. In contrast, excessive fine sediments, lack of riffle habitat, reduced coarse substrates, and high width to depth ratios indicative of an impaired instream habitat were associated with narrow riparian buffers and high percentages of bare soil on banks. Riparian corridors have the capacity to enhance and protect physical instream habitats and overall ecosystem health when managed properly. Wide, grassy riparian corridors with stable banks, overhanging vegetation, and limited shade from trees should protect and/or enhance the instream physical habitat, providing the structural diversity favored by aquatic communities. We recommend revising the current Best Management Practices to include monitoring for impairments in the riparia, while promoting and developing good land stewardship with private landowners which can be effective in improving river ecosystems in agricultural settings.

Partnerships between private landowners and conservationists to protect one of the most evolutionarily distinct amphibians

Abstract Wildlife conservation on private land is an important approach that is increasingly utilized to protect biodiversity and can help contribute to the 30 by 30 target of the Global Biodiversity Framework. In 2018, a Chilean non-profit conservation organization launched a land conservation programme aiming to build long-term partnerships with private landowners to protect critical habitat for threatened amphibians in Chilean Patagonia. Here we describe a new locality record of the micro-endemic, Endangered Barrio's frog Insuetophrynus acarpicus found at a site that joined the programme in 2020. Barrio's frog is ranked 11th in the list of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered amphibians. Our systematic literature search showed that most aspects of the natural history and ecology of this species are unknown, limiting our ability to provide actionable science to inform its conservation. The newly described Barrio's frog population is the eighth known locality of this species and one of only three occurring within a protected area. Habitat quality assessments indicated optimal conditions for most of the measured habitat parameters in the high-gradient stream where the species occurs. This case study illustrates that long-term partnerships between private landowners and conservationists can be used as an effective tool to protect the habitat of highly threatened amphibians.

Perceptions of Wild Pig Impact, Management, and Policy in Alabama

Successful management of invasive species often requires working across public and private landownerships. A prime example of an invasive species that commonly occurs on privately and publicly owned and managed lands is the wild pig (Sus scrofa). Because of the multitude of negative impacts associated with wild pigs, management must occur across both private and public lands to achieve widespread control and sustained success. However, managing wild pigs across property boundaries is challenging as we know very little about differing management practices and landowner perspectives. To address this knowledge gap, we sought to understand wild pig management efforts on privately owned lands, the perceived economic, ecological, and human health impact of wild pigs, and beliefs related to policy. Generally, stakeholders believe wild pigs have negative impacts on wildlife, the economy, and ecological and public health, however less than half of landowners participate in wild pig control. Furthermore, stakeholders believe that the responsibility of managing and paying for damages associated with wild pigs lies with individual landowners. Our findings suggest that increased efficacy of wild pig control and collaboration between private and public landowners is not only possible but also necessary if wild pig population control is to be regionally successful.

Using of Agricultural Land in Astrakhan Region. Problems and Solutions

The article examines the regulation of land relations in the agricultural sector of economy, as well as state and municipal administration of agricultural land use in Astrakhan region. The paper also considers private land ownership, the state land use and the rental system of agricultural land use with the vicious practice of one-time consumption of soil fertility and post-rental degradation of agricultural lands, land rent as a regulation of the rational use of agricultural land and the formation of local budgets using land payments, and other land problems and the ways to solve them. “Words follow facts” (Ivan Petrovich Pavlov).

Managing Feral Swine: Thoughts of Private Landowners in the West Gulf Region

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) have extensive harmed private landowners throughout the southern United States, especially in the West Gulf Region. Managing feral swine on private land is becoming increasingly critical and challenging to reduce both ecological and economic damage. To better understand private landowners’ experience and preferences for various feral swine management measures, we surveyed private landowners across the West Gulf Region (WGR) including Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), and East Texas (ETX) in 2021. A total of 4500 surveys were mailed across the three states, with 2000 questionnaires sent in AR, 1500 in LA, and 1000 in ETX. Using descriptive analysis and principal components analysis (PCA), we analyzed private landowners’ experiences and preferences in feral swine management across this region. The tesults revealed that most private landowners (>85%) in the region were familiar with feral swine, and over 80% of them had ever seen the intrusion of feral swine onto their properties. Regarding the potential management measures, these landowners strongly supported lethal control methods such as capture and kill; in addition, they expressed a strong desire to receive education on and technical assistance with controlling feral swine. These findings provide a better understanding of private landowners’ familiarity and experiences with feral swine presence on their properties and their preference and support for various feral swine control measures, aiding in developing more effective feral swine management and control policies and programs in the West Gulf Region and beyond.

Enabling coastal blue carbon in Aotearoa New Zealand: opportunities and challenges

Blue carbon is the carbon sequestered by coastal and marine habitats such as mangroves, saltmarsh, and seagrasses. The carbon sequestration service provided by these habitats could help to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as providing other important ecosystem services. Restoration of coastal habitats for the purpose of sequestering blue carbon can generate carbon credits, potentially offsetting the costs of restoration and any lost revenue for landowners. Coastal blue carbon projects have been successfully implemented overseas, but a blue carbon market has not yet been established in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ). Here we identify key data gaps that will be necessary to fill to develop a blue carbon market in ANZ. Calculation of carbon abatement through development of a standardised method is the first step and will allow economic assessment of potential restoration sites. Economic assessment will determine if the carbon credits generated will cover restoration costs and lost revenue from restored lands. Once economically feasible potential restoration sites have been identified, prioritisation of sites could be determined by the value of co-benefits produced (i.e., biodiversity). There are also legal uncertainties in ANZ and ownership of the foreshore has been a contentious topic. Current legislation provides that neither the Crown nor any other person owns or can own the common marine and coastal area, although Māori may apply for recognition of customary rights, interests, and title in the area. The legal status of property rights will have significant implications for privately owned land, as it is unclear whether land will be considered foreshore when inundated in future with sea level rise. Here, we discuss further policy enablers including the role of government and the insurance industry that could encourage uptake of carbon projects by private landowners. Filling these gaps in market assessments and recognising the key role of Indigenous owners and customary rights holders to coastal land can facilitate operationalising of coastal blue carbon opportunities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Feasibility of Residential Wind Energy Generation in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico the rising cost of electrical energy from fossil fuels has created the necessity to use alternative energy sources for electricity generation. Wind energy, an accessible and clean source of energy, can help Puerto Rico achieve energy independence. Due to high population density, urban spread, lack of land use planning and the ever-growing concerns for the safety of flora and fauna, large-scale commercial wind generation has been met with increasing public opposition. Residential wind energy is most commonly used by homes and private land owners, making it less controversial. In this study we analyze recently obtained wind speed data from CariCOOS to help select a small residential wind turbine. An economical analysis of a residential wind turbine project is presented using the estimated energy produced.

Access for sale? Overlying rights, land transactions, and groundwater in California

Climate change intensifies longstanding tensions over groundwater sustainability and equity of access among users. Though private land ownership is a primary mechanism for accessing groundwater in many regions, few studies have systematically examined the extent to which farmland markets transform groundwater access patterns over time. This study begins to fill this gap by examining farmland transactions overlying groundwater from 2003–17 in California. We construct a novel dataset that downscales well construction behavior to the parcel level, and we use it to characterize changes in groundwater access patterns by buyer type on newly transacted parcels in the San Joaquin Valley groundwater basin during the 2011–17 drought. Our results demonstrate large-scale transitions in farmland ownership, with 21.1% of overlying agricultural acreage statewide sold at least once during the study period and with the highest rates of turnover occurring in critically overdrafted basins. By 2017, annual individual farmland acquisitions had halved, while acquisitions by limited liability companies increased to one-third of all overlying acres purchased. Together, these trends signal increasing corporate farmland acquisitions; new corporate farmland owners are associated with the construction, on comparable parcels, of agricultural wells 77–81 feet deeper than those drilled by new individual landowners. We discuss the implications of our findings for near-term governance of groundwater, and their relevance for understanding structural inequities in exposure to future groundwater level declines.

Pyrogeography of the Western Great Plains: A 40-Year History of Fire in Semi-Arid Rangelands

This study describes spatial and temporal patterns in fire across the US Western Great Plains over the last 40 years. Although pyrogeographic studies have explored the nexus of fire patterns in relation to the bio-physical environment and socio-ecological trends, most of this research has focused on forested ecosystems and regions long known for conflict between wildfires and human development, especially at the wildland–urban interface. But evidence suggests large wildfire activity is increasing in the US Great Plains, and the Western Great Plains—a Land Resource Region comprised of four ecoregions, Northwestern Plains, High Plains, Nebraska Sandhills, and Southwestern Tablelands—not only contains some of the largest areas of rangeland in the US but also the highest concentration of public land in the Great Plains. As such, the Western Great Plains provides an opportunity to explore fire activity in primarily rural landscapes with a combination of public and private ownership, all dominated by rangeland vegetation. We combined several publicly-available datasets containing fire records between 1992 and 2020 to create two databases, one with georeferenced point data on 60,575 wildfire events in the region, and another with georeferenced perimeter data for 2665 fires. Ignition by humans was the dominant cause of fires. No ecoregion showed a statistically significant trend towards either increasing or decreasing the annual burned area. The Northwestern Plains had the most burned area and the greatest number of incidents—consistently around or above 1000 incidents per year since 1992—with the majority in July. The High Plains showed the greatest increase in annual fire incidence, never reaching more than 200–300 per year 1992–2009, and averaging above 1000 incidents per year since 2010. Few long-term trends in human population, weather, or fuel metrics appear strongly associated with fire patterns in any ecoregion, although the years 2006, 2012, and 2017 stood out for their levels of fire activity, and these years often frequently logged extreme values in wildland fuel metrics. These relationships merit much closer examination in the Western Great Plains, because like other rangeland-dominated landscapes, the fine fuels that comprise these wildland fuelbeds are much more responsive to fine-scale changes in moisture conditions. Rural Western Great Plains landscapes are a mosaic of public and private land ownership, and an increasing impact of wildfires on public grazing lands—which are often situated within other jurisdictions or ownership—will likely have an impact on rural livelihoods.

МЕХАНІЗМ ДЕРЖАВНОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ПРОЦЕСІВ ЗЕМЛЕКОРИСТУВАННЯ

The article examines the peculiarities of the mechanism of state regulation of land use processes. Groups of social, ecological and economic aspects have been studied. It is emphasized that the regulation of economic processes of land use is impossible without reliable information about the qualitative characteristics of each specific plot, its economic and biological fertility, because ignoring or incorrect assessment of its potential can negate the results of planning, which is one of the main functions of management.
 By the economic aspects of land use, we primarily understand transferability as a property of a land plot, expressed in its ability to be freely alienated or transferred from one person to another in the order of universal legal succession or in another way; forms of ownership and management characterizing legal issues of land use, as well as organizational and technological conditions of agricultural production; the value of land resources as a measure of materialized labor necessary to support sustainable and effective development of agricultural production.
 Selected aspects of land use regulation formed the basis of the structural diagram of the mechanism of state regulation of land use processes presented by us and allow not only to clarify its content, but also directly determine its structure.
 It was determined that in the conditions of market relations, an important place in the system of state regulation of land use began to be assigned to the cadastral assessment of land plots. The content of the use of the land resource potential of the territorial formation is given.
 In the regulation structure, special attention should be paid to the issue of comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the use of land resources and the resulting need for further development of the methodological base for the assessment of land use.
 The key link in the process of state regulation should be the evaluation of the efficiency of land use, which is based on a system of quantitative parameters for the evaluation of the efficiency of the use of land resources.
 Land owners are mainly municipal authorities, enterprises (legal entities), citizens (individuals) or their associations (cooperatives, commercial firms, etc.).
 The denationalization of land ownership and the introduction of private land ownership on this basis, the privatization of land, the introduction of paid land use fundamentally changed the structure and content of land relations in the conditions of village land use, changed the structure, content and principles of planning land resource formations.
 The effective organization of state regulation of economic processes of land use has a significant impact on the process of creating the necessary organizational, territorial, legal and social conditions for full involvement in turnover, increasing the return of each hectare of land while preserving or reproducing soil fertility.

Farmers’ perceptions of integrated desert locust management: a case study in Isiolo and Meru Counties of Kenya

Abstract The destructive nature of desert locust invasions in terms of reduced food security and loss of agricultural income necessitates effective control strategies. While chemical spraying is effective, it is harmful to the environment, human, and animal health. Therefore, an alternative is the implementation of an integrated desert locust management (IDLM) approach that entails surveillance and early warning systems, rational combination of chemicals, biological measures, and indigenous control methods. Adopting IDLM depends on an understanding of human behavior and perceptions as an avenue for disseminating information for effective control. However, there is limited knowledge of the drivers of farmers’ perceptions of IDLM. This study sought to fill the above knowledge gap by applying the principal component analysis method to develop a composite index that was subsequently used in a regression analysis of data collected from a sample of 391 farmers in Isiolo and Meru counties in Kenya. Descriptive results showed that informal sources and channels were the main sources of desert locust information, and most farmers held positive or neutral perceptions. The regression analysis results highlighted the role of formal and informal sources of information, private land ownership, and previous shocks in influencing farmers’ perceptions of integrated desert locust management. The study recommends targeted messaging of desert locust management approaches through coordinated surveillance and timely response by national and international agencies, empowering community leaders as the key entry point, and building local capacity for accurate observation and timely reporting of invasions as measures towards sustainable desert locust control efforts.

ЗЕМЛЕВЛАДЕЛЬЧЕСКАЯ АРИСТОКРАТИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ИМПЕРИИ И ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЕ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ЧАСТНОГО ПРАВА НА НЕДРА В ПЕРИОД "ИНДУСТРИАЛИЗМА" 1890-1914 ГГ.

Based on the study of archival materials (primarily from the funds of the Yusupov princes), the article considers the issue of the realization by the largest landowners of the Russian Empire in 1890–1914 of their right to the subsoil in order to increase the profitability of their estates. As it turns out, that economic strategy was characteristic not only of a small group of Ural owners, but also for many other titled aristocrats whose possessions were located in the central provinces and especially in the regions of Southern Russia (Donbass and the Caucasus), where huge reserves of mineral raw materials were discovered. The analysis of the relevant sources shows what significant opportunities for increasing revenue were provided by coal and oil deposits, and primarily, by the initiative and economic pragmatism of private landowners in organizing extractive production. As a rule, most aristocrats managed to increase their cash receipts immediately due to minimal organizational efforts. But in the future, with the expansion and complication of extractive production, landowners faced a lack of available funds. The way out of that was seen in selling their lands or in the corporatization of the enterprise, which guaranteed the aristocrats a certain dividend from profits, but transferred most of the capital and income of the estate into the hands of industrial or banking companies. In any case, the entry of the Russian economy in 1890-1914 in the “industrial” period turned out to be extremely profitable for the largest landowners, not only for purposes of developing their agricultural estates, but also in terms of the diversification of their economy, including through the active exploitation of mineral resources.

Proprietà privata, sovranità e diritto di escludere: la “disarmonia produttiva” di Kant

This paper aims at shedding light on a thesis, which appears not to be fully and systematically developed in Reinhardt’sbook: the thesis that Kant stands in the way of the main streams of contemporary philosophical-political debate, insofaras his legal-political philosophy allows for a fundamental questioning of the nexus between private property,sovereignty and the right of exclusion. To this end, one will firstly show how Reinhardt interprets the articulationbetween the three terms - land ownership, sovereignty, and the right of exclusion - by collecting the references to thissubject scattered throughout her book (§1). On the basis of this reconstruction, the essay will critically focus on twopoints: on the one hand, the nexus between private land ownership and "public space" (§ 2); on the other hand, thestatus of "provisional possession" in Kantian legal philosophy (§ 3).In conclusion, one will summon up the results of the analysis in order to put forward the distinctive features of Kant’sdeduction of property rights which allows to critically rethink the triad ownership/ sovereignty and exclusion.

Ecosystem services valuation in the Abras de Mantequilla wetland system: A comprehensive analysis

The Abras de Mantequilla Wetland System (ADMW) in Ecuador provides a variety of ecosystem services, including erosion control, flood regulation, nutrient retention, and habitat provision. This study used a multi-level combined model to assess the potential of ADMW to provide these services. The results showed that ADMW has the potential to store a significant amount of organic carbon (3.1 million Tg C), retain nutrients (154,000 kg N and 73,000 kg P annually), and control erosion (mean surface runoff of 1100 L year−1). The study also found that the potential of ADMW to provide ecosystem services is influenced by the slope of the land, the presence of water bodies, and the vegetation cover. The results of this study have important implications for the management of ADMW and for the sustainable use of wetlands in Ecuador.The study suggests that ADMW should be managed by a variety of stakeholders, including government agencies, local communities, and private landowners, in a way that protects its ability to provide ecosystem services, such as by protecting the wetland from pollution, maintaining the vegetation cover, and preventing the development of infrastructure that could damage the wetland.

Using PODs to integrate fire and fuels planning

Background Potential Wildfire Operational Delineations (PODs) were developed as a pre-season planning tool to promote safe and effective fire response. Past research on PODs has identified uses in an incident management context. There has been little research on how PODs are being utilised in non-incident management contexts to align forest and wildfire planning objectives. Aims We sought to understand how actors are adopting and adapting the PODs framework to inform non-incident management, and to identify facilitators, barriers and recommendations. Methods We investigated three cases, the San Juan National Forest, the San Isabel National Forest and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, through 13 semi-structured, key informant interviews. Key results We found that PODs were helpful for validating fuels treatment plans and supporting communication among agency staff, and with private landowners and collaborators. Challenges included lack of technical knowledge and skills, unclear leadership direction, potential misalignment with other forest management goals and community and agency buy-in to using PODs. Conclusions We offer insights into how PODs are being utilised within our case studies and align these findings with diffusion of innovation literature. Implications This preliminary research is important given increased funding for PODs in recent legislation and the possibility of broader adoption for fuels treatment planning in the future.

Analysis of the Cost and Cost Components of Conducting Prescribed Fires in the Great Plains

Fire is a naturally occurring process in the Great Plains and was anthropologically applied first by Native Americans and now by a diverse group of landholder types. Fire is a critical tool to help restore historical fire regimes in the region and maintain and grow benefits for agricultural outputs, risk reduction, and ecosystem maintenance. With the Great Plains dominated by private landholdings, lowering barriers to adoption of prescribed burning is important for increasing its use. Costs are a crucial decision element in adoption and regular use of prescribed burning. Using the responses from an Internet-based survey of prescribed burn professionals in the Great Plains, multivariate regression analysis based on cost can identify critical factors and behaviors. The average cost for a prescribed burn in this study is $11.37 per acre, which is comparatively less expensive than numbers reported elsewhere. Seven significant associated variables emerged including number of burns and acreage, firebreak type, and fuel characteristics. The results suggest that economies of scale play an important role in the cost of prescribed burning. Through the identification of the cost of prescribed burning and the factors that influence it, landowners, environmental managers, prescribed burn professionals, and government agencies in the Great Plains will be able to better understand and implement prescribed burns as part of their land management plans.