Washington state has long employed natural enemies for the management of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plant species infesting state, federal, tribal, and privately owned water bodies and lands. During the last 55 years, a total of 72 natural enemies have been used for the biological control of 30 nonindigenous weeds. Over 85% of the organisms deployed have been insects, the remaining bioage...

iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Ecology ....................................................................... 2 Soil/fertilizer ....................................................................... 3 Economics ....................................................................... 4 Illegal Practices ....................................................................... 6 Nutrition and Liveli...

Urban sprawl (US), propelled by rapid population growth leads to the shrinkage of productive agricultural lands and pristine forests in the suburban areas and, in turn, adversely affects the provision of ecosystem services. The quantification of US is thus crucial for effective urban planning and environmental management. Like many megacities in fast growing developing countries, Chennai, the c...

The challenges of managing natural resources of protected areas not only come from the inside of the protected boundaries, but also from the surrounding territories because most of protected lands are open systems that face threats from adjacent areas. The lands of such open systems alter water quality and flow regimes, increase the likelihood of invasive plant and animal range expansions, redu...

More than one-third of forested land in the United States is owned by individuals or families, making these lands a significant source of the nation’s forest resources and services. Yet investments in traditional expert-led outreach efforts, including financial incentive programs and technical assistance for management plan development, have failed to engage the vast majority of U.S. forest lan...

Uncertainty surrounding the future supply of timber in the southern United States prompted the question, “Where is all the wood?” (Cubbage et al. 1995). We ask a similar question about the potential of southern forests to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sequestering carbon. Because significant carbon sequestration potential occurs on individual nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) lan...

This study investigates the relationship between environmental degradation and men and women’s family size preferences and subsequent reproductive behaviors in Nepal. We draw on unique environmental data at the local level, household and individual-level survey data and individuals’ reproductive behavior over a 3 year time period in Western Chitwan Valley, Nepal. Results from Ordinary Least Squ...