- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Science Division, Department Memberadd
- Dr. Virginia H. Dale is an research professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University... moreDr. Virginia H. Dale is an research professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Tennessee and Corporate Fellow Emeritus at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where she served as Director of the Center for BioEnergy Sustainability. She obtained her PhD in Mathematical Ecology from the University of Washington. Her primary research interests are environmental decision making, plant succession, land-use change, landscape ecology, ecological modeling, sustainability, and bioenergy systems. Virginia has authored 11 books and more than 270 published articles. She has led a 42-year study of ecological succession in the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. She has served on national scientific advisory boards for five agencies of the United States and several committees of the National Academies of Science. She was among the members of the international science community that contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Scientific Assessment that in 2007 received with Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize. She was recognized by the Distinguished Landscape Ecologist award by the United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology in 2013.(Dr. Virginia H. Dale is an research professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Tennessee and Corporate Fellow Emeritus at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where she served as Director of the Center for BioEnergy Sustainability. She obtained her PhD in Mathematical Ecology from the University of Washington. Her primary research interests are environmental decision making, plant succession, land-use change, landscape ecology, ecological modeling, sustainability, and bioenergy systems. Virginia has authored 11 books and more than 270 published articles. She has led a 42-year study of ecological succession in the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. She has served on national scientific advisory boards for five agencies of the United States and several committees of the National Academies of Science. She was among the members of the international science community that contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Scientific Assessment that in 2007 received with Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize. She was recognized by the Distinguished Landscape Ecologist award by the United States Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology in 2013.)edit
Addressing the challenges of understanding and managing complex interactions among food security, biofuels, and resource management requires a focus on specific contextual problems and opportunities. The United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable... more
Addressing the challenges of understanding and managing complex interactions among food security, biofuels, and resource management requires a focus on specific contextual problems and opportunities. The United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals prioritize food and energy security; bioenergy plays an important role in achieving both goals. Effective food security programs begin by clearly defining the problem and asking, “What can be done to effectively assist people at high risk?” Headlines and cartoons that blame biofuels for food insecurity may reflect good intentions but mislead the public and policy makers because they obscure the main drivers of local food insecurity and ignore opportunities for biofuels to contribute to solutions. Applying sustainability guidelines to bioenergy will help achieve near- and long- term goals to eradicate hunger. Priorities for achieving successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include (1) clarifying communications with clear and consistent terms, (2) recognizing that food and bioenergy need not compete for land and instead, need to be integrated with improved resource management, (3) investing in innovations to build capacity and infrastructure such as rural agricultural extension and technology, (4) promoting stable prices that incentivize local production, (5) adopting flex crops that can provide food along with other products and services to society, and (6) engaging stakeholders in identifying and assessing specific opportunities for biofuels to improve food security. Systematic monitoring and analysis to support adaptive management and continual improvement are essential elements to build synergies and help society equitably meet growing demands for both food and energy
Research Interests: Economics, Poverty, Energy, Sustainable, Employment, and 5 moreDevelopment, Food Security, Biofuel, Food Insecurity, and Wiley
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This working paper for the UNCCD Global Land Outlook discuses linkages between energy and land use. It focuses on renewable energies, but also addresses fossil and nuclear. Quantitative figures of energy "land... more
This working paper for the UNCCD Global Land Outlook discuses linkages between energy and land use. It focuses on renewable energies, but also addresses fossil and nuclear. Quantitative figures of energy "land footprints" are given, as well as qualitative aspects (e.g. biodiversity). The paper also covers system impacts, and governance.
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Recent claims attibuting rising fuel costs and deforestation to biofuels are examined. Given a priority to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, it is important to further explore the drivers for conversion of land at the frontier... more
Recent claims attibuting rising fuel costs and deforestation to biofuels are examined. Given a priority to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, it is important to further explore the drivers for conversion of land at the frontier and to consider the effects, positive and negative, that U.S. biofuel policies could have in these areas. This means it is critical to distinguish
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Science-based policy is essential for guiding an environmentally sustainable approach to cellulosic biofuels. CREDIT: ERIK SANDBERG/BERNSTEIN & ANDRIULLI Last May’s passage of the 2008 Farm Bill raises the stakes for biofuel... more
Science-based policy is essential for guiding an environmentally sustainable approach to cellulosic biofuels. CREDIT: ERIK SANDBERG/BERNSTEIN & ANDRIULLI Last May’s passage of the 2008 Farm Bill raises the stakes for biofuel sustainability: A substantial subsidy for the production of cellulosic ethanol starts the United States again down a path with uncertain environmental consequences. This time, however, the subsidy is for both the refiners ($1.01 per gallon) and the growers ($45 per ton of biomass), which will rapidly accelerate adoption and place hard-to-manage pressures on efforts to design and implement sustainable
Research Interests: Climate Change, Economic Growth, Modeling, Environmental Monitoring, Multidisciplinary, and 15 moreGlobal Warming, Global change, Models, Forest Management, Forests, Temperature, Forest dynamics, Rain, Species Composition, Forest ecosystem, Ecosystem, Time Factors, Southeastern United States, ecosystem model, and Climatic condition
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Changes in social and environmental conditions in the Western Highlands of Guatemala undermine food security and job opportunities. We describe how targeted assistance can build upon traditional agricultural systems to increase adaptive... more
Changes in social and environmental conditions in the Western Highlands of Guatemala undermine food security and job opportunities. We describe how targeted assistance can build upon traditional agricultural systems to increase adaptive capacity, improve nutrition, provide jobs and thereby reduce pressures to migrate.
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Community and stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognized as essential to science at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) to address complex issues surrounding food and energy production and water provision for... more
Community and stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognized as essential to science at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) to address complex issues surrounding food and energy production and water provision for society. Yet no comprehensive framework exists for supporting best practices in community and stakeholder engagement for FEWS. A review and meta-synthesis were undertaken of a broad range of existing models, frameworks, and toolkits for community and stakeholder engagement. A framework is proposed that comprises situational awareness of the FEWS place or problem, creation of a suitable culture for engagement, focus on power-sharing in the engagement process, co-ownership, co-generation of knowledge and outcomes, the technical process of integration, the monitoring processes of reflective and reflexive experiences, and formative evaluation. The framework is discussed as a scaffolding for supporting the development and application of best practices in commu...
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Research and development agencies, as well as policy makers and agri-food enterprises, need reliable data to support informed decisions that can improve the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We present a review of agricultural... more
Research and development agencies, as well as policy makers and agri-food enterprises, need reliable data to support informed decisions that can improve the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We present a review of agricultural sustainability assessment frameworks (ASAF) that identifies the features most relevant to monitoring progress towards sustainability goals for agricultural landscapes. This qualitative review considers a variety of approaches for defining goals and for selecting stakeholders, spatial and temporal boundaries, indicators, and analytical approaches. We focused on assessment frameworks that (i) include environmental, social, and economic implications of agriculture; (ii) are applicable to multiple, non-specified farm system types; (iii) are described in an English language, peer-reviewed publication; (iv) have been developed for use at a farm system to regional spatial scale; (v) engage stakeholders; (vi) provide case studies; and (vii) could be used in a...
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ABSTRACT
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Habitat Disturbance at Explosives-Contaminated Ranges Rebecca A. Efroymson, Valerie Morrill, Virginia H. Dale, Thomas F. Jenkins, and Neil ... Artillery ranges increasingly use shoot and scoot procedures of rapid deployment and... more
Habitat Disturbance at Explosives-Contaminated Ranges Rebecca A. Efroymson, Valerie Morrill, Virginia H. Dale, Thomas F. Jenkins, and Neil ... Artillery ranges increasingly use shoot and scoot procedures of rapid deployment and withdrawal, rather than fixed firing points, and ...
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ABSTRACT This study evaluates the global economic effects of the USA renewable fuel standards (RFS2), and the potential contribution from advanced biofuels. Our simulation results imply that these mandates lead to an increase of 0.21... more
ABSTRACT This study evaluates the global economic effects of the USA renewable fuel standards (RFS2), and the potential contribution from advanced biofuels. Our simulation results imply that these mandates lead to an increase of 0.21 percent in the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, including an increase of 0.8 percent in the USA and 0.02 percent in the rest of the world (ROW); relative to our baseline, no-RFS scenario. The incremental contributions to GDP from advanced biofuels in 2022 are estimated at 0.41 percent and 0.04 percent in the USA and ROW, respectively. Although production costs of advanced biofuels are higher than for conventional biofuels in our model, their economic benefits result from reductions in oil use, and their smaller impacts on food markets compared with conventional biofuels. Thus, the USA advanced biofuels targets are expected to have positive economic benefits.
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Research Interests: Environmental Science, Decision Making, Ecology, Risk Management, Risk assessment, and 15 morePeer Review, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Case Study, Ecological Risk Assessment, Spatial Scale, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Risk Assessment, Life Cycle Analysis, Information Need, Decision Maker, Integrated, Environmental Protection Agency, Cumulant, and Ecological Risk
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Statistical analysis between three weighted additive biomass equations are presented for planted pine species typical of the coniferous forests of the Western Sierra Madre mountain range of Durango, Mexico. Statistical and graphical... more
Statistical analysis between three weighted additive biomass equations are presented for planted pine species typical of the coniferous forests of the Western Sierra Madre mountain range of Durango, Mexico. Statistical and graphical analyses were used to select the best single and multiple individual biomass component equation. Linear equations better fitted the biomass components. Therefore, three linear additive procedures were tested: (i) the conventional, (ii) a harmonization, and (iii) the seemingly-unrelated regression in two types of equations of component biomass estimation using both simple regression and multiple regression techniques. These tests were performed at two scales: (a) each of three pine species and (b) all three species. For both the simple linear and best multiple regression equation, the seemingly-unrelated equations provided more precise biomass component estimates, with tendencies consistent with the conventional non-additive non-linear regression procedur...
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To participate in the potential market for C credits based on changes in the use and management of the land, one needs to identify opportunities and implement land-use based emissions reductions or sequestration projects. A key... more
To participate in the potential market for C credits based on changes in the use and management of the land, one needs to identify opportunities and implement land-use based emissions reductions or sequestration projects. A key requirement of land-based carbon (C) projects is that any activity developed for generating C benefits must be additional to business-as-usual. A rulebased model was developed and used that estimates changes in land-use and subsequent C emissions over the next twenty years using the Eastern Panama Canal Watershed (EPCW) as a case study. These projections of changes in C stocks serve as a baseline to identify where opportunities exist for implementing projects to generate potential C credits and to position Panama to be able to participate in the emerging C market by developing a baseline under scenarios of business-as-usual and newroad development. The projections show that the highest percent change in land use for the newroad scenario compared to the busine...
Research Interests: Goal Setting, Emission reduction, Clean Development Mechanism, Land Cover, Case Study, and 12 moreLand Use, Tropical deforestation, Land cover change, Carbon Emissions, Greenhouse Gas, Carbon credit, Water Resource, Ecological Applications, Rule Based, Business as Usual, Urban Area, and Futures Market
: The Regional Simulator (RSim), designed to integrate land-use changes with ecological effects of changes in noise, water and air quality and species of special concern and their habitats. RSim projects land-use changes, its impacts for... more
: The Regional Simulator (RSim), designed to integrate land-use changes with ecological effects of changes in noise, water and air quality and species of special concern and their habitats. RSim projects land-use changes, its impacts for the five counties in Georgia surrounding and including Fort Benning, is applicable to other regions and a diversity of resource managers. Data layers that are widely available are being used in the model. Four scenarios implemented: urban growth, road-influenced urbanization, a new military training area, and hurricane impacts. Projections from the various scenarios suggest that urban growth will continue along the northern border of Fort Benning and may have impacts on noise, water, and air quality. Declines in habitat of gopher tortoise as a likely result of land-use changes because urban growth and other land-use changes are highly likely on lands that now provide this habitat. Habitat for red-cockaded woodpecker is not likely to be affected by p...
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The changes that accompany growth and development over a region are reflected in many ways. Changes to the land can be observed using data derived from remote sensing to create land-cover maps. Land-cover data provide a snapshot of the... more
The changes that accompany growth and development over a region are reflected in many ways. Changes to the land can be observed using data derived from remote sensing to create land-cover maps. Land-cover data provide a snapshot of the land status at a specific period of time. Hence any major growth or development in a region should reflect associated changes in the land cover. To explore causes and implications of land-cover changes, land-cover change rules have been developed as part of a regional simulation model, RSim. This study analyzes the problems of developing and calibrating the land-cover change rules in RSim. Land-cover change rules are usually derived from past trends in the landscape and also from trends in the use of land. However, some of the major issues while calibrating and developing change rules are the inconsistencies in data availability and description. Fundamental differences in the data type such as information describing land use or land cover also affect ...
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A systematic process for assessing progress toward landscape sustainability goals is developed and tested. Application of the approach builds capacity and promotes continual improvements in management practices, thus enabling timely... more
A systematic process for assessing progress toward landscape sustainability goals is developed and tested. Application of the approach builds capacity and promotes continual improvements in management practices, thus enabling timely action to address changing conditions while progressing toward locally defined goals. We consider how the approach applies to agricultural landscapes, that is farm ecosystem interactions with the environment and human well-being. We present lessons learned from applying the assessment approach in two contrasting situations: large, high-input, commercial agriculture in northwestern Mexico and small, low-input family farms in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Applying the approach reveals five attributes required for success and the means to achieve those conditions. (1) Having a capable local champion for the project is critical. (2) Implementation of the approach must be in concert with local people and organizations as well as with regional and nation...
The ecological and geological responses following the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens are all about change: the abrupt changes instigated by geophysical disturbance processes and the rapid and gradual changes of ecological... more
The ecological and geological responses following the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens are all about change: the abrupt changes instigated by geophysical disturbance processes and the rapid and gradual changes of ecological response. The explosive eruption involved an impressive variety of volcanic and hydrologic processes: a massive debris avalanche, a laterally directed blast, mudflows, pyroclastic flows, and extensive tephra deposition (Lipman and Mullineaux 1981; Swanson and Major, Chapter 3, this volume). Subsequent, minor eruptions triggered additional mudflows, pyroclastic flows, tephra-fall events, and growth of a lava dome in the newly formed volcanic crater. These geological processes profoundly affected forests, ranging from recent clear-cuts to well-established tree plantations to natural stands, as well as meadows, streams, and lakes. This book focuses on. responses of these ecological systems to the cataclysmic eruption on May 18, 1980. Initial ecological res...
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This paper connects the science of sustainability theory with applied aspects of sustainability deployment. A suite of 35 sustainability indicators spanning six environmental, three economic, and three social categories has been proposed... more
This paper connects the science of sustainability theory with applied aspects of sustainability deployment. A suite of 35 sustainability indicators spanning six environmental, three economic, and three social categories has been proposed for comparing the sustainability of bioenergy production systems across different feedstock types and locations. A recent demonstration-scale switchgrass-to-ethanol production system located in East Tennessee is used to assess the availability of sustainability indicator data and associated measurements for the feedstock production and logistics portions of the biofuel supply chain. Knowledge pertaining to the available indicators is distributed within a hierarchical decision tree framework to generate an assessment of the overall sustainability of this no-till switchgrass production system relative to two alternative business-as-usual scenarios of unmanaged pasture and tilled corn production. The relative contributions of the social, economic and environmental information are determined for the overall trajectory of this bioenergy system s sustainability under each scenario. Within this East Tennessee context, switchgrass production shows potential for improving environmental and social sustainability trajectories without adverse economic impacts, thereby leading to potential for overall enhancement in sustainability within this local agricultural system. Given the early stages of cellulosic ethanol production, it is currently difficult to determine quantitative values for all 35more » sustainability indicators across the entire biofuel supply chain. This case study demonstrates that integration of qualitative sustainability indicator ratings may increase holistic understanding of a bioenergy system in the absence of complete information.« less
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Spatial patterns and ecological processes of the USA central hardwood forests reflect past climatic conditions and natural disturbance regimes. Changes in climate can lead to disturbances that exceed their natural range of variation, and... more
Spatial patterns and ecological processes of the USA central hardwood forests reflect past climatic conditions and natural disturbance regimes. Changes in climate can lead to disturbances that exceed their natural range of variation, and the impacts of these changes depend on the vulnerability or resiliency of these ecosystems. Global Circulation Models generally project annual increases in temperature across the Central Hardwood Region over the coming decades, but changes in precipitation are less consistent. More unclear is how climate change affects severity and frequency of natural disturbances, such as severe storms, fires, droughts, floods, and insect outbreaks. We use a time-series satellite data record to map the spatial pattern and severity of broad classes of natural disturbances the southeast region. Between 5 % and 25 % of forest land was affected by disturbance each year since 1985 across the four regions. The time series reveals periodic droughts that are widespread and low-severity but associated with more localized, high-severity disturbances such as fire and insect outbreaks. The map also reveals extensive anthropogenic disturbance across the region in the form of forest conversion related to resource extraction and urban and residential development. Changes in climate and disturbance regimes might affect these forests in the future via altering the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of these ecosystems. Changes in climate are highly likely to expose forests to more frequent and severe disturbances, but ultimately how vulnerable or resilient forests are to these changes depends on their sensitivity and capacity to adapt to novel conditions.
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... of landscape ecology on patterns and processes can offer insights into the dynamic processes and ... biomass or propane heat in sites that are not served by natural gas pipelines or ... of fossil fuels and other energy products... more
... of landscape ecology on patterns and processes can offer insights into the dynamic processes and ... biomass or propane heat in sites that are not served by natural gas pipelines or ... of fossil fuels and other energy products dominates certain land uses, such as urban areas that ...
Research Interests: Landscape Ecology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, Climate Change, Land management, and 15 moreAlternative Energy, Land Use Change, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Solar Energy, Fossil Fuels, Land Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Human Interaction, Energy Production, Greenhouse gases, Energy Flux, Relative Efficiency, potential output, and Climatic condition
VIRGINIA H. DALE, DESMOND T. FORTES, AND TOM L. ASHWOOD 10 A landscape-transition matrix approach for land management 10.1 Introduction Decision-makers are often unaware of the extent to which land-use changes affect biodiversity,... more
VIRGINIA H. DALE, DESMOND T. FORTES, AND TOM L. ASHWOOD 10 A landscape-transition matrix approach for land management 10.1 Introduction Decision-makers are often unaware of the extent to which land-use changes affect biodiversity, renewable resource ...
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Andrew J. Hansen (hansen@gemini.oscs.montana.edu) is an assistant professor in the Ecology Department at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717. ... Ronald P. Neilson is a bioclimatologist with the USDA Forest Service, 3200 ...
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Wood-based pellets are produced in the southeastern United States (SE US) and shipped to Europe for the generation of heat and power. Effects of pellet production on selected Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are evaluated using... more
Wood-based pellets are produced in the southeastern United States (SE US) and shipped to Europe for the generation of heat and power. Effects of pellet production on selected Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are evaluated using industry information, available energy consumption data, and published research findings. Challenges associated with identifying relevant SDG goals and targets for this particular bioenergy supply chain and potential deleterious impacts are also discussed. We find that production of woody pellets in the SE US and shipments to displace coal for energy in Europe generate positive effects on affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15). Primary strengths of the pellet supply chain in the SE US are the provisioning of employment in depressed rural areas and the displacement of fossil fuels. Weaknesses a...