Progress 10/01/99 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Nature Conservancy supported Dr. Silbernagel (during her sabbatical and two graduate RA's to evaluate the effectiveness of forest conservation strategies. The approach develops future landscape scenarios for two project areas in N. Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from the integration of quantitative spatial landscape modeling with expert knowledge. Silbernagel and her project team have so far held three of four expert workshops and are currently running and refining the spatial models. PARTICIPANTS: The Forest Scenarios project has supported Silbernagel (during sabbatical) and two graduate RA's (Jessica Price, Kristi Nixon), in collaboration with scientists from The Nature Conservancy (Nick Miller, Randy Swaty, Tina Hall, Kim Hall). The project involves a series of expert workshops, in which local and regional experts contribute to the scenario building & landscape modeling process. Experts include local foresters and managers, as well as regional conservation or forest management specialists. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The study will culminate in regional conference-style forest tools workshop, to be hosted by the project team next year. Her work has already produced a book chapter and an invited paper for a special issue of Ecological Modeling journal (in review). Meanwhile, Silbernagel has fostered several successful graduate studies, helping to build connections and find partial funding support, including studies of urban food production (1 PhD, 1 MS), landscape recovery of the Sichuan earthquake region (1 MS in collaboration with Chinese Academy scientists), and crane-powerline collision risk (1 MS, in collaboration with the International Crane Foundation), which have resulted in multiple publications and many professional presentations.
Publications
- Price, J., J. Silbernagel, N.Miller, R.Swaty, M.White. 2011. In review. Eliciting expert knowledge to inform landscape modeling of conservation scenarios. Ecological Modeling.
- Smith,V., R. Greene, and J. Silbernagel. 2011. In review. Distilling the social and spatial dynamics of community food production and their impact on community food security. Landscape Ecology.
- Drewes, A. and J. Silbernagel. 2011. In review. Defining the spatial dynamics of wild rice landscapes for community-based conservation. Ecological Modeling.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: I am on sabbatical this academic year, with support from The Nature Conservancy to build and evaluate Forest Conservation Scenarios. I will submit a report on this work, as required by the UW sabbatical agreement, next year. PARTICIPANTS: Local experts for each of the two study areas: Wild Rivers Legacy Forest in N. Wisconsin and Two-Hearted River Watershed in Upper Michigan. A list of participants/experts will be provided in the full report. TARGET AUDIENCES: Work is targeted to forest land managers and conservation decision-makers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Work in progress. Held first pair of expert workshops in October to identify conditions for the scenarios.
Publications
- Silbernagel, J., J. Price, R. Swaty, and N. Miller. 2009 (in press), The Next Frontier: Assessing Forest Conservation Strategy Effectiveness. In: Landscape Ecology and Forest Management: Challenges and Solutions in a Changing Globe, (ed.s Chao Li, R. Lafortezza, & J. Chen), Springer.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs in 2008 involved two main areas: 1. Support for a study to model conservation scenarios for high profile conservation project areas in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. I am working with The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) state and regional science directors, TNC's science advisory board (for WI), and grad students and colleagues interested in/doing forest landscape modeling. 2. developing collaborations with the International Crane Foundation that apply spatial and GIS approaches to crane conservation. Three projects are underway: a) building an online GIS for the Midwest annual crane count; b) study on risk of crane-powerline collisions; c) spatio-temporal model for waterbird conservation at Poyang Lake, China. PARTICIPANTS: I work with several conservation scientists in The Nature Conservancy, a worldwide non-profit environmental organization, and with ecologists and spatial analysts at the International Crane Foundation. These affiliations are both supporting (I provide expertise/consulting) and collaborative in that we have jointly sought funding to carry out research of mutual interest. TARGET AUDIENCES: In both cases my work is intended to inform conservation scientists and public land management officials. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The conservation GIS research is central to a larger suite of scholarship that my research group considers, through what we call the Studio for Bioregional Study & Conservation: Exploring the Dynamics of Landscapes, Culture, Cultivation, and Conservation in the Northern Great Lakes Region. This interdisciplinary group of graduate students and I seek to understand the environmental potentials and limitations of place, in the context of cultural meaning and practices, toward long-term sustainability. The studies underway with TNC and ICF are likely to have a high impact in linking spatial theory to general conservation action that is applicable to conservation planners and environmental NGOs worldwide.
Publications
- Natori, Yoji and J. Silbernagel. 2008-In review. Land-use and frog habitat changes in Rural Landscapes in Japan during 1947-1999: A case of the Arai-Keinan region, Niigata. Landscape and Ecological Engineering.
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
Outputs in 2007 focused on building collaboration, refining research direction, and soliciting funding for a study to model conservation scenarios for a high profile conservation project area in Wisconsin. I am working with The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) state and regional science directors, TNC's science advisory board (for WI), and grad students and colleagues interested in/doing forest landscape modeling. Together with WI TNC I submitted a Wisconsin Idea Baldwin pre-proposal to get this work off the ground. I also requested Graduate School Fall Research Competition funds for start up. Unfortunately neither were supported. However, TNC's interest in this work remains high, and their science directors have included my proposed work in their multi-regional conservation strategy effectiveness proposals.
Impacts
No Outcomes to report yet.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Efforts in 2006 were focused on writing funding proposals for conservation GIS research, and collaborating with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) science staff. Proposals were submitted to TNC and UW Graduate School and would fund a PhD student. The topic, Effective conservation? Evaluating conservation potential and success within the Superior Mixed Forest ecoregion with a spatial pattern model, is still under development and will be submitted to other granting agencies in early 2007. Meanwhile, I was invited to serve on TNC's science advisory board, and continue to serve as the Awards Committee chair for the U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology.
Impacts
The conservation GIS research is central to a larger suite of scholarship that my research group considers, through what we call the Studio for Bioregional Study & Conservation: Exploring the Dynamics of Landscapes, Culture, Cultivation, and Conservation in the Northern Great Lakes Region, (http://www.la.wisc.edu/Loft/Bioregional%20Studio.htm). This interdisciplinary group of graduate students and I seek to understand the environmental potentials and limitations of place, in the context of cultural meaning and practices, toward long-term sustainability. The proposed study is likely to have a high impact in linking spatial theory to general conservation action that is applicable to conservation planners beyond TNC because it: a) develops a means to measure success of actions; b) estimates future success given target needs and direction; c) integrates strategies used in each conservation area over a whole ecoregion; and d) identifies gaps in knowledge and suggests
priority areas for field based studies.
Publications
- Silbernagel, J., J.Chen, B.Song, and A.Noormets. 2006. Conducting sound ecological studies at the Landscape Scale: Research Challenges., pp. 281-295 in Ecology of Hierarchical Landscapes: From Theory to Application. J. Chen et al. (Eds), Nova Science Publishers, Inc., NY. 333 pp.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Landscape level research on wild rice is non-existent and current data on wild rice distribution is limited and incomplete. Using an integrated landscape perspective this study explores connections and relationships between the sociological and environmental components of wild rice harvest and management. Objectives of this research are threefold: (1) define current distribution of natural wild rice across Minnesota and Wisconsin by sub-watershed and ecological unit, (2) examine and compare wild rice management frameworks across state, tribal and treaty ceded lands, including an analysis of associated property rights, and (3) identify the relationships and perceptions of change in wild rice landscapes held by those who harvest wild rice. This past summer research assistant & dissertator, Annette Drewes began her field research in earnest as she visited seven rice landings during harvest and secured 63 willing contacts for follow up interviews taking place this winter.
We have also developed regional distribution maps of wild rice lakes in relation to study area stratifications.
Impacts
The wild rice research is central to a larger suite of scholarship that my research group considers, through what we call the Studio for Bioregional Study & Conservation: Exploring the Dynamics of Landscapes, Culture, Cultivation, and Conservation in the Northern Great Lakes Region, (http://www.la.wisc.edu/Loft/Bioregional%20Studio.htm). This interdisciplinary group of graduate students and I seek to understand the environmental potentials and limitations of place, in the context of cultural meaning and practices, toward long-term sustainability. The knowledge gained through Ms. Drewes wild rice research will contribute to our interdisciplinary and participatory approach in connecting environmental science to communities and local knowledge of place. Moreover, understanding the relationships people have to wild rice is important for addressing issues of access, management and protection of sustainable landscapes.
Publications
- Drewes, A. and J. Silbernagel. 2005. Setting up an integrative research approach for sustaining wild rice (Zizania palustris) in the Upper Great Lakes Region of North America. In: Tress, B., Tress, G., Fry, G., Opdam, P. (eds.). From Landscape Research to Landscape Planning: Aspects of Integration, Education, and Application. Wageningen UR Frontis Series, Volume 12. Springer: Dordrecht, Berlin, Heidelberg. approx. 440 pp.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
This work under this project culminates with the production of an exhibit for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC) that will describe cultivation in Wisconsin's Lake Superior region. More specifically, it will convey: 1. Landscape patterns that have been created in specific natural environments by the cultural practices of historic and current orchards and berry farms, gardens, maple sugaring, and wild ricing activities; 2. Ways in which cultivated landscapes reflect distinct ethnic communities (e.g., northern European immigrants, Ojibwe residents), or the blending of ethnic heritage; and, 3. Stewardship and conservation programs underway today that seek to sustain and protect the lands and traditions tied to these regional foods.
Impacts
The landscape exhibit will bring to fruition the work accomplished through the previous research supported under this project. It will help to instill a sense of place and ecological literacy for those who visit, while contributing to ongoing stewardship in the Chequamegon Bay Watershed and Bayfield Peninsula. More generally, this project has supported a range of research studies and conservation related projects that address spatial patterns in cultivated landscapes of the northern Great Lakes region. Moreover, the work accomplished through this project has led to the study, 'Wild Rice Ecology and Traditional Life-ways: Assessing Landscape Changes, Threats, and Stewardship,' from Jul 2004 to June 2005 with support from USDA FS.
Publications
- Silbernagel, J. 2005. Bio-regional patterns and spatial narratives for integrated landscape research and design. In: Tress, B., Tress, G., Fry, G., Opdam, P. (eds.) 2005. From landscape research to landscape planning: Aspects of integration, education and application. Springer. (in press)
- Silbernagel, J. and W.G. Hendrix. 2004. Sunburn on the vineyard: Terroir and the sustainability of juice grapes in an arid climate. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 1(2):89-94.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
I have been working with Natural Heritage Land Trust on conservation planning for the Upper Sugar River Watershed, an area in the urban-rural fringe of Madison, WI. Two models for conservation work were studied and implemented in this process: a) Science-based Conservation (TNC), and b) Bioregional thought (Thayer, 2003). Riley, an area within the watershed, played a significant role in Aldo Leopold's career. Leopold established the Riley Game Cooperative in 1931, involving townspeople and local farmers to cooperatively improve the land and cover for wildlife. I have studied Leopold's conservation work here, which he used as a testing ground for some of his theories (documented in 2 pubs). His work in the Riley area has significant implications to spatial ecology. I also serve on an advisory board working to protect land in the Riley area for its legacy to Leopold, its conservation value, and its educational potential as a near-urban natural area.
Impacts
Leopold's work with the Riley Game Cooperative had previously been relatively unrecognized. In this single 700+ acre area near Madison, WI, Leopold practiced and tested approaches that would soon become the basis for wildlife management throughout North America. His work here also demonstrated how agricultural land can be managed to include natural habitat, and how community members can work cooperatively in this effort. I also argue that his work was based on spatial ecology concepts that would later become the field of landscape ecology. Recognizing the significance of Leopold's work here will help to explain his role in the development of spatial ecology and conservation. Moreover, it provides a grounding on which to base conservation and environmental education strategies for protection of this historically significant land area.
Publications
- Silbernagel, Bob and Janet Silbernagel. 2003. Tracking Aldo Leopold through Riley's farmland. Wisconsin Magazine of History. (Summer), 2003
- Silbernagel, Janet. 2003. Spatial ecology in early conservation design: examples from Aldo Leopold's work. Landscape Ecology 18:635-646.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
This year, a grant from Wisconsin Humanities Council was received to support the research & preproduction of a multi-dimensional exhibit that will present a story of horticultural landscape patterns along Wisconsin's Lake Superior region. The title of the project is 'The Landscape Canvas of Cultivation & Ethnic Expression in Wisconsin's Lake Superior Region: A Multi-dimensional Exhibit.' The combined exhibit will be designed for interior exhibit space and grounds of the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Portable components of the installation will later be displayed at Northland College in Ashland and other regional outlets, organized through the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures in Madison.
Impacts
The exhibit will present horticultural landscapes as a form of cultural expression that foster ecological literacy and a sense of place, and contribute cultural landscape meaning to ongoing conservation planning in the Chequamegon Bay Watershed. The project will explore the influence of people from around the world who have immigrated to Northern Wisconsin, mixed with native and other cultural groups, and shared their arts, ideas, and values. By interpreting these distinct and mixed ethnic expressions on the landscape, we begin to paint new multi-layered images of Wisconsin's diversity.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
This USDA project serves as an umbrella for the development of a theoretical approach to holistic, integrative analysis of cultural ecosystems and conservation design, particularly in horticultural or intensively cultivated landscapes. Marking this concept, I recently gave an invited lecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Research in Zurich titled, 'Sense of place: Capturing qualitative meaning for spatial science.' The talk was followed by submission of a manuscript on the topic to Conservation Ecology journal. In developing this theoretical construct, I also look to early naturalists and conservationists. One paper in development illustrates evidence of spatial concepts in conservation planning in the work of local conservationist, Aldo Leopold. A second major area of focus has been the study of 'American Indian and Euro-American Maple Sugaring Landscapes of Eastern North America and the Upper Great Lakes,' in which my research group is comparing 19th and 20th
century American Indian and Euro-American maple sugaring landscapes of Eastern North America and the Upper Great Lakes using multi-scale analysis of spatial patterning. Part of this research will be development of model for qualitative interpretation of spatial patterns. Thirdly, I have two projects that link cultural art with landscape heritage/character and ecological process. One of these is an exhibit proposal being submitted to WHA for a program titled, 'The Landscape Mosaic of Cultivation and Ethnic Expression in Wisconsin's Lake Superior Region.' A second is a collaborative site integrated art project titled, 'Broken Hardscape.'
Impacts
Conservationists who integrate human ecosystems and environment will need to new approaches to capture the complex dynamics of people-land relationships in a holistic framework. Long held paradigms about how knowledge is acquired in the ecological sciences may be trespassed. One such leap is to include qualitative models in analytical spatial analysis frameworks. The work developed under this project seeks to advance the methodology in holistic landscape ecology and integrative sciences with the particular goal of informing and enriching conservation design in cultural landscapes.
Publications
- Silbernagel, J. 2002. Landscape patterning of people: Compiling spatial narratives for integrated conservation. Conservation Ecology,(in review).
- Silbernagel, B. and J. Silbernagel. 2002. Tracking Aldo Leopold through Riley's farmland. Wisconsin Magazine of History,(in review).
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Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00
Outputs
This USDA project serves as an umbrella framework for the development of several more specific but related studies. To begin, I am participating in a university-wide FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) project titled "Ecosystem Management in Cultural Landscapes: Training a New Generation of Environmental Professionals" (September 1, 1999 through August 31, 2002). My role in this project was to develop a research case study that would interest European students studying in the U.S. This led to development of a study to explore: "Contributions of urban and suburban gardens to a conservation network: a look at foraging habitats of native pollinators." Participation in this project has further led to development of a 2nd FIPSE project proposal (of which I am a co-PI) that will focus on "Environmental solutions toward ecologically and culturally dynamic urban areas." A second major area of focus has been the study of "American Indian and Euro-American
Maple Sugaring Landscapes of Eastern North America and the Upper Great Lakes," in which my research group will compare 19th and 20th century American Indian and Euro-American maple sugaring landscapes of Eastern North America and the Upper Great Lakes using multi-scale analysis of spatial patterning, and will identify significant historic sugarbushes for preservation. Thirdly, I am developing an area of research related that will link aspects of cultural ecology, visual culture, and sense of place to analytical mapping systems. One proposal in this area is being submitted to WHA for a program titled, "Portrait of a Landscape," documenting cultural landscape changes in Northern Wisconsin. A second is the focus of a paper to be presented at an upcoming conference (see publications) on religion, ecology, and culture.
Impacts
Worldwide the ecological footprint of urban areas is growing. Population growth is expanding our cities outwardly into the rapidly developing zone called "the urban fringe." Meanwhile, astute citizens, planners, designers, and conservationists are creating regional growth management programs to promote urban infill and limit expansion into rural landscapes. Whether urban growth occurs inwardly or outwardly, the significance of urban ecosystems on biological and social well-being is evident. Cities are our home, our environment, and as such, cannot be considered separate from nature. These will be the landscapes of the future within which ecological processes must continue to function. Our challenge is to design metropolitan places and networks that contribute significantly and qualitatively to an assemblage of local species and ecosystem processes, while fostering community interaction with, and appreciation for place.
Publications
- J. Silbernagel, I.G.A. Bradshaw, and A. Alanen. 2001. Evidence for Sense of Place and Ecological Meaning Reflected in Visual Culture. Paper to be presented at: Religion, Ecology, and Culture Section. American Academy of Religion/Midwest Region. Annual Meeting, Chicago March 31- April 1.
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