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Drought contingency planning is an increasingly common tool in the ranchers’ climate adaptation toolboxes, but its effect on drought response has not yet been evaluated. We use cognitive models of protective action decision making and planning to explore the effects of having a drought plan on the use of drought early warning information and drought response (and timing). Results of a cross-sectional, probability-based survey of livestock producers affected by a 2016 flash-drought are used to describe the characteristics of operations with drought plans and provide evidence of whether having a plan predicts drought information use and response. While larger operations are more likely than others to have plans for drought, having a drought plan appears to play a unique role in ranchers’ use of information and decision making regardless of operation size. Findings suggest that encouraging the use of drought contingency planning may improve ranchers’ adaptive capacity. Increased use of planning may also increase the effectiveness of communicating risk and early warning information, by making such information more actionable by decision makers.

Background: A high percentage of the richest households in Bangladesh lack soap at their handwashing places, a problem that is typically considered to be one of the poor. Objective: We investigated toilet sharing practices, locations of water sources, and relevant sociodemographic factors associated with the observed handwashing places that lack soap in the richest (ninth wealth decile) households in Bangladesh. Methods: We used data from the 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). Logistic regression technique was used to investigate how toilet sharing practices, water source locations, and different sociodemographic factors were associated with observed handwashing places without soap. Results: We found that 25.8% of the richest households were observed to have no soap at their handwashing places. Of these households, those that shared their toilets with another household were 4.6 times (95% CI 3.15-6.60) more likely to observe handwashing places without soap as compared with those that did not share their toilets. Further, the richest households were 4.2 times (95% CI 2.38-7.33) more likely to observe handwashing places without soap if they collected water from their own yard or plot, and 7.1 times (95% CI 3.61-13.97) more likely to observe handwashing places without soap if they collected water from elsewhere in comparison to the reference group that collected water from their own dwelling. Conclusion: Sharing toilet with other households and location of main water source are associated with handwashing places without observed soap in the richest households in Bangladesh. These results can inform discussions of water availability and soap-handwashing-related policy and program development.

In Great Plains rangelands, drought is a recurring disturbance. Ranchers in this region expect to encounter drought but may not be adequately prepared for it. Efforts to encourage drought preparedness would benefit from a better understanding of the conditions under which managers make decisions to minimize the impacts of drought. We tested the direct and moderating roles of the drought hazard and the social-ecological context on drought impacts and response. This study was conducted with ranchers in western and central South Dakota and Nebraska following the drought that began in 2012. We surveyed ranchers regarding the effects of the drought and their responses and used multimodel analysis to explore the relationships among measures of drought preparedness, drought response, and drought impacts. Drought severity was the primary predictor of all impacts, but specific types of impacts were varied depending on the operation’s enterprise mix, resources, and management. The socioecological characteristics of the ranch system predicted drought response actions taken, by either providing the necessary resources and capacity to take action or creating sensitivity in the system that required action to be taken. We conclude with recommendations for learning from current drought experiences in order to better adapt to future drought events.

Groundwater use often has external effects on both the environment and future groundwater benefits, leading to overwithdrawal. Ostrom’s research on common property resources (CPRs) and related literature indicates that CPR management may improve if users have more information about the groundwater system, more opportunities for communication, and empowerment to regulate. In this paper, we conduct a computer laboratory experiment involving 180 students to evaluate the role of these components of engagement in reducing irrigation withdrawals from an aquifer. Our treatments, which consisted of different levels of information, communication, and empowerment, resulted in decreases in groundwater extraction and increases in irrigation profits over nine-year extraction horizons. Enhanced information and communication also increased the fraction of subjects who voted for and complied with collective action in the form of quotas on pumping levels.

This article presents a guide for understanding the purposes and appropriate uses of different measures of conservation behavior. While applicable across natural resource management contexts, we primarily draw upon agricultural conservation research to illustrate our points. Farmers are often of interest to researchers, program managers, extension professionals, and non-governmental environmental organizations due to the significant impact of agricultural production practices on environmental resources. Practitioners are often interested in producer behaviors when they are planning or evaluating a project, developing or evaluating policy, or developing and testing theory. Within those bounds, we identify when it is most useful to assess an actual behavior (self-reported or observed) or behavioral intention (willingness or intent to pay/accept, support/participate in a policy or program, or engage in a conservation practice), and present examples of how they have been used in the past. We close with three recommendations for those conducting research related to agricultural producer behaviors: 1) research should be theoretically grounded, even when the purpose isn’t to develop theory; 2) great care should be used when selecting behavior measures, dependent upon the purpose of the research, and 3) composite measures should be used when possible and appropriate.

Environmental plans provide an effective medium to examine the gaps between environmental planning education and practice. Although many studies have focused on the theories and procedures of environmental planning, few studies have directly addressed the education gaps in environmental planning practices. This paper provides a measurable approach to identify the environmental education gaps by evaluating environmen tal plan quality based on a set of indicators. The descriptive results indicate that major environmental education gaps exist in many region-wide, global-wide, long-term, cumulative, and strategically critical environmental elements. The regression results further highlight the factors that can reduce the gaps in environmental planning education. This study finally provides a framework of environmental planning education core courses to bridge the educational gaps.

Profiles of ground water pesticide concentrations beneath the Nebraska Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) describe the effect of 20 yr of pesticide usage on ground water in the central Platte Valley of Nebraska. During the 6-yr (1991-1996) study, 14 pesticides and their transformation products were detected in 7848 ground water samples from the unconfined water table aquifer. Triazine and acetamide herbicides applied on the site and their transformation products had the highest frequencies of detection. Atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,-diamine] concentrations decreased with depth and ground water age determined with 3H/3He dating techniques. Assuming equivalent atrazine input during the past 20 yr, the measured average changes in concentration with depth (age) suggest an estimated half-life of >10 yr. Hydrolysis of atrazine and deethylatrazine (DEA; 2-chloro-4-amino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine) to hydroxyatrazine [6-hydroxy-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine] appeared to be the major degradation route. Aqueous hydroxyatrazine concentrations are governed by sorption on the saturated sediments. Atrazine was detected in the confined Ogallala aquifer in ultra-trace concentrations (0.003 microg L(-1)); however, the possibility of introduction during reverse circulation drilling of these deep wells cannot be eliminated. In fall 1997 sampling, metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl) acetamide] was detected in 57% of the 230 samples. Metolachlor oxanilic acid [(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl) amino]oxo-acetic acid] was detected in most samples. In ground water profiles, concentrations of metolachlor ethane sulfonic acid [2-[(ethyl-6-methylphenyl)(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)amino]-2-oxo-ethanesulfonic acid] exceeded those of deethylatrazine. Alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide] was detected in

Dissolved pesticide concentrations in 168 water samples collected from two closely-spaced lakes between early May 1990 and mid-June 1991 indicated large differences in impacts from watershed nonpoint source inputs. Pesticide levels in Maskenthine Lake, a small impoundment of 34-ha, increased in response to spring and early summer runoff events

The increasing incidence of NO3 contamination in municipal wells is a growing concern in the Midwest. While leachates from N fertilizers applied to agricultural lands can impact the water quality in municipal wells, there is also the potential for leachates from turfgrass fertilizers to be groundwater contaminants. In this study, five plots were treated with ammonium nitrate (34-0-0,N-P-K) at rates of 0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.4 kg N/100 m and irrigatedThe turf received approximately 640 mm of water during the 34-d study. Analysis of soil water from 15, 6-m continuous cores showed that as much as 95% of the NO3 applied in late August leached below the turfgrass root zone. Average NO3 concentrations in the pulse ranged from 34 to 70 mg/L NO3-N. Thirty-four days after fertilization the center of the pulse was at =1.2 m with the leading edge at 2 to 2.5 m. This vertical rate of movement is similar to that predicted by the one-dimensional CMLS model. The relatively high uniform NO3 concentrations in the unfertilized plot indicated that with excessive irrigation the water alone supplies NO3 in excess of the turfgrass need. T INTEGRITY of the public water supply in many municipalities relying on groundwater is threatened by rising NO3-N concentrations. Many municipalities in Nebraska and the Midwest have been forced to relocate their wells or blend water from several wells to obtain drinking water with a NO3-N concentration below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L. Usually the public supply wells are located within the community. Because groundwater recharge in these urban areas occurs through lawns, the potential for NO3 contamination of municipal -wells from applied fertilizer exists. During the last 20 yr, NO3-N concentrations in the Sidney, NE municipal wells have been increasing at a rate of 0.4 mg/L per year (Nebraska Dep. of Health records) and concentrations in five of the eight wells now exceed 10 mg/L (Nebraska Dep. of Health records). Although there is some variability in the NO3 concentration in the distribution system from month to month, the concentration remains just below the MCL (Sidney Water Dep. records). Several of the municipal wells are within a 6-km long plume of NO3 M.E. Exner, Conservation and Survey Div., M.E. Burbach, Water Center, D.G. Watts, Biological Systems Eng. Dep., R.C. Shearman, Agronomy Dep., and R.F. Spalding, Agronomy Dep. and Water Center, Institute of Agric. and Nat. Res., Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0844. Received 20 Aug. 1990. *Corresponding author. Published in J. Environ. Qual. 20:658-662 (1991). contaminated groundwater. The plume extends from west of Sidney to at least the center of town and is about 1.5-km wide (Fig. 1). The groundwater within the plume has an average concentration of 12 ± 2 mg/ L NO3-N. Results from a study with stable N isotopes demonstrated that the source of the contamination primarily was leachate from manure applied to irrigated cornfields (Zea mays L.) (Bryda, 1988). The isotope ratios, however, became lighter at the eastern end of the plume suggesting the addition of leachate with a lower isotopic ratio; namely, commercial fertilizer. A previous study (Spalding et al., 1988) of five cores collected from two lawns in Sidney showed there was a difference in the amount of NO3 accumulated in the intermediate vadose zone of a professionally maintained lawn compared with one maintained by a typical homeowner. The intermediate vadose zone is the portion of the vadose zone extending below the crop rooting zone to the water table. The low average NO3 concentration (4.9 mg/L NO3-N) in the intermediate vadose zone and the absence of vertically transported NO3 pulses indicated there was minimal leaching of NO3 below the turfgrass root system of a lawn receiving a liquid commercial application of 1.5 kg N/100 m per season applied in four equal applications and watered automatically. The average NO3 concentration in the intermediate vadose zone below the private lawn receiving a split application of 5.9 kg N/100 m per season, which is far in excess of turfgrass needs, and manually irrigated with a garden hose was 12.9 mg/L NO3-N. Unlike the smooth profile beneath the lawn receiving the commercial applications, there were sharp pulses of NO3 in the vertical profile. The total accumulated NO3 in the intermediate vadose zone was 1.5 kg N/100 m in the professionally maintained lawn and 4.0 kg N/100 m in the owner-maintained lawn. Because most lawns are not fertilized by lawn care professionals nor is the irrigation water applied with regard to soil moisture conditions or water retention characteristics, there is the potential for excessive applications of both fertilizer and irrigation water. While several studies have addressed NO3 leaching from turfgrass grown on sandy loam soils under a spectrum of fertilization and/or irrigation rates (Rieke and Ellis, 1974;StarrandDeRoo, 1981; Brown etal., 1982; Morton et al., 1988), the collection of samples has been limited to shallow depths. This experiment was designed to record deep NO3 movement under fixed irrigation with variable N application rates. Published July, 1991

The impact of improved irrigation and nutrient practices on ground water quality was assessed at the Nebraska Management System Evaluation Area using ground water quality data collected from 16 depths at 31 strategically located multilevel samplers three times annually from 1991 to 1996. The site was sectioned into four 13.4-ha management fields: (i) a conventional furrow-irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) field; (ii) a surge-irrigated corn field, which received 60% less water and 31% less N fertilizer than the conventional field; (iii) a center pivot-irrigated corn field, which received 66% less water and 37% less N fertilizer than the conventional field; and (iv) a center pivot-irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) field. Dating (3H/3He) indicated that the uppermost ground water was