Selected Research Results

The following are selected findings from published or in process articles to highlight the kinds of information generated through this initiative.

• Key strategies for limiting risks associated with climate change at the farm scale in Vermont include (1) diversity of markets, production, household income and land base, (2) sustainable soil management, including water management in soils, and (3) innovative cropping systems (Schattman et al., 2015).

• Preliminary analysis of greenhouse gas emissions data on on-farm reduced tillage treatments indicated that no till decreased CO2 emissions compared to other tillage treatments; manure injection increased N2O emissions compared to broadcast (Goeschel et al., in progress; Adair, annual NE-SARE report, 2015).

• When farmers perceive that they know how to adopt a Best Management Practice (BMP), they are more likely to adopt it (Zia, et al., submitted for publication).

• The ability to visualize a practice using photo imagery (instead of/or in addition to hearing/reading about it) has a positive effect on potential adoption (Hurley subteam, forthcoming).

• NRCS incentives cover 50-80% of the cost of implementing CCBMPs such as reduced tillage and riparian buffers (Helling et al., 2015).

Publications & Academic Presentations

Edited Book: Schattman, R., V.E. Méndez, K. Westdjik, M. Caswell, D. Conner, C. Koliba, A. Zia, S.Hurley, C. Adair, L. Berlin & H. Darby (2014) Vermont agricultural resilience in a changing climate: A transdisciplinary and participatory action research (PAR) process. In N. Benkeblia (Ed.) Agroecology, ecosystems, and sustainability. CRC Press/Taylor and Francis: Boca Raton, FL.

Conference presentation: Colby, J.; Tsao, E.; Westdijk, K.E. (September 2014). “Harnessing the potential of transdisciplinary action research: Generalizable lessons learned from the Vermont Farm Resilience in a Changing Climate Initiative.” International Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement conference. New Orleans, LA.

Conference proceedings: Tsai, Y.; Zia, A.; Koliba, C.; Guilbert, J.; Bucini, G.; Beckage, B., (April 2013). “Impacts of land managers’ decisions on landuse transition within Missisquoi Watershed Vermont: An application of agent-based modeling system,” in Systems Conference (SysCon), 2013 IEEE International , vol., no., pp.824-829, 15-18.

Webinar: Schattman, R. and Conner, D. (January 20, 2016). Best Management Practices for On-Farm Climate Change Resilience in the Northeast: Social, Ecological and Economic Implications. USDA Northeast Regional Climate Hub webinar series. Available: http://www.climatewebinars.net/webinars/best-management-practices-for-on-farm-climate-change-resil-ience-in-the-northeast

Refereed Journal: Goeschel, T, EC Adair, L Barbieri, et al. (in progress). Impacts of agricultural best management practices on carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Refereed Journal: Miller, J., Conner, D. Zia, A., Wang Q. and Darby, H. (Under Review). Conjoint Analysis of Farmers Response to Conservation Incentives. Submitted to the Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

Refereed Journal: Zia, A., Hurley, S., Tsai, Y., Miller, J., Koliba, C., Adair, C., Connor, D., Berlin, L., Westdijk, K., Schattman, R., Mendez, V.E. (accepted). An Assessment of Prevalence and Social Psychological Determinants of Farmer Nutrient Management Practice Adoption Behaviors: Evidence from Lamoille and Missisquoi Watersheds in the Lake Champlain Basin. Journal of Environmental Management.

Refereed Journal: Helling, A. P., Conner, D. S., Heiss, S. N., & Berlin, L. S. (2015). Economic Analysis of Climate Change Best Management Practices in Vermont Agriculture. Agriculture, 5(3), 879-900.

Refereed Journal: Koliba, C., Reynolds, A., Zia, A., and Scheinert, S. (2015). Isomorphic Properties of Network Governance: Comparing Two Watershed Governance Initiatives in the Lake Champlain Basin Using Institutional Network Analysis. Complexity, Governance & Networks. 1(2). 99–118. DOI:10.7564/14-CGN12

Refereed Journal: Scheinert, S., Koliba, C., Hurley, S., Coleman, S., and Zia, A., (2015). The Shape of Watershed Governance: Locating the Boundaries of Multiplex Networks. Complexity, Governance & Networks. 2(1): 65–82 65 DOI: 10.7564/15-CGN25

Refereed Journal: Tsai, Y., Zia, A., Koliba, C., Bucini, G., Guilbert, J., and Beckage, B. (2015). An Interactive Land Use Transition Agent-Based Model (ILUTABM): Endogenizing Human Environment Interactions at Watershed Scales. Land Use Policy. DOI:10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.008

Report: Adair, C. (2015). Evaluation of tillage and manure application practices on soil quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Annual Report. Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). Available: http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=ONE15-228&y=2015&t=0

Report: Darby, H., Blair, K., Cummings, E., Post, J., Monahan, S., and Ziegler, S. (2014). Summer Cover Crop Mix. Research Report. University of Vermont Extension: Northeast Crops and Soils. Available:http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/2014-Summer-Cover-Crop-Mix.pdf

Report: Darby, H., Ruhl, L., Cummings, E., Post, J., Monahan, S., and Ziegler, S. (2014). Late Season Cover Crop. Research Report. University of Vermont Extension: Northeast Crops and Soils. Available:http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/2014-Late-Summer-Cover-Crop-Report.pdf

Report: Darby, H., Sanders, J., Cummings, E., Post, J., Monahan, S., and Ziegler, S. (2014). Minimum Tillage Corn Trial. Research Report. University of Vermont Extension: Northeast Crops and Soils. Available:http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/2014-Min-Till-Corn.pdf

Report: Schattman, R.E., H.M. Aitken, V.E. Méndez and Caswell, M. (2014). Climate change resiliency on Vermont farms: a research report for service providers. Agroecology and Rural Livelihoods Research Brief no. 2. University of Vermont: Burlington, VT. 7pp.

Report: Darby, H., Sanders, J., Cummings, E., Harwood, H., and Monahan, S. (2013). Minimum Tillage Corn Trial. Research Report. University of Vermont Extension: Northeast Crops and Soils. Available: http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/2013_Min_Till_Corn_reportfinal.pdf

Exhibit: Hurley, S., and Greenleaf, H. (2015). Exhibit on Visualizations in the Sciences. Fleming Art Gallery, UVM Davis Center.

Presentation: Hurley, S. (2014). Climate Change Best Management Practices, Green Infrastructure, and Smart Growth. Vermont Legislative Policy Summit on Climate Change, UVM.

Hurley, S. and Greenleaf, H. Landscape Visualizations for Climate Change Best Management Prac-
tices. Across the Fence. September 16, 2015. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DgMM13Vqnc)

Television

Faulkner, J. and Westdijk, K. Efforts to make Vermont more Resilient in a Changing Climate. WCAXTV, February 17, 2014. (http://www.wcax.com/story/24746165/efforts-to-make-vt-agriculture-more-resilient-in-changing-climate)

State Agency Newsletter

Westdijk, K., A. Hoogenboom, C.E. Adair, L. Berlin, M. Caswell, D. Conner, H. Darby, R. Fox, S. Hurley, V.E. Méndez, R. Schattman and A. Zia (2014) UVM project aims to increase farm resilience in a changing climate. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Burlington, VT. The Climate Connection Newsletter.