Student Scholar Showcase 2009

Persistent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11299/54848

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Browsing Student Scholar Showcase 2009 by Subject "College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Minnesota Agri-tourism: Status and Interest
    (2009-10-07) Schuweiler, Andrea; Gustafson, Kent
    Agri-tourism is defined as a set of activities that occurs when people link travel with the products, services, and experiences of agriculture. Examples of agri-tourism include, but are not limited to, farm stays, hay rides, wine trails, farm tours, and farm festivals. Agri-tourism can increase farm revenue, lead to a more diversified business, and stimulate local economies. In 2009, the University of Minnesota Tourism Center, in partnership with Renewing the Countryside, the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Minnesota Grown program of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture conducted a survey of Minnesota farms to learn about agri-tourism businesses, activities, and opportunities. The information gained from the survey is designed to help the University of Minnesota Tourism Center and its partner organizations provide better educational and marketing opportunities for agri-tourism in Minnesota.
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    Modeling the Response of Arctic Vegetation to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change
    (2009-10-07) Cassidy, Emily
    An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is contributing to planetary warming that is strongest over high latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and strong warming have led to changes in vegetation distribution, permafrost depth, and snow cover, which significantly affect the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and the climate through biophysical and biogeochemical processes. With a continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions and additional warming in the high latitudes, uncertainty exists as to how the Arctic biosphere will respond in the coming decades and whether Arctic ecosystems will remain a carbon sink or instead become a source of carbon to the atmosphere. Elevated carbon dioxide and climate change can affect vegetation growth through changing the assimilation of carbon dioxide and the respiration of carbon from the vegetation and soil. Using a dynamic global vegetation model (IBIS), potential changes in both the biophysical and biogeochemical processes of Arctic vegetation were analyzed to determine how future climate change and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide may alter their functioning and ability to store carbon.
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    Plant Signaling Compounds Alter Secondary Metabolite Production Among Antagonistic Streptomyces
    (2009-10-07) Bakker, Matthew; Salomon, Christine; Kinkel, Linda
    Streptomycetes have been implicated in the control of soil-borne plant pathogens, and are known to produce an extensive array of antimicrobial secondary metabolites. We investigated the hypothesis that plants manipulate the production of secondary metabolites by streptomycetes. We tested a collection of diverse Streptomyces isolates for responses to potential signaling molecules produced by plants, including plant hormones, flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, and crude root exudates. Secondary metabolite production was investigated with the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and bioassays for inhibitory activity. We found evidence that streptomycetes respond to plant-produced compounds with altered patterns of secondary metabolite production. Streptomyces isolates in our study had the ability to chemically modify and produce close analogs of plant-derived compounds. The production of similar chemical compounds may facilitate cross-kingdom communication. Our work suggests the potential for plants to manipulate the activities of soil microbial communities, which may confer a selective advantage in suppression of plant pathogens. These results concur with studies from many different systems showing that microbial activity is tightly linked with the health and functioning of higher organisms.
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    Wilderness Visitor Experience Over Time: Change, Constraints, & Impacts
    (2009-10-07) Schroeder, Sierra L.; Schneider, Ingrid E.
    Various constraints to recreation and leisure are well documented. Constraints are “factors that limit people’s participation in leisure activities, people’s use of leisure services, or people’s enjoyment of current activities” (Jackson & Scott, 1999, p. 301). Structural constraints are oft-cited in outdoor recreation and include time and distance. Schneider (2007) suggested that wilderness visitors likely face similar constraints as general recreationists, yet such research is limited to a single empirical study (Green et al., 2007). As such, the purpose of this study was to understand changes such as constraints impacting recreational wilderness visitors, and to describe the impact of these constraints among visitors to a U.S. wilderness area: the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Specially: What are the structural constraints encountered by BWCAW visitors? If and how are wilderness experiences influenced by these constraints?