Many of the concepts that our students must master in soil, crop, and environmental science cours... more Many of the concepts that our students must master in soil, crop, and environmental science courses are inherently spatial, but our ability to make these spatial patterns clear to our students has been limited. Students, however, need more geospatial skills to understand and address the increasingly complex societal problems that will confront them throughout their careers. We are developing a web-based geographic information system based on Google Earth that will allow students to access a large variety of soil and other maps for any area of the state of Indiana, USA, and we are integrating this new spatial educational experience into our curricula. We have two goals: (1) to develop the ability of our students to use geospatial information to understand how and why soils and landscapes vary spatially at scales ranging from individual fields to a region as large as Indiana, and (2) to develop our students’ understanding as to how the spatial distribution of soils and landscapes impa...
Food security issues are a rising concern for many as world population growth increases and deman... more Food security issues are a rising concern for many as world population growth increases and demand for food resources continues to grow. Demand in Central America for meat and milk products is increasing. Within Costa Rica, public attention has focused on deforestation, increases in acreage for pastureland, and the associated environmental impacts on water and soil quality. Pasturelands need to be more economically managed in order to meet the food security demands while limiting negative environmental impacts. In order to cope with the forage production challenges it is necessary to promote the use of tools and models that are capable of quantifying trade-off that occur between economy, sustainability and environment. In Costa Rica, dairy farms can integrate these social and environmental aspects into production decisions by incorporating socioeconomic information into their decision-making. This study calculated costs of production to facilitate evaluation of tradeoffs under various management systems. While considering revenue streams and cash costs association with pasture management, farm managers may also want to consider factors like long-term soil productivity, soil compaction, and whether additional investments (i.e. walkways for cattle) may be warranted to preserve the future production potential of pastures. Although this field study is limited, by a one-year data collect, the research presented within this paper provides an extensive model that can be replicated and utilized to make effective management decisions for producers within San Carlos region of Costa Rica.
Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
We describe our pedagogical approaches and experiences with an academic club service learning pro... more We describe our pedagogical approaches and experiences with an academic club service learning project (one semester, 20 club participants, including both graduate students and lower and upper-level undergraduates). Our service learning project responds to the recent demand for more community service-based club projects within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at University of Florida. As advisors our goal is to provide the support and tools to help train agricultural professionals. We want the students to value their membership as a means to gain additional academic and professional skills outside the classroom setting. Our goal for this project was to integrate methodology using both the plant science and soil-water science curricula to help broaden student's experiential learning outside the classroom. The students entered this service learning project in a national poster contest at the annual meetings within the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Scien...
Analyses of five agricultural systems in Honduras were used to develop a sustainability matrix. R... more Analyses of five agricultural systems in Honduras were used to develop a sustainability matrix. Rankings were based on qualitative data collected through interviews and observations in 2007 and 2008. A variety of constraints and advantages for each farming system were identified. Subsistence and small scale operators were often at a disadvantage because their production systems were highly entrenched and resistant to change. Industrial farms exhibited greater outputs but diminished ecological resilience. Operationally, a number of constraints were implicated, including inputs, outputs, ecological factors, and lack of access to capital for diversification. The matrix revealed variations in degree and substance, largely attributed to differences in the referenced parameters. However, correlations were also observed based on operational scale. In particular, the three small-scale systems (Sustainable Harvest hillside growers, Zamorano University, and the Valdez family farm) tended to e...
Many of the concepts that our students must master in our soil, crop, and environmental science c... more Many of the concepts that our students must master in our soil, crop, and environmental science curricula are inherently spatial. Although we implicitly acknowledge the existence of spatial patterns in our courses, our ability to explicitly make these spatial patterns clear to our students has been limited. On the other hand, our students need more geospatial skills to understand and address the increasingly complex societal problems that they will be confronted with throughout their careers. This project has two goals: (1) Develop the ability of our students to use geospatial information to understand how and why soils and landscapes vary spatially at scales ranging from individual fields to a region as large as the state of Indiana. (2) Develop our students' understanding as to how the spatial distribution of soils and landscapes impacts the distributions of crops, cropping systems, land use, and environmental and natural resource issues across the state of Indiana. Our 5 educ...
International experiences provide culturally rich, complex situations for learners to process in ... more International experiences provide culturally rich, complex situations for learners to process in both the affective and cognitive domains. By better understanding how learners process the information they receive in international settings, educators can develop quality international programs that encourage learners to more fully develop their cognitive abilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive relationships between participants' learning styles, problem solving styles, and critical thinking dispositions in an international setting. Relationships were found between learning style preferences and critical thinking disposition, and learning style preferences and problem solving style. Given these results, instructors working in international settings should expect students to differ in terms of their cognitive processes and associated cognitive styles such as learning style. Instructors should be prepared to address these differences in style as they would i...
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 2013
ABSTRACT Kudzu (Pueraria montana), a vigorous, perennial warm-season invasive legume is widely sp... more ABSTRACT Kudzu (Pueraria montana), a vigorous, perennial warm-season invasive legume is widely spread in the southeastern United States and has the potential to be used as feed by ruminants during its growing season from May until first frost (usually in October). The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritive value of kudzu during a drought-prone growing season. Five samples of apical leaves and stems were harvested once a week from random locations within a 43-year-old kudzu infestation grown on a Cecil clay loam (fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults) at the Clemson University Experimental Forest (Clemson, S.C.). We report the effects of plant part, sampling date, mean air temperature (MAT), and precipitation on dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) of the kudzu. Dry matter and CP were significantly greater in the apical leaf than in the stem; CP had a significant mean air temperature by plant part interaction. A significant temperature by plant part interaction also existed for Mg. Magnesium was greater in leaf than in the stem at the beginning of the growing season until the end of October, when small differences in Mg concentrations between stem and leaf were observed. Stem and leaf Ca concentrations were not significantly different. Calcium concentrations did vary across the dates (P = 0.002). A significant temperature by plant part interaction existed for Mg concentrations (P = 0.003), Ca to P ratio (P P = 0.0007), S (P P = 0.0053), Mn (P = 0.0014), and Cu (P = 0.006). Overall, kudzu's nutritive value as feed for ruminants during the growing season is highly variable; however, chemical composition was very comparable to other common forages. More frequent and intensive droughts predicted as a result of climate change may limit forage choices; however, kudzu maintains its forage potential for feeding both domestic and wild animals during drought-prone growing season.
Many of the concepts that our students must master in soil, crop, and environmental science cours... more Many of the concepts that our students must master in soil, crop, and environmental science courses are inherently spatial, but our ability to make these spatial patterns clear to our students has been limited. Students, however, need more geospatial skills to understand and address the increasingly complex societal problems that will confront them throughout their careers. We are developing a web-based geographic information system based on Google Earth that will allow students to access a large variety of soil and other maps for any area of the state of Indiana, USA, and we are integrating this new spatial educational experience into our curricula. We have two goals: (1) to develop the ability of our students to use geospatial information to understand how and why soils and landscapes vary spatially at scales ranging from individual fields to a region as large as Indiana, and (2) to develop our students’ understanding as to how the spatial distribution of soils and landscapes impa...
Food security issues are a rising concern for many as world population growth increases and deman... more Food security issues are a rising concern for many as world population growth increases and demand for food resources continues to grow. Demand in Central America for meat and milk products is increasing. Within Costa Rica, public attention has focused on deforestation, increases in acreage for pastureland, and the associated environmental impacts on water and soil quality. Pasturelands need to be more economically managed in order to meet the food security demands while limiting negative environmental impacts. In order to cope with the forage production challenges it is necessary to promote the use of tools and models that are capable of quantifying trade-off that occur between economy, sustainability and environment. In Costa Rica, dairy farms can integrate these social and environmental aspects into production decisions by incorporating socioeconomic information into their decision-making. This study calculated costs of production to facilitate evaluation of tradeoffs under various management systems. While considering revenue streams and cash costs association with pasture management, farm managers may also want to consider factors like long-term soil productivity, soil compaction, and whether additional investments (i.e. walkways for cattle) may be warranted to preserve the future production potential of pastures. Although this field study is limited, by a one-year data collect, the research presented within this paper provides an extensive model that can be replicated and utilized to make effective management decisions for producers within San Carlos region of Costa Rica.
Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
We describe our pedagogical approaches and experiences with an academic club service learning pro... more We describe our pedagogical approaches and experiences with an academic club service learning project (one semester, 20 club participants, including both graduate students and lower and upper-level undergraduates). Our service learning project responds to the recent demand for more community service-based club projects within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at University of Florida. As advisors our goal is to provide the support and tools to help train agricultural professionals. We want the students to value their membership as a means to gain additional academic and professional skills outside the classroom setting. Our goal for this project was to integrate methodology using both the plant science and soil-water science curricula to help broaden student's experiential learning outside the classroom. The students entered this service learning project in a national poster contest at the annual meetings within the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Scien...
Analyses of five agricultural systems in Honduras were used to develop a sustainability matrix. R... more Analyses of five agricultural systems in Honduras were used to develop a sustainability matrix. Rankings were based on qualitative data collected through interviews and observations in 2007 and 2008. A variety of constraints and advantages for each farming system were identified. Subsistence and small scale operators were often at a disadvantage because their production systems were highly entrenched and resistant to change. Industrial farms exhibited greater outputs but diminished ecological resilience. Operationally, a number of constraints were implicated, including inputs, outputs, ecological factors, and lack of access to capital for diversification. The matrix revealed variations in degree and substance, largely attributed to differences in the referenced parameters. However, correlations were also observed based on operational scale. In particular, the three small-scale systems (Sustainable Harvest hillside growers, Zamorano University, and the Valdez family farm) tended to e...
Many of the concepts that our students must master in our soil, crop, and environmental science c... more Many of the concepts that our students must master in our soil, crop, and environmental science curricula are inherently spatial. Although we implicitly acknowledge the existence of spatial patterns in our courses, our ability to explicitly make these spatial patterns clear to our students has been limited. On the other hand, our students need more geospatial skills to understand and address the increasingly complex societal problems that they will be confronted with throughout their careers. This project has two goals: (1) Develop the ability of our students to use geospatial information to understand how and why soils and landscapes vary spatially at scales ranging from individual fields to a region as large as the state of Indiana. (2) Develop our students' understanding as to how the spatial distribution of soils and landscapes impacts the distributions of crops, cropping systems, land use, and environmental and natural resource issues across the state of Indiana. Our 5 educ...
International experiences provide culturally rich, complex situations for learners to process in ... more International experiences provide culturally rich, complex situations for learners to process in both the affective and cognitive domains. By better understanding how learners process the information they receive in international settings, educators can develop quality international programs that encourage learners to more fully develop their cognitive abilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive relationships between participants' learning styles, problem solving styles, and critical thinking dispositions in an international setting. Relationships were found between learning style preferences and critical thinking disposition, and learning style preferences and problem solving style. Given these results, instructors working in international settings should expect students to differ in terms of their cognitive processes and associated cognitive styles such as learning style. Instructors should be prepared to address these differences in style as they would i...
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 2013
ABSTRACT Kudzu (Pueraria montana), a vigorous, perennial warm-season invasive legume is widely sp... more ABSTRACT Kudzu (Pueraria montana), a vigorous, perennial warm-season invasive legume is widely spread in the southeastern United States and has the potential to be used as feed by ruminants during its growing season from May until first frost (usually in October). The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritive value of kudzu during a drought-prone growing season. Five samples of apical leaves and stems were harvested once a week from random locations within a 43-year-old kudzu infestation grown on a Cecil clay loam (fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults) at the Clemson University Experimental Forest (Clemson, S.C.). We report the effects of plant part, sampling date, mean air temperature (MAT), and precipitation on dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) of the kudzu. Dry matter and CP were significantly greater in the apical leaf than in the stem; CP had a significant mean air temperature by plant part interaction. A significant temperature by plant part interaction also existed for Mg. Magnesium was greater in leaf than in the stem at the beginning of the growing season until the end of October, when small differences in Mg concentrations between stem and leaf were observed. Stem and leaf Ca concentrations were not significantly different. Calcium concentrations did vary across the dates (P = 0.002). A significant temperature by plant part interaction existed for Mg concentrations (P = 0.003), Ca to P ratio (P P = 0.0007), S (P P = 0.0053), Mn (P = 0.0014), and Cu (P = 0.006). Overall, kudzu's nutritive value as feed for ruminants during the growing season is highly variable; however, chemical composition was very comparable to other common forages. More frequent and intensive droughts predicted as a result of climate change may limit forage choices; however, kudzu maintains its forage potential for feeding both domestic and wild animals during drought-prone growing season.
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Papers by Lori Unruh Snyder