Windbreaks were originally promoted across the U.S. Great Plains to reduce wind erosion. A review paper published nearly 30 years ago showed yield increases for a variety of crops associated with windbreaks. However, with the widespread use of no-till cropping systems and advanced crop genetics, the question is “Do windbreaks still provide a yield benefit?” This study compared data from protected and unprotected fields over multiple years across Kansas and Nebraska looking at relative soybean (Glycine max L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield differences. Farmer’s pre-existing georeferenced data, generated by automated combine yield monitors, were analyzed with ArcGIS 10.3.1 to visualize windbreak interaction with crop yield. Statistics were conducted to determine if the yield in protected areas of the field was significantly different from the yield in unprotected areas. Also, yield loss was estimated from the windbreak footprint to assess if yield increases were enough to compensate for the area taken out of crop production. Results showed: soybeans (57 crop/years) presented the most positive response to windbreak effect with significant yield increases 46% of the time, with a 16% (283 kg ha⁻¹) average yield increase. Wheat (44 crop/years) yield increases were significant 30% of the time, with a 10% (319 kg ha⁻¹) average yield increase. Narrow windbreaks (1–2 tree rows, average width of 13 m) and those on the north edge of fields resulted in yield increases that compensated for the footprint of the windbreak more often (71%) than wider windbreaks on the south edges of fields (38%).

Marsh terracing is a wetland restoration technique that is being implemented in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Marsh terraces are segmented berms of soil built within shallow coastal ponds, designed to increase marsh area and reduce wave energy. Approximately 980 linear km of marsh terraces have been constructed over almost 30 years in Louisiana and Texas to combat subsidence and sea-level rise; however little research has been conducted to determine their effectiveness. The objective of this study was to assess marsh terrace performance. The change in marsh terrace areas was measured over time through remote sensing. This analysis was conducted using one-meter resolution imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery program (NAIP) from 2003 until 2017 from five Louisiana coastal parishes. Twenty terrace fields of study between 10 and 14 years old were randomly selected within each parish. Results show more predominant deposition (55%) than erosion (45%) in marsh terraces. Terrace fields with high channel density and thereby an external sediment supply show more deposition compared to low channel density fields. This is the first study assessing multiple marsh terrace fields performance. Results are promising, especially considering the current rate of sea level rise and subsidence in Louisiana.

The Bonnet Carré Spillway is a large flood control structure that diverts Mississippi River floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound to prevent flooding in southern Louisiana and New Orleans. When operating at full capacity, the Spillway releases water at a rate of 7080 m³/s. Spillway openings regularly last a month or more. The enormous amount of freshwater that is diverted through the Spillway impacts salinity and nutrients in the Mississippi Sound. The objective of this research is to use a hydrodynamic model to simulate the impact of Bonnet Carré Spillway openings on the salinity of the Mississippi Sound over multiple years. Specifically, four hypothetical simulations of Spillway openings are compared to simulations during the same time when the Spillway is closed. The results show by how much, for how long, and where salinity is impacted in the estuarine system. The maximum difference in salinity at any given location over the mapped dates between the non-opening and hypothetical opening scenarios varies between 22 and 30 in each year. Differences in salinity between the opening and non-opening scenarios begin to decline in the study area approximately 18 days after Spillway closure. Decreases in salinity in Lake Borgne persist over a year. The Bonnet Carré Spillway affects salinity mostly in Lake Borgne and along an east/west ribbon that embraces the Mississippi coastline. Decreases in salinity caused by Spillway openings are seen up to 200 km east of the Spillway. These results are important for planning management strategies for estuarine resources during Spillway openings.

Conversion of mature oak (Quercus spp.) dominated woodlands to shade-tolerant species is a well-documented problem across the eastern United States. However, oak woodland restoration within the woodland-prairie ecotone of Kansas at the western edge of the eastern deciduous forests has not been systematically studied before. Hence, an oak-dominated woodland is being used to study the effects of prescribed burning and mechanical thinning to encourage oak regeneration within this region. A repeated measures design is employed with burn and thin treatments, administered in 2015 after conducting a pretreatment stand inventory. Resampling was done after two growing seasons. Pretreatment inventory revealed oak dominance in the tree class, while competitive species such as Cercis canadensis, Ulmus americana, and Juniperus virginiana collectively dominated the seedling and sapling classes. Thinning reduced the tree density significantly, but when thinning was not followed by a burn, both total and Cercis canadensis seedling densities increased significantly. The burn treatment, on the other hand, controlled Juniperus virginiana seedlings successfully while oak regeneration increased. Hence, the most promising results were observed when thinning and burning were combined. However, control of C. canadensis seedlings remains the major challenge in the future given its vigorous recovery two growing seasons after burning.

Understanding spatial variation in ocean waves is critical for erosion planning and infrastructure projects. The study is aimed at (1) performing a cluster analysis to categorize the wave statistics over space and (2) determining the important drivers affecting spatial variations of wave statistics in a low energy, fetch limited environment. In this study, 29 wave gauges were deployed in Back Bay Biloxi, Mississippi. Raw pressure and processed wave height were clustered using two algorithms: Euclidian and Dynamic Time Warping. The Euclidean algorithm was applied to raw and processed data. However, due to the computationally expensive nature of Dynamic Time Warping, this algorithm could not be used on raw pressure data and was only applied to processed wave data. Therefore, three combinations of distance algorithms and data were compared: (1) Euclidean algorithm on raw pressure data, (2) Euclidean algorithm on processed wave height data, and (3) Dynamic Time Warping algorithm on processed wave height data. The results showed similar clustering for Euclidean and Dynamic Time Warping on processed data, with most gauges falling into one cluster. Results from this study reveal that the dendrogram trees of the Euclidean and Dynamic Time Warping algorithms on processed data are similar, where most of the wave gauges fall in one cluster. Conversely, the Euclidian algorithm on the raw pressure data distributed the wave gauges more evenly between the clusters. Additionally, the Euclidean algorithm on the raw pressure data showed that water depth significantly affects wave clustering.