Many land-grant institutions with agriculture and natural resource programs in the United States offer online courses to meet student demand. The goal of this study was to understand how major educational stakeholders, including instructors and students, perceive the benefits and limitations of online teaching and learning in agriculture and natural resource sciences. This study utilized a mixed mode data collection method, which involved informal meetings as well as online survey administration. The data were analyzed through strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)-Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) framework. The study results offer novel perspectives on the perceived utility and challenges of several attributes of online learning including work-home balance, lack of social interactions, virtual classroom opportunities for working professionals, and academic integrity and cyber scam issues among others. Our findings may be beneficial to academic administrators, instructors, and institutions in identifying opportunities, challenges, and adopting programmatic strategies to improve effectiveness of online learning.

Sal (Shorea robusta) forests, a dominant forest type in Nepal, experience different disturbance intensities depending on management regimes. This study compares the impact of disturbance on Nepalese Sal forests, which are managed on three major management regimes: protected area, state-managed forest, and buffer zone community forest. Using a systematic sampling approach, we sampled 20 plots, each covering 500 square meters, and nested plots within each main plot to measure pole and regeneration for each management regime. We recorded forest characteristics including tree species, counts, diameter, height, crown cover, and disturbance indicators. We compared forest attributes such as diversity indices, species richness, and stand structure by management regime using analysis of variance and regression analysis. The forest management regimes were classified into three disturbance levels based on disturbance factor bundles, and the buffer zone community forest was found to have the highest disturbance while the protected forest had the lowest disturbance. Species richness, diversity, evenness, abundance, density and basal area were higher, but regeneration was lower in protected area and state-managed forest compared to the buffer zone community forests. This suggests positive impacts of moderate disturbance on regeneration. The management plan should prioritize the minimization of excessive disturbance to balance forest conservation and provide forest resources to local users.

Understanding people’s perceptions of the environment, drinking water issues, and protecting and preserving water resources is of great importance. This study aims to assess and compare the perceptions of the general public (n= 414), post‐secondary students (n= 103), and water professionals (n= 104) in Oklahoma on water issues in the state. To address these goals, a 53‐item paper questionnaire was first administered to a randomly sampled mailing list of Oklahoma residents. As a follow up to the initial survey, post‐secondary students at Oklahoma State University were sampled in addition to Oklahoma water professionals at regional conferences. Respondents ranged from 18 to over 65 years old, with all three demographics agreeing the top water priority to be clean drinking water. The majority were satisfied with their home water supply and felt it was safe to drink, while they were not sure of the quality of ground and/or surface water. Age was a key factor in information delivery and learning preferences as the older participants favored print material versus the younger demographic interest in technology. Data collected via this study provide insight into the perceptions, priorities, and learning preferences of these three populations. Despite our finding that clean water is a priority in Oklahoma, regardless of demographic, results suggest more education and outreach is needed to provide additional information regarding water in Oklahoma.