Amazonia holds the largest continuous area of tropical forests with intense land use change dynamics inducing water, carbon, and energy feedbacks with regional and global impacts. Much of our knowledge of land use change in Amazonia comes from studies of the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for two thirds of the region. Amazonia outside of Brazil has received less attention because of the diffi...

Timberlands in Mississippi are owned by a diverse group of landowners: industrial owners, timberland investment management organizations (TIMOs), non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners, and public landowners. The objectives of each type vary, resulting in different management of their properties. This variation influences the intensity of their management and harvest decisions, which i...

Beneficial effects of leaving residue at the soil surface are well documented for steep lands, but not for flat lands that are drained with surface inlets and tile lines. This study quantified the effects of tillage and nutrient source on tile line and surface inlet water quality under continuous corn (Zea mays L.) from relatively flat lands (<3%). Tillage treatments were either fall chisel or ...

In this study, we use Stochastic Frontier analysis approach to estimate cost efficiency, economies of scale, and technological progress among Iranian banks from 1999 to 2012. The results show that there is a marked difference in cost efficiency before and after the recent financial sanctions against Iranian banking industry. Moreover, the results indicate that specialized government-owned banks...

background & aim: glioblastoma multiforme (gbm), the highest grade glioma (grade iv), is the most malignant form of astrocytoma in adults. this study aimed at evaluating the relationship between demographic, clinical and medical factors with gbm outcome. methods & materials/patients: through a cross-sectional design, 58 patients with newly diagnosed gbm were studied from 1999 to 2015 in guilan ...

Rangelands are expansive, unimproved lands located in arid or semi–arid regions, spanning a variety of landscapes including savannahs, high and low altitude deserts, mountain meadows, and tundra. Rangelands are generally unsuitable for crop production due to aridity, topography, and extreme temperatures. Rangelands support varying mixtures of native and nonnative grasses, grass–like plants, for...

Accurate geospatial information on the extent of irrigated land improves our understanding of agricultural water use, local land surface processes, conservation or depletion of water resources, and components of the hydrologic budget. We have developed a method in a geospatial modeling framework that assimilates irrigation statistics with remotely sensed parameters describing vegetation growth ...

2010 Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Cheong Loong Fah and Dr. Ashraf Kassim, for all the support and guidance they provided over the five years of my PhD. I would also like to thank Dr. Stefan Winkler for his support as my supervisor for the period of 2006-2007. I have had tremendous opportunity to learn from all of my supervisors. I feel truly enriched both acad...

The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members iii A mima, a Kiko y a los que dejamos en Cuba iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I appreciate the contributions and support from the following individuals: Dr. Bryan Loney, my major professor, and my dissertation committee members: Dr. also thank my colleague Mark Reeves for his instrumental assistance in programming. T...