RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 3, July 2012

The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and Team Archaeology are back on RAGBRAI for another year of Archaeology on the Road, and pleased to partner this year with the IDNR: Geological and Water Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey under the theme “Human and Natural History Partners.” Archaeology on the Road brings you the unique cultural history and prehistory of Iowa on the RAGBRAI route, pointing out interesting and significant archaeological sites and sharing Iowa’s past along the way. Look for our booth at Expo and then again on Days 1, 5 and 6 on the route, and also keep an eye out for our Team Archaeology

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 4, July 2012

The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and Team Archaeology are back on RAGBRAI for another year of Archaeology on the Road, and pleased to partner this year with the IDNR: Geological and Water Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey under the theme “Human and Natural History Partners.” Archaeology on the Road brings you the unique cultural history and prehistory of Iowa on the RAGBRAI route, pointing out interesting and significant archaeological sites and sharing Iowa’s past along the way. Look for our booth at Expo and then again on Days 1, 5 and 6 on the route, and also keep an eye out for our Team Archaeology

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 5, July 2012

The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and Team Archaeology are back on RAGBRAI for another year of Archaeology on the Road, and pleased to partner this year with the IDNR: Geological and Water Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey under the theme “Human and Natural History Partners.” Archaeology on the Road brings you the unique cultural history and prehistory of Iowa on the RAGBRAI route, pointing out interesting and significant archaeological sites and sharing Iowa’s past along the way. Look for our booth at Expo and then again on Days 1, 5 and 6 on the route, and also keep an eye out for our Team Archaeology.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 6, July 2012

The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and Team Archaeology are back on RAGBRAI for our third year of Archaeology on the Road, and pleased to partner this year with the IDNR: Geological and Water Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey under the theme “Human and Natural History Partners.” Archaeology on the Road brings you the unique cultural history and prehistory of Iowa on the RAGBRAI route, pointing out interesting and significant archaeological sites and sharing Iowa’s past along the way. Look for our booth at Expo and then again on Days 1, 5 and 6 on the route, and also keep an eye out for our Team Archaeology

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 7, July 2012

The University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist and Team Archaeology are back on RAGBRAI for our third year of Archaeology on the Road, and pleased to partner this year with the IDNR: Geological and Water Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey under the theme “Human and Natural History Partners.” Archaeology on the Road brings you the unique cultural history and prehistory of Iowa on the RAGBRAI route, pointing out interesting and significant archaeological sites and sharing Iowa’s past along the way. Look for our booth at Expo and then again on Days 1, 5 and 6 on the route, and also keep an eye out for our Team Archaeology.

Report on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for the year ended June 30, 2011

Report on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for the year ended June 30, 2011

The Economics of Dead Zones: Linking Externalities from the Land to their Consequences in the Sea, October 2012,

The purpose of this review and analysis is to provide a basic understanding of the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the causes and extent of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of the condition and impacts on ecosystem services. We describe what is known about abatement options and cost effective policy design before turning to an analysis of the large, seasonally recurring hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We advance the understanding of this major ecological issue by estimating the relationship between pollutants (nutrients) and the areal extent of the hypoxic zone. This “production function” relationship suggests that both instantaneous and legacy contributions of nutrients contribute to annual predictions of the size of the zone, highlighting concerns that ecologists have raised about lags in the recovery of the system and affirms the importance of multiple nutrients as target pollutants. We conclude with a discussion of critical research needs to provide input to policy formation.

Permanent.Plot.ch - a database for Swiss permanent vegetation plots

The aim of the Permanent.Plot.ch project is the conservation of historical data about permanent plots in Switzerland and the monitoring of vegetation in a context of environmental changes (mainly climate and land use). Permanent plots are currently being recognized as valuable tools to monitor long-term effects of environmental changes on vegetation. Often used in short studies (3 to 5 years), they are generally abandoned at the end of projects. However, their full potential might only be revealed after 10 or more years, once the location is lost. For instance, some of the oldest permanent plots in Switzerland (first half of the 20th century) were nearly lost, although they are now very valuable data. The Permanent.Plot.ch national database (GIVD ID EU-CH-001), by storing historical and recent data, will allow to ensuring future access to data from permanent vegetation plots. As the database contains some private data, it is not directly available on internet but an overview of the data can be downloaded from internet (http://www.unil.ch/ppch) and precise data are available on request.

Willigness to pay for long-term care coverage: the role of private information and self-insurance

Both public and private insurance for long-term care is undeveloped in some European countries such as in Spain and empirical evidence is still limited. This paper aims at exmining the determinants of the demand for Long Term Care (LTC) coverage in Spain using contingent valuation techniques. Our findings indicate that only one-fifth of the population is willing to pay to assure coverage decisions are significantly affected by private information asymmetry and housing tenure in giving rise to self-insurance reduces the probability of insurance being hypothetically purchased.

Report on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for the year ended June 30, 2012

Report on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for the year ended June 30, 2012

Climatic and land use changes in the NW of Iberian Peninsula recorded in a 1,500-year record from Lake Sanabria

L'estudi de diversos descriptors paleoambientals com ara el pol·len, les diatomees i la sedimentologia, realitzat en sediments procedents del llac de Sanabria (NO de la península Ibèrica), ha aportat informació sobre les oscil·lacions climàtiques atribuïdes als períodes càlids tardoromà i medieval, així com a la petita edat del gel. Entre els anys 440 i 950 dC, el clima es caracteritzà per temperatures suaus i un règim de precipitacions mediterrani, malgrat l¿existència de pulsacions més fredes vers els anys 530 i 700 dC. Les evidències pol·líniques dels usos del sòl indiquen l'extensió d¿activitats ramaderes i agrícoles. Aquesta fase correspon al final del període càlid romà i al període càlid medieval. El canvi de condicions climàtiques es produeix entre els anys 950 i 1100 dC, moment en què els valors mínims de matèria orgànica, pol·len arbori, concentració de diatomees, nitrogen total (TN) i mida del gra indiquen temperatures més baixes i un règim de precipitacions més regular. Aquest període correspon a