Yes / This chapter aims to be both an exploration and an example of (or an experiment with) a ‘pedagogy of vulnerability’. It reports and reflects on efforts to create spaces for co-inquiry with students, as attempts to both escape the limits of traditional pedagogic relationships and to create spaces and opportunities for deeper learning. We consider how or whether the central premise of a ‘pedagogy of vulnerability’ – that purposeful and selective acts self-disclosure by teachers can help build the conditions of trust and care needed for dialogue around emotionally and politically challenging topics – is borne out in our experience.

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One of the key areas of climate change impacts is the water resources. Surface water has been compromised by climate change, and so has groundwater. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one of the major sufferers of climate change since the early 70s. The limitations of current global climate models in the prediction of the future climate over the continent have been a source of research challenges in the last decade. Over the decades, West Africa and the Sahel region have been subjected to major droughts and recurrent dry spells. While most studies in the region have tackled climate change effects on surface water and agriculture, a few have highlighted its effects on groundwater. This study investigates climate change impacts on both surface and groundwater in the Kou basin in Burkina Faso. The Kou River and its tributaries have experienced depletion over the last decades. Therefore, it has become necessary to investigate the deficit of the river flow and how the groundwater that forms the springs that feed the rivers is affected by climate change. The study resorts to integrated hydrologic modelling approach using the SWAT surface model and the MODFLOW groundwater model to assess the impact of climate change. Simulations from selected Regional Climate Models (RCMs) are used. Investigations from the RCMs show that the study area is expected to be drier with less precipitation and higher temperatures. Furthermore, the SWAT model results show that as rainfall reduces, future stream flows also significantly decrease. Results from the MODFLOW model also follow the trend of the SWAT model. Groundwater levels are declining whatever the RCM outputs used. Overall, all the models predicted a severely decreasing trend in surface and groundwater in the Kou basin. The study results will be particularly useful for water resources managers in the Kou River basin. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Northern peatlands represent a globally significant carbon stock, equating to almost one-third of the world’s organic soil carbon. The largest areal disturbance to northern peatlands is wildfire where carbon loss, through peat smouldering combustion, is highly variable. The tightly-coupled ecohydrological nature of peatlands results in autogenic feedbacks and the occurrence of threshold behaviour. High depth of burn has been evidenced in black spruce dominated peatlands in the sub-humid Boreal Plains ecozone of Alberta, Canada so this was chosen as the area of study. A landscape-scale assessment of peat hydrophysical properties found that peat smouldering combustion vulnerability was greatest at stand-age > 80 years, in coarse/heterogeneous hydrogeological settings, and in peatland margins compared to peatland middles. In combination, and when exposed to a climatic water deficit, we found that these drivers of cross-scale variability could lead to high peat burn severity. Assessment of a partially-drained and burned peatland enabled the identification of a black spruce basal diameter threshold that corresponded to the occurrence of high peat burn severity. We suggest that the above-ground fuel load threshold could occur due to the initiation of a self-reinforcing feedback by anthropogenic disturbance or climate change. Moreover, surpassing a peat burn severity threshold can cause the breakdown of an important feedback that limits evaporation losses post-fire, likely leading to further carbon losses through increased decomposition rates and/or ecosystem regime shift. We found that although peat moisture content was increased by fuel modification treatment, combustion carbon losses were greater in fuel-treated areas compared to the control because of the addition of mulch (wood) to the surface. Hence, peatland wildfire management that integrates the modification of above- and below-ground fuels, considers ecohydrological thresholds, and drivers of cross scale variability, is required to effectively reduce the risk of high peat burn severity in black spruce dominated peatlands. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation is composed of two manuscripts in Production Economics and two manuscripts in International Agricultural Development. The first two manuscripts focus on production economics, and both are an exploration of nitrogen use and its impact on continuous corn production and profitability in Colorado. The first manuscript titled "Switching Regression Stochastic Plateau Production Functions––A Comparison of Alternative Specifications" proposes an alternative approach for estimating crop yield response functions using a frequentist approach. The second manuscript titled "Profitability Effects of Different Tillage Systems in Continuous Corn Rotations" explores the interaction between different tillage systems and nitrogen fertilization in irrigated continuous corn production in northeastern Colorado. We find that strip tillage is better suited for continuous corn production under the agro-climatic conditions in northeastern Colorado. The third and fourth manuscripts focus on international agricultural development and analyze the role of factors that influence the agricultural development of small-holder farmers in Ecuador, namely, markets, food value chains, risk preferences, and risk perceptions. The third manuscript titled "Does the Use of Specialty Varieties and Post-Harvest Practices Benefit Farmers? Cocoa Value Chains in Ecuador" analyzes the impact of the use of specialty cocoa varieties on small-scale farmers' income. It finds that the use of specialty cocoa varieties has a low impact on small-scale cocoa producers' income, and that post-harvest practices may lead to substantial price responses irrespective of the type of cocoa grown. Finally, the fourth manuscript titled "Linking Risk Preferences and Risk Perceptions of Climate Change Using Prospect Theory" explores how farmers' risk preferences correlate with their perceptions of climate risk. It finds that farmers that behave in accordance to the assumptions of prospect theory are more likely to perceive greater risks from climate change, that is, they are more likely to perceive the risks associated with climate change as being more threatening at a personal level. Since risk perception is a necessary prerequisite for adaptation, the results presented in this manuscript, have important policy implications for process of adoption of new technologies aimed at mitigating effects of climate change. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation focuses on Production Economics and International Agricultural Development. The first two manuscripts focus on production economics, and both are an exploration of nitrogen use and its impact on continuous corn production and profitability in Colorado. The first manuscript proposes an alternative approach for estimating crop yield response functions to a single input. The second manuscript explores the interaction between different tillage practices and nitrogen fertilization in irrigated continuous corn production. The third and fourth manuscripts focus on international agricultural development, and they analyze the role of different factors that influence the agricultural development of small-holder farmers in Ecuador. The third manuscript analyzes cocoa markets in Ecuador. It finds that the use of gourmet cocoa varieties has a low impact on small-scale cocoa producers' income, and that post-harvest practices may lead to substantial benefits. Finally, the fourth manuscript explores farmers' risk behavior. It finds that farmers that behave in accordance to the assumptions of prospect theory, are more likely to show a greater risk perception of climate change, that is, they are more likely to perceive the risks associated with climate change as being more threatening at a personal level. Since risk perception is a necessary prerequisite for adaptation, the results presented in this manuscript, have important policy implications for the adoption process of new technologies aimed at mitigating effects of climate change.

Amphibians are influenced by climate change, but we do not have a clear understanding of how changes in temperature, precipitation, or both, may influence amphibian larvae in temperate regions. Do amphibian larvae have similar developmental responses to increased temperature and increased drying rates of wetlands - both plausible effects of climate change? What influence do the interactive effects of temperature and drying have on the relationships between the larval responses themselves (e.g., survival, body size, and time to metamorphosis)? To address these questions, we studied larval responses of two amphibian species, wood frogs (<em>Lithobates sylvaticus</em>) and spring peepers (<em>Pseudacris crucifer</em>), to simulated warming and drying in experimental ponds. Over 13 weeks, we manipulated temperature and water levels in ponds to produce 4 treatments: control, drying, warming, and drying + warming. Our manipulations created warming treatments that were on average 2 ° C higher than controls, and our drying treatments decreased in water depth by 2.5 cm each week compared to warming and control treatments that held a consistent amount of water. In both species, warming treatments resulted in significantly earlier timing of metamorphosis, and drying treatments resulted in significantly reduced body size. We saw a negative relationship between body size and time to metamorphosis (i.e., individuals that metamorphosed faster generally had larger body sizes), indicating an unexpected decoupling of the typical positive relationship between time to- and size at metamorphosis. The strength of the relationship between responses also varied by treatment for wood frogs but not spring peepers, indicating that the responses of larval amphibians to climate change may vary among species. Our study reveals complex relationships among larval survival, body size, and time to metamorphosis and highlights the need for considering not only the role of interacting climate-related pressures on amphibians but also the mechanisms underlying coupling of larval responses to these pressures. We encourage future research and discussion on a better understanding of why different climate pressures caused different responses, and if these patterns may be consistent in other aquatic species. / Master of Science / Across the globe, shifts in temperatures and the availability of freshwater habitats due to climate change are presenting challenges as well as opportunities for many species, particularly those that rely on freshwater habitats to complete their life cycle. Climate change is leading to warmer water temperature and accelerated drying of wetlands and ponds. Warming and drying often occur simultaneously, yet our understanding of how warming and drying may interact and affect sensitive aquatic species is limited. Amphibians with an aquatic life stage (for example, frog tadpoles) are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change on wetlands and ponds because they must transform from swimming larvae to land-dwelling adults before aquatic habitats dry out. Warming and drying help amphibian larvae determine when to start that process, called metamorphosis. For this reason, amphibian larvae in aquatic habitats are especially vulnerable to shifts in water temperature and the timing of drying. In this thesis, I explore how warming and drying influence amphibian survival, body size, and time to metamorphosis. To better understand the responses of amphibian larvae to warming and drying, I tested the effects of warming and drying on three response variables: amphibian survival, body size, and time to metamorphosis. I used two different species, wood frogs and spring peepers, to determine whether frogs' responses vary among species. I created an artificial pond experiment where I filled large tanks to represent natural ponds in a controlled, outdoor setting. In these artificial ponds, I measured wood frog and spring peeper growth under experimentally increased water temperatures and accelerated drying levels over 13 weeks. I found a negative relationship between body size and time to metamorphosis, suggesting individuals who spent less time in the water as larvae were more likely to be larger than individuals who spent more time in the water as larvae. Additionally, ponds with higher larval survival were associated with larger body size and a shorter time to metamorphosis. Warmer water temperatures led to a shortened time to metamorphosis but did not always lead to higher body sizes. Accelerated drying did not lead to a shortened time to metamorphosis, but it did lead to smaller body sizes in both species compared to control and warming ponds. Overall, I found complex relationships among larval responses with the directions of responses varying between treatments and species. This highlights the need for considering the role of climate-related changes in the environment (warming and drying) as well as the interactions between specific larval responses to those environmental changes. By understanding how warming and drying influence amphibian larval success, we can make a more direct link between climate change and its effects on aquatic larvae. Incorporating the responses between survival, body size, and time to metamorphosis to gain a more complete understanding of amphibian larval responses to the changing climate is an important step toward conserving and protecting freshwater aquatic species.