Thesis (MScAgric (Conservation Ecology and Entomology))--Stellenbosch University, 2011 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Climate change will alter both temperature and moisture availability in the future and therefore will likely affect vector borne disease prevalence. Organisms faced with changes in weather can respond in a variety of ways and this complicates any predictions and inferences for these organisms with climate change. Cause-and-effect links between climate change, insect vector responses, and changes in risk of disease transmission are poorly established for most vector borne diseases. Tsetse (Diptera, Glossinidae) are important vectors of trypanosome parasites posing a major threat to human health and socio-economic welfare in Africa. Water balance plays an important role in determining activity patterns, energy budgets, survival and population dynamics and, hence, geographic distribution and abundance of insects. Glossina species occupy a wide range of habitats in Africa and are notable for their desiccation resistance in xeric environments. Yet, whether or not the different species, subgroups or ecotype groups differ in susceptibility to changes in weather remain undetermined. The first main focus of my thesis was to test the effects of climate change on water balance traits (water loss rate, body water content and body lipid content) of adult tsetse flies. Four species from xeric and mesic habitats were exposed to a range of temperature (20 – 30 °C) and relative humidity (0 – 99 %) combinations. Water loss rates were significantly affected by measurement treatments, while body water content, body lipid content and mass were less affected and less variable across treatment combinations. The results provide support for mass-independent inter- and intra-specific variation in water loss rate and survival times. Therefore, water balance responses to variation in temperature and relative humidity are complex in Glossina, and this response varies within and among species, sub-groups and ecotypes in terms of magnitude and the direction of effect change. Secondly, I apply a mechanistic distribution model for G. pallidipes to predict potential population responses to climate change. I validate the mechanistic model (NicheMapperTM) results spatially and temporally using two methods. Both tests of the model showed that NicheMapper‟s predicted resting metabolic rate has great potential to capture various aspects of population dynamics and biogeography in G. pallidipes. Furthermore, I simulate the effect of phenotypic plasticity under different climate change scenarios and solve for the basic reproductive number of the trypanosomiasis disease (R0) under a future climate scenario. This integrated thesis provides strong evidence for a general decrease in optimal habitat for G. pallidipes under future climate change scenarios. However, it also provides strong support for a 1.85 fold increase in R0 based on changes in biting frequency as a result of higher predicted metabolic rates in the future. This might suggest that the reduction in optimal habitat could be outweighed by the increase in R0. The results demonstrate that an understanding of the physiological mechanism(s) influencing vectors of disease with climate change can provide insight into forecasting variation in vector abundance and disease risk. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die invloed van klimaatsverandering op die temperatuur en vog beskikbaarheid mag moontlik insek-oordraagbare siektes in the toekoms beïnvloed. Organismes wat verandering in klimaat ervaar kan op verskillende maniere reageer en daarom is voorspelling en afleidings van die reaksies op klimaatsverandering nie eenvoudig nie. Boonop is die verband tussen klimaatsverandering, insek reaksies en veranderinge in die oordragsrisiko van siektes onbekend vir die meeste insekoordraagbare siektes. Tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) is belangrike draers van trypanosoom parasiete wat 'n bedreiging inhou vir mensegesondheid en sosio-ekonomiese welsyn in Afrika. Waterbalans speel 'n belangrike rol in die energiebondel samestelling, aktiwiteitspatrone, oorlewing en populasie dinamika van insekte en, dus, die geografiese voorkoms en verspreiding van insekte. Glossina spesies kom in 'n verskeidenheid habitatte in Afrika voor en is bekend daarvoor dat hulle weerstand bied teen uitdroging in droё habitatte. Maar, die mate waartoe die verskillende subgroepe, ekotiepegroepe en spesies kwesbaar is vir klimaatsverandering, is steeds onbekend. Die eerste hooffokus van my tesis was om die uitwerking van klimaatsverandering op waterbalansrelevante uitkomste (tempo van waterverlies, waterinhoud en vetinhoud) van volwasse tsetse vlieё te bestudeer. Vier spesies van droë en klam habitatte is aan verskillende kombinasies van temperatuur (20 – 30 °C) en relatiewe humiditeit (0 – 99 %) blootgestel. Die tempo van waterverlies is betekenisvol deur die verskillende toetskombinasies beïnvloed, terwyl die waterinhoud, vetinhoud en liggaamsmassa tot 'n minder mate beïnvloed is en minder gevarieer het tussen die toetskombinasies. Die resultate toon bewyse vir gewigs-onafhanklike inter- en intraspesie variasie in waterverlies tempo‟s en oorlewingstyd. Die waterbalans uitkomste op variasie in temperatuur en relatiewe humiditeit is dus ingewikkeld in Glossina, en dit varieer binne en tussen spesies, subgroepe en ekotiepe in terme van die graad en rigting van effek verandering. Tweedens pas ek 'n meganistiese verspreidingsmodel toe vir G. pallidipes om die moontlike populasiereaksies met klimaatsverandering te voorspel. Ek toets die antwoorde van die model (NicheMapperTM) oor tyd en skaal op twee verskillende maniere. Beide toetse het aangedui dat die NicheMapper voorspelde rustende metaboliese tempo die verskillende aspekte van G. pallidipes populasie dinamika en biogeografie goed beskryf. Ek simuleer die uitkomste van die fenotipiese veranderbaarheid van G. pallidipes onder „n verskeidenheid klimaatsverandering-uitkomste, en los „n model van die basiese ommekeer van trypanosomiasis (R0) op onder 'n klimatsverandering situasie in die toekoms. Hierdie geïntegreerde tesis toon sterk bewyse dat die optimale habitat van G. pallidipes verminder met klimaatsverandering. Dit toon egter ook bewyse vir 'n 1.85 keer toename in R0 gebasseer op 'n verhoging in die frekwensie van bytgeleenthede weens die hoër voorspelde metaboliese tempo van die vlieë in die toekoms. Laasgenoemde stel voor dat die afname in optimale habitat moontlik deur 'n toename in R0 oorheers sal word. Die resultate demonstreer dat beter begrip van die fisiologiese meganisme(s) wat parasiet-draers beïnvloed verdere insig kan voorsien in die toekomstige voorspelling van draer teenwoordigheid en siekte waarskynlikheid.

Canadian Prairie agriculture, in general, is expected to benefit under climate change with increasing mean temperatures projected for the immediate future. However, a number of knowledge gaps still exist. Foremost among these is the measurement of the effects of extreme climate events in a given year as well as their long-term impact on the supply of agricultural products, and also the financial situation of farms. In addition, the economic impacts of climate change on livestock operations are relatively under-studied. In particular, knowledge of the impacts on Prairie beef cattle remains more guesswork than research-based evidence. This dissertation assesses the impact of changes in the normal climate as well as the impact of climate extremes by including projected inter-annual climate variability. The economic impact of these changes on crops, beef cattle activities and the viability of farms in mixed operation settings is measured. Correspondingly, this work presents alternative adaptation measures and their likely use in managing mixed farm operations for future extreme weather events. For the analysis, two study sites are selected: (1) the Oldman River Basin of Alberta, called Pincher Creek, and (2) the Swift Current Creek Basin of Saskatchewan, called Swift Current. This study is a part of a larger project entitled “Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Extremes in the Americas” and the study sites are intended to represent the project catchment areas in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. I develop what I call a MF-CCE model (Mixed Farm model for the economic impact assessment of Climate Change and Extremes). The MF-CCE is a whole farm simulation model that integrates models of beef cattle production, crop production and climate changes into farm level economic decisions. Simulations are conducted over a 30-year period in each climate scenario: the first of these is a baseline climate scenario from 1971-2000, and I also simulate future climate change impacts for the 2041-2070 era. The modelled farms produce enough crops, hay and pasture to support the beef cattle feed demand. Pasture demand and supply are linked by specific pasture requirements and productivity. Beef herd feed grain demand and on-farm supply are linked by a linear programming optimization algorithm. Crop mix for the market is selected through the development of a multi-year linear programming problem that maximizes the present value of gross margins. Crop and hay productivity are estimated through the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) AquaCrop (version 3) modeling framework, while annual pasture productivity is estimated using the Forage Calculator for Native Rangeland obtained from the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). The AquaCrop is a water-driven crop simulation model, termed a crop water productivity (WP) model which simulates the yield response of herbaceous crops to water availability and use. The model is believed to be superior in simulating crop yield in the conditions where water is a key limiting factor in crop production (FAO, 2011). Summarizing the results of the simulation, prairie crop production is expected to benefit under the simulated climate change scenario. Increases in crop productivity generate about 60% higher profits in the Pincher Creek site and about 57% more for the Swift Current site. Due to increases in grain and hay productivity, more area is made available to produce grain for the market. This effectively doubles the crop net return at the Pincher Creek site and triples the crop return at the Swift Current site. A consideration of future pasture response to the climate change scenario is important in estimating climate change consequences for live beef production as well as on the economic return of a mixed farm. If the pasture productivity decreases, as assumed under the regular pasture yield scenario in the study, appropriate adaptation is necessary for the farm to benefit from future climate change. Under this scenario, beef production activities in the future are projected to gain by 50% in Pincher Creek and 40% in Swift Current compared to the baseline scenario. If pasture productivity under the future scenario increases in a manner similar to crop yield increases, existing pastureland will be enough to maintain beef herds into the future. In turn, this strategy will mitigate the cost of beef herd adaptation during climate extremes, and instead gains from beef cattle production would be 35% higher in Swift Current and 6% higher in Pincher Creek relative to gains under regular pasture yield conditions. At the farm level, with beef cattle and crop production combined, substantial gains are projected for both of the study sites. Farm net profit is estimated to increase by more than 35% at the Pincher Creek site and more than 140% at the Swift Current site under the future scenario. Income risk will also be lower in this scenario, as highlighted by a lower coefficient of variation of net farm profit. Farm financial indicators tracked in this study – farm cash flow, family cash flow, and farm net worth – all indicate that the farm’s financial position will be much better in the future climate scenario. At the Pincher Creek site, a few problematic liquidity events are forecasted under the future climate scenario, but in light of significant improvements in other economic indicators, overall, this effect is negligible. The appropriate choice of adaptation strategies for managing beef herds during extreme climate events plays an important role in determining the profitability of not only beef cattle activities, but also the financial position at the whole farm level. However, the choice of adaptations is contextual: the preference of adaptation strategy differs across activities, farms and period of study. For beef cattle activities, maintaining the beef herd without any compromise on herd size and implementing a regular feeding plan is preferred to other adaptation alternatives. At the whole farm level for the Pincher Creek site, culling the herd is preferred under the baseline scenario, while the purchasing feed option is preferred under the future climate scenario. At the Swift Current site, culling the herd is the preferred strategy under both scenarios. Commodity prices and the cost of farm inputs profoundly affect the economic position of the farm under the future climate change scenario. If commodity prices and cost of production remain the same as under the baseline scenario, future farm net profit is estimated to be 50% higher for the Pincher Creek site and about 25% higher for the Swift Current site, compared to profits under projected future prices. This result implies that the pure effect of climate change could be much higher if costs and prices do not change. Results of this dissertation indicate that average Prairie mixed farms, as represented by these study farms, remain economically viable under both the baseline and future scenarios. The results also suggest that the overall gain to these farms under a future climate change scenario would be positive. The potential severity of extreme climate events in the future, at least for the future scenario period simulated in this study, would not be significant enough to threaten the future economic viability of Prairie agriculture. However, the research also highlights the importance of policies that support farmers when they endure losses in years of extreme climate events. Further research on evaluating different Best Management Practices (BMPs) in dealing with droughts, for example, would be helpful in taking advantage of future climate change. Policy development to enhance the longer-term adaptive capacity of Prairie farmers, such as development of early warning systems for climate extremes, or the development of drought tolerant cultivars of crops and forages, would be most helpful in coping with climate extremes in the future.

This work examines the use of pedo-properties to identify dune soil system responses to environmental change on the Sefton coast, based on the development of conceptual pedogenic models. Previous environmental change and shoreline dynamics are determined through O.S. maps and aerial photographs, while present day processes are investigated through a dune-toe photographic survey and seasonal monitoring by fixed point photography. Topsoil (0-5 cm) physico-chemical characteristics are presented in a series of baseline GIS maps, displaying spatial pedo-property variation across the dune landscape. Combined with vegetation data, topsoil analysis identifies 10 distinct pedo-environments. Physico-chemical characteristics of associated National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI) soil profile classifications and an exposed stratigraphic section are presented graphically in a proposed sequence of development. Topsoil and soil profile samples are analysed for soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM) content, particle size, geochemical composition and mineral magnetism. Significant differences (p <0.05) are apparent for the suite of topsoil characteristics collated, indicating discrete dune environments are influenced by specific soil properties. Distinct down-profile variations in soil characteristics are also apparent between dune environments, highlighting pedological dynamism. Multivariate Factor analysis groups bare sand and mobile dune communities into ‘frontal dunes’ and fixed dune community, pasture, scrub, deciduous woodland and coniferous plantations into ‘hind dunes’, separating these topsoil environments from heath and slack communities. Factor analysis also identifies linkages between pedo-characteristics within soil profile horizons, suggesting pedogenesis on the Sefton dunes initiates as raw sand, progressing to sand-pararendzinas through leaching of nutrients. Desalinization and decalcification processes lead to brown earth development, followed by increased acidicification, subsequently, resulting in micro-podzol formation. Groundwater gley soils are associated with dune slacks, where drainage is inhibited and anaerobic conditions prevail. Analysis of buried soils suggests such pedo-environment formations are cyclic, responding to phases of shoreline regression/transgression, dune activity and stabilization. Conceptual models are designed to graphically demonstrate pedogenesis under both erosion and deposition regimes on the Sefton coast. Regression equations and correlation coefficients between pedo-properties and distance from mean high water are used as a proxy for soil age, which represent lateral soil maturity from the unstable frontal dunes to the stable hind dunes inland. The models simulate formation and process of the full array of soil properties, accounting for geomorphological impacts and anthropogenic influences. This has great implications for dune managers by raising awareness of pedogenesis as an integral part of nature and associated habitats, which could be incorporated in future shoreline management plans (SMPs).

Carbon Capture and Storage Potential Contribution to Mitigate Climate Change By Angel Mario Baca, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2009 Supervisor: Dr. Eric Bickel This thesis evaluates the potential of the Carbon Capture and Storage technologies to mitigate climate change. This work emerged from the current debate regarding when CCS technologies are going to be ready in a commercial-scale, or whether they are going to be economically viable. Geologically, the world contains enough room for storing CO2 emissions, but it is still unsolved if leakage can be controlled and monitored. This research focuses on the development of an economic model to estimate the value of CCS.. This model uses equations from the DICE (Dynamic Integrated model on Climate and the Economy). Then, it estimates what change in temperature could occur, and computes the present value of damages to the economy. Moreover, emissions are simulated using the 40 scenario emissions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As the main conclusion of this model, CCS has to be deployed in almost in the entire number of fossil fuel plants around the world and has to be done in the next 30 years to see CCS having an impact, otherwise it would be relatively small and not worth it. Moreover, CCS technologies are part of the components to reduce climate change, but not the main one. It is required that governments, companies, and institution focus their efforts in working collaboratively towards the enforcement of new policies and development of more technologies. / text

<p> This dissertation is a collection of stories and experiences from the Tibetan nomads sur-rounding the DzaChu (Mekong River) of Kham, in Qinghai Province. The DzaChu is a sacred area that is threatened by climate change. The author uses mindful inquiry as the basis of this ethnographic study. Long term participatory observation and over thirty fo-cus groups within the DzaChu Watershed point to the thesis: Climate Change is one of the greatest threats to the Tibetan nomadic culture and to Asia&rsquo;s magnificent Mekong River. It is the aim of this dissertation to demonstrate the impact of climate change on the Tibetan nomads and the critical need for respectful global relations with this precious wa-ter source that provides life to millions of humans throughout Asia. Readers are encour-aged to click on the hyperlinks to the photo narrative on Instagram @thepurelandproject and follow the accompanying website www.purelandperspectives.org. The Pureland Pro-ject organization is a part of the action research component of this work, which will move forward from this research to try to implement some of the ideas expressed by the partic-ipants, such as protecting the region as a UNESCO cultural or ecological heritage site.</p>

<p>The Earths climate is changing at a higher rate, i.e between 1861 and 1994 the annual mean temperature in Scandinavia increased with 0,68º C and according to recent climate models the annual mean temperature is likely to rise with another 3º C during this century.</p><p>A warmer climate in many ways is associated with changing conditions for lake ecosystems. An expected higher water temperature and a stronger summer stratification of the water column increases the risk of anoxic conditions at the lake bottom. Thus anoxic conditions are likely to cause a phosphate leakage from the sediment, i.e. a higher internal loading of phosphate.</p><p>In this project, the extremely warm summer of 2002 has been used as an example for a possible scenario for a future climate. By comparing levels of phosphorus in the summer of 2002 with a ten-year median value, a phosphorus related sensitivity to climate change has been analyzed for 55 Swedish lakes. This sensitivity has then been related to several parameters of which in particular the lake morphometry and the land use in the catchment of the lake influenced the climatic sensitivity of the lake to climatic change.</p> / <p>Jordens klimat förändras i en allt snabbare takt. Mellan 1861 och 1994 steg årsmedeltemperaturen i Skandinavien med 0,68º C. Enligt aktuella klimatmodeller förväntas årsmedeltemperaturen i Skandinavien öka med ytterligare 3º C det närmaste seklet.</p><p>Ett varmare klimat innebär på flera sätt nya förutsättningar för ekosystemen. Genom höjda vattentemperaturer och en starkare stratifikation sommartid ökar risken för syrefria förhållanden i sjöar. Då sedimentet under syrefria förhållanden kan läcka fosfat innebär detta en ökad internbelastning av fosfor.</p><p>I detta projekt har den extremt varma sommaren 2002 använts som ett möjligt framtida klimat. Genom att jämföra fosforhalter sommaren 2002 med ett medianvärde för 10 år har den fosforrelaterade känsligheten för klimatförändringar kunnat analyseras för 55 svenska sjöar. Denna känslighet har sedan relaterats till diverse parametrar så som sjöns morfometri och avrinningsområdets sammansättning.</p>

The occurrence of large scale and rapid climate shifts at millennial time-scales (suborbital) remains an enigma between records from high and low latitudes spanning the Late Quaternary. This thesis studies such variations in the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) using marine sediment cores retrieved from Mexico and Nicaragua. The main goals are to understand the nature of millennial timescale climate-changes in the Pacific low latitudes, to identify the atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections involved, to document the impacts on the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and silicon, and their potential to regulate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentrations during the last two glacial cycles (the last 240,000 years before present). In this thesis, we use a suite of multi-proxy records from the Core MD02-2519, which are compared to others records from adjoining regions to study the climatic history of the ETNP at millennial timescales. The Core MD02-2519, was retrieved from 955 mbsl off NW Mexico. It is strategically located within the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), underlying the coastal upwelling and denitrification zones of the ETNP. The paleoceanography of the region is studied using proxy records of productivity, denitrification, intermediate water circulation and radiocarbon activity, which are discussed in 5 separated chapters. In Chapter 1, we use records of organic carbon (%OC) and diffuse spectral reflectivity (DSRa*) to document changes in productivity, which are shown in phase with Northern Hemisphere (NH) timing at millennial scale, suggesting a direct atmospheric teleconnection with higher northern latitudes. In Chapter 2, reconstruction of nitrogen isotope records (δ15N) show that abrupt changes in denitrification are in phase with NH timing over the last glacial period; however, the advection of heavy nitrate from southern sources is also documented, possibly from the denitrification zone off Peru-Chile. Records of opal (%opal – Chapter 3) and carbon isotopes from benthic foraminifera (δ13C-Uvigerina – Chapter 4) support the inference of oceanic teleconnections between the ETNP and the South Pacific via subthermocline circulation. In Chapter 4, the δ13C records also suggest that intermediate water circulation changed over glacial periods and terminations, being the result of intrusion of southern component waters. In Chapter 5, the reconstruction of radiocarbon activity (Δ14C) records from surface (planktonic foraminifera) and intermediate water (benthic foraminifera) suggest oceanic degassing of old-carbon from the deep ocean during the last termination. In this way, the ETNP upwelling system could be an important locus of CO2 release at millennial timescales.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar amendment on soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to elucidate the mechanisms behind these effects. I investigated the suppression of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in a bioenergy and arable crop soil, at a range of temperatures and with or without wetting/drying cycles. More detailed investigation on the underlying mechanisms focused on soil N2O emissions. I tested how biochar altered soil physico-chemical properties and the subsequent effects on soil N2O emissions. In addition, 15N pool dilution techniques were used to investigate the effect of biochar on soil N transformations. Biochar amendment significantly suppressed soil GHG emissions for two years within a bioenergy soil in the field and for several months in an arable soil. I hypothesised that soil CO2 emissions were suppressed under field conditions by a combination of mechanisms: biochar induced immobilisation of soil inorganic-N (BII), increased C-use efficiency, reduced C-mineralising enzyme activity and adsorption of CO2 to the biochar surface. Soil CO2 emissions were increased for two days following wetting soil due to the remobilisation of biochar-derived labile C within the soil. Soil N2O emissions were suppressed in laboratory incubations within several months of biochar addition due to increased soil aeration, BII or increased soil pH that reduced the soil N2O: N2 ratio; effects that varied depending on soil inorganic-N concentration and moisture content. These results are significant as they consistently demonstrate that fresh hardwood biochar has the potential to reduce soil GHG emissions over a period of up to two years in bioenergy crop soil, while simultaneously sequestering C within the soil. They also contribute greatly to understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effect of biochar addition on soil N transformations and N2O emissions within bioenergy and arable soils. This study supports the hypothesis that if scaled up, biochar amendment to soil may contribute to significant reductions in global GHG emissions, contributing to climate change mitigation. Further studies are needed to ensure that these conclusions can be extrapolated over the longer term to other field sites, using other types of biochar.

Riparian areas are valuable resources, particularly in semi-arid areas where water is usually scarce and rapid streamflow responses to runoff are common. Only recently has the importance of in-channel recharge during high streamflow periods ("floods") been recognized in rivers with gaining and losing reaches where recharge processes and flowpaths can be very complex. This dissertation builds upon this recent work by investigating how three factors influence how riparian systems respond to floods over a range of temporal and spatial scales. First, the impact of differences in local hydrogeologic forcings are investigated at the seasonal and 50 meter-reach scales. Second, the significance of flood event size and duration is studied at the multi-year and river (~50 Km) scale. Third, an underlying mechanism behind how changes in bed sediment composition can influence stream-aquifer interactions at the event- and point-scales is developed. Major findings of this work include observations along the Upper San Pedro River of seasonal floodwater storage below moderately gaining reaches and longer-term storage below losing reaches (seasonal to multi-year depending on the nature of the riparian groundwater flow system). The longest and largest floods (with respect to flow volume) dominate floodwater recharge in the Bill Williams River and an apparent flood size and duration threshold exists. This threshold must be met or exceeded in order for individual events to induce observable amounts of recharge that can then influence the amount and composition of later streamflow. This threshold agrees with the process presented here involving preferential mobilization and deposition of fine bed sediment particles--which dictate hydraulic conductivity--during each event that would lead to disproportionately more recharge during large floods. Forecasts of increased precipitation intensity and decreased annual precipitation in some regions, including the southwestern United States, due to changes in the earth's climate are likely to make floods a more important driver of riparian hydrologic processes. Consequently, the work presented here and other process-based studies of how floods influence riparian hydrology and water quality will be useful in making well-informed decisions regarding riparian preservation, management and restoration as human demands and the global climate change in the future.

Water security is becoming an increasing concern for communities in the southwestern United States. Projected decreases in water availability due to climate change combined with increased demands from a rapidly growing population have many concerned about the sustainability of the water supply in coming years. As water availability becomes an increasing concern, greater efficiencies must be made to increase the resilience of the water supply system. This dissertation analyzes the efforts of Tucson, Arizona households to conserve water during the hottest and driest decade in the city's recorded history, between 2000 and 2009. This study utilizes survey data to statistically examine the motivations for household adoption of five conservation methods: rainwater harvesting systems, graywater systems, xeriscaping, high-efficiency devices and volunteerism for public water conservation projects. Following the statistical analysis, interviews were conducted with participants to provide further context for analyzing the results. This mixed method approach reveals that drought alone did little to directly encourage household water conservation over the decade. However, public water conservation initiatives that were launched during the decade made a significant contribution to increasing household water conservation. Households consistently cited a desire for more information about the implications of the current drought status as well as additional information about their individual household's water use.