Human Dimensions

As demands on water resources continue to increase, it becomes increasingly important for water quality researchers, educators, outreach professionals, and managers to understand the most significant cause of water quality impairment and improvement - human behavior. Individual, community, and institutional decisions are the driving forces behind changes in water quality for better or worse. The challenge is to combine what we know about water quality stressors and best management practices with what we know about human learning, motivations, values, and the process of behavior change to successfully meet water management goals.

2007 Conference Proceedings: Human Dimensions presentations and posters

2005/2006 CSREES-funded Integrated Research, Education, and Extension projects related to human dimensions:

Water Resource Degradation in the Boone Watershed: Integrating Stakeholder Knowledge and Preferences with Economic and Watershed Models external link

 Barriers to Adoption of Nutrient Management Strategies by Animal Feeding Operations (AFO'S) external link

Improving Water Quality at the Watershed Level by Targeting High Return Stakeholders external link

Using social indicators to improve adoption of land management practices to protect water quality in three Midwestern watersheds external link

Targeting watershed vulnerability and behaviors leading to adoption of conservation management practices external link

Changing homeowner's lawn care behavior to reduce nutrient losses in New England's urbanizing watersheds external link