This research uses the SPA System (Sustainability Performance Assessment, Paun 2015) to assess sustainability performance for three natural resource-based case study companies in Asia, Europe, and the United States. The SPA System is built on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, and consists of 91 performance measures in three categories: economic, environmental, and social. The economic dimension of sustainability concerns impacts on the economic conditions of stakeholders, and on local, national, and global levels. The environment dimension concerns impact on living and non-living natural systems, related to inputs (e.g. energy, materials, water), outputs (e.g. emissions, effluents, waste), biodiversity, transport, and environmental compliance and expenditures. The social dimension concerns the impacts on social systems within which the firm operates and includes labor practices, human rights, product responsibility, and society. The sample consisted of three case study companies from three countries: China Steel (Taiwan), Fairmount (U.S.), and Givaudan (Switzerland). Data was extracted from their annual sustainability reports. China Steel reported the highest percent of GRI indicators (97%) and had the highest mean sustainability performance (3.1). It reported more than double the indicators as compared to the other two case study companies, indicating substantially greater transparency. Fairmount, a U.S. producer of sand-based products for the energy and building construction industries, reported on the fewest percent of indicators (20%) and had the lowest sustainability performance mean (0.7). Givaudan, a Swiss company that produces flavors and fragrances, reported on 37% of the GRI indicators and had the middle mean sustainability performance. Using SPA means stakeholders can assess and compare sustainability performance among companies, thus enabling better, more informed decision making (e.g., which companies to buy from, work at, invest in, lend to).

Mature Red alder (Alnus rubra) forests are now found in large contiguous patches which stand as legacies of past intensive management (logging, conversion to agriculture, etc.) of previously conifer-dominated forests of the Puget lowlands. King County acknowledges that a disproportionate amount of land under their ownership is comprised of mature alder forests nearing the end of their lifespan. King County is concerned with these forests’ ability to meet certain ecological, social, and economic objectives, such as providing wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, and riparian function. In this study, we analyzed the quantity, distribution, and current conditions of these forests across three watersheds in central King County to provide landscape context. We compare the effects of alternate management approaches of varying harvest intensities on carbon uptake, and examine the distribution of forest types in riparian areas. We predicted that greater intensities of hardwood harvesting with conifer replacement will result in the highest long-term carbon uptake, while improving riparian forest function. To test our hypothesis, we used a forest vegetation dataset that was compiled by Oregon State University’s Landscape Ecology, Modeling, Mapping & Analysis Group in 2014. We combined this data with visual surveys of representative forests on King County property to classify county land into narrow forest cover types, which we then used for further modeling. We used the US Forest Service Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to model forest treatments and obtain carbon storage projections. We found that coniferous forests provide greater long-term carbon benefits than short-lived hardwood forests. We support increasing conifer presence in mature hardwood forests to increase function and longevity.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria (AOA, AOB) are important contributors to soil ecosystem function, as they convert nitrogen (N) as ammonium (NH4+) into nitrate (NO3-), a more readily available form for plant uptake. This study examines the abundance of AOA and AOB in forest soils of the Pacific Northwest that have experienced wildfire 31, 7, and 5 years previously. Charcoal, a common residue of wildfire, may play a significant role in stimulating nitrification in soils, possibly by adsorbing monoterpenes that may inhibit mono-oxegynase activity in nitrifying organisms. The goal of this study was twofold. We first hypothesized that charcoal would increase the quantity and quality of AOB and/or AOA in wildfire-affected soils. To test this hypothesis, we extracted and compared DNA between burned and unburned sites using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). We expect to find a greater abundance of AOA and AOB nucleotides in the burned sites indicated by qPCR, and a larger array of species indicated by DGGE analysis. Secondly, we will introduce monoterpenes (α-pinene) into soils with charcoal present, and soils void of charcoal to assess the interaction between the terpenes and charcoal surfaces. We hypothesize that the addition of terpene will readily adsorb onto charcoal surfaces. Therefore, burned soils will show reduced nitrification inhibition compared to soils without charcoal present and result in higher nitrification rates. These data will be matched with an assessment of the AOA and AOB from the burned and unburned soils, with and without the addition of charcoal in order to reach a better understanding of wildfire effects on forest soils.