PARENT SESSION
Monday, August 7, 5:00-6:30 pm
Poster Session 3 - Agroecosystem ecology
Exhibit Hall, Ballroom Level, Cook Convention Center
Conservation use and quality of life in a rural community: Goldschmidt's findings revisited and contributions of social science to agroecosystem solutions.
Parker, Jason *,1, 3, Moore, Richard *,1, 2, 1 Agroecosystems Management Program, Wooster, OH, USA3 Department of Anthropology, Columbus, OH, USA2 Human and Community Resource Development, Columbus, OH, USA
ABSTRACT- An exploratory analysis of conservation use as an indicator of quality of life is undertaken as a test of Goldschmidt's findings. Relationships among land tenure and farm size and enterprise type are conceptualized as influencing conservation use and intergenerational farm succession. Conservation behavior and attitudes and perceptions, as elicited from participants through surveys and in interviews, are conceptualized as factors in assessing the local environment and community well-being in the Sugar Creek Watershed, the second most impaired in the State of Ohio. Statistical analysis of these variables, using correlations analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Discriminant Analysis, shows the strength and, in some cases, directionality of these relationships, revealing a complex and interconnected reality that lends to qualitative explanation.
Key words: conservation use, social science, agroecosystems