Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring And Describing The Spatial And Temporal Dynamics Of Medusahead In The Channeled Scablands Of Eastern Washington Using Remote Sensing Techniques, Timothy M. Bateman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medusahead is a harmful weed that is invading public lands in the West. The invasion is a serious concern to the public because it can reduce forage for livestock and wildlife, increase fire frequency, alter important ecosystem cycles (like water), reduce recreational activities, and produce landscapes that are aesthetically unpleasing. Invasions can drive up costs that generally require taxpayer’s dollars. Medusahead seedlings typically spread to new areas by attaching itself to passing objects (e.g. vehicles, animals, clothing) where it can quickly begin to affect plants communities. To be effective, management plans need to be sustainable, informed, and considerate to invasion …

Twentieth Century Channel Change Of The Green River In Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Alexander E. Walker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the early 20^th century, river channels of the Colorado River basin have narrowed, decreasing available riparian and aquatic habitat. Changes are considered to be the result of three major factors: wide-spread water development, increasing hydroclimate variability and the invasion of non-native tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), altering flow regime and sediment supply. Different studies have reached different conclusions about the relative roles of flow regime, sediment supply and tamarisk in causing narrowing.

I investigated channel change in the lower Green River within Canyonlands National Park to describe channel changes in the 20^th century and understand the roles …

Effect Of Foliage And Root Carbon Quantity, Quality, And Fluxes On Soil Organic Carbon Stabilization In Montane Aspen And Conifer Stands In Utah, Antra Boča

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil organic carbon (SOC) positively affects many soil properties (e.g., fertility and water holding capacity), and the amount of carbon (C) in soil exceeds the amount in the atmosphere by about three times. Forest soils store as much C as is found in trees. Tree species differ in their effect on SOC pools. Quaking aspen forests in the Western US often store more stable SOC in the mineral soil than nearby conifers. During the last decades a decline in aspen cover, often followed by conifer encroachment, has been documented. A shift from aspen to conifer overstories may negatively affect the …

Spatial And Behavioral Patterns Of Captive Coyotes, Jeffrey T. Schultz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental enrichment is a technique used at many captive animal facilities that can improve the well-being of their animals. It seeks to enhance habitat features and promote natural behavior by providing a variety of practical ways for captive animals to control their environmental settings, especially during stressful circumstances. Enclosure features, such as shelter structures, are one tool that promotes wild behavior by adding complexity to an enclosure’s physical environment. Enrichment efforts for captive wildlife are most effective when they are specialized to the biological needs of the animals. Human activity may alter captive animal behavior and utility of enclosure features, …

Sclerocactus Wetlandicus: Habitat Characterization, Seed Germination And Mycorrhizal Analysis, Kourtney T. Harding

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Uinta Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus wetlandicus) is a threatened species native to Eastern Utah. The cactus is found in a landscape highly disturbed by non-renewable energy production. To understand the environmental conditions that support natural growth of this cactus, we asked what types of plants were present in the same areas as the cactus, and if the types of plants were different in environments that were disturbed. From our assessment, we determined that the types of plants present in disturbed areas were drastically different from those present in undisturbed locations. Areas previously used for energy production are …

To What Extent Might Beaver Dam Building Buffer Water Storage Losses Associated With A Declining Snowpack?, Konrad Hafen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dams built by North American Beaver create natural water storage and slow water as it moves through streams. In portions of streams with beaver dams, these effects have been observed to decrease the peak magnitude of floods and increase base flow during annual summer droughts. In the western United States changes to streamflow patterns have been observed in recent decades with large spring floods coming earlier in the year, causing annual summer droughts to start earlier and last longer. These changes are linked to decreasing snowpack which acts as the most significant natural water storage reservoir by holding onto precipitation …

The Influence Of Aspen Chemistry And The Nutritional Context On Aspen Herbivory, Kristen Y. Heroy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Consumption of aspen by herbivores is one major force causing aspen decline in North America. In this Dissertation, I aimed to determine why herbivores prefer browsing on certain aspen stands over others, and why they prefer consuming aspen that contains chemical defenses over understory forages like grasses, forbs, and shrubs. I explored the influence of nutrients and chemical defenses within aspen on aspen intake and preference by lambs in pen experiments. I also explored drivers of aspen preference on the landscape by looking at relationships between aspen herbivory, indicators of aspen health, amount of nutrients available in the understory, and …