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Forest Sustainability In An Altered Landscape Requires Human Intervention, Adam C. Labatore May 2015

Forest Sustainability In An Altered Landscape Requires Human Intervention, Adam C. Labatore

Biology Theses

Recruitment success determines the abundance and composition of plant communities. Successful recruitment can be summarized as a simple dichotomy of establishment versus seed limitations. Establishment limitation occurs when plant populations are inhibited by habitat availability and quality, whereas seed limitation occurs when seeds fail to arrive in necessary densities. Recruitment failure undermines overstory sustainability if the existing trees cannot replace themselves. Preliminary analysis indicated tree recruitment failure at an urban nature preserve with too few tree seedlings to replace mature canopy trees. These data suggested that the urban forest was not sustainable. The overarching goal of the study was to …


The Status Of The Genus Taxus In Kentucky, Robert Reed Pace Jan 2015

The Status Of The Genus Taxus In Kentucky, Robert Reed Pace

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study involved a detailed study of the genus Taxus in Kentucky. A thorough examination was conducted, including a review of the literature, examination of field and herbarium specimens from both native and non-native species, microscopic analysis of leaf ultrastructure, chemical analysis of taxane content, and the construction of GIS models to predict the occurrence of the native species. In the review and examination of morphological features, it was found that the best features for separation of the taxa were plant height, the number of the rows of stomata per abaxial leaf band, and the location of papillose cells on …


Dispersal: A Multidisciplinary Investigation Of Plant Life, Alexandra E. Arzt Jan 2015

Dispersal: A Multidisciplinary Investigation Of Plant Life, Alexandra E. Arzt

Theses and Dissertations

Using plants as a basis for exploring the interstices between the human and nonhuman, this thesis investigates ideas of awareness, intelligence, deep time, animism, and the fluctuating human perception of the agency of Nature. It outlines environmental art practices since the 1950s involving vegetal life. In addition, the paper provides a critical analysis of plant perception of Jakob von Uexküll’s work and theories of vital materialism and “critical plant studies” while noting recent studies in plant neurobiology. In my work, plants become active participants via their movement, seeding, and smell. This study takes the form of imitation, purposeful symbiosis, anthropomorphism, …