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Investigating The Role Of Plant Traits And Interactions In Emergent Wetland Nutrient Removal, Andrew Ryan Sample
Investigating The Role Of Plant Traits And Interactions In Emergent Wetland Nutrient Removal, Andrew Ryan Sample
Theses and Dissertations
Increasing wetland restoration in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley has been identified as a method to reduce nutrient loading in the Gulf of Mexico. Wetlands have historically been used to treat water through processes facilitated by wetland plants, and relatively few species and plant traits have been identified as important in carrying out these processes. This study focuses on some of those species and traits and aims to identify species differences and plant traits that may be important for wetland nutrient mitigation. Chapter I provides background information on nutrient pollution, wetland biogeochemical mechanisms for nutrient sequestration, and the focal species …
Improving The Cost-Effectiveness Of Water Wave Measurements And Understanding Of Its Impact On Natural And Restored Marsh Communities, Nigel Temple
Theses and Dissertations
Coastal restoration has become a necessary and ubiquitous practice to enhance and conserve the many ecosystem services lost by marsh degradation. Wave climate is one of the most critical factors to consider for restoration projects. However, knowledge of the ways that waves affect marsh plants and the ecosystem services they provide is limited. The purpose of my dissertation was to improve the effectiveness of coastal marsh restoration by addressing the limitations and gaps associated with plant and ecosystem responses to waves through empirical research with three primary goals: 1) develop and test a low-cost wave gauge, 2) use it to …
Ecological And Physical Performance Data For Plantings And Offshore Breakwaters At Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Alabama, Eric Sparks
College of Arts and Sciences Publications and Scholarship
This dataset was generated through a 2015-2018 collaborative research project titled "End-user derived research to improve the effectiveness, sustainability, and prevalence of coastal restoration projects." Learn more about the project at http://www.nerrssciencecollaborative.org/project/Sparks15.
An Examination Of Net Primary Production In Southern Appalachian Wetlands, Mike Maguigan
An Examination Of Net Primary Production In Southern Appalachian Wetlands, Mike Maguigan
Theses and Dissertations
Southern Appalachian wetlands have yet to be studied in terms of net primary production (NPP), thus few studies have been conducted to examine what environmental factors have relationships with NPP. To that end, this research investigates several facets of southern Appalachian wetland production. The research was divided into three studies. The first study was conducted to answer the question of what environmental factors have relationships with NPP. It appears that stream discharge and annual precipitation had the strongest relationships with NPP (r = 0.91, p <0.05 and r = 0.81, p <0.05, respectively), yet both factors showed multicolinearity (r = 0.97, p <0.05). The strong relationships between hydrologic factors and NPP is similar to montane wetlands in the western United States. The second study was conducted to examine the relationship between water chemistry and NPP. Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and pH were examined in order to determine if any of the aforementioned factors had a relationship with NPP. Neither Ca (r = -0.34, p = 0.0835) nor Mg (r =-0.38, p = 0.0535) had strong relationships with NPP, though pH (r = -0.66, p <0.05) had a strong negative relationship with NPP. The acidity of the stream water, driven by the acid rain in the southern Appalachians, creates enhanced conditions for wetland plants to grow. The third study was conducted to establish which vegetation index was best for estimating NPP from proximally and remotely sensed data. The findings suggest that VARIRed Edge was best for examining NPP at the in situ level, NDVI was best for examining NPP at the airborne level, and the DVI was the best for examining NPP at the satellite level. NPP in southern Appalachian wetlands is driven by the chemistry, specifically the pH, of stream discharge and annual precipitation and can be monitored by NDVI using NAIP data or DVI using Landsat data. The examination of NPP in southern Appalachians in response to environmental factors and water chemistry along with the examination of vegetation indices at three levels of platforms will help to monitor and manage these rare and unique ecosystems in the future.
Response Of Oxidation-Reduction Potential To Changes In Hydrology And Vegetation In An Agricultural Drainage Ditch With Weirs, Cory Shoemaker
Response Of Oxidation-Reduction Potential To Changes In Hydrology And Vegetation In An Agricultural Drainage Ditch With Weirs, Cory Shoemaker
Theses and Dissertations
Excess nutrients entering aquatic systems cause negative effects downstream. Oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) is an inexpensive proxy which can be used to define the potential nutrient reducing capacity of a system, in particular denitrification. My thesis attempts to determine effects of hydrology and vegetation manipulations on Eh in an agricultural drainage ditch with weirs using continuous automated data loggers to monitor the system. Accuracy and precision of the continuous automated data loggers was confirmed through laboratory and field testing. Effects of hydrology and vegetation on Eh were quantified during testing from May-September 2012 in east-central Mississippi. Vegetation affected Eh (t=-1.75, P=0.08, …
What To Do With "Prefer Not To Vote" Responses From Stated Preference Surveys?, Joonghyun Hwang
What To Do With "Prefer Not To Vote" Responses From Stated Preference Surveys?, Joonghyun Hwang
Theses and Dissertations
Arrow et al. (1993) issued guidelines for contingent valuation, one of which was the recommendation that valuation questions include a ‘no-answer’ option such as ‘I prefer not to vote (PNV)’ in addition to the typical ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options. However, they did not give further guidelines on what to do with such responses, and there are various opinions in the literature. The objective of this thesis was to identify factors that affect the probability of a respondent choosing the PNV option in stated preference surveys. This thesis identified a positive relationship between offered bid for the proposed environmental project and …
The Biology, Ecology And Management Of Common Reed [Phragmites Australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel], Joshua Craig Cheshier
The Biology, Ecology And Management Of Common Reed [Phragmites Australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel], Joshua Craig Cheshier
Theses and Dissertations
Studies conducted to determine life history and starch allocation of common reed (Phragmites australis), and evaluate haplotype susceptibility to aquatic labeled herbicides. Twelve 0.1 m2 samples were taken from four sites in the Mobile River delta from January 2006 to December 2007. Samples separated into above and belowground biomass dried and weighed. Starch determination used the amylase/amyloglucosidase method. Biomass decreased with decreasing temperature. Aboveground biomass was 2200 and 1302 g m2 in October 2006 and December 2007. Belowground biomass was 1602 and 1610 g m-2 in November 2006 and December 2007. Aboveground starch was highest in December of 2006 and …