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Modeling The Growth And Establishment Of Plantation And Converted Silvopasture Systems In The Missouri Ozarks Region, Stewart James Mccollum May 2021

Modeling The Growth And Establishment Of Plantation And Converted Silvopasture Systems In The Missouri Ozarks Region, Stewart James Mccollum

MSU Graduate Theses

The Missouri Ozarks are well known for high production in both timber products and cattle production. Most areas are also not well suited for many other agricultural practices such as row cropping, so forests and grazing lands dominate the landscapes. Such characteristics provide high potential for the agroforestry practice known as silvopasture. This study monitors the establishment of two different types of silvopasture systems, plantation and conversion types. In the plantation silvopasture, two cultivars of black walnut (Juglans nigra) were planted, Football and Kwikrop. Health and growth were monitored for those cultivars over the first year. The converted …


Geomorphic And Land Use Controls On Headwater Channel Morphology In Mark Twain National Forest, Grace F. Roman Aug 2019

Geomorphic And Land Use Controls On Headwater Channel Morphology In Mark Twain National Forest, Grace F. Roman

MSU Graduate Theses

Prescribed burning has been used over the past two decades to manage forests and restore shortleaf pine-oak woodlands in Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF). While soil studies have been completed, no assessments of burning practices on small drainage channel systems have yet been done. Headwater streams may account for more than two-thirds of total stream length and are important to the maintenance of hydrologic connectivity in watersheds. This study’s focus is on understanding the relationship between frequency of forest burning and channel morphology (size, shape, and substrate) of headwater streams (km2). A combination of field measurements, geo-processing methods, …


Optimum Planting Dates For Garlic In Southwest Missouri, Esther A. Nelson Aug 2019

Optimum Planting Dates For Garlic In Southwest Missouri, Esther A. Nelson

MSU Graduate Theses

Garlic (Allium sativum) is one of the most widely used spices in the world. More research is needed to outline the best growing practices for garlic in Southwest Missouri. The study is designed to look the yield produced by four different fall planting and one spring date. Three varieties of garlic including Inchilium Red, German White and Elephant were planted on each date at two separate locations in Southwest Missouri for one year. The garlic was found to have highly diverse yields at both locations and when planting dates where compared. Elephant garlic produced the highest yield when …


Forest Feedstock Supply Chains And Market Potential For Wood Pellet Facilities In The Ozark And Appalachia Regions, James Robert Criger May 2019

Forest Feedstock Supply Chains And Market Potential For Wood Pellet Facilities In The Ozark And Appalachia Regions, James Robert Criger

MSU Graduate Theses

The pellet wood industry in the United States has grown exponentially in recent years, due mostly to the expanding export market to Europe. At this time, the European market for pellet wood is highly subsidized as part of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in an effort to mitigate fossil fuel consumption for power production. Although there are other popular renewable resources such as wind, water, and solar, the burning of biomass is among the most utilized sources of renewable energy today. This study examines the existing pellet wood industry in the United States, particularly within the Ozarks and Appalachia Regions, …


The Resurrection Of Nora O'Brien, Abigail Elizabeth Benson May 2019

The Resurrection Of Nora O'Brien, Abigail Elizabeth Benson

MSU Graduate Theses

There is a cave, hidden in the hills, that brings the dead back to life. Its power is the driving force behind the blood feud between the Walshes and the O’Briens that lasts for generations. Jeremiah Walsh, a young boy growing up just after the civil war, is entrusted with the location of the cave and its secrets. But when he kills to protect his family legacy, he is stricken with guilt and questions his loyalties. His story parallels Nora O’Brien’s, a teenage girl who moves to the Ozarks with her family after the death of her grandfather. As she …


Geomorphic Disturbance And Anthropogenic Modifications In Big Barren Creek, Mark Twain National Forest, Southeast Missouri, Rachael A. Bradley Aug 2017

Geomorphic Disturbance And Anthropogenic Modifications In Big Barren Creek, Mark Twain National Forest, Southeast Missouri, Rachael A. Bradley

MSU Graduate Theses

This study investigates the influence of human disturbance on channel conditions in Big Barren Creek. The Big Barren watershed drains 191 km2 of the Ozark Highlands in southeast Missouri. Several segments of the creek have been channelized by levee construction and gravel mining. Approximately 27.2 km of the main stem of Barren Creek were assessed for 13 photo-years ranging from 1939 to 2014. Geomorphic classifications using channel conditions in aerial photographs and field observations were used to evaluate patterns of disturbance. While 52% of the creek is managed by private landowners, 81% of disturbed length occurs on private lands. Further, …


Geomorphic Characteristics And Sediment Transport In Natural And Channelized Reaches Of Big Barren Creek, Southeast Missouri, Matthew S. Thies May 2017

Geomorphic Characteristics And Sediment Transport In Natural And Channelized Reaches Of Big Barren Creek, Southeast Missouri, Matthew S. Thies

MSU Graduate Theses

Channelization, levee construction, and gravel mining are land management practices that are used for flood control. However, they often alter the balance between sediment supply and available sediment transporting power in streams, causing channel instability. Streams can respond to instability through channel incision and sediment aggradation which can degrade riparian habitat, increase flood risks, and cause property damage. These problems have been observed along segments of Big Barren Creek, which drains 190 km² of the Missouri Ozarks in Mark Twain National Forest. Field assessment and modeling methods were used to evaluate the spatial distribution of channel instability along the upper …


Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Upland Soil Properties In Mark Twain National Forest, Southeast Missouri Ozarks, Megan Lynn Hente May 2017

Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Upland Soil Properties In Mark Twain National Forest, Southeast Missouri Ozarks, Megan Lynn Hente

MSU Graduate Theses

In the Mark Twain National forest there is a collaborative effort to restore parts of the forest to its original shortleaf pine-oak woodland areas by using a combination of silviculture and prescribed fire. The purpose of this project is to assess the effects of prescribed burning on upland forest and soil physical properties that influence erosion processes across a gradient of burned sites of different ages and unburned sites. A combination of geospatial, field, laboratory, statistical (one-way ANOVA) and modeling (USLE) methods were used to assess the effects of prescribed burns on forest and soil characteristics in Big Barren Creek …


Endozoochorous Spread Of Nonnative Plant Species By White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Andrew Jordan Spychalla Jul 2016

Endozoochorous Spread Of Nonnative Plant Species By White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Andrew Jordan Spychalla

MSU Graduate Theses

Movement of plant seeds can be facilitated by endozoochory in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and elk (Cervus elaphus), but at rates that are unknown in natural systems. Spread of planted forage crops into wildlands, or nonnative invasive weeds into food plots would affect ecosystem processes and management costs. To address endozoochory, collections of fecal pellets from both ungulate species were done at the Current River Conservation Area in Southeastern Missouri. Randomly chosen individual pellets collected from nine food plots were planted in a greenhouse setting. After cold stratification of pellets (2°C at 15 days), pellets were either left whole or …


Horse-Stealing And Man-Hanging: An Examination Of Vigilantism In The Missouri Ozarks, Connie Sue Yen Jan 2015

Horse-Stealing And Man-Hanging: An Examination Of Vigilantism In The Missouri Ozarks, Connie Sue Yen

MSU Graduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine what factors did or did not have an impact on the formation of the Slickers, the Regulators, and the Sons of Honor, three vigilante organizations that formed in the Missouri Ozarks during the nineteenth century. Primary source documents indicate that vigilante organizations formed in Missouri, and throughout the United States, for a variety of reasons. This study disproves the theory that vigilante violence in the Missouri Ozarks was based on any social or political struggle between an old or new order. This study contributes to our understanding of Ozarks history, as well …


This-Worldly Explanations For Otherworldly Growth: Vitality In An Ozarks Megachurch, Joseph Lee Dutko Jan 2008

This-Worldly Explanations For Otherworldly Growth: Vitality In An Ozarks Megachurch, Joseph Lee Dutko

MSU Graduate Theses

James River Assembly, a Pentecostal megachurch in the Missouri Ozarks, grew from forty-two people in 1991 to over nine thousand in 2008. What led to such growth? Using ethnographic research methods such as interviews and twenty months of field observations, this study uses the story of James River Assembly to enter into the debate on congregational vitality. Three reasons emerge for the growth and strength of the church: excitement and optimism, an apocalyptic worldview, and a clear sense of identity embraced as a worthy pursuit by members. Each chapter presents theories of vitality that are useful for understanding growth at …


Nutrient Concentrations At Baseflow Conditions In The Upper White River Basin, Southwest Missouri And Northwest Arkansas, Gopala G. Borchelt Jan 2007

Nutrient Concentrations At Baseflow Conditions In The Upper White River Basin, Southwest Missouri And Northwest Arkansas, Gopala G. Borchelt

MSU Graduate Theses

The Upper White River Basin (UWRB) is becoming increasingly vulnerable to water quality degradation from urban/population growth and increased agricultural production. This study examines the relationships among nutrient levels, water chemistry and watershed characteristics of 19 watersheds in the UWRB. Water samples were collected during baseflow conditions each month for one year at USGS continuous-flow gage stations. Watershed characteristics evaluated were land use, geology, drainage area, flow discharge, and wastewater treatment plant discharge (WTP). Measured chemical water quality indicators include total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), specific conductivity, turbidity, pH and dissolved oxygen. Rapidly expanding urban areas are associated with …