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Vegetation And Hydrologic Influences On Carbon And Nitrogen In Subsurface Water Of A Forested Riparian Wetland, Emily B. W. Calhoon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Vegetation communities affect carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the subsurface water of mineral wetlands through the quality of their litter, their uptake of nutrients, root exudation and their effects on redox potential. However, vegetation influence on subsurface nutrient dynamics is often overshadowed by the influences of hydrology, soils and geology on nutrient dynamics. The effects of vegetation communities on carbon and nitrogen dynamics are important to consider when managing land that may change vegetation type or quantity so that wetland ecosystem functions can be retained. This study was established to determine the magnitude of the influences and interaction of vegetation …

Effectiveness Of A Nondestructive Evaluation Technique For Assessing Standing Timber Quality, Crystal L. Pilon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The research presented in this thesis was conducted to further the development of the stress wave method of nondestructively assessing the quality of wood in standing trees. The specific objective of this research was to examine, in the field, use of two stress wave nondestructive assessment techniques.

The first technique examined utilizes a laboratory-built measurement system consisting of commercially available accelerometers and a digital storage oscilloscope. The second technique uses a commercially available tool that incorporates several technologies to determine speed of stress wave propagation in standing trees.

Field measurements using both techniques were conducted on sixty red pine trees …

Ecology Of Larval Fishes And Large Zooplankton In The Keweenaw Current Region Of Lake Superior, With Special Focus On Lake Herring, Coregonus Artedi, Jason K. Oyadomari

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

I assessed the influence of the Keweenaw Current and spring thermal bar on the distribution of larval fishes and large zooplankton in Lake Superior. In 1998 and 1999, samples were collected from inshore (0.2 – 3.0 km from shore) and offshore (5.0 – 9.0 km from shore) locations on three transects off the western coast of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan. For larval fishes, density and size distribution patterns of lake herring (Coregonus artedi), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), burbot (Lota lota), deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni), and spoonhead sculpin (Cottus ricei) suggest …