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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Integrating Management For Old-Growth Characteristics With Enhanced Carbon Storage Of Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forests, Sarah Eliot Ford Jan 2016

Integrating Management For Old-Growth Characteristics With Enhanced Carbon Storage Of Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forests, Sarah Eliot Ford

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Forest management practices emphasizing stand structural complexity are of interest across the northern forest region of the United States because of their potential to enhance carbon storage. Our research is nested within a long-term study evaluating how silvicultural treatments promoting late-successional forest characteristics affect aboveground biomass development in northern hardwood forests. We are testing the hypothesis that biomass development (carbon storage) will be greater in structural complexity enhancement (SCE) treatments when compared to conventional uneven-aged treatments. SCE treatments were compared against selection systems (single-tree and group) modified to retain elevated structure. Manipulations and controls were replicated across 2-hectare treatment units …


The Impacts Of Multiple Anthropogenic Disturbances On The Montane Forests Of The Green Mountains, Vermont, Usa, Carolyn Ann Pucko Jan 2014

The Impacts Of Multiple Anthropogenic Disturbances On The Montane Forests Of The Green Mountains, Vermont, Usa, Carolyn Ann Pucko

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

How and why species’ ranges shift has long been a focus of ecology but is now becoming increasingly important given the current rate of climatic and environmental change. In response to global warming, species will need to migrate northward or upward to stay within their climatic tolerances. The ability of species to migrate will determine their fate and affect the community compositions of the future. However, to more accurately predict the future extent of species, we must identify and understand their responses to past and current climatic and environmental changes. The first place change is expected to occur is within …


Factors Contributing To Carbon Fluxes From Bioenergy Harvests In The U.S. Northeast: An Analysis Using Field Data, Anna M. Mika, William S. Keeton Jan 2013

Factors Contributing To Carbon Fluxes From Bioenergy Harvests In The U.S. Northeast: An Analysis Using Field Data, Anna M. Mika, William S. Keeton

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

With growing interest in wood bioenergy there is uncertainty over greenhouse gas emissions associated with offsetting fossil fuels. Although quantifying postharvest carbon (C) fluxes will require accurate data, relatively few studies have evaluated these using field data from actual bioenergy harvests. We assessed C reductions and net fluxes immediately postharvest from whole-tree harvests (WTH), bioenergy harvests without WTH, and nonbioenergy harvests at 35 sites across the northeastern United States. We compared the aboveground forest C in harvested with paired unharvested sites, and analyzed the C transferred to wood products and C emissions from energy generation from harvested sites, including indirect …


Bioenergy Harvesting Impacts On Ecologically Important Stand Structure And Habitat Characteristics, Caitlin E. Littlefield, William S. Keeton Oct 2012

Bioenergy Harvesting Impacts On Ecologically Important Stand Structure And Habitat Characteristics, Caitlin E. Littlefield, William S. Keeton

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Demand for forest bioenergy fuel is increasing in the northern forest region of eastern North America and beyond, but ecological impacts, particularly on habitat, of bioenergy harvesting remain poorly explored in the peer-reviewed literature. Here, we evaluated the impacts of bioenergy harvests on stand structure, including several characteristics considered important for biodiversity and habitat functions. We collected stand structure data from 35 recent harvests in northern hardwood-conifer forests, pairing harvested areas with unharvested reference areas. Biometrics generated from field data were analyzed using a multi-tiered nonparametric uni-and multivariate statistical approach. In analyses comparing harvested to reference areas, sites that had …