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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Influence Of Abiotic Drivers And Plant Community Interactions On Bald Cypress (Taxodium Distichum) Seedlings: Implications For Restoration, Victoria Ellis Aug 2023

Influence Of Abiotic Drivers And Plant Community Interactions On Bald Cypress (Taxodium Distichum) Seedlings: Implications For Restoration, Victoria Ellis

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Forested freshwater wetlands are valuable ecosystems that provide habitat for numerous species, sequester carbon, and act as sinks for excess water and nutrients. Historically, these ecosystems have been heavily degraded by anthropogenic activities leading to loss of ecosystem services and a desire to restore freshwater forested wetland habitat. Thus, science-backed approaches for the restoration of freshwater forested wetlands are necessary to ensure restoration goals are met. This body of research employed the Stress Gradient Hypothesis to test whether a multi-species planting approach using Juncus effusus (L.) (soft rush) could facilitate the survival of Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. (bald cypress) seedlings …


Patterns And Drivers Of Wiregrass Gap Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill.) Woodland Succession As Part Of Restoration Efforts, Armin Weise Aug 2023

Patterns And Drivers Of Wiregrass Gap Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill.) Woodland Succession As Part Of Restoration Efforts, Armin Weise

All Theses

Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) communities are widespread throughout the Southeastern United States with a dominant understory vegetation of wiregrass (Aristida spp.) in most of its range. A small area in central South Carolina that is naturally free of wiregrass is called the “Wiregrass Gap”. Here, the understory vegetation is dominated by bluestems grasses (Andropogon spp. and Schizachyrium spp.) which drive the disturbance regime of frequent low-intensity fire. The successful establishment of these grasses is key for longleaf pine woodland restoration efforts in this region, but few resources detail the ecological drivers at play that enable successful restoration in these longleaf …


Comparisons Of Above- And Below-Ground Carbon Storage In A Northeastern Illinois Urban Forest Following Rhamnus Cathartica And Fraxinus Spp. Removal, River Sanchez-Dudik, Elene Drosos Jun 2023

Comparisons Of Above- And Below-Ground Carbon Storage In A Northeastern Illinois Urban Forest Following Rhamnus Cathartica And Fraxinus Spp. Removal, River Sanchez-Dudik, Elene Drosos

DePaul Discoveries

This study focused on quantifying potential differences in ecosystem services (carbon storage, soil organic matter, macroarthropod density) in a small, partially restored urban forest in order to determine if common buckthorn and standing dead ash removal effects can be detected while restoration is on-going. We calculated aboveground carbon storage (tons/total area) using whole tree biomass equations and compared this to i-Tree Canopy estimations. We collected SOM through loss-on-ignition and collected macroinvertebrates by pitfall trapping to determine differences along transects. Aboveground carbon storage, soil organic matter, and macroinvertebrate total results for this study were found to be statistically not significant, indicating …