Life Sciences Commons^™

Improving The Land Trust Model’S Impact On Environmental Conservation In Northern California, Peter Talbot

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, the land trust sector of California and much of the United States has operated with a dollars and acres mentality that has prioritized fundraising as a result of acreage protected. Within California, nearly 5.8 million acres of land have been protected by 132 land trusts throughout the state. To accommodate for the diverse cross-section of land and the many needs of the population, land trusts take on numerous shapes and sizes. A unique aspect of this diversity is the rich agricultural and natural spaces found throughout the state. This mix of land and variety of land uses has …

Producing Maple Syrup From Boxelder And Norway Maple Trees, Jesse Mathews, Youping Sun, Kelly Kopp, Darren Mcavoy, Steven Price, Paul Harris, Michael Farrell, Michelle Sagers, Patrick Kelly

All Current Publications

In Utah, two common tappable maple species are boxelder, sometimes called ashleaf maple (Acer negundo), and Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Both species are abundant throughout the state, with the former primarily found in natural mid-elevation canyons and the latter extensively planted in urban landscapes. Maple syrup is a natural source of sugar and can be used in many recipes to make yummy treats and foods. The best part is that it is relatively easy to obtain and simple to make. This fact sheet reviews the syrup-making process.

Considerations For The Use Of Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculants In Coal Mine Reclamation And Reforestation In Appalachia: A Guide Of Best Practices And Management Recommendations, Cole Hansen Reistrup

Master's Projects and Capstones

Nearly all terrestrial plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. These beneficial soil microbes support plant health by increasing plants’ access to nutrients and water, protecting them from pathogens, improving soil properties, and more. A challenge to restoring forests on coal mined land in Appalachia is that mine soils are often degraded in a number of ways, including lacking mycorrhizal fungi, which makes mine soils difficult for trees to grow upon. Substantial improvements to coal mine reforestation success have been made since the development of the Forestry Reclamation Approach in 2005 that provides guidelines for how to create a suitable …

Willow Abundance And Condition Mapping In Rocky Mountain National Park, Eric M. Nielsen

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Riparian and wetland willow species have undergone serious declines in Rocky Mountain National Park as a consequence of a variety of environmental changes and, most recently, damage resulting from moose overpopulation. To address concerns about the long-term status of willows in the park, we developed remote sensing-based raster maps of riparian and wetland willow species presence, canopy cover percentage, canopy height, and leaf area index. All outputs were produced at 3-meter resolution, and represent willows as they existed in 2021. The mapping was performed via random forests classification and regression models trained on several hundred vegetation plots from a variety …

Interactive Effects Of Bark Beetles, Ophiostomatoid Fungi, And Subterranean Termites On Wood Decomposition And The Biogeochemical Cycling Of Pine Forests, Kimberlyn Pace

Theses and Dissertations

A frequent source of pine tree mortality in recent years can be attributed to pine bark beetles and their vectored Ophiostomatoid fungi, an organism that has been observed to attract subterranean termites that preferentially recruit to this downed woody debris. This interaction may significantly modify biogeochemical fluxes in bark beetle mass mortality events, but studies are often limited to singular regions or single pine-dominated ecosystems. Two studies were designed to test the interactive effects of these associations on terrestrial biogeochemical cycles and decomposition processes, the first using replicated field trials in Mississippi, Arizona, and Honduras across two years and the …

The Response Of An Avian Community To Intercropping And Forest Management Practices In A Private Working Pine Forest, Rebecca Doyne Bracken

Theses and Dissertations

Within managed pine forest systems, a plethora of bird species exist throughout the lifecycle of a stand akin to what may be experienced through post-disturbance regeneration in a natural forest system. I sought to address how breeding avian communities shift across time in response to stand aging and forest management, evaluate species-specific responses to stand conditions, investigate the responses of at-risk avian species to forest management, and determine avian non-breeding, over-wintering presence in a managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forest. I conducted breeding bird point count and vegetation surveys within five stands of privately owned and managed pine forest in …

Surface Modification Of Wood Using Nano-Sized Titania Particles Coated By Liquid-Precursor Flame Spray Pyrolysis, Ganesh Sedhain

Theses and Dissertations

Wood is a renewable resource and versatile material used in tasks ranging from tools and furniture to advanced engineering structures. Although wood is light, mechanically robust, environmentally friendly, and abundant, some inherent properties of wood, such as degradation due to moisture and UV radiation from sunlight, are less desirable for extended service life and dimensional stability. In this dissertation, a novel surface modification of wood is explored by depositing nano-sized titania particles on wood veneers and cross-laminated timber (CLT) blocks by liquid-precursor flame spray pyrolysis to confer reversible wettability switching and enhanced durability to UV irradiation. The reaction between a …

Spatial Conservation Planning In The Southeastern United States: Alignments And Opportunities, Bradly Stewart Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

Conservation managers and planners need the ‘best available science’ to support robust and defensible decisions, ensuring that public resources are appropriately allocated. Spatial planning products and decision-support tools developed for this purpose should enable partner organizations to achieve focus, coordination, and increased effectiveness in their investments and actions. Whereas conservation partnerships have historically created distinct planning tools, there is increasing interest for improved coordination, communication, and unifying biological datasets to improve the cohesiveness of regional management activities. We sought to inform spatial conservation planning efforts in the southeastern United States through the development of species distribution models for focal avian …

Expanding The Market Of Biomaterials, Franklin Quin Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Biomaterials such as wood and bamboo are in high demand as a building material with the push for building with green technology. The wood product industry accounts for approximately 4% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which is more than $100 billion. The industry supports over 752,000 full-time equivalent jobs, most of which are in rural areas where employment opportunities are limited. The estimated global market value of bamboo is estimated to be $60 billion annually. This research will explore the use of wood and bamboo in different end use products. The objectives of this research will …

Educational Needs Of North Carolina Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners And Barriers To Meeting These Needs, Robert E. Bardon, Kristin Peters, Rajan Parajuli, K.S.U. Jayaratne

The Journal of Extension

Forest landowners are an important target audience for many state Extension programs. Acknowledging the differences and associations between landownership values, characteristics, and educational preferences of forest landowners should lead to improvement of educational programs and ensuring that educational needs are being met. Through an internet-based survey of forest landowners four distinct landowner typologies were identified based on respondents’ reason for owning forestland. Results also identified the educational needs and barriers to meeting these needs for the landowners. Creating typologies based on attitudinal responses will allow for a more focused approach to developing educational products and services to meet landowner needs.

Toward The Adoption Of New Farming Systems Among Farmers: A Case Study Of Short Rotation Woody Crops In North Carolina, Omoyemeh J. Ile, Eli Typhina, Katie Brannum, Rajan Parajuli, Robert E. Bardon, John S. King

The Journal of Extension

This study explores the human dimensions of the broad-based adoption of Short Rotation Woody Crops (SRWCs) among farmers in North Carolina. We used an actor diagramming and tracing approach to explore factors influencing farmers’ adoption of SRWCs. Results suggest four factors strongly influence the adoption process: 1) market availability, 2) education awareness, 3) funding, and 4) social networking. Based on these results, we recommend that Extension professionals use the following education modules to prompt the adoption of SRWCs practices and potentially adopt other new farming practices: 1) ecological sustainability, 2) financial considerations, 3) harvesting, and 4) community building.

Advancing Agroecological Agroforestry: A Vermont Participatory Storytelling And Story Mapping Project, Sydney Blume

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees into agricultural landscapes. Advancing agroforestry has the potential to support just food system transition, but it must take direction from traditional approaches (culturally-embedded, millennia-old agroforestry practices in forest ecosystems) and agroecology (the movement, science, and practice for just and sustainable food and agricultural systems). An agroecological approach to agroforestry is essential to avoid agroforestry replicating the logics and harms of industrial agriculture and to encourage learning from traditional agroforestry practices, and likewise, traditional approaches to agroforestry can support a transformative agroecological transition through redesign of agroecosystems and shifting perspectives and ethics. This paper …

Interactive Map Code (R And Rstudio), Peter G. Butterfield

Data Files: White Oaks in Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest

Interactive map code puts data and coordinates into readable table format and creates data visualizations.

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2021, Leah English, Jennie Popp

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agriculture and associated agricultural activities are major contributors to the Arkansas economy. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities, unless otherwise specified, and includes crop and animal production and processing, agricultural support industries, forestry and forest products, and textile goods. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and processing, leading to economic activity in other parts of the economy.

This report is the sixteenth in a series that examines agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value added, employment, and labor …

Grafting Jig For Small-Diameter American Beech: Proof Of Concept And First Print File, Andrea L. Myers, Tara Bal

Michigan Tech 3D Designs

This tool may be useful for grafting other small diameter woody plant species. This jig can be used by non-experts to simplify and standardize the initial cuts necessary for side grafting small-diameter American beech. The initial file which is suitable for 3D printing is available here, whereas we have the intention of undergoing iterative revisions to refine the tool, considering different sizes and modifications. Future versions will be added through the same avenue as advancements are made.

Environmental Factors Affecting Coleoptera Biomass In The Ozark Mountain Range In Arkansas, Hayley J. Springsteen

ATU Research Symposium

Abstract:

Terrestrial invertebrates including species of Coleoptera (beetles) play an important role in many ecosystem services including soil formation and fertility, pollination, decomposition and nutrient turnover, population regulation of other organisms through predation. Coleoptera are often vital in determining biodiversity and conservation techniques. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of how environmental factors and different management practices are affecting Coleoptera populations and further assist ecologists in improving management techniques in the future. The insect data in this study was collected over the course of two weeks in the Arkansas portion of the Boston Mountain range. …

Balancing Interests In Forest Governance In Brazil And Indonesia, Annabel Mccormick Baldy

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Forests play a major role in reducing levels of Greenhouse gasses which are a major contributor to global warming. Conversely, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. This study examines the concept of good forest governance, dispelling notions that resource use needs to be a zero-sum game. Rather, it identifies local collective agreements as espoused by Elinor Ostrom in Governing the Commons as the best means of balancing the undeniable economic potential of converting forests to other uses (grazing, farming, and mining) with the more sustainable approach of protecting forests for their environmental benefit. For Ostrom, these collective agreements …

Water Table Height And Microtopography In Swamps Of Southeastern Michigan As Influences Of Black Ash Tree Establishment And Survival In The Presence Of Emerald Ash Borer, Samantha Chauvin

Honors College Theses

The detrimental impact of invasive species on native biota is a source for many studies spanning all kinds of biological systems. The introduction of emerald ash borer in southeastern Michigan in the early 2000's has decimated the region’s mature black ash tree population, but its regeneration, both asexual (sprouts) and sexual (seedlings) still occurs. The arrangement and features of the wetlands’ land surfaces may play a role in black ash establishment. Black ash is generally found on wet-mesic to wet soils, but rising water table levels due to climate change and overstory tree mortality in on these sites may inundate …

Demography Of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii) Across A Fishing Pressure Gradient, Luke Micek

Graduate Research Conference

Demographic data are necessary to predict population responses to environmental and anthropogenic stressors and inform conservation efforts for declining species (Weimerskirch 2018, J.Wildl. Manag.).

The western alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii; hereafter AST; Fig. 5) is the largest species of freshwater turtle in North America and is being considered for Federal listing as a Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act (Federal Register 2021). Notably, there is a lack of demographic data of AST in Texas.

Passive fishing gear (i.e., trotlines) have been identified as a pervasive threat to AST populations, although this threat has yet to be quantified inTexas …

Contrasting Orthophotos By Height, Overlap, And Drone, Edward Ironsmith

Graduate Research Conference

Drones have recently become a mainstay for surveying and modeling of small areas of land in a cost-efficient manner. Yet there are many variables that affect the time, quality, and cost of capturing and generating such products. We look at several of these parameters and discuss the alternatives to minimize cost over a series of projects. The parameters in question include height, overlap, sensor resolution, processing time, drone costs, computer costs, processing costs, time in the field, storage, drone endurance and the likelihood of costly delays. A series of flights using different drones and flight parameters were then used to …

Remote Sensing In Mapping Biodiversity – A Case Study Of Epiphytic Lichen Communities, Ida Palmroos, Veera Norros, Sarita Keski-Saari, Janne Mäyrä, Topi Tanhuanpää, Sonja Kivinen, Juha Pykälä, Peter Kullberg, Timo Kumpula, Petteri Vihervaara

Aspen Bibliography

In boreal forests, European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is a keystone species that hosts a variety of accompanying species including epiphytic lichens. Forest management actions have led to a decrease in aspen abundance and subsequent loss of suitable habitats of epiphytic lichens. In this study, we evaluate the environmental responses of epiphytic lichen species richness and community composition on aspen, focusing on the potential of remote sensing by combined hyperspectral imaging and airborne laser scanning to identify suitable habitats for epiphytic lichens. We measured different substrate and habitat parameters in the field (e.g., aspen diameter and bark pH) …

Genetic Markers And Tree Properties Predicting Wood Biorefining Potential In Aspen (Populus Tremula) Bioenergy Feedstock, Sacha Escamez, Kathryn M. Robinson, Mikko Luomaranta, Madhavi Latha Gandla, Niklas Mähler, Zakiya Yassin, Thomas Grahn, Gerhard Scheepers, Lars-Göran Stener, Stefan Jansson, Leif J. Jönsson, Nathaniel R. Street, Hannele Tuominen

Aspen Bibliography

Background Wood represents the majority of the biomass on land and constitutes a renewable source of biofuels and other bioproducts. However, wood is recalcitrant to bioconversion, raising a need for feedstock improvement in production of, for instance, biofuels. We investigated the properties of wood that affect bioconversion, as well as the underlying genetics, to help identify superior tree feedstocks for biorefining.

Results We recorded 65 wood-related and growth traits in a population of 113 natural aspen genotypes from Sweden (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gtht76hrd). These traits included three growth and field performance traits, 20 traits for wood chemical composition, 17 traits for wood anatomy …

The Methylation Landscape Of Giga-Genome And The Epigenetic Timer Of Age In Chinese Pine, Jiang Li, Fangxu Han, Tongqi Yuan, Wei Li, Yue Li, Harry X. Wu, Hairong Wei, Shihui Niu

Michigan Tech Publications

Epigenetics has been revealed to play a crucial role in the long-term memory in plants. However, little is known about whether the epigenetic modifications occur with age progressively in conifers. Here, we present the single-base resolution DNA methylation landscapes of the 25-gigabase Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) genome at different ages. The result shows that DNA methylation is closely coupled with the regulation of gene transcription. The age-dependent methylation profile with a linearly increasing trend is the most significant pattern of DMRs between ages. Two segments at the five-prime end of the first ultra-long intron in DAL1, a conservative age biomarker …

The Relative Effects Of Functional Diversity And Structural Complexity On Carbon Dynamics In Late-Successional, Northeastern Mixed Hardwood Forests, Samantha Myers

Masters Theses

Late-successional forests provide a unique opportunity to explore adaptive management approaches that mitigate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels through carbon storage while also enhancing ecological resilience to novel climate and disturbances. Typical benchmarks for adaptive forest management include species diversity and structural complexity, which are widely considered to increase ecosystem stability and productivity. However, the role of functional trait diversity (e.g., variation in leaf and stem traits) in driving forest productivity and ecosystem resilience remains underexplored. We leveraged existing continuous forest inventory (CFI) data and collected local functional trait observations from CFI plots within late-successional forests in western Massachusetts to explore …

Canopy-Top Measurements Do Not Accurately Quantify Canopy-Scale Leaf Thermoregulation, Josef C. Garen, Luiza Maria T. Aparecido, Benjamin W. Blonder, Molly A. Cavaleri, Martijn Slot, Sean T. Michaletz

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

Collection Of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) In Two Types Of Arboreal Terrain In The Natural Park Of Belezma Batna (North-Eastern Algeria), Yougherta Abderrezak Habbari, Naama Frah, Meriem Bouterfa, Larbi Houichi

Journal of Bioresource Management

The inventory of the carabid family at two forest sites in the Belezma national park namely an oak grove site and a cedar site during a period ranging from May 2017 to April 2018, has shown the counting of 27 taxa that have been inventoried by Barber pitfall traps. The results showed that the Quercus ilex site has slightly more species (25 species) compared to the Cedrus atlantica one (23 species). However, the Harpalinae subfamily is quantitatively the better one represented at both sites. The Shannon and Simpson indices report slightly higher figures in the Cedrus atlantica site with respectively …

Less Fuel For The Next Fire? Short-Interval Fire Delays Forest Recovery And Interacting Drivers Amplify Effects, Kristin H. Braziunas, Nathan G. Kiel, Monica G. Turner

Aspen Bibliography

As 21st-century climate and disturbance dynamics depart from historic baselines, ecosystem resilience is uncertain. Multiple drivers are changing simultaneously, and interactions among drivers could amplify ecosystem vulnerability to change. Subalpine forests in Greater Yellowstone (Northern Rocky Mountains, USA) were historically resilient to infrequent (100–300 year), severe fire. We sampled paired short-interval (<30-year) and long-interval (>125-year) post-fire plots most recently burned between 1988 and 2018 to address two questions: (1) How do short-interval fire, climate, topography, and distance to unburned live forest edge interact to affect post-fire forest regeneration? (2) How do forest biomass and fuels vary following short-interval versus long-interval severe fires? …

Regeneration Strategies And Forest Resilience To Changing Fire Regimes: Insights From A Goldilocks Model, Tanjona Ramiadantsoa, Zak Ratajczak, Monica G. Turner

Aspen Bibliography

Disturbances are ubiquitous in ecological systems, and species have evolved a range of strategies to resist or rebound following disturbance. Understanding how the presence and complementarity of regeneration traits will affect community responses to disturbance is increasingly urgent as disturbance regimes shift beyond their historical ranges of variability. We define "disturbance niche" as a species' fitness across a range of disturbance sizes and frequencies that can reflect the fundamental or realized niche, that is, whether the species occurs alone or with other species. We developed a model of intermediate complexity (i.e., a Goldilocks model) to infer the disturbance niche. We …

Revisiting Trophic Cascades And Aspen Recovery In Northern Yellowstone, Robert L. Beschta, Luke E. Painter, William J. Ripple

Aspen Bibliography

We revisit the nature and extent of trophic cascades and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) recovery in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP), where studies have reported on Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) browsing and young aspen heights following the St. John, 1995-96 reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus). A recent study by Brice et al. (2021) expressed concerns about methodologies employed in earlier aspen studies and that results from those studies exaggerated the extent to which a trophic cascade has benefitted aspen, concerns such as: (a) the selection of aspen stands, (b) …

Analysis And Installation Of A Demonstration Agroforestry Orchard For Californian Mediterranean Plant Communities, Brandon Hurd

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Climate-appropriate agroforestry can provide low-input food security and ecosystem services for local Californian Mediterranean climates, while conserving natural resources (e.g., water, nitrogen, etc.). This project showcases a variety of agroforestry methods for five common plant communities of California and other analogous Mediterranean climates at the CAFES Experimental Farm on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Plant community species and their ethnobotanical uses were analyzed to mimic and incorporate aspects of native flora. Agricultural plants were also characterized to represent each of the five selected plant communities. GIS was used to assess the project site for soil, slope, and …