Life Sciences Commons^™

Investigation Of Fungal Pathogens And Woodboring Beetles Of Sugarbush Stands In The Central Appalachian Region, Molly A. Sherlock

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The production of maple syrup is a valuable source of income and cultural identity for many rural communities throughout the central Appalachian region. Regardless, maple syrup producers face difficulties maintaining the health and productivity
of their stands due to various impacts of climate change, which have given rise to extreme weather events that exacerbate damage caused by pests and diseases. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the maple syrup industry, it is crucial to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current biotic threats within the region, particularly woodboring insects and fungal pathogens. However, insufficient information exists regarding the community assemblages …

Producing Hardwood Cross - Laminated Timber (Hclt) Mats From Low Grade Red Oak Lumber, Jonathan R. Norris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) has significantly grown in North America, but hardwood species have not yet been deemed a viable material to manufacture CLT panels, whereas, softwood species continue to serve as the only approved material for CLT in structural applications according to ANSI/APA PRG-320. In order to introduce hardwoods into the CLT market, we must develop non-structural CLT products that utilize low grade lumber from hardwood species. This allows hardwood manufacturers to enter the CLT market without certification, while also displaying the strength and beauty of the hardwood resources found within this region.

Of the hardwood species …

Effects Of Climate Change And Landscape-Scale Forest Management On Avian Communities, Abundance, And Nest Success In The Appalachian Mountains, Hannah L. Clipp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Birds are integral components of ecosystems and account for billions of dollars in tangible benefits to humans. As such, recent continental declines of bird species have ecological and economic consequences, providing the impetus for my dissertation research. I identified knowledge gaps and proposed novel questions about how birds in the Appalachian Mountains are influenced by changing environmental conditions due to climate change and forest management. The Appalachian Mountains encompass an important biogeographical region with high conservation value due to its myriad habitats and corresponding bird species diversity. Thus, there is a critical need to evaluate the effects of shifting climate …

Spatial Variability In Above Ground Carbon Within An Appalachian Forest, Megan A. Ponczek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Forests have long been recognized for their provision of air and water quality ecosystem services to society; but more recently, they have become valuable to the carbon credit markets used as a tool for mitigating climate change. Quantifying above ground carbon storage in forest ecosystems is essential for these carbon credit markets and can also provide insight into factors that control the spatial distribution of carbon in forests. The goal of this study is to assess the degree to which three factors: topography, tree species, and legacies of logging, impact the spatial variability in above ground carbon within a 400x500m …

Response Of Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium Stoloniferum Muhl Ex. A. Eaton) To Herbaceous Competition And Transplanting In Monongahela National Forest, Ruben E. Sabella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Running buffalo clover (RBC) is a rare perennial plant that grows throughout the American Midwest and the Appalachian Mountains. It requires disturbed forests to establish and proliferate. It has been suggested that, in the past, these conditions were created by buffalo; now logging operations maintain RBC populations. However, forest managers have been looking for ways to create suitable habitat for RBC that do not involve harvesting practices. This could help create new populations in areas that cannot be logged. Once established, competing vegetation might influence RBC abundance and flowering. This study seeks to quantify this influence by measuring the vegetation …

Production, Best Management Practices, And Market Impacts Of Forest Biomass Harvest And Collection In The Mid-Atlantic Region, William E. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Time motion studies were conducted at five mid-Atlantic sites that spanned various operations in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The harvest systems included integrated harvests where chips were produced in the forest, roundwood systems where only roundwood was produced, and a centralized chipping system. The study collected overall productivity and machine utilization data at the various harvesting operations. The cost per green ton of woody biomass ranged from $18.46 to $39.8 resulting in an average of $30.33 among the five systems. Hauling had the highest average price per green ton at $9.10, while loading had the lowest at $1.73 per …

Evaluation Of Low-Grade Red Oak (Quercus Rubra) And Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) As A Raw-Material For Cross-Laminated Timber Panel Production, Matthew Allen Young

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Hardwoods in the Appalachian region are traditionally destined for use in furniture, cabinetry, pallets, and railroad ties. The expanding market for Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is an opportunity for increased utilization of low-quality hardwoods typically used in pallets or equipment mats. Large quantities of low-grade red oak (Quercus rubra) and red maple (Acer rubrum) to be used in CLTs would provide sufficient lumber sources that could foster the growth of CLT manufacturing facilities in the state of West Virginia or Appalachia all together. The objective of this study was to determine the yield distribution of visual structural grade quality lumber …

The Impacts Of Maple Syrup Production On The Herbaceous Layer In Appalachian Hardwood Forests, Logan Scott Ferguson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Vegetation data were collected from eight maple syrup farms (sugarbushes) and eight undeveloped maple-dominated sites to examine potential differences in understory plant communities due to disturbance effects. Understory plants were identified to the species level and percent cover of aboveground leaf-area for each species was estimated within 600 total quadrats. Overstory data and environmental data were collected to help determine if they had any effect on herbaceous-layer plant communities. Species richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou’s evenness were calculated, with the analysis showing no significant differences between the site types. The absolute cover of plant functional groups was also compared between …

Frayed Connections: How Long-Term Nitrogen Additions Disrupt Plant-Soil Interactions And The Carbon Cycle Of A Temperate Forest, Brooke A. Eastman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Forests are expected to mitigate some of the negative effects of climate change by sequestering anthropogenic carbon (C) from the atmosphere, but the degree to which they drawn down C will depend on the availability of key nutrients, such as nitrogen (N). There is a fair amount of uncertainty in the future of the forest C sink, mostly owing to the fate of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil heterotrophic respiration to future conditions. In N limited systems, plants allocate a significant amount of their photosynthate belowground for the acquisition of nutrients, but under conditions of chronic N deposition, plants …

Optimization And Analytics Of Decarbonized Forest And Biomass Supply Chains, Xufeng Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

First, a data-driven holistic analysis framework was developed to aid the industrial development of forest biomass for bioenergy to promote the regional bioeconomy. Leveraging the existing but fragmented multi-source data, four components of industrial bioenergy development were integrated into the framework including spatial statistical analysis of biomass feedstock and bioenergy production, machine learning-based suitability assessment, bioenergy plant sites identification and ranking, and socio-economic impacts assessment. A case study was conducted for forest biomass to pellet fuel in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Our results indicate that the great potential of forest biomass with high variation at the county level is primarily …

Evaluation Of Cross-Laminated Timber Panels Produced With Yellow-Poplar (Liriodendron Tulipifera), Rafael Da Rosa Azambuja

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels are engineered wood products breaking into the building sector. Currently, the range of raw materials used in CLT is still limited to softwoods, while some hardwood species such as yellow-poplar could potentially be used to produce this wood product. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to assess the feasibility of using Appalachian Hardwoods in the production of Cross-Laminated Timber panels. Specifically, the objectives of the research were to 1) Determine the amount of yellow-poplar structural lumber that can be obtained from a representative population of low-grade, yellow-poplar lumber graded for appearance; 2) Evaluate whether …

Using Landsat-Based Phenology Metrics, Terrain Variables, And Machine Learning For Mapping And Probabilistic Prediction Of Forest Community Types In West Virginia, Faith M. Hartley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study investigates the mapping of forest community types for the entire state of West Virginia, USA using Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Phenology Metrics analysis ready data (ARD) derived from the Landsat time series and digital terrain variables derived from a digital terrain model (DTM). Both classifications and probabilistic predictions were made using random forest (RF) machine learning (ML) and training data derived from ground plots provided by the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program (WVNHP). The primary goal of this study is to explore the use of globally consistent ARD data for operational forest type mapping over a …

Preliminary Assessment Of Climatic Sensitivity Of Riparian Old-Growth Eastern Hemlock, John B. Holden Iv, Sophan Chhin, Andrew Hirsch, Eric Yetter

Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review

Eastern hemlock is a long-lived, slow growing climax species in North America currently undergoing a major decline in population due to a combination of effects derived from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) as well as changing climate patterns. Data was collected in an old-growth, riparian hemlock forest within the West Virginia University Research Forest to understand the effect of monthly climate factors (mean temperature, mean precipitation, and climate moisture index (CMI)) on hemlock radial growth. Results indicated that March mean temperature and May CMI of the current growth year are positively associated with hemlock growth whereas prior year summer conditions of …

Three Essays On “Energy , Environment, And Developmental Economics”, Bolarinwa Ajanaku

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines topics related to renewable energy development and investment planning, energy markets, environment degradation and economic development. The substantial ecological costs of deforestation are well known and considered globally important due to biodiversity loss, land degradation, soil erosion, and contributions to climate change. The first essay focuses upon understanding the tradeoff between development and deforestation in Africa. In the second essay, spatial analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) are applied to determine potential locations for wind farms development in the state of West Virginia. Lastly, the third essay examines the role of wind power penetration on wholesale electricity …

Fertilization And Tree Species Influence On Stable Aggregates In Forest Soil, Jacob E. Kemner, Mary Beth Adams, Louis M. Mcdonald, William T. Peterjohn, Charlene N. Kelly

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: Background and objectives: aggregation and structure play key roles in the water-holding capacity and stability of soils and are important for the physical protection and storage of soil carbon (C). Forest soils are an important sink of ecosystem C, though the capacity to store C may be disrupted by the elevated atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds by dispersion of soil aggregates via acidification or altered microbial activity. Furthermore, dominant tree species and the lability of litter they produce can influence aggregation processes. Materials and methods: we measured water-stable aggregate size distribution and aggregate-associated organic matter …

Nitrogen Fertilization, Stand Age, And Overstory Tree Species Impact The Herbaceous Layer In A Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest, Lacey J. Smith, Kirsten Stephan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Research Highlights: Herb-layer community composition, abundance, species richness, and Shannon–Wiener diversity index are shaped by nitrogen fertilization, disturbance history, and the overstory tree species in its immediate vicinity. Background and Objectives: While the herbaceous layer in deciduous forests is increasingly recognized for its importance in various aspects of forest ecosystem function, this study sought to describe the factors impacting the herbaceous layer. Specifically, this study’s objective was to quantify and compare herb-layer species composition, cover, and other community indices in watersheds with (a) different levels of N deposition, (b) different stand ages due to differing disturbance histories, and (c) different …

Climatic Drivers Of Growth In Mixed Conifer Forests Of The Sierra Nevada For Different Tree Sizes And Thinning Treatments, Andrew M. Hirsch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Mediterranean region of northern California is projected to get increasingly warmer under all Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios, with future precipitation projections not showing much of a trend. This poses a problem to the already dry summers that are experienced in the Mediterranean region of California. If precipitation does not increase alongside temperatures, the dry seasons will likely only get drier. The use of dendroclimatology to assess how mixed conifer species in the Sierra Nevada responded to past climate is a key resource that can be used to infer how trees may respond to a future …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

Determining The Effects Of Imidacloprid On Non-Target Soil Organisms In Hemlock Stands, Braley Burke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is an invasive insect that is causing mortality of eastern hemlock trees, Tsuga canadensis, and Carolina hemlock trees, Tsuga caroliniana, across the eastern United States. To protect these ecologically important tree species, a neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, is commonly used. Imidacloprid is an effective treatment and can remain effective against HWA for four to six years but long-term (≥ one year after application) non-target effects of imidacloprid on forest ecosystems are not well-studied. This study examined terrestrial non-target effects of imidacloprid in hemlock stands with different treatment histories to …

Environmental Controls On The Terrestrial Water Cycle In Forested Mountain Ecosystems., Luis Andrés Guillén

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Water is a key resource to natural ecosystems and human societies alike, and the water cycle is fundamentally linked to the climate and the characteristics of catchments. However, the challenges posed by environmental change makes it imperative to understand how the water cycle is affected by biotic and abiotic factors, in particular, in areas that are crucial sources of water like forested headwater catchments. Therefore, this doctoral dissertation aims to advance the knowledge on the dynamics between climate, vegetation and landscape that determine the water balance of forested mountain ecosystems. This document presents five chapters, an introductory chapter, three standalone …

The Role Of Tree Species, The Herb Layer, And Watershed Characteristics On Nitrogen Cycling In A Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest, Sian E. Eisenhut

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Little is known about the forest herbaceous layer’s contributions to nitrogen (N) cycling under varying levels of N deposition, at different stages of forest succession, in watersheds with different aspects, and under different tree species. The objectives of this study were to quantify nitrogen reductase activity (NRA) of two tree species, red maple and sugar maple, and surrounding common herb-layer species at the tissue (foliage, roots) and plot level and to assess how these species affect the concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, and organic N in soil water collected in lysimeters beneath these trees. Different watersheds located at the Fernow Experimental …

Insect Community Associated With Black Cherry (Prunus Serotina) In The Allegheny National Forest, Craig James Larcenaire

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) is valuable species managed for its economic and ecologic benefits. This species grows best in the environment of the Allegheny Plateau region in northwestern Pennsylvania. Land managers on the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) have been managing black cherry for a variety of goals and purposes. Over the last few decades, the land managers have noticed a decline in the natural regeneration of black cherry in the forest. Because the black cherry flowers are self-incompatible and require animal pollinators to transfer the pollen from one tree to another one hypothesis for this decline could be …

Valorization Of Xylan In Agroforestry Waste Streams, Harrison Appiah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Valorization of Xylan in Agroforestry Waste Streams.

Harrison Appiah

Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent and gamma-valerolactone metallic chloride catalyzed conversion of xylan to furfural were investigated using a 2x3 factorial experimental design at two levels of percent microwave power, reaction time, and catalyst concentration. The levels of each factor studied were (20%, 60% microwave power, 2, 4 minutes, and 10, 20mg) respectively. The effect of three metallic chloride catalysts (LiCl, FeCl3.6H20, CuCl2) on the conversion of xylan to furfural was also investigated. The gamma-valerolactone-ferric chloride sent system exhibited the highest mean yield of furfural (56.50%). The next highest furfural yield of …

Analyzing Safety Audits To Improve Logging Safety Performance, George Daniel Nolan Jr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study examines logging safety audits to determine how different variables, and differing amounts of time between audits, affect the outcome of safety score performance. To collect the data for this study a three-page paper audit was used that examined five areas of the logging site which include: Personal protective equipment (PPE), general, felling, mobile equipment and, landing and loading.

The study analyzed 3 aspects of the audit which were the total score and the sub-categories of PPE and felling since they were the two heaviest weighted sections. The analysis only included audits that had a 5 percent or greater …

Soil Microbial Nitrogen-Transforming Genes Influenced By Tree Species And Fertilization In An Appalachian Hardwood Forest, Emma G. Fox-Fogle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Many forest ecosystems have been receiving elevated nitrogen (N) deposition due to human activity. Increased ecosystem N threatens soil fertility, water and air quality, and modifies the soil microbially-mediated N cycle in complex ways. The current study investigates how the abundance of key functional N cycling genes within soil bacteria is altered by N deposition and further mediated by different dominant tree species at the Fernow Experimental Forest, WV. Soils were analyzed from two watersheds, where watershed 3 (WS 3) has been receiving experimental applications of N fertilizer that are 2x historic ambient N deposition and 5x the current ambient …

Effects Of Different Liquid Smoke Treatments On Osmotic Dehydration Of Apple Cubes, Rohit Singh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Refined Liquid Smoke (RLS) (1%) was incorporated during osmotic dehydration of apple cubes (10 mm each side) to observe its effect on solid gain, water loss, yield, water activity, product quality, and consumer preference. Three different treatments, POD (pure osmotic dehydration, no RLS), LSISS (RLS inside sugar solution) and PTLS (pre-treatment with RLS), were compared in this study. Osmotic dehydration was carried out using 42 °Brix sugar solution, and the fruit to solution ratio was kept at 1:4. The osmotically dehydrated apples were evaluated for soluble solid content (SSC), water loss, and solid gained. After osmotic dehydration, apple cubes were …

Central Appalachian Understory Red Spruce (Picea Rubens Sarg.) Growth Rates And Allometric Relationships, Joseph M. Gray

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Red spruce (Picea rubens) was a prized timber species in West Virginia during the era of resource exploitation in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Consequently, Central Appalachian red spruce has faced large reductions in range and changes in stand composition. This region is relatively underrepresented in literature partially due to these constrictions. Investigating how stem growth occurs in young individuals can fill in some of our gaps in understanding the species and aid in restoration efforts. We sampled an array of high elevation sites on federal and state lands in West Virginia to analyze understory spruce growth …

Nutrient Cycling-Tree Species Relationships In Appalachian Forests, Philip Michael Crim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Since the colonization of North America by Europeans, ecosystems in Appalachia and across the continent have been in a prolonged state of flux. Areas particularly rich in natural resources, such as Appalachia, have historically borne the brunt of these swift changes, often with devastating consequences. Downwind of much of the power generation facilities of the Ohio Valley, Appalachian forests have been geographically predisposed to high rates of acidic deposition, a circumstance mitigated by the passage of Clean Air Legislation beginning in the 1970s. Nevertheless, decades of elevated nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) inputs had a profound impact on the ecology …

Leaf Angle And Leaf Stomata Responses To Experimental Drought In Quercus Velutina And Acer Saccharum, Brittany Nichole Casey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The possibility of increased severity and frequency of drought conditions, as a result of global climate variability, greatly complicates our ability to forecast future forest functions such as productivity and carbon sequestration. Assessing how tree species vary in their response to drought can aid in predicting the impact on forest ecosystems as a whole. Throughfall exclusion (TfE) experiments are potentially useful tools to simulate realistic drought conditions within intact forest ecosystems. We employed a TfE experiment during the 2018 growing season within the WV Land Trust’s Elizabeth’s Woods Nature Preserve, near Morgantown, WV, to assess the leaf angle and leaf …

Stable Aggregate Dynamics And Carbon Storage In Acidified Forest Soils: Influence Of Atmospheric Deposition And Conifer Conversion At The Fernow Experimental Forest, J E. Kemner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This research explored effects of ecosystem change from increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and stand conversion from mixed-species hardwood to Norway spruce in three experimental watersheds at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF). I measured soil aggregation and organic matter (OM) content to investigate the influence of forest fertilization in Watershed 3 (WS3), a hardwood forest receiving (NH₄)₂SO₄ fertilizer, versus Watershed 7 (WS7), a natural hardwood forest. I compared WS7 to Watershed 6 (WS6), a converted Norway spruce (Picea abies) monoculture. I quantified WS6 and WS7 C and N ecosystem pools, including vegetation biomass, …