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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Influence Of Aspen Chemistry And The Nutritional Context On Aspen Herbivory, Kristen Y. Heroy
The Influence Of Aspen Chemistry And The Nutritional Context On Aspen Herbivory, Kristen Y. Heroy
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Consumption of aspen by herbivores is one major force causing aspen decline in North America. In this Dissertation, I aimed to determine why herbivores prefer browsing on certain aspen stands over others, and why they prefer consuming aspen that contains chemical defenses over understory forages like grasses, forbs, and shrubs. I explored the influence of nutrients and chemical defenses within aspen on aspen intake and preference by lambs in pen experiments. I also explored drivers of aspen preference on the landscape by looking at relationships between aspen herbivory, indicators of aspen health, amount of nutrients available in the understory, and …
Effect Of Foliage And Root Carbon Quantity, Quality, And Fluxes On Soil Organic Carbon Stabilization In Montane Aspen And Conifer Stands In Utah, Antra Boča
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Soil organic carbon (SOC) positively affects many soil properties (e.g., fertility and water holding capacity), and the amount of carbon (C) in soil exceeds the amount in the atmosphere by about three times. Forest soils store as much C as is found in trees. Tree species differ in their effect on SOC pools. Quaking aspen forests in the Western US often store more stable SOC in the mineral soil than nearby conifers. During the last decades a decline in aspen cover, often followed by conifer encroachment, has been documented. A shift from aspen to conifer overstories may negatively affect the …
Impact Of Climate Variability On The Frequency And Severity Of Ecological Disturbances In Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Sky Island Ecosystems, Curtis A. Gray
Impact Of Climate Variability On The Frequency And Severity Of Ecological Disturbances In Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Sky Island Ecosystems, Curtis A. Gray
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Many high elevation conifer species, including high elevation five needle pines, are declining throughout western North America. Warming temperatures, mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust and alteration of naturally occurring fire regimes represent an interactive set of circumstances leading to greater risk. The loss of these treeline pines can detrimentally impact biodiversity and valuable ecosystem services including wildlife habitat, watershed and soil protection, aesthetics and recreation. Great Basin bristlecone pine ecosystems are naturally highly fragmented because of their elevational requirements. However, they may become even more fragmented due to combined impacts of warming temperature, insects and diseases listed above. …