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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Pasturelands As Natural Climate Solutions: A Socioecological Study Of Tree Carbon And Beef Production Trade-Offs, Bela Starinchak
Pasturelands As Natural Climate Solutions: A Socioecological Study Of Tree Carbon And Beef Production Trade-Offs, Bela Starinchak
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Forest restoration is the most effective natural climate solution, with the potential to sequester 37% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) needed to reach the Paris climate mitigation goal. Cattle pastures offer an underutilized opportunity to increase global forest restoration efforts, improve biodiversity, and maximize carbon storage through the adoption of management strategies that prioritize the incorporation of trees into pasturelands. However, remote estimations of tree carbon storage in pastoral systems have never been field-verified and their accuracy is unclear. Furthermore, the effect of increased trees on cattle production is understudied across biomes. Lastly, the restoration potential of these …
Plant-Pollinator Network Dynamics Of The Little Fork Shale Barren, Sarah N. Brown
Plant-Pollinator Network Dynamics Of The Little Fork Shale Barren, Sarah N. Brown
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Shale barrens are steep sloping mountainside ecosystems characterized by rocky Upper Devonian age shale substrate, high light, and low water availability. They form an array of biogeographical “islands” throughout Mid-Appalachia whose niche dynamics, response to disturbance, and pollination ecology remain to be investigated. Using network analysis, this project addresses three objectives to fill gaps in shale barren pollination ecology. (i) Compare vegetative species composition, richness, diversity, and evenness to a descriptive vegetation study completed at the same site 27 years prior. ii) Outline the topology of plant-pollinator networks including identifying phenologically accurate networks, the architecture of such networks, and identifying …
Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters
Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters
Masters Theses, 2020-current
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a well-known and sought-after medicinal plant native to North America that is facing increased threat of extinction due to overharvesting, herbivory, and habitat loss. Species distribution and habitat suitability models may be valuable to landowners interested in sustainable harvest or to institutions interested in the conservation and restoration of the species. With unequal sampling efforts across a region of interest, it is likely that some locations with appropriate habitat may be misrepresented in model predictions. This study refined a state-derived species distribution model for ginseng through increased sampling effort across the Cumberland Plateau …