Life Sciences Commons^™

Identifying And Addressing Soil Property Issues Affecting Roadside Vegetation Establishment, Xu Li, Martha Mamo, Walter H. Schacht, Tala Awada, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Attaining adequate vegetation cover along highways is important for NDOR to comply with EPA’s stormwater regulations. However, low plant cover is a common problem on shoulders (first 16 feet off the pavement) of many highways in Nebraska. The ultimate goal of this study is to identify cost-effective engineering solutions that assure adequate seed beds (i.e., soil conditions) for establishment of selected seeding mixtures. The objectives of this study are to (1) characterize the soil properties along roadsides where vegetation stands have not developed well, and (2) verify the effects of select soil property parameters on plant germination and establishment.

Sampling …

Effective Establishment Of Native Grasses On Roadsides In New England, Yulia Kuzovkina, John Campanelli, Cristian Schulthess, Robert Ricard, Glenn Dreyer

Other Publications and Reports

No abstract provided.

Experimental Evidence For Drought Induced Alternative Stable States Of Soil Moisture, David A. Robinson, Scott B. Jones, Inma Lebron, Sabine Reinsch, Maria T. Dominguez, Andrew R. Smith, Davey L. Jones, Miles R. Marshall, Bridget A. Emmett

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Ecosystems may exhibit alternative stable states (ASS) in response to environmental change. Modelling and observational data broadly support the theory of ASS, however evidence from manipulation experiments supporting this theory is limited. Here, we provide long-term manipulation and observation data supporting the existence of drought induced alternative stable soil moisture states (irreversible soil wetting) in upland Atlantic heath, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. Manipulated repeated moderate summer drought, and intense natural summer drought both lowered resilience resulting in shifts in soil moisture dynamics. The repeated moderate summer drought decreased winter soil moisture retention by ∼10%. However, intense summer drought, …

Numerical Classification And Ordination Of The Floodplain Forests In The Euxine Region Of Turkey, Ali̇ Kavgaci, Erkan Yalçin, Hasan Korkmaz

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, the phytosociological structure of floodplain forests in the Euxine region of Turkey was examined from a large-scale perspective. For this goal, all of the published relevés were analyzed using the numerical classification and ordination techniques, which are widely used in phytosociological studies all over the world. In summary, a syntaxonomical scheme for floodplain forests with 11 communities (five associations and one alliance were newly identified) was suggested as follows: Fraxino angustifoliae - Ulmetum laevis Slavi 1952 allerietosum petiolatae Kavgacı et al. Subass. Nov. Hoc loco; Fraxino angustifoliae - Ulmetum laevis Slavi 1952 junglandetosum regiae Kavgacı et al. …

A Floristic Study Of The Oak Leaf Lake Unit Of The Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area In Nicollet County, Minnesota, Heidi Rauenhorst

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Prairies play an integral ecological role, protecting biodiversity and providing habitat for fauna. The number of prairie acres has significantly declined in Minnesota, making the existing prairies that much more valuable. The Oak Leaf Lake Unit of the Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area in Nicollet County, Minnesota (latitude 44.311050, longitude -94.015577) was purchased by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1994 and is being managed as tallgrass prairie. Floristic surveys were performed during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons to gather baseline data. These data were used to assess the quality of the site through calculation of various indices …

A Vegetation-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Wetlands Of Kentucky, Noelle Newman Smith

Online Theses and Dissertations

Wetland ecosystems have experienced severe declines across the United States, prompting efforts to assess the status of remaining wetlands and regulate their development. The Clean Water Act and the policy of “No Net Loss” have resulted in a system of permitting and mitigation for impacts to wetlands. Professional judgments of wetland quality are inherent in regulatory decisions related to preservation and mitigation, but many states, and until recently including Kentucky, have no standard, quantifiable means of assessing wetlands to guide the decision process. A rapid assessment method has recently been developed for Kentucky, but there is no intensive assessment method …