Life Sciences Commons^™

Road Dust Correlated With Decreased Reproduction Of The Endangered Utah Shrub Hesperidanthus Suffrutescens, Matthew B. Lewis, Eugene W. Schupp, Thomas A. Monaco

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Roads associated with energy development have fragmented much of the Uinta Basin, the Colorado Plateau in general, and other areas of western North America. Beyond reducing available habitat, spreading exotic species, and creating barriers to dispersal, unpaved roads also increase dust loads on plants and pollinators, which may reduce plant growth and reproduction. We studied the effects of an unpaved road on reproduction of an endangered Utah endemic shrub. We measured the size and reproductive output of 156 plants and the dust deposition in plots at increasing distances from the road. We also hand outcrossed 240 flowers from 80 plants …

Efficacy Of Two Hortiled Fixtures, Jakob Johnson, Paul Kusuma, Bruce Bugbee

Controlled Environments

We tested the efficacy of the Full Spectrum and Red-Blue HORTILED TOP LED fixtures manufactured by PL Light. Both fixtures had an 80° light distribution.

The efficacy of the fixtures was measured using flat plane integration as described by Nelson and Bugbee (2014)¹ (see adjacent photo). The fixtures were suspended at 0.65 m above the floor in a 3 × 3 m room with flat black walls. The photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD, μmol · m^-2 · s^-1) was measured with a recently calibrated quantum sensor (LI-COR model 190R). Measurements were made 2.5 cm apart near …

Oystershell Scale Impacts And Mitigation Options On The Kaibab And Coconino Nf’S, Amanda M. Grady

Aspen Bibliography

This report documents a site visit to evaluate aspen stands experiencing oystershell scale damage on the Kaibab and Coconino National Forest’s. The site visit was requested by Kaibab NF, foresters including; Josh Giles, Jessi Outzs, Michael Sedgeman, Woody Rokala and Coconino Silviculturist, Mark Nabel. On November 19, 2016, Amanda Grady accompanied the individuals listed above, to evaluate stand conditions within three aspen exclosures. Two were located on the Williams Ranger District, Kaibab NF in the vicinity of Spring Valley. The third exclosure was located on the Flagstaff RD, Coconino NF and accessed from HWY 89-A via the Pump House Wash …

Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Source Apportionment And Btex Risk Assessment Of Winter 2015 In Roosevelt, Utah, Jerimiah Lamb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Non-Methane Hydrocarbons (NMHC) monitored in Roosevelt Utah including Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (collectively known as BTEX) are associated with deleterious effects including cancer. This study was designed to assess the origin and effect of the toxicants and addressed two points: 1) Source identification using the USEPA’s Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and NOAA’s Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and 2) A human health risk assessment based on ambient concentrations of BTEX collected at the Roosevelt site. Model fit indicated that the primary contributor to total NMHCs was local oil and gas operations and was supported by previous …

Nitrogen Availability And Use Efficiency In Corn Treated With Contrasting Nitrogen Sources, Avneet Kakkar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The plant-soil nitrogen cycle plays a significant role in allocation of available N to plants, and improved understanding of N cycling helps sustainably increase fertilizer use efficiency. There are various processes (nitrogen mineralization and nitrification) involved in the availability and mobility of nitrogen in the soil. The primary objective of this study was to determine the NUE under contrasting nitrogen treatments over a period of five years. Additionally, we examined the effect of different N treatments on N mineralization and nitrification in conventional and organic farming systems.

This project was funded by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program …

Salinity Tolerance Of Three Competing Rangeland Plant Species: Studies In Hydroponic Culture, Joseph K. Sagers, Blair L. Waldrom, Joseph Earl Creech, Ivan W. Mott, Bruce Bugbee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus) is an invasive species that displaces Gardner's saltbush (Atriplex gardneri) on saline rangelands, whereas, forage kochia (Bassia prostrata) potentially can rehabilitate these ecosystems. Salinity tolerance has been hypothesized as the predominant factor affecting frequency of these species. This study compared relative salinity tolerance of these species, and tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Plants were evaluated in hydroponics, eliminating the confounding effects of drought, for 28 days at 0, 150, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 800 mmol/L NaCl. Survival, growth, and ion accumulation were determined. …

Large-Scale Control Of The Arabian Sea Monsoon Inversion In August, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The summer monsoon inversion in the Arabian Sea is characterized by a large amount of low clouds and August as the peak season. Atmospheric stratification associated with the monsoon inversion has been considered a local system influenced by the advancement of the India–Pakistan monsoon. Empirical and numerical evidence from this study suggests that the Arabian Sea monsoon inversion is linked to a broader-scale monsoon evolution across the African Sahel, South Asia, and East Asia–Western North Pacific (WNP), rather than being a mere byproduct of the India–Pakistan monsoon progression. In August, the upper-tropospheric anticyclone in South Asia extends sideways corresponding with …

General Control Nonrepressible4 Degrades 14-3-3 And The Rin4 Complex To Regulate Stomatal Aperture With Implications On Nonhost Disease Resistance And Drought Tolerance, Amita Kaundal, Vemenna S. Ramu, Sunhee Oh, Seonghee Lee, Bikram Pant, Hee-Kyung Lee, Clemencia M. Rojas, Muthappa Senthil-Kumar, Kirankumar S. Mysore

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Plants have complex and adaptive innate immune responses against pathogen infections. Stomata are key entry points for many plant pathogens. Both pathogens and plants regulate stomatal aperture for pathogen entry and defense, respectively. Not all plant proteins involved in stomatal aperture regulation have been identified. Here, we report GENERAL CONTROL NONREPRESSIBLE4 (GCN4), an AAA+-ATPase family protein, as one of the key proteins regulating stomatal aperture during biotic and abiotic stress. Silencing of GCN4 in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana compromises host and nonhost disease resistance due to open stomata during pathogen infection. AtGCN4 overexpression plants have reduced H+-ATPase activity, stomata …

Seasonal Development Of The Biological Control Agent Of Dalmatian Toadflax, Mecinus Janthiniformis (Curculionidae: Coleoptera), In Utah: Phenology, Overwintering Success, And Mortality, Samantha A. Willden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

By outcompeting desirable vegetation, invasive weeds can dominate field crops and rangelands, drastically reducing yield and land value. One option in controlling the impact and spread of such weeds is reuniting them with their natural insect herbivores, a process called biological control. When successful, biocontrol can be the cheapest way to provide long-term control of invasive weeds, but continual monitoring of insect and weed activity is required to ensure success.

Dalmatian toadflax is an invasive weed that occurs widely throughout the northwestern U.S., and that is spreading south each year to warmer and drier regions, including sites in Utah. Although …

Movement Of Cryptosporidium Parvum Oocysts Through Soils Without Preferential Pathways: Exploratory Test, Christophe J.G. Darnault, Zhenyang Peng, Chan Yu, Biting Li, Astrid R. Jacobson, Philippe C. Baveye

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Groundwater contamination by oocysts of the waterborne pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum is a significant cause of animal and human disease worldwide. Although research has been undertaken in the past to determine how specific physical and chemical properties of soils affect the risk of groundwater contamination by C. parvum, there is as yet no clear conclusion concerning the range of mobility of C. parvum that one should expect in field soils. In this context, the key objective of this research was to determine the magnitude of C. parvum transport in a number of soils, under conditions in which fast and preferential …

Sclerocactus Wetlandicus: Habitat Characterization, Seed Germination And Mycorrhizal Analysis, Kourtney T. Harding

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Uinta Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus wetlandicus) is a threatened species native to Eastern Utah. The cactus is found in a landscape highly disturbed by non-renewable energy production. To understand the environmental conditions that support natural growth of this cactus, we asked what types of plants were present in the same areas as the cactus, and if the types of plants were different in environments that were disturbed. From our assessment, we determined that the types of plants present in disturbed areas were drastically different from those present in undisturbed locations. Areas previously used for energy production are …

Understanding The Mechanisms Of Insecticide Resistance In Phlebotomus Papatasi And Lutzoymia Longipalpis Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), David Denlinger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sand flies, like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and lice, transmit pathogens that cause disease in humans. Leishmaniasis, caused by pathogens transmitted by sand flies, kills tens of thousands of people every year. Insecticides have been used to control sand flies, but there is evidence of insecticide resistance in populations of sand flies around the world. The goal of this dissertation was to develop tools to maintain sand flies in the laboratory, develop the ability to identify insecticide-resistant populations of sand flies, and to investigate the genetic mechanisms of how sand flies become resistant to insecticides. I began by comparing live animal …

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 …

Precision Drought Stress In Orchards: Rootstock Evaluation, Trunk Hydration And Canopy Temperature, Lance V. Stott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tree fruit crops are of high value, but use a lot of water. Precision irrigation has the potential to save water while simultaneously improving crop quality. The timing and method of precision water stress in various tree fruit crops has been widely studied. However, in order to successfully employ precision irrigation methods in orchards, an accurate measurement of tree water status is required. Currently, stem water potential is the preferred indicator. However, this measurement is tedious and cannot be automated. Because measurements must be taken near solar noon (approximately 1:30 PM MDT in the summer in northern Utah), the number …

A Pre-Emptive Rangeland Restoration Approach To Improving Biodiversity And Provision Of Ecosystem Services, Kari E. Veblen

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Wood Chips And Rice Hulls On Water Holding Capacity Of A Peat­‐Based Substrate, Jakob Johnson, Will Wheeler, Mara Braddy, Bruce Bugbee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The study included 13 substrates with different ratios of four media components. Four species of plants were grown (Vinca, Verbena, Impatiens, and Petunia), each with two replicate plants of each of the 13 substrates.

Each 1 Liter container, with approximately 850 mL of media volume, was fully hydrated and weighed to determine a maximum mass. Plants were then grown for three days until they wilted. Wilting was visually quantified on each pot. When the plant wilted, the container was weighed again to determine the minimum mass. The container was then re-­‐hydrated to determine a second replicate maximum mass. The two …

Accelerated Increase In The Arctic Tropospheric Warming Events Surpassing Stratospheric Warming Events During Winter, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Yen-Heng Lin, Ming-Ying Lee, Jin-Ho Yoon, Jonathan D.D. Meyer, Philip J. Rasch

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March-April. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as well as those documented in previous studies. Our results indicate a recent and accelerated increase …

Double-Ended High Pressure Sodium Fixtures Decline Less Than 6% Over 2 Years And 5000 Hours, Jakob Johnson, Bruce Bugbee

Publications

Double-ended (DE) high pressure sodium (HPS) lights with electronic ballasts are reported to age more slowly than the old mogul base technology with magnetic ballasts, but aging has not been well studied in a greenhouse environment. Both dirt accumulation and age can decrease output.

Species Delimitation And Lineage Separation History Of A Species Complex Of Aspens In China, Honglei Zheng, Liqiang Fan, Richard I. Milne, Lei Zhang, Yaling Wang, Kangshan Mao

Aspen Bibliography

Species delimitation in tree species is notoriously challenging due to shared polymorphisms among species. An integrative survey that considers multiple operational criteria is a possible solution, and we aimed to test it in a species complex of aspens in China. Genetic [four chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) fragments and 14 nuclear microsatellite loci (nSSR)] and morphological variations were collected for 76 populations and 53 populations, respectively, covering the major geographic distribution of the Populus davidiana-rotundifoliacomplex. Bayesian clustering, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), ecological niche modeling (ENM), and gene flow (migrants per generation), were employed to …

Invasive Species Control And Perennial Plant Establishment In Antelope Pasture, Pocatello, Blm, Kari E. Veblen

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Identification And Characterization Of An Efficient Acyl-Coa:Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (Dgat1) Gene From The Microalga Chlorella Ellipsoidea, Xuejie Guo, Chengming Fan, Yuhong Chen, Jingqiao Wang, Weibo Yin, Richard R. C. Wang, Zanmin Hu

Forage and Range Research Laboratory Publications

Background: Oil in the form of triacylglycerols (TAGs) is quantitatively the most important storage form of energy for eukaryotic cells. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is considered the rate-limiting enzyme for TAG accumulation. Chlorella, a unicellular eukaryotic green alga, has attracted much attention as a potential feedstock for renewable energy production. However, the function of DGAT1 in Chlorella has not been reported.

Results: A full-length cDNA encoding a putative diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1, EC 2.3.1.20) was obtained from Chlorella ellipsoidea. The 2,142 bp open reading frame of this cDNA, designated CeDGAT1, encodes a protein of 713 amino acids showing …

Utah State University Evaluation Of Ring To Green Final Research Report, Kelly Kopp, Paul Harris

CWEL Publications

Necrotic ring spot (Ophiosphaerella korrae) is the most commonly diagnosed fungal turfgrass disease by the Utah State University Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory. The disease effects coolseason grasses in the state and region, particularly Kentucky bluegrass. The necrotic ring spot (NRS) disease pathogen infects and kills turfgrass roots and crowns, resulting in the blighted appearance of turf amidst an otherwise healthy area of turf

In the late summer/fall of 2015, Utah State University (USU) began a research study of the Ring to GREEN product by GreenMaster Distributing, LLC for the control of necrotic ring spot in turfgrass. Prior to USU’s involvement, …

Quantifying The Impact Of Seasonal And Short-Term Manure Application Decisions On Phosphorus Loss In Surface Runoff, Peter A. Vadas, Laura Ward Good, William E. Jokela, Krishnapuram G. Karthikeyan, Francisco J. Arriaga, Melanie N. Stock

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Agricultural phosphorus (P) management is a research and policy issue due to P loss from fields and water quality degradation. Better information is needed on the risk of P loss from dairy manure applied in winter or when runoff is imminent. We used the SurPhos computer model and 108 site–years of weather and runoff data to assess the impact of these two practices on dissolved P loss. Model results showed that winter manure application can increase P loss by 2.5 to 3.6 times compared with non-winter applications, with the amount increasing as the average runoff from a field increases. Increased …

Restoration Of The Iconic Pando Aspen Clone: Emerging Evidence Of Recovery, Paul C. Rogers, Jody A. Gale

Aspen Bibliography

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is being stressed across the America West from a variety of sources including drought, herbivory, fire suppression, development, and past management practices. Rich assemblages of plants and animals that utilize aspen forests, as well as economic values of tourism, grazing, hunting, and water conservation, make aspen ecosystems among the most valuable vegetation types in this region. The 43-ha Pando clone near Fish Lake, Utah, is an iconic example of an aspen community undergoing rapid decline due to overstory mortality and chronic recruitment failure. As part of a larger project to restore Pando, we fenced, …

The Optical Trapezoid Model: A Novel Approach To Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Applied To Sentinel-2 And Landsat-8 Observations, Morteza Sadeghi, Ebrahim Babaeian, Markus Tuller, Scott B. Jones

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The “trapezoid” or “triangle” model constitutes the most popular approach to remote sensing (RS) of surface soil moisture based on coupled thermal (i.e., land surface temperature) and optical RS observations. The model, hereinafter referred to as Thermal-Optical TRAapezoid Model (TOTRAM), is based on interpretation of the pixel distribution within the land surface temperature - vegetation index (LST-VI) space. TOTRAM suffers from two inherent limitations. It is not applicable to satellites that do not provide thermal data (e.g., Sentinel-2) and it requires parameterization for each individual observation date. To overcome these restrictions we propose a novel OPtical TRApezoid Model (OPTRAM), which …

Linking Nutrient Transport To Soil Physical Processes During Freeze/Thaw Events To Promote Wintertime Manure Management, Nutrient Use Efficiency, And Surface Water Quality., Melanie N. Stock, Francisco J. Arriaga, Peter A. Vadas, Laura Ward Good, K. G. Karthikeyan

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The application of dairy manure to the landscape during winter is a longstanding practice for farms in the Midwestern United States and other temperate regions. Practical motivations behind winter spreading include affordability, availability of time, and the reduced risk of compaction from farm equipment on frozen soils. Wintertime manure applications, however, coincide with environmental conditions that are prone to runoff and accelerate nutrient losses from agricultural fields. Understanding the nutrient dynamics in response to winter-applied manure is especially important to Wisconsin, a leading state in dairy production, where up to 75% of annual runoff volumes occur on frozen and thawing …

Developing A Parameterization Approach For Soil Erodibility For The Rangeland Hydrology And Erosion Model (Rhem), Osama Z. Al-Hamdan, Frederick B. Pierson, Mark A. Nearing, Christopher Jason Williams, Mariano Hernandez, Jan Boll, Sayjro K. Nouwakpo, Mark A. Weltz, Kenneth Spaeth

Articles

Soil erodibility is a key factor for estimating soil erosion using physically based models. In this study, a new parameterization approach for estimating erodibility was developed for the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM). The approach uses empirical equations that were developed by applying piecewise regression analysis to predict the differences of erodibility before and after disturbance (i.e., wildfire, prescribed fire, and tree encroachment) and across a wide range of soil textures as a function of vegetation cover and surface slope angle. The approach combines rain splash, sheet flow, and concentrated flow erodibilities into a single parameter for modeling erodibility …

Establishing Peach Trees For Organic Production In Utah And The Intermountain West, Jennifer R. Reeve, C. M. Culumber, Brent Black, Andrew Tebeau, Corey Ransom, Diane Alston, M. Rowley, Thor Lindstrom

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Adequate weed control and nutrient supply are critical for successful establishment of fruit trees. This is of particular concern in organic orchard establishment. In order to determine the best approach for establishing peach trees (Prunus persica L.) organically in climates characterized by hot dry summers and cold winters such as the North American Intermountain West, seven organic and three integrated and conventional treatment combinations were established in two first leaf orchards at the USU Kaysville Research Farm, Utah, in 2008 and 2009. Treatments consisted of different tree-row and alleyway mulch and fertilizer combinations. Compost or conventional fertilizer (16-16-16 and …

Maintaining Ecosystem Resilience: Functional Responses Of Tree Cavity Nesters To Logging In Temperate Forests Of The Americas, Jose Tomas Ibarra, Michaela Martin, Kristina L. Cockle, Kathy Martin

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Guide To Quaking Aspen Ecology And Management With Emphasis On Bureau Of Land Management Lands In The Western United States, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.