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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Remediating Soil For Successful Vegetation Establishment Along Nebraska Highways, Shad Mills, Martha Mamo, Walt Schacht, Humberto Blanco-Canqui Dec 2019

Remediating Soil For Successful Vegetation Establishment Along Nebraska Highways, Shad Mills, Martha Mamo, Walt Schacht, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Vegetation along roadsides is important to prevent soil erosion, provide habitat, and filter water running off the road. Vegetation close to the pavement along highways in Nebraska does not readily establish and persist. It is thought that the sodium and bulk density are the driving factors behind the lack of vegetation. After a construction project the shoulder is seeded into the compacted soil, and during winter salts can accumulate in the soil because of deicing agents being used. The purpose of our study was to determine if the sodium and bulk density are the driving factors of the vegetation cover. …


Establishment Of Wildflower Islands To Enhance Roadside Health And Aesthetics, Walter Schacht, Judy Wu-Smart Dec 2019

Establishment Of Wildflower Islands To Enhance Roadside Health And Aesthetics, Walter Schacht, Judy Wu-Smart

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Wildflowers are crucial in the ecological function of the low-input roadside plant communities in terms of water andnutrient cycling, nutrient inputs such as nitrogen, total plant canopy cover, stand longevity, and provision of habitat for numerous small animals. Further, wildflowers provide critical foraging and nesting resources for birds, insects, and other wildlife. Unfortunately, habitat loss from agricultural and urban development has led to rapid population declines in wild bees and other pollinators across the US, thereby jeopardizing not only food production but also the sustainability of our natural landscapes (Kearns & Inouye, 1997). One way to mitigate wild bee decline …


Influence Of Grazing Exclusion On Vegetation And Productivity Of Kyrgyz Pastures, N. V. Kilyazova, М. I. Аdenov, К. A. Samsaliev, А. Каrybekov, B. Jeangros Dec 2019

Influence Of Grazing Exclusion On Vegetation And Productivity Of Kyrgyz Pastures, N. V. Kilyazova, М. I. Аdenov, К. A. Samsaliev, А. Каrybekov, B. Jeangros

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of grazing exclusion on the vegetation and productivity of: (1) pastures near villages that are grazed intensively through-out the year; and (2) pastures, which are used in summer and are less intensively grazed through the remainder of the year. The potential of degraded pastures to recover, when protected from overgrazing, was also evaluated. Six pastures (3 located in or near villages and 3 used for summer grazing) were selected with local community representatives in 3 pilot regions of Kyrgyzstan (the Lahol and Теrеk regions of Naryn oblast and the Оrgochor …


Santa Rosa Island Restoration Study: Fog Fences Vs. No Fences, Aimee Newell, Stephen Bednar, Kathryn Mceachern Sep 2019

Santa Rosa Island Restoration Study: Fog Fences Vs. No Fences, Aimee Newell, Stephen Bednar, Kathryn Mceachern

STAR Program Research Presentations

Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, was grazed by cattle, sheep, pigs, elk, and deer for 154 years, degrading the island’s vegetation and causing erosion. In 1998, the livestock were removed, and in 2011 the remaining big game animals were removed, allowing ecosystem recovery to begin. This study evaluated growth of two native species planted in 2016, at the cloud forest restoration site on the Soledad Ridge. Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush) was planted as nursery stock from 2-inch pots, while Quercus pacifica (island scrub oak) was planted as sprouted acorns. The plants were watered with drip irrigation 2016-2018, …


Phytological Study Of Freshwater Wetland Ecosystem Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Asad Ghufran, Sher Wali Khan Aug 2019

Phytological Study Of Freshwater Wetland Ecosystem Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Asad Ghufran, Sher Wali Khan

Journal of Bioresource Management

Freshwater wetlands are individual ecosystems that support a variety of wildlife, vegetation and microscopic life. The type of plants that exist in these areas describe the physico-chemical characteristics of their locality and vice-versa. This study was carried out at Marala wetlands in Bajwat Game Reserve. The study found 39 species of higher plants in the areas of the wetland and its associated terrain. The total species were arranged into 5 vegetation types, named on the basis of the dominant plant species, with their own composition of the species and present in different habitat conditions. The vegetative community Phragmites karka constituted …


Influence Of Indirect Cues And Vegetation Density On Foraging Behavior In Snowshoe Hares (Lepus Americanus), Zachary Lankist Apr 2019

Influence Of Indirect Cues And Vegetation Density On Foraging Behavior In Snowshoe Hares (Lepus Americanus), Zachary Lankist

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Prey avoid chemical cues from predators at feeding sites because the risk of death outweighs the benefit of food. However, we lack information regarding avoidance of chemical cues from competitors as well as how foraging behavior changes alongside vegetative cover. To test if chemical cues and vegetative cover alter prey vigilance, number of visits, and time spent at feeding sites, I observed snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) in plots containing coyote (Canis latrans; predator) and moose (Alces alces; competitor) urine across a spectrum of vegetation densities. Snowshoe hares significantly reduced the number of visits to feeding plots when coyote or moose …


Syntaxonomic Analysis Of Forests, Shrubs, And Steppes Of Tavşan Mountain(Amasya, Turkey), Cengi̇z Yildirim, Erkan Yalçin, Arzu Cansaran, Hasan Korkmaz Jan 2019

Syntaxonomic Analysis Of Forests, Shrubs, And Steppes Of Tavşan Mountain(Amasya, Turkey), Cengi̇z Yildirim, Erkan Yalçin, Arzu Cansaran, Hasan Korkmaz

Turkish Journal of Botany

The aim of this study is to reveal the syntaxonomical structure of Tavşan Mountain in the Euxinian transition area in northern Turkey. Eight plant associations were determined and classified using the Braun?Blanquet phytosociological approach. Detrended correspondence analysis was also used to reveal the environmental heterogeneity among the plant associations. Raunkiaer life form ratios of syntaxa were calculated. Shannon?Wiener index values also were determined for each plant association. The results of this study suggested that which environmental factors could be decisive in community diversity and syntaxonomical status.


Biogeochemical Response To Vegetation And Hydrologic Change In An Alaskan Boreal Fen Ecosystem, Danielle L. Rupp Jan 2019

Biogeochemical Response To Vegetation And Hydrologic Change In An Alaskan Boreal Fen Ecosystem, Danielle L. Rupp

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Boreal peatlands store approximately one third of the earth’s terrestrial carbon, locked away in currently waterlogged and frozen conditions. Peatlands of boreal and arctic ecosystems are affected increasingly by shifting hydrology caused by climate change. The consequences of these relatively rapid ecosystem changes on carbon cycling between the landscape and the atmosphere could provide an amplifying feedback to climate warming. Alternatively, the advancement of terrestrial vegetation into once waterlogged soils could uptake carbon as a sink. Previous work suggests that fens will become an increasingly dominant landscape feature in the boreal. However, studies investigating fens, their response to hydrologic and …