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Theses and Dissertations

Ecology

Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Forest Structural Complexity And Net Primary Production Resilience Across A Gradient Of Disturbance In A Great Lakes Ecosystem, Lisa T. Haber Jan 2018

Forest Structural Complexity And Net Primary Production Resilience Across A Gradient Of Disturbance In A Great Lakes Ecosystem, Lisa T. Haber

Theses and Dissertations

Forests are an important component of the global carbon (C) cycle and contribute to climate change mitigation through atmospheric C uptake and storage in biomass and soils. However, the forest C sink is susceptible to disturbance, which modifies physical and biological structure and limits spatial extent of forests. Unlike severe, stand-replacing disturbances that reset forest successional trajectories and may simplify ecosystem structure, moderate severity disturbances may instead introduce complexity in ways that sustain net primary production (NPP), leading to the phenomenon of “NPP resilience.” In this study, we examined the linkage between disturbance severity and ecosystem biological and physical structural …


A Taxonomic And Ecologic Study Of The Riverbottom Forest On St. Mary River, Lee Creek And Belly River In Southwest Alberta, Canada, Robert Keith Shaw Aug 1974

A Taxonomic And Ecologic Study Of The Riverbottom Forest On St. Mary River, Lee Creek And Belly River In Southwest Alberta, Canada, Robert Keith Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

The riverbottom forest community of St. Mary River, Lee Creek and Belly River in southwest Alberta, Canada is a unique ecological entity characterized by poplar species having their major Alberta distribution along these streams. Stands in the community are dominated by three tree species, six shrub species and nine herb species. Establishment of the community is dependent on climate and substrate; destruction is the result of progressive lateral stream-flow erosion. Soils are sandy loams above gravel, with pH values of 7.7 to 8.0 and soluble salt concentration of 176 to 458 parts per million. Trees in mature stands averaged 23.0 …