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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Forest Development Over A Twenty-Year Chronosequence Of Reforested Urban Sites, Kenton L. Sena, Zachary J. Hackworth, John M. Lhotka May 2021

Forest Development Over A Twenty-Year Chronosequence Of Reforested Urban Sites, Kenton L. Sena, Zachary J. Hackworth, John M. Lhotka

Lewis Honors College Faculty Publications

Urbanization causes a variety of negative ecological impacts, impairing forests, streams, and other ecosystems. While urban forests are the subject of increasing research attention, planted urban forests are less well-understood than remnant forests; however, these systems may be distinct in terms of ecosystem structure and function. The current study investigates a chronosequence of reforested urban sites in Lexington, KY, USA, with a focus on overstory and understory woody plant community characteristics. Monitoring plots were established in each of the 20 sites; tree height, dbh, and species were surveyed for the overstory, and species and height were surveyed for the understory. …


Development Of Mine Soils In A Chronosequence Of Forestry-Reclaimed Sites In Eastern Kentucky, Kenton L. Sena, Kevin M. Yeager, Christopher D. Barton, John M. Lhotka, William E. Bond, Kimberly J. Schindler Apr 2021

Development Of Mine Soils In A Chronosequence Of Forestry-Reclaimed Sites In Eastern Kentucky, Kenton L. Sena, Kevin M. Yeager, Christopher D. Barton, John M. Lhotka, William E. Bond, Kimberly J. Schindler

Lewis Honors College Faculty Publications

Surface mining for coal has contributed to widespread deforestation and soil loss in coal mining regions around the world, and particularly in Appalachia, USA. Mined land reforestation is of interest in this and other regions where forests are the dominant pre-mining land use. This study evaluated mine soil development on surface-mined sites reforested according to the Forestry Reclamation Approach, representing a chronosequence of time ranging from 0 to 19 years after reclamation. Soils were sampled in depth increments to 50 cm and analyzed for a suite of soil physical and chemical characteristics. Overall, soil fines (silt + clay) tended to …