Life Sciences Commons^™

Vegetation Of Sandstone Outcrops Of The Cumberland Plateau, Bretta Elaine Perkins

Masters Theses

Plant communities of sandstone outcrops in six research areas on the Cumberland Plateau are determined as follows. Sample plots were distributed within four subjectively delineated life form zones: (1) Lithophyte Zone (substrate is bare rock), (2) Cryptogam-Herb Zone (usually some soil; no woody plants), (3) Shrub-Herb Zone (some soil; woody plants); and (4) Tree Zone (trees predominate). Three strata were sampled within each zone as appropriate: (1) trees and saplings, (2) other vascular plants, and (3) non-vascular plants. Cover was estimated for each species within each sample plot. Samples within each stratum of each zone were then grouped into communities …

Preliminary Nutrient Uptake Studies Of Experimental Vegetative Covers At The Maxey Flat Low-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal Site, Donna Lynn Cassity

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the School of Sciences and Mathematics at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology by Donna Lynn Cassity on July 27, 1981.

The Use Of Microscopic Vegetative Characteristics And Leaf Characteristics And Leaf Deterioration Rates In The Formulation Of Keys Of Some Wetland Plants, Bruce Foy Williams

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Leaves of Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, Spartina cynosuroides, Distichlis spicata, Phragmites communis, Juncus roemerianus, Scirpus robustus, Typha latifolia, Iva frutescens, and Baccharis halimifolia were examined microscopically. Characteristics of each species were then used to develop identification keys. In addition, leaf fragments were buried in the marsh substrate to simulate a dredging and/or filling operation. At weekly intervals during each season of the year, a leaf fragment of each species was processed and examined to see if it could be identified.

Decay Rates And Nutrient Dynamics In Confines And Nonconfined Leaf Litter In The Great Dismal Swamp, R. Frederick K. Yates

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to quantitatively compare decay rates and nutrient dynamics by the confined and unconfined litter techniques in a seasonally flooded swamp. In this study both methods indicated the same order of decay rates among sites (cedar>maple-gum>cypress> mixed hardwood), but the unconfined method showed faster decay rates at all sites. As in two years of previous data collection, the stands exhibiting some seasonal flooding showed greater decay rates than the mixed hardwood stand which was not inundated. Nutrient dynamics were not different between litter bag and leaf pack methods.

This study included a preliminary investigation of …

Higher Plant Acclimation To Solar Ultraviolet-B Radiation, Ronald Robberecht

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plant acclimation to natural and intensified solar UV-B irradiance was investigated in three species, Oenothera stricta Ledeb., Rumex obtusifolius L., and R. patientia L. The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the relationship between plant sensitivity and epidermal UV attenuation, (2) the effect of phenotypic changes in the leaf epidermis, resulting from UV-B exposure, on plant sensitivity to UV radiation, and (3) the plasticity of these changes in the epidermis leading to plant acclimation to UVB radiation.

Epidermal UV transmittance was found to differ in magnitude and spectral distribution among the three species examined in this study. Epidermal …

Some Morphological And Chemical Responses Of Blackbrush (Coleogyne Ramosissima) To Goat Browsing: Influences On Dietary Blackbrush Selection By Goats And Cattle, Frederick D. Provenza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Domestic goats were used to modify the growth form of blackbrush, a spinescent shrub occurring in nearly monospecific stands on several million hectares of rangeland in the southwestern United States. The objective of this research was to evaluate goat browsing as a means of improving these rangelands for cattle. Winter goat browsing stimulated spring twig growth from basal and axillary buds which resulted in increased production.

Twig production by heavily browsed plants (>95 percent removal of current season's twigs) was a function of precipitation, soil depth, branch location on the plant, and period of rest after browsing. As precipitation …

The Roles Of Mechanical Stress And Ethylene In Clinostat-Induced Leaf Epinasty And Gravitropic Response Of Dicot Shoots, Raymond M. Wheeler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aminoethoxyvinyl glycine (AVG) and silver thiosulfate, antagonists of ethylene biosynthesis and action in plants, both delayed onset of leaf epinasty in Xanthium strumarium L. (cocklebur) plants rotated on horizontal clinostats. Xanthium plants mechanically stressed by continuous horizontal or vertical shaking, or continuous twisting back and forth, did not develop any significant epinasty, while plants inverted every 20 minutes (upside down half the time) did develop epinasty. From this it appears that clinostat-induced epinasty is a result of gravity compensation rather than mechanical stress.

Treatment of Xanthium, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (tomato), and Ricinus communis L. (castor bean) …

The Interactions Of Electrical Conductivity, Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Water Volume And Rhizobial Strain On Phaseolus Vulgaris L., David A. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the interactive effects of water salinity, volume of water applied at each irrigation, sodium adsorption ratio and rhizobial strain upon 15 plant growth parameters of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Four levels of water salinity (EC_W 0.4, 3.0, 6.0, or 9.0 mmho/cm), three levels of water volume (200, 400, or 800 ml per pot), three levels of SAR (4, 16, or 64) and three strains of Rhizobium phaseoli (K-17, K-47, or K-52) were used. The treatments were replicated with all possible combinations. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, multiple comparisons, and path coefficient …

Effect Of Mild Water Stress And Enhanced Ultraviolet-B Irradiation On Leaf Growth Of Rumex Obtusifolius L. And Rumex Patientia L. (Polygonaceae)., Steve R. Holman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leaves of Rumex obtusifolius L. and R. patientia L.were exposed to combinations of mild water stress and enhanced ultraviolet-B irradiation during their ontogeny. Two UV-B treatments (enhanced UV-B and control) and three water stress treatments (-0.0 MPa, -0.2 MPa and -0.4 MPa rooting medium matric potentials) were employed. The impact of the stress interaction was assessed on the basis of changes in leaf area, average adaxial epidermal cell size, and total number of adaxial epidermal cells per leaf. Although the level of UV-B irradiation applied was insufficient to significantly alter leaf growth at any given water stress, UV-B did interact …

Fall Regrowth Of Crested Wheatgrass And Fourwing Saltbush, Noor Mohammad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During 1980-81, studies with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum) and fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) were conducted in controlled environment growth chambers as well as under field conditions to achieve the following objectives:

1. To determine the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the water use efficiency.

2. To determine the effects of various temperature, water stress and nitrogen treatments on the productivity, nitrogen content and carbohydrate reserves.

3. To determine the effects of N fertilization on fall and spring regrowth.

Crested wheatgrass and fourwing saltbush plants were maintained in three growth chambers for 60 days under three temperature …

Natural Pastures Of The Macquarie Region Of New South Wales: Their Origin, Composition And Management, David Leslie Michaelk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two experiments were conducted in the semi-arid (400 millimeter annual rainfall) Macquarie region of New South Wales, Australia, at the Trangie Agricultural Research Station (31° 59'S; 147° S7'E), to examine (a) the way botanical parameters can be used to separate grazing and climatic impacts on range vegetation, and (b) how this delineation affects application of range science tenets (site, condition and trend) to different pasture types.

Two range sites were studied: Site 1, a light soil type, was dominated by annual grasses, legumes and forbs, whereas perennial grasses (mainly Chloris acieularis and Chloris truncata) dominated the heavy soils of …

Fertility And Saline Water Management Interactions On Plant Growth And Nitrogen Fixation In Phaseolus, Robin R. Drysdale Rodriguez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A greenhouse study was conducted involving interactive effects on bean yield of three levels of irrigation water salinity, three frequencies of irrigation water app li cation, two level s of nitrogen, and seven levels of phosphorus fertilization to determine if the effects of adverse saline conditions or water stress could be overcome by fertility and/or saline water management.

Dry matter and bean yields were reduced with decreasing irrigation frequency (2 days to 8 days) and increasing salinity of irrigation water (0.5 mmho/cm to 8.0 mmho/cm). At low salinity levels (0.5 mmho/cm) dry matter production and the number of pods per …

The Energy Expenditure Of Heifers Grazing Crested Wheatgrass Rangeland In West-Central Utah, Kris M. Havstad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The free-roaming ruminant requires energy for the demands of vii grazing, traveling and thermoregulation that are not required by its confined counterpart. Literature estimates of these additional costs range from 10 to 170 percent above maintenance. The uncertain magnitude of this increased demand and the factors that contribute to it impede the ability of the rangeland ruminant nutritionist to establish guidelines for the energy requirements of the free-roaming herbivore. This study was designed to estimate the energy expenditure of yearling Angus heifers while grazing a declining supply of available crested wheatgrass forage (Agropyron cristatum) on rangeland in west-central …

A Geochemical Study Of The Rhododendron And Dalles Formations In The Area Of Mount Hood, Oregon, Marshall W. Gannett

Dissertations and Theses

The Miocene Rhododendron and Dalles Formations in the Mount Hood area are accumulations of chiefly pyroclastic andesitic material, largely confined to the Dalles-Mount Hood syncline. These very similar units are geographically separated by overlying andesites including the present Mount Hood cone, and past workers (Hodge 1938, Wise 1969) have suspected that they may share a common source. Prior to this study, few geochemical data were available for the Rhododendron and the Dalles Formations, compared to the well studied Columbia River basalts underlying them and the overlying Pliocene andesites. This geochemical study was designed to investigate certain aspects of the Rhododendron …

Variation In Branch Growth Characteristics Of Pinus Contorta Infected With Arceuthobium Americanum, Lynn Anne Larsen

Dissertations and Theses

Arceuthobium americanum is a flowering plant which parasitizes Pinus contorta (Lodgepole pine). This study examined branch performance of P. contorta infected to varying degrees with A. americanum.

Ultrastructure And Development Of The Female Reproductive Branches Of Polysiphonia Harveyi, Sharon Thompson Broadwater

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Vascular Flora Of Three Ridges Mountain, Nelson County, Virginia, Francis D. Watson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Vegetation Of The Balsam Mountains Of Southwest Virginia: A Phytosociological Study, Richard D. Rheinhardt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

A Key To The Hepaticae Of Coles And Clark Counties, Illinois, Michael J. Klopmeyer

Masters Theses

This study represents a taxonomic survey of the hepaticae of east-central Illinois. The counties included in this study were Coles and Clark, located in the east-central portion of the state, near the Indiana stateline. Of the areas included in this study, two are in Clark county, Rocky Branch and Rocky Hollow, and one in Coles county, Rock's Park.

The influence of the Wisconsin glacier, and its terminal moraine located in southern Coles county, greatly influenced the topography and ultimately the specific habitats for the hepaticae. The majority of the liverworts encountered in these counties are found in the numerous sandstone …

A Survey Of Selected Economic Plants, Virgil S. Priebe

Masters Theses

A library research project was done to gain information on the ethnic uses of plants cited in C. B. Arzeni and B. N. McKnight's "Ethnobotany", a workbook used in conjunction with Botany classes 2320 and 5452 offered at Eastern Illinois University at Charleston. The workbook represents a series of exercises on plants and their impact and importance to man. At present, there is no single book that offers explanations and comments on the diversity of plants that appear in this workbook. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to bring together such information in one work, with the hope that …

Moss Sensitivity To Sulfur Dioxide, John W. Wilcut

Masters Theses

Extensive research regarding the effects of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) on vascular and nonvascular plants has been reported. Sulfur dioxide has been shown to interrupt normal metabolism, to interrupt normal reproduction, and to alter the plant's morphology.

One hypothesis regarding the lack of bryophytes in urban areas is that the life cycle is being interrupted. It has been shown that moss protonemata are sensitive to SO₂ concentrations in urban areas. Several authors noted that sexual reproduction is blocked among many species which do occur in urban environments. Observations on protonemal sensitivity are probably more important than the observations …

Bryophytes Of Rocky Branch Nature Preserve, Clark County, Illinois, David C. Burnette

Masters Theses

An extensive field survey of the Rocky Branch Nature Preserve in Clark County, Illinois, revealed a total of 52 bryophyte species. Of these, 38 were mosses and 14 were liverworts. Descriptions, habitats and distribution comments, plus a map showing the county distributions for each species in Illinois are included.

As a result of this survey, the liverwort Nardia lescurii (Aust.) Underw. is a new addition to the bryoflora of Illinois. There were also several other bryophytes found that were previously unreported for Clark County or the Rocky Branch Nature Preserve. These include Rhynchostegium pulchellum (Hedw.) Robins var. pulchellum, Isopterygium …