Life Sciences Commons^™

Associations Between Avian Spruce-Fir Species, Harvest Treatments, Vegetation, And Edges, Brian W. Rolek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat loss is the primary cause of species loss and declines of global biodiversity. Several birds associated with the spruce-fir forest type (hereafter spruce-fir birds) have declining populations across the continent in the Atlantic Northern Forest, and the extent of coniferous forest has declined in some areas. This region is extensively and intensively managed for timber products.

To investigate the influence from harvest treatments on the spruce-fir bird assemblage during the breeding and post-breeding period in lowland conifer and mixed-wood forests, we used avian point count detection data to test for associations between avian assemblages and seven common harvest treatments. …

Ecological Consequences Of Personality In A Guild Of Terrestrial Small Mammals: From Trappability To Seed Dispersal, Allison M. Brehm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individual animals exhibit consistent behavioral tendencies over time and across contexts that have been termed personalities. Personality encapsulates an individual’s unique way of behaving and responding to life’s challenges, and since individuals vary in both personality type and their ability to exhibit behavioural plasticity, there are important links between an individual’s personality and its response to a changing environment; resulting in the study of animal personalities becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Previous research suggests that personality traits measured through standardized behavioural tests predict trappability (i.e. ‘trap happiness’ versus ‘trap shyness’). This relationship has been explored only within single …

Climatic Range Filling Of North American Trees, Benjamin Seliger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the degree to which species distributions are controlled by climate is crucial for forecasting biodiversity responses to climate change. Climatic equilibrium, when species are found in all places which are climatically suitable, is a fundamental assumption of species distribution models, but there is evidence in support of climate disequilibria in species ranges. Long-lived, sessile organisms such as trees may be especially vulnerable to being outpaced by climate change, and thus prone to disequilibrium. In this dissertation, I tested the degree to which North American trees are in equilibrium with their potential climatic ranges using the ‘range filling’ metric, which …

The Dandy Scroll, Fall 2018, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Fall 2018 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Periodic Evaluation Of Northeastern Spruce And Balsam Fir Lumber Properties, Ben L. Farber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PERIODIC EVALUATION OF NORTHEASTERN SPRUCE AND BALSAM FIR LUMBER PROPERTIES

By Benjamin Farber

Advisors: Dr. Douglas Gardner

An Abstract of the Thesis Presented

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Science

(In Forest Resources)

August 2018

In the past two decades, proportions of juvenile wood have increased in lumber cut from intensively managed Southern yellow pine (Pinus spp.) plantation-based forests. Knowing that a decrease in rotation age can increase proportions of juvenile wood, which in turn negatively affects mechanical properties in lumber, the SYP grouping was evaluated to determine if the published design values …

Drivers Of Tree Growth And Mortality In An Uneven-Aged, Mixed-Species Conifer Forest Of Northeastern United States, Erin Fien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individual tree growth and mortality drive forest stand dynamics and are important, universal metrics of tree success. Studying the factors that affect growth and mortality is particularly challenging in mixed-species, uneven-aged systems due to their defining heterogeneity and strong temporal and spatial variability. However a better understanding of the factors driving growth and mortality in mixed-species, uneven-aged forest is crucial to managing and maintaining these valuable systems for the future.

The goal of this study was to determine the relative importance of individual tree attributes (e.g., species, size, neighborhood crowding, crown position) and environmental characteristics (e.g., soil moisture) in driving …

Nitrogen Cycling During A Period Of Environmental Change, Kaizad Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have altered the N cycle on the regional to global scale. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of chronic atmospheric N deposition on ecosystem processes, less is known about intra-annual variability of these processes, or how these responses might be altered under conditions of changing climate. The work described in this dissertation focuses on the effects of a changing chemical and physical climate, particularly terrestrial N processes (a) during Maine’s changing winters, and (b) in response to chronic elevated N additions.

Subnivean winter soil processes were examined at the Dwight B. DeMerritt Forest (DBDF) and …

Forest Disturbance Detection And Aboveground Biomass Modeling Using Moderate-Resolution, Time-Series Satellite Imagery, John B. Kilbride

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human-induced and natural disturbances are an important feature of forest ecosystems. Disturbances influence forest structure and composition and can impact crucial ecosystem services. However, deriving spatially explicit estimates of past forest disturbance across a large region can prove challenging. Researchers have recognized that remote sensing is an important tool for monitoring forest ecosystems and mapping land use and land cover change. One of the most important sources of remotely sensed imagery is the United States Geologic Survey’s Landsat program which has continuously acquired earth observations since 1972. This repository of imagery has the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution necessary to …

New Approaches To Mapping Forest Conditions And Landscape Change From Moderate Resolution Remote Sensing Data Across The Species-Rich And Structurally Diverse Atlantic Northern Forest Of Northeastern North America, Kasey R. Legaard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The sustainable management of forest landscapes requires an understanding of the functional relationships between management practices, changes in landscape conditions, and ecological response. This presents a substantial need of spatial information in support of both applied research and adaptive management. Satellite remote sensing has the potential to address much of this need, but forest conditions and patterns of change remain difficult to synthesize over large areas and long time periods. Compounding this problem is error in forest attribute maps and consequent uncertainty in subsequent analyses. The research described in this document is directed at these long-standing problems.

Chapter 1 demonstrates …

Immersed In Fire: The Use Of Virtual Reality As An Attitude Assessor And Boundary Object In Wildland Fire Management, Casey Olechnowicz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interest in using prescribed burning as a forest management tool to promote forest health and regeneration is growing in Maine. The goal for this research was to better understand the way that the public perceives prescribed burning practices in wildland-urban interfaces, with an emphasis placed on how immersive imagery, closely related to virtual reality (VR), compares to traditional communication methods. We specifically focus on the social acceptability of prescribed burning and analyze how the level of immersive imagery is related to that acceptability (Ahn, 2015; Bricken, 1990; Fogg, Cuellar, and Danielson, 2009; Smith 2015; Wiederhold, Davis, and Wiederhold, 1998). The …

Big Data For Small Parks: Examining Regional Vegetation Patterns To Assess The Current Condition And Vulnerability Of Eastern National Parks To Climate Change, Kathryn M. Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States National Park Service mission is to preserve natural and cultural resources unimpaired for future generations. Given climate change, the paradigm of restoring natural resources to their pre-European settlement condition is no longer appropriate or achievable management. Instead, we must promote resilience and plan for adaptation. This approach poses many challenges, including knowledge gaps about the current condition of park ecosystems including wetlands, and lack of information about the matrix surrounding parks, which will strongly influence park ecosystem response to climate change. My dissertation research focused on filling these knowledge gaps to provide much needed information to managers …

The Dandy Scroll, Spring 2018, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Spring 2018 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Strategies For Reducing Moisture Content In Forest Residues At The Harvest Site, Anil Raj Kizha, H-S Han, J. Paulson, A. Koirala

Forest Resources Faculty Scholarship

The moisture content (MC) of biomass derived from forest residues can pose a challenge to biomass utilization. It plays a significant role in determining the cost of transportation and subsequent market price. Additionally, emerging biomass conversion technologies, such as gasification, torrefaction, and briquetting, have very narrow specifications for the MC (e.g., <15%) in their feedstocks. The goal of this study was to develop strategies for reducing moisture content by evaluating different arrangement patterns of forest residues and its effect on MC reduction at the harvest site. The study compared four different arrangement patterns including criss-cross, teepees, traditional piling (processor piled), and scattered residues in three different timber harvest units in northern California. Two of the arrangement patterns (criss-cross and processor piled) were also covered with a plastic cover. Samples were collected from each treatment using a transect method and were recorded for 12 months. There was an overall drop of MC from 52% (freshly cut) to 12% between all arrangements over the study period. The cost of construction per pile, averaged $37, $41, and $48 for teepees, criss-cross, and processor piles, respectively. Even though, there was no significant difference in MC reduction between piles (except scattered), each pile arrangement of forest residues directly affected biomass feedstock operations, logistics, and costs.

School Of Forest Resources (University Of Maine) Records, 1904-1992, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

Finding Aids

The School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine began in 1903 as the Department of Forestry in the College of Agriculture to offer practical work in forestry, but also a liberal education.

In 1935 the Wildlife Curriculum and Research Unit were added. In 1958 the Department was renamed the School of Forestry and in 1967 the name was changed to the School of Forest Resources. The College of Forest Resources was established in 1982. In 1993 it became part of the College of Natural Resources, Forestry and Agriculture.

The records contain textual information created and curated by the …

Pusey And Jones Corporation Records, 1976-1986, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

Finding Aids

Pusey and Jones Corporation was a major shipbuilder and industrial equipment manufacturer located in Wilmington, Delaware. Shipbuilding was the primary focus from 1853 until the end of World War II. While manufacturing and fabrication of papermaking machinery was a part of the company from nearly the beginning, after World War II, the company closed the shipyard and converted the shipyard's facilities to manufacture papermaking machinery exclusively. The company closed in 1959.

Records pertain mainly to machinery for the pulp and paper business. Also included are papers related to Penntech, a corporation with which the donor was associated.

Pulp And Paper Foundation (University Of Maine) Records, 1914-1990, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

Finding Aids

The University of Maine began offering a pulp and paper in 1912-1913 under Dr. Ralph H. McKee making it the first program in the United States. In 1949, University of Maine pulp and paper alumni and paper company executives met with representatives from UMaine to discuss the need for more and better trained workers in the pulp and paper industry. The result of this meeting was the establishment in 1950 of the University of Maine Pulp & Paper Foundation.

The records include annual meeting minutes, bylaws, goals and missions, conference and event publicity material and programs, papers on the pulp …