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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Biology
Biogeochemical Hotspots In Forested Landscapes: The Role Of Vernal Pools In Denitrification And Organic Matter, Krista A. Capps, Regina L. Rancatti, Nathan Tomczyk, Aram J K Calhoun, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.
Biogeochemical Hotspots In Forested Landscapes: The Role Of Vernal Pools In Denitrification And Organic Matter, Krista A. Capps, Regina L. Rancatti, Nathan Tomczyk, Aram J K Calhoun, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.
Publications
Quantifying spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ecosystem processes presents a challenge for conserving ecosystem function across landscapes. In particular, many ecosystems contain small features that play larger roles in ecosystem processes than their size would indicate; thus, they may represent ‘‘hotspots’’ of activity relative to their surroundings. Biogeochemical hotspots are characterized as small features within a landscape that show comparatively high chemical reaction rates. In northeastern forests in North America, vernal pools are abundant, small features that typically fill in spring with snow melt and precipitation and dry by the end of summer. Ephemeral flooding alters soil moisture and the …
Spatial Variation In Carbon And Nitrogen In Cultivated Soils In Henan Province, China: Potential Effect On Crop Yield, Xuelin Zhang, Qun Wang, Frank S. Gilliam, Yilun Wang, Feina Cha, Chaohai Li
Spatial Variation In Carbon And Nitrogen In Cultivated Soils In Henan Province, China: Potential Effect On Crop Yield, Xuelin Zhang, Qun Wang, Frank S. Gilliam, Yilun Wang, Feina Cha, Chaohai Li
Biological Sciences Faculty Research
Improved management of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage in agro-ecosystems represents an important strategy for ensuring food security and sustainable agricultural development in China. Accurate estimates of the distribution of soil C and N stores and their relationship to crop yield are crucial to developing appropriate cropland management policies. The current study examined the spatial variation of soil organic C (SOC), total soil N (TSN), and associated variables in the surface layer (0–40 cm) of soils from intensive agricultural systems in 19 counties within Henan Province, China, and compared these patterns with crop yield. Mean soil C and …
Nitrogen Deposition Contributes To Soil Acidification In Tropical Ecosystems, Xiankai Lu, Qinggong Mao, Frank S. Gilliam, Yiqi Luo, Jiangming Mo
Nitrogen Deposition Contributes To Soil Acidification In Tropical Ecosystems, Xiankai Lu, Qinggong Mao, Frank S. Gilliam, Yiqi Luo, Jiangming Mo
Biological Sciences Faculty Research
Elevated anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition has greatly altered terrestrial ecosystem functioning, threatening ecosystem health via acidification and eutrophication in temperate and boreal forests across the northern hemisphere. However, response of forest soil acidification to N deposition has been less studied in humid tropics compared to other forest types. This study was designed to explore impacts of long-term N deposition on soil acidification processes in tropical forests. We have established a long-term N deposition experiment in an N-rich lowland tropical forest of Southern China since 2002 with N addition as NH4NO3 of 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg …
Wire Netting Reduces African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Impact To Selected Large Trees In South Africa, Kelly Derham
Wire Netting Reduces African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Impact To Selected Large Trees In South Africa, Kelly Derham
Masters Theses & Specialist Projects
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are ecosystem engineers in that they substantially alter the environment through their unique foraging and feeding habits. At high densities, elephants potentially have negative impacts on the environment, specifically to large trees. Because of this, recent increases of elephants in the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) on the Western Boundary of Kruger National Park, South Africa have caused concern regarding the health of several species of tree. My objective was to assess the effectiveness of wrapping protective wire netting around the trunk of the tree in preventing and reducing bark stripping by elephants. 2,668 …
Effect Of Australian Pine (Casuarina Equisetifolia) Canopy Density On The Understory Plant Community On San Salvador, Bahamas, Jeffry Anderson, Anna Baumgartner
Effect Of Australian Pine (Casuarina Equisetifolia) Canopy Density On The Understory Plant Community On San Salvador, Bahamas, Jeffry Anderson, Anna Baumgartner
Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)
Casuarina equisetifolia, or Australian pine, is an invasive angiosperm species on the island of San Salvador, The Bahamas. It was originally found only in Southeast Asia and Australia. This tree is unique in that its leaves are much reduced and occur in whorls around the photosynthetic branchlets. It has been established that this tree contributes to the increased erosion of sediment on the dunes of San Salvador (Sealey 1998). This study investigated several possible factors contributing to differences in the understory plant community which may contribute to this erosion including leaf litter density, shading, and soil pH. It is …
Stand Density And Age Affect Tree-Level Structural And Functional Characteristics Of Young, Postfire Lodgepole Pine In Yellowstone National Park, Paige E. Copenhaver-Parry, Daniel B. Tinker
Stand Density And Age Affect Tree-Level Structural And Functional Characteristics Of Young, Postfire Lodgepole Pine In Yellowstone National Park, Paige E. Copenhaver-Parry, Daniel B. Tinker
Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science
More frequent fire activity associated with climate warming is expected to increase the extent of young forest stands in fire-prone landscapes, yet growth rates and biomass allocation patterns in young forests that regenerated naturally following stand-replacing fire have not been well studied. We assessed the structural and functional characteristics of young, postfire lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) trees across the Yellowstone subalpine plateaus to understand the influence of postfire stand density and age on tree-level aboveground biomass (AB), component biomass (bole, branch, foliage), partitioning to components, tree-level aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and leaf area (LA). Sixty …
Examining Historical And Current Mixed-Severity Fire Regimes In Ponderosa Pine And Mixed-Conifer Forests Of Western North America, Dennis C. Odion, Chad T. Hanson, Andre Arsenault, William L. Baker, Dominick A. Dellasala, Richard L. Hutto, Walt Klenner, Max A. Moritz, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Thomas T. Veblen, Mark A. Williams
Examining Historical And Current Mixed-Severity Fire Regimes In Ponderosa Pine And Mixed-Conifer Forests Of Western North America, Dennis C. Odion, Chad T. Hanson, Andre Arsenault, William L. Baker, Dominick A. Dellasala, Richard L. Hutto, Walt Klenner, Max A. Moritz, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Thomas T. Veblen, Mark A. Williams
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
There is widespread concern that fire exclusion has led to an unprecedented threat of uncharacteristically severe fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws) and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. These extensive montane forests are considered to be adapted to a low/moderate-severity fire regime that maintained stands of relatively old trees. However, there is increasing recognition from landscape-scale assessments that, prior to any significant effects of fire exclusion, fires and forest structure were more variable in these forests. Biota in these forests are also dependent on the resources made available by higher-severity fire. A better understanding of …
Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene
Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Exotic plant invasions threaten ecosystems globally, but we still know little about the specific consequences for animals. Invasive plants can alter the quality of breeding habitat for songbirds, thereby impacting important demographic traits such as dispersal, philopatry, and age structure. These demographic effects may in turn alter song-learning conditions to affect song structure and diversity. We studied Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) breeding in six savannas that were either dominated by native vegetation or invaded by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), an exotic forb known to diminish food resources and reproductive success. Here, we report that the prevalence of older birds was …
Occam's Razor Vol. 4 - Full (2014)
Avoidance Of Canopy Gaps By A Common Land Snail, Christopher P. Bloch, Michael Stock
Avoidance Of Canopy Gaps By A Common Land Snail, Christopher P. Bloch, Michael Stock
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Because canopy gaps are characterized by elevated temperature and decreased humidity relative to closed-canopy forest, terrestrial gastropods may be exposed to greater desiccation stress in gaps than in undisturbed forest. We placed individuals of Caracolus caracolla at the edges of canopy gaps in montane forest in Puerto Rico and observed their movements. Individuals preferentially moved out of gaps except in one gap on the first night of the study, and the proportion of individuals recaptured inside gaps decreased over time. Individuals moved, on average, farther into forest than into gaps. Juveniles and adults responded similarly. These results suggest that C. …