Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Why Does Spruce Not Invade The High Elevation Beech Forests Of The Great Smoky Mountains?, Robert Dale Fuller

Masters Theses

Above 1,370 m, spruce-fir forests dominated by Picea rubens Sargent and Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poiret from a nearly continuous band across much of the landscape of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Nearly pure stands of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart) penetrate into the spruce-fir forest on south-facing concave slopes, near the tops of major ridges. Frequently the boundary between these two community types is very abrupt.

Important factors in the maintenance of these so-called "beech gaps" against red spruce invasion were investigated. Soil temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of biotic toxins were studied in the rooting environment of potentially …

Discriminant Analysis Of Some East Tennessee Forest Herb Niches, Linda K. Mann

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using discriminant analysis in assessing plant niches. As a preliminary to establishment of the Environmental Research Park Program at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, five sites were inventoried for herbaceous species. From this inventory, four sympatric species of Galium and seventeen co-occurring herbaceous species were selected for discriminant analysis. The four species of Galium were treated as two data sets: one was composed of information collected at one site (a mesic hardwood area) and the other contained data from two cedar sites of shallow soil over lime-stone bedrock. The seventeen herbaceous …

The Recovery Of Stream Benthic Insect Communities Following Coal Strip Mining In The Cumberland Mountains Of Tennessee, Anthony Talak Jr.

Masters Theses

The aquatic insect faunas of twenty-three streams in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee were investigated. The purpose of the study was to analyze the recovery through time of the aquatic insect faunas of streams polluted by runoff from contour strip mines.

Quantitative determinations of the benthic insect fauna were made using two methods. The first involved removing substrate particles and picking off the insects with forceps. The second was a Surber Sampler type method of placing a screen in the streams and disturbing the substrate upstraem of the screen.

Rather than sample one stream over a period of years, simultaneous …