Forest Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Prescribed Fires On Vernal Herbs, Janis Lemaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The effects of fire on vernal herbs are little known. David Kem attempted to assess the influences of spring and winter prescribed fires on vernal herbs by collecting abundance data on three sets of research plots located at the WKU Green River Preserve in Hart County, KY, on April 9-10, 2010. On April 10 he conducted spring burns, and on February 22, 2011, he conducted winter burns. He then collected post-fire data on the abundance of the herbs on the 12-19 of March, 2011. He found little influence of fire on overall species richness and the density of common species. …

Host-Parasite Associations Of Small Mammal Communities And Implications For The Spread Of Lyme Disease, Matthew J. Buchholz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many zoonotic pathogens of concern to human and veterinary health are maintained in the environment within small mammal reservoirs and vectored to new hosts by ectoparasitic arthropods. While the ecological relationships among small mammals, ectoparasites, and disease-causing symbiotic microorganisms are important to these dynamics, little is known about them across much of North America. The sylvatic cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, is of particular interest because Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease of humans in the United States. However, cases of Lyme disease are primarily confined to the northeastern and Midwestern United States, …

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 …

The Effects Of Fire On The Vernal Herbs Of An Eastern Mesic Forest, David Randolph Kem

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effects of fire on vernal herbs of the mesic forests of eastern North America are poorly understood. I studied the influence of prescribed fire on species richness, abundance of rare and common species, and density of exotics in the vernal herbaceous layer. To determine these effects, three sites in central Kentucky were surveyed prior to and following one of three treatments: spring burn, winter burn, or negative control. I conducted low-intensity spring burns in April 2010 and winter burns in February 2011. I used chi square analyses to test for changes in species richness, abundance of rare species, abundance …

Reestablishing Diversity In Our Hardwood Forests: A Transplant Study Of Five Spring-Flowering Herbs, Danielle Racke

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Herbaceous communities are critical to the functioning of forest ecosystems. They recycle nutrients, help prevent erosion, provide critical microhabitats and maintain biodiversity. In the eastern United States, most hardwood forests are growing on land once entirely cleared or used for some form of agriculture. Although some of these forests are nearly 150 years old, they still have depauperate native herbaceous communities when compared to remaining old-growth forests. This long-term depletion may result from dispersal limitation or environmental limitation.

I tested the hypothesis that dispersal was the primary factor contributing to the absence of five spring-flowering herbaceous species in four secondary …

Assessing Organic Matter Breakdown And Associated Macroinvertebrate Community Structure In Headwater Streams: Effects Of Hydrologic Gradients And Upland Timber Harvesting, Miller Scott Jarrell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

I examined the effects of hydrologic gradients and upland timber harvesting with different streamside management zone widths on yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) processing and the associated macroinvertebrate community structure in the Cumberland Plateau ecophysic region, U.S.A. Prior to upland timber harvesting, 5.0 ± 0.1 g yellow-poplar leaf packs were constructed, zip-tied to gutter nails, and placed into 7 perennial and 6 temporary stream reaches with similar physiochemical and geomorphic characteristics. From December 2007 to May 2008, 3–5 leaf packs were collected per reach monthly. I found significant differences in the functional feeding group composition. Temporary reaches contained higher shredder, gathering-collector, predator, …