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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
Development And Application Of Functional Immune Assays To Understand Disease In Wild Smallmouth Bass Populations, Cheyenne R. Smith
Development And Application Of Functional Immune Assays To Understand Disease In Wild Smallmouth Bass Populations, Cheyenne R. Smith
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Over recent decades, the scientific community has observed a disconcerting trend – a decline in the health and stability of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) populations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed with growing economic and ecological implications. Disease, declines, and death have been observed in multiple locations, particularly in the Susquehanna and Potomac drainages with the adults disproportionately affected in the Potomac River basin and young-of-year in the Susquehanna River basin. There has not been a single or consistent cause to the declines or mortality events. More likely, it is believed immunosuppression relating to a complex mixture of stressors has been …
Investigating Birds As Dispersal Vectors Of Litylenchus Crenatae Subsp. Mccannii (Anguinidae), The Nematode Associated With Beech Leaf Disease, Spencer Rock Parkinson
Investigating Birds As Dispersal Vectors Of Litylenchus Crenatae Subsp. Mccannii (Anguinidae), The Nematode Associated With Beech Leaf Disease, Spencer Rock Parkinson
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Beech leaf disease (BLD) is an emerging forest pathogen primarily affecting American beech (Fagus grandifolia, Ehrh.) in North America and has been attributed to tree mortality of sapling sized trees within five to seven years of infection. Symptoms typically occur in regenerating American beech thickets sprouting from roots of trees killed by beech bark disease. Scientists first observed BLD in Ohio in 2012 and currently has spread to 15 states in the USA and one Canadian province. The nematode Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii (Lcm) is highly associated with BLD symptoms, interveinal chlorosis and defoliation of leaves, and is currently …
Bioenergy Cropping Systems Established On Marginal Lands: Effects Of Land Use, Energy Crop, And Fertility Amendments On Soil Health, Mica M. Keck
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Bioenergy crops offer a promising strategy for renewable energy production, accompanied by carbon (C) storage benefits when managed sustainably. Utilizing marginal lands for energy feedstock production presents an opportunity for bioenergy generation and concurrent climate mitigation without competing with food crops. However, achieving optimal yields requires strategies to restore soil fertility, which require increased understanding of the interactive effects of prior land use, energy crop species, and fertility amendments available. This study, conducted as part of the Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass (MASBio) Consortium, investigated the effects of biochar incorporation—a C-rich charcoal derived from biomass, intended for soil enhancement—on bioenergy cropping systems …