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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences

Evaluation Of Airborne Lidar As A Tool For Obtaining Sustainable Forest Management Of Maine's Forests, Rei Hayashi Dec 2014

Evaluation Of Airborne Lidar As A Tool For Obtaining Sustainable Forest Management Of Maine's Forests, Rei Hayashi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of using a low density (ca. 1 point m􀀀2) discrete-return LiDAR for predicting maximum tree height, stem density, basal area, quadratic mean diameter, and stem volume using an area-based approach. The research was conducted at the Penobscot Experimental Forest in central Maine, where a range of stand structures and species composition is present and generally representative of northern Maines forests. Using a variety of high dimensional LiDAR metrics, a prediction model was developed using random forest, a nonparametric approach, based on reference data collected in fixed radius circular plots. …


Fire Type Classification In The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome, Sanath Kumar Sathyachandran Jan 2014

Fire Type Classification In The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome, Sanath Kumar Sathyachandran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome (BTMFB) is “Earth’s greatest biological treasure and a major component of the earth system” and forest degradation and deforestation by fire is a serious issue in this region. Fires in the BTMFB can be broadly classified as maintenance, deforestation and forest fire types. Spatially and temporally explicit information on the incidences of fire types are important as they have widely varying atmospheric emissions and ecological impacts. Satellite based remote sensing is a practical means of monitoring the BTMFB that spans almost 4 million km2. However, there has been no way to reliably …


Long-Term Changes In Four Plant Communities Along An Elevational Gradient In The Front Range Of Colorado, Gregory J. Sproull Jan 2014

Long-Term Changes In Four Plant Communities Along An Elevational Gradient In The Front Range Of Colorado, Gregory J. Sproull

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We surveyed four plant communities along an elevational gradient in the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains for long-term overstory and understory changes. Our results were compared to those found in 1981 and 1996. We evaluated changes in succession, elevational species migration and range expansion, community diversity, and composition. We related temporal floristic shifts to prior literature on disturbance history at each site. Over time, all communities changed significantly, though in different manners. This analysis shows that plant communities are changing in dynamic and idiosyncratic ways that correspond to individualistic distribution shifts. Moreover, we exhibit the necessity of comprehensively …


The Effects Of Herbicide On The Endangered Herb Baptisia Arachnifera And Preliminary Nutrient Survey Of Leaf Tissue And Soil, Ruth Ann C. Steinbrecher Jan 2014

The Effects Of Herbicide On The Endangered Herb Baptisia Arachnifera And Preliminary Nutrient Survey Of Leaf Tissue And Soil, Ruth Ann C. Steinbrecher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Baptisia arachnifera (Hairy Rattleweed) is an endangered herbaceous legume that only occurs in Wayne and Brantley Counties of Georgia, United States. Many of the remaining populations exist in areas now managed for timber. This study investigated the effects of Imazapyr, an herbicide commonly used in timber management, on health and vitality of B. arachnifera under both field and greenhouse conditions. This study also analyzed leaf and soil samples from six populations of B. arachnifera to determine the nutrient content of the leaves. A recensus of a B. arachnifera population was also conducted in a site without commercial timber management. In …