Forest Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Soil Microbial Dynamics In Southern Appalachian Forests: A Systems Biology Approach To Prescribed Fire Impacts, Saad Abd Ar Rafie

Doctoral Dissertations

Prescribed fires in Southern Appalachian forests are vital in ecosystem management and wildfire risk mitigation. However, understanding the intricate dynamics between these fires, soil microbial communities, and overall ecosystem health remains challenging. This dissertation addresses this knowledge gap by exploring selected aspects of this complex relationship across three interconnected chapters.

The first chapter investigates the immediate effects of prescribed fires on soil microbial communities. It reveals subtle shifts in porewater chemistry and significant increases in microbial species richness. These findings offer valuable insights into the interplay between soil properties and microbial responses during the early stages following a prescribed fire. …

Quantification Of Influential Surface Fuel Parameters In Fire-Prone Ecosystems Of The Netherlands, Lauren Lara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Changing climate conditions in northwest Europe present an increasing wildfire risk in the Netherlands. Focus on fuels monitoring in this region is not as extensive as it is in the United States. Accurate estimation of biomass fuel loading is integral to prevention of wildfires which pose a significant risk to both human lives and property. This research project attempted to create predictive models for three major fuel categories (litter/duff, shrub, and downed woody material). Reduction of the number of parameters to measure would streamline the process of fuel load estimation by reducing the number of measurements that need to be …

The Long-Term Effects Of Wildfire Severity On Oak-Pine Communities And Their Microclimates, Scott Glenn Culbert

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

In the eastern U.S., fire-dependent tree species have historically dominated upland forest communities, but are now experiencing widespread regeneration challenges as a result of 20^th century fire suppression policies, and are being replaced by mesophytic species. Wildfires that contain areas of high burn severity may provide an important means of mitigating these challenges and facilitating fire-dependent species regeneration and recruitment into larger size classes. One mechanism by which high-severity fire can accomplish this is by modifying understory microclimate characteristics to be more conducive to these species’ growth. A wildfire within the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, USA, provided the …