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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Environmental Sciences

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Utah State University

UCUR

2014

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Nitrogen Content Of Lichens As An Indicator Of Inversion-Based Deposition, Brianne Palmer Feb 2014

Nitrogen Content Of Lichens As An Indicator Of Inversion-Based Deposition, Brianne Palmer

UCUR

Inversions have plagued the valleys in Utah resulting in built up pollution carpeting the cities and spreading into surrounding ecosystems. The ecological impact of these inversions is unknown. Inversion-based pollution events deposit nutrients and pollutants in the ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to determine if lichens, due to their unique physiology, preserve a record of inversion-based nitrogen deposition in order to assess the ecological impact of the inversions. In June and July of 2013 we collected 111 samples of lichens from sites exposed to the inversions, along Red Butte Creek and on an elevation gradient on Grandeur Peak …


Plant-­‐Soil Feedback Of Native And Exotic Species In The Intermountain West, Molly Van Engelenhoven Feb 2014

Plant-­‐Soil Feedback Of Native And Exotic Species In The Intermountain West, Molly Van Engelenhoven

UCUR

For thousands of years farmers have known that soil organisms can destroy crops but only in the past ten years have researchers begun to understand that complex interactions among soil organisms and plants can determine plant diversity and productivity. Much of the research in this young field of study has come from qualitative greenhouse experiments and separately from simple mathematical models. Here, we report findings from a six-year plant-soil feedback (PSF) field experiment that assessed the effects of soil organisms on the growth of twelve plant species common to the intermountain west. Initially, twelve native and exotic species were randomly …


Waterfowl Population Trends, Pariette Wetlands, Utah 1980-­‐2010, David Baird Feb 2014

Waterfowl Population Trends, Pariette Wetlands, Utah 1980-­‐2010, David Baird

UCUR

We obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 30 years of monthly waterfowl population surveys completed at Pariette Wetlands in the Uintah Basin, Utah between 1980 and 2010. The Pariette Wetlands are the largest wetlands managed by the BLM within the lower-48 states and are comprised of 4,033 acres of land. Pariette Wetlands is surrounded by about 6,000 square miles of land where oil and gas production is the major activity. This waterfowl refuge is a significant location for migrating waterfowl species within the Pacific Flyway and provides important summer habitat for resident waterfowl. Our objectives were to determine …