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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Sciences
Biodiversity In Eastern Kentucky: Effects Of Habitat Change, Surface Top Mining, And Current Reclamation Practices, Sydney Pardieu
Biodiversity In Eastern Kentucky: Effects Of Habitat Change, Surface Top Mining, And Current Reclamation Practices, Sydney Pardieu
Undergraduate Theses
Biodiversity is a key component in maintaining the valuable ecosystem services that are vital to the way humans interact with and rely on the environment. The Appalachian Region in Eastern North America is one of the most biodiverse temperate broadleaf forests in the world and is home to hundreds of endangered or endemic species. Despite the high biodiversity, the region is also heavily mined, particularly by mountain top removal, causing habitat change and pollution. Current reclamation practices for mined lands are lacking in effective reclamation criterion, and state statutes provide little or no attention to the preservation of biodiversity. Therefore, …
Riparian Buffered Sinkholes In The Blue River Watershed, Colin Copler
Riparian Buffered Sinkholes In The Blue River Watershed, Colin Copler
Undergraduate Theses
Riparian vegetation along streams has many positive effects on water quality and macroinvertebrate communities, especially in agricultural areas. Some of these effects include erosion prevention, pollutant removal, and lower summer water temperatures. There has been much research done examining the link between these riparian areas and streams; however, riparian vegetation is understudied in karst areas. Karst is a geologic formation that is composed of limestone, which dissolves in groundwater, forming sinkholes. Thus, the question this paper seeks to investigate is does riparian vegetation around sinkholes in a karst plain influence water quality within a watershed? Water quality, land cover, and …