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Environmental Monitoring Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Monitoring

Effects Of Simulated Climate Change On Native Southeastern Grassland Vegetation Using Open Top Chambers, Makaila Carpenter Jul 2024

Effects Of Simulated Climate Change On Native Southeastern Grassland Vegetation Using Open Top Chambers, Makaila Carpenter

Theses

The southeastern United States is a critical biodiversity hotspot once covered in prairie grassland ecosystems and now facing significant threats due to urbanization, habitat destruction, over-exploitation, biological invasions, pollution, and climate change. This study analyzes the response of Alabama’s native prairie ecosystem to climate change. We used open top chambers (OTCs) to simulate climate change-induced warming. We assessed the response of ecosystem function and structure to higher temperatures (1-3oC). The indicators of ecosystem function included phenology, leaf surface area (LSA), specific leaf area (SLA), and aboveground and below net primary productivity (ANPP and BNPP respectively). Ecosystem structure was …


Safe Water For All: A Multi-Modal Approach To North Alabama's Water Resources, Elijah Walker Apr 2022

Safe Water For All: A Multi-Modal Approach To North Alabama's Water Resources, Elijah Walker

Theses

Environmental degradation is a destructive force produced by the human disturbance of pollution. It is a phenomenon that gradually evolves landscapes over time resulting in irreversible outcomes. Environmental degradation physically affects spaces’ resources, objects, and inhabiting humans. This study observes the impacts of pollution beyond physical boundaries and how it affects human identity/sense of place through the utilization of geographic information systems. Specifically, it examines cultural identity developed through human experiences and connections to landscapes containing water resources. Following, pollution contaminates water resources disrupting experiences and connections thus causing the cultural identity to disappear. The case study applied to this …