Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

A Dendroecological Evaluation Of The Effects Of Coal Ash On Tree Growth, Kingston Fossil Plant, Harriman, Tennessee, U.S.A., Niki Ann Garland

Masters Theses

Tree growth is a function of many environmental variables, and it is possible to detect differences between natural and human-related factors on tree growth. Radial growth of trees in one year and in subsequent years that follow is influenced not only by climate and other overarching multi-year processes, but also by pulse disturbance events. On December 22, 2008, an embankment at an impoundment for wet storage of fly ash at the Kingston Fossil Plant, Harriman, Tennessee collapsed, releasing 4,434,400 cubic meters of coal ash into the Clinch and Emory Rivers, impacting aquatic life as well as terrestrial flora and fauna. …