Forest Sciences Commons^™

Sustainability In Action: Green Infrastructure As A Marker Of Sustainable Urban Development, Brianna Nadine Santiago

FIU Undergraduate Research Journal

The current form and pace of urbanization is an ongoing threat to sustainable urban development. As these problems span social, environmental, and economic realms, it is imperative that any proposed solution is able to address these problems holistically. Although a number of silver-bullet solutions such as electric vehicle adoption have been introduced, they do not respond to the problems with an integrated approach. Tackling this problem will require a solution that can be changed and applied on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, the development of green infrastructure is the most efficient solution when responding to the problems threatening urban sustainability. The …

The Need For A Chainsaw Safety Training Program For Female Forest Landowners, Patrick Hiesl, Janet Steele, Susan T. Guynn

The Journal of Extension

Female forest landowners (FFLO) are increasing in numbers but have been marginalized in technical training programs in the past. We conducted chainsaw safety training programs geared towards FFLO and compared program evaluation results with results from male-dominated chainsaw training workshops. FFLO are limited in their technical knowledge at the beginning of a workshop, are more likely to own different types of chainsaws than male participants, and generally liked having a women-only workshop. The takeaway is that FFLO strive in a women-only environment and that more women-focused extension training programs are needed to provide with a safe and inclusive learning environment.

New York City’S Rising Sea Level And Coastal Erosion: Approaches To Resiliency, Ryder D. Isidro

Student Theses 2015-Present

No abstract provided.

The Biltmore Forest School And The Establishment Of Forestry Education In America, Dan Barry Croom

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The Biltmore Forest School, despite its unusual existence within the affluent Biltmore Estate, played a crucial role in the early 20th-century American forestry movement. Founded by Carl A. Schenck and supported by George Vanderbilt II, the school aimed to educate foresters and promote sustainable forest management. However, many aspects of the Biltmore experiment failed due to the new and untested nature of forestry science in America. This experiment exposed a fundamental divide in forestry education, with Gifford Pinchot advocating for conservation-centered teaching while Schenck believed in the economic viability of lumber production. Ultimately, the Biltmore Forest School offered valuable vocational …

Quemando Leña En Guatemala: Salud, Sostenibilidad Y Costumbres, Sydney Underhill

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

In the Central American country of Guatemala, firewood is an important fuel source. Eighty-eight percent of households in rural areas use wood stoves and open fires to cook and heat their homes. This tradition has fundamental roots in the culture and customs of Guatemala. Unfortunately, these methods contribute to air pollution. Consequently, it also results in smoke inhalation, which causes health problems. Additionally, the massive agriculture of other crops decreases the amount of firewood available to these households, affecting the sustainability of the resource. Some communities resist changing their use of firewood due to the profound nature that firewood holds …

Proposing Urban Agroforestry Designs For Lincoln, Nebraska: A Model From Berlin, Germany, Noah Johnson

Honors Theses

Given the threat of a worsening climate crisis, there is a strong need for community and ecosystem resilience. Diverse urban agroforestry systems have the potential to accomplish both and meet many of the objectives outlined in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska’s climate action plan. Additionally, Berlin, Germany could provide an effective model for Lincoln in this regard given the city’s extensive history of established urban agroforestry systems. The objective of this study then is to develop a design for an urban agroforestry site modeled on Berlin’s allotment gardens and tailored to Lincoln’s needs. The methods for creating this design included …

Dendrochronological Analysis Of The Duncan Tavern, Paris, Kentucky, Usa, Delaney Ballard, Maegen Rochner

Undergraduate Research Events

Duncan Tavern is a historical structure located at 323 High Street in Paris, Kentucky in Bourbon County. The structure currently serves as the headquarters for the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (KSDAR). KSDAR maintains that Duncan Tavern was originally built in the mid-1790s; the land was purchased in 1792 by Joseph Duncan, a civilian armorer in the Revolutionary War. Although Duncan Tavern has been listed on the National Register of Historical Places since 1973, a dendrochronological study of this structure was requested to quantitatively examine the legitimacy of archival and anecdotal claims about the construction history. …

Tremblings, May 2024, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

Climate change insurance: planting aspen seedlings as fuel breaks

Catherine Schloegel, Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy, Boulder, Colorado

Jordan Mead, Resource Specialist, Summit County Open Space and Trails Department, Frisco, Colorado

As climate impacts accelerate, mountain communities living near forested areas across the West will be at increasing risk of more frequent wildfires. To protect neighborhoods from high-severity wildfires, land managers frequently clear strips of forest around homes and roads. We examined the potential to plant true aspen seedlings in these fuel breaks to increase habitat diversity while maintaining a reduced risk of wildfire. Historically, aspen has acted as a …

Environmental Factors Associated With Triploid Aspen Occurrence In Intermountain West Landscapes, James A. Walton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Polyploidy is common among plants and can contribute to physiological and morphological differences, altering how plants respond to environmental changes, promoting genetic diversification and even species radiation. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a keystone species associated with high plant and animal diversity is frequently found in mixed diploid/triploid populations in the Intermountain West. Triploid aspen carries an extra chromosomal copy, whereas the diploid type contains two chromosomal copies. High mortality rates and widespread population declines in aspen are of increasing concern in the Intermountain West, and often ascribed to changing climates and drought stress events. The goal of this …

Tree Canopy Cover Influences Habitat Use Of Breeding Birds At Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Kaleigh Thomas

Scholars Day Conference

Across the United States, bird populations have declined due to habitat loss. To better understand habitat use by birds, researchers observed populations at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area in southwest Arkansas. Students at Ouachita Baptist University surveyed 94 point count locations to estimate species diversity (total number of species observed) and species abundance (total number of individuals observed). At each point, students recorded the percentage of tree canopy cover, ground cover, midstory cover, and shrub cover. These variables were used as explanatory variables in multiple regression analyses to determine which variables were influential in explaining variation in species diversity and …

Impact Of Changing Climate On Bryophyte Contributions To Terrestrial Water, Carbon, And Nitrogen Cycles, Mandy L. Slate, Anita Antoninka, Lydia Bailey, Monica B. Berdugo, Des A. Callaghan, Mariana Cárdenas, Matthew W. Chmielewski, Nicole J. Fenton, Hannah Holland-Moritz, Samantha Hopkins, Mélanie Jean, Bier Ekaphan Kraichak, Zoë Lindo, Amelia Merced, Tobi Oke, Daniel Stanton, Julia E. Stuart, Daniel Tucker, Kirsten K. Coe

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

Bryophytes, including the lineages of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, are the second-largest photoautotroph group on Earth. Recent work across terrestrial ecosystems has highlighted how bryophytes retain and control water, fix substantial amounts of carbon (C), and contribute to nitrogen (N) cycles in forests (boreal, temperate, and tropical), tundra, peatlands, grasslands, and deserts. Understanding how changing climate affects bryophyte contributions to global cycles in different ecosystems is of primary importance. However, because of their small physical size, bryophytes have been largely ignored in research on water, C, and N cycles at global scales. Here, we review the literature on how bryophytes …

Characteristics Of Earthworms In Selective Forest Types In Michigan-Illinois Region, Xiaoyong Chen

Research Days

Both invasive exotic and native earthworms have undesirable ecological effects on the structure, function, and biodiversity of forest ecosystems in the Great Lakes area. Understanding the biological parameters and distribution patterns of these earthworms is crucial for their life cycle and their impacts on ecological processes such as nutrient biogeochemistry cycling and carbon sequestration in forests, as well as for informing forest management practices. In this study, abundance, distribution, and mass-length relation of earthworms were investigated in selective typical forest types along a Michigan-Illinois latitudinal gradient. These forest types include Hemlock-White pine-Maple (HWM) forests in Huron Mountains of Michigan, White …

Michigan's Upper Peninsula Is The Cradle Of Paul Bunyan's Beehives, Thomas J. Straka

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region

One of the Michigan Upper Peninsula’s earliest industries was iron production. Iron furnaces (smelters) were part of that industry; these were primarily fueled by charcoal, produced in hundreds of charcoal kilns scattered across the Upper Peninsula. The four basic kiln designs (rectangular, round, conical, and beehive) were all used in the region, with the beehive design becoming the predominant form. James C. Cameron, Jr. is credited with developing the beehive charcoal kiln design while employed by Upper Peninsula iron furnaces. This design was first introduced to the Upper Peninsula, and then to Northeastern Wisconsin, Northern New York, and the Far …

Tree Canopy Cover Influences Habitat Use Of Breeding Birds At Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Kaleigh Thomas

Honors Theses

Across the United States, bird populations have declined due to habitat loss. To better understand habitat use by birds, researchers observed populations at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area in southwest Arkansas. Students at Ouachita Baptist University surveyed 94 point count locations to estimate species diversity (total number of species observed) and species abundance (total number of individuals observed). At each point, students recorded the percentage of tree canopy cover, ground cover, midstory cover, and shrub cover. These variables were used as explanatory variables in multiple regression analyses to determine which variables were influential in explaining variation in species diversity and …

An Ecology Against The Right. Learning Uncertainty And Humility From Ecosystems, Pierre L. Ibisch, Mona Eikel-Pohen, Elias Iceman, Jake Snelling

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

This article is a translation from the German to English. The title of the original is:

Ibisch, P.L. (2020): Eine Ökologie gegen rechts. Von Ökosystemen Unsicherheit und Demut lernen. In: Leitschuh, H., A. Brunnengräber, P.L. Ibisch, R. Loske, M. Müller, J. Sommer & E.-U. v. Weizsäcker (eds. J. Sommer, P.L. Ibisch, A. Brunnengräber): Ökologie und Heimat. Jahrbuch Ökologie 2021. Hirzel-Verlag, Stuttgart, 191-205.

Seasonal And Species-Level Water-Use Strategies And Groundwater Dependence In Dryland Riparian Woodlands During Extreme Drought, Jared Williams, John C. Stella, Michael Bliss Singer, Adam M. Lambert, Steve L. Voelker, John E. Drake, Jonathan M. Friedman, Lissa Pelletier, Li Kui, Dar A. Roberts

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

Drought-induced groundwater decline and warming associated with climate change are primary threats to dryland riparian woodlands. We used the extreme 2012–2019 drought in southern California as a natural experiment to assess how differences in water-use strategies and groundwater dependence may influence the drought susceptibility of dryland riparian tree species with overlapping distributions. We analyzed tree-ring stable carbon and oxygen isotopes collected from two cottonwood species (Populus trichocarpa and P. fremontii) along the semi-arid Santa Clara River. We also modeled tree source water δ18O composition to compare with observed source water δ18O within the floodplain to infer patterns of groundwater reliance. …

Utilization Of The Hunt Trap Method To Investigate A Small Mammal Community In An Upland Pine Stand, Leo Montano

Undergraduate Research Conference

Small mammals are strong and informative biological indicators of forest ecosystems. Populations are responsible for shaping successional patterns through their diets, behaviors, and contributions to other ecological communities.

Knowledge of community metrics within southern yellow pine forests under varying production and disturbance regimes can be valuable in understanding pine production impacts on biodiversity.

The objective of this study was to investigate species richness, time to detection, and activity patterns of the small mammal community in an upland pine stand utilizing the Hunt Trap Method.

Effect And Mechanisms Of Conifer And Broadleaf Mixtures On The Soil Characteristics In Limestone Mountains, Xueping Zhang, Yuhua Ma, Songling Fu, Jingjing Qian, Qi Zhu, Chun Feng, Zihao Li, Wenhao Zhu, Han Chen

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In the restoration process of limestone mountain ecosystem, the interaction mechanism, between vegetation and soil are the core scientific issues for a better understanding of ecological restoration and ecosystem stability. Based on this, four types of 30 year old artificial forest communities with different coniferous and broad-leaved mixed ratios (0-20 %, 20 - 50 %, 50 – 80 %, 80 – 100 %) in typical limestone mountainous areas of the northern subtropical region are used as research objects to measure understory vegetation diversity, litter, and fine root characteristics. The impact of different mixing ratios on understory vegetation restoration and soil …

In-Silico Analysis For Structural And Functional Characterization Of Phosphorus-Starvation Tolerance 1 (Pstol1) Gene, Quratulain Mehdi Khan, Muhammad Aqeel, Maryam Murtaza, Wajya Ajmal, Muhammad Uzair, Sajid Fiaz, Kotb A. Attia, Asmaa M. Abushady, Itoh Kimiko, Muhammad Ramzan Khan, Ghulam Muhammad Ali

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

As an important macro element for all living cells, phosphorus is essential in agricultural production systems as well and is required in large quantities by elite varieties of crops to maintain yields. Approximately 70% of worldwide cultivated land suffers from phosphorous deficiency, and it has recently been estimated that worldwide phosphorous resources will be shattered by the end of this century thus increasing the demand for crops to be more efficient in their P usage. A greater understanding of how plants can maintain yield with lower phosphorous availability is highly desirable to both breeders and farmers, therefore, significant to develop …

Unraveling The Impact Of Seed Fatty Acid Profiles On Spinach Seed Germination Under Temperature Stress, Mustafa Kaşka, Haluk Çağlar Kaymak

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Limited knowledge exists regarding the fatty acid profiles of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) seeds and their correlation with germination. This study aims to address this gap by thoroughly investigating these profiles and their relationship with seed germination. Therefore, the objectives include assessing how different temperatures influence seed germination in spinach cultivars, identifying tolerant cultivar(s) to temperature stress during germination, and exploring the relationship between fatty acid profiles and seed germination under varying temperature conditions. Nine spinach cultivars (‘Matador-1, 2, and 3’, ‘Ranchero F1’, ‘Aras F1’, ‘El Tajin’, ‘El Real’, ‘Catrina F1’ and ‘Poyraz F1’) were used as seed material. The …