Forest Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Prescribed Fires On Vernal Herbs, Janis Lemaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The effects of fire on vernal herbs are little known. David Kem attempted to assess the influences of spring and winter prescribed fires on vernal herbs by collecting abundance data on three sets of research plots located at the WKU Green River Preserve in Hart County, KY, on April 9-10, 2010. On April 10 he conducted spring burns, and on February 22, 2011, he conducted winter burns. He then collected post-fire data on the abundance of the herbs on the 12-19 of March, 2011. He found little influence of fire on overall species richness and the density of common species. …

Natural Establishment Of Earthworms On Reclaimed Lignite Mine Soils, Lacey Russell, Kenneth Farrish, Jerry Leon Young, George Damoff, Brian Oswald

Student Publications

This two-year field study surveyed earthworm community characteristics on a chronosequence under afforested pine and hardwood lignite mine soils at the Beckville and Oak Hill lignite coal mines in east Texas. The following were used as indicators of earthworm community characteristics: reclamation type, forest cover type, age since reclamation and physical and chemical soil properties. The Beckville mine was sampled from February 2012 through March 2013; the Oak Hill mine was sampled from April 2013 through March 2014. The study was a 2x2x3 factorial design with reclamation type (mixed overburden vs. haul back), cover-type ((pine plantation (pp) and mixed pine …

Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch

Student Publications

At the western edge of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, federal land managers have burned the forests of Big Thicket National Preserve to bring back the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine forest. In the early 1990’s, a four year study was conducted by Rice University, and the National Park Service continued monitoring the study’s fire ecology research plots. After two decades of data collection, ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to …

Development Of Eco-Friendly Composite Foam Boards For Thermal Insulation And Packaging Purposes Using Cellulose Nanofibrils (Cnf), Nadir Yildirim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reducing energy consumption is a high priority in the United States and throughout the world. Energy used to heat and cool occupied constructed facilities is of particular concern, and one of the most effective strategies is insulating the building envelope. Historically, builders used whatever material was available to fill the void between interior and exterior walls, including wool fibers, paper, and even corn cobs. Today, homes are built using foam insulation that harden when applied, blown-in loose insulation, fiberglass mats or rigid foam boards usually composed of polystyrene. Rigid foam boards are used in a variety of applications despite the …

Smokejumper Obituary: Flom, Merlyn G. (Missoula 1957), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Breeding Season Avian Community Composition And Prey Availability In Eucalyptus And Slash Pine Plantations Of Southwestern Louisiana, Elizabeth J. Messick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increased demand for wood products related to industries such as bioenergy and paper has resulted in a need for a consistent supply of raw materials. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plantations have the potential to boost wood production for pulpwood and biomass feedstocks. Species characteristics such as rapid, indeterminate growth, coppice regrowth, resistance to disease and insects, and tolerance of a range of environmental conditions make these species successful short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs). Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii), a more cold tolerant species, has made management of eucalyptus plantations viable in southern portions of the United States such …

Citizen Science Sensor Development - Smap | Soil Moisture Active Passive, Hagop Hovhannesian

STAR Program Research Presentations

“Detailed monitoring of soil moisture provides a view of how our whole Earth system works.”

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite mission was launched in January 2015; its main purpose is to acquire global measurements of soil moisture. SMAP partnered with the GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment), which is an international program where students collect environmental variables in a scientifically methodical way. SMAP readings and maps have various uses in various fields, which include monitoring drought, predicting floods, assisting in crop productivity, and linking water, energy and carbon cycles. The goal of this project …

Do Novel Weapons That Degrade Mycorrhizal Mutualisms Explain Invasive Species Success?, Philip L. Pinzone Mr.

Biology Theses

Invasive plants often dominate novel habitats where they did not co-evolve with local species. Several hypotheses suggest mechanisms that explain increased exotic plant success, including 'novel weapons' and 'degraded mutualisms'. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) are widespread plant invaders in North America that can dominate ecosystems. The goal of this study is to test whether these impacts are more consistent with novel weapons or degraded mutualism hypotheses. I examine tree seedling recruitment, (germination and initial survival) growth, (biomass) and mycorrhizal invasion (AMF content) as a function of F. japonica and R. cathartica …

Forest Islands In A Sea Of Urban Habitat, Michael J. Olejniczak

Biology Theses

Urban forests are poorly defined as ecological communities. Substantive links between anthropogenic landscape features and forest ecology are lacking. ‘Urbaness’ is commonly defined by human population density or land use classifications, but their use is inconsistent throughout the literature, and rarely is linked with ecological processes. Furthermore, it is unknown whether urban forests are functioning parts of a patchy urban woodland system or isolated islands amidst an ocean of unsuitable habitat. I first used digital satellite imagery and publicly available U.S. National Park data to link urban land use with forest processes. I then linked those land use classifications with …

An Assessment Of The Competitive Ability Of Oak Species In The Central Hardwood Region Using Both Pre-Harvest Treatment Data And Stem Analysis Techniques, Robert William Edward Quackenbush

Open Access Theses

The density of advance regeneration of oak species has been in decline across the Central Hardwood Region (CHR) for the past 50 years. This phenomenon has been accredited to many different factors, ranging from predation and browse by wildlife, to human induced changes in the environment which include massive clearcutting, land use change from forest to agriculture, and suppression of fires which played an intricate role in the development of oak systems across the CHR. The objectives of this research project were to compare densities of oak advance regeneration across two different environmental gradients within the CHR, in particular the …

Forage Availability And Nutritional Carrying Capacity For Cervids Following Prescribed Fire And Herbicide Applications In Young Mixed-Hardwood Forest Stands In The Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee, Jordan Scott Nanney

Masters Theses

I evaluated the influence of timber harvest combined with prescribed fire and/or herbicide in young mixed-hardwood forest on forage availability and nutritional carrying capacity (NCC) for elk (Cervus elaphus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (WMA), July-August, 2013-15. I combined land cover data, forest management data, field management data, and forage availability data to model summer elk forage availability across the WMA.

I compared forage availability, NCC (animal days/ha) using 12 and 14% crude protein (CP) nutritional constraints, and vegetation composition among 6 young forest treatments, reclaimed surface mines (MINE), and closed-canopy mature forest …

Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the western edge of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, federal land managers have burned the forests of Big Thicket National Preserve to bring back the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine forest. In the early 1990’s, a four year study was conducted by Rice University, and the National Park Service continued monitoring the study’s fire ecology research plots. After two decades of data collection, ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to include overstory, …

Effects Of Fire On Soil Co₂ Efflux In A Mature Longleaf Pine Forest, Knox Lemee Flowers

Master's Theses

This study was conducted from 2012-2013 in a 96 year old longleaf pine at the Lake Thoreau Environmental Center located Lamar County, MS. Measurements of soil CO₂ efflux (i.e., soil respiration or SR) rates (µmol m^-2 sec^-1) were taken across 8 field plots (4 burned, 4 unburned) before and after a prescribed fire on that occurred in May, 2012. These measurements were taken over diurnal cycles using a LICOR LI-8100A automated soil gas flux system with long term chambers. SR rates and soil temperature measurements were collected during 3 sampling periods in 2012 and 1 sampling period …

Production Of Acetic Acid In Kraft Pulp Mill Biorefinery Using Bi-Polar Membrane Electrodialysis, Ravikant Amogisidha Patil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation was to develop a process for the production of acetic acid in kraft mills. Acetyl groups in hardwood can be hydrolyzed using alkali at 50 °C. The product from this process contains about 15 g/L of sodium acetate and was determined to be suitable for the production of acetic acid.

Experiments performed using aqueous sodium acetate to evaluate the ability of electrodialysis (ED) to separate and concentrate sodium acetate showed that sodium acetate can be concentrated up to 275 g/L starting with an initial concentration of 17 g/L. The transport of water with sodium and …

The Cytotoxic And Antimicrobial Properties Of Pine Essential Oils: A Characterization And Comparison, Richard Sakul

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the forestry industry, the pine tree species are important because of their durable timber and fast growth. In Arkansas, trees such as the loblolly pine compose almost a third of the timberland, seven million acres. In addition to the lignocellulosic biomass, pine bark and needles potentially have industrial importance as a waste stream from which high value (e.g., pharmaceutical, cosmetics) chemicals could be extracted, which could potentially increase the profit margin of forestry operations. In this research, the possibility that pine needles harvested from industry processed pine tree residues could be used as an antibacterial or cytotoxic chemical agent …

A Review On The Invasion Ecology Of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera Maackii, Caprifoliaceae), A Case Study Of Ecological Impacts At Multiple Scales, Rachel E. Mcneish, Ryan W. Mcewan

Biology Faculty Publications

Invasive species are of global importance because of their impacts on ecological communities, habitat structure, native community dynamics, and ecosystem processes and function. Scientists and conservation managers are increasingly focusing on the biological impacts of invasive species and on devising management practices that emphasize the health of ecosystems based on measured biological processes. Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder) is a highly successful invasive shrub in forests of eastern North America. The scientific literature surrounding this species has grown in the past several decades as researchers have investigated L. maackii impacts across multiple ecological scales. In this review we …

Testing The Temporal Stability Of The Climate Response Of Tree Species At Norris Dam State Park, Tennessee, U.S.A., Allison Elizabeth Ingram

Masters Theses

Temporal stability of the climate-tree growth relationship means that over time, tree species were responding to a specific climate variable and continue to respond to that variable into the present. The stability of this response is important to test prior to attempting to reconstruct past climate. In this study, I sampled oaks (white oak = Quercus alba L. and chestnut oak = Quercus montana Willd.) and pines (Virginia pine = Pinus virginiana Mill. and shortleaf pine = Pinus echinata Mill.) growing in Norris Dam State Park in eastern Tennessee and tested the temporal stability of these species and their potential …

Eucalyptus In Kenya; Impacts On Environment And Society, Brandy M. Garrett Kluthe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eucalyptus trees were introduced to Kenya a little over a century ago. European colonization along with the development of a railway system increased the demand for a fast growing wood source. The expansion of the tree across the fertile lands in Kenya raises concerns about the environmental impact on ecosystems where it has been introduced. These concerns include degraded soils, loss of water resources, co-introduction of ectomycorrhizal species, and allelopathy. Economic benefits to local landowners were also explored as well as the potential for large Eucalyptus woodlots to maximize the sequestration of CO₂ from the atmosphere. This was examined through …

Functional Diversity Of Small And Large Trees Along Secondary Succession In A Tropical Dry Forest, Lucía Sanaphre-Villanueva, Juan Manuel Dupuy, José Luis Andrade, Casandra Reyes-García, Horacio Paz, Paula C. Jackson

Faculty and Research Publications

Functional Diversity is considered an important driver of community assembly in environmental and successional gradients. To understand tree assembly processes in a semideciduous tropical forest, we analyzed the variation of Functional Richness (FRic), Functional Divergence (FDiv), and Functional Evenness (FEve) of small vs. large trees in relation to fallow age after slash-and-burn agriculture and topographical position (flat sites vs. hills). FRic of small trees was lower than null model predicted values across the successional gradient, and decreased unexpectedly in older successional ages. FRic of large trees was higher than null model predictions early in succession and lower in late-successional stands …

Thirty Years Of Compositional Change In An Old-Growth Temperate Forest: The Role Of Topographic Gradients In Oak-Maple Dynamics, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Biology Faculty Publications

Ecological communities are structured in response to spatial and temporal variation of numerous factors, including edaphic conditions, biotic interactions, climatic patterns and disturbance regimes. Widespread anthropogenic factors such as timber harvesting can create long-lasting impacts, obscuring the relationship between community structure and environmental conditions. Minimally impacted systems such as old-growth forests can serve as a useful ecological baseline for predicting long-term compositional shifts. We utilized decadal tree species sampling data (1979–2010) divided into three strata (understory, midstory, overstory) to examine temporal changes in relative abundances and spatial distributions of dominant taxa, as well as overall shifts in community composition, in …