Digital Commons Network^™

Morphological And Moisture Availability Controls Of The Leaf Area-To-Sapwood Area Ratio: Analysis Of Measurements On Australian Trees, Henrique Furstenau Togashi, Iain Colin Prentice, Bradley John Evans, David Ian Forrester, Paul Drake, Paul Feikema, Kim Brooksbank, Derek Eamus, Daniel Taylor

Natural Resources Research Articles

1. The leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio (LA:SA) is a key plant trait that links photosynthesis to transpiration. The pipe model theory states that the sapwood cross-sectional area of a stem or branch at any point should scale isometrically with the area of leaves distal to that point. Optimization theory further suggests that LA:SA should decrease toward drier climates. Although acclimation of LA:SA to climate has been reported within species, much less is known about the scaling of this trait with climate among species.
2. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 184 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was …

Compost Carryover: Nitrogen Phosphorous And Ft-Ir Analysis Of Soil Organic Matter, Dave J. R. Olsen, Jeffrey B. Endelman, Astrid R. Jacobson, Jennifer R. Reeve

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Compost plays a central role in organic soil fertility plans but is bulky and costly to apply. Determining compost carryover is therefore important for cost-effective soil fertility planning. This study investigated two aspects of nutritive carryover [nitrogen and phosphorus (P)], and an indicator of non-nutritive carryover [soil organic matter (SOM)] to determine the residual effect of a one-time compost application applied at four rates in a corn-squash rotation. Crop yield was measured as an integrated carryover indicator of nutritive and non-nutritive effects. Functional groups of compost and SOM were investigated using FT-IR spectroscopy and soil organic carbon (SOC). While year …

A Synopsis Of Short-Term Response To Alternative Restoration Treatments In Sagebrush-Steppe: The Sagestep Project, James Mciver, Mark W. Brunson, Steve Bunting, Jeanne C. Chambers, Paul Doescher, James Grace, April Hulet, Dale Johnson, Steve Knick, Richard Miller, Mike Pellant, Fred Pierson, David A. Pyke, Benjamin Rau, Kimberly Rollins, Bruce Roundy, Eugene W. Schupp, Robin Tausch, Christopher Jason Williams

Articles

The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) is an integrated long-term study that evaluates ecological effects of alternative treatments designed to reduce woody fuels and to stimulate the herbaceous understory of sagebrush steppe communities of the Intermountain West. This synopsis summarizes results through 3 yr posttreatment. Woody vegetation reduction by prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, or herbicides initiated a cascade of effects, beginning with increased availability of nitrogen and soil water, followed by increased growth of herbaceous vegetation. Response of butterflies and magnitudes of runoff and erosion closely followed herbaceous vegetation recovery. Effects on shrubs, biological soil crust, tree cover, surface …

Hydrologic And Erosion Responses Of Sagebrush Steppe Following Juniper Encroachment, Wildfire, And Tree Cutting, Frederick B. Pierson, Christopher Jason Williams, Stuart P. Hardegree, Patrick E. Clark, Patrick R. Kormos, Osama Z. Al-Hamdan

Articles

Extensive woodland expansion in the Great Basin has generated concern regarding ecological impacts of tree encroachment on sagebrush rangelands and strategies for restoring sagebrush steppe. This study used rainfall (0.5 m² and 13 m² scales) and concentrated flow simulations and measures of vegetation, ground cover, and soils to investigate hydrologic and erosion impacts of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) encroachment into sagebrush steppe and to evaluate short-term effects of burning and tree cutting on runoff and erosion responses. The overall effects of tree encroachment were a reduction in understory vegetation and formation of highly erodible, bare intercanopy …

Plant Establishment In Masticated Utah Juniper Woodlands, Kert R. Young, Bruce A. Roundy, Dennis L. Eggett

Articles

Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-bunchgrass communities has reduced understory cover on millions of hectares of semiarid rangelands. Mechanical masticators shred trees to restore desirable vegetation and reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfire. Mechanical mastication where juniper density is high and perennial grass cover is low brings a risk of invasive weed dominance unless perennial species are established. To determine whether juniper mastication favors annual- or perennial-grass establishment, we compared seedling emergence, tillers, and aboveground biomass of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and Anatone bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata [Pursh] A. Löve). Comparisons were made among …

Stand Dynamics, Humus Type And Water Balance Explain Aspen Long Term Productivity Across Canada, Kenneth A. Anyomi, Francois Lorenzetti, Yves Bergeron, Alain Leduc

Aspen Bibliography

This study examined the relative importance of soil, stand development and climate hypotheses in driving productivity for a species that is widely distributed in North America. Inventory plots, 3548 of such, either dominated by aspen or made up of species mixture of which aspen occurs in dominant canopy position were sampled along a longitudinal gradient from Quebec to British Columbia. Site index (SI), was used as a measure of productivity, and soil, climate and stand attributes were correlated with site index in order to determine their effects on productivity. Results show a decline in productivity with high moisture deficit. Soil …

Sister Remberta Westkaemper: A Fine Lady And Excellent Field Botanist, Stephen G. Saupe

Forum Lectures

Sister Remberta, the first full-time president of Saint Ben's and founding member of the CSB Biology Department, was the preeminent authority on the flora of Stearns County. This presentation will focus on Sister Remberta's botanical activities with an introduction to the CSB|SJU Bailey Herbarium. This work was supported by a Centennial Year Fellowship.

Fire Modulates Climate Change Response Of Simulated Aspen Distribution Across Topoclimatic Gradients In A Semi-Arid Montane Landscape, Jian Yang, Peter J. Weisberg, Douglas J. Shinneman, Thomas E. Dilts, Susan L. Earnst, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Content Changing aspen distribution in response to climate change and fire is a major focus of biodiversity conservation, yet little is known about the potential response of aspen to these two driving forces along topoclimatic gradients.

Objective This study is set to evaluate how aspen distribution might shift in response to different climate-fire scenarios in a semi-arid montane landscape, and quantify the influence of fire regime along topoclimatic gradients.

Methods We used a novel integration of a forest landscape succession and disturbance model (LAN DIS-II) with a fine-scale climatic water deficit approach to simulate dynamics of aspen and associated conifer …

Rnaseq Reveals Weed-Induced Pif3-Like As A Candidate Target To Manipulate Weed Stress Response In Soybean, David P. Horvath, Stephanie A. Bruggeman, Janet Moriles Miller, Ronald Pierik, Chanhui Yan, David E. Clay, Brian Scheffler, Sharon A. Clay

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Research conducted, including the rationale: Weeds reduce yield in soybeans through incompletely defined mechanisms. The effects of weeds on the soybean transcriptome were evaluated in field conditions during four separate growing seasons. Methods: RNASeq data were collected from 6 biological samples of soybeans growing with or without weeds. Weed species and the methods to maintain weed free controls varied between years to mitigate treatment effects and to allow detection of general soybeans weed responses. Key results: Soybean plants were not visibly nutrient or water stressed. We identified 55 consistently down-regulated genes in weedy plots. Many of the down-regulated genes were …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2014 Annual Report, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2014 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the fourth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight plant community monitoring plots to collect data on the vegetation at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort that will sample eight of 20 randomly located upland plots every year, so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for three years, on a five-year rotating basis. Additionally, NGPN staff also visited …

Machine Learning For Predicting Soil Classes In Three Semi-Arid Landscapes, Colby W. Brungard, Janis L. Boettinger, Michael C. Duniway, Skye A. Wills, Thomas C. Edwards Jr.

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Mapping the spatial distribution of soil taxonomic classes is important for informing soil use and management decisions. Digital soil mapping (DSM) can quantitatively predict the spatial distribution of soil taxonomic classes. Key components of DSM are the method and the set of environmental covariates used to predict soil classes. Machine learning is a general term for a broad set of statistical modeling techniques. Many different machine learning models have been applied in the literature and there are different approaches for selecting covariates for DSM. However, there is little guidance as to which, if any, machine learning model and covariate set …

Search For Host Factors Involved In Attachment Of Agrobacterium Tumefaciens To Plants, Anna Petrovicheva

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is able to infect a diverse array of plants and causes crown gall disease. Typically these bacteria attach to plant roots and transform the plant cells to induce tumors. The mechanism of this attachment in the infection process is not yet fully understood. Using wild type Arabidopsis thaliana, Columbia-0, and several Arabidopsis mutant lines as a binding target, we screened for A. thaliana mutants with altered adhesion.

The A. thaliana mutant lines were selected in The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) according to possible location of the resulting protein and similarity to known transformation mutants. Of these mutants …

Systematics And Biogeography Of Orthaea Kloztsch (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae), Nelson Salinas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the first chapter a study of the distribution patterns of the neotropical Vaccinieae (Ericaceae) is presented. Five areas of endemism were recovered: Central America, northern Chocó, southern Chocó, eastern Ecuador, and Yungas. Divergence times estimations indicate that the Andean clade of Vaccinieae migrated to South America during the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene (28.9-17.84 MA), and most of the subsequent diversification took place during the Tertiary. The Yungas was the first Andean area to be colonized, and several dispersals towards the north expanded their distribution range. Both areas of endemism and dispersal events were influenced by geological processes, such …

Evaluation Of Disinfectants To Prevent Mechanical Transmission Of Viruses And A Viroid In Greenhouse Tomato Production, Rugang Li, Fulya Baysal-Gurel, Zaid Abdo, Sally A. Miller, Kai-Shu Ling

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Background

In recent years, a number of serious disease outbreaks caused by viruses and viroids on greenhouse tomatoes in North America have resulted in significant economic losses to growers. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of commercial disinfectants against mechanical transmission of these pathogens, and to select disinfectants with broad spectrum reactivity to control general virus and viroid diseases in greenhouse tomato production.

Methods

A total of 16 disinfectants were evaluated against Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The efficacy of each disinfectant to …

A Structure-Function Approach To Understanding The Dual Functions Of The Plant Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Msl10, Grigory Maksaev, Kira M. Veley, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

MscS‐Like (MSL) 10 is a member of the MscS superfamily of mechanosensitive ion channels and one of 10 MSL proteins in the model flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Unlike Escherichia coli MscS, MSL10 contains 6 transmembrane helices, and only its C‐terminal TM helix shows homology with EcMscS's pore‐lining domain. MSL10 has been shown to provide a mechanosensitive activity in plant cells and Xenopus oocytes. However, its structural organization and function in plants are just beginning to be elucidated.

Horticulturae — An International, Multidisciplinary, Open Access Journal, Douglas D. Archbold

Horticulture Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Top Ten Forage Improvements: The Big Picture, Garry D. Lacefield

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

This marks the 20th consecutive year we have done a Forage’s at KCA Program and I find it hard to believe the past 20 years have passed so quickly. The opportunities for forages in Kentucky were indeed great twenty years ago; however, they are much greater now than when we started this Conference.

Lineage Sorting In Multihost Parasites: Eidmanniella Albescens And Fregatiella Aurifasciata On Seabirds From The Galapagos Islands, Jose Rivera-Parra, Iris Levin, Kevin Johnson, Patricia Parker

Biology Department Faculty Works

Parasites comprise a significant percentage of the biodiversity of the planet and are useful systems to test evolutionary and ecological hypotheses. In this study, we analyze the effect of host species identity and the immediate local species assemblage within mixed species colonies of nesting seabirds on patterns of genetic clustering within two species of multihost ectoparasitic lice. We use three genetic markers (one mitochondrial, COI, and two nuclear, EF1‐α and wingless) and maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees to test whether (1) parasites show lineage sorting based on their host species; and (2) switching of lineages to the alternate host species depends …

Year-End Report On Rac Project Entitled "Propagating Aspen Clones: Survival In The 21st Century", Ralph Baierlein

Aspen Bibliography

Initial damage caused by wild ungulates was minimal. In August 2013, a large elk pulled off five cones and destroyed three saplings on the exposed, eastern side of the exclosure. Although deer tracks were plentiful in the bare earth of the fire line, there was no evidence that deer had harmed the saplings. The combination of a cone and a mesh sleeve on the exposed saplings sufficed.

Juniperus Communis In Azerbaijan: Analyses Of Nrdna And Cpdna Regions, Robert P. Adams, Vahid Farzaliyev, Alexander N. Tashev, Andrea E. Schwarzbach

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Juniperus 'pygmaea' from Azerbaijan was analyzed by DNA sequence data from nrDNA plus four cp DNA regions (4315 bp) and found in a clade with J. communis 'oblonga' (= J. communis) Armenia, not with J. c. forma pygmaea of Bulgaria. It seems prudent to not recognize this variant taxonomically but treat it as J. communis.

Volume 1, Chapter 5-1: Ecophysiology Of Development: Hormones, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 1, Chapter 7-2: Water Relations: Movement, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 1, Chapter 7-7: Water Relations: Biochemical Adaptations To Drying, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 1, Chapter 7-4a: Water Relations: Leaf Strategies - Structural, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 1, Chapter 7-9: Water Relations: Winter Physiology, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 2, Chapter 11-1: Aquatic Insects: Biology, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 2, Chapter 11-2: Aquatic Insects: Bryophyte Roles As Habitats, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 2, Chapter 11-8: Aquatic Insects: Holometabola - Neuroptera And Megaloptera, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 2, Chapter 11-6: Aquatic Insects: Hemimetabolous Insects - Plecoptera, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 2, Chapter 11-3: Aquatic Insects: Bryophyte Habitats And Fauna, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.