Life Sciences Commons^™

Nutrient Capital Sequestration In Pioneer Plant Communities On Surface-Mine Spoil, Gary Leon Wade

Doctoral Dissertations

Biomass production and nutrient capital sequestration of four pioneer plant communities on a surface-mine spoil were compared. A Chenopodium album-dominated community (Treatment 4) produced the greatest amount of biomass. Next were a community derived from a forest topsoil seed bank spread over mine spoil (Treatment 2), a seed bank community with common reclamation species seeded into it (Treat­ ment 3 ) , and a mix of grasses and Lespedeza commonly used in reclama­tion (Treatment 1).

Treatments 1, 2, and 3 sequestered N in aboveground biomass in an amount approximately equal to that added as fertilizer, but Treat­ment 4 sequestered 237 …

A Biogeographic Study Of Amphibians In Tennessee, William H. Redmond Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Range maps and descriptive, taxonomic, and habitat information are provided for 20 species of frogs and 41 species of salamanders. The environmental setting of Tennessee is described in terms of geology, physiography, climate, drainages, soils, vegetation, and ecoregions. For the purposes of the analyses, a grid cell pattern containing 122 sampling units is used, and the amphibian fauna is organized into three faunal groups. These groups are frog species, salamander species, and all species grouped together as amphibians. The results of a G-test for the frequency distribution of range limits fitted to a Poisson distribution suggest a clumped dispersion pattern …

Investigations Of Balsam Woolly Aphid - Fraser Fir Interaction: Feeding Site Characteristics And Wound Response, Christopher Eagar

Doctoral Dissertations

Young, vigorously growing Fraser firs have exhibited a lower degree of susceptibility to balsam woolly aphid infestations than mature, mixed stands. This study investigated the relationship between balsam woolly aphid feeding site preference and bark morphological features, plus how these morphological features varied with stem size, age, growth rate, percent live crown and stand structure characteristics. Investigations were also conducted on the wound healing processes within the bark of Fraser fir as well as on how the aphid might interfere with these processes. Sampling was performed in the stands considered to be representative of anticipated conditions for the next generation …