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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Role Of Leaf Decomposition In Macroinvertebrate Colonization, Bethany Mabel Lian Schorr, Kevin Geedey
The Role Of Leaf Decomposition In Macroinvertebrate Colonization, Bethany Mabel Lian Schorr, Kevin Geedey
Independent Research Projects
Decomposition plays an important ecological role in carbon and nutrient cycling that supply food and energy resources to food webs. This study investigates the potential role that leaf decomposition of different leaf species may play in macroinvertebrate assemblages in upper Midwest streams. We hypothesized that the different decomposition rates experienced with different leaf species and in different streams would have an effect on invertebrate colonization due to the variance in nutrient availability. Due to altered fire regimes and other influences, forests are experiencing declines in fire-adapted, heliophytic species such as oaks and compositional shifts toward shade-tolerant, mesophytic species such as …
A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum
A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum
Celebration of Learning
Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …
"Over The River And Through The Woods": An Analysis Of Understory And Canopy Plant Diversity In Urban Riparian Forests, Carlisle R. Evans Peck
"Over The River And Through The Woods": An Analysis Of Understory And Canopy Plant Diversity In Urban Riparian Forests, Carlisle R. Evans Peck
Urban Forest Project
As population growth explodes and urban areas expand, studying the ecology of urban areas has become increasingly important. Urban development has been shown to drastically alter native habitats and to severely degrade biodiversity. However, urban landscapes also hold the potential to harbor and support valuable biodiversity especially if managed correctly. We studied the understory herbaceous plant and overstory tree canopy diversity of eight forested ravines in the small cities of Rock Island and Moline IL surrounded by a range of urban development intensity. The goal of the project was to determine whether or not the composition of the plant communities …