Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
Quantifying And Predicting Drought Performance In Woody Semi-Arid Seedlings In South Texas: Implications For Enhancing Drought Resilience In Restoration, Zarek Contreras
Quantifying And Predicting Drought Performance In Woody Semi-Arid Seedlings In South Texas: Implications For Enhancing Drought Resilience In Restoration, Zarek Contreras
Theses and Dissertations
Increasingly frequent and severe droughts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge have been observed to cause large variation in species-specific mortality patterns in young seedlings, spanning 6 – 43 % mortality within the first year. To understand the underlying mechanisms behind this, we subjected seedlings of five woody semi-arid species (Celtis pallida, Forestiera angustifolia, Sideroxylon celastrinum, Phaulothalmnus spinescens, and Zanthoxylum fagara) to a point-of-no-return drought experiment in order to (1) identify potential metrics capable of predicting species wilting and mortality responses, and (2) to understand the underlying mechanisms that correspond to species drought performance …
Discerning Competitive Vs. Facilitative Relationships Of Weeds On Forest Restoration Efforts At La Sal Del Rey, Tx, Mylen A. Arias
Discerning Competitive Vs. Facilitative Relationships Of Weeds On Forest Restoration Efforts At La Sal Del Rey, Tx, Mylen A. Arias
Theses and Dissertations
Dryland ecosystems need effective restoration strategies to address severe degradation. It is often assumed that voluntary forb weeds either compete with or have no effect on native seedlings. In contrast, theory and empirical work suggest a potential facilitative role for such forb weeds. We conducted a manipulative weed exclusion experiment at a semi-arid site in South Texas targeted for large scale forest restoration and subsequently dominated by early successional forb weeds to discern the net effect of these weeds on the growth and survival of target thornscrub tree and shrub seedlings. Overall, weed presence did not significantly affect seedling mortality …
Native Plant Allelopathy: A Potential Approach To Limit Invasive Grass Encroachment In Thorn Forest Restoration, Emily A. Mullins
Native Plant Allelopathy: A Potential Approach To Limit Invasive Grass Encroachment In Thorn Forest Restoration, Emily A. Mullins
Theses and Dissertations
Less than 5% of the Tamaulipan thorn forest remains in the United States. For this reason, there have been many attempts at restoration of this ecosystem. Oftentimes these attempts are unsuccessful due to the high prevalence of invasive African grasses that outcompete the seedlings. In an effort to improve the efficacy of these restoration efforts, native plant allelopathy has been examined for its ability to exclude invasive guineagrass. Native species were surveyed and selected species were tested for allelopathy in laboratory bioassays. The species that exhibited allelopathy in the laboratory were then evaluated in pot experiments for their ability to …