Forest Sciences Commons^™

Animal Conservation In St. Louis, Kate O'Sullivan

Undergraduate Research Symposium

St. Louis has a multitude of organizations involved in the natural sciences. But how many of them actually contribute towards animal conservation? The St. Louis Zoo is an organization that focuses a lot of its effort on presentation, so how does that impact the funds that go towards actually saving the animals? I plan to dive into the different animal-based organizations in St. Louis and its surrounding areas, as well as discuss the positives and negatives of each organization. Furthermore, I will provide examples from several sources that I have been reviewing all year to support my claims. I plan …

Quantifying The Ecological Effects Of Salix Fragilis On Riparian Habitat In Kittitas County, Washington, Landon Shaffer

All Master's Theses

Invasive species threaten plant community structure and function globally. Riparian areas, the zone near streams where water influences vegetation, are especially sensitive to invasive species colonization, suffering large-scale shifts in community composition. Salix fragilis (crack willow) is a nonnative riparian species abundant in the lower elevation tributaries of central Washington. Some speculate whether this willow should be listed as invasive in Washington, despite a lack of regional supporting evidence. I studied riparian communities dominated by either S. fragilis or native species in the Kittitas Valley and measured biodiversity, quantified differences in solar attenuation, and compared leaf decomposition rates to learn …

A Conservation Model: Costa Rican Conservation Strategies Effectively Preserve Their Threatened Primates, Ryan Belmont

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The wildlife of Costa Rica has experienced various anthropogenic threats over the last century including climate change and agricultural expansion. The mantled howler monkey (Alloutta palliata), Central American spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator), and the Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) are Costa Rica’s native primates that face several anthropogenic threats such as deforestation for agriculture and climate change. In response to increased threats to its four native species of non-human primates, Costa Rica has implemented effective governmental conservation tactics such as the Payments for Environmental Services program, ecotourism …

National Wildlife Federation Habitat Certification: A Collaboration With Fairborn?, Alexis Knick, Amanda Taylor

Runkle Woods Symposia

Mandy Taylor and Alexis Knick from the Fairborn Environmental Advisory Board discuss their mission to draft environmental sustainability and resilience plans and how Wright State can help contribute and partner with their mission.

Keynote Address: Seasonal Changes In The Avian Community Of The Wright State Woods, Jeffrey L. Peters

Runkle Woods Symposia

Dr. Jeffrey Peters is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Wright State University. He earned his B.S. in Biology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For his M.S. in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology at Frostburg State University in Maryland, Dr. Peters used DNA analyses to examine mating strategies in a species of duck, the Gadwall. Continuing his genetics research, he studied geographic variation in ducks for his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Peters continued this work at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, as a post-doctoral researcher, and at Wright State University. During his career, …

The Insult Of Road Salt, Rebecca N. Tuttle, Benson Sparkman, Landon Shackleford, Audrey E. Mcgowin

Runkle Woods Symposia

Wright State students Abby Tuttle, Benson Sparkman, and Landon Shackleford present their undergraduate research on the high chloride levels in the Wright State Woods, it's soil and water, caused by the use of winter road salt.

Economics Of Conservation And The Application To The Runkle Woods, Indigenous American Cultural Student Association, Brad Kerry, Eliza Hendrix, Mateo Bush, Ryan Diza

Runkle Woods Symposia

Student Eliza Hendrix presents a brief history of local Native American culture to give context to Adjunct Professor Brad Kerry's portion of the presentation focusing on conservation through an economic lens.

Welcome, Audrey E. Mcgowin

Runkle Woods Symposia

The introduction to the 6th Annual Runkle Woods Symposium given by Audrey McGowin.

Woods Symposium 2023 Program, Wright State University

Runkle Woods Symposia

The program for the 6th annual Wright State University Runkle Woods Symposium that took place on November 17, 2023

Bryophyte (Sl) Growth And Environmental Factors Along An Altitudinal Gradient On Cerro Gaital, El Valle, Coclé, Panamá, Julian Grace-Martin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research on bryophytes (SL) in the tropics has been lacking compared with the high number of species found there and the potential benefit of bryophytes (SL) as indicators of pollutants and other forms of human disturbance. This study investigated whether or not bryophyte (SL) growth patterns showed relation when compared with environmental factors on the mountain Cerro Gaital in El Valley, Panamá. Whether or not bryophytes (SL) are present, extent of the area covered by their growth, and height of their growth are all aspects of bryophyte (SL) growth that were used. In this study, these three aspects are compared …

Effects Of Large Wood Additions On Basal Resources, Macroinvertebrates, And Ecosystem Processes In The Narraguagus River, Maine, Val Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ecological restoration is an increasingly common practice across ecosystems, and current practices aim to restore the biological and physical processes underlying ecosystem function, often for the sake of endangered higher-level consumers. Studies of restoration outcomes often report few or inconsistent ecological changes, and monitoring of restoration projects rarely measures ecological processes. Monitoring also usually measures outcomes at a single scale, despite the prevalence of scale- dependent phenomena across ecosystems. My thesis uses measurements of ecological processes to assess restoration response and evaluates responses across multiple scales. I focus here on a long-term large wood addition project on the Narraguagus River …

Improving The Land Trust Model’S Impact On Environmental Conservation In Northern California, Peter Talbot

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, the land trust sector of California and much of the United States has operated with a dollars and acres mentality that has prioritized fundraising as a result of acreage protected. Within California, nearly 5.8 million acres of land have been protected by 132 land trusts throughout the state. To accommodate for the diverse cross-section of land and the many needs of the population, land trusts take on numerous shapes and sizes. A unique aspect of this diversity is the rich agricultural and natural spaces found throughout the state. This mix of land and variety of land uses has …

The Response Of An Avian Community To Intercropping And Forest Management Practices In A Private Working Pine Forest, Rebecca Doyne Bracken

Theses and Dissertations

Within managed pine forest systems, a plethora of bird species exist throughout the lifecycle of a stand akin to what may be experienced through post-disturbance regeneration in a natural forest system. I sought to address how breeding avian communities shift across time in response to stand aging and forest management, evaluate species-specific responses to stand conditions, investigate the responses of at-risk avian species to forest management, and determine avian non-breeding, over-wintering presence in a managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forest. I conducted breeding bird point count and vegetation surveys within five stands of privately owned and managed pine forest in …

Pasturelands As Natural Climate Solutions: A Socioecological Study Of Tree Carbon And Beef Production Trade-Offs, Bela Starinchak

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Forest restoration is the most effective natural climate solution, with the potential to sequester 37% of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) needed to reach the Paris climate mitigation goal. Cattle pastures offer an underutilized opportunity to increase global forest restoration efforts, improve biodiversity, and maximize carbon storage through the adoption of management strategies that prioritize the incorporation of trees into pasturelands. However, remote estimations of tree carbon storage in pastoral systems have never been field-verified and their accuracy is unclear. Furthermore, the effect of increased trees on cattle production is understudied across biomes. Lastly, the restoration potential of these …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, Sarah Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2022-2023

Mycorrhizal Fungi And Reforestation In An Eastern Lowland Rainforest Of Madagascar, Sophia Gibby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Most terrestrial plants worldwide make associations with mycorrhizal fungi, yet the fungal diversity of Madagascar is vastly unknown. This research project is a preliminary investigation into the mycorrhizal status of 19 tree species in and near Ranomafana National Park (RNP), a lowland tropical forest on the southeast coast of Madagascar. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization in these species was studied in root samples under the microscope in the laboratory of Centre ValBio (CVB). The degree of AM infection was assessed for three study areas: one directly adjacent to a protected area and two reforestation sites supported by CVB. For the 19 …

Community Participation And Perspectives Of Ambondrolava Mangrove Restoration Project, Nadine Shannon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Madagascar’s mangrove forests are intertidal ecosystems that provide numerous valuable ecosystem services but are nonetheless under pressure from large amounts of deforestation. On the southwestern coast of Madagascar, the village of Ambondrolava practices community led management of the mangrove and its resources. This research project studied the evolution of the mangrove area using GIS data, and investigated, through interviews, the relationship between the local community of Ambondrolava and the organizations that manage the mangrove ecosystem. From 2000 to 2018, the zone of the mangrove has experienced a net loss in area every year, despite reforestation efforts. Most community members interviewed …

Agroforestry For The Future: Motivations Behind Tasmanian Farmers Planting Trees, Josh Lipp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agroforestry is the act of combining farming and tree planting, and many Tasmanian farmers are starting to plant trees on their properties for multiple reasons. Through conducting 9 interviews with farmers and researchers and visiting field sites, 3 main themes were identified to answer the question: why are Tasmanian farmers planting trees, and what are the benefits and downsides to agroforestry? Interviews help us understand farmers’ perceptions of agroforestry, and field data collection will prove the benefits of agroforestry in the future. Tasmania was chosen as the location of study as it is a state in Australia that largely focuses …

Assessing Functional Biodiversity For The Future Of Plants, Planet, And People, Ali Loker

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Biodiversity plays a critical role in supporting life in global ecosystems and its links to ecosystem services and sustainability are recognized by scientific and non-scientific communities. Growing awareness of the importance of biodiversity is accelerated by discussions of its loss, and how to design interventions to conserve and mitigate a biodiversity crisis. Stakeholders are funding and implementing assessment strategies at various scales to help direct conservation efforts. There is also growing interest in measuring and communicating biodiversity outcomes.

Functional biodiversity characterizes the multiplicity of life forms into groups based on their diverse contributions to natural and agro-ecosystems. Assessing functional biodiversity …

Linking Soil Properties To Originally Wooded And Afforested Areas, Ashton A. Crowe, Matthew Laun

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Linking Soil Properties to Originally Wooded and Afforested Areas

Matthew Laun, Ashton Crowe

Mentor: I. P. Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture Murray State University, KY, USA

Abstract

Afforestation, adding an artificial forest to a piece of land that has been barren of trees for a significant amount of time, has some seriously huge impacts on the environment. These effects can be seen as an increase in the soil organic matter, a decrease in compaction, and enhancement of porosity. Therefore, the soil can support more diverse microbes and fungal communities leading to better micro and macro nutrient transfers between plants. This …

Carnivore And Ungulate Occurrence In A Fire-Prone Region, Sara J. Moriarty-Graves

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Increasing fire size and severity in the western United States causes changes to ecosystems, species’ habitat use, and interspecific interactions. Wide-ranging carnivore and ungulate mammalian species and their interactions may be influenced by an increase in fire activity in northern California. Depending on the fire characteristics, ungulates may benefit from burned habitat due to an increase in forage availability, while carnivore species may be differentially impacted, but ultimately driven by bottom-up processes from a shift in prey availability. I used a three-step approach to estimate the single-species occupancy of four large mammal species: mountain lion (Puma concolor), coyote …

Effects Of Climate Change And Landscape-Scale Forest Management On Avian Communities, Abundance, And Nest Success In The Appalachian Mountains, Hannah L. Clipp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Birds are integral components of ecosystems and account for billions of dollars in tangible benefits to humans. As such, recent continental declines of bird species have ecological and economic consequences, providing the impetus for my dissertation research. I identified knowledge gaps and proposed novel questions about how birds in the Appalachian Mountains are influenced by changing environmental conditions due to climate change and forest management. The Appalachian Mountains encompass an important biogeographical region with high conservation value due to its myriad habitats and corresponding bird species diversity. Thus, there is a critical need to evaluate the effects of shifting climate …

Competition And Herbivory Influence The Survival, Growth, And Physiology Of Native Tree Seedlings In The Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Savanna-Woodland, James D. Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Terrestrial plant communities are shaped by competition for resources, herbivory, and abiotic processes. Savanna systems represent a dynamic coexistence of contrasting life forms (grasses and trees) shaped by competition and disturbance. The Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Savanna-Woodland (KIBSW) is described as an open woodland of shade intolerant species; however, climatic, and edaphic conditions can support closed-canopy forest. After European pioneer settlement (c1750-1800), over 99% of “savanna-woodlands” have been lost. KIBSW remnants are experiencing a recruitment failure, leading to a dominance shift in tree communities. I researched how tree-grass competition and mammalian herbivory influence KIBSW regeneration and maintenance. The KIBSW does not …

Análisis Ambiental Y Socioeconómico De La Inversión En Vías Terciarias En Colombia Mediante El Uso De Herramientas Geoespaciales Desde El Año 2016 Hasta El 2022, Yeray Sofía Junco Salgado

Ingeniería Ambiental y Sanitaria

En Colombia, la inversión en infraestructura vial terciaria ha emergido como una estrategia fundamental para potenciar la accesibilidad en zonas rurales y estimular el progreso económico y social. No obstante, estos proyectos ostentan una intricada relación con aspectos ambientales y socioeconómicos que requieren un análisis más profundo. Esta investigación se enfoca en examinar si existe una correlación entre los proyectos de vías terciarias y la transformación de las coberturas boscosas, así como los indicadores de pobreza rural. Para ello, se ha compilado información del Sistema Electrónico de Contratación Pública (SECOP) y se ha desarrollado un eficiente dashboard geoespacial que posibilita …

Effects Of Forest Reclamation And Landscape Features On Avian Occupancy, Species Richness, And Abundance In Appalachia, Rebecca N. Davenport

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a recently developed coal mining reclamation method that emphasizes best management practices in forestry, such as the planting of native trees and shrubs. Although the FRA is expected to benefit wildlife, no studies have empirically examined the effects of the FRA on avian species. My study aimed to identify which reclamation approaches and/or landscape features promote breeding songbirds, particularly mature forest avian guilds and species of conservation need. I conducted point count surveys in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern West Virginia and assessed differences in avian occupancy, species richness, and species abundance between four …

The Long-Term Effects Of Wildfire Severity On Oak-Pine Communities And Their Microclimates, Scott Glenn Culbert

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

In the eastern U.S., fire-dependent tree species have historically dominated upland forest communities, but are now experiencing widespread regeneration challenges as a result of 20^th century fire suppression policies, and are being replaced by mesophytic species. Wildfires that contain areas of high burn severity may provide an important means of mitigating these challenges and facilitating fire-dependent species regeneration and recruitment into larger size classes. One mechanism by which high-severity fire can accomplish this is by modifying understory microclimate characteristics to be more conducive to these species’ growth. A wildfire within the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, USA, provided the …

Indicadores De Sustentabilidad Vba Mesmis, Geovanny Andres Martinez Jimenez

Ciencias Administrativas, Económicas y Contables

El presente libro se ha diseñado con el propósito de que el lector tenga una experiencia satisfactoria al momento de emplear los indicadores VBA MESMIS. Por tanto, el documento se estructura de manera minuciosa en dos apartados; el primero que trata acerca de los criterios de diagnóstico, en el que se plantea un ejemplo con información de tres unidades productivas, con el fin de i) desarrollar los indicadores correspondientes a los criterios; ii) conocer el nivel de desempeño de los indicadores; iii) realizar un análisis general y proponer recomendaciones para el fortalecimiento de la sustentabilidad de las unidades productivas; en …

Wrack Lines Volume 22, Number 2, Fall-Winter 2022-2023, Nancy C. Balcom, Juliana Barrett, Judy Benson, Ben Crnic, Sto Len

Wrack Lines

With the theme, "Looking Ahead: People and Projects Shaping the Future," the Fall-Winter 2022-2023 leads with the first in what will be a series of articles about offshore wind development impacting Connecticut. That is followed by the inspiring story of how a dying forest was replanted for climate resilience. Next, a profile of longtime marine educator Tim Visel tells about his lasting impact on Connecticut schools and students. Lastly, the complex challenge of dealing with Contaminants of Emerging Concern is examined, with descriptions of how Sea Grant is involved and the particularly troublesome group of substances called PFAS.

Callery Pear Allelopathy Study, Michaela J. Woods, Jonathan T. Bauer, Dena Schaeffer, Ryan W. Mcewan

Five Rivers MetroParks Collaboration Data Archive

No abstract provided.