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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
Conifer Encroachment And Removal In A Northern California Oak Woodland: Influences On Ecosystem Physiology And Biodiversity, Gabriel S. Goff
Conifer Encroachment And Removal In A Northern California Oak Woodland: Influences On Ecosystem Physiology And Biodiversity, Gabriel S. Goff
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands across their range are becoming increasingly threatened by encroaching Douglas-fir encroachment (Pseudotsuga menziesii) as a result of fire exclusion. Using water potential (Ψ), stomatal conductance (gs), xylem water stable isotopes (dD), and three metrics of biodiversity, this study investigates the effects of conifer encroachment and removal at the ecosystem-scale. The study was set in an Oregon white oak woodland in northern California and compared three levels of encroachment before and after conifer removal. Findings indicate that heavily encroached stands have the least amount of water stress and gas …
Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley
Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley
Senior Projects Spring 2019
Many avian species overwinter in eastern North America; however, studies on bird populations are rarely undertaken during this critical survival time, and little is known as to their habitat preferences and foraging behavior. In this observational study, we performed a survey of birds overwintering in the Hudson Valley’s temperate, primarily-deciduous forests, assessing avian populations’ habitat preferences through the vegetative structural variables surrounding overwintering birds as they forage. Our results suggest that high canopy cover is critically important to predicting overwintering bird occupancy on a microhabitat scale. Moreover, overwintering birds preferentially occupy forest plots not dominated by sugar maples, in spite …