Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons^™

Remote Sensing Characterization Of Ecosystem Structure And Functional Types To Inform On Biodiversity Conservation In The Lowland Chocó Rainforest, Derek Tesser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on the utilization of remote sensing techniques to characterize ecosystem structure and functional types to inform on biodiversity conservation. This work is motivated by a guiding hypothesis that increased degradation of tropical forest biodiversity due to human activity results in in measurable changes in ecosystem processes that can be detected using remote sensing technologies. Throughout this dissertation, testing of aspects of this hypothesis involve comparing areas with varying degrees of human-induced degradation in a biodiverse tropical ecoregion, the lowland Chocó rainforest of Ecuador. Remote sensing data is used to evaluate changes in vegetation structure, thermal regimes, and …

Modeling The Effect Of Neighborhood Competition On Tree Diameter Growth In The Pacific Northwest Coast Range, Htet Lin Naing

Theses and Dissertations

Trees compete for various resources such as sunlight, water, and nutrients, which can be expressed as numerical terms, called competition indices (CI). Competition between individual trees is correlated with their growth and mortality. Therefore, CIs are used as independent variables to develop, improve and modify growth and yield models. This study was conducted to test the effect of neighborhood competition on tree diameter growth among Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg) and red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.), in the Pacific Northwest Coast Range, USA. After testing seven distance-independent CIs and three distance-dependent …

Prescribed Fire Use Among Black Landowners In The Red Hills Region, Usa, Cynthia Twyford Fowler, La’ Portia J. Perkins, Adam Coates, J. Kevin Hiers, Seth W. Bigelow

Faculty Scholarship

The Red Hills Region of southern Alabama, northern Florida, and southwestern Georgia is one of the most prominent areas in the United States for conducting prescribed fire research and is the birthplace of fire ecology. The culture of prescribed burning in the Red Hills has been influenced by multiple ethnic groups, including the Seminole and Creek nations, Black landowners, and White researchers. Given the distinctive reliance of the region on prescribed fire, it is noteworthy that the combined issues of Black land loss, underrepresentation, and incentives for using prescribed fire on private lands in the southeastern United States have generated …

Patterns And Drivers Of Wiregrass Gap Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill.) Woodland Succession As Part Of Restoration Efforts, Armin Weise

All Theses

Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) communities are widespread throughout the Southeastern United States with a dominant understory vegetation of wiregrass (Aristida spp.) in most of its range. A small area in central South Carolina that is naturally free of wiregrass is called the “Wiregrass Gap”. Here, the understory vegetation is dominated by bluestems grasses (Andropogon spp. and Schizachyrium spp.) which drive the disturbance regime of frequent low-intensity fire. The successful establishment of these grasses is key for longleaf pine woodland restoration efforts in this region, but few resources detail the ecological drivers at play that enable successful restoration in these longleaf …

Do Species Matter? Examining The Niche Of White Ash (Fraxinus Americana L.) And Estimating Potential Subcanopy Effects Of Its Loss In North-Temperate Forests, Elizabeth Anne Studer

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

To understand the downstream consequences of the extinction of a species, we must understand its role in an ecosystem. With the impending extirpation of ash (Fraxinus spp.) due to the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), understanding the role of ash trees is critical to predicting whether its loss will precipitate further species declines and/or ecosystem functions. We evaluated whether subcanopy microbial, invertebrate, and floral communities under four tree species (white ash, American beech, yellow birch, sugar maple) and on two soil hydropedological types (Bh podzol and Typical podzol) varied in species richness, composition, and functional traits in a factorial …

Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Covid-19 Lockdown Impact On The Land Surface Temperatures Of Different Land Cover Types In Louisiana, Priscilla Loh, Yaw Twumasi, Zhu H. Ning, Matilda Anokye, Diana B. Frimpong, Judith Oppong, Abena B. Asare-Ansah, Rechael Naa Dedei Armah, Caroline Y. Apraku

Student Presentations

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to life on the entire planet, necessitating the imposition of a lockdown mechanism that restricted people’s movements to stop the disease’s spread. This period experienced a decline in air pollution emissions and some environmental changes, offering a rare opportunity to understand the effects of fewer human activities on the earth’s temperature. Hence, this study compares the changes in Land Surface Temperature (LST) that were observed prior to the pandemic (March & April 2019) and during the pandemic lockdown (March & April 2020) of three parishes in Louisiana. The data for this study was …

Patterns, Mechanisms, And Characterization Of Carbon Cycling Stability Following Partial Forest Disturbance, Kayla C. Mathes

Theses and Dissertations

Among the most essential questions in the era of climate change is how the forest carbon (C) cycle will respond to an increase in the extent of biotic disturbances from insects and pathogens. While research has focused on stand-replacing disturbance regimes, less is known about C cycling stability following partial disturbances that produce gradients of disturbance severity. Belowground C cycling responses to disturbance are especially poorly understood, even though temperate forest soils contain up to 50% of total ecosystem C and soil respiration (R_s) accounts for more than half of temperate forest C loss. Interpreting trends and mechanisms …

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 …

Economics Of Maple Syrup Production In Kentucky, Bobby Thapa

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Maple syrup production is traditionally associated with New England regions in the United States, but there is growing interest in expanding it to other regions with suitable environmental conditions, including Kentucky. This study presents an in-depth analysis of the potential production and economic impacts of maple syrup in Kentucky using a multi-method approach. First, the study applies a stochastic production model to assess the effects of climatic and tree variables on maple syrup yield. The results reveal that several variables, including the number of maple trees, taps, temperatures, tapping season length, and time, significantly affect maple syrup yield. Second, input-output …

Knobcone Pine Response To Shading From Competing Chaparral Shrubs Following Stand-Replacing Wildfire, Sean T. Lindley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In northern California, fire regimes are shifting towards more frequent and larger severe wildfire. There is growing concern that this shift poses a threat to biodiversity in the form of cover type change at the landscape scale, resulting in the extirpation of some species in favor of +AD617:AD649well-adapted ones. In northern California, mature serotinous conifers, such as knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata), and resprouting shrub species easily regenerate in severe patches of any size. There is no general consensus regarding the effects of shrub competition on conifer recruitment; conifer response varies with shade tolerance and other abiotic factors. Knobcone …

Investigating Tribal Co-Management Of Caifornia’S Public Lands, Zachary Joseph Erickson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Collaborative management with Indigenous groups is becoming increasingly common as many Indigenous communities continue to assert their inherent rights to self-determination. Due to the removal from and dispossession of lands, tribes often rely on access to public properties for various uses including ceremonies and gathering of culturally important plants. Some believe that the absence of indigenous involvement has also led to a decline in both the quality and abundance of culturally important resources, as well as limited the intergenerational transfer of traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK. There is increasing momentum toward re-engaging tribes as stewards of their ancestral lands through …

Assessing The Recovery Of Forest Understory Vegetation After Clearcut Logging Across A 445-Year Chronosequence, Molly Smith Metok

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The conversion of natural forested lands to managed forests has reduced the amount of older, structurally diverse forests worldwide. In conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest (USA) – where the understory plant communities comprise only 1% of forest biomass but represent 90% of the plant species richness – the long-term impacts of timber harvesting are not fully understood. I used a chronosequence of forests in southwestern Oregon that ranged from 25 to 445 years of age to compare changes in plant communities in logged (i.e., managed) stands with that of stands in late succession and old growth conditions. The chronosequence …

Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson

Scripps Senior Theses

We are experiencing a climate crisis that must be confronted with strategic mitigation. Pomona College contributes to the climate crisis through its emissions for which there is a baseline record. However there is no baseline record of the climate mitigation currently performed by the trees on Pomona’s campus through carbon storage. This study seeks to determine a current baseline quantity of carbon stored and sequestrated by Pomona’s trees as well as possible courses of climate mitigation for Pomona College to take. Initial information gathering was conducted through interviews with several stakeholders. This study was conducted using data collected prior to …

Modeling Growth And Stress Factors For Converted Silvopasture Systems In The Missouri Ozarks, Bailee N. Suedmeyer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Silvopasture systems are becoming increasingly popular among sustainable agriculture ranchers, due to the increase in knowledge of benefits to the cattle and ability to grow cool season grasses beneath the canopy. This project focuses on the forest crop aspect of silvopasture systems from monitoring of the health of the trees over time to recommendations for thinning management to keep it functioning as viable silvopasture. The study site consists of five acres of upland hardwood forest area in Southern Missouri with 18 monumented fixed area plots. Arial and ground data was collected at each plot throughout the growing season, along with …

Effects Of Prescribed Fire Regimes On White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Browse, Forage, And Nutrient Availability In The Pineywoods Ecoregion Of Texas, Wyatt L. Bagwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fire is a management tool for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) habitat, influencing browse availability, herbaceous production, and nutrient content. In 2020 and 2021, this study utilized 46 plots across East Texas to assess these habitat components. A stem count index survey method was used to assess browse utilization prior to April in both years, and preferred browse species were clipped and analyzed for nutrient availability, and herbaceous production was also measured. Additionally, white-tailed deer population data, browse survey data, and recent fire history were obtained from five different wildlife management areas to examine their relationship. Deer had preferences …

Flora Of Doe Mountain Recreation Area, Johnson County, Tennessee, Benjamin Mccullough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A botanical inventory of Doe Mountain Recreation Area (DMRA) in northeastern Tennessee was conducted to help guide conservation-based management. A total of 484 species were found in DMRA, comprising 94 families, and 285 genera, 10 species listed in the state rare plant list, and 76 exotic species. Two species, Liatris virgata and Lycopodiella inundata, were new state records. Water in the Lycopodiella seep was an order of magnitude more acid than at other sites. An analysis of the wildland-urban interface showed that only 13% of the area was classified as uninhabited. The inventory-invasion index, introduced to quantify the relative …

Soil Quality Indicators And Vegetation Responses Following Ecological Restoration Thinning Of Ponderosa Pine On Three Soil Parent Material Types Under Grazing And Non-Grazing In Northern Arizona, Christopher Macdonald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was performed in a northern Arizona ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C., Lawson) forest. The objectives were to a) increase understanding of long-term vegetation responses to ecological restoration treatments on three soils types, with and without grazing, b) evaluate the responses soil physical, chemical, and biological properties to restoration treatments, with and without grazing, c) determine the utility of measured soil quality indicators to informing risks to sustainable soils management in southwestern ponderosa pine forests.

There were no significant differences in soil bulk density by soil type, treatment type, or grazing treatment. No significant differences …

Efficacy Of Chemical And Biological Stump Treatments For The Control Of Heterobasidion Occidentale Infection Of California Abies Concolor, Adrian Luis Poloni

Master's Theses

We conducted an experimental evaluation of treatments to limit Heterobasidion occidentale infection of white fir (Abies concolor) stumps and wounds in California mixed conifer forests. We tested the efficacy of urea, borate, and a mixture of two locally collected Phlebiopsis gigantea strains in preventing pathogen colonization of fir stumps and separately, urea and borate as infection controls on experimental stem wounds. These were paired with a laboratory test on ~100 g wood blocks with and without a one-week delay between inoculation and treatment. Urea, borates, and Phlebiopsis treatments all significantly reduced the stump surface area that was colonized …

Diversity-Productivity Relationships In Forests Of The Southeastern United States: Leveraging National Inventory Data And Tree Functional Traits, Elizabeth Baach

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have evaluated the relationship between biodiversity and productivity, with general trends suggesting a positive relationship. While most studies only use species richness, this study also analyzed how productivity changes with functional diversity and Shannon’s diversity index. Functional diversity gives important context to the examination of biodiversity-productivity relationships due to the direct link between organisms’ functional traits and their role in a given ecosystem. This study used data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database collected in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to estimate plot-level productivity and diversity. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the …

Climate Sensitive Diameter Growth Models For Major Tree Species In Mississippi, Sujan Subedi

Theses and Dissertations

Anticipated climate change and increasing wood demand require dependable diameter growth models for adaptive forest management. We used a mixed-effects modeling approach with Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to fit diameter growth models for loblolly pine, other softwood species (slash pine, shortleaf pine, and longleaf pine), sweetgum, and other hardwood (southern red oak, red maple, and water oak) species. Climatic variables coupled with individual tree attributes and competition factors improved climate insensitive models. Growth of loblolly pine and sweetgum was positively correlated with mean temperature of the coldest month. Mean temperature of the warmest month negatively influenced diameter growth …

Fighting Food Insecurity In New York City: What Role For Street Trees?, Kristen Cooney

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

There is growing recognition that urban forests have the potential to combat food insecurity via their edible parts, namely fruits, berries, and nuts. I researched New York City’s street trees, by locating trees with edible parts within food insecure communities, to analyze this potential.

Historical And Future Role Of Wilmar Palm Oil In Deforestation Of Indonesian Borneo, Sam Coroniti Iii

Senior Theses

Borneo is one of the most biologically diverse locations on Earth, with thousands of endemic and rare species forming unique and intricate relationships throughout the ecosystems. Orangutans, elephants, leopards, tigers, rhinos, and many more species call this island their home, although population levels for all of the mentioned species have been in seriously decline over recent decades. The loss of primary rainforest that provides the most critical habitat for these species has occurred at the highest rate that has ever been seen on Earth, leading to extreme land conversion and greenhouse gas producing operations. The primary driver of these actions …

Timber Talk, Vol. 60, No. 1, March 2022

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber market reports

Hardwood lumber prices

Log matchmaking program launch, Heather Kingery

Save the date! – “Managing CarbonThrough Healthy Forests in theSouthern Great Plains”

Upcoming NFS cedar managementand utilization workshop series

Timber sales

Trading post

Disturbance Reduces Fungal White-Rot Litter Mat Cover In A Wet Subtropical Forest, D. Jean Lodge, Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Grizelle González, Mareli Sánchez-Julia, Sarah Stankavich

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Fungi that bind leaf litter into mats and produce white-rot via degradation of lignin and other aromatic compounds influence forest nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Extent of white-rot litter mats formed by basidiomycete fungi in Puerto Rico decreased in response to disturbances—a simulated hurricane treatment executed by canopy trimming and debris addition in 2014, a drought in 2015, a treefall, and two hurricanes 10 days apart in September 2017. Percent fungal litter mat cover ranged from 0.4% after Hurricanes Irma and Maria to a high of 53% in forest with undisturbed canopy prior to the 2017 hurricanes, with means mostly …

Geospatial Data Trees 1981, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files for Old-Growth Deciduous Forest Dynamics Archive: Hueston Woods

Location and demographic data collected for each individual tree in 1981 in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. These maps were digitized from the historical field maps to a GIS shapefile for each sampling year. Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983. Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Ohio_South_FIPS_3402 (meters).

Ecological Effects Of Prescribed Burning, Mechanical Cutting, And Post-Treatment Wildfire For Restoration Of Pinus Albicaulis, Enzo Paolo Martelli Moya

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The field of ecological restoration is growing rapidly, increasing the need for reliable and generalizable information on the impacts of management interventions aimed to be restorative. Prescribed burning and mechanical cutting have been proposed as primary strategies for restoration. However, there is limited information on their efficacy and effects in subalpine forest types, suggesting that monitoring to inform adaptive management is a priority need. I used data from a 15-year, replicated before-after-control-impact (BACI) study on Pinus albicaulis (whitebark pine) restoration to assess the ecological effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting, with and without subsequent unplanned wildfire, as well as …

Geospatial Data Permanent Plot, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files for Old-Growth Deciduous Forest Dynamics Archive: Hueston Woods

Permanent plot GIS shapefile that measures 100m x 105m and consists of 420 contiguous 5m x 5m subplots. There are 21 transects that run from south to north and 20 subplots per transect that run east to west. This downloadable data is a zipped file containing 8 shapefile building blocks. Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983. Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Ohio_South_FIPS_3402 (meters).

Field Maps 2022, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files for Old-Growth Deciduous Forest Dynamics Archive: Hueston Woods

Historical field map scans (2022) for the permanent 100m x 105m research plot in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve.

Geospatial Data Trees 1994, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files for Old-Growth Deciduous Forest Dynamics Archive: Hueston Woods

Location and demographic data collected for each individual tree in 1994 in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. These maps were digitized from the historical field maps to a GIS shapefile for each sampling year. Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983. Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Ohio_South_FIPS_3402 (meters).

Geospatial Data Trees 2000, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files for Old-Growth Deciduous Forest Dynamics Archive: Hueston Woods

Location and demographic data collected for each individual tree in 2000 in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. These maps were digitized from the historical field maps to a GIS shapefile for each sampling year. Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983. Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Ohio_South_FIPS_3402 (meters).