Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons^™

Disentangling Groundwater Dynamics At Oregon's Mckenzie River Headwaters, Taylor Nicole Salazar

Dissertations and Theses

Widespread mountain snowpack declines have been occurring across the western United States over the last century, and are increasing in duration and severity, with several record-breaking low-snowpack years in the last decade. In the Pacific Northwest, summer streamflow is largely a result of melting snow and groundwater discharge, as summers are typically dry and warm in this Mediterranean bioclimate, thus making spring-fed rivers critical for regional water resources. However, current trends and predictions in hydroclimate modeling indicate spring-fed rivers will experience reduced summer discharge driven by the increasingly larger impact of anthropogenic climate change (warming) on (decreased) mountain snowpack. A …

Simulation Of Monthly Mean And Monthly Base Flow Of Streamflow Using Random Forests For The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, 1901 To 2018, Benjamin J. Dietsch, William H. Asquith, Brian K. Breaker, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Wade H. Kress

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Improved simulations of streamflow and base flow for selected sites within and adjacent to the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area are important for modeling groundwater flow because surface-water flows have a substantial effect on groundwater levels. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was used to make monthly mean streamflow and base-flow predictions at 162 ungaged sites in the study area. Daily streamflow observations and computed base flow from 247 streamgages were used as the basis for the development of these RF models. RF …

Assessing The Impact Of Parallel Burnout Fires On Flank Rate Of Spread, Erik Borke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The effects of flank-parallel suppression fires on the local rate of spread (ROS) of freely burning headfires through fully cured homogeneous grass fuels are assessed. Data sets include: one thermal image stack of a prescribed burn recorded by drone, and a suite of simulation experiments carried out in Wildland Urban Interface Fire Dynamics Simulator (WFDS). A new approach to computing ROS, curvature proxy driven normals to convex polylines, was developed to carry out this analysis. ROS time series depicting flank acceleration of the prescribed burn and simulation experiments, observable under coarse and fine directional classification schemes respectively, are the primary …

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 …

The Effect Of Land-Cover/Land-Use And Habitat Fragmentation On Spatial Patterns Of Lyme Disease In The Eastern United States, Maria Elizabeth Topmiller

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Lyme disease has been of national concern for the past few decades. As our understanding of the role of landscape structure in epidemiology expands, it is essential to apply the principles of landscape ecology to the research of vector-borne and zoonotic disease. This study examined the strength of the relationship between land-cover class, degree of habitat fragmentation and county-level Lyme disease cases. Forest, agricultural, and urban land cover types were the categories of interest, while percent cover, edge density, and patch density were the landscape metric used to measure habitat amount and fragmentation. The general linear trends were modelled with …

Invasive Buckthorn Mapping: A Uav-Based Approach Utilizing Machine Learning, Gis, And Remote Sensing Techniques In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Vikranth Madeppa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An Invasive species is a species that is alien or non-native to the ecosystem which causes harm to economic, environmental, or human health (E.O. 13112 of Feb 3, 1999). Invasive species have posed a serious threat to ecosystems across the globe. These invasive species have impacts on the biodiversity and productivity of invaded forests. Remotely sensed data is a valuable resource for understanding and addressing issues related to invasive species. This study presents a novel approach for mapping the distribution of two invasive plant species, Common and Glossy Buckthorn, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), machine learning algorithms, geographic information systems …

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 …

Improvement Value Of Forest Resources By Use Of Cottonseed Protein Meal As A Bio-Based Wood Adhesive For Hardwood Plywood Products, Edward David Entsminger

Theses and Dissertations

Literature shows that production of cottonseed adhesives is feasible to develop an environmentally friendly and competitive bio-based wood adhesive. Defatted cottonseed and water-washed cottonseed meals were prepared from glandless cottonseed and were used in adhesive formulations to produce three-ply yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) plywood panels as the first objective. These two cottonseed meals were compared with the properties of plywood panels made with an adhesive formulated from a commercial soybean meal, as a control. Adhesive resins were prepared from each protein meal with sodium metabisulfite (Na2S2O5) and one of two polyamido-amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) wet strength agents, and the plywood panels were …

Quantifying Aboveground Biomass In A Tropical Forest Using A Lidar Waveform Weighted Allometric Model, Alejandro Rojas

Theses and Dissertations

Our knowledge of the distribution and amount of terrestrial above ground biomass (AGB) has increased using lidar technology. Recent advancements in satellite lidar has enabled global mapping of forest biomass and structure. However, there are large biases in satellite lidar estimates which impacts our understanding of carbon dynamics, particularly in tropical forests.

Ni-Meister et al. (2022) developed a lidar full waveform weighted height-based allometric model which produced very good results in temperate deciduous/conifer forest in the continental US. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this biomass model in an African tropical forest using the Land Vegetation and Ice …

Post-Fire Erosional And Hydrological Processes Promoting Debris Flow Initiation In A Douglas Fir And Western Hemlock Forest In The Riverside Burn Area, Oregon, Morena Nicole Hammer

Dissertations and Theses

Post-fire debris flows initiated by overland flow in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are largely undocumented. Instead, debris flows are typically initiated by shallow landslides that result in a mud slurry of water and sediments traveling downhill under the force of gravity. However, because of the Fall 2020 fires in Oregon, the typical initiation style and erosional patterns in burned catchments may have changed because of unusually high burn severity. Due to the intensity of these fires, we set out to determine how hydrologic processes and erosion occurred, when they occurred, and what process was primarily responsible for the erosion that …

Michigan Conifer Growers’ Perspectives On Disease Management, Emily S. Huff, Monique L. Sakalidis

Journal of Extension

A survey of commercial nursery and Christmas tree growers was implemented online and by mail in 2018 to understand disease issues and information preferences. Overall, the majority of the respondents reported that they prefer online sources of information and many are using Extension bulletins and sources. Cultural, chemical, and weed control methods were considered extremely effective by participants and very few used biological control methods to control disease. Participants identified spruce decline, boxwood blight, and hemlock woolly adelgid as emerging disease threats, so future information to growers should focus on identification and management of these threats.

Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington, Kristy A. Snyder

2022 Symposium

EWU contains a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees across its campus, providing several benefits. However, no comprehensive record exists of the total number, location, species, or ages of these trees. This knowledge can inform facilities of proper care for individual trees and can be used to estimate carbon sequestration on campus. Traditional on-the-ground methods for assessing trees require tree cores or clinometers, making trees susceptible to pests or disease and leading to inaccurate results. Remote sensing using lidar data is a noninvasive, more precise method to measure tree height and subsequently assess tree age. This poster explores using point …

Multi-Trophic Biodiversity Increases With Increasing Structural Complexity Of Forest Canopy, Ayanna St. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effects of forest canopy structural complexity on multi-trophic diversity is critical for conserving biodiversity and managing land sustainably. But multi-trophic diversity is often ignored when making decisions about land management due to lack of cost- and time-effective methods to evaluate it. Here, we explored a new method based on widely available remote sensing data to quantify canopy structural complexity and its relationships with multi-trophic biodiversity at landscape scale using 32 forested sites of the National Ecological Observatory Network. We investigated the influence of vertical and horizontal structural complexity of forest canopy on multi-trophic (primary producers, herbivores (beetles), omnivores …

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.

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 …

Lidar-Landsat Covariance For Predicting Canopy Fuels, Margaret D. Epstein

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Managing wildfires in the western United States is becoming increasingly complex. Visualizing and quantifying canopy structures allows fire managers to both plan for fire and track recovery. Light detecting and ranging, or LiDAR can measure forests in three dimensions, but has limited spatial and temporal coverage. LiDAR-Landsat covariance uses machine learning to fill in the spatial and temporal gaps of LiDAR coverage with supplemental Landsat imagery. However, in order to capture real forest dynamics, a model needs to be stable enough to detect long term trends, sensitive to episodic disturbance, and general enough to work on multiple landcovers. The purpose …

Bat Activity On West Virginia Mined Lands Restored Via The Forestry Reclamation Approach, Briana C. Snyder

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a practical guide to reforesting surface mined lands. Bats, as a unique group of species with declining populations, could benefit from this reforestation. In order to determine if the FRA is providing suitable bat foraging habitat, I surveyed bat activity at created depressional wetlands on 1-year old and 8-year old FRA restored lands (FRA1; FRA8), as well as at naturally formed wetlands in regenerating forest on traditionally reclaimed mined land (~40 years old; REGEN) and wetlands in mature forest not previously mined (MAT). I passively recorded echolocation calls for 12 nights across sixteen sites …

Fine Scale Mapping Of Laurentian Mixed Forest Natural Habitat Communities Using Multispectral Naip And Uav Datasets Combined With Machine Learning Methods, Parth P. Bhatt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Natural habitat communities are an important element of any forest ecosystem. Mapping and monitoring Laurentian Mixed Forest natural communities using high spatial resolution imagery is vital for management and conservation purposes. This study developed integrated spatial, spectral and Machine Learning (ML) approaches for mapping complex vegetation communities. The study utilized ultra-high and high spatial resolution National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) datasets, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Complex natural vegetation community habitats in the Laurentian Mixed Forest of the Upper Midwest. A detailed workflow is presented to effectively process UAV imageries in a dense forest environment …

Assessing Soil Disturbance From Tethered Logging On Steep Slopes In Northern California, Karolyn Marie Fagundes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The implementation of tethered harvesting allows for the expansion of mechanized logging onto steeper slopes. Recent updates to the California Forest Practice Rules have explicitly removed the slope limitation for logging equipment, provided it’s tethered. California is now witnessing the reintroduction of ground-based logging equipment on steep slopes. Previously, operating equipment on steep slopes was considered detrimental due to the potential for soil disturbance. However, tethered equipment interacts with the soil in a new way due to the use of a winch. Relatively few studies have attempted to quantify soil disturbance with this new practice. The goal of this study …

The Site Evaluation Of Quercus Alba Metabolites, Zachary Alexander Byrd

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Quercus alba has been the prominent tree species utilized in the spirits industry for decades. Of its many qualities, the ability to impart desirable flavors on spirits combined with its natural abundance makes it the ideal choice for barrels. Creating barrels is a uniform process, but variability still exists in aged spirits even when all other parameters are controlled. In this thesis, I explore how the origin of Quercus alba influences metabolite variability.

Quercus alba is a resilient species that can grow in many climates. This is seen through Quercus alba’s vast growing range, of which barrel quality white oak …

Using Landsat-Based Phenology Metrics, Terrain Variables, And Machine Learning For Mapping And Probabilistic Prediction Of Forest Community Types In West Virginia, Faith M. Hartley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study investigates the mapping of forest community types for the entire state of West Virginia, USA using Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Phenology Metrics analysis ready data (ARD) derived from the Landsat time series and digital terrain variables derived from a digital terrain model (DTM). Both classifications and probabilistic predictions were made using random forest (RF) machine learning (ML) and training data derived from ground plots provided by the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program (WVNHP). The primary goal of this study is to explore the use of globally consistent ARD data for operational forest type mapping over a …

Seasonal Flammability Comparisons Of Native And Exotic Plants In The Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairie, And Pineywoods Ecoregions Of Texas, Michael Tiller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

East Texas’ diverse landscape can present year-round wildfire seasons that can be influenced by seasonal and regional differences in climate and physiography. Greater insight into the fundamental thermal behavior of wildland fuels can aid in fire behavior prediction and development of fire-resistant plant lists. This study focused on estimating seasonal and regional flammability characteristics of five evergreen species: yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and escarpment live oak (Quercus fusiformis); and two deciduous species: Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) and southern …

Identification And Characterization Of Forest Fire Risk Zones Leveraging Machine Learning Methods, Joshua Balson, Matt Chinchilla, Cam Lu, Jeff Washburn, Nibhrat Lohia

SMU Data Science Review

Across the United States, record numbers of wildfires are observed costing billions of dollars in property damage, polluting the environment, and putting lives at risk. The ability of emergency management professionals, city planners, and private entities such as insurance companies to determine if an area is at higher risk of a fire breaking out has never been greater. This paper proposes a novel methodology for identifying and characterizing zones with increased risks of forest fires. Methods involving machine learning techniques use the widely available and recorded data, thus making it possible to implement the tool quickly.

Interpolating Missing Data And Comparing Performance Of Common Interpolation Techniques From A 30-Year Water Quality Dataset, Wako Bungula, Danelle M. Larson Dr., Killian Davis, Richard Erickson Dr., Amber Lee, Casey Mckean, Frederick Miller, Alaina Stockdill, Enrika Hlavacek

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modeling Reproduction Influencers Of An Endangered Oak, Camila Cortez

DePaul Discoveries

The endemic oak, Quercus brandegeei has been labeled as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species due to its limited genetic diversity and lack of regeneration. The oak (Quercus) species is a keystone species in many parts of the world and has been facing various challenges to their survival (Westwood 2017) making efforts to support and protect endemic oaks all the more ecologically and socially imperative. There are challenges to identifying threats as there are many unknown characteristics of Q. brandegeei’s biology that are essential to carrying out conservation efforts. To develop a greater understanding of …

Urban Forests And Their Potential To Combat Food Insecurity: Analyzing Street Trees In Baltimore, Md For Their Edibility, Victoria Bearden

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

Food insecure environments, in which residents lack consistent access to nutritious food materials, can occur in urban settings. Literature on urban forests suggests that trees can provide a range of provisioning ecosystem services, including edible uses. We consider this to determine if street trees in Baltimore, Maryland have the potential to provide nutritious food materials to address food insecurity in Healthy Food Priority Areas (HFPA), designated by Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Net Geochemical Release Of Base Cations From 25 Forested Watersheds In The Catskill Region Of New York, Sara C. Nieman, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

Chemical weathering of minerals is the principal mechanism by which base cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺) are released and acidity is neutralized in soils, bedrock and drainage waters. Quantifying the release of base cations from watershed soils is therefore crucial for the calculation of “critical loads” of atmospheric acidity to forest ecosystems. We used a mass-balance approach to estimate the rate of release of base cations in 25 headwater catchments in the Catskill region of New York, an area historically subject to high inputs of acid deposition. In 2010-2013, total net …

Marketing Agroforestry Products: Lessons From Producers

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

This publication shares producer experiences with marketing agroforestry products, including how producers entered — or created — the markets for their products. These individual stories highlight a diversity of experiences, from family-run farms to intermediaries assisting with market access. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal, state, and local programs can provide capital or technical assistance to farmers at different phases of market development. The case studies in this publication highlight programs and resources available through USDA.

While marketing tree crops and non-timber forest products can be a challenge for producers, there is room for growth and opportunities …

Exploration Of The Food Forest Outreach Team, Victoria Bearden

Environment and Sustainability Presentations

At Whittaker Environmental Research Station, the first iteration of the Ursinus Food Forest was planted in 2019. The Ursinus Food Forest includes over 15 species of edible species and embraces lessons in urban agriculture, urban forestry, and agroforestry. The site has now been planted for over a year, and is monitored by Dr. Patrick Hurley, student researchers, and Ursinus facilities. There are two separate student research teams involved with the food forest, one focusing on stewardship of the site and the other focusing on outreach for the site. The goal of the outreach team is to build a community around …