Plant Sciences Commons^™

A Sky Island Perspective: New England Alpine Plant Distributions Across The Region, Andrea Tirrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alpine ecosystems around the globe are at risk due to climate change, human disturbance, and habitat loss. New England alpine zones are small and fragmented, which could make them vulnerable to global change. However, the persistence of tundra relics throughout the Holocene suggests the persistence of these communities in microclimate refugia. Assessing the near-term vulnerability of alpine plant communities is challenged by a lack of standardized, repeat surveys and long-term monitoring data, which presents a challenge for the many agencies monitoring New England’s alpine zones. Island biogeography theory predicts that alpine species richness is a function of area, but this …

Mp765: Creating The Orono Bog Boardwalk: A Facility For Education, Research, And Recreation, Ronald B. Davis

Miscellaneous Publications

A memoir by Dr. Ronald Davis detailing the creation of the Orono Bog Boardwalk. The Orono Bog Boardwalk is a premier destination in the Bangor/Orono area for persons wishing to experience the beauty and fascinating plants and animals of a Maine bog. The 1-mile boardwalk loop trail begins at the forested wetland edge in the Bangor City Forest, and after 800 feet crosses the Orono town line into the portion of the Orono Bog owned by the University of Maine. Along the way the boardwalk passes through a wide range of changing vegetation and environments on its way to the …

Functional Diversity In Blueberries And Their Responses To Extreme Drought, Pratima Pahadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is expected to lead to novel climate conditions with an increase in frequency and severity of drought across many places around the globe including the north-eastern (NE) United States. Therefore, experimental studies that test the impacts of changing environmental conditions over long time scales or experimental studies that mimic these conditions are crucial to understand the potential impact on crops in this region. Wild lowbush blueberries and highbush blueberries are two important crops in NE USA. In this study, the leaf functional, structural, nutrient traits across genotypes of wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium and V. myrtilloides) at …

Tapping The Sweet Spot: Predicting The Suitability Of A Woodlot’S Potential To Transition Into A Productive Sugarbush In Maine, Deven M. Teisl

Non-Thesis Student Work

Through conversations with Dr. Sara Velardi, a postdoctoral research associate who has been doing research on maple producers’ scale management decisions in Maine, most current owners and operators in the maple syrup industry have the common interest of expanding their current operations, but they are unsure of how to approach that problem. Due to these current issues, my research focused on creating a sugarbush assessment tool. This assessment tool consists of a set of guidelines which can be utilized by current or future producers and can be used to easily assess woodlots without having to hire a consulting forester to …

Propagation Of The Native North American Shrub Lonicera Villosa And Trait Comparisons With Nonnative Congeneric Taxa, Darren J. Hayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The honeysuckles, or Lonicera, represent a circumboreally-distributed genus in the Caprifoliaceae family. A diverse assortment of vines, lianas, and shrubs comprise the genus, and honeysuckles have long been a staple of the horticultural industry, prized for their robustness as much as their sweet-scented flowers and colorful fruits. However, many cultivated honeysuckles of Eurasian origin have proven invasive outside of their native range, displacing native species and reducing overall diversity and ecosystem health. Planting of Eurasian Lonicera taxa is now often discouraged or banned throughout much of North America. Conversely, native North American Lonicera species are often sparsely distributed and …

Application Of Spatial Modeling Tools To Predict Native Bee Abundance In Maine's Lowbush Blueberries, Shannon J. Chapin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Non-native honeybees historically have been used to pollinate many crops throughout the United States, however, recent population declines have revealed the need for a more sustainable pollination plan. Native bees are a natural resource that can play an important role in pollination. I used spatial modeling tools to evaluate relationships between landscape factors and native bee abundance, with a focus on the wild native bees that pollinate Maine’s lowbush blueberries. I applied the InVEST Crop Pollination ecosystem spatial modeling tool, which predicts pollinator abundance based on available floral resources and nesting habitat, to the Downeast Maine region. The InVEST model …

Sources Of Variability In Agronomic Weed Seed Predation: Time, Space, Habitat, And Hyperpredation, Sonja K. Birthisel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weed seed predation is an ecosystem service that benefits farmers by decreasing seedbank inputs, thereby reducing weed pressure in subsequent growing seasons. Seed predation can be considerable, but is highly variable. Sources of variability may include time, space, habitat, and trophic interactions such as hyperpredation. Two experiments were conducted to measure the impacts of these sources of variability on weed seed predation rates in Maine mixed vegetable agroecosystems.

Chapter One of this thesis describes a series of landscape-level field experiments conducted to quantify the effects of time, space, and habitat on seed predation rates. Seed assays, with and without vertebrate …

Place-Based Approaches To Alternative Energy: The Potential For Forest And Grass Biomass For Aroostook County, Jason Johnston, Soraya Cardenas

Maine Policy Review

Teams at the University of Maine Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Forth Kent are engaged in evaluating the potential for forest and grass biomass energy in Aroostook County, funded through Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative. The article discusses how this potential is being evaluated and the possible ways in which expanding grass and wood biomass might benefit farmers and residents of The County. It suggests that using some of Maine’s farmland for fuel might be sustainable with appropriate management and with consideration for potential environmental and socioeconomic drawbacks

Kitchen Gardens: From The White House To Your House, Jean English, Douglas Fox

Maine Policy Review

This short article discusses how having small “kitchen gardens” can reduce fossil inputs, keep food and energy dollars in local communities, and add resilience for individuals and local economies in the face of economic downturns.

Revegetating Blackwoods Campground, Acadia National Park: Emphasis On Natural Regeneration Of Red Spruce And Balsam Fir, Cristin O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park has a declining vegetative understory, characterized by a lack of tree seedling recruitment and shrub populations. This project was embarked upon to identify limiting factors to tree seedling establishment and shrub survival. From these studies, management plans will be developed for revegetating the campground understory. To better understand the factors that inhibit successful seedling establishment, we investigated the effects of varying soil moisture levels on seed germination, seedling survival and seedling dry mass accumulation for red spruce and balsam fir. We also studied the effect of organic layer depth on seedling growth for both …

Mr430: An Evaluation Of Turfgrass Species And Varieties: Tall Fescue, Alan R. Langille, Annamarie Pennucci

Miscellaneous Reports

Originating in Europe, Tall fescue (Festuca anundinacea Schreb.) is a coarse-textured grass, which is characterized by a bunch-type growth habit. Tall fescue possesses a deeper, coarser and more extensive root system than the other cool- season species giving this grass excellent drought tolerance. It is propagated by seed, with an establishment rate that is more rapid than Kentucky bluegrass, but slower than perennial ryegrass. In conclusion, the improved tall fescue varieties performed surprisingly well at the Littlefield Garden at the University of Maine. Based upon this performance, this species should be given consideration as a cool-season turf species in …

B843: The Ecology, Economics, And Management Of Potato Cropping Systems: A Report Of The First Four Years Of The Maine Potato Ecosystem Project, A. Randall Alford, Francis A. Drummond, Eric R. Gallandt, Eleanor Groden, David A. Lambert, Matt Liebman, Michele C. Marra, Jeffrey C. Mcburnie, Gregory A. Porter, Bacilio Salas

Bulletins

The bulletin reports on the first four years of the Maine Potato Ecosystem Project, a long-term, multidisciplinary study of alternative crop management strategies. The study site is a 15-acre tract on the northern boundary of the University of Maine's Aroostook Farm in Presque Isle, Maine, divided into 96 main plots that are grouped into four blocks. Each block is an area where soil survey data show similar soil characteristics. Thus, given the same production inputs, the crop output is expected to be the same on each plot within a block. Within each block there are 24 plots to which the …

B753: The Uptake Of Nutrients By Katahdin Potatoes As Influenced By Soil Moisture Regimes And Rates Of Fertilization, Gurbachan Singh Kalra, Roland A. Struchtemeyer

Bulletins

In Aroostook County, Maine, where the annual average rainfall is 35-40 inches, it is generalized by many that moisture is not a limiting factor in potato production. Weather data for Aroostook do, however, show frequent periods of low rainfall during the growing season, and these periods do cause temporary moisture deficiencies in the crop. Struchtemeyer, based on irrigation research in Maine, showed that the potato plant needs approximately 1 inch of water per week during the growing season. From the 1936 to 1955 Maine Weather Records, Pullen and Schrumpf (23) found that about 70 percent of the time, less than …

B529: Blossom And Twig Blight Of Low-Bush Blueberries (Botrytis Cinerea), E. Neil Pelletier, M. T. Hilborn

Bulletins

This bulletin presents the results of research on three aspects of the disease blossom and twig blight, (1) seasonal development, (2) the effect of environmental factors, and (3) chemical control. The work was supported financially by Maine Blueberry Tax funds.

Woody Plant Materials Suitable For Landscape Planting In Maine, Roger Clapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study has been to determine the full range of woody plant materials suitable for landscape planting in Maine. Essentially, the survival of a perennial plant out-of-doors in this State is determined by its hardiness. It is desirable not only to know that a particular plant exists or is hardy at a given place, but also to know over what area the plant may reasonably be expected to be thrifty. This immediately suggests dividing the State into climatic or plant zones. Such a zoning of the State is undertaken in this paper and the plant material is …