Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pedologic Investigations In The Red River Region Of Eastern Kentucky: Relationship Of Soil Properties To Lithology, Slope Aspect, And Soil Quality To Prehistoric Indigenous Food Plot Locations, Jason D. Windingstad

Masters Theses

ABSTRACT

Part I

The Red River Valley of Eastern Kentucky contains cultural remains that point to the independent development of agriculture during the Late Archaic cultural period. The objective of this study is to gather quantitative data through the chemical and physical analysis of soils collected within a valley transect to gain insights into landscape processes and soil quality that may have played a role in the development of plant domestication. National Cooperative Soil Survey standards were used for field descriptions and the chemical and physical analysis of all samples. Soil quality values such as ECEC (ammonium acetate pH 7), …

Seasonal Forage Availability And Diet Of Reintroduced Elk In The Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee, Jason Lee Lupardus

Masters Theses

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reintroduced elk (Cervus elaphus manitobensis) into the Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee over a 3-year period beginning in December 2000. We radio-collared 160 elk and monitored them by aerial telemetry from February 2001 to June 2003. Locations (n = 1450) were used in a geographic information system (GIS) to develop a core herd home range (789-ha sampling area) to assess elk seasonal forage use and availability. We monitored diet and resource availability from November 2003 to October 2004 by vegetation sampling and microhistological analysis of feces. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea; 35.1%) dominated …

Sedimentation, Hydrology, And Bottomland Hardwood Forest Succession In Altered And Unaltered Tributaries Of The Hatchie River, Tn, Aaron R. Pierce

Doctoral Dissertations

Hydrologic and sedimentation processes are critical in determining floodplain site conditions and the distribution of bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest communities (Hodges 1997). Channelization of streams associated with BLH wetlands has occurred extensively throughout the southeastern United States, altering the hydrologic and sedimentation processes that sustain these systems. In western Tennessee, channelization and past land-use practices have resulted in drastic geomorphic and hydrologic changes including excessive sand deposition on floodplains, and in extreme cases, the formation of valley plugs and shoals.

Our understanding of the processes associated with valley plugs and shoals, their rates and variability, and their impacts on BLH …

Conservation Of Grassland Bird Populations On Military Installations In The Eastern United States With Special Emphasis On Fort Campbell Army Base, Kentucky, James J. Giocomo

Doctoral Dissertations

Grassland bird populations have decline significantly over the past 30 years because of the dramatic decrease of native grasslands through clearing of non-forested land for agriculture, and discontinued use of fire. It is imperative to understand the distribution and productivity of these birds and the potential for grassland management to enhance these declining populations, especially in land areas where the landuses may be compatible with grassland bird conservation.

This study was conducted to provide needed basic life history and nest site habitat use information as well as information about populations and potential region-wide habitat availability to enhance current and future …

The Challenge Of Realizing Sustainable Natural Resource Management On Private Lands: Problems And Promise, Jamey L. Pavey

Doctoral Dissertations

Today’s natural resource problems are more complex than ever and many have yet to be effectively addressed in the United States by regulations or management policies. The challenges presented by these problems require new approaches to the governance of natural resources in the United States. These approaches must recognize that the governance of natural resources is not only a technical task, but a social process. The management of natural resources on private lands presents a unique set of problems and a unique set of opportunities to provide environmental benefits. However, without adequate incentives, landowners are unlikely to manage their land …

Limnología De Las Lagunas Glaciales En El Páramo Del Chirripó, Costa Rica. (Limnology Of Glacial Lakes In The Chirripó Páramo Of Costa Rica.), Sally P Horn, Kenneth H. Orvis, Kurt A. Haberyan

Geography Publications and Other Works

More than 30 lakes of glacial origin exist within the Chirripó páramo in the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica. This chapter describes the geomorphic setting and physical and chemical limnology of 19 lakes located between 3450-3570 m elevation in the upper basins of five glaciated valleys. All lakes are clear, dilute, and apparently polymictic. Water chemistry data from 1998, 2000, and 2001 are similar from lake to lake and year to year, and are consistent with sparse prior measurements between 1966 and 1991. However, the lake water temperatures we have measured are much higher than those reported by earlier …

Registros De Sedimentos Lacustres De La Vegetación Del Holoceno Y Historia Del Fuego En El Páramo De Costa Rica. (Lake-Sediment Records Of Holocene Vegetation And Fire History In The Costa Rican Páramos), Sally P Horn, Brandon L. League

Geography Publications and Other Works

We examined pollen, pteridophyte (ferns and fern-allies) spores, and charcoal in a 5.6 m long sediment core from Lago de las Morrenas 1, and charcoal in a 1.1 m long sediment core from Lago Chirripó, to reconstruct postglacial vegetation and fire history in the Chirripó páramo. Lago de las Morrenas 1, the largest lake in the Valle de las Morrenas of Chirripó National Park, is presently surrounded by treeless páramo vegetation and has apparently been so since deglaciation approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Pollen spectra suggest no pronounced changes in vegetation since ice retreat. Pollen percentages for Gramineae and other …