Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dendroclimatic Analysis And Site Index Modeling Of Central Appalachian Red Spruce, Eric L. Yetter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Red spruce (Picea rubens) was historically an important and dominant timber species in the central Appalachian mountain range. The tree species is now found in a small fraction of its original home range. Threatened and endangered organisms such as the Cheat Mountain Salamander (Plethodon nettingi) rely on red spruce associated forests for survival. Recent concerns including air pollution and climate change may threaten the health of remaining red spruce populations.

I used dendrochronology data to conduct historic dendroclimatic analyses and construct future growth projections for red spruce throughout the central Appalachians. My research involves the use of tree core data …

Habitat Stability In Appalachian Headwater Systems And Potential Impacts On Brook Trout Populations, Zac F.W Zacavish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The impact climate change will have on the habitat for Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) could directly impact key demographic characteristics. Traditionally, broad-scale studies of climate change effects on the family Salmonidae focus on the thermal shifts predicted over the next century. While some studies shed light onto other variables such as biotic interactions, flow regime, and disturbance, the significance of the climate-trout interaction is not always observed. With the high degree of influence climate cycles can have on habitat and channel morphology, this study aimed to highlight temporal habitat shifts to begin addressing climate-habitat interaction. By studying habitat distribution …

Disturbance Related To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development In The Appalachian Basin, Kevin Jordan Harris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Little research has been done on the land cover change of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) wells across the Appalachian basin. In the last decade, UOG development has increased drastically across the region. Permitted well data from 2007 to 2017 were assembled into a geospatial database and analyzed with current aerial imagery to determine the activity of permitted wells in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. To capture all disturbance related to UOG development, a 25-hectare buffer was placed around each active well as the study extent. A supervised classification approach was used to determine the pre-development and post-development landcover across …