Forest Sciences Commons^™

Influence Of Different Rates Of Biochar And Deer Browsing On Pollinator Plant Productivity, Bipana Bhusal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass, has received wide attention for soil amendment to improve plant growth. However, its specific effects on pollinator friendly plants remain poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the effects of four biochar application rates (0, 10, 20, 40 tons/acre) and deer exclusion (fenced vs. unfenced) on the productivity of three pollinator species; Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria), and Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in a utility right of way with a history of mining. A split-plot randomized design was used, and the results were analyzed using …

Synergetic Effect Of Cellulose And Chitosan Polymers In Cancer Treatment, Grace Peterson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research explores the development of a biocompatible, natural drug delivery system designed for targeted cancer therapy. Lung cancer cells are used in these particular tests, but further research indicates treatment could be used for various cancer types. Traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy are often limited by poor selectivity for tumor cells, causing significant damage to healthy tissues. The study proposes a dual-layered delivery system, utilizing Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) as the core material and a charge-reversible chitosan shell to encapsulate and target cancer drugs. CMC, with its water solubility and ability to form stable gels, serves as a stable drug …

Screening Herbicides For Use In Newly Established Short Rotation Coppice Shrub Willow Plantations, Alex Thomas Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A major setback for the establishment of short rotation coppice willow plantations is the control of competition from weeds. Weed competition has been found to cause increased mortality which lowers biomass yields when left uncontrolled. Mechanical weed control methods are the most used method of weed control, but their use can be complicated by cost, labor availability and site topography. Chemical weed control is also complicated by the fact that willow species are particularly sensitive to herbicides. Across three trials, we screen 11 herbicides for their potential to control weeds without significantly decreasing the vertical growth of willow trees. This …

Age Class Is Not Related To Size Or Composition Of Home Ranges Among Suburban White-Tailed Deer During Parturition, Nathan D. Pyburn

Journal of Earth and Life Science

How white-tailed deer use the landscape in an urban environment can help us understand the effects of urbanization on deer populations. White-tailed deer form observable matriarchal hierarchies in studied populations. This study examines the matriarchal structure, home range size, and home range composition of 25 collared white-tailed deer within the city limits of Bemidji, MN. The results found no significant difference between age class and home range size or composition. However, movement metrics from yearling and mature age classes were more similar than the juvenile age class females. I propose this is because social acceptance between mature females was higher …

Fine Root And Ectomycorrhizal Functional Traits Of Quercus Rubra Populations From Across A Latitudinal Gradient, Emma L. Shedd

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Forests are increasingly considered for their carbon sequestration value, but their ability to store carbon is dependent on a close balance between carbon fluxes into and out of ecosystems. Nutrient uptake of roots and associated symbiotic communities results in respiratory carbon release, which is projected to increase with warming and represents a substantial uncertainty in earth system modeling. Traits that are functionally related to nutrient uptake can be used to estimate carbon fluxes, but our understanding of the trade-offs that govern root, and especially fungal, traits is limited. Fine roots in surface soils are responsible for the bulk of plant …

Huchum: The Legacy Of Fire Suppression, Indigenous Land Management, And Media Representation, Carolyn Coyne

Pomona Senior Theses

In my thesis, I examine how various forms of news media from the 1900s to present day in Ohlone territory have framed a particular hegemonic ideology around fire that matches early colonial journal entries – an ideology that is fueled by fear, sensationalism, and exclusion and directly commits violence against the Ohlone people. I investigate this time period because this is when modern news corporations, like The New York Times, rose into prominence. Specifically, I question how media representations of fire inform regulations over controlled burns; what are the similarities in discourse between media framing and policy? What tactics are …

Herpetofauna Richness, Diversity, And Occurrence At The Northern Ecotone Of Longleaf Pine, Julianne Jones, Dylan Bryant, Erik Yando

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Habitat suitability commonly differs between the core and periphery of ecosystems. The longleaf pine ecosystem is recognized for its value in providing habitat to a variety of specialist and endemic species, especially herpetofauna. However, at the northernmost extent of longleaf pine (in southeastern Virginia) little is known about the denizen reptiles and amphibians. Moreover, the remaining longleaf pine ecosystem at the latitudinal ecotone is fragmented amongst a mosaic of other ecosystems. We examined herpetofauna diversity, richness, and capture rates between four focal habitat types—mature longleaf pine, restored longleaf pine, maple-gum swamp, and pocosin-bog—in the Zuni Pine Barrens of southeastern Virginia. …

Balancing Timber Harvest And Biodiversity: Impacts Of Selective Logging On Wildlife In The Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize, Kilynn Groen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Selective logging is often promoted as a sustainable forestry practice that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet its ecological consequences remain under examined, particularly in tropical forests. This study investigates how selective logging affects wildlife communities in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Using remote camera trap data from 22 sites (9 unlogged forest sites and 13 logged (stump) sites), we assessed species richness, trophic structure, and environmental predictors of wildlife abundance. While overall wildlife captures and species richness did not differ significantly between forest and stump habitats, principal component analysis revealed strong community-level separation, with stump habitats supporting distinct species …

Long Oligos: Direct Chemical Synthesis Of Genes With Up To 1728 Nucleotides, Yipeng Yin, Reed Arneson, Yinan Yuan, Shiyue Fang

Michigan Tech Publications

The longest oligos that can be chemically synthesized are considered to be 200-mers. Here, we report direct synthesis of an 800-mer green fluorescent protein gene and a 1728-mer Φ29 DNA polymerase gene on an automated synthesizer. Key innovations that enabled this breakthrough include conducting the synthesis on a smooth surface rather than within the pores of traditional supports, and the use of the powerful catching-by-polymerization (CBP) method for isolating the full-length oligos from a complex mixture. Conducting synthesis on a smooth surface not only eliminated the steric hindrance that would otherwise prevent long oligo assembly, but also, surprisingly, drastically reduced …

The Everyday Scientist: Down In The Weeds In The Heart Of The South, Pamela Zendt

Master's Projects

The Everyday Scientist: Down in the Weeds in the Heart of the South is a creative nonfiction capstone project that was released as a book. The narrative documents my two-year journey as a community scientist and explores how ordinary people contribute meaningfully to scientific research in the natural world. Rooted in my desire to connect my passion for the outdoors with the goals of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing program, this project illustrates that environmental science is not only for trained professionals. Instead, it thrives on the curiosity, dedication, and participation of volunteers who follow established protocols, collect …

A Method For Empirically Assessing Small Area Estimators Via Bootstrap-Weighted K-Nearest-Neighbor Artificial Populations, With Applications To Forest Inventory, Grayson W. White, Jerzy Wieczorek, Zachariah W. Cody, Emily X. Tan, Jacqueline O. Chistolini, Kelly S. Mcconville, Tracey S. Frescino, Gretchen G. Moisen

Faculty Journal Articles

National Forest Inventories monitor forest attributes across a variety of spatial and temporal scales in a given country. Increased interest in reporting and management at smaller scales has driven National Forest Inventories to investigate and adopt small area estimation (SAE) due to the promise of increased precision at these scales. However, comparing and evaluating SAE models for a given application is inherently difficult. Typically, many areas lack enough data to check unit-level modeling assumptions or to assess unit-level predictions empirically; and no ground truth is available for checking area-level estimates. Design-based simulation from artificial populations can help with each of …

Identification, Mapping And Treatment Of The Invasive Rosa Multiflora Using Unmanned Aerial Systems And Machine Learning Models, Kylie Virginia Shaw

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Invasive species are introduced species that cause detrimental impacts to the native ecosystem or cause harm to human health. The work necessary for land managers to survey for and treat invasive species takes up limited time, labor, and financial resources. This study assesses how Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and machine learning models can be used to make the identification, mapping, and treatment of invasive vegetation more efficient and effective. A UAS-mounted multispectral camera captured images of our target species, Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose), throughout its growing season in southwest Pennsylvania. A random forest machine learning model was trained on these …

Acer Rubrum: Descending Towards Forest Dominance, Elyssa L. Pearson, Christopher M. Gough

Undergraduate Research Posters

Acer rubrum, more commonly known as the red maple, is a hardwood, late successional species of tree commonly planted for its deciduous nature and vibrant coloring of its leaves in the beginning of autumn (Abrams, 1998). The species is very tolerant of varying light and soil moisture levels and often dominates sub and mid-canopy levels of hardwood forests (Missouri Botanical Gardens). It was hypothesized that as the I moved from an upland location to a lowland location near a wetland that the A. rubrum trees would be more productive and have a greater above ground biomass. This was not …

Investigating Dimensions Of Social Vulnerability To Wildfire: A Case Study Of Western Montana, Ella Brodowski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Communities across the US are facing increased wildfire risks due in part to historic fire suppression efforts, a warming climate, and an influx of people residing in wildland urban interface (WUI) landscapes. Because of these increasing risks, there have been growing concerns about the social factors that can increase individual and community vulnerability to wildfires. This research adds to the discussion of social vulnerability by examining how people living in a geographic area with heightened wildfire risk think about the ways in which people can be more or less vulnerable to wildfires. Using semi-structured interviews, round table discussions, and field …

Relict Ponderosa Pine Mortality And Fuels Study In The Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana, Usa, Laura K. Schimmel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Many forests have historically experienced mixed-severity fire regimes that were disrupted during the 20th century due to fire exclusion policy. A stand of relict Pinus ponderosa in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex that burned in 2003, 2011, and 2018 provides a unique case study for investigating the effects of returned fire to the landscape. Many of the trees have fire scars or Indigenous bark-peeling scars, preserving valuable ecological and anthropological history. We sought to determine whether scarred trees were more susceptible to fire damage, if larger trees had greater fire resilience than smaller trees, and if fuel loads have changed …

Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum Marsh.) Tree-Ring Growth And Carbon Stable Isotope Responses To Nitrogen And Climate, Libbie Ring

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dendrochronological and stable carbon isotope study used tree rings from sugar maple (Acer Saccharum Marsh.) collected at long-term nitrogen (N) amended sites throughout Michigan to understand N amendment and deposition, climate, and growth relationships. Climate responses varied by site, however, we found importance in grouping sites by “productivity” which is related to inherent N and soil nutrients. Our results did not detect an overall effect of N amendments on growth during the treatment period. However, data shows N amendments benefiting larger diameter trees, while smaller diameter trees responded more positively without amendments, especially on more productive sites. Results …

Small Mammal Diet As An Indicator Of Lyme Disease And The Road To Endemicity In Michigan’S Upper Peninsula, Jacqueline E. Suits

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Lyme disease is expanding in the Upper Midwest due to climate change, forest degradation, and shifting wildlife communities. Small mammals are key reservoir hosts, and their foraging behavior offers insight into environmental conditions that sustain pathogen transmission. We used DNA metabarcoding to investigate small mammal diets across seasonal, spatial, and infection gradients in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We identified dominant dietary plant and arthropod taxa, seasonal shifts, and slight variation by species, site, and Lyme infection status. Taxa associated with Lyme-positive individuals were primarily linked to moist, edge, and disturbed habitats, areas that also support ticks and disease spread. These results …

Growth, Survival, And Herbivore Browsing Preferences Of Seedlings Planted In Black Ash Stands Of Northern Michigan And Wisconsin, Seth W. Davenport

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

To mitigate the cascading ecosystem impacts of widespread black ash (Fraxinus nigra) mortality due to the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), forested wetlands can be underplanted with seedlings of alternative species that later repopulate the vacated canopy. This study examined the survival and growth, factors influencing performance, and herbivore browsing preferences of seven non-ash species planted in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. The best performing species were river birch (Betula nigra), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). The worst performing species was black spruce (Picea …

Rotten Through The Cores: What Decomposition Can Tell Us About Carbon Cycling, Eileen C. Reeves

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Sequestration of carbon (C) in forests means that the C is stored in the ecosystem and not emitted to the atmosphere, thus slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the acceleration of manmade climate change. Quantifying the pools and fluxes of C in forests is therefore of considerable interest to landowners, policy makers, and scientists.

Decomposition is an ecological process central to the movement of C through ecosystems. This dissertation uses several techniques to help determine the factors influencing the speed of decomposition and long-term fate of decomposed plant material. In Chapter Two, phospholipid fatty acid analysis was used …

Dam It All: A Multi-Scalar Investigation Into The Ecological Role And Function Of Beaver Dams, Kenneth Larsen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The central theme of this dissertation is ecological scaling, which examines how small, localized features, such as beaver ponds, contribute to large-scale watershed processes and how different modeling approaches at various scales reveal distinct insights. Through a combination of probabilistic modeling and high-resolution empirical research, this work demonstrates that small ponded systems, particularly those created by beavers (Castor canadensis), serve as critical biogeochemical control points, whose contributions to sediment and nutrient dynamics have been historically underestimated.

In Chapter 1, I contextualize this research within the broader fields of freshwater ecology, watershed modeling, and ecological restoration. I introduce the …