This dissertation describes the development and analysis of a new forest dynamics model. The NORTHern Woodland Dynamics Simulator (NORTHWDS) was designed to spatially model forest pattern and process for the northern Lake States, and to incorporate multiple spatial scales. While ecologically detailed, this stand table-based model is sufficiently parsimonious to be able to simulate 100s to 1000s of hectares for centuries. Processes like tree regeneration, growth, and mortality, herbaceous and shrubby competition, biogeochemistry, carbon cycling, edge effects, and climatic influences are incorporated in NORTHWDS. Wind disturbance and white-tailed deer browsing were also included to help forecast stand and landscape dynamics under managed and unmanaged scenarios. Preliminary results suggest that NORTHWDS can reliably predict long-term forest ecosystem responses to succession and disturbance. NORTHWDS was also applied to test the effectiveness of a managing-for-old-growth strategy, with results indicating that this type of management can provide improvements over traditional even- and uneven-aged harvest systems in desirable old-growth attributes like aboveground live biomass and coarse woody debris patterns. The results of the NORTHWDS developmental and application chapters were then synthesized to produce a new conceptual approach to landscape simulation that incorporated space, multiple scales, and a hierarchical design. A user's guide, the source code, and model defaults complete this dissertation.

Thesis advisor: Michael Cermak / Invasive invertebrates are common in the United States and their effects on local ecosystems can have detrimental consequences extending beyond biological processes to economics and other social arenas. Over anthropogenic time, human value systems were woven into the perspectives of nature to form a social constructionist perspective on the natural world. We strive toward a certain closeness with nature, and, in effect, attempt to understand it. Through comparison of the discussion of invasive species in online public media and scientific journal articles, this paper examines how nature is socially constructed in different contexts. The study demonstrated that journalists used anthropomorphism 70% more often than researchers, and wrote about social value categories, including economics, aesthetics, and ecological effects 85% more often than scientists, on average. In general, online news journalists used language that was considered negative or suggestive 78% more often than scientists. Environmental issues do not occur in a bubble, so it is imperative to realize that the interactions between all living things, including humans, drive both biological and sociological processes. These findings can help guide how we understand media production about invasive species. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

This is a study of conservation easements of forestland in the Northern forest Region of New York State. Forestland easements are the subset of conservation easements encumbering forestland. As of 1995, there were 79 of these forestland easements within the study area. Of this total of 79 forestland easements, 50 were granted as donations and the remaining 29 were granted in sales. Most forestland easement donors were individuals or related individuals. Forestland easement sellers are split between industrial owners and individuals. Eight forestland easement grantees in the Northern Forest Region were identified. This group of grantees includes one public agency and national, regional, and local land trusts. Deeds to the forestland easements inventoried in this study contain 155 separate variables. These variables reflect the differences in encumbered properties, ownership goals of grantors, and land management goals of grantees. Deed information shows that forestland easements have a broad common purpose of preventing change or directing change in an acceptable manner. The specifics of preventing and directing change will vary with each property. The limits of acceptable change are a large part of working out the agreement between grantor and grantee. Interviews with both donors and sellers reveal that, in retrospect, most are satisfied with their decision to grant the forestland easement. Analysis of forestland easement deed content reveals embedded potential future problems for owners of encumbered properties. Recommendations contained in this report provide guidance for landowners considering the grant of a forestland easement and suggestions for deed content. Most landowners made forestland easement granting decisions that are favorable from their perspective, but less than optimal from outside observation. / Ph. D.

Understanding tree physiological responses to climate change is critical for quantifying forest carbon, predicting species' range change, and forecasting growth trajectories. Continued increases in temperature could push trees into conditions to which they are ill adapted -- such as decreased depth of winter snow cover, altered water regimes, and a lengthened effective growing season. A complicating factor is that in the northeastern United States, climate change is occurring on a backdrop of acid deposition and land-use change. In this dissertation, I used three studies to investigate the spatiotemporal nuances of resultant tree and sapling physiology to environmental change. First, I compared annual growth of co-occurring tree species (sugar maple, red spruce, red maple, yellow birch, and balsam fir) along an elevational gradient on Vermont's tallest peak: Mt. Mansfield. I found baseline differences in growth among species, and many annual variations were associated with species-specific events. Yet, protracted growth patterns, such as recent increases for red spruce and red maple, were correlated with increased temperature and cooling degree days (a heat index). For most species, temperature was positively associated with current growth, but negatively associated with growth the following year. This work demonstrated species' differences in response to change and the complex relationships between growth and temperature. Next, I analyzed how climate, environmental parameters, and site and tree factors related to recent, regional increases in red spruce growth. While there was variability in response to climate and acid deposition by elevation and location, site and tree factors did not adequately explain growth. Higher temperatures outside the traditional growing season were positively related to growth, while nitrogen deposition was strongly negative. However, if nitrogen inputs decline as projected then the strength of this relationship may decrease over time. These results suggest continued favorable conditions for red spruce in the near term as acid deposition declines and temperatures increase, provided precipitation remains adequate to support growth. Lastly, I used a replicated micro-catchment study to examine how four species of tree saplings (paper birch, quaking aspen, American chestnut and black cherry) responded to experimentally elevated temperature (2-4C above control) and reduced early winter snow (first six weeks of winter), depending on soil type. Soil and species characteristics strongly influenced sapling response. However, natural weather patterns during the treatment period were highly variable and muted or exacerbated results. Heating increased the potential photosynthetic period in the fall, causing an overall increase in leaf area. Many two- and three-way interactions of treatment factors were also detected. These outcomes demonstrate the variability in sapling response to a changing climate, as well as the complex interactions that occur among soil, species, and weather parameters.