<p> Prairie mounds from the general area of Foremost-Cypress Hills, Alberta, have been described. Various morphometric parameters, including relative and absolute altitude of the mounds, depth of their central depressions, orientation of breaches in their rims, angle of the bounding slopes, and distribution of surficial stones were measured. Several characteristics of the mounds were found to be widespread. Firstly, the mounds occur in elongate fields that correspond roughly to the 3,000 ft. contour interval. Secondly, surficial stones invariably have their greatest concentration on the rims of the mounds. Also the mounds are frequently separated by interrupted drainage channels. The bounding slopes of the mounds are asymmetrical, with west and north-west slopes being least steep. Interpretation of these morphological observations and a consideration of the various hypotheses of formation proposed in the literature leads to the conclusion that prairie mounds most likely originated by the differential melting of a stagnant ice mass in a manner proposed by Gravenor in 1955, and have subsequently been modified by mass-wasting processes. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

My research is focused on advancing understanding of the genomes of two important distantly related conifer species, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. var. distichum). Loblolly pine is the most commercially important tree crop in the United States, the major source of pulpwood for paper manufacturing, a source of quality lumber, a prime bioenergy feedstock, and an important part of the ecosystem of the southeastern U.S. Bald cypress is the dominant tree species in the aptly named ¡°cypress swamps¡± of the South.Its ecological importance to the wetlands of the southern U.S. is immeasurable. Moreover, bald cypress is a popular ornamental due to its attractive appearance and extreme resistance to pests, pathogens, and weather. Maintaining the security and productiveness of these important crop/forest species in the face of new pest, pathogen and environmental threats will require a better understanding of their genes and the structures of their genomes. We have conducted a study of loblolly pine and bald cypress in which Cot analysis and DNA sequencing of Cotiltered DNA were utilized to study genome structure. Cot analysis revealed that loblolly pine and bald cypress genomes are each composed of three major kinetic components which we have deemed highly repetitive (HR), moderately repetitive (MR), and single/low copy (SL). In loblolly pine, the HR, MR, and SL components account for 57, 24, and 10%, of genomic DNA, respectively. Of note 2.71% of random genomic sequences (i.e., 580 Mb, an amount roughly three times that of the Arabidopsis genome) show significant (bit score ≥ 60) homology to mRNA sequences. This result suggests that the loblolly pine genome contains many genes or pseudogenes, and/or gene duplications. In bald cypress, the HR, MR, and SL components account for 52, 38, and 4%, of genomic DNA, respectively. Sample sequencing was performed only on the HR component of bald cypress; sequence analysis shows only 0.81% of HR sequence reads with homology to mRNA sequences. My research provides insight into the evolution of these distant conifers and key sequence data that should greatly facilitate ongoing molecular breeding programs.

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is known to respond to increases in precipitation with increased radial growth even when rooted in continuously saturated sediments where water is not a growth-limiting factor. Measurements of δ¹⁸O, Cl⁻, ³H and hydraulic head in surface water and shallow groundwater in an oxbow lake-wetland in northern Mississippi show that rapid downward flow of surface water into the root zone is initiated only after precipitation-induced increases in surface water depth exceed a threshold value. Rapid flow of surface water through the root zone has the potential to introduce oxygen to sediments that would otherwise be anoxic, facilitating nutrient uptake and growth. Climatic reconstruction using tree rings from bald cypress in this environment appears possible because increases in precipitation generally correlate well with increases in water level, which in turn enhances the delivery of oxygenated water to the roots.

No description available.

Sphaeroma terebrans (Bate 1866) is an economically and ecologically important cosmopolitan species because this isopod is found burrowed in wood and marine structures of fresh to saline water. Existing literature on S. terebrans focuses on the destruction of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in India, Pakistan, and Florida. This study concentrates on S. terebrans habitat and boring preferences in bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in Lake Pontchartrain near the Bonnet Carre Spillway, Louisiana. In addition laboratory experiments for water column distribution and substrate preferences were conducted using cypress, Styrofoam, and balsa. Results indicate that this population may be parthenogenic and that wood or material hardness determines whether S. terebrans burrow when given a choice of substrates. The lake shoreline near the Bonnet Carre Spillway is retreating and the presence of S. terebrans contributes to shoreline erosion by weakening and destroying cypress. This has implications for restoration projects in coastal Louisiana.

Saturated for most of the year, wetlands accumulate large amounts of biomass in thick organic soil horizons with slow rates of decomposition due to anaerobic conditions. Wetland soils thereby sequester large amounts of organic carbon in relative long-term storage. Municipal water demands in west-central Florida are largely met through extensive groundwater pumping. These withdrawals can impact ecosystems dependent on surface water levels that are ultimately linked to confined aquifers. Soils in a subset of cypress swamps that are monitored by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) were sampled and analyzed to ascertain the health of the wetlands impacted by groundwater pumping. Soil water content, bulk density, and carbon and nitrogen content were systematically measured on replicate samples from three elevations in transects through the wetlands. "Healthy" wetlands were found to have higher soil water retention and consequently higher soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the top 30 cm of soil than "harmed" and "significantly harmed" cypress domes. However this trend was only significant at the lowest, central elevation of the wetland, at an elevation of the normal pool level minus 12 inches. These results provide quantitative evidence to support the notion that saturation of soils during most of the year is required to maintain the conditions that are conducive to the accumulation of soil organic matter. Conversely, unsaturated soils appear to be mineralizing large quantities of their stores of organic carbon. Since soil moisture and organic carbon contents are well correlated in the wetlands that were sampled, monitoring of soil water content may prove a convenient proxy for determining the organic carbon stores and thus the relative health of the wetland.

In this thesis, we describe an architecture-driven fitting algorithm for an Application-Specific EPLD, the CY7C361, from Cypress Semiconductor. Traditional placement and routing tools for PLDs perform placement and routing separately. Several placement possibilities are created and the router tries to realize the connections between the physical locations of the cells on the chip. The Cypress CY7C361 has a very unique chip architecture with a highly limited connectivity between the physical cells. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the mutability when the placement of cells is performed. The combination of the two stages is called fitting. The specific architecture-dependent constraints, imposed on the connectivity of the CY7C361 chip were used to develop a hierarchical partitioning structure of the algorithm. This approach limits very effectively the solution space in the early stage of the search for a solution of the fitting problem. The partitioning approach for the fitting algorithm is not limited on the Cypress CY7C361. It can be applied to other architectures with similar connectivity restrictions, too.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Soil organic matter (SOM) provides many ecosystem services that are necessary for continued ecosystem function. The accumulation of SOM in an ecosystem is a function of its persistence time which can range from days to thousands of years. Ecosystem properties including dominant vegetation type, soil texture, and soil moisture in various habitats can regulate the persistence time of SOM. Wetlands, because of their associated ecosystem properties, promote SOM accumulation, but little has been done to determine the ecosystem properties that regulate its persistence over time. In west-central Florida, urbanization and increased water demands have suppressed water tables in isolated wetland ecosystems via hydrological connectivity between ground and surficial waters. In this study, variability in wetland ecosystem properties, in particular dominant vegetation type and hydrological parameters, were tested as mechanisms driving SOM accumulation and stability. Cypress wetlands had significantly more organic matter, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) than herbaceous marshes. In addition, increased wetland inundation promoted stable SOM accumulation in forested wetlands. By increasing the percent time a forested wetland spent aerobic, decreases occurred in both labile and stable C and N pools. As large storage units of SOM, the decreases in both labile and stable C and N pools in wetland soils have large implications for global C and N cycling. Increased manipulation of wetland water levels, especially in short time scales, can mineralize both short-term and long-term storage units of C and N. Globally, the increase mineralization of large SOC and SON stocks would exacerbate the release of air and water quality pollutants. The sensitivity of both labile and stable SOM pools draws concern when anticipating continued water demands and land use changes of the Tampa Bay region.

Ministry research project (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry Degree. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-168).