Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-73).

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Soil nutrients are often heterogeneously distributed in space and time at scales relevant to individual plants, and plants can respond by selectively proliferating their roots within nutrient-rich patches. However, many environmental factors may increase or decrease the degree of root proliferation by plants. I explored how soil fertility, nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) limitation, and soil oxygen availability affected root system response to nutrient heterogeneity in forested wetland ecosystems of southeastern United States. Fine root biomass was not correlated with soil nutrient availability within wetland ecosystems, but was related to ecosystem-scale fertility. Root systems generally did not respond to P-rich patches in both floodplain (nutrient-rich) and depressional swamps (nutrient-poor) swamps, but results were inconclusive because the growth medium (sand) potentially hindered root growth. In floodplain forests, roots proliferated into N-rich patches but not P-rich patches, even though litterfall N:P ratios were > 15, which suggested that these ecosystems were P-limited. The combination of nutrient and oxygen heterogeneity affected root proliferation and biomass growth of three common floodplain forest species (Liquidambar styraciflua, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Nyssa aquatica) in a potted study, which was related to species' flood tolerance. My results suggest that the environmental context of plants can affect roots system response to nutrient heterogeneity in forested wetland ecosystems and highlights the need for field studies that investigate this phenomenon. Learning how environmental conditions affect plant response to nutrient heterogeneity at a fine-scale will provide better predictions of nutrient cycling, plant competition and succession, and forest productivity, which are important factors that determine carbon sequestration and timber production. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed on 1/10/2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Biological Sciences. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Due to the paucity of long-term harvest impact data, the primary goals of this study were to quantify the long-term effects of different harvest disturbances twenty-four years after harvest on two major wetland functions: stand productivity and C storage. This study evaluated the effects of three harvest types that were originally applied in 1986 to a tupelo (Nyssa aquatic)-cypress (Taxodium distichum) forested wetland in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta of southwestern Alabama. Treatments were: 1. Helicopter harvest (HELI), 2. Skidder simulation where 50% of the site was rutted to a depth of 30 cm (SKID), and 3. Helicopter harvest followed by glyphosate herbicide removal of all sprouts and seedbank regeneration for two years following harvest (GLYPH). An adjacent mature stand (94 years old) within the same original composition represented mature forest or pre-harvest reference conditions (REF). Above- and belowground plant biomass, belowground woody debris, soil C, and soil CO2 efflux were measured. Twenty-four years after treatments were applied, forest C levels were higher in SKID treatments (206.1 Mg C ha-1) than in HELI treatments (168.7 Mg C ha-1). GLYPH treatments are holding less (144.2 Mg C ha-1) while REF areas hold 332.6 Mg C ha-1. SKID treatments are also holding the most biomass of all treatments with 243.2 Mg ha-1 of overstory biomass. Ecosystem C and biomass patterns indicate HELI and SKID are becoming similar to the original site conditions represented by the REF areas. The resiliency of these highly disturbed stands are explained by the frequent inputs of non-compacted sediments, presence of species well adapted to very poorly drained and aerated conditions, high rates of coppice regeneration, shrink-swell ameliorative properties of the soil and creation of more complex microtopography within SKID treatments. / Master of Science

Wet pine flats are some of the most productive and intensively-managed wetland forests in the eastern United States. Wet-weather logging of these sites causes extensive rutting and churning of the soil surface and may alter the subsurface flow of soil water. An operational-scale experiment was established in 20-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations to determine the hydrologic response of wet pine flats to wet- and dry-weather harvesting operations. Three 19-ha treatment blocks were established in the coastal plain near Charleston, South Carolina. Site hydrology was monitored monthly with a 20 x 20 m grid of water table wells for 18 months prior to treatment installation. Three treatments were applied to each block: wet-weather harvesting, dry-weather harvesting, and a control (nonharvested). Prior to harvesting, the water table depths followed a uniform pattern throughout the sites with seasonal fluctuations between 5 and 75 cm below the soil surface. The uniform pattern and poor inherent drainage of the site prior to harvest was due to lack of surface topography and impedance of internal vertical drainage by a restricting Btg soil horizon. After harvesting, the hydrologic pattern changed by the degree of soil disturbance as defined by soil physical properties and microtopographic changes. Such hydrologic changes could influence long-term site productivity and interfere with management of this wetland ecosystem. / Master of Science

Disturbances impact abiotic and biotic components within forested ecosystems. This dissertation identifies the impacts of recreational crossing disturbances on water quality, uses dendrochronological techniques to estimate sediment deposition and identify impacts hydrology and climate on radial growth in riparian forested wetlands, and quantifies influences of biotic and abiotic factors on the occurrence of frost-induced cambial damage. In southwestern Virginia, modeled soil erosion rates for multiple-use (hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding) recreational trail approaches to stream crossings were found to be 13 times greater than rates for undisturbed forests. Downstream changes in macroinvertebrate-based indices indicated water quality was negatively affected downstream from culvert and ford crossings. These findings illustrate recreational stream crossings have the potential to deliver sediment into adjacent streams, particularly where best management practices are not being rigorously implemented, and as a result can negatively impact water quality below stream crossings. Impacts of hydrologic regime were apparent on sediment deposition and on green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) radial growth along the Tensaw River in southwest Alabama. Annual dendrogeomorphic sediment accretion rates were significantly greater for a recent time period (25 years) when compared to longer term rates (131 years) along a natural levee and backswamp. Radial growth in green ash along the natural levee and backswamp was found to be significantly correlated with days flooded and average daily stage level during April while water tupelo further in the backswamp appeared resistant to hydrologic and climatic fluctuations. Results illustrate the importance of riparian wetlands in trapping sediment from adjacent waterways and highlight the role hydrologic regime plays in bottomland succession and productivity. Across northern lower Michigan, late spring frost-induced cambial damage in jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) occurred more frequently in younger trees and in trees with smaller diameters. Biotic and abiotic factors were found to influence the occurrence of earlywood frost rings. Frequent occurrences of frost-rings can be used to identify frost-prone environments and geographical boundaries for plant species. This dissertation bridged gaps in knowledge of recreational, hydrogeomorphic, and climatic disturbances in forested ecosystems which can be used to develop management strategies. / Ph. D.

Short term studies have suggested that ground based timber harvesting on wet sites can alter soil properties and inhibit early survival and growth of seedlings. Persistence of such negative effects may translate to losses in forest productivity over a rotation. During the fall and winter of 1989, numerous salvage logging operations were conducted during high soil moisture conditions on wet pine flats in the lower coastal plain of South Carolina following Hurricane Hugo. A long-term experiment (split-plot within an unbalanced randomized complete block design) allowed assessment of long term effects of rutted and compacted primary skid trails and subsequent site preparation on soil properties and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) productivity. The experiment had 12 blocks, four levels of site preparation as the whole plot factor (bedding, disking with bedding, disking, and no site preparation), and two levels of traffic as the subplot factor (primary skid trail, no obvious traffic). After 23 years, bedding and disking with bedding treatments effectively enhanced soil physical properties and stand productivity via promoting greater survival and stocking, but had little effect on the size of individual trees relative to disking and no site preparation treatments. Primary skid trails significantly reduced the size of individual trees, but had no appreciable long term effects on soil properties or stand productivity after 23 years. The study suggests that bedding is the most efficient practice to enhance soil properties, seedling survival, and stand productivity on wet sites. However, site preparation is not necessary for these soils and sites, if strictly intended to restore soil properties and stand productivity in primary skid trails. Reduction in individual tree sizes on primary skid trails emphasizes benefits in minimizing the spatial extent of disturbance. / Master of Science