Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Charles Barden / Spring Creek, Headwaters Robideux Creek, and Snipe Creek are sub-watersheds located within the Big Blue River Watershed, which drains to the Tuttle Creek Reservoir impoundment. This reservoir had a very high monetary investment since the beginning; unfortunately the lifespan for this marvel of engineering is declining rapidly due to high sedimentation rates. One of the programs for slowing the sedimentation process is the removal of highly erodible lands from agricultural production. This thesis work aimed to gather more knowledge on the natural riparian areas, to help the stakeholders of Kansas to improve their riparian woodland management decisions. The objective of the study was to characterize the structure and composition of natural riparian woodlands in three sub-watersheds of the Tuttle Creek Watershed. Data was collected using a representative sample design. Plot dimensions for mature tree data collection were 50ft by 30ft. For regeneration smaller, circular plots were used. Data analysis was completed with SAS 9.3. Results showed that trees per acre (TPA) differed significantly between Spring Creek and Snipe Creek, with Snipe Creek having the highest number of TPA. Quadratic mean diameter (QMD) also differed significantly in these two watersheds, with Spring Creek having the highest quadratic mean diameter. A different set of species was found in each watershed, with American elm (Ulmus americana) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) being found in high numbers in all areas. Regeneration data showed hackberry to be present in high numbers of both seedlings and saplings. Seedlings exhibited more species diversity than saplings. High economic value species were present in the natural riparian woodlands but in low numbers. Species of moderate economic value were predominant in terms of BA, TPA, and regeneration. Human impact on the riparian areas in the sub-watersheds was noticeable, both from livestock and forest management. Also invasive species were found in the riparian woodlands such as garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and stinging nettles (Urtica diotica). Riparian areas have a great potential for improvement and management in the three sub-watersheds.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Charles Barden / Riparian forests are more effective than other land cover types at stabilizing stream banks during high water events. Tree trunks and roots can slow flood-waters, thus retaining sediment deposition within riparian areas instead of downstream in reservoirs. This project is part of a larger, multi-agency study on reducing sedimentation of federal reservoirs. Between August 2010 and May 2012, riparian forests were assessed in the watersheds of three northeast Kansas lakes: Atchison County, Banner Creek, and Centralia City. The predominant land use in those watersheds is agricultural, with Atchison and Centralia watersheds dominated by cropland and Banner dominated by grassland. Plot dimensions were 50ft by 30ft (1500 ft[superscript]2) measured from the top of the streambank outward to the extent of the predetermined active channel width (ACW). Forty-four plots were assessed across the three watersheds. Data collected in each plot were used to determine the basal area (BA) in ft[superscript]2 per acre, trees per acre (TPA), tree height by crown class, and quadratic mean diameter (QMD) by species. Results showed some trends in BA and TPA among the three watersheds, however differences were not significant. The average BA of trees in riparian woodlands in the Centralia watershed was 155 ft[superscript]2 (dominated by cottonwood (Populus deltoides) with some honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)); the Atchison and Banner watersheds showed an average BA of 120 ft[superscript]2. The Atchison watershed was dominated by honeylocust and walnut (Juglans nigra) but the Banner watershed was dominated by bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). However, the Atchison watershed had the most TPA (194), as well as the tallest trees of the three watersheds. The Atchison watershed had the highest QMD in oak, whereas the Banner and Centralia watersheds had the highest QMD in cottonwood. Banner watershed had more plots with seedlings, whereas Atchison watershed had more plots with saplings. Overall, forest regeneration primarily comprised hackberry seedlings and saplings, with hickory saplings more common in the Banner watershed. For each watershed, the composition and structure of riparian vegetation differed but not significantly.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Kendra K. McLauchlan / Reconstructing fire regimes and fuel characteristics is an important aspect of understanding past forest ecosystem processes. Fuel sources and disturbance regimes throughout the upper Midwestern United States have been shown to be sensitive to regional climatic variability such as drought periods on millennial timescales. Yet, records documenting the complex connections between disturbance activity and the corresponding fuel source fluctuations in mesic deciduous forests and oak savanna forests in this region are limited. Thus, it has been difficult to provide a framework to evaluate drought conditions on fire activity and the relationships with fuel source fluctuations in this region. Here, I conducted high-resolution charcoal analyses of lake sediments from four sites in southeastern-southcentral Wisconsin (USA) to characterize fire activity and fuel source fluctuation in mesic deciduous forests and prairie-oak savanna over the last 10,000 years. I found that fire regimes across the four study sites have been asynchronous throughout the Holocene, due to site-specific differences that have strongly influenced local fire regimes. I also found that during periods of high fire activity the primary fuels were from arboreal sources, and during periods of low fire activity the primary fuels were from non-arboreal sources. However, fluctuations in fuel sources did not always correspond to changes in vegetation, or changes in fire frequency.

Master of Arts / Department of History / Bonnie Lynn-Sherow / In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Timber Culture Act (1873) and the development of the field of scientific forestry shifted the social conception of trees from a cultural icon, into living technological tools. Beginning with the antebellum publications of George Perkins Marsh, who argued for the preservation and restoration of forests for the benefit of all, scientists, railroad developers, and plains settlers advocated for the cultural importance of trees as a living tool. Assured by railroad-boosters, the budding Forestry Bureau, and pro-tree legislators that rainfall would follow their planting efforts, waves of emigrants who relocated to the grasslands from the eastern forested areas planted millions of trees in an attempt to afforest the open prairies, creating traceable environmental and social changes over time. Environmental historian Elliott West asserts, “Only people have tried on a massive scale to move imagined environments out of their heads and to duplicate them in the world where others live,” and the grasslands of Kansas is one of these environments. This thesis argues that the scientific field of forestry developed a system of prairie tree planting (afforestation) aimed at altering the environment of the Great Plains with artificial forests and created a technological construction of the Kansas environment. The enactment of the Timber Culture Act was a watershed moment because it elevated the social conceptions of trees to that of a living tool and created the need for a national Forestry Bureau. Primary source documents reveal that the general perception held in the nineteenth century was that the natural environment and climate was malleable. The development of profit-centered tree farms furthered the idea that forests were like any other manageable crop. The changes over time in the forest cover of Kansas resulted in an altered ecology and the introduction of invasive species, but most importantly, it altered the cultural perception of how Kansas should look.

Master of Science / Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Sherry J. Haar / This study compared the colorfastness of potassium aluminum sulfate (PAS) mordanted and nonmordanted 30/2 wool yarn, dyed with black walnut (Juglans Nigra), Osage orange (Maclura pomifera), and eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) sawdust. Information from this study is intended to inform natural dye artisans and to increase the profitability of sawdust for farmers, ranchers, and mill owners who would otherwise find little use for this byproduct of timber manufacturing. Pre-testing ensured dyeings of visually comparable color depth and dye concentrations were pre-tested to find a standard depth of shade between the same dye on PAS mordanted and nonmordanted wool yarns. Tests for colorfastness to light, laundering and staining were performed in accordance to AATCC test methods. Resulting colors for exposed and unexposed specimens were rated using CIE L* a* b* values and AATCC gray scale for color change. GLM Anovas and two-sample t-tests were used to statistically analyze CIE L* a* b* values. As expected, findings indicated that dye absorption was improved with the use of a PAS mordant, especially for black walnut and eastern redcedar. For yarns premordanted with PAS the dyewoods became yellower. A PAS mordant slightly improved colorfastness to light for black walnut and eastern redcedar, but did not influence Osage orange which had an unexpected color change from bright yellow to warm brown after exposure to light. Colorfastness to laundering was slightly improved with PAS for Osage orange, while black walnut and eastern red cedar had slightly less color change without the mordant. This research was supported by the Agricultural Research Experiment Station and Kansas State University.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Kevin P. Price / Due primarily to changes in land management practices, eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.), a native Kansas conifer, is rapidly invading onto valuable rangelands. The suppression of fire and increase of intensive grazing, combined with the rapid growth rate, high reproductive output, and dispersal ability of the species have allowed it to dramatically expand beyond its original range. There is a growing interest in harvesting this species for use as a biofuel. For economic planning purposes, density and biomass quantities for the trees are needed. Three methods are explored for mapping eastern redcedar and quantifying its biomass in Riley County, Kansas. First, a land cover classification of redcedar cover is performed using a method that utilizes a support vector machine classifier applied to a multi-temporal stack of Landsat TM satellite images. Second, a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) is used to measure individual redcedar trees in an area where they are encroaching into a pasture. Finally, a hybrid approach is used to estimate redcedar biomass using high resolution multispectral and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imagery. These methods showed promise in the forestry, range management, and bioenergy industries for better understanding of an invasive species that shows great potential for use as a biofuel resource.