Whitebark pine (WBP) is a keystone species of Rocky Mountain alpine and subalpine areas. A pervasive non-native fungal disease (white pine blister rust), mountain pine beetle infestation, and successional replacement by shade-tolerant competitors following decades of fire exclusion have severely reduced whitebark pine and threaten these high-elevation ecosystems. Land managers are attempting to reverse whitebark pines decline by increasing regeneration of rust-resistant trees while restoring successional processes. Restoration efforts include the planting of whitebark pine seedlings and over 200,000 seedlings have been planted on National Forest, BLM and National Park service lands. In this Rocky Mountain (RM) study, select whitebark pine plantations were surveyed and seedling survival rates and ecological data collected. The purpose of this initial study was to determine overall survival rates for planted whitebark pine seedlings and to identify environmental conditions that have promoted high seedling survival. Data were analyzed at the site, plot and tree level. Microsites created by stumps, rocks and downed logs in close proximity to WBP seedlings greatly enhanced survival, seedling height and seedling growth during the first year after planting. Potential direct solar radiation was inversely related to WBP survival. Wet planting sites were detrimental to seedling survival. Results as to the effect of fire on seedling survival were inconclusive. However for 1st year seedlings it does appear that moderate, mixed or severe burning did result in much higher survival than unburned. To further understand the environmental conditions that affect seedling survival, an experimental planting was designed and monitored using the knowledge gained from the RM study. Seedling survival in this planting was statistically significantly associated with the presence of a microsite. And increased health of seedlings was associated with the presence of beneficial mycorrhizal associates. Only seedling located in burned or unburned whitebark pine communities were colonized with native fungi and colonization was higher for burned than for unburned sites. Whitebark pine seedlings are successfully being planted and it is possible to discern how different environmental conditions are affecting the survival, height, growth and health of planted seedlings.

The original design of this dissertation project was relatively simple and straightforward. It was intended to produce one single, dynamic, classification and mapping system for existing vegetation that could rely on commonly available inventory and remote sensing data. This classification and mapping system was intended to provide the analytical basis for resource planning and management. The problems encountered during the first phase of the original design transformed this project into an extensive analysis of the nature of these problems and a decade-long remote sensing applications development endeavor. What evolved from this applications development process is a portion of what has become a "system of systems" to inform and support natural resource management. This dissertation presents the progression of work that sequentially developed a suite of remote sensing applications designed to address different aspects of the problems encountered with the original project. These remote sensing applications feature different resource issues, and resource components and are presented in separate chapters. Chapter one provides an introduction and description of the project evolution and chapter six provides a summary of the work and concluding discussion. Chapters two through five describe remote sensing applications that represent related, yet independent studies that are presented essentially as previously published. Chapter two evaluates different approaches to classifying and mapping fire severity using multi-temporal Landsat TM data. The recommended method currently represents the analytical basis for fire severity data produced by the USDA Forest Service and the US Geological Survey. Chapter three also uses multi-temporal Landsat data and compares quantitative, remote-sensing-based change detection methods for forest management related canopy change. The recommended method has been widely applied for a variety of forest health and disaster response applications. Chapter four presents a method for multi-source and multi-classifier regional land cover mapping that is currently incorporated in the USDA Forest Service Existing Vegetation Classification and Mapping Technical Guide. Chapter five presents a study using nearest neighbor imputation methods to generate geospatial data surfaces for simulation modeling of vegetation through time and space. While these results have not yet been successful enough to support widespread adoption and implementation, it is possible that these general methods can be adapted to perform adequately for simulation modeling data needs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1971. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1971. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago. / From the Botanical gazette, v. 49, February, 1910. Contributions from the Hull botanical laboratory 135. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in digital form on the Internet Archive Web site.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1985. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-129). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Microstegium vimineum is a non-native invasive plant species classified as an annual, shade-tolerant C4 grass. There is limited research regarding variables affecting the spread of M. vimineum. Two studies were conducted to investigate the spread of M. vimineum. A field study was undertaken in 2009 to determine how M. vimineum spreads in relation to litter disturbance. In 2010, a greenhouse study was conducted to determine the impact light has on M. vimineum aboveground biomass, height growth, and photosynthetic efficiency. The field study consisted of three treatments, Undisturbed (Control), Stirring, and Removal of leaf litter, employed along the boundary of existing M. vimineum populations in ½-meter by 2-meter plots. Distance of spread from the existing population and percent cover were documented for one growing season. Plants were counted at the end of the study. Neither stirring nor removal of leaf litter had a significant impact on spread rate, percent cover, or the number of plants in a given treatment suggesting pre-growing season leaf litter disturbance does not influence M. vimineum spread, percent cover, or number of plants. The greenhouse study consisted of growing M. vimineum under four light treatments: 100, 70, 45, and 20 percent of full light. Heights were measured weekly while minimum, maximum, and variable fluorescence emission, non-photochemical and photochemical quenching, and maximum quantum yield of Photosystem II photochemistry (QYmax) were measured every 10 days. Aboveground biomass accumulation was calculated at the end of the study. Results indicate that M. viminuem aboveground biomass accumulation is highest in 70 percent to 100 percent light while photosynthetic efficiency is highest between 45 percent and 70 percent light. This research indicates that M. vimineum does not spread appreciably at low light levels (closed canopies) in areas with litter disturbances that do not change the light regime. M. vimineum has greater aboveground biomass and photosynthetic efficiencies at higher levels of light. Thus, forest disturbances that result in more light reaching the ground may influence the spread of M. vimineum by creating a more favorable environment.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1972. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

This study examined several aspects of canopy structure and their influence on growth of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations. Foliage distribution, crown hydraulic architecture, and the effect of chronological changes in canopy structure on stand development were explored as possible components of a future process-based model intended for management purposes. A model based on the Johnsons SB distribution was developed to predict leaf area distribution of loblolly pine trees. This is a preliminary step for building a submodel capable of simulating chronological changes in canopy structure and stand growth. The model accurately predicted the cumulative distribution of leaf area in the crown. It has the potential to be included in forest growth models where an accurate description of leaf area distribution is needed. A novel process-related, non-carbon-based growth model for predicting the growth of closed, unthinned, loblolly pine stands was developed. Its ability to represent the dynamics of the canopy and stand growth was evaluated. Overall, model predictions were in agreement with reported observations or proposed theories in relation to stand growth, size-density relations, and relationships between canopy dynamics and stand growth. Modeling the hydraulic architecture of the crown is important because it controls crown recession. Patterns in branch permeability with crown depth and permeability at the top of the main stem were analyzed for loblolly pine trees from families selected for differences in growth rate and crown size. The results showed that branch permeability decreased significantly from the top to the bottom of the crown and that genetic-based differences might exist in patterns of stem and branch permeability. The study showed the potential of using a process approach to develop a forest growth model and utilizing mechanistic and empirical elements in the construction of the simulator. In addition, the integration and synthesis of information coming from diverse sources in the model allow the possibility of detecting deficiencies in the understanding of key processes and provide a guide for formulating hypotheses and planning experiments to fill the gaps in knowledge of the processes regulating stand development.

Sperm from zebrafish, Danio rerio, and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, were microinjected directly into egg cytoplasm to evaluate the potential for developing a novel method of fertilization. In zebrafish, the sperm of two lines (wild-type and gold, long-fin) were injected with or without activation into activated and non-activated eggs. No significant difference (P = 0.997) in fertilization by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was observed between the two lines or when the sperm were activated or not (P = 0.057). There was significance difference in fertilization between activated and non-activated eggs (P = 0.010). The highest fertilization rate was achieved by injection of activated sperm into non-activated eggs (35%). From a total of 188 zebrafish eggs injected, 31 (16%) were fertilized, 10 (5%) developed as abnormal larvae and 3 (2%) developed normally and hatched. Damage of maternal chromosomes by the injection procedure could have caused the developmental abnormalities observed after ICSI. This was investigated by fluorescence microscopy using a DNA-specific stain (Hoechst 33324). Fixed and stained animal poles of zebrafish 30 sec after artificial insemination revealed that female chromosomes were located ~40 mm from the sperm injection site (micropyle). Staining of the animal pole after sperm injection showed no disruption of the formation of the second polar body or its extrusion. Evaluation of two sperm injection sites in zebrafish showed no difference in fertilization rate (P = 0.8264) or reduction of abnormal development. Nile tilapia eggs placed in Hanks' balanced salt solution retained their viability for at least 3 hours after collection. Of a total of 160 Nile tilapia eggs injected with fresh sperm, 16 (10%) were fertilized, 10 (6%) developed abnormally to neurula and 5 (3%) developed normally and hatched, two of which reached adulthood. From 45 eggs injected with cryopreserved sperm, 9 (20%) were fertilized but none developed beyond blastula stage. Injections of sperm fixed in methanol did not yield fertilization. These results demonstrate for the first time that injection of single sperm cells into the cytoplasm of a fish egg allows fertilization and subsequent development of normal larvae to hatching and beyond.