ABSTRACT UNDERSTORY PLANT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN FORESTS INVADED BY GARLIC MUSTARD (ALLIARIA PETIOLATA) MAY 2016 JASON ALLEN AYLWARD, B.S., PAUL SMITH’S COLLEGE M.S. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Kristina Stinson Plant invasions represent a significant threat to the structure and function of natural ecosystems. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) has been identified as a threat to native communities mostly through small-scale studies and focused experiments. In this in situ observational study I examined the effects of garlic mustard invasion on species composition across multiple sites by comparing plant diversity and composition in invaded and adjacent non-invaded communities. Mean Shannon diversity was higher in invaded compared to non-invaded plots and invasion was associated with greater densities of invasive species such as burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and greater celandine (Chelidonium majus). In ordination space, the sites grouped more closely by geographic region than by invasion status, suggesting that regional environmental variation is important for community structure. My findings indicate that garlic mustard invasion is associated with other invasive plants, and that the understory plant community varies considerably across the region regardless of invasion status. Overall we show that community structure in garlic mustard invaded forest understories is not consistent across the landscape.

This study was designed to investigate concerns with respect to the delivery of special education services in reserve schools, to identify the special needs of children attending these schools, and to study means of identifying and assessing children with special needs. The information obtained was used to develop a special education funding formula which would be more sensitive and responsive to the specific needs of Indian students in schools on reserves in Saskatchewan.<p> The study which was an exploratory field study involved two or more days of intensive discussion between the researcher and various groups of people on each of six reserves. At the conclusion of the study, a committee comprised of representatives of each band met with the researcher to review the findings and to make recommendations.<p> The study addressed three main areas of concern-the identification and assessment of special education students, the special needs of students in reserve schools, and funding arrangements. Results indicated that current procedures for identifying and assessing special education students are vague, costly, and time-consuming. As well, bands do not have easy access to the qualified personnel to do the identification and/or testing. It was also discovered that large numbers of students in reserve schools are handicapped because they are severely disadvantaged, seriously age-grade misplaced, and/or severely emotionally deprived. These categories of handicap, although not recognized by the the special education funding formulas, do interfere with the academic achievement and success of the students. Bands are experiencing problems with the current funding arrangements. Inadequacy of funds to cover the costs of delivering appropriate programming, lack of firm policies and procedures for accessing and allocating funds or to direct the process of delivering funds to the band level, and ineffective systems at the band level for administering special education funds are the chief problems.<p> It was recommended that the funding formula should consist of three components--a low cost component to offset the costs of programming for the mildly to moderately handicapped; a special needs component to cover the costs of programming required beyond what is provided through the low cost component; a support services component to cover the costs of education psychologists, classroom consultants, speech therapists, and other consultant services. As well, it was stressed that for such a formula to be truly functional, well-defined policies and procedures would have to be developed and implemented.

This study was designed to investigate concerns with respect to the delivery of special education services in reserve schools, to identify the special needs of children attending these schools, and to study means of identifying and assessing children with special needs. The information obtained was used to develop a special education funding formula which would be more sensitive and responsive to the specific needs of Indian students in schools on reserves in Saskatchewan.<p> The study which was an exploratory field study involved two or more days of intensive discussion between the researcher and various groups of people on each of six reserves. At the conclusion of the study, a committee comprised of representatives of each band met with the researcher to review the findings and to make recommendations.<p> The study addressed three main areas of concern-the identification and assessment of special education students, the special needs of students in reserve schools, and funding arrangements. Results indicated that current procedures for identifying and assessing special education students are vague, costly, and time-consuming. As well, bands do not have easy access to the qualified personnel to do the identification and/or testing. It was also discovered that large numbers of students in reserve schools are handicapped because they are severely disadvantaged, seriously age-grade misplaced, and/or severely emotionally deprived. These categories of handicap, although not recognized by the the special education funding formulas, do interfere with the academic achievement and success of the students. Bands are experiencing problems with the current funding arrangements. Inadequacy of funds to cover the costs of delivering appropriate programming, lack of firm policies and procedures for accessing and allocating funds or to direct the process of delivering funds to the band level, and ineffective systems at the band level for administering special education funds are the chief problems.<p> It was recommended that the funding formula should consist of three components--a low cost component to offset the costs of programming for the mildly to moderately handicapped; a special needs component to cover the costs of programming required beyond what is provided through the low cost component; a support services component to cover the costs of education psychologists, classroom consultants, speech therapists, and other consultant services. As well, it was stressed that for such a formula to be truly functional, well-defined policies and procedures would have to be developed and implemented.

The control and eradication of the invasive biennial herb garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and the restoration of invaded forest habitats present important linked challenges to land managers in North America. Removing garlic mustard by hand and by glyphosate herbicide application have both been used as eradication strategies with mixed results. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, but they are rarely compared for effectiveness and community impact across multiple years of management. Some previous studies have shown improvements in species diversity and plant community composition following management, while others have found no differences. To better understand both garlic mustard population and native plant community responses to these two methods across a broad geographic range, we tested these two management methods for four years in seven northern hardwood forests in Massachusetts and New York State. We found that pulling juvenile and adult garlic mustard plants for four years significantly reduced adult abundance, while spraying had no effect compared to invaded control plots. In the plant community, we found no negative impacts of garlic mustard on species diversity nor increased diversity in managed plots following three consecutive years of management. Our results suggest that increased diversity should not be the primary goal of garlic mustard management at these sites and plant community monitoring at the site-specific scale should be explored. This study highlights how complicated decisions can be for managers when deciding which invasions to prioritize and how to measure plant community recovery.