This research focused on the secondary succession of spring flora occurring within pits of windthrows located in the area described as Ginn/ Nixon Woods, an old growth beech-maple forest community that transitions to a mixed mesophytic forest community, approximately 12 miles north of Muncie, IN. More specifically, this research sought to identify the vegetative production capacities of pits as well as determine the extent to which pit microtopography and light influx affect the production of spring flora.In all sixty plots were established--30 test plots within the confines of windthrow pits, and 30 control plots, each one just six feet away from a test plot on undisturbed forest soil. One sampling period occurred in 1993 (just prior to leafing); four sampling periods occurred in 1994 (two prior to leafing and two after leafing). Species presence, density and cover data were used to produce two-dimensional ordinations for examination. Species presence, plot depth, slope, and light data were subjected to the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Test to determine the extent of influence pit microtopography and light influx have on spring flora.Examination of the data clearly showed that disturbed areas known as windthrow pits experience a significant decline in vegetative production--at least for a few years but likely for many years, after the initial disturbance or windthrow occurs. The data also clearly showed that over time windthrow pits eventually recover vegetative production.The recovery of vegetative production in pits was shown to have a positive correlation with plot depth; that is to say, as pit depth decreases, vegetative diversity increases. Standing water in pits, though not recorded statistically, was observed in the field as having a strong negative impact on vegetative recovery. Consequently, the environmental factors that work together to affect the topographical recovery of the pit to an elevation equal to or greater than the surrounding forest floor were found to be critical in the vegetative recovery of pits. This researcher has appropriately termed this recovery process as "elevation equilibrium," since the end result is a pit whose topographical relief has given way to a relatively static elevation equal to adjacent undisturbed areas of the forest floor.Unlike plot depth, the amount of slope in pits did not seem to play a significant role in reducing or encouraging vegetative recovery. Likewise the amount of shade cast on pits prior to leafing, and the size and/or presence of gaps in the canopy after leafing, appeared to have little influence on the recovery of spring flora. When plant diversity data for each test plot was correlated with its slope, pre-leafing light influx and post-leafinglight influx data using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation test, it found no significant relationships between any of the sets of variables. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-47). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-116).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-115).

Stem respiration is an important part of respiration coming from different dead and living stem tissues of trees, which makes an important contribution to the overall forest carbon balance. This report investigated spatial differences regarding radial diffusion of CO2 through the bark on trees across different old growth forests in Sweden. Some key environmental factors such as precipitation, wetness classes, temperature, stem diameter, distance from the coast, and latitude have been analysed to find relationships with stem respiration. Measurements were carried out on the most common tree species in Sweden, Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies and Betula pubescens. This was done by using a portable gas analyser strapped to the trees. The results show statistical differences in stem respiration for each tree species between some of the forests, while no statistical differences were found between wetness classes within or between forests. The only environmental factor that was found to have a significant relationship with stem respiration was stem diameter for P. sylvestris. Overall, these results indicate that stem respiration rate is relatively insensitive to environmental variation, which potentially simplifies the process of extrapolating this flux over space and time. Knowledge about stem respiration is important for understanding of the carbon cycle and prediction of future global change. Therefore, it is crucial to gain extensive information and understanding about the external relationships that could influence stem respiration.

Thesis (Ph. D., Natural Resources)--University of Idaho, October 2007. / Major professor: Jay O'Laughlin. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

This essay offers a study of old growth forest policy in British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest and, in so doing, attempts to contribute to the sparse comparative environmental literature that uses Canada as a case study. Specifically, the essay addresses the question of why old growth forest preservation policy divergences so dramatically between British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest. After establishing that American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth forest preservation policy diverges, the author employs a chronological methodology to reconstruct the current old growth preservation policy outcomes in both jurisdictions. The author then identifies a series of variables that affect old growth forest preservation policy in both jurisdictions, and examines each as a force of divergence. The essay discusses the different influences of two non-institutional variables-science and economics-and two institutional variables-federalism and legalism-on American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth policy. The essay concludes by discussing the question of how each variable works with one another to produce this instance of policy divergence. The author finds that all four variables collaborate with one another and contribute to the divergence. However, the essay concludes that the major determining factor in this case of policy divergence is the interplay of the two institutional variables.

This essay offers a study of old growth forest policy in British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest and, in so doing, attempts to contribute to the sparse comparative environmental literature that uses Canada as a case study. Specifically, the essay addresses the question of why old growth forest preservation policy divergences so dramatically between British Columbia and the American Pacific Northwest. After establishing that American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth forest preservation policy diverges, the author employs a chronological methodology to reconstruct the current old growth preservation policy outcomes in both jurisdictions. The author then identifies a series of variables that affect old growth forest preservation policy in both jurisdictions, and examines each as a force of divergence. The essay discusses the different influences of two non-institutional variables-science and economics-and two institutional variables-federalism and legalism-on American Pacific Northwest and British Columbia old growth policy. The essay concludes by discussing the question of how each variable works with one another to produce this instance of policy divergence. The author finds that all four variables collaborate with one another and contribute to the divergence. However, the essay concludes that the major determining factor in this case of policy divergence is the interplay of the two institutional variables. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate