Facilitative interactions can have a powerful influence on the structure of plant communities and must be accounted for in efforts to restore disturbed and invaded habitats, such as the now rare coastal sage scrub (CSS) of California. In this study, I tested for evidence of facilitative effects by the native shrubs Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum and Artemisia californica on germination and survival of the CSS native annual forb Phacelia distans. P. distans seeds were planted near patches of native shrubs, both under the shrub canopy where any facilitative effects should be strongest, and 0.5 m away in the more exposed grassland. To determine whether the shrub-forb relationship was affected by the presence of invasive annuals, E. fasciculatum sites were assigned either invasive annual removal or non-removal control treatment; no removal treatments were carried out for A. californica. P. distans had significantly higher germination but lower survivorship under the canopy of E. fasciculatum. The results showed no overall effect of invasive removal, but there was a weak interaction effect with location; in shrub-canopy plots, invasive species further lowered survivorship. A. californica showed neither facilitative nor negative effects of this shrub species on either germination or survivorship of P. distans, in contrast with the results for E. fasciculatum. Although E. fasciculatum appears to facilitate the germination of native forbs under its canopy, it also seems to have a negative effect on survival. The weak interaction between location and removal to further decrease survival under the canopy when invasives are present, and the abundance of grasses growing under the canopy, suggest that native shrubs may facilitate the growth of invasive annuals as well as the germination of natives. Consequently, controlling invasive grass abundance may be necessary to capture the benefits of shrub facilitation for the restoration of native CSS herbs.

Peatlands are carbon sinks and occupy approximately 13% of Canada’s terrestrial surface of which 0.02% have been harvested for horticultural peat. The extraction of peat from natural peatlands alters the hydrology which affects the growth and survival of Sphagnum the primary peat forming vegetation. Ericaceous shrubs do not require specific water content and soil water pressure conditions for their existence and in cutover peatlands they occupy more than 70% of the surface. Rainfall interception, transpiration and root water uptake and redistribution are processes that alter water availability at the soil surface. The high abundance of shrubs at cutover peatlands will influence the surface water balance and more importantly soil water availability and, inevitably determine the success of Sphagnum reestablishment at the site. This study seeks to understand the role that ericaceous shrubs play in the surface hydrological balance at a cutover site and how these changes impact Sphagnum development. Rainfall interception, transpiration, litter layer evaporation and soil water flux was investigated in the field and lab. Approximately 334 mm of rainfall was measured over the season. The shrub canopy and litter had a maximum storage capacity of 4 and 1.2 mm respectively and intercepted ca. 36.7% (120 mm) of rainfall over the season. The effects of rainfall intensity and duration were more important than gross rainfall in determining the amount of water intercepted by the canopy, while the thickness and mass of the litter layer largely determined the storage capacity. Evapotranspiration from shrubs averaged 2.5 mm day-1 with a total of 211 mm over the season. Transpiration was 68% (142 mm) of total evapotranspiration losses, and represented the greatest water loss from the shrub canopy. From these analyses only 22% (72 mm) of rainfall is available for other soil processes and moss development. The evaporation under a litter cover is lower than bare peat and in the field represents water storage of 17 mm over the season. Reduced water input by litter interception is offset by the increased water storage under the litter. Laboratory analyses of soil water flux under ericaceous shrubs show that water loss under the shrubs was greater than bare peat. Water use under the shrubs was highest between -10 and -30 cm and was ca. 2 times greater than bare peat at the same levels. Volumetric water content (θ) decreased throughout the day and water use by shrubs during the day was twice that at night. The shrubs also maintained θ and soil water pressure (ψ) above the threshold values of 50% and -100 cm, respectively, needed for Sphagnum survival. Based on these analyses the shrubs will be beneficial to Sphagnum reestablishment and survival once the primary water losses have been compensated. I recommend raising the water table above -20 cm. In peatland restoration activities, at this level, water used between -10 and -30 cm can quickly be recharged and surface moisture maintained above threshold by capillary rise helping to offset water loss by interception and transpiration through capillary rise.

Peatlands are carbon sinks and occupy approximately 13% of Canada’s terrestrial surface of which 0.02% have been harvested for horticultural peat. The extraction of peat from natural peatlands alters the hydrology which affects the growth and survival of Sphagnum the primary peat forming vegetation. Ericaceous shrubs do not require specific water content and soil water pressure conditions for their existence and in cutover peatlands they occupy more than 70% of the surface. Rainfall interception, transpiration and root water uptake and redistribution are processes that alter water availability at the soil surface. The high abundance of shrubs at cutover peatlands will influence the surface water balance and more importantly soil water availability and, inevitably determine the success of Sphagnum reestablishment at the site. This study seeks to understand the role that ericaceous shrubs play in the surface hydrological balance at a cutover site and how these changes impact Sphagnum development. Rainfall interception, transpiration, litter layer evaporation and soil water flux was investigated in the field and lab. Approximately 334 mm of rainfall was measured over the season. The shrub canopy and litter had a maximum storage capacity of 4 and 1.2 mm respectively and intercepted ca. 36.7% (120 mm) of rainfall over the season. The effects of rainfall intensity and duration were more important than gross rainfall in determining the amount of water intercepted by the canopy, while the thickness and mass of the litter layer largely determined the storage capacity. Evapotranspiration from shrubs averaged 2.5 mm day-1 with a total of 211 mm over the season. Transpiration was 68% (142 mm) of total evapotranspiration losses, and represented the greatest water loss from the shrub canopy. From these analyses only 22% (72 mm) of rainfall is available for other soil processes and moss development. The evaporation under a litter cover is lower than bare peat and in the field represents water storage of 17 mm over the season. Reduced water input by litter interception is offset by the increased water storage under the litter. Laboratory analyses of soil water flux under ericaceous shrubs show that water loss under the shrubs was greater than bare peat. Water use under the shrubs was highest between -10 and -30 cm and was ca. 2 times greater than bare peat at the same levels. Volumetric water content (θ) decreased throughout the day and water use by shrubs during the day was twice that at night. The shrubs also maintained θ and soil water pressure (ψ) above the threshold values of 50% and -100 cm, respectively, needed for Sphagnum survival. Based on these analyses the shrubs will be beneficial to Sphagnum reestablishment and survival once the primary water losses have been compensated. I recommend raising the water table above -20 cm. In peatland restoration activities, at this level, water used between -10 and -30 cm can quickly be recharged and surface moisture maintained above threshold by capillary rise helping to offset water loss by interception and transpiration through capillary rise.

In this ethnobotanical study, an ethnoarchaeological approach was adopted for the archaeological implications of the importance of wild food plants and their dietary uses in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods in Central Anatolia by exploring the dietary uses of these plants by the modern villagers of Konya Basin. The study was based on the indigenous knowledge of the modern villagers of Konya of managing wild food plant resource in their surroundings for the dietary uses. This knowledge was explored through ethnobotanical research strategies. The study was limited by both the research subject and the area for a better focus on the research. The geographical borders were limited to Central Anatolia as it included Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites with detailed archaeological investigations and it made a comparison available between different geographical zones. Because it was possible to study similar environments today in the Konya Basin, nine modern villages to collect ethnobotanical data were chosen from three different environmental zones in this area, which included wetland, forest and steppe zones. The wild fruit, nut and tuber species recovered from the archaeological excavations were selected for study in their current natural environments. The different strategies of harvesting, processing and storage local people used for the consumption of each plant species provided useful implications to archaeological recoveries.

Revised; Originally Published: 2003 / 7 pp.

published_or_final_version / Ecology and Biodiversity / Master / Master of Philosophy

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

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Facilitative interactions can have a powerful influence on the structure of plant communities and must be accounted for in efforts to restore disturbed and invaded habitats, such as the now rare coastal sage scrub (CSS) of California. In this study, I tested for evidence of facilitative effects by the native shrubs Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum and Artemisia californica on germination and survival of the CSS native annual forb Phacelia distans. P. distans seeds were planted near patches of native shrubs, both under the shrub canopy where any facilitative effects should be strongest, and 0.5 m away in the more exposed grassland. To determine whether the shrub-forb relationship was affected by the presence of invasive annuals, E. fasciculatum sites were assigned either invasive annual removal or non-removal control treatment; no removal treatments were carried out for A. californica. P. distans had significantly higher germination but lower survivorship under the canopy of E. fasciculatum. The results showed no overall effect of invasive removal, but there was a weak interaction effect with location; in shrub-canopy plots, invasive species further lowered survivorship. A. californica showed neither facilitative nor negative effects of this shrub species on either germination or survivorship of P. distans, in contrast with the results for E. fasciculatum. Although E. fasciculatum appears to facilitate the germination of native forbs under its canopy, it also seems to have a negative effect on survival. The weak interaction between location and removal to further decrease survival under the canopy when invasives are present, and the abundance of grasses growing under the canopy, suggest that native shrubs may facilitate the growth of invasive annuals as well as the germination of natives. Consequently, controlling invasive grass abundance may be necessary to capture the benefits of shrub facilitation for the restoration of native CSS herbs.

Conifer species are subjected to major time constraints in tree improvement because of their long regeneration cycle and large sizes. However, integration of developing biotechnologies could significantly reduce this time limitation in tree breeding programs. In this regard, somatic embryogenesis (SE) offers a great potential in commercially important Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia TEN.) for rapid production of larger number of clones as well as capture of greater genetic gains. In this study, seven collections were done to sample precotyledonar zygotic embryos for induction of embryogenic tissue (ET) from 15 clones located in Antalya. Afterwards, abscisic acid, carbohydrates, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and gellan gum were tested to obtain mature somatic embryos in maturation experiments. Analyses of variance showed a significant variation among collection dates (43.1% of total variance) and clones studied (18.8% of total variance) for induction of ETs. Overall initiation frequency of ET in this study was 11.6% with clonal range of 4.7 &amp / #8211 / 24.1%. Of those tested maturation treatments, 80&amp / #956 / M ABA, sucrose and maltose at 3 and 6%, 3.75% PEG combined with 1% gellan gum were found to be suitable for maturation of somatic embryos in Turkish red pine. Sixty nine somatic embryos were obtained from Clone 22, which was one of tested clones. Induction frequencies could be further improved by using different basal media and/or manipulating media components, such as plant growth regulators. For proper maturation of somatic embryos, embryogenic lines need to be screened to find suitable lines, which are developmentally responsive to ABA treatment.