Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76). Also available via the Internet.

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A key year is a year in which a significant number of trees had a wider or narrower growth ring than the previous year. A non-key year is a year which there vas not a significant number of trees that had greater or less growth than the previous year. A key-year pattern is a series of key years that are separated in time by non-key years. Keyyear patterns have proven useful in determining the date of construction of buildings of historical significance (Heikkenen 1980). A white ash key-year pattern was constructed, using 4 radii from 3 tree heights of 16 trees. Radii from a tree height of 0.3. (1 ft) above ground were found to have higher agree.ent with the white ash key-year pattern than radii from positions higher in the tree. Long radii (from off-centered piths) were found to have higher agreement than the shorter radii. The long radii from lower heights had twice the level of agreement as the short radii at upper heights. The amount of agreement decreased as the number of trees used to construct the key-year pattern was dropped from 16 to 8. At least 8 samples of long radii from lower tree heights were needed to construct a key-year pattern. At least 12 samples were needed from short radii at upper tree heights to construct a key-year pattern. Twelve samples were sufficient to produce a key-year pattern, when sampling from unknown heights and radial lengths (i.e. log houses). / Master of Science

Design/Build education in architecture schools is growing in popularity across North America. I have researched the development of this movement, particularly as it has influenced educational programs. This paper begins with a review of the history of design/build at the University level. These historical precedents chart the course of several major benchmarks that have influenced design/build in the United States over the past 100 years. The second part of the study features a matrix highlighting seven current academic programs with long-term success in design/build. Then, I highlight my own design/build experiences within this format. After determining successful design/build programming, I used this information to develop a new curriculum. To test this new system, I led the development and realization of a local design/build project involving a Five College undergraduate team. This small-scale project was chosen in January and the physical build occurred in March, 2015. Completion of this project allowed for a critical analysis of this new method. This paper compares my results with the initial definition of program successes in an attempt to determine best practices for design/build curriculum moving forward.

Current surface mine reclamation in Appalachia involves returning the land to approximate original contour by grading the surface and planting grasses and early-successional trees. This results in a greatly altered ecosystem compared to the native forest that was there prior to mining. The reclaimed land is usually degraded economically and environmentally because mine soils are usually less productive than the native soils, and because the mined sites do not provide the same level of ecosystem services. This research addressed constraints to the return of the native ecosystem by assessing how mine spoil properties and treatments affect native tree species and soil microorganisms. A 4x2x3 factorial greenhouse experiment was used to examine the growth of one-year-old Fraxinus americana, Quercus rubra, and Liriodendron tulipifera as well as herbaceous plant occurrence and microbial biomass and activity. Three mine spoils, brown, weathered sandstone (BWS), white, unweathered sandstone (WUS), and gray, unweathered shale (GUH) were compared with undisturbed forest topsoil (UFT) to determine their suitability for tree growth. Half of each of the four media was inoculated with a 2.5-cm layer of topsoil. BWS was the optimal spoil material for the growth of F. americana, Q. rubra and microbial populations. Foliar nutrient analysis indicated that L. tulipifera was highly dependent on nutrient levels and was unable to grow well on any of the spoil types due to deficiencies. Inoculation with topsoil increased tree growth on the GUH spoil, and increased microbial activity and presence of herbaceous plants across all growth media. The field study was used to determine what spoil properties most influenced three-year-old Quercus alba growth. This information was used to test a mine quality classification model. Northeast facing sites with sandy spoils high in nutrients, moderate in pH, and high in microbial populations were optimal for tree growth. These variables explained 52% of the variation in tree growth. Tree growth was also highly correlated with tree foliar nutrient levels, further suggesting that tree growth was influenced by spoil nutrients. Microbial biomass and dehydrogenase production were also regressed against soil properties and were dependant on a moderate pH, high nitrogen levels, and low salt content. These variables explained 53% of the variability in microbial biomass and 50% of the variability in enzyme production. These studies suggest that tree growth and soil microbial populations are closely linked, and both are affected by mine spoil properties. During mined land reclamation, mine spoils conducive to tree growth should be selected if return of the native ecosystem is the reclamation goal. / Master of Science