XERIC LIMESTONE PRAIRIES OF EASTERN UNITED STATES

Xeric limestone prairies (XLPs) are open, nonforested communities dominatedby native, C4 perennial grasses. In eastern United States, they occur on shallow, rockycalcareous soils in various physiographic provinces from Missouri and Pennsylvaniasouth to Arkansas and Georgia. Floristic, vegetation, and physical environmental datawere collected from 18 XLPs in Kentucky and used in conjunction with data collected inother studies to provide a synthesis for XLP vegetation in eastern United States and acomparison of this vegetation type with limestone cedar glades and deep-soil barrens.XLPs occur on 33 soil series in five orders (Alfisols, Mollisols, Ultisols, Inceptisols, andVertisols) and on limestone, dolomite, and calcareous shale of Cambrian through Tertiarysystems. In Kentucky, XLPs are restricted to the Interior Low Plateaus, where they aremost frequent on the Upper Mississippian Salem Limestone in the KnobstoneEscarpment and Knobs. Three hundred and thirty-five taxa were recorded in the 18 sitessampled in Kentucky, of which 20 (6.0%) are nonnative and 24 (7.2%) state-listed asrare. The majority of the flora is intraneous C3 hemicryptophytes. Thirteen taxa areendemic to XLPs of eastern United States, but none to those in Kentucky. The native, C4perennial grass Schizachyrium scoparium was dominant in 10 of 12 community types inKentucky identified at a scale of 100-m2 and in 21 of 23 studies of XLPs in easternUnited States. The C4 annual grass Sporobolus vaginiflorus had high frequency values inthe majority of sites in Kentucky, where it often was dominant in the most shallow-soilzones. Variability among XLPs in Kentucky and among the floras of XLPs in differentregions is largely attributable to differences in forb species composition. Soil depth is theprimary abiotic source of variability in XLP community types in Kentucky and in manyother regions of eastern United States. Dendrochronological and aerial photographicstudies support the conclusion that the vast majority of XLPs are not primarycommunities. XLPs on the Cambrian Ketona Dolomite in the Ridge and Valley in BibbCounty, Alabama, are perhaps the only sites which represent an edaphic climax

Rainforest change analysis in Eastern Africa : A new multisourced, semi-quantitative approach to investigating more than 100 years of forest cover disturbance

Forest change and disturbance of the past strongly influence the state of today’s forests and their biodiversity. However, knowledge of former forest landscape states can be subject to misunderstanding and the practical management of forests requires the establishment of correct narratives of forest cover change. This thesis therefore investigates the long-term forest change and anthropogenic factors at work within three tropical rain forests of high biodiversity and high use value in Kenya and Uganda. A wide range of data sources are employed for a semi-quantitative analysis. Starting from an existing time series of satellite imagery classifications the research incorporates the visual interpretation of historical aerial photography, forestry records, maps of both topographic and thematic type, archive documents, oral histories, place name meanings, and fossil pollen evidence. GIS is used as the means to manage and focus the evidence and to analyse the wide range of data. In combination the sources allow the building of a narrative characterised by variation across both space and time. The localised reality of forest change is reflected in the inclusion of case studies from which forest narratives of each of the three main forest areas are subsequently constructed. The forest cover time series are extended back to around 1910 for each of the forests and thus to a pre-commercial exploitation state; they reveal losses of 60% and 43% of the forests of Kakamega-Nandi and Mabira respectively. These losses have been arrested in recent years while Budongo Forest has shown negligible change across the full period with the first losses recently occurring outside the forest reserves. The long-term approach has revealed fluctuations in forest cover, most notably in Mabira Forest across the 20th century and in parts of the Kakamega-Nandi area both across decades and across millennia. A landscape view shows these areas to have long-existed as mosaics of forest, woodland and grassland, and the loss of grassland over the last century has exceeded that of forest. The study identifies an historic role for disease and tribal conflict in the creation and protection of forest cover in East Africa but also traces a development in the underlying causes of forest cover change towards commercial and governance factors. The creation of a population time series demonstrates that population density cannot be described as the main driver of deforestation. Two spatially-explicit indices distinguish between locally and commercially-driven disturbances and are compared with an index of forest cover change. Results reveal a localised pattern and that commercial disturbance has played an especially large role in the degradation and fragmentation of the Kakamega-Nandi forests while local disturbance is shown to be most dramatic in Mabira Forest. Most of Budongo Forest has been persistently degraded by systematic commercial exploitation. It is suggested that these forests should be managed with recognition of their mosaic heritage but also as dynamic and changing entities. The study concludes that while the heterogeneity found within forest landscapes is often due to human disturbance, ecologists should also consider natural processes, including variations in past climate, for explanations. The cumulative nature of disturbance is highlighted with the recommendation that past commercial exploitation should be included in any assessment of forest degradation. The use of GIS and the creation of disturbance indices is recommended as a viable means of quantitatively assessing forest degradation and of distinguishing between the contributions of different types of disturbance. The most under-used resources available for researching long-term forest change are stated to be topographic maps and forestry archives. The quantitative data they provide can be usefully supported by qualitative information, most flexibly provided by forest history interviews

COMPUTER VISUALIZATION OF FOREST COVER CHANGE: HUMAN IMPACTS IN NORTHEASTERN KANSAS AND NATURAL DISTURBANCE IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

ABSTRACT The merging of remote sensing, GIS and visualization techniques was applied to demonstrate the potential for realistic computer visualizations depicting the dynamic nature of forested environments. Scientific visualizations can aid in environmental and forest management decision making as a support tool and in landscape ecology to relay the findings of studies. While visualization software and methods have already been developed to recreate natural landscapes, little has been done to investigate the potential for illustrating land cover change through temporal data acquired from the real world. High resolution imagery and aerial photography in conjunction with object oriented image analysis as well as pre-existing land cover datasets were used in the placement of trees and other vegetation in the visualized landscape, providing an accurate representation of reality at various points in time. 3D Nature's Visual Nature Studio was used to construct a variety of realistic stills and animations depicting forest cover change in two distinct settings. Visualizations from Yellowstone National Park focused on the dramatic natural impact of the 1988 fire upon a lodgepole pine forest. In Kansas, visualization techniques were used to explore the continuous human-land interactions between 1941 and 2002 impacting the eastern deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie ecotone. The resulting visualizations demonstrate which techniques and scales are most appropriate for visualizing and exploring change in forested environments. These products provide the means for users, from researchers to resource managers and the public, to demonstrate concepts and develop new hypothesis in these two environments

Habitat Assessment of Ozark Glades Using Selected Epigeal Predatory Arthropods

Epigeal predatory arthropods were collected with pitfall-style traps in nine sandstone glades of varying ecological stages, and management histories, in the Ozarks of Northern Arkansas over three years. These sites were categorized into three Site Types; Intact, high quality glades; Degraded, forest-encroached glades, and Restored glades which had received woody vegetation removal and burning. Collections of ground spiders (Gnaphosidae), predatory ground beetles (Carabidae), and the sole species of scorpion present in the Ozarks, Centruroides vittatus, were reported on as well as the applicability of arthropod collection methods for glade habitat assessment. Habitat characteristics were recorded for each site and analyzed for differences between sites and correlation to the diversity of arthropods identified from two seasons of trapping. Intact and Degraded glade sites were found to have different habitat characteristics as well as different species of epigeal arthropods in collections. In general, the Restored Site Type had two sites that appeared to group with Intact sites, and one seemingly more like Degraded sites. This study showed comparing trap catches of the selected taxa among glade sites had value for assessment

An Overview of Remote Sensing in Russian Forestry

The Russian Federation possesses vast forested areas, containing about 23% of the world's closed forests. A significant part of these forestlands is neither managed nor regularly monitored. This is due in part to the absence of developed infrastructure in the remote northern regions, which hampers the collection of data on forest inventory and monitoring in all areas by precise and expensive on-ground methods. As a result, the monitoring in all areas by precise and expensive on-ground methods. As a result, the former Soviet Union conducted intensive research on remote sensing during the last few decades, resulting in significant achievements. However, there has been a noticeable decline in remote sensing research and applications in the Russian forest sector from 1990-1998. Russia needs a new system of forest inventory and monitoring capable of providing reliable, practical information for sustainable forest management. Such a system should take into account current national demands on the Russian forest sector as well as the international obligations of the country. Remote sensing methods are an indispensable part of such a system. These methods will play a crucial role in critical applications such as ensuring the sustainability of forest management, protecting threatened forests, fulfilling the countrys Kyoto Protocol obligations, and others. This paper presents an overview of past and current remote sensing methods in the Russian forest sector, including both practical and scientific applications. Based on this overview, relevant applications of remote sensing methods in the Russian forest sector are discussed. This discussion considers current Russian economic conditions and the direction of political and social development of the country

Wilderness and Natural Areas in the Eastern United States: A Management Challenge

Table of Contentshttps://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ebooks/1001/thumbnail.jp

Pattern and process in rare plant conservation: an assessment of the Southeastern U.S.

The development of conservation policy for rare plant species is informed by largescale patterns of distribution and abundance as well as the processes that generate them. I collected data on 224 rare vascular plants in the Southeastern U.S. to characterize patterns of rarity at ecoregional scales, among broad habitat types, and with respect to taxonomic group size. Rare species diversity is highest in Appalachian/Blue Ridge Forests and Southeastern Conifer Forests ecoregions. Most rare plants are concentrated in woodland and glade habitats and larger taxonomic groups. A case-study experimental approach was adopted to explore the significance of reproductive biology in the persistence of a globally imperiled Southeastern endemic plant, Ptilimnium nodosum. The species has a phenologically regulated mixed mating system dependent on insect-mediated pollination. Moderate reproductive output and high seed germinability suggest environmental conditions, not mating system, play a critical role in regulating the species’ distribution and abundance, and favor high immediate fitness gained by vegetative reproduction