Effects of long term drainage and restoration on soil properties of southern Rocky Mountain sedge fens, The

2012 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Mountain sedge fens are unique ecosystems which require thousands of years to form, provide refuge for rare plant species, and are easily disturbed by human activity. Peatland soils are significant players in the global carbon cycle, storing 1/3 of the terrestrial carbon stock. Drained peat is a persistent source of atmospheric CO2, restoring the carbon storage function to disturbed peatlands is an increasingly important justification for peatland restoration. I measured water table dynamics and CO2 flux at three small fens (< 10 ha) in SW Colorado for one year before and one year after restoration. The fens were hydrologically restored with the installation of small check dams in ditches that had drained the sites for a century. Water tables in restored areas increased during the driest periods of the summer from -45 cm below the surface to -15 cm. We measured CO2 flux (net ecosystem exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (ER), and gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP)) bi-weekly during the two growing seasons using an infrared gas analyzer attached to a 60 x 60 x 60 cm closed chamber. Mean NEE over the two year study was lowest in the disturbed areas (-1.28 g CO2 m-2 hr-1). Mean NEE in the reference area was -1.74 g CO2 m-2 hr-1 and in the restored areas was -2.19. Mean ER was similar across treatments, ranging from 0.77 and 0.92 g CO2 m-2 hr-1. Soil samples were extracted from three fens restored during this study and 1 restored in 1990 to test the effects of long term drainage and restoration on the physical properties of peat soil including; bulk density, porosity, % organic matter (OM), residual water content, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Disturbance has caused significant changes in the peat soil including; 25% reduction in soil OM, increased bulk density, decreased porosity, and reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity. These effects persist in peat soil 20 years after restoration. Calculated OM losses of 1.4 to 3.6 kg m-2 have resulted in an estimated loss of 14.7 to 91 tons OM from each of these fens. The hydrologic regime and CO2 storage has been successfully restored in these fens, while the peat soil bears a legacy of disturbance two decades after restoration

An analysis of the medical review process at the National Outdoor Leadership School

A statistical analysis of the medical characteristics of students on field courses at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) was performed. This analysis determined that the group of students with the highest overall student scores (≥4 on a 1 through 5 scale) tended to score lower in the psychological counseling and current psychological treatment questions and scored significantly higher in the athletic ability question on the NOLS medical review form. This indicates that these individuals tended to have little or no history of counseling and psychological treatment and were more likely to be engaged in competitive sports. Discriminant analysis demonstrated that these variables also contributed the most to discerning mathematically among the four possible student outcome score groups, which ranged from the inability to complete a course (evacuation) through highly successful. Many of the questions on the current NOLS medical form could not be analyzed statistically because they demonstrated no variance among the groups. Although these questions may still be valuable for screening purposes, some of them could be reworded for increased sensitivity. Discriminant analysis of six responses on the medical form was 43.7% effective at classifying individuals to outcome groups, and it is likely that this could be more effective with some modifications to the evaluation process. Admissions personnel in outdoor programs are encouraged to include questions such as those mentioned above in their overall admission procedures and to examine them thoroughly in their admissions decisions. Although additional studies should be conducted to examine these issues more thoroughly, it is possible that programmatic changes would assist students without the above-mentioned characteristics in becoming more successful in field courses

A Study of the Bromination Products of Phenylmercaptoacetic Acid

This investigation was begun in order to determine the nature of the 104 degree melting compound prepared by Ashmore and to determine which isomers and their relative amounts are produced during bromination of phenylmercaptoacetic acid

A Comprehensive View of Faith in "The Brothers Karamozov" Through the Collective Personality

In examining Dostoevsky's treatment of faith in The Brothers Karamazov, critics often focus solely on "The Grand Inquisitor." Dostoevsky, however, refutes the Inquisitor's views through the movement of the three Karamazov brothers toward faith. The three Karamazov brothers, as a collective personality, represent the fundamental needs of man and the corresponding aspects of faith, each brother being an individual study of the necessity of integrating soul, heart and mind into faith. The crises that each brother faces force each one to develop a fuller dimension of faith. The final effect of integrating the soul, heart and mind in faith is active love