Living \u3cem\u3eMore Than\u3c/em\u3e Just Enough for the City: Persistence of High-Quality Vegetation in Natural Areas in an Urban Setting

Urban environments pose special challenges to flora, including altered disturbance regimes, habitat fragmentation, and increased opportunity for invasion by non-native species. In addition, urban natural area represents most people’s contact with nature, given the majority of the world’s population currently live in cities. We used coefficients of conservatism (C-values), a system that ranks species based on perceived fidelity to remnant native plant communities that retain ecological integrity, to quantify habitat quality of 14 sites covering 850 ha within the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, in the Midwestern United States. All sites contained significant natural area and were inventoried via intensive complete censuses throughout one or two growing seasons within the last 15 years. Mean C-values for five sites were high, especially when compared to values reported for the highest quality preserves in central Indiana. However, for most sites the difference in mean C-value with and without non-natives was rather high, meaning that natural quality is likely to have been compromised by the presence of non-natives. Sites receiving the highest levels of stewardship and those with the least public access via trails had the highest mean native C-values. A total of 34 invasive non-native species were found across all 14 sites. Most were woody species. Mean C-value over all sites was significantly negatively correlated with the number of non-natives present, especially those considered invasive. These results demonstrate for the Indianapolis area, and likely other urbanized Midwestern cities, remnant natural areas can retain high ecological value, especially if they receive regular environmental stewardship

Letter from William Kerr\u27s secretary.

Letter in response of director of Music Department

Reinforced carbon-carbon oxidation behavior in convective and radiative environments

Reinforced carbon-carbon, which is used as thermal protection on the space shuttle orbiter wing leading edges and nose cap, was tested in both radiant and plasma arcjet heating test facilities. The test series was conducted at varying temperatures and pressures. Samples tested in the plasma arcjet facility had consistently higher mass loss than those samples tested in the radiant facility. A method using the mass loss data is suggested for predicting mission mass loss for specific locations on the Orbiter

Letters between A. E. Grantham and William Kerr\u27s secretary.

Letters concerning a position in agronomy at Utah Agricultural College

Letters between Don E. Fish and William Kerr\u27s secretary

Letters concerning a position in the department of agronomy at Utah Agricultural College

Letters between E. C. Davis and William Kerr\u27s secretary

Letters concerning a position in the Commercial Department at Utah Agricultural College

Letters between E. R. South and William Kerr\u27s secretary

Letters concerning Mercy Baker

Letters between Charlotte D. Seaver and William Kerr\u27s secretary

Letters concerning application for a position in the Domestic Science Department at Utah Agricultural College as well as Charlotte\u27s resume

Letters between John D. Speirs and William Kerr\u27s secretary

Letters concerning a position in mathematics or history at Utah Agricultural College