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This study investigates the succession following fire in a relatively dry area of the boreal forest, the Shakwak Trench, southwest Yukon. The postfire successional regime is determined by an analysis of age structure and composition of tree populations in stands of different ages. The dendroecological approach used in this study is based on the sampling of one plot in each of 11 fires ranging from A.D. 1844-1998. Picea glauca established 0-4 years after fire and reached a period of maximum establishment after 20-40 years. Populus tremuloides was generally recruited immediately after fire and was no longer present after approximately 20 years, at which point, the Picea glauca began to dominate. Salix spp. were found...
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Historically, traffi c on the Denali Park Road has been limited in order to protect wildlife and improve visitor experience. The Denali Park Road is one example of a park roadway facing increasing visitation and pressure to change or defend the current limits on traffi c. To respond to such pressures, park and protected area managers need a greater understanding of the impacts of traffi c volume and traffi c patterns on the physical, biological, and social environment. This study developed a traffi c simulation model of the Denali Park Road that predicts visitor experience and impacts on Dall’s sheep for hypothesized road usage scenarios. The model incorporated crowding indicators at prescribed scenic areas and...
Control of surface and subsurface water is a critical factor in the efficiency of remediation efforts at Eagle River Flats, an active impact range on Fort Richardson, Alaska, contaminated with particulate white phosphorus from artillery and mortar rounds. The Flats is an estuarine salt marsh bordered by bluffs with water groundwater influx from the edges as well as periodic tidal and river inundation and rain events. The uneven topography and presence of numerous craters results in pooled surface water and high perched water levels, inhibiting remediation of the contaminant. Pumps are used to drain contaminated areas to enhance remediation, but ditching is required to enhance the operation of the pumps and to drain...
Seismic shot data can potentially assist cost/benefit analyses and planning of future seismic and pipeline development activities, by providing regional information on near-surface ground conditions, depths to shallow bedrock, identification of hazards (ground ice, flowing holes), and the location of potential aggregate resources (surface and buried gravel deposits). ... The Seismic Shothole Litholog Database and GIS is a compilation of 75 784 individual, augered shothole records collected during 1960s and 1970s geotechnical seismic operations, conducted along the Mackenzie corridor, NWT, and northern Yukon Territory. Compiled in a Microsoft Access« database, spatially heterogeneous shothole data (reflecting past...
Aboriginal peoples have had a long history of utilizing non-timber forest products. While the type of products used is well documented, little is known about the quantities collected and if these products could be sold and marketed as a means of income generation for Aboriginal peoples. This thesis examines three main components of the economic development for a potential NTFP in a sub-arctic aboriginal setting. The first part of this thesis examines the cultural and institutions implication of the collection of such a product in the Gwich'in Settlement Area (GSA). The second part of this thesis focuses on research inventorying the species of fruit bearing plants within the major vegetation types and to quantify...
Understanding how environmental change affects demography is essential for understanding and managing populations. An anthropogenic change in the environment that has affected wildlife populations is widespread agricultural development. Agriculture has both negatively and positively impacted abundance of species by affecting a variety of vital rates that influence population abundance. In this study, I describe the migration ecology of Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) that nest and stage in Interior Alaska. I also describe how the introduction of agriculture has potentially positively impacted population dynamics of Canada geese by increasing nutrient acquisition, thereby improving their fecundity and survival....
Soil water content strongly affects permafrost dynamics by changing the soil thermal properties. However, the movement of liquid water, which plays an important role in the heat transport of temperate soils, has been under-represented in boreal studies. Two different heat transport models with and without convective heat transport were compared to measurements of soil temperatures in four boreal sites with different stand ages and drainage classes. Overall, soil temperatures during the growing season tended to be over-estimated by 2–4 °C when movement of liquid water and water vapor was not represented in the model. The role of heat transport in water has broad implications for site responses to warming and suggests...
White phosphorus (WP) has been implicated in the deaths of thousands of waterfowl annually at Eagle River Flats (ERF), an estuarine salt marsh located on Fort Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. The source of WP contamination at ERF was the firing of WP containing munitions into the area by the U.S. military. WP is a well-known toxicant and is lethal to a wide range of species. However, WP contamination at ERF is the first documented case of a U.S. Army munitions impact area contaminated with WP particles. This has led to the designation of ERF as a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army must follow the guidelines of remediation set by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,...
The primary focus in this dissertation is on the processes of environmental change that drive evolution. We are currently witnessing unparalleled changes in climate and associated changes in biotic communities. With a growing understanding that climate and habitat change, coupled with natural variability, will have an increased influence on biota into the future, it is our responsibility to learn how best to manage and conserve the Earth's natural resources. Among other things, this will require a firmer understanding of biodiversity, life histories, evolutionary relationships among species, and community dynamics over multiple species. One method of understanding how species will respond to future change is to...
Dynamics of canopy lichens were investigated for 2 years after group and single-tree selection harvesting in a Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm. - Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. forest in north-central British Columbia. Litterfall was collected in 1-m^sup 2^ traps set on the forest floor and estimates of Alectoria sarmentosa (Ach.) Ach. and Bryoria spp. litterfall adjusted for decomposition in the snowpack. Growth rates of A. sarmentosa and Bryoria fuscescens (Gyeln.) Brodo & D. Hawksworth were measured by repeatedly weighing samples maintained in mesh enclosures in the canopy. Standing crop of canopy lichens was measured in concurrent studies. There appeared to be a small postharvest pulse of litterfall in the...
map background search result map search result map Changes in vegetation in northern Alaska under scenarios of climate change, 2003-2100: implications for climate feedbacks Conservation Beyond Crisis Management: A Reverse-Matrix Model A Discussion Paper for the Canadian BEACONs Project Eagle River Flats Remediation Project. Comprehensive Bibliography - 1998 to 2003 Remediating and monitoring white phosphorus contamination at Eagle River Flats (Operable Unit C), Fort Richardson, Alaska The effects of fertilization and herbivory on the herbaceous vegetation of the boreal forest in north-western Canada: a 10-year study Modeling traffic patterns in Denali National Park and Preserve to evaluate effects on visitor experience and wildlife The effects of fertilization and herbivory on the herbaceous vegetation of the boreal forest in north-western Canada: a 10-year study Eagle River Flats Remediation Project. Comprehensive Bibliography - 1998 to 2003 Remediating and monitoring white phosphorus contamination at Eagle River Flats (Operable Unit C), Fort Richardson, Alaska Modeling traffic patterns in Denali National Park and Preserve to evaluate effects on visitor experience and wildlife Changes in vegetation in northern Alaska under scenarios of climate change, 2003-2100: implications for climate feedbacks Conservation Beyond Crisis Management: A Reverse-Matrix Model A Discussion Paper for the Canadian BEACONs Project