Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item THE EFFECTS OF LEAF LITTER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON OVERWINTERING INSECT COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION: IMPACTS AND APPLICATIONS IN RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPES(2024) Ferlauto, Max; Burghardt, Karin T; Entomology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Fallen leaf management is a widespread landscaping practice in urban areas that not only influences soil health but also affects the overwintering individuals of subsequent year's aboveground arthropod communities. There has been considerable public and scientific interest in the ecological effects of this disturbance, yet little experimental research making it difficult to provide evidence-based landscaping recommendations to stakeholders. This dissertation aims to narrow this knowledge gap, provide information for the creation of best management practices, and encourage further research on this critical topic. In Chapter 2, I compare spring arthropod emergence in residential areas where fallen leaves were removed or retained across different levels of maintenance intensity. In Chapter 3, I focus on the legacies of long-term leaf removal to soil organic carbon dynamics. And in Chapter 4, I examine the efficacy of alternative leaf management practices—such as shredding and leaf piling—on soil microclimates, arthropod biodiversity, and decomposition rates while exploring if tree canopy diversity mitigated impacts to these ecosystem functions. The results of these three experimental studies were consistent across years and habitat types. Leaf removal reduced the spring emergence of Lepidoptera by about 35-45% and reduced spiders by about 50-67%, altered parasitic wasp community composition, reduced soil moisture and temperature buffering, and ultimately led to legacy effects in the soil of reduced decomposition and soil organic carbon. The context in which leaves were managed also mattered, as unique resources attracted overwintering arthropods more when they were scarce in the environment. Despite the potential for high plant diversity in leaf-managed areas to create ecosystem traps for arthropods, tree diversity actually mitigated some negative effects of fallen leaf disturbance to ecosystem function. Overall, I find that some practices like leaf removal and shredding degrade ecosystem processes while others like piling leaves and planting a diverse tree canopy can support ecosystem services. This dissertation is the first to quantify the ecological impacts of leaf management as an urban disturbance and addresses critical questions necessary for developing urban best management practices.Item Reordering the Landscape: Science, Nature, and Spirituality at Wye House(2015) Pruitt, Elizabeth; Leone, Mark P; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation draws on literature and theoretical frameworks of gardening and social ordering that examine early Euro-American and African-American material culture as they came together on the plantation landscape at Wye House. Located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the plantation was home to the Welsh Lloyd family and hundreds of enslaved Africans and African-Americans. Using archaeological and archeobotanical remains of garden related buildings and slave dwellings, this project acknowledges the different possible interactions and understandings of nature at Wye House and how this gave shape to a dynamic, culturally-based, and entangled landscape of imposed and hidden meanings, colonization and resistance.Item Older Gardeners as Keepers of the Earth: A Phenomenological Study(2007-04-26) Collins, Carole Staley; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores what the lived experience of gardening is like for older, community-dwelling gardeners as it is uncovered through conversations, garden visits, and written notes from seven older gardeners. Over a two-year sequence, multiple in-depth individual conversations at the homes of the co-researcher participants unearth themes reflective of their gardening lives. Drawn forward by the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology, the rich text of our dialogue mingles like compost and becomes something newly created that shows their passion for interacting with plants and living habitats. Using the existentials of lived place, lived body, lived time and lived relation we dig into how gardening is lived. Home and volunteer places for gardening keep these older adults curious and creatively engaged-characteristics of healthy agers. Their worn body parts go unnoticed in the presence of beauty they co-create, suggesting knowing the Earth through the senses is a source of tranquility and wakefulness that brings a renewed appreciation for the wonder of nearby nature. With interpretive literature, poetry, and cultural understandings of the gardeners' lives, we relate to metaphors surrounding gardening; the seasons and the circle of life are ever-present. Autobiographical stories of sustained volunteerism, land trusts, and conservancies for future generations reveal their caring for the planet and spiritual aspects of this physical activity, which they love. Reaching out beyond their gardens to share their bounty and wisdom about their relationship with living earth, the gardeners model a vision of respect for the planet and an ecological consciousness. Witnessing nearby nature, they blossom in the Fall of their lives. As a community health professional, my task is to educate and raise awareness about nature for human health and well-being; thereby building on current initiatives to foster accessible nearby nature. The study also sheds light on the value of environmental activism through autobiographical notions. In supporting a gardening life for older gardeners, we advocate the importance of interacting with nearby nature that we long to preserve. Our planet needs more earth keepers like these to bring us back into balance.