PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVE RESPONSE TO PRESCRIBED FIRE IN MID-ATLANTIC BRACKISH MARSHES

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorNeedelman, Brian Aen_US
dc.contributor.advisorWeil, Raymond Ren_US
dc.contributor.authorBickford, Wesley Alanen_US
dc.contributor.departmentBioengineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-08T06:28:19Z
dc.date.available2011-10-08T06:28:19Z
dc.date.issued2011en_US
dc.description.abstractPrescribed fire may increase productivity of some brackish marsh species. An understanding of the mechanisms behind this stimulatory effect is important for land managers to maximize the benefits to the ecosystem. I found that canopy removal is the dominant mechanism through which fire stimulates biomass production in the marshes at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland. The stimulatory effect of canopy removal was stronger in sedge-dominated systems than grass-dominated systems. Faster sprouting sedge species may be able to take fuller advantage of light and soil temperature increases following canopy removal than later-sprouting grass species. Results of a greenhouse study indicated that canopy removal gives sedges a competitive advantage over grasses. These studies have numerous implications for land managers using anthropogenic disturbances as a management technique. Canopy-level disturbances, such as fire may increase productivity in sedge-dominated marshes and may suppress grass species in mixed compositions.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/12054
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEnvironmental scienceen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledBiologyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledSoil sciencesen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledCompetitionen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledDisturbanceen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledPlant Productivityen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledPrescribed Fireen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledTidal Marshen_US
dc.titlePLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVE RESPONSE TO PRESCRIBED FIRE IN MID-ATLANTIC BRACKISH MARSHESen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Bickford_umd_0117N_12264.pdf
Size:
2.31 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

UMD Theses and Dissertations
Fischell Department of Bioengineering Theses and Dissertations