Successive Land Surveys as Indicators of Vegetation Change in an Agricultural Landscape

dc.contributor.authorFlatley, William Truetlenen
dc.contributor.committeechairCopenheaver, Carolyn A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberAust, W. Michaelen
dc.contributor.committeememberCampbell, James B. Jr.en
dc.contributor.departmentForestryen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:42:33Zen
dc.date.adate2006-10-19en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:42:33Zen
dc.date.issued2006-08-03en
dc.date.rdate2006-10-19en
dc.date.sdate2006-08-14en
dc.description.abstractA series of anthropogenic disturbance conditions have altered the vegetation of the southern Appalachians during the past 200-years. The objective of this research was to identify the nature and timing of these vegetation changes in order to better understand the underlying causes. A total of 304 land surveys were collected for a small agricultural watershed from early settlement in 1787 through to the present day. Witness corners recorded tree species, shrubs, stumps, snags and non vegetative markers. Types of witness corners were tallied and tested for shifts in frequency across time periods. Tree species were also classified by silvical characteristics including sprouting capability, shade tolerance, and seed type and these groupings were tested for shifts in frequency across time periods. Landform bias of the witness corners was tested using references contained in the surveys. Results showed significant shifts in white oak (Quercus alba L.), chestnut (Castanea dentate Marsh. Borkh.), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus Wild.), black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.), red oak(Quercus rubra L.), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea Muenchh.). The central change was a steady decline in white oak, probably due to the absence of fire and changes in soil properties. Chestnut replaced white oak as the dominant species, but was removed by chestnut blight in the 1930's. Sprouting capability appeared to be the most important silvical characteristic across all species.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-08142006-232356en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08142006-232356/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/44202en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartFlatleyETD.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectwhite oaken
dc.subjectchestnuten
dc.subjecthistorical ecologyen
dc.subjectmetes and bounds surveysen
dc.subjectWitness treesen
dc.subjectsouthern Appalachiansen
dc.subjectSouthwestern Virginiaen
dc.titleSuccessive Land Surveys as Indicators of Vegetation Change in an Agricultural Landscapeen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineForestryen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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