Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Comparing juvenile physiology and morphology of two high-elevation pines, Pinus albicaulis and Pinus balfouriana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Sparks, Katherine Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Danielle UlrichWhitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, PIAL) and foxtail pine (P. balfouriana, PIBA) are slow-growing, high-elevation, five needled ("high five") white pines and are foundation and keystone species in alpine and subalpine environments, providing essential resources and habitat for many species including the Clark's nutcracker and grizzly bears. In recent years, PIAL has experienced significant decline due to an amalgamation of climate change, white pine blister rust, and mountain pine beetle. As a result, PIAL is listed as endangered under the Canadian Species at Risk Act and threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act. Conversely, PIBA has experienced minimal decline. PIBA also exists in two disjunct populations, one in southern California (PIBAS) and one in northern California (PIBA N), resulting in the species being split into two sub-species (P. balfouriana subsp. austrina and balfouriana). Our study compared the physiology and morphology of the two species (PIAL and PIBA) and the two foxtail populations (PIBA N and PIBAS) to better understand how they interact with and respond to abiotic and biotic stressors in their high-elevation environments. We grew four-year-old PIAL and PIBA juveniles in a common greenhouse environment. In total, we measured 159 traits describing their morphology, biomass, stomata, xylem, budburst phenology, physiology, whole plant Volatile Organic Compounds (wpVOCs), phloem volatile resin (PVR) compounds, and Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSCs). We found that PIAL and PIBA displayed different suites of traits that enable them to persist in their high elevation habitats, characterized by similar abiotic stressors (cold temperatures, high winds, summer drought) and biotic stressors (white pine blister rust, bark beetle). The two foxtail populations were similar for most traits except for wpVOC concentration and composition where PIBAS had significantly higher wpVOC concentration than PIBA N. For most traits, PIAL was most similar to PIBA N and differed the most with PIBAS while PIBA N was the intermediate being more similar to both groups, especially in wpVOC composition and concentration.Item Restoring native plant and arthropod communities in gulf coastal prairies following plant invasion and drought(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2014) Mitchell, Adam Benjamin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Andrea Litt; Andrea R. Litt, Anthony D. Falk and Forrest S. Smith were co-authors of the article, 'Shifts in composition of plant and arthropod communities following plant invasion and drought' submitted to the journal 'Restoration ecology' which is contained within this thesis.; Andrea R. Litt, Anthony D. Falk and Forrest S. Smith were co-authors of the article, 'Modifying soil properties to restore native plant communities following plant invasion and drought' submitted to the journal 'Restoration ecology' which is contained within this thesis.; Andrea R. Litt, Anthony D. Falk and Forrest S. Smith were co-authors of the article, 'Soil modification to restore native arthropod communities impacted by plant invasion and drought' submitted to the journal ''Restoration ecology' which is contained within this thesis.Plant invasions are a threat to biodiversity, as changes in plant community characteristics resulting from invasion can affect other organisms, such as arthropods. The effects of invasions may interact with other disturbances and alter the efficacy of restoration strategies. We sought to understand the effects of Old World bluestem grasses (OWBs, Bothriochloa, Dichanthium spp.), which have become dominant in prairie ecosystems and reduce the quality of habitat for wildlife. In an attempt to reduce OWBs, we applied treatments to modify soil conditions to a state which favors native plants and arthropods. We conducted our research in 2011, which coincided with extreme drought and provided us with the opportunity to test the efficacy of soil modification under varying conditions. First, we explored the effects of plant invasion and drought on native plant and arthropod communities by comparing characteristics of plots dominated by native plants to plots dominated by OWBs. As drought subsided, we observed a shift from an arthropod community driven by detritivores to one driven by herbivores associated with plant invasion. Arthropod communities were dominated by invasive species. Second, we explored the efficacy of soil modification and seeding treatments to reduce OWBs in the presence and absence of drought based on a field experiment and a more controlled microcosm experiment. Although changes in soil chemistry from soil treatments were short-lived, we observed reduced dominance of OWBs in areas treated with soil disturbance and seeding in both experiments and we observed no differences between experiments when we alleviated the effects of drought. Finally, we examined the concomitant effects of our soil modification and seeding treatments on arthropod communities in the field experiment. We observed fewer arthropods in treated plots than undisturbed OWB monocultures, but soil and seeding treatments increased arthropod diversity and reduced dominance of invasive arthropods relative to undisturbed OWB monocultures. Based on our findings, simple soil disturbance in combination with seeding of native plants may increase diversity of native plants and arthropods where invasive plants are dominant in the short term, but monitoring over longer time frames may reveal additional benefits from soil modification.