SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Shrub Willow Living Snow Fence-2 (2013)
No full textThis is a picture of a shrub willow living snow fence along I-81 in Tully, NY.https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1019/thumbnail.jp
Willow Living Snow Fence (2013)
No full textWillow Living Snow Fence along Route 12 (Paris, NY)https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1027/thumbnail.jp
Coppicing Living Snow Fences
Get PDFCoppicing is a form of management for certain woody plants that has been used for centuries. The process involves cutting stems near the ground and allowing new stems to grow from the part of the plant that is left behind, which is referred to as the stool. Coppicing living snow fences is a maintenance practice that increases the number of stems on each plant. A larger number of stems on each plant increases “density” of the living snow fence, lowering the optical porosity and allowing fences to become functional more quickly. Coppicing improves the vigor of many species, and has been shown to accelerate the overall aboveground growth of shrub-willow. The information and techniques described in this fact sheet are primarily intended for coppicing shrub-willow plants, but may be applicable to other species with coppice potential as well
Abundances of northeastern Native American culturally important plants in contemporary Adirondack Landscapes
Get PDFIn contemporary landscapes culturally important plants may suffer in the absence of their ancestral caretakers, who shaped pre-colonial ecosystems via intentional burning, coppicing, plant propagation, and manipulation of species composition. Therefore, it is important to understand how culturally important plants occur generally in contemporary ecosystems sans traditional management. Given that 99.9% of contemporary forest is secondary, it is especially important to examine occurrences of culturally important plants in secondary forest. To address this issue, culturally important plants in old growth forests at the Huntington Wildlife Forest, New York, were compared to those found in burned and defoliated forests at Cranberry Lake Biological Station, New York. Herbaceous understory species were inventoried at all sites. Importance values for culturally important species were compared among old growth, burned, and defoliated forest using ANOVA. Importance values of culturally important plants were significantly different among old growth, burned, and defoliated sites. Highest species richness and highest importance values occurred in old growth forest. As disturbance was generally used to increase biodiversity and incidences of culturally important plants, this result may suggest that common disturbances and land use histories do not mimic conditions established by indigenous practices. This would have implications for the survival of culturally important plants that have suffered population decline, as well as for the survival of cultural traditions that depend on those plants
Cost Optimization for Reducing Heating Demand in New York Residential Buildings
Get PDFHeating residential buildings is a major expense to homeowners in cold climates and a contributor to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions due to the high percentage of homes heated by fossil fuels. Both heating demand and cost can be minimized using energy conservation measures, but optimal levels of such measures depend on current building characteristics. Using data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, the average existing building characteristics of New York State single family detached residential buildings were found for houses heated by natural gas and houses heated with fuel oil. Using Building Energy Optimization software (BEopt), created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the energy performance of these buildings as well as the pricing for performing several energy conservation measures were modeled. Simulation energy demand was compared with the survey values for validation analysis. Results showed that out of the energy conservation options considered, the most effective methods of decreasing energy costs in both model houses were through infiltration reduction, basement insulation, and ceiling insulation, though the ceiling option could be taken to a further level in the oil fueled house. Maximizing cost savings from energy retrofitting translated into an energy savings of around 40% for each house and a conservative thirty year net present value of 5,030 for the average oil fueled house
Living Snow Fence Species Selection
Get PDFSpecies selection is an important step in the design of effective and efficient living snow fences. A species matrix can assist in the plant selection for living snow fences by providing a palette of suitable species and a summary of relevant plant traits to compare and contrast species. A species matrix for living snow fences in New York State has been created in conjunction with these fact sheets
A Phylogenetic Analysis of Heterocephalum: Using Molecular Tools to Reassess the Taxonomic Placement of an Unusual and Infrequently Collected Fungus
Get PDFHeterocephalum aurantiacum is a little-known fungal species first described by Roland Thaxter in 1903 following collection of the type specimens from goat dung in Jamaica. Historical classification of the fungus by Raper and Fennell (1952) placed it with asexually-reproducing Ascomycete species based on morphological and developmental similarities. This study utilized molecular tools to update these classifications and elucidate the phylogenetic relationships between Heterocephalum and other species in the Aspergillus clade. Samples were cultured on antibiotic-containing media for 7-10 days before sporulating heads were removed for extraction of DNA. NS1 and NS4 primers were used for amplification of the 18S small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and ITS1f and ITS4 primers for amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene regions 1-4. Sequences were obtained from three samples, one of which was H. aurantiacum and two of which were believed to be H. taiense. These were aligned in ClustalX with published sequences from the GenBank database, and maximum parsimony analyses were generated using PAUP 4.0b10. Phylogenies for each gene were generated and Heterocephalum was placed in the order Eurotiales within the Aspergillus clade. This study supplemented the initial classification of this genus with molecular data and further supported the delineation of two distinct species of Heterocephalum. Future areas for research include creating a multi-gene phylogeny to expand the body of knowledge about this species within the economically and ecologically-important Aspergillus clade
Microhabitat Requirements and Behaviors of Ant Functional Groups that Allow for their Co-existence: A Recommendation for Restoration Practices
Get PDFAnts are commonly used as bioindicators for assessing restoration sites because of the speed and sensitivity at which they respond to environmental changes. I compared ant genera among restoration sites to determine the influence of microhabitat and behavior on ant structure. I collected ants and microhabitat features (percent canopy cover, vegetation density and dry leaf litter weight) in three differently aged restoration plots (1998, 2004, 2009) in Queensland, Australia. Twenty ant genera were collected and assigned to functional groups. I concentrated on four genera to study ant communities: Iridomyrmex (functional group = dominant dolichoderinae), Pheidole (generalized myrmicinae), Paratrechina (opportunist) and Sphinctomyrmex (cryptic species). Among the 20 ant genera, ant composition was most similar between age-plots 1998 and 2004, and most dissimilar to age-plot 2009. Percent canopy cover and leaf litter weight were negatively correlated with Iridomyrmex and Paratrechina frequency and may be responsible for low frequencies of Iridomyrmex and Paratrechina in age-plots 1998 and 2004. In contrast, the frequencies of Pheidole were high in age-plots 1998 and 2004; Pheidole may have usurped the dominant role, therefore keeping the frequencies of opportunists low. Sphinctomyrmex had high frequencies in age-plots 1998 and 2004 possibly because of its cryptic behaviors. Age-plot 2009 showed no significant difference between the four ant genera - niche separation and ant structure has not had time to establish in younger restoration sites. Microhabitat features and niche partitioning between ant functional groups are important for developing ant communities. Recommendations were made for improving restoration sites with respect to ants
Standing Corn Row Living Snow Fence (2012)
No full textStanding Corn Row Living Snow Fence along Route 16 (Sardinia, NY)https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1025/thumbnail.jp
Site Preparation: Ripping Subsoil
No full textThis photograph shows the planting strip for a willow living snow fence being prepared with a ripping attachment to loosen the subsoil to allow better root developmenthttps://digitalcommons.esf.edu/lsfgal/1000/thumbnail.jp