Off-campus Michigan Tech users: To download campus access theses or dissertations, please use the following button to log in with your Michigan Tech ID and password: log in to proxy server
Non-Michigan Tech users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis or dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science (PhD)
Administrative Home Department
College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
Advisor 1
Thomas Pypker
Advisor 2
Joseph Wagenbrenner
Committee Member 1
Rodney Chimner
Committee Member 2
Randall Kolka
Committee Member 3
Alex Mayer
Abstract
Two major threats to the health of forests around the globe are climate change, and exotic invasive insect outbreaks. These threats on their own or concurrently may negatively impact the plethora of ecosystem services forests provide society. As temperatures continue to rise and precipitation patterns alter across climate zones, it is important to understand the drivers of atmospheric greenhouse gas levels. Furthermore, it is important to understand the sources and sinks of each greenhouse gas so that future mediation may occur and the climate dynamics can be accurately modeled. The current knowledge of tree stem atmospheric gas exchange is very limited. As global connectivity increases through shipping and travel the risk of exotic insect introductions increases and vegetation responses to exotic invasive insect outbreak are not well understood. This work investigates i) methane (CH4) exchange between tree stems of black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall) in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan; ii) methane, carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrous oxide (N2O) exchange between tree stems of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia marina), and white mangrove (Lanuncularia racemosa) and the atmosphere in northeastern Brazil; and iii) the efficacy of planting alternative wetland tree species within black ash dominated forests of Michigan and Wisconsin partly through a multiyear manipulative study that simulated the short- and long-term effects of an exotic invasive insect outbreak caused by the emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)). Our results indicate that tree stems are a significant emitter of greenhouse gases and that underplanting may be a means to mitigate the impacts of EAB.
Recommended Citation
Bolton, Nicholas, "METHANE FLUX OF TREE STEMS AND MITIGATING THE IMPACTS OF INSECT OUTBREAK THROUGH PLANTING ALTERNATIVE TREE SPECIES WITHIN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION, USA", Campus Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2017.