Repository logo
 

Restoring carbon accumulating processes in a degraded wet meadow

dc.contributor.authorBaldwin, Lydia, author
dc.contributor.authorCooper, David, advisor
dc.contributor.authorSteingraeber, David, committee member
dc.contributor.authorvon Fischer, Joseph, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-10T20:04:36Z
dc.date.available2018-09-10T20:04:36Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractWet meadows throughout the Sierra Nevada range of western North America were historically disturbed and are thought to be losing soil water holding capacity and the ability to store carbon (C). I tested whether herbivore exclosures and the reestablishment of a sedge-dominated community at Tuolumne Meadows, a high elevation wet meadow in Yosemite National Park, can restore the C accumulating function of this ecosystem. In 2016, 20,000 Carex scopulorum (mountain sedge) were planted into the meadow. An empirical model of growing season carbon dynamics was created to determine if these treatments increase the meadow's C storage compared to controls. The second summer after planting, there was no difference in C storage capacity between treatment types and controls, and model estimates indicate that Tuolumne Meadows is a net source of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Significant relationships between net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and percent vascular cover indicate that increasing vegetation cover could revert the ecosystem to carbon storing. However, future warmer, drier climatic conditions could maintain the system's current state as a C source.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierBaldwin_colostate_0053N_14925.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/191338
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectSierra Nevada
dc.subjectwet meadow
dc.subjectcarbon
dc.subjectYosemite
dc.subjectwetland
dc.titleRestoring carbon accumulating processes in a degraded wet meadow
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEcology
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Baldwin_colostate_0053N_14925.pdf
Size:
627.91 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format