The heat unit concept of time-temperature relationships
is used in this thesis as a means of studying the
temperature element of the climate at nine Oregon stations.
The stations, Astoria, Baker, Burns, Eugene, Medford,
Pendleton, Portland, Roseburg, and Salem, were selected on
the basis of distribution and availability of Weather...
A recent surge in the development of irrigated agriculture in
the Fort Rock Basin of the Oregon High Desert has resulted in two
principal types of agricultural operations in the area: cow-calf
operators and cash-crop agriculturalists. The agroclimatic
hazards associated with the present situation and the implications
of those hazards...
Soil food webs process the majority of terrestrial carbon, and influence overall ecosystem function. A primary distinction among soil food webs is based on fungal versus bacterial pathways of decomposition; these lead to fundamentally different soil function, and are expected to differ in dominance between meadows and forests. This assumption...
The U.S Pacific Northwest contains a wide variety of ecosystems, all subject to relatively dry summers and wet winters. As has been shown with paleoclimatic and paleoecological data, the region is vulnerable to changes in climate. We assessed the sensitivities of vegetation distributions, carbon stocks, and fire regimes to 21st...
Pinyon-juniper woodlands throughout the western U.S. have expanded rapidly following European settlement during the late 19th century. In central and eastern Oregon, western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis Hook.) encroachment has been previously documented in the sagebrush steppe and upper elevation aspen communities. While these vegetation changes and dynamics have...
Surface water quality is a growing concern in the Willamette River Basin and elsewhere. The region's growing population is dependent on the availability of clean water for drinking water, irrigation, wastewater dilution, and wildlife habitat. Watershed management to produce economic goods and environmental services requires an understanding of basic hydrologic...
Climate exerts considerable control on wildfire regimes, and climate and wildfire are both major drivers of forest growth and succession in interior Northwest forests. Estimating potential response of these landscapes to anticipated changes in climate helps researchers and land managers understand and mitigate impacts of climate change on important ecological...
The Younger Dryas climatic event is a global phenomenon associated with a 1,000 year return to glacial conditions during the late Pleistocene period between 12,800 and 11,500 cal BP. Because of its significant effects on paleoenvironmental conditions in some parts of the world, archaeologists commonly seek to assess whether the...
