Complex systems science provides a transdisciplinary framework to study systems characterized by (1) heterogeneity, (2) hierarchy, (3) self‐organization, (4) openness, (5) adaptation, (6) memory, (7) non‐linearity, and (8) uncertainty. Complex systems thinking has inspired both theory and applied strategies for improving ecosystem resilience and adaptability, but applications in forest ecology...
One fundamental concern in conservation biology is species abundance. For many taxa, however, these data are costly to obtain via direct observation and thus limited in geographic or temporal scope. Very high-resolution satellite imagery provides a means to address these limitations and provide remotely-sensed counts of large, colonial species. We...
Forest disturbances, such as wildfires, pine beetle outbreaks, and floods are important features of many landscapes and ecosystems. Many disturbances are increasing in size, frequency, and intensity due to changing climates and land management decisions. The changing ecological and aesthetic conditions following a disturbance can lead to negative short- and...
Certain institutions traditionally have had broad socializing influence over their members, providing templates for identity that comprehend all aspects of life from the existential and moral to the mundanely material. Marketization and detraditionalization undermine that socializing role. This study examines the consequences when, for some members, such an institution loses...
In this dissertation, a series of studies in the field of terahertz (THz) science are presented, specifically using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. We exploit huge field enhancement and subwavelength confinement in plasmonic structures. There are three distinct projects which will be discussed: nonlinear THz spectroscopy using plasmonic induced transparency (PIT), THz-triggered...
Increased energy costs have prompted the rural village of Galena, Alaska to explore viable alternatives for heat and power generation. Continued dependency on petroleum products will cause the community’s economic driving force, the Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA), to face uncertain operability. A wood-fired boiler is scheduled to be installed,...
Intensifications in seasonal temperature variation, attributed to increased greenhouse gas concentrations, are having an adverse effect on the forest composition of the northeastern United States. New York’s temperate broadleaf forests are undergoing alterations including a decline of the native sugar maple (Acer saccharum), as the species’ population begins to decrease...
Understanding the effects of habitat disturbance on a species' habitat selection patterns, and demographic rates, is essential to projecting the trajectories of populations affected by disturbance, as well as for determining the appropriate conservation actions needed to maintain those populations. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species of conservation concern...
Measurements of physical tree crown dimensions were of subjective character in the past, even though they can be considered important for the management of many silvicultural operations, such as timing of thinning operations. In our study we investigated if and how measures of physical crown dimensions of trees differed when...
The increasing human demands on natural resources, in combination with uncertainties about ecosystem dynamics due to global change, has led the scientific community to conclude that new approaches in understanding of ecological systems are needed to tackle environmental issues in an efficient manner. One development that has received more attention...