Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio
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| Language: | English |
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Ohio University / OhioLINK
2018
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou154401542516365 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ohiou1544015425163652021-08-03T07:09:15Z Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio Monsted, John W., Monsted Ecology Botany Geography land use forest ecology plant ecology forest plant community human land use regrowth forest plant community assembly landscape ecology forest herbs Since its settlement in the 19th century, Southeast Ohio has undergone several periods of sweeping environmental change, driven primarily by the effects of human land use. A period of intense deforestation in the 19th and early 20th centuries was followed by a period of reforestation continuing to the present day. This thesis examines the historical, economic, and geographic drivers behind land use change in Athens county, Ohio, and the impact of those changes on the environmental characteristics and plant communities of present-day forests. This was done by examining historical records, analyzing forest extent through several sets of aerial photographs, and collecting environmental and plant community data from field visits throughout the study area. We found that human land use in the area peaked in 1880, and that most land use was related to agriculture. Agricultural land use declined throughout the 20th century, coinciding with local population loss due to the collapse of the coal industry in Southeast Ohio, and a larger national shift of agriculture from Eastern to Western states, as technological advances simplified food storage and transportation. Resulting agricultural abandonment led to widespread regrowth of deciduous forests, and forest cover increased in the region from less than 25% before the 20th century to approximately 66% in the 21st century. There are still clear effects of agricultural history on forests throughout the study area, as we found forest age to be a significant factor shaping the environmental conditions and plant distributions. Further, topographical position within the landscape (e.g. ridgetop, slope, or valley) was very important in shaping plant communities, but types of historical land use and rates of land use abandonment differed between each position, meaning forests are not evenly distributed with regards to topography. Collectively, this thesis demonstrates that human land use decisions are driven by a variety of economic and geographic factors and can impact regrowth forests for decades or centuries, even after the land use has ceased. 2018 English text Ohio University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou154401542516365 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou154401542516365 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Ecology Botany Geography land use forest ecology plant ecology forest plant community human land use regrowth forest plant community assembly landscape ecology forest herbs |
| spellingShingle |
Ecology Botany Geography land use forest ecology plant ecology forest plant community human land use regrowth forest plant community assembly landscape ecology forest herbs Monsted, John W., Monsted Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| author |
Monsted, John W., Monsted |
| author_facet |
Monsted, John W., Monsted |
| author_sort |
Monsted, John W., Monsted |
| title |
Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| title_short |
Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| title_full |
Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| title_fullStr |
Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Forest Regeneration and Land Use History in Southeast Ohio |
| title_sort |
forest regeneration and land use history in southeast ohio |
| publisher |
Ohio University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2018 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou154401542516365 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT monstedjohnwmonsted forestregenerationandlandusehistoryinsoutheastohio |
| _version_ |
1719454854339887104 |