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Spring 2012
Microbial communities are responsible for biogeochemical processes in soils such as nutrient cycling and organic matter formation, which are essential to the establishment of vegetation and ecosystem sustainability. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis, microbial respiration and enzymatic activities...
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Development of Optimum Locations and Scales for an Integrated Multi-feedstock Waste-to-value-added Facility through Geographical Information System Modelling
DownloadSpring 2019
Biomass and municipal solid waste (MSW) management have received significant attention globally of late. This study is focused on the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass (agricultural and forest residue) and MSW. The potentials of lignocellulosic biomass and MSW are used to determine the...
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Biodiversity of soil arthropods in a native grassland in Alberta, Canada: obscure associations and effects of simulated climate change
DownloadFall 2013
Soils have traditionally been treated as a “black box” due to the challenges of studying this complex medium. The living component of soil consists of a complex network of roots and mostly very small, highly abundant, and extremely diverse group of microbes, protists, and other invertebrates. In...
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Spring 2014
The worldwide biodiversity crisis has intensified the need to better understand how biodiversity and human disturbance are related. Yet this relationship lacks both consensus in theoretical expectations and consistency in observed empirical patterns. I present one of the largest extent studies...
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Fall 2017
In Southwestern Yukon, alpine ice patches are rapidly retreating with climate warming. Ice patch forelands form unique alpine wetlands, creating critical habitats for diverse flora and fauna over millennia. A major component of the ice patch flora are bryophytes, which are critical to alpine...
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Spring 2013
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is one of the important environmental issues that world is facing today. Biomass usage, specifically capturing energy from biomass that would otherwise decay, is one the of many options available to mitigate the impact of the buildup of GHG emissions from fossil...
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Spring 2012
Montane grasslands play a key role in supporting wintering elk in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. To document change in grassland extent and patch sizes, I analyzed repeat aerial photography at 4 sites in the upper Red Deer River drainage between 1952 and 2003. Excluding the Ya Ha Tinda,...
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Spatial and Temporal Variations in Tree Growth, Mortality, and Biodiversity in Alberta Forests
DownloadSpring 2014
Understanding the spatial and temporal variation of tree demographic rates and biodiversity is essential for predicting the dynamics of forest ecosystems and their responses to changing environments. This thesis contributes to that understanding through modeling the long-term change in tree...
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Productivity and carbon accumulation potential of transferred biofilms in reclaimed oil sands-affected wetlands
DownloadSpring 2011
Biofilms are significant contributors to primary production, nutrient cycling, bio-stabilization and the food web of wetland ecosystems. Photoautotrophic biomass (PB) and primary production (PP) were determined for biofilms exposed to various treatments and materials in wetlands near Fort...
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Fall 2010
This study experimentally evaluated wheat straw slurry pipelines. Tests were conducted to determine the particle properties of the biomass mixed in water over time. The saturated particle density of 1,060kg/m3 was reached after 24 hours, while the saturated moisture contents of 78.5% and 79.5%...