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Master of Science in Ecological Restoration Applied Research Projects
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- The effect of mowing and hand removal on the regrowth rate of Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus)
- Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus Focke) is an invasive species in the Pacific Northwest. Mowing and hand removal are two of the common treatments used for controlling Himalayan blackberry. I examined the effectiveness of mowing, hand removal, and control treatments by measuring the mean number of stem and mean stem length during a growing season. Treatments were applied on March 2017. Bi-weekly sampling was from April to August 2017. Data were analyzed with a two-factor split-plot Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. The overall trend showed no statistically significant difference between mowing and hand removal treatments in one growing season. Integrated treatments (e.g. mowing + hand removal + planting) are recommended to be used to effectively reduce Himalayan blackberry cover because one removal treatment showed to be insufficient to eliminate Himalayan blackberry., Himalayan blackberry
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- Evaluating stream degradation in Villa De Allende, Mexico
- I examined the anthropogenic effects on the water quality of headwater streams in the western mountains of the state of Mexico. Rural development has negative effects on the ecology of local streams by diverting and pumping surface and groundwater, removing riparian forests for the construction of buildings, roads, and agricultural fields, and dumping refuse in stream channels. Local development, construction, roads, and agriculture also are sources of pollution that enter the streams during rain events. These negative ecological effects are common to many streams in the watershed of the Chilesdo dam. The combined effects of human development negatively affect the quality of surface water and groundwater aquifers. The issue of anthropogenic effects on the water quality of headwater streams is relevant ecologically because of likely effects on flora and fauna that depend on these streams and because of the role of headwater streams in the context of the larger watershed. Effects on upstream areas directly affect people, animals, and plants downstream. This issue is relevant economically because rural communities depend on the availability of water of suitable quality for agriculture and livestock. In addition, local water quality directly affects the cost of water purification downstream at dams that feed the Cutzamala system, a major source of Mexico City’s drinking water. This issue is relevant socially because the local community depends on this water for domestic consumption. Compromising water quality and abundance could destabilize the lives of local people because poor water quality and water contamination are a public health concern. Additionally, climate change is likely to make this resource scarcer. Projections for all major scenarios used by the International Panel on Climate Change indicate elevated year-round temperatures and decreased overall precipitation in the region (IPCC 2013). I addressed concerns over water quality by testing differences among streams with anthropogenic alterations and a stream that had few anthropogenic alterations. I sampled benthic macro-invertebrate communities as indicators of water quality within the streams. Benthic invertebrates are a useful bio-indicator for water quality and environmental disturbances in river systems because different taxonomic groups of invertebrates have different tolerances to water pollution. I measured the abundance and taxonomic richness of invertebrates that exhibit different sensitivities to water quality. My results revealed that taxonomic richness was lower in streams that had anthropogenic alterations. My results also revealed that the abundance of “sensitive” and “somewhat sensitive species” were lower and that the abundance of “pollution-tolerant species” was higher in streams with anthropogenic alterations. The stream with few anthropogenic alterations had the highest taxonomic richness and largest number of sensitive and somewhat sensitive species. These results indicate that human activities are having negative effects on water quality. Given my results, I suggest that restoration of degraded streams should reduce water diversion, riparian encroachment, and refuse disposal. I propose solutions to guide these restoration efforts. My data suggests that a coordinated local and regional effort is required to reduce the negative effects of human development and to restore local streams to an ecological condition that will sustain water quality and quantity to enable local communities and the local environment to thrive.
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- Investigating the role of elevated salinity in the recession of a large brackish marsh in the Fraser River estuary
- At least 160 ha of the Sturgeon Bank low marsh in the Fraser River delta died off between 1989 and 2011. Humans have heavily modified the Fraser River estuary since the late 1800’s, including installing a series of jetties throughout the leading edge of the delta to train the course of the river. I established a reciprocal transplant experiment to determine the role of elevated salinity in the marsh recession and generate information needed to eventually revegetate areas of receded marsh as part of an intergovernmental collaboration to investigate the causes of this marsh recession. I propose specific actions to better monitor, maintain, and restore the Fraser River delta foreshore brackish marshes in response to ongoing ecological degradation of the estuary. The predicted effects of climate change and sea-level rise may cause us to rethink options for restoring the Sturgeon Bank marsh., Restoration, Fraser River, Schoenoplectus pungens, Reciprocal transplant experiment, Marsh recession, Brackish marsh
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- Restoring a culturally eutrophic shallow lake: Case study on Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan, British Columbia
- Quamichan Lake is a culturally eutrophic shallow lake located in North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. My research project examined the current trophic status and water quality of Quamichan Lake and investigated a number of watershed and in-lake restoration methods to return the lake back to mesotrophic (nutrient rich) conditions. Based on the data collected, Quamichan Lake is currently in a hypertrophic state caused by excess phosphorus inputs that leads to Cyanophyte phytoplankton species (cyanobacteria) to dominate during the summer. Eutrophication is both an environmental and human health issue as cyanobacteria algal blooms can disrupt the lake ecology and are toxic to most mammals. The goal of my research was to provide the Municipality of North Cowichan and Vancouver Island Health Authority with a comprehensive restoration plan to contribute to the restoration of Quamichan Lake and other lakes in southern Vancouver Island that are experiencing cultural eutrophication., © Kathleen E Moore, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author., Eutrophication, Limnology, Watershed Management, Cyanobacteria, Restoration