Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

大规模人为干扰对自然区域的影响还没有很好的文献记载。大规模的森林砍伐为研究人为干扰在森林演替动态中的作用提供了机会。自从19世纪早期欧洲人开始定居以来，乔治亚山前几乎所有的原始森林都被移除了用于农业。这片土地的大部分后来被遗弃并恢复为森林。因此，它是评估前殖民时期和现在森林植被之间的差异是否可归因于人类干扰的绝佳地点。本博士论文项目将使用从佐治亚州进行的预定居森林调查中抽取的系统样本，以重建这一时期的物种-环境关系。将对样本进行分析，以确定物种分布的物理控制，这些因素解释森林格局的程度，以及物种的生态作用。将在整个研究区内取样现代植被的组成和结构，通过检查现代植被的演替状况和两个时期之间组成控制的变化来确定森林砍伐的影响。这项研究将澄清森林演替的理论方面，例如自然和人为干扰之间的区别，以及美国土著和移民对不同规模的技术影响的影响。因此，它将有助于我们理解人类与环境关系的科学基础。此外，它将有助于了解该区域的环境历史和评价环境管理方面的实际和概念问题。该项目还将为有前途的年轻学者提供继续发展独立研究技能的绝佳机会。

The impacts of large-scale human disturbance on natural areas have not been well documented. Large-scale forest clearing provides an opportunity to examine the role of anthropogenic disturbance in the dynamics of forest succession. Nearly all of the original forest cover on the Georgia piedmont has been removed for agriculture since European settlement began in the early 19th Century. Much of this land later was abandoned and reverted to forest. It is therefore an excellent locale in which to evaluate whether differences between pre-colonial and present-day forest vegetation can be attributed to human disturbance. This doctoral dissertation project will use a systematic sample drawn from a presettlement forest survey conducted by the state of Georgia in order to reconstruct species-environment relations of this period. The sample will be analyzed to determine the physical controls of species distribution, the degree to which these factors explain forest patterns, and the ecological roles of species. The composition and structure of present-day vegetation will be sampled throughout the study area to establish the impacts of forest clearing by examining the successional status of the modern vegetation and variation in compositional controls between the two periods. This research will clarify theoretical aspects of forest succession, such as distinctions between natural and artificial disturbance and effects of the varied scales of technological impacts by native and immigrant Americans. It therefore will contribute to the scientific basis of our understanding of human-environmental relationships. In addition, it will contribute to the understanding of the region's environmental history and to evaluation of practical and conceptual issues in environmental management. The project also will provide an excellent opportunity for a promising young scholar to continue to develop independent research skills.