Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

大规模人为干扰对自然区的影响 没有很好的记录。 大规模的森林砍伐提供了 有机会审查人为干扰在环境中的作用， 森林演替动态 几乎所有的原始森林覆盖 自欧洲联盟成立以来，格鲁吉亚皮埃蒙特的土地已被移作农业用地。 定居始于世纪初。 后来这里的大部分土地 被遗弃并恢复为森林。 因此，它是一个优秀的 评估前殖民时期 今天的森林植被可以归因于人类 扰动 这个博士论文项目将使用系统的 从国家进行的移民前森林调查中抽取的样本 为了重建格鲁吉亚的物种-环境关系， 此期间 将对样品进行分析，以确定 物种分布的控制，这些因素 解释森林模式和物种的生态作用。 的 将对现今植被的组成和结构进行取样 以确定森林砍伐的影响 通过研究现代植被的演替状况， 两个时期之间成分控制的变化。 这项研究将澄清森林的理论方面， 继承，如自然和人工之间的区别 不同规模的技术影响的干扰和影响 美国本土人和移民。 因此，它将有助于 我们理解人类环境的科学基础 关系。 此外，它将有助于了解 该地区的环境历史和评价的实际和 环境管理中的概念问题。 该项目还将 为有前途的年轻学者提供了一个极好的机会， 继续培养独立研究能力。

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.