Not particularly complete or up-to-date, this bibliography is still a valuable resource for information about central appalachian fir trees.

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A perspective on soil carbon resource impacts.

Importance of Spruce Systems

Red spruce and hemlock stands are important for a multitude of reasons including habitat for Cheat Mountain Salamanders and Northern Flying Squirrels, timber production, recreational aesthetics, and carbon sequestration for global warming mitigation. Current and past documentation of Organic horizon (O-horizon) surface layers up to a meter thick in spruce stands shows that these systems can tie up a lot of carbon.

Abstract

Interspecific hybridization can result in significant shifts in allele frequencies. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of genetic variation in populations of P. mariana × P. rubens hybrids derived from artificial crosses. Progenies from backcross populations created through a series of controlled pollinations among P. mariana and P. rubens trees across the hybridization index were analyzed. Several Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to amplify genomic DNA samples from each population. ISSR primers produced from 30% to 52% polymorphic loci. The level of polymorphism was higher with RAPD mark- ers, ranging from 57% to 76%. Overall, the two marker systems generated similar levels of polymorphic loci for P. mariana and P. rubens populations. No significant differences were found among the P. mariana × P. rubens popula- tions analyzed and between the hybrids and the parental populations regardless of the molecular marker used. This con- firms the genetic closeness of P. mariana and P. rubens species.

In 1987, a lichen biomonitoring program was initiated in the Otter Creek and Dolly Sods Wildernesses of the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. This was a baseline study designed to accomplish the following objectives: (1) To characterize the lichen floras of the two wildernesses and note patterns characteristic of air pollution damage; (2) To establish permanent photographic study plots within which to record aspects of lichen community composition; (3) To establish permanent quadrats throughout the two wildernesses within which to collect samples of a single lichen species for elemental analysis.

Lichen communities were sampled in each wilderness and found to include numerous species known to be pollution-sensitive, indicating the lichen flora was not adversely affected by air pollution at that time. In addition, specimens of the lichen Flavoparmelia caperata were sampled within 121 1-km2 sections (80 in Otter Creek and 41 in Dolly Sods) and analyzed for sulfur and 23 other elements to provide baseline information about the air quality in the two wildernesses. Results of elemental analysis indicated sulfur and metal concentrations in test lichens were relatively low, although a significant positive correlation between sulfur concentration and elevation was noted.