Date Available

1-11-2013

Year of Publication

2013

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Geography

First Advisor

Dr. Alice Turkington

Abstract

This study, concentrating on the Ouachita Mountain Range in western-central Arkansas, extends prior work on treethrows and their influence on soil development in the region by supplying a method of determining hotspots of bedrock mining by treethrow. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the abiotic and biotic factors that are highly correlated with the rate of bedrock detachment found in uprooted rootwads from three study sites within the Ouachita National Forest. The produced logistic regression models suggest topographic factors, tree specific characteristics, as well as the local geology and soil characteristics all have a significant effect upon the probability of bedrock mining activity by treethrow throughout the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. This methodology has demonstrated that the forcing mechanism that causes the uprooting event intrinsically changes the relationship between the abiotic and biotic factors that control bedrock mining. Finally, the computed probabilities of bedrock being mined were geographically assigned to the appropriate environmental setting using a geographic information system to identify areas of highest odds of mining, hotspots, and lowest odds of mining highlighted.

Included in

Geomorphology Commons

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