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A multi-scale approach to reconstructing landscape history in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Morris County, New Jersey
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Title
A multi-scale approach to reconstructing landscape history in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Morris County, New Jersey
Name
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Momsen
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Jennifer L.
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Jennifer L. Momsen
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author
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Hartman
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Jean
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Advisory Committee
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Jean Marie Hartman
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chair
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Southgate
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Emily
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Advisory Committee
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Emily W B Southgate
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co-chair
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Morin
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Peter
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Advisory Committee
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Peter Morin
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internal member
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Hatfield
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Colleen
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Advisory Committee
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Colleen Hatfield
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outside member
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Rutgers University
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degree grantor
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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theses
OriginInfo
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2007
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2007
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English
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electronic
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xii, 164 pages
Abstract
As the cultural value of 'wilderness' has grown, so has the need to understand the forces that create, modify and destroy landscapes. Processes acting separately and in concert drive landscape patterns, making it no simple task to unravel the forces driving current landscape composition and structure.
This thesis uses the space-time hierarchy to reconstruct the landscape history of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and to identify driving forces important to current landscape patterns. Pollen and sediment analysis coupled with historical documents were integrated to reconstruct vegetation history at two temporal scales. At the meso-temporal scale, post-glacial processes greatly influenced Great Swamp's abiotic template. Partial drainage of post-glacial lakes and subsequent erosion created a bifurcated landscape, where patterns of post-glacial deposits, soil and peat differed on a distinct east/west basis. Plant communities over this time period were dynamic, responding to local hydrological changes. As a result, a diverse wetland landscape developed across Great Swamp.
Meso-scale driving forces also influenced initial land-use patterns. Settlers in the 18th century extensively modified the western region of Great Swamp to create arable land. The eastern area, as a source for timber, initially escaped intense land-use. Agriculture eventually expanded eastward, but the land-use history of Great Swamp remained divided along the east/west bias created by post-glacial driving forces.
Land-use of this intensity frequently leaves legacies that persist decades or
centuries following abandonment; Great Swamp is no exception. Old ditches and abandoned fields continue to support unique vegetation assemblages. However, land-use legacies are also patterned on an east/west basis. The west, for example, continues to have greater coverage of agricultural-restricted communities while vegetation patterns in the east are more related to glacial patterning.
Integrating the results across temporal scales captures the complex realities of wetland development. In Great Swamp, driving forces have acted alone and together to produce current landscape patterns. Land-use legacies, while important, are coupled to landscape patterns generated by other driving forces. The space-time paradigm, as used here to reconstruct the vegetation history of Great Swamp, forced a long temporal perspective that revealed the interconnectedness and complexity of the forces driving landscape pattern.
This thesis uses the space-time hierarchy to reconstruct the landscape history of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and to identify driving forces important to current landscape patterns. Pollen and sediment analysis coupled with historical documents were integrated to reconstruct vegetation history at two temporal scales. At the meso-temporal scale, post-glacial processes greatly influenced Great Swamp's abiotic template. Partial drainage of post-glacial lakes and subsequent erosion created a bifurcated landscape, where patterns of post-glacial deposits, soil and peat differed on a distinct east/west basis. Plant communities over this time period were dynamic, responding to local hydrological changes. As a result, a diverse wetland landscape developed across Great Swamp.
Meso-scale driving forces also influenced initial land-use patterns. Settlers in the 18th century extensively modified the western region of Great Swamp to create arable land. The eastern area, as a source for timber, initially escaped intense land-use. Agriculture eventually expanded eastward, but the land-use history of Great Swamp remained divided along the east/west bias created by post-glacial driving forces.
Land-use of this intensity frequently leaves legacies that persist decades or
centuries following abandonment; Great Swamp is no exception. Old ditches and abandoned fields continue to support unique vegetation assemblages. However, land-use legacies are also patterned on an east/west basis. The west, for example, continues to have greater coverage of agricultural-restricted communities while vegetation patterns in the east are more related to glacial patterning.
Integrating the results across temporal scales captures the complex realities of wetland development. In Great Swamp, driving forces have acted alone and together to produce current landscape patterns. Land-use legacies, while important, are coupled to landscape patterns generated by other driving forces. The space-time paradigm, as used here to reconstruct the vegetation history of Great Swamp, forced a long temporal perspective that revealed the interconnectedness and complexity of the forces driving landscape pattern.
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-157).
Subject
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Topic
Ecology and Evolution
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Landscape--New Jersey--History
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (N.J.)
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Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
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rucore19991600001
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.16753
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ETD_485
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doi:10.7282/T3B56K41
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NjNbRU
Subject
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Geographic
Morris County (N.J.)
Genre
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ETD doctoral
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Open
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Jennifer Momsen
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Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Non-exclusive ETD license
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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