Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Agriculture may result in soil disturbances, including contamination by rare earth elements (REE) and trace elements (TEs) from agricultural inputs (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides). Regulations concerning agricultural inputs currently do not consider TE background concentrations, concurrent use of inputs, and emerging contaminants. Therefore, they may not sufficiently protect against TE… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Forests play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, acting as carbon sinks that remove and store an estimated 0.4 to 4.1 Pg of atmospheric carbon annually. However, historical acid deposition and timber harvesting have disrupted nutrient cycles, leading to nutrient-deficient soils that hinder tree growth, particularly for sugar maple (Acer saccharum), a keystone species in Ontario… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Rare earth elements (REEs) are in high demand globally for the green transition and high technologies. The growing demand leads to their release into aquatic ecosystems from various point and non-point sources, which creates urgency to investigate their fate and enrichment. This thesis further investigates the biogeochemical fate and REE uptake mechanisms throughout aquatic ecosystems.… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Increasing wildfire frequency, driven by climate change, can change the concentration andcomposition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exported from land into receiving waters by
removing terrestrial vegetation, changing soil hydrology, and interrupting microbial degradation.
In this thesis, I tested how wildfire impacts the molecular composition and reactivity of DOM. I
compared DOM… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Eutrophication is an ongoing global problem and agriculture is an important non-point source of nutrient loading. Specifically, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural landscapes continue to drive water quality issues. In southern Ontario, agriculture has intensified in recent decades, with major expansions of cash crop production and extensive tile drainage (TD).… more Full Text: Effects of tile drainage, seasonality, and cash crop rotation on edge-of-field nitrogen and phosphorus losses from southern Ontario Watersheds A thesis submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of these thesis requirements for …
Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Eutrophication is an ongoing global problem and agriculture is an important non-point source of nutrient loading. Specifically, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural landscapes continue to drive water quality issues. In southern Ontario, agriculture has intensified in recent decades, with major expansions of cash crop production and extensive tile drainage (TD).… more Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Levasseur, Patrick, Thesis advisor (ths): Watmough, Shaun, Degree committee member (dgc): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Sager, Eric, Degree committee member (dgc): Emilson, Erik, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Mining and smelting degraded landscapes are characterised by heavily eroded soils that are acidic, contaminated with toxic metals, and depleted of essential nutrients. Regreening degraded landscapes has been proposed to support global carbon (C) mitigation measures and protect biodiversity. One of the world's largest regreening programs in the City of Greater Sudbury, Canada has… more Full Text: The biogeochemistry of regreened forests on a mining and smelting degraded landscape A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in the Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and …
Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Increased mining activity in the Canadian Arctic has resulted in significant changes to the environment that may be influencing some tundra-nesting bird populations. In this thesis I examine the direct and indirect effects of mining on birds nesting in the Canadian Arctic. I first perform a literature review of the effects that mining in the Arctic has on northern environments and… more Full Text: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BIRD DENSITIES AND DISTANCE TO MINES IN NORTHERN CANADA A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT …
Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): DeBues, Max, Thesis advisor (ths): Eimers, Catherine, Degree committee member (dgc): Watmough, Shaun, Degree committee member (dgc): Mohamed, Mohamed, Degree committee member (dgc): Mueller, Jessica, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Row crop agriculture and associated land use practices including tile drainage and conservation tillage have been cited as a probable cause of re-emerging eutrophication in the
lower Great Lakes. In this thesis, I sought to quantify and evaluate the effect of agricultural land
cover and land use changes on total phosphorus (TP) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N)
concentrations and export in… more Full Text: THE EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHANGE ON NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS IN NORTH SHORE LAKE ONTARIO TRIBUTARIES A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the …
Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Maximum permitted SO2 emissions from an aluminum smelter in Kitimat, B.C., increased after modernization in 2015. An increase in acidic deposition can potentially acidify forest soils. Monitoring was conducted at two long-term soil monitoring plots at near (7 km) and far (41 km) sites downwind from the smelter. Change in soil properties was assessed between 2015 and 2018: for the near… more Full Text: THE SENSITIVITY OF FOREST SOILS TO ACIDIC DEPOSITION DOWNWIND OF AN ALUMINUM SMELTER, KITIMAT, B.C. A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of …
Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Decades of acidic deposition have depleted base cation pools in soil over large parts of eastern north America, including the Muskoka-Haliburton region of central Ontario. This region has also experienced a shift in forest species composition over the past 200 years, favouring sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) at the expense of species such as white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and eastern… more Full Text: The influence of tree species litterfall on soil chemistry and implications for modelling soil recovery from acidification A thesis submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of …
Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Lake of the Woods (LOW) is a large international waterbody which suffers from frequent and widespread algae blooms. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of the lake's largest tributary, the Rainy River (RR) and its significance in total phosphorus (TP) delivery to the LOW. Unfortunately, little is known about TP contributions from the RR and its tributaries within the… more Full Text: Phosphorus delivery in the Rainy-River Lake of the Woods Watershed A thesis submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Science Trent University …
Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Anthropogenic atmospheric emissions and subsequent deposition of nitrogen (N) can affect N-sensitive habitats and lead to shifts in plant species community composition. This study assessed the effects of N deposition on plant community composition for Jack pine forests across northwestern Canada and across a smaller subset of sites surrounding the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) using… more Full Text: The Influence of Nitrogen Deposition on Community Composition in Pinus banksiana Forests Across Northwestern Canada A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in …
Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Soil is an essential natural resource that supports provisioning services such as agriculture, silviculture, and mining. However, there is limited knowledge on forest soil properties across Canada. Digital soil mapping may be used to fill these data gaps, as it can predict soil properties in areas with limited observations. The focus of this study was to develop predictive maps of select… more Full Text: PREDICTIVE DIGITAL MAPPING OF SOILS IN KITIMAT, BRITISH COLUMBIA A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY …
Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Blanchard, Dane Alexander, Thesis advisor (ths): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Watmough, Shaun, Degree committee member (dgc): Sager, Eric P.S., Degree committee member (dgc): McKenna Neuman, Cheryl L, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Recent developments at an aluminum (Al) smelter in Kitimat, BC resulted in a permitted increase of 27 to 42 tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions per day. Gaseous SO2 is a pollutant known to contribute to acidic deposition through processes of wet and dry deposition and can additionally react in-atmosphere to form particulate sulphate (pSO42-). Between June 2017 to October 2018, an… more Full Text: Observation-based assessment of atmospheric sulphur surrounding a major aluminum smelter in British Columbia, Canada A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in …
Year: 2018, 2018
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Levasseur, Patrick, Thesis advisor (ths): Watmough, Shaun, Degree committee member (dgc): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Eimers, Catherine, Degree committee member (dgc): Whitfield, Colin, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>In 2012, the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia increased sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from 27 to 42 tonnes/day. An initial study was conducted to investigate the effect of the increased sulphur (S) deposition on forest soils. A key uncertainty of the initial study was mineral surface area estimations that were applied to critical load calculations. The current… more Full Text: Estimating mineral surface area and acid sensitivity of forest soils in, Kitimat, British Columbia A thesis submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of …
Year: 2018, 2018
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Cowden, Phaedra, Thesis advisor (ths): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Watmough, Shaun, Degree committee member (dgc): Sager, Eric, Degree committee member (dgc): Canners, Richard, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Atmospheric pollutant deposition poses a risk to ecosystem health; therefore, monitoring the spatial and temporal trends of deposition is integral to environmental sustainability. Although moss biomonitoring is a common method to monitor various pollutants in Europe, offering a cost-effective approach compared to traditional methods of monitoring, it is rarely used in Canada. The focus… more Full Text: Moss Biomonitoring of Trace Element Deposition in Northwestern British Columbia, Canada A Thesis submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of Arts and …
Year: 2018, 2018
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study seeks to clarify the way in which the differing canopy characteristics among tree species influence the partitioning of precipitation, and therefore the source of water available for plant water uptake, in the Plastic Lake catchment near Dorset, ON. Three dominant tree species were compared: red oak (Quercus rubra), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and eastern hemlock (… more Full Text: THE INFLUENCE OF CANOPY WATER PARTITIONING ON THE ISOTOPIC SIGNATURE OF PLANT WATER IN A MIXED NORTHERN FOREST A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the …
