The perception of separation between school and home/community is related to diminished achievement in school and lack of motivation to learn STEM subjects. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is among many research organisations that have strongly recommended that schools bridge the disconnect between school-based knowledge and learners' everyday knowledge. We designed the SPIRALS (Supporting and Promoting Indigenous and Rural Adolescents' Learning of Science) curriculum to bridge this gap between formal science and students' everyday lives. SPIRALS helps students explore community-based practices to learn about science, environmental sustainability and systems thinking. We implemented the SPIRALS curriculum in a private, urban, English medium school in Western India with approximately 315 students and their four teachers, 214 (or 68%) of whom also participated in the research from which our conclusions are drawn. Our findings about program impacts rely upon analysis of interviews with teachers and students, as well as student work, and conference participation assessment surveys distributed after a capstone experience at which students present their work. This chapter describes our findings about how students learned science, environmental sustainability, and systems thinking through engagement with community-based practices. We also discuss the process of how the SPIRALS approach worked in India and how it could be expanded into a broader learning model across different socio-cultural contexts within India.

We studied the forest structure and dynamics of the 26 ha College Woods Natural Area (CWNA), Durham, NH. The CWNA is dominated by Tsuga canadensis, but includes a remnant cohort of ca. 300 y old Pinus strobus and abundant mid-tolerant hardwoods. Our primary objectives were to: estimate the recruitment years of four mid-tolerant hardwoods, Acer rubrum, Betula lenta, Quercus rubra, and Q. velutina; relate the temporal appearance and population structure of these species to local disturbance history; and compare our results to other old forests in central New England. We hypothesized that recruitment of mid-tolerant hardwoods at the CWNA was associated with major 20th century windstorms and was limited to within 25 y post disturbance. We used plot sampling to describe densities and size structures of all tree species in the stand. Both Tsuga canadensis, the most abundant species, and Fagus grandifolia were represented in all diameter classes, whereas the mid-tolerant hardwoods were poorly represented in both the smaller and larger size classes. We took increment cores from a sample of trees of each mid-tolerant species and estimated a recruitment year for each individual. We then related recruitment years of each species to local disturbance history. Age estimates suggest that most individuals recruited after 1900 and that recruitment was associated with disturbances, including logging between 1895 and 1919, and the hurricanes of 1938 and 1954. After 1960, there was little recruitment of mid-tolerant tree species, probably due to canopy closure and lack of additional disturbance. The dynamics of mid-tolerant species in the CWNA were similar to those in an old Tsuga-Pinus stand at the Harvard Tract, 125 km to the west, as well as in other mature stands in central New England, suggesting regionally consistent responses to disturbance. Despite the current dearth of recruitment, future regeneration of these species in College Woods is likely, if not due to severe windstorms, then to the imminent loss of the Tsuga canadensis-Fagus grandifolia canopy to introduced insects and pathogens.

Abstract In New Hampshire, the Ossipee Pine Barrens is the largest and best example of a Pinus rigida-Quercus ilicifolia dominated ecosystem remaining in the state. Because of long-term fire suppression in the 20th century, we hypothesized that undisturbed stands may be undergoing succession to more shade-tolerant Pinus strobus and hardwoods. To test this hypothesis, we sampled 41 sites within the barrens covering the range of soils, landforms, stand age, and vegetational variation present in the barrens. Current (2002) tree (≥ 10 cm dbh) and sapling (taller than 1 m, < 10 cm dbh) densities were measured by quadrat sampling. Past (1952) vegetation was reconstructed using reverse-growth equations derived from increment cores from trees alive in 2002 and forensic evidence such as stumps. Future (2052) vegetation was estimated using a simple transition model based on 1952–2002 compositional changes. Community types were classified using cluster analysis of 80 communities based on the 2002 and back-casted 1952 tree species abundances at the study sites. Cluster analysis of the 80 communities using tree relative densities produced four community types, dominated by 1) P. rigida, 2) P. rigida and Acer rubrum, 3) P. strobus and A. rubrum, and 4) A. rubrum, respectively. The frequency of the Pinus rigida community type was highest in 1952 and declined with time, with only 8% of sites predicted to support pitch pine canopies by 2052. The Pinus strobus-Acer rubrum community type increased between 1952 and 2002 as the Pinus rigida type declined, and should continue to increase in the future. The other two communities appeared to be transitional. Pinus rigida was even-aged on most sites, where forests averaged 97 ± 42 years (SD) old. Many sites will transition to P. strobus and hardwoods as canopy pitch pines die, because P. rigida recruitment was not occurring in most stands.

Summary1. Stream habitat quality assessment complements biological assessment by providing a mechanism for ruling out habitat degradation as a potential stressor and provides reference targets for the physical aspects of stream restoration projects. This study analysed five approaches for predicting habitat conditions based on discriminant function, linear regressions, ordination and nearest neighbour analyses.2. Quantitative physical and chemical habitat and riparian conditions in minimally‐impacted streams in New Hampshire were estimated using United States Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program protocols. Catchment‐scale descriptors were used to predict segment‐scale stream channel and riparian habitat, and the accuracy and precision of the different modelling approaches were compared.3. A new assessment index comparing and summarizing the degree of correspondence between predicted and observed habitat based on Euclidean distance between the standardized habitat factors is described. Higher index scores (i.e. greater Euclidean distance) would suggest a greater deviation in habitat between observed conditions and expected reference conditions. As in most biotic indices, the range in index scores in reference sites would constitute a situation equivalent to reference conditions. This new index avoids the erroneous prediction of multiple, mutually exclusive habitat conditions that have confounded previous habitat assessment approaches.4. Separate linear regression models for each habitat descriptor yielded the most accurate and precise prediction of reference conditions, with a coefficient of variation (CV) between predictions and observations for all reference sites of 0.269. However, for a unified implementation in regions where a classification‐based approach has already been taken for biological assessment, a discriminant analysis approach, that predicted membership in biotic communities and compared the mean habitat features in the biotic communities with the observed habitat features, was similar in prediction accuracy and precision (CV = 0.293).5. The best model had an error of 27% of the mean index value for the reference sites, indicating substantial room for improvement. Additional catchment characteristics not readily available for this analysis, such as average rainfall or winter snow‐pack, surficial geological characteristics or past land‐use history, may improve the precision of the predicted habitat features in the reference streams. Land‐use history in New Hampshire and regional environmental impacts have greatly impacted stream habitat conditions even in streams considered minimally‐impacted today; thus as regional environmental impacts change and riparian forests mature, reference habitat conditions should be re‐evaluated.

The point-centered-quarter (PCQ) method has been applied in community analysis since the publication of the method nearly 50 years ago. This and other distance methods offer increased sampling efficiency over fixed-area plots (FAP), but have long been known to produce biased density estimates when plant distribution deviates from random spatial patterns. Spatial indices have been developed to quantify the direction of this bias when plant distributions are aggregated or evenly distributed. Its continued use, especially in community analysis, requires additional scrutiny in measurements of community structure. We measured 14 forest stands of varying age, elevation and disturbance regime using FAP and PCQ methods. Density estimates were biased, with the point-centered quarter method lower than fixed-area plot estimates when stems were aggregated and higher when stems were evenly spaced. In general the PCQ method underestimated species richness. The efficiency of the PCQ method makes it popular for ordination studies, although comparison of community structure varied from 18% to 90% similarity between the measurements of species basal area in the same stands using the two different methods. The bias observed in calculations of stem density, species abundance and community similarity indicate that use of the PCQ method should be approached with caution when used in community level analysis.

Effects of the non-indigenous shrub Rhamnus frangula L. (glossy buckthorn) on tree recruitment, herb cover, forest floor plant species richness, and R. frangula recruitment were tested in two southeastern New Hampshire Pinus forests using a randomized complete-block field experiment. The treatment, applied in January of 2000, was the presence of well-established R. frangula populations with three levels: R. frangula absent prior to experiment ("uninvaded"), > 90% R. frangula cover ("Rhamnus present"), and removal of > 90% R. frangula cover ("Rhamnus removed"). After 2 years of measurements, Rhamnus present had significantly lower first-year native tree seedling density than Rhamnus removed and uninvaded plots (0.11, 0.40, and 0.40 seedlings/m(2) respectively). First-year native tree seedling density in the Rhamnus removed and uninvaded treatments were similar. Neither percent herb cover nor plant species richness were significantly affected by the removal of R. frangula in the two years following treatment. We believe these results indicate that the presence of dense R. frangula inhibits the establishment of tree seedlings. Rhamnus removed plots sampled one year after removal had five-fold greater first-year R. frangula seedling density than the other treatments. However, after two years first-year R. frangula seedling density was similarly low in all treatments (< 0.5 R. frangula seedlings/m(2)). Control efforts for R. frangula may need to focus on conspecific seedling emergence for at least two years following initial control.

We tested the ability of the simple reaction–diffusion spread model to quantify the rate of spread of Rhamnus frangula L., a non-indigenous shrub, at the scale of a single forest stand in southeastern New Hampshire. Cut stems of R. frangula were collected in a Cartesian grid pattern within the invaded stand and aged. A contour map of the invasion pattern was produced using kriging. The empirical invasion rate was calculated as the linear distance per year since initial invasion. The intrinsic rate of increase and diffusion coefficient were estimated in the field and the model prediction calculated. Observed mean rate of linear expansion was measured to be 6.7m per year with a standard deviation of 1.24m per year, while the predicted linear asymptotic rate of spread was calculated be 6.3m per year. Thus, the simple reaction–diffusion model yielded a very accurate prediction of actual spread rate. There may have been a lag-phase in the invasion at this site as the spread rate was found to be slower in the early stages of invasion compared to later stages. At the scale of single stands, the simple reaction–diffusion model may be accurate enough to predict the spread of new invaders without recourse to complex life-history spread rate models. Additionally, if lag-phases in spread rate occur with regular frequency, then attempts to retrospectively predict which species may be invasive will be hampered by incorrectly classifying a future invader as currently non-invasive.

Disturbance and land transformation seem to enhance the ability of exotic species to invade, possibly due to increased resource levels and greater immigration potential from surrounding disturbed areas. To investigate the role disturbance may play in enhancing exotic species invasion, we used retrospective analysis to discriminate the characters associated with naturalized and non-naturalized exotic woody plants in New Hampshire utilizing the biological information contained in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) PLANTS database and selected other sources. Exotic plants were partitioned into two groups: those known to have self-sustaining populations and those that did not display self-sustaining populations. To predict membership into these groups, we used stepwise logistic regression. Variables were screened for correlation coefficients higher than 0.5. Model development was constrained using Akaike’s information criteria with the correction factor for sample size. The 11th model step containing 11 characters was selected and it differed significantly from the constant-only model (χ2=66.383, P<0.001). Exotic species were correctly classified into the known non-naturalized or naturalized categories in 90% of the cases. The resulting model could be used to reliably screen novel woody plant introductions. Additionally, we provide a framework for preliminarily assessing the importance of different factors in encouraging woody plant invasion in the northeastern US.

This paper investigated the potential for the exotic shrub Rhamnus frangula L. (glossy buckthorn) to alter native plant community composition in southeastern New Hampshire. Stratified random sampling was performed with 2 m x 2 m plots randomly located in 5 m intervals along three 50 m transects in four even-aged Pinus-mixed hardwood forests, three of which were managed stands. The associations between R. frangula and the measured species abundances and environmental variables were investigated using linear, least-squares multiple regression and Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling Ordination. Plot basal area of R. frangula was inversely related to woody seedling density (p < 0.001), herb cover (p < 0.05), and species richness (p < 0.01). The relative contribution of R. frangula to explaining variance in seedling density was greater than canopy openness, soil pH, soil clay, or soil sand. Abundance of R. frangula was a statistically significant predictor (p < 0.05) of individual herb species abundances for all study sites. This evidence supports the hypothesis that R. frangula causes a decline in seedling density and alters native ground level plant species abundances. Furthermore, the patterns agree with the suppression of ground level plant species abundances by R. frangula found in removal experiments.

Polluted air masses from the industrialized northeastern corridor of the United States flow through Acadia National Park, Maine, U.S.A. The polluted air masses create elevated ozone episodes throughout the growing season, causing visible foliar damage to some native plant species. This study used dendroclimatic techniques to investigate the possibility that elevated ozone levels adversely affected white pine (Pinus strobus L.) radial growth rates. Tree-ring cores were extracted from white pine trees in eight separate stands within the park. Tree-ring indices were then regressed with ozone variables to model the effects of elevated ozone levels on tree growth under field conditions. Models from seven of the eight stands documented negative associations between tree-ring indices and ozone levels that were stronger than any associations between tree-ring indices and climate. The modeled growth-ozone associations exhibited stand-level variations, suggesting that site characteristics affect tree responses to ozone pollution.

The pattern of nuclear ribosomal alleles in controlled-cross black spruce × red spruce hybrids was compared with that of samples from provenance tests of the entire range of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) and the eastern complex of black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) BSP). In addition, restriction fragment length polymorphisms were identified for the organelle genomes of red spruce and black spruce. Organelle haplotypes were closely associated with species, but were not species specific. Data from controlled-cross hybrids suggest that mitochondria are maternally inherited and chloroplasts are paternally inherited in these spruce species. Organelle markers were combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism data from the nuclear rDNA repeat to derive a simple three-character index capable of identifying red spruce, black spruce, and hybrids of the two species.

Foliage was collected from natural stands of montane and island red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) to examine within- and among-population genetic variation. Samples were scored for frequencies of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) alleles, and mitochondrial and chloroplast haplotypes. Samples were classified as red spruce, black spruce, or hybrid using two molecular methods: a three character discriminant function based on molecular markers or a three-character molecular index. These results were found to be highly congruent with classification based upon a discriminant function using morphological traits. Among montane populations, hybridization and introgression between red and black spruce did not appear to be a major factor in the observed patterns of variation on elevational transects on Mount Washington and Mount Lafayette, N.H. However, extensive hybridization and introgression were detected among populations on Isle au Haut, Maine. The Mount Lafayette population displayed low variation in rDNA alleles compared with populations on Mount Washington and a range-wide provenance test in Stewartstown, N.H.

Steady-state chlorophyl. fluorescence measured with a laboratory fluorescence spectrophotometer has been used successfully, in repetitive experiments, to detect changes in the red/far-red (R/FR) emission intensity ratio of white pine (Pinus strobus L.) induced by fumigation with ozone. Experiments were conducted in 1992 and 1993 as pan: of a study of the effects of short-term ozone exposure to native plants at Acadia National Park, Maine. In July, 1992, fluorescence measurements were made of clonal grafts (ramets) of native white pine, prior to, one hour after, and 24 hours after exposure to ozone (duration of 3 hours at 180 mm(3) m(-3)). The R/FR fluorescence ratio mean from the spectra collected 24 hours after exposure was significantly different from the pre-fumigation R/FR ratio mean (P = .10). In August, 1992, the R/FR ratio mean at 24 hrs post-fumigation was significant at P = .05. In August, 1993 measurements were made, prior to, one hour after, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after exposure, with a different set of white pine ramets exposed to 120 and 220 mm(3) m(-3) ozone for 3 hours. The R/FR ratio means at 24 hrs post-fumigation were significant at P = .05 for the 120 mm(3) m(-3) ozone exposure and at P = .20 for the 220 mm(3) m(-3) ozone exposure. Differences between the R/FR ratio means of pre- and 24 hrs post-fumigation measurements for 120, 180, and 220 mm(3) m(-3) ozone indicate dose dependent responses. The 220 mm(3) m(-3) ozone exposed ramets produced an R/FR ratio mean at 48 hrs post-fumigation that was lower than the 24 hrs post-fumigation R/FR ratio mean (.50 > P > .25), suggesting a potential recovery of photosynthetic processes from the effects of ozone exposure. Red/far-red fluorescence ratios, derived from chlorophyll emissions at wavelengths corresponding to known atmospheric and solar absorption features, indicates that stress-induced fluorescence changes may be detectable in direct sunlight.

Steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence measurements of white pine (Pinus strobus L.) exposed to predetermined levels of ozone, have shown significant increases in red/far-red (R/FR) emission intensity ratios in experiments that were part of a study of the effects of short-term ozone exposure to native plants at Acadia National Park, Maine. Laboratory spectrophotometer measurements were made of clonal grafts (ramets) of white pine, prior to, one hour after, and 24 hrs after exposure to ozone (3 hrs duration at 180 mm/sup 3/m/sup -3/). The R/FR fluorescence ratio mean derived from spectra collected 24 hrs after exposure in August 1992, was significantly different from the pre-fumigation R/FR ratio mean (P=0.05). August, 1993 measurements, with a different set of white pine ramets exposed to 120 and 220 mm/sup 3/ m/sup -3/ ozone for 3 hrs, produced R/FR ratio means at 24 hrs post-fumigation that were significant at P=0.05 and 0.20, respectively. Differences in the R/FR ratio means of pre- and 24 hrs post-fumigation measurements for 120, 180, and 220 mm/sup 3/m/sup -3/ ozone indicate dose dependent responses.< >

While some investigators have attempted to use isozyme electrophoresis to gain information on the genetics of brown algae, most have reported unsatisfactory results. Through exhaustive screening and modification of sample preparation techniques, gel and tray buffers systems, plus staining recipes, we have developed procedures that consistently provide scorable bands for over 20 enzyme systems in several laminarian algae. We have used our procedures to examine geographically diverse populations of Laminaria saccharina and L. longicruris, as well as L. digitata, L. groenlandica, Agarum cribrosum, Alaria esculenta, Chorda tomentosa, and Macrocystis pyrifera. Overall, these kelp species seem to have an extremely low degree of enzyme polymorphism, both within and between populations. While some ‘rare alleles’ occurred in several enzyme systems, only 3–5 loci were found to be polymorphic. Our results are consistent with the few reported studies that have used molecular genetic techniques to look at the intraspecific variability of laminarian algae. We suggest that at the species level the Laminariales, and perhaps other groups of brown algae, are genetically extremely conservative as compared to other divisions of plants. We further suggest that isozyme electrophoresis provides a quick and useful tool for algal population genetic studies.

The frequencies of polymorphic restriction fragments for the nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat were compared for 12 provenances of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) and 34 provenances of black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.). Within an individual as many as five distinct ribosomal DNA repeat unit types could be distinguished. Canonical correlation analysis revealed significant variation of restriction fragment frequencies with a geographic variate comprising latitude and longitude of provenances. Geographic origins accounted for 24.7% of the variation in polymorphic restriction fragments in black spruce and 31.8% of the variation in polymorphic restriction fragments in red spruce. Discriminant analysis, using the restriction fragment frequencies for the ribosomal DNA, was used to develop a classification model for the two species. Tenfold verification of the model produced an average correct classification of 99% for black spruce and 96% for red spruce. Plots of canonical scores for the first and second canonical variâtes clearly separated red spruce from black spruce. This study presents a novel combination of restriction fragment frequency data and multivariate analysis to distinguish species that may not always be differentiated using morphological traits.