University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2016 Earthworms In Vermont Forest Soils: A Study Of Nutrient, Carbon, Nitrogen And Native Plant Responses Ryan Melnichuk University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons Recommended Citation Melnichuk, Ryan, "Earthworms In Vermont Forest Soils: A Study Of Nutrient, Carbon, Nitrogen And Native Plant Responses" (2016). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 573. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/573 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. EARTHWORMS IN VERMONT FOREST SOILS: A STUDY OF NUTRIENT, CARBON, NITROGEN AND NATIVE PLANT RESPONSES A Dissertation Presented by Ryan Dustin Scott Melnichuk to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Specializing in Plant and Soil Science May, 2016 Defense Date: October 29, 2015 Dissertation Examination Committee: Josef H. Görres, Ph.D., Advisor Alison K. Brody, Ph.D., Chairperson Deborah A. Neher, Ph.D. Donald S. Ross, Ph.D. Cynthia J. Forehand, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College ABSTRACT Anthropogenic activities surrounding horticulture, agriculture and recreation have increased dispersal of invasive earthworms. The introduction of earthworms initiates many physical and chemical alterations in forest soils previously unoccupied by earthworms.