The health of the northern hardwood forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia has recently gained attention from the media and environmental stakeholders. This project was designed to examine concentrations of metals, including lead, aluminum, and calcium in growth rings of an important northern hardwood species, American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) at Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia. Dominant and codominant trees were sampled from sixteen research plots located at two different elevations. Samples were crossdated, divided into sections of ten-year periods, and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of metals were negatively correlated with ring width. Elevation and aspect were significantly associated with the concentration of the cations analyzed. Both lead and calcium concentrations increased during the 1860s and again during the mid-1900s. This increase in lead and calcium may suggest the mobilization of these elements in soil.
","abstract_html":"<p>The health of the northern hardwood forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia has recently gained attention from the media and environmental stakeholders. This project was designed to examine concentrations of metals, including lead, aluminum, and calcium in growth rings of an important northern hardwood species, American beech (<em>Fagus grandifolia</em> Ehrh.) at Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia. Dominant and codominant trees were sampled from sixteen research plots located at two different elevations. Samples were crossdated, divided into sections of ten-year periods, and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of metals were negatively correlated with ring width. Elevation and aspect were significantly associated with the concentration of the cations analyzed. Both lead and calcium concentrations increased during the 1860s and again during the mid-1900s. This increase in lead and calcium may suggest the mobilization of these elements in soil.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Southerland, Laura Suzanne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MSEH (Master of Science in Environmental Health)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Environmental Health","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2001,"date_issued":"2001-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2001-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:07Z","subjects":["Calcium","Southern Appalachians","Aluminum","Lead Analysis","Dendrochronology","Dendrochemistry","Northern Hardwoods","Environmental Sciences","Natural Resources and Conservation","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/110","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Southerland, Laura Suzanne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1900-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2001-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Environmental Health"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MSEH (Master of Science in Environmental Health)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Calcium","Southern Appalachians","Aluminum","Lead Analysis","Dendrochronology","Dendrochemistry","Northern Hardwoods","Environmental Sciences","Natural Resources and Conservation","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1160/viewcontent/southerlandl0417.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/110"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The health of the northern hardwood forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia has recently gained attention from the media and environmental stakeholders. This project was designed to examine concentrations of metals, including lead, aluminum, and calcium in growth rings of an important northern hardwood species, American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) at Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia. Dominant and codominant trees were sampled from sixteen research plots located at two different elevations. Samples were crossdated, divided into sections of ten-year periods, and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of metals were negatively correlated with ring width. Elevation and aspect were significantly associated with the concentration of the cations analyzed. Both lead and calcium concentrations increased during the 1860s and again during the mid-1900s. This increase in lead and calcium may suggest the mobilization of these elements in soil.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Dendrochemical Analysis of Lead, Aluminum, and Calcium in Southern Appalachian American Beech."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Southerland, Laura Suzanne"],"dc:date.available":["1900-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2001-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The health of the northern hardwood forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia has recently gained attention from the media and environmental stakeholders. This project was designed to examine concentrations of metals, including lead, aluminum, and calcium in growth rings of an important northern hardwood species, American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) at Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia. Dominant and codominant trees were sampled from sixteen research plots located at two different elevations. Samples were crossdated, divided into sections of ten-year periods, and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of metals were negatively correlated with ring width. Elevation and aspect were significantly associated with the concentration of the cations analyzed. Both lead and calcium concentrations increased during the 1860s and again during the mid-1900s. This increase in lead and calcium may suggest the mobilization of these elements in soil.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1160/viewcontent/southerlandl0417.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/110"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Calcium","Southern Appalachians","Aluminum","Lead Analysis","Dendrochronology","Dendrochemistry","Northern Hardwoods","Environmental Sciences","Natural Resources and Conservation","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"dc:title":["A Dendrochemical Analysis of Lead, Aluminum, and Calcium in Southern Appalachian American Beech."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Environmental Health"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MSEH (Master of Science in Environmental Health)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:07Z"}