Stanford University

*** Ph.D. Thesis/ Oral Defense ***

From soil to harvest: A collaborative study of ᏩᏍᏗ (wasdi | Allium tricoccum | ramps) harvest on soil nitrogen in mesic rich cove forests

Sami Chen

Friday, June 7, 10:00am

Green Earth Sciences 365

Department of Earth System Science

Advisor: Dr. Peter Vitousek

In this dissertation, I explore how research collaborations and our relationships with ᏩᏍᏗ (wasdi | Allium tricoccum | ramps) affect soil fertility and the nitrogen cycle in a mesic rich cove forest in traditional Cherokee territory, now recognized as western North Carolina.  In Chapter 1, I begin by contextualizing the importance of this study. Few studies have sought to include Indigenous harvest practices, nor engaged Indigenous harvest communities, in research intended to compare and improve harvest methods for the sake of ecosystem sustainability.  Informational content focusing on the detriment of harvesting practices also overlook long standing Indigenous stewardship practices and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) that has been passed down for millennia.  While traditional Cherokee harvesting practices have long remained absent in harvesting sustainability studies and informational content on ramps, there is an intentional shift towards the inclusion of IK keepers in research collaborations. For this dissertation, I engaged in collaborative research design and implementation with research partners in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and USDA Forest Service to understand the consequences of different ramps harvest practices on nitrogen retention and loss in mesic rich cove forests.

In Chapter 2, I explore the importance of building trust and relationality in research collaborations. Through our reflexive discussions on Indigenous Research Methods (IRM) in the case of ramps harvest, we provide insights on cross-cultural research collaborations, including intersections of Cherokee knowledge and conventional science. Our starting point is a shared recognition that research regarding wasdi and other plants significant to the EBCI is complicated by political conflicts and historical relationships with federal agencies. We discuss possibilities of research with cultural food plants including wasdi as a healing process that supports Indigenous food sovereignty and food narratives. With these intentions, we consider how relationships and resources that support the capacity to collaborate can influence research and policy outcomes. For this research project, our research team asked the following reflexive questions: How can we invite and nurture dynamic collaborative research partnerships amongst researchers from tribal communities, government agencies, and universities? What role can culturally important food plants play in advancing interdisciplinary research collaborations across knowledge systems? 

In Chapter 3, I use biogeochemical methods to address the nutrient implications of traditional Cherokee harvesting practices in contrast to non-traditional bulb harvest practices. Examining the relationship between the removal of ramps and nutrient fluxes under Indigenous (traditional) and commercial harvest regimes will provide insight to the maintenance of nutrient status at an ecosystem scale. I will compare soil and plant nutrient status in several different harvest treatments to address the effects on  ramps as a spring ephemeral nutrient sink and how removal of harvested ramp plant material influences ecosystem nutrient availability and the sustainability of soil fertility.  I ask the following research questions:  (1) Which process(es) are dominant in regulating nutrient retention and loss following different ramp harvesting methods? (2) Is the magnitude of nutrient loss associated with harvest large enough to reduce soil fertility in mesic rich cove ecosystems?