Open Access Articles

The Vascular Flora of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee

Jonathan P. Evans
Callie A. Oldfield,
Sept 2016

ABSTRACT Sewanee: The University of the South, located in Franklin County, Tennessee, is a 5,263 ha site that encompasses a variety of plateau and cove habitats on the southern Cumberland Plateau in southeastern Tennessee. The vascular flora of the University of the South was documented from 1948–2015 and comprises 1,118 species and lesser taxa in 553 genera and 150 families. We documented 229 exotic taxa, 20.5% of the flora. This flora contains six state records, 74 Franklin County records, and two potential new species. Eighteen taxa are listed as protected either at the state or federal level, including the federally listed endangered Clematis morefieldii and state listed endangered Diamorpha smallii, Silphium brachiatum, and Symphyotrichum pratense. When compared to the five other published floras for the southern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, the University of the South flora is the most diverse, capturing 69% of the total taxa at the species level for the region. The high diversity of plant species in the University of the South flora reflects the broad range of habitats that can be found within the campus and contiguous natural areas. This flora demonstrates that herbaria at small liberal arts colleges can play an important role in the documentation and promotion of plant biodiversity within their region.

Flora and Threatened and Endangered Plants of Canaveral National Seashore, Florida

Paul A. Schmalzer
Tammy E. Foster
June 2016

ABSTRACT Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) incorporates ca. 23,335 ha of land, shallow lagoons, and offshore waters in east central Florida. We surveyed the flora in 20 terrestrial sites and one lagoon site between the fall of 2002 and the fall of 2004, made additional collections from 2005 to 2015, and examined existing collections in the CANA and KSC (Kennedy Space Center) herbaria annotating them where necessary. The final floristic list includes 679 taxa. Of this total, 584 are native and 94 are introduced. Only 40 taxa were not represented by new collections. Fifteen taxa considered endangered or threatened by the state of Florida occur; one (Harrisia fragrans) is listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Those listed as endangered in Florida include Argusia gnaphalodes, Chamaesyce cumulicola, Glandularia maritima, Harrisia fragrans, Lantana depressa var. floridana, Lechea divaricata, Nemastylis floridana, Ophioglossum palmatum, Tephrosia angustissima var. curtissii, Tillandsia fasciculata var. densispica, and Tillandsia utriculata. Plants listed as threatened in Florida include Myrcianthes fragrans, Opuntia stricta, Pteroglossaspis ecristata, and Scaevola plumieri. Five plants are listed in Florida as commercially exploited: Encyclia tampensis, Epidendrum conopseum, Osmunda cinnamomea, O. regalis, and Zamia pumila. Twenty Category I and 11 Category II invasive exotic plants (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council) occur. Feral pigs, introduced insects, and plant disease threaten some plants. Fire management, control of exotics, and restoration of disturbed areas are management concerns. The temperate and subtropical plants within CANA are sensitive to climatic changes; its coastal location and low elevation makes it vulnerable to sea level rise.

A Review of the Lichens of the Dare Regional Biodiversity Hotspot in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina, Eastern North America

James C. Lendemer
Richard C. Harris,
March 2016

ABSTRACT The results of a large-scale biodiversity inventory of lichens (including lichenicolous and allied fungi) in the Dare Regional Biodiversity Hotspot (DRBH) are presented. The DRBH is a region within the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain (MACP) of eastern North America that was recently delineated based on its unique and diverse lichen communities relative to other areas of the Atlantic Coast. Drawing on 4,952 newly generated voucher specimens from 49 sites, patterns of biodiversity and biogeography are presented and discussed within the context of both the DRBH and the broader MACP. Relationships between natural communities, vegetation, and lichen communities are discussed, as are threats to the lichen biota. A series of conservation actions are presented together with avenues for future study. In addition, supplementary resources are provided in the form of: (a) a checklist of DRBH lichens, lichenicolous fungi, and allied fungi; (b) keys to DRBH lichens and lichenicolous and allied fungi; and (c) formal descriptions of the following species new to science that were discovered during the inventory: Albemarlea pamlicoensis gen. et. sp. nov., Arthonia agelastica sp. nov. (on Lecanora louisianae B. de Lesd.), Arthonia hodgesii sp. nov. (on Graphis lineola), Arthonia stevensoniana sp. nov. (on Haematomma accolens), Lichenochora haematommatum sp. nov. (on Haematomma persoonii), Megalaria alligatorensis sp. nov., Minutoexcipula miniatoexcipula sp. nov. (on Pertusaria epixantha), Trichosphaerella buckii sp. nov. (on Punctelia rudecta).

Assessing Postfire Vegetative Changes and Implications for Management in a Northeast Florida Coastal Strand Ecosystem

Barbara I. Blonder
John M. Wooldridge,

ABSTRACT Coastal ecosystems face numerous well-documented threats that pose significant risk of reduction in the ability of these ecosystems to persevere. Although coastal disturbance processes related to maritime exposure are relatively well known, the past and potential impacts of fire in these ecosystems have not been well studied. Because fire plays such an important role in so many other southeastern ecosystems, and because the areal extent of coastal strand ecosystems has been much reduced, it is important to resolve the role of fire for management of these threatened communities. In 2014, prescribed fire management was undertaken in a protected and relatively intact, 55-ha remnant section of coastal strand in the Guana Tolomato National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in northeast Florida, USA. The fire history for this area was unknown. We compared burned samples to unburned samples to test whether there were differences in patterns of vegetative response to this fire management action. In backdune sites, we found significant dissimilarities in plant community biodiversity indicators between burned and unburned samples, whereas vegetative cover changed significantly in both foredune and backdune sites. We include a review of successional patterns and fire effects for similar sites in the region for comparison, which provisionally suggests a 4–20-yr fire return interval. We conclude that fire management for the backdune component of the coastal strand is an important strategy for this ecosystem to avert succession to maritime hammock.

Photoautotrophic-Periphyton Composition in Reaches with Differing Nutrient Concentrations in the Harpeth River of Middle Tennessee

Jefferson G. Lebkuecher
Sandra Bojic,
Sept 2018

ABSTRACT Four sites of the Harpeth River, two upstream and two downstream of the Franklin Wastewater Treatment Facility in Franklin, Tennessee, were sampled to assess the impact of nutrient enrichment on the integrity of photoautotrophic periphyton. Concentrations of total phosphorus of water samples ranged from 310 lg.L1 at the uppermost site to 1035 lg.L1 at the site immediately downstream of the wastewater treatment facility. Concentrations of total nitrogen of water samples ranged from 687 lg.L1 at the uppermost site to 1,434 lg.L1 at the site immediately downstream of the wastewater treatment facility. Concentrations of benthic chlorophyll a did not differ significantly among the sites and ranged from 103 – 11 mg.m2 at the site immediately upstream of the wastewater treatment facility to 151 – 13 mg.m2 at the site immediately downstream. Percent composition of 186 algae taxa were documented: 92 taxa of soft-bodied algae and 94 taxa of diatoms. Values for the algae trophic index for soft-bodied algal assemblages increased from 71 at the site immediately upstream of the wastewater treatment facility to 107 at the site immediately downstream. Values for the pollution tolerance index for diatom assemblages decreased from 2.55 at the site immediately upstream of the wastewater treatment facility to 2.20 at the site immediately downstream. These index values demonstrate that the assemblages of soft-bodied algae and diatoms immediately downstream the wastewater treatment facility had a greater relative abundance of taxa tolerant of eutrophic conditions compared to the assemblages at the site immediately upstream.

Supplemental Material

Floristics of the Abrams Creek Wetlands, a Calcareous Fen Complex in Winchester City and Frederick County, Virginia

Woodward S. Bousquet,
Gary P. Fleming,
Sept - 2017

ABSTRACT The 24-ha Abrams Creek Wetlands (Winchester City and Frederick County, Virginia) is an array of fen, swamp, and disturbed transitional ecosystems underlain by limestone and dolostone bedrock. Soils of the area are generally characterized by exceptionally high levels of calcium (>10,000 ppm). Floristic data were collected through monthly surveys during the 2012–14 growing seasons and plot sampling in representative locations. We documented 296 vascular plant species during the inventory period; eight species found previously were not relocated. The 304 total species comprised 206 genera in 78 families. Of these, 55 species were graminoids (27 grasses, 21 sedges, 7 rushes). Obligate or facultative wetland species comprised 43% of the list. The 216 native species represented 71% of the total and included 20 listed as rare in Virginia. Plot data revealed that native species represented 72–99% of the total vegetative cover in the communities sampled. Floristic quality of the 12 constituent sites was consistently high, with Floristic Quality Assessment Index (FQAI) scores between 30 and 44; the property as a whole scored an exceptional FQAI of 67. Constricted and fragmented by suburban and rural development, the Abrams Creek Wetlands nonetheless supports distinctive ecological assemblages that are characterized by native wetland calciphiles, many of which are rare statewide.