Edge influence on forest composition in a pine-oak forest in central Mexico

Deforestation in central Mexico comes as a direct consequence of the increase in agriculture demand and has resulted in the creation of more habitat edges. Changes in land usage for agriculture and resource extraction has resulted in habitat destruction and degradation; these same mechanisms have led to habitat fragmentation by producing smaller, and isolated fragments separated by human-transformed land cover. The loss of continuous area has resulted in greater exposure to human dominated landscapes resulting in changes to the structure and function of the remaining fragment. To quantify, document, and describe the edge influence on forest composition fragmented by an agriculture field, I sampled 6 transects with 3, 10, 20, 30, & 40m data points per transect. My results reveal an edge influence on forest composition from an agriculture field

Born to run? Vegetative spread of the invasive plant Phragmites australis via stolons (runners)

Phragmites australis is a highly invasive wetland grass species that dominates nearly any ecosystem that it invades, this is due to its incredibly dense foliage which makes it hard for plants and animals to live in the vicinity of phragmites. Phragmites can grow in versatile environments and are extremely durable. Therefore, once phragmites establish itself, it is very difficult to remove it. On top of that, Phragmites spreads very quickly by utilizing both sexual and asexual reproduction

Life on the rocks: Small-scale primary succession in an abandoned limestone quarry

Abandoned quarries, from which all soil and plant life have been removed, represent an opportunity to study primary succession at a small scale. Using a framework suggested by Gilardelli et al. (2016), we assessed the stage of primary succession in an abandoned limestone quarry in Greencastle, Indiana, where gravel extraction ceased in 1977. From 2018-2021 we surveyed the quarry floor to describe the species composition and distribution of flowering plant species that have established at the site, then described each species in terms of its plant form, life history, native and wetland status, and invasive rank using the USDA website. In 2021, we made a grid across the quarry bottom and randomly selected 50 two-meter plots of which we characterized the substrate and identified flowering plant species found within each plot. We identified 106 species in the quarry, 72% are native to Indiana. From the quarry survey, we found that most of the species currently growing in the Nature Park quarry are native, herbaceous perennials. From the sample plots, we found that the quarry bottom does not follow the pattern of late-phase succession as laid out by Gilardelli et al. (2016) with only 28% of species identified being woody perennials that are sparsely distributed. Shrubland communities are not replacing herbaceous pioneer species as quickly as expected