Abstract Detail

Ecological Section

Svoboda, Harlan [1], Van Kley, James [1].

Effects of Exotic Species Removal at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center on Native Forest Understory Vegetation.

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense)is a non-native invasive shrub that is capable of replacing native forest understory with a near-monoculture. The Pineywoods Native Plant Center (PNPC) on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas includes a wet-mesic bottomland forest which was heavily infested with privet. During the summer of 2009,much of the privet on the property was mechanically removed with subsequent follow-up spot herbicide treatments. During 2010, thirty10m² plots were established in order to monitor vegetation changes associated with the privet removal effort. Plots were located in three treatment areas: 1) uncleared privet-infested, 2) recently(summer 2009) privet-cleared, and 3) a portion of the property that had been maintained privet-free for at least 20 years by hand-removal. Data were subject to canonical correspondence analysis(CCA) and multivariate classification and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was calculated for each plot to observe any differences in the flora between the three sample areas. Even after removing effects of environmental co-variables of soil texture and micro-elevation, floristic differences were evident between the three treatments and plots from the three were located largely in distinct regions of a partial-CCA ordination space. Species richness was not significantly different between the three groups of samples but the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was lower for the uncleared privet plots. Total vegetative coverage was higher in the uncleared privet plots than in the others but coverage in the recently-cleared plots was not significantly different from that of the privet-free plots.The results suggest that diversity and species richness were not adversely effected by the mechanical removal of L.sinense and the first-season post-removal community had already substantially recovered.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Stephen F. Austin State University, Biology, 1936 North St., Nacogdoches, TX, 75962, USA

Keywords:
ecology
Chinese privet
Ligustrum sinense.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PEC004
Abstract ID:762