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Poster
The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study: Effects of Permanent Openings on Chronically Fire Excluded Longleaf Pine Stands
University of West Florida Libraries
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, 08/2024)
08/2024
Abstract
Fire is important for the sustainability of longleaf pine ecosystems, preventing establishment of competing species, maintaining spatial heterogeneity and light availability, and enhancing soil nutrient availability. Although longleaf stands within the UWF natural areas exhibit characteristics of chronic fire exclusion, many of these occur along the permanent openings created by powerline rights of way (ROW), altering solar radiation within these stands. Solar radiation not only affects plant growth, but also drives soil weathering, which can be assessed by the three primary particles that determine soil texture: sand, silt, and clay. Sand weathers to silt, and then silt to clay.
The UWF Campus Ecosystem Study (CES) has studied fire-excluded pine stands of the main campus and natural areas since 2019 (Gilliam et al. 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). Our study addressed the following questions: (1) how does light in the forest understory vary with respect to permanent openings? (2) how does the forest community vary among three sites relative to the ROW? (3) how does soil texture vary among plots and between sites?
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Researcher Activities
UWF's Pensacola campus is a unique ecosystem. This professor works to protect and study it
Pensacola News Journal (PNJ) (Tom McLaughlin)Details
- Title
- The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study
- Resource Type
- Poster
- Event
- Summer Undergraduate Research Program (University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, 08/2024)
- Contributors
- Frank Gilliam (Faculty Mentor)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
- Format
- pdf
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380576734906600
- Academic Unit
- Summer Undergraduate Research Program 2024; Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering ; Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English