The University of West Florida was constructed among second growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stands that had survived extensive logging in the Florida Panhandle. Previous work on the UWF campus based on tree core data from southern Georgia estimated that 65% of longleaf pines are between 75 and 125 years old (Gilliam et al. 2020). To better estimate age, a more accurate model was developed locally and based on counts of annual rings from whole cross-sections of trees.
Hurricane Sally impacted UWF as a Category 2 storm, with wind speeds ~165 kph (Gilliam 2021),that created numerous longleaf windthrows (i.e., blow downs). Our study took advantage of the longleaf windthrows from Sally to obtain cross-sections for accurate age determinations. Images on the banner above depict (l-r): a windthrow-created opening in a longleaf pine canopy, satellite imagery of Hurricane Sally, and a windthrow longleaf pine after sampling.
Our research addressed the following questions: (1) what is the relationship between stem age and diameter? (2) how does stem growth vary between UWF natural areas? (3) What is the age structure of longleaf pine on UWF campus? (2) how does stem growth vary between UWF natural areas? (3) What is the age structure of longleaf pine on UWF campus?
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University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study14.17 MBDownloadView
University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study: Using dendrochronology to analyse tree growth of longleaf pines
Resource Type
Poster
Event
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida, 2021)
Contributors
Dr. Frank S. Gilliam (Faculty Mentor)
Publisher
University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
Format
pdf
Copyright
Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries to digitize and/or display this item 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
99380090605906600
Academic Unit
Summer Undergraduate Research Program 2021; Biology; Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering