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Thesis
GULF COAST WET PRAIRIE PLANT COMMUNITY STABILITY AND RESTORATION
University of West Florida
Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida
2015
Abstract
Gulf Coast wet prairies are species-rich habitats subject to extreme environmental disturbances including fire, drought, flooding, tropical storms, and winter freezes. These dynamics make the habitat an excellent system to examine community stability in light of ecological theory. A 12-year data record of a Gulf Coast wet prairie was analyzed for community stability and to identify indicator species. This record was also used as a reference for a nearby wetland mitigation project. The reference site had high richness, was dominated by Aristida spp., and was remarkably stable. Among current ideas about community stability, the system appeared to best support the environmental filtering hypothesis. The restoration site was converted from slash pine plantation to an open, grassy community. Disturbance caused frequent change in the community structure in the restoration site, indicative of random colonization and growth consistent with neutral theory. Species composition of the restoration site was never similar to the reference site. Restoration effects were impeded by the legacy of being a pine plantation, hurricanes, and the after-effects of logging that left large amounts of organic debris. The contrast between the two sites highlights the difficulty of habitat restoration to former stability states once the original community is lost.
Details
- Title
- GULF COAST WET PRAIRIE PLANT COMMUNITY STABILITY AND RESTORATION
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090751906600
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Science (MS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida