Herbarium voucher specimens

Today the JCU Plant Ecology class prepared voucher specimens collected on 5 September 2013 at the Blanche Novak Sanctuary in Portage County, OH.  The specimens were pressed on 5 September and we mounted them on 24 October.  Typically voucher specimens provide presence/absence data which is collected to measure plant community richness, diversity and evenness.  These voucher specimens are intended to identify species and provide locality information for specimens.  Ideally plant voucher specimens are posed to show distinguishing features like leaves, flowers, fruits, stems and roots for ease of identification.  As wise person once said, “Mounting and pressing plant specimens is an art form.”

Proper plant mounting techniques.

The plant specimens were previously pressed to eliminate moisture and pose them for mounting.  To mount the specimens we glued them to acid free archival paper.  Gummed linen mounting strips were also used to secure larger plants with woody stems.  This acid-free paper will help to preserve the specimens as it will prevent the plants from becoming discolored.  Finally we labeled each specimen with the scientific name (Family, Genus species), collection information (like locality data – both geographic and plant community information) and the collectors.

Some common species found by the class were: Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), various goldenrods (Solidago sp.), Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and the New England Aster (which has had a recent change in classification from Aster novae-angliae to Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).  We also had 3 unknown grass and 9 unknown plants and 3 unknown goldenrod species.  These species may be able to be identified in the future and others may undergo changes in classification.

L: Horsetail (Equisetum arvense).  R: Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota).

Three unknown Solidago sp.

This is an important exercise because there are often changes in the taxonomic nomenclature of plants.  Voucher specimens can provide a sort of history of scientific names.  As such, having a record of past and present scientific names of a plant can be important in linking these changes to previous research.  Species can be compared, potentially split or reverted to a previous taxonomic classification.   

New England Aster (recent change in classification from Aster novae-angliae to Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).

If a location is sampled repeatedly over time, some questions can be answered about the richness, evenness and diversity of the plant community like:

1      Which plants make up the community?  (presence/absence data)

2      In what abundance?  (plant species richness)

3      Which plants are dominant in the area?  (plant species evenness and diversity)

New invasions of native or invasive plants or disappearances of rare species can also be observed.  This data can then be useful to land managers to create a management strategy tailored to the changing plant community to protect the rare species or defend against the invasive species.

For more information on plants native to Ohio and voucher specimens:

USDA plant database:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/

More information on plant voucher specimens:

http://www.ipaw.org/mapping/voucherhandout.pdf

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herbarium/voucher.htm

Authored by:

Josh Traub

Angelica Bradac

Alex Cameron

Measuring Forest Community Composition

View of Aurora Sanctuary Forest

Birds play a crucial role in the life cycle of many plants and animals. Birds often are involved in the distribution of plant seeds to distant lands. Anyone who has had bird feces on their car can give evidence that their diet is chiefly composed of seeds. Also necessary in the bird’s lifecycle is a place to live and rest. The Cleveland Audubon Aurora Sanctuary is an ideal area for this and as such is home to thousands of trees in which the birds may roost. This forest is mostly comprised of mature hardwood trees but evidence of prior farming lives on in the form of mature pines which were planted by farmers as wind breaks.

Trees come in lots of shapes and sizes

When looking at a forest from a scientist perspective, it is important to assess the plant community composition. This is helpful in understanding how diverse or even a forest is and also how species rich it is. Data can be compiled through many methods such as the Point Centered Quarter (PCQ) Method. It involves compiling tree data (diameter and species) of certain trees that fall into a particular point along a quartered transect. This method is relatively fast and easy to conduct due to the fact that not all trees are measured in the plot. Also, since only certain trees are measured, randomization can be accounted for. Large trees, which were specified by having a diameter greater than 20 centimeters at breast height (dbh = diameter at breast height) and small trees, less than 20 cm dbh yet bigger than 2.0 cm dbh, were located and measured. It is important to measure both large and small trees in a forest in order to be able to determine how plant community composition changes over time.

Measuring distance from the point to the tree

The tools needs for the PCQ Method are a specific type of measuring tape called a DBH tape. This tape is dual sided, while one side is used to measure distance in meters, the reverse side measures circumference and converts the diameter in centimeters. The distance taken between quarters was  determined using a random numbers table. The random numbers table gave a number of paces taken in between each quarter. Once the appropriate amount of paces were taken, a plot was divided into four transects.

The DBH tape converts circumference into diameter in cm.

From this point, the closest small and large trees in each of the four transects were measured. Both the distance from the origin of the quarter to the tree, as well as the diameter of the tree was recorded. After measuring the closest small and large tree in each quarter, the species was identified and recorded. Most species were able to be identified by their leaves using field guides. Some species were identified with a dichotomous key in the lab afterwards.

All data is carefully recorded

Red Maple: leaves have finely serrated leaf edges
In the fall, they turn bright red

Sugar Maple: leaves have 5-points with coarse serration
In the fall, they turn yellow

PawPaw Leaf

Tuliptree Leaf

Hawthorn Leaf

For more information on the species found, click on their name below:

Acer rubrum (Red Maple)

Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple)

Asimina triloba (PawPaw)

Carya ovata (Shagbark Hickory)

Carya cordiformis (Bitternut Hickory)

Crataegus sp. (Hawthorn)
Fagus grandifolia (American Beech)
Fraxinus americana (White Ash)

Lindera benzoin (Northern Spicebush)

Liriodendron tulipifera (Tuliptree)

Pinus strobus (White Pine)

Prunus serotina (Black Cherry)
Quercus alba (White Oak)
Quercus rubra (Red Oak)

Ulmus americana (American Elm)

For More Information on the Aurora Sanctuary:

Cleveland Audubon Aurora Sanctuary
  - Be careful hiking in this area after it has rained, the wooden bridges and stairs can be slippery -
  - Also be aware that a permit is needed for work / hiking off of the trail-


 
By: Lindsay, Jay, and Maria

Mentor Headlands State Nature Preserve

On Thursday October 3, 2013, John Carroll Plant Ecology Class BL 435/535 went to Mentor Headlands. There were two types of parks present there, The State Nature Preserve and the State Park. State nature preserves are a type of preserve that is used for conservatory purposes. In this section there were more grasses present and a small sandy area. The state parks are used more for recreation use and are not as strict as preserves. There was a much larger sandy area compared to the preserve and not much grass area present. The State Nature Preserve is a part of the buckeye trail which is about 1,444 miles long that loops around Ohio. There is a light blue rectangle on a tree at the beginning of the trail to indicate it is a part of the Buckeye Trail. 

This park is the longest stretch of undeveloped land on the shore of Lake Erie at one mile long in Ohio. The rest of the land is development of houses and industries. The largest area along Lake Erie of undeveloped land is in Pennsylvania which is 1.5 miles long at Erie Bluffs Park. Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great lakes with all of it above sea level. There are many large industrial cities and suburban areas along the shoreline which create many pollutants. Since Lake Erie is so shallow these pollutants from the cities create run off to the lake which can have harmful effects. Before the Clean Water Act of 1972, most of the pollutants were from industries, now pollutants are coming from agriculture especially from fertilizers. Fertilizers create a lot of nutrients to become available in the lake and this generates the problem of cyanobacteria blooms.
 

Have you ever wondered why certain plants are found where they are in the environment and why? If you have, you are not alone. The understanding of the dynamics of plant community composition has puzzled ecologists. Plant communities are driven by succession which is a directional change in species composition.  Succession starts with a disturbance: anything that leads to the destruction of biomass. Wind, fire, water, wave action and human disturbance are a few examples of disturbance. The scale of the disturbance is important because it can impact the degree of succession that follows. Large-scale disturbances lead to primary succession, meaning there is no seed bank and the plant community starts from ground zero. When disturbance happens on a smaller scale, secondary succession follows. For example, when an agricultural field is no longer planted it will begin to return to its original plant composition.

Henry Gleason revolutionized the understanding of dynamics of plant communities. The species found in an area are determined by species characteristics that match well with abiotic factors of the environment. For example, pioneer species that are adapted to high disturbance environments will be found in areas of primary succession.

                      

Area under constant disturbance.

The edge of succession is where there is constant disturbance.  At the Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve (HDSNP), the edge of succession is the beach where the constant wave action and the advancement of ice when the lake freezes which prevent any vegetation from establishing near the water’s edge.  This prevents most species from colonizing and as such disturbance tolerant species are common.  These pioneer species are typically small, annual plants with fine root systems to hold soil.  Some plants have developed distinct strategies for seed dispersal.  For example, the cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium, has hooked fruits to attach to animal fur and the sea rocket, Cakile edentula, loses its seeds when lightly touched.

Left: cocklebur. Right: searocket.

Further from the beach, there is less disturbance and grasses are common like beach grass, Ammophila breviligulata, switch grass, Panicum virgatum, and sand dropseed, Sporobolus cryptandrus.  Grasses have long root systems to hold sand together to absorb water deeper into the ground.  These grasses also generally have a high salt tolerance.  Eventually plants begin to change the environment.  As distance from the disturbance increases, the thickness of plants also increases.  These thicker grasses bring an increase in organic matter to the environment which increases nutrient availability so other species are able to establish like mosses.  The grasses are a natural control for erosion and if there is no disturbance for long enough, trees will begin to colonize the area.  In an area of less disturbance, trees begin to take root like: the wafer ash, Ptelea trifoliata, and the black oak, Quercus velutina.

Left: sand dropseed.  Center: switchgrass.  Right: black oak

                

Environments like the Mentor Headlands can provide valuable data to form a chronosequence. Looking at the edge of the lake and moving back, one can see the different levels of succession. One can begin to understand which plants facilitate the succession of more emergent vegetation by how they change certain aspects of the environment, i.e. soil nutrient availability.  However, when this is done, the assumption is being made that environmental conditions have not changed which might not be the case. Regardless, Mentor Headlands provides us with a valuable picture of the process of succession occurring along the coastline of Lake Erie.

Related links:

Headlands Beach State Park:

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/headlandsbeach

Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve:

http://ohiodnr.com/location/dnap/headlands/tabid/892/Default.aspx

More information on dune plant succession:

http://www.landforms.eu/Lothian/dune%20succession.htm

More information on the Buckeye Trail:

http://www.buckeyetrail.org/

Gott Fen

Herrick Fen

A seep, found the discharge zone where groundwater reaches the surface

Fens in Ohio were created from the remnants of glaciers that scraped through the landscape, forming vast gravel deposits, which filled with ground water. Fens are wetlands that obtain their water from ground water or drainage from nearby elevated land. The water depth in a fen is usually maintained at a constant depth and cooler temperature during the year, because of the continuous water flow through the system. Northern Ohio fens are prime examples of fens because of the water chemistry and cool temperatures similar to those found in northern latitudes.

Potentilla fruticosa is common in fens because it can live in the calcium carbonate rich soil

Fens are characterized by their neutral to alkaline pH, contrary to their counterpart, bogs, which have acidic water. Because of this, they have more nutrients available which makes them home to many plant species. Plants that flourish in a calcium and magnesium rich environment are most abundant, such as Potentilla fruticosa. The different plant communities grow in three zones: discharge zone, sedge mat zone and border zone. Although typically fens have three zones, they do not always have clear distinctions between each zone.

Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundew)

Because of destruction of wetlands for agriculture and building, it is important to note that
these habitat types are very threatened and suffer from human impact. Beyond habitat destruction, human impact has also brought many invasive species in the wetlands. Invasive species are nonnative species that threaten to wipe out or at least suppress native plant communities. The sign for the first site that we visited, Gott Fen State Nature Preserve, was almost completely unreadable as a thicket of invasive buckthorn had grown up right in front of it. Rhamnas fragula or “glossy buckthorn” is an invasive species that is typically seen in bogs and fens. However, in Gott Fen State Nature Preserve the managers of the land have taken an active management approach to the buckthorn problem. There are many ways to control invasive populations and the method used at Gott Fen State Nature Preserve is often referred to as cutting.  This involves snipping off the top part of the plant which deprives the rest of the living plant of any source of energy and eventually causes it to die. After some time of using this cutting approach on several areas within the nature preserve, a few rare specimens of sundew were observed in areas that had previously been choked off by buckthorn growth. Also observed in the newly cleared areas was a single example of the rare Grass-of-Parnassus. The sighting of these two rare species in a previously infested area demonstrates the remarkable ability of active management to encourage the growth of native species.

Parnassia glauca - Grass of Parnassus

Wildflowers in bloom at Herrick Fen

More information on visiting Herrick Fen can be found at:

Herrick Fen Nature Preserve (ODNR)

Herrick Fen Nature Preserve (Nature Conservancy)

Permits are required to visit Gott Fen. More information on obtaining a permit can be found at:

ODNR State Nature Preserves / Permit Information