Vascular Flora and Gradient Analysis of the Natchez
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VASCULAR FLORA AND GRADIENT ANALYSIS OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY A Thesis by NENA MAE MONIQUE PHILLIPS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE August 2006 Major Subject: Rangeland Ecology and Management VASCULAR FLORA AND GRADIENT ANALYSIS OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY A Thesis by NENA MAE MONIQUE PHILLIPS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Approved by: Chair of Committee, Stephan L. Hatch Committee Members, David Cairns Stephen Davis III Head of Department, Steven Whisenant August 2006 Major Subject: Rangeland Ecology and Management iii ABSTRACT Vascular Flora and Gradient Analysis of the Natchez Trace Parkway. (August 2006) Nena Mae Monique Phillips, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Stephan L. Hatch Vascular plant collections were made on the Natchez Trace Parkway over a 15 month period beginning in August 2004. These collections along with previous work done by the National Park Service (NPS) produced a flora of 750 genera and 2196 species in 167 families. Five collection trips were made so as to include as much of the growing season as possible (August 2004, March, May, July and October 2005). Specimens were collected from 500 sites along the Parkway as well as at 50 quadrat locations. The largest families, by species numbers, are Asteraceae (298 species), Poaceae (236 species), Cyperaceae (148 species), Fabaceae (133 species) and Rosaceae (73 species), which accounted for 40.4% of the flora. A Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and TWINSPAN analysis were performed on data collected from 49 sites along the length of the Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR). It was found that the major environmental gradient (Axis 1) affecting the species composition of the site was to be the level of disturbance. The sites with high levels of disturbance were characterized as grassland field sites, while those areas with low levels of disturbance were characterized as forested sites. The TWINSPAN analysis produced 29 groupings, of which eight were found to be valid groupings. Through the course of the study, almost 450 new species were added to the current knowledge of the Natchez Trace Parkway by the NPS. In addition, one prospective endangered species was located, which will aid the NPS in future management practices within the park. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my utmost appreciation to my committee members Dr. Stephan Hatch, Dr. David Cairns, and Dr. Stephen Davis. Their guidance and knowledge gave me the desire to go to graduate school and tackle such a large project. My special thanks to Dr. Hatch for giving me my first experience with what would soon become my passion, botany. If it weren’t for his classes, I would not be where I am today. My entire graduate experience has been one of learning and discovery. It was one of the best experiences of my life so far. Special thanks to Dale Kruse for putting up with me during those long trips out into the field. Through 16 hour drives, 12 hour days in the field and too much Mexican food, it was definitely an adventure that I will always remember fondly. Your “expertise” with those monocots and ferns came in handy. Our contacts within the National Park Service, Whitney Granger and Bill Whitworth, were invaluable resources. If I had any questions about the park or access, I knew that help was only a phone call or email away. I would also like to thank all of the student workers who traveled to the Natchez Trace to help with collections: Mark Tietz, Kayla Kruse, Callie Monk, Aminda Gallardo, Ashley Mock, and Darren Pawlik. You all gave of your time to work out in the heat and the mosquitos with the unglamorous job of pressing plants. Your help was invaluable. A special thanks to Callie who braved the flying ticks to help me with my quadrats. Thanks also go to Tracy Evans, Kayla Kruse and Callie Monk for all of the hard and tedious work done in the herbarium. From mounting plants and cutting out labels to looking at hundreds of records in NPSpecies, I couldn’t have finished this thesis as quickly as I did without your help. Thank you so much to Dr. Guy Nesom, Research Botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, for your help with identifying those pesky Symphyotrichum species. I spent v two days working on it, and I am sure that with your knowledge and skill it took you no time at all. Your contribution will not be forgotten. Thank you to my parents for giving me a strong work ethic and the desire to do a good job. Without you pushing and supporting me all of those years, I might not have gone to college and discovered how much I truly love to learn. And to my wonderful husband Josh, thank you so much for all of the sacrifices that you made so that I would have the ability to experience graduate school and this project. You have no idea how much your love and support has meant to me throughout this long journey. I couldn’t have done it without you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Research Objectives .............................................................................. 4 II PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION ................................................................................. 5 Location ................................................................................................ 5 Climate.................................................................................................... 6 III HISTORY............................................................................................................. 9 Cultural ................................................................................................. 9 Indian Tribes of the Natchez Trace ................................................ 9 Agricultural History of the Natchez Trace ....................................... 10 War and the Natchez Trace ............................................................. 10 Botanical ................................................................................................ 11 Tennessee ....................................................................................... 12 Alabama ........................................................................................... 12 Mississippi ........................................................................................ 12 IV METHODS .......................................................................................................... 14 V RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................... 18 Vascular Flora ........................................................................................ 18 Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the Natchez Trace Parkway ........................................................................................... 19 Lycopodiophyta........................................................................... 19 Equisetophyta ............................................................................. 19 Polypodiophyta............................................................................ 19 Pinophyta .................................................................................... 22 Magnoliophyta: Liliopsida............................................................ 22 Magnoliophyta: Magnoliopsida ................................................... 43 Summary of the Vascular Flora ...................................................... 102 Threatened and Endangered Species ............................................. 109 Weedy and Invasive Species........................................................... 110 National Vegetation Classification System Habitat Types............... 121 vii CHAPTER Page Unique Habitat Types....................................................................... 122 Jackson Falls............................................................................... 122 Beaver Pond................................................................................ 123 Rock Springs ............................................................................... 124 Tenn-Tom Waterway................................................................... 124 Tupelo-Bald Cypress Swamp...................................................... 124 Gradient Analysis.................................................................................... 125 Axis 1................................................................................................ 129 Axis 2................................................................................................ 132 Further Study ..................................................................................