Phalaris Arundinacea</Em>
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2003 Fire, Soil, Native Species and Control of Phalaris arundinacea in a Wetland Recovery Project. Richard Douglas Foster East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Foster, Richard Douglas, "Fire, Soil, Native Species and Control of Phalaris arundinacea in a Wetland Recovery Project." (2003). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 773. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/773 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Fire, Soil, Native Species, and Control of Phalaris arundinacea in a Wetland Recovery Project A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Biology East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Biology by Richard D. Foster May 2003 Dr. Foster Levy, Chair Dr. Timothy McDowell, Dr. Paul Wetzel Keywords: biological control, controlled burn, hemiparasitism, invasive species, Pedicularis lanceolata, Phalaris arundinacea, soil conditions, wetland restoration. ABSTRACT Fire, Soil, Native Species, and Control of Phalaris arundinacea in a Wetland Recovery Project by Richard D. Foster Southern Appalachian Phalaris arundinacea control was investigated by: 1) correlating cover and species richness with soil characteristics across transects; 2) burning and herbicide use to determine conditions facilitating native plant establishment; and 3) hemi-parasitic Pedicularis lanceolata tested as a biological control. Phalaris cover was correlated with subsoil consolidation; areas without Phalaris had consolidated subsoil while Phalaris at >50% cover established on loose soil. Phalaris cover inhibited species richness (r2=0.78). No soil characteristic predicted species richness. Herbicide reduced Phalaris cover and aerial biomass by 23% and 63% respectively, compared to controls. Burning was ineffective. Two summers after herbicide Phalaris subterranean biomass remained 32% less than control biomass. Monocot transplants established readily following herbicide but dicot transplants were less likely to survive. Pedicularis parasitized Phalaris. Pedicularis’ effect on a mixed species total (r2=0.735) was non-linear; implying greater effect on large plants. Non-parasitic native plant species competition reduced biomass of Phalaris by 40%. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the efforts of my mentor, Paul Wetzel, who lured me from Michigan with the Shady Valley wetland restoration projects, and Douglas Wilcox, who brought us together. Timothy McDowell and Foster Levy were essential members of my committee. I am indebted to Hugh Miller, Harold Powell, and the John C. Warden Herbarium; all gave me use of vital facilities. Jamey Donaldson and Rebecca Pyles have my thanks for their contributions of materials, time, and expertise. Nathan Hartgrove and Thomas Zann lent soil sampling equipment. Brian Evanshen, Phillip Sheuerman, the ETSU Environmental Health Laboratory, as well as Cecilia McIntosh, Lee Pike, and the ETSU Chemistry Department kindly gave me the means to test my samples. Lev Yampolsky and John Kalbfleisch were repeatedly sources of great comfort regarding statistical and graphing software. Charles McQueen, the Shady Valley Volunteer Fire Department, and Kristi Tipton all gave me vital aid. Daniel Johnson and Darrel Moore were important sources of information and expertise on the workings of ETSU. Gabrielle Call and The Nature Conservancy’s Tennessee Chapter were fine people to work for and Rachel Myers donated her time. Primary funding was provided by The Nature Conservancy Tennessee Chapter through grants awarded to Paul Wetzel. Marcia Davis, her Marcia Davis award, and the ETSU Department of Biological Sciences have my thanks for the additional funding they contributed. 3 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... 10 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 13 Background ................................................................................................. 13 Phalaris arundinacea ............................................................................. 13 The Orchard Bog Project ........................................................................ 14 Fen Habitat ............................................................................................. 14 Research Questions .................................................................................... 15 Soil Conditions and Phalaris arundinacea .............................................. 15 Native Plant Establishment in Phalaris arundinacea .............................. 15 Hemiparasitic Pedicularis lanceolata as a Biological Control ................. 17 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................ 18 Soil Conditions and Phalaris arundinacea ................................................... 18 Piezometers ........................................................................................... 20 Assessment of Plant Cover .................................................................... 20 Soil Sampling ......................................................................................... 21 Water Content ................................................................................... 22 Nitrogen ............................................................................................ 22 Phosphorus ....................................................................................... 23 pH ..................................................................................................... 23 4 Chapter Page Organic Matter .................................................................................. 23 Texture .............................................................................................. 24 Structure ........................................................................................... 26 Outflow Water Characteristics .......................................................... 26 Reducing Conditions ......................................................................... 26 Water Potential ................................................................................. 27 Bulk Density ...................................................................................... 27 Statistical Analysis ............................................................................ 28 Native plant establishment in Phalaris arundinacea .................................... 29 Phalaris arundinacea Burn and Herbicide Treatments ........................... 32 Data Collection ....................................................................................... 33 Soil .................................................................................................... 33 Piezometers ...................................................................................... 33 Cover ................................................................................................ 33 Biomass ............................................................................................ 33 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................. 34 Biomass ............................................................................................ 35 Species Richness and Cover ............................................................ 36 Hemiparasitic Pedicularis lanceolata as a biological control ........................ 37 Experimental Design .............................................................................. 37 Data Collection ....................................................................................... 39 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................. 40 3. RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 41 Soil conditions and Phalaris arundinacea .................................................... 41 Phalaris arundinacea and Soil Properties: Regression Analysis............. 41 5 Chapter Page Species Richness and Phalaris arundinacea Cover ............................... 44 Species richness and Soil Conditions: Regression Analysis .................. 45 Shifts of Phalaris arundinacea Cover ..................................................... 47 Qualitative Results ................................................................................. 48 Outflow Water Characteristics ................................................................ 48 Reducing Conditions .............................................................................. 48 Water Potential ......................................................................................