SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Digital Commons @ ESF Dissertations and Theses Fall 12-16-2017 Plant Species Richness and Diversity of Northern White-Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) Swamps in Northern New York: Effects and Interactions of Multiple Variables Robert Smith SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/etds Recommended Citation Smith, Robert, "Plant Species Richness and Diversity of Northern White-Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) Swamps in Northern New York: Effects and Interactions of Multiple Variables" (2017). Dissertations and Theses. 7. https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/etds/7 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ ESF. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ESF. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. PLANT SPECIES RICHNESS AND DIVERSITY OF NORTHERN WHITE-CEDAR (Thuja occidentalis) SWAMPS IN NORTHERN NEW YORK: EFFECTS AND INTERACTIONS OF MULTIPLE VARIABLES by Robert L. Smith II A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, New York November 2017 Department of Environmental and Forest Biology Approved by: Donald J. Leopold, Major Professor René H. Germain, Chair, Examining Committee Donald J. Leopold, Department Chair S. Scott Shannon, Dean, The Graduate School ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Donald J. Leopold, for his great advice during our many meetings and email exchanges. In addition, his visit to my study site and recommended improvements to my thesis were very much appreciated. I also thank my committee members, Dr. H. Brian Underwood and Dr. Gregory McGee, for taking some of your valuable time to meet with me, answering my many questions, and providing me with some great advice during these meetings and ecolunch. I also thank Jason Wagner, Chief, Fort Drum Natural Resources branch, for sponsoring me and allowing me to conduct my research on Fort Drum. I thank Dr. Steve Stehman for his statistical advice, which was thoroughly used during my analysis, and both Dr. Russell Briggs and Chuck Schirmer for answering questions I had concerning my soil analysis. This work would not be possible without the funding from the Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation and the TA positions that kept me financially secure for two years of my graduate studies. Much thanks need to go to my lab mates, past and present, (Grete Bader, Kristen Haynes, Toby Liss, Kali Mattingly, Jim Molloy, Alex Petzke, Jess Saville, and Justine Weber) for the very valuable conversations we had during meetings, ecolunch, and the office. Also, many thanks to Geoff Griffiths and Margaret Roberts who took the time to talk to me, look through my data, and provided me with sound advice on how to go forward with my analysis. I would like to especially thank Chellby Kilheffer for the great amount of time she took out of her very busy schedule to go over my research data, discuss its significance, and teach me how to code in R. Thanks to all the ecolunch participants who watched me present my research four times and were still very attentive and helpful. Extra special thanks must go to my wife, Gala, who has supported me for the seven years that I have been going to school and proofread all my papers during this time. This support came after all the support she gave me during my 20 years in the Army! I truly could not have done this without her. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………...……..............................vi LIST OF FIGURES……...................……………….…………….…..…………………............ vii LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................................................ix ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................x PREFACE......................................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. Investigating the Effects of Abiotic Factors on Vascular Plant Species Richness and Diversity in Northern White-Cedar Swamps Abstract.................................................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction…...................................................................................................................... 2 2. Methods............................................................................................................................... 6 2.1. Study Area.................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Disturbance History...................................................................................................... 8 2.3. Plot Sampling Design................................................................................................... 8 2.4. Vegetation Sampling Methods .................................................................................... 10 2.5. Soil Specific Conductivity and pH Sampling Methods................................................ 10 2.6. Water Table Depth and Fluctuation Sampling Methods............................................... 11 2.7. Canopy Gap Sampling Method..................................................................................... 11 2.8. Microtopography Sampling Method............................................................................. 11 2.9. Statistical Analyses....................................................................................................... 12 3. Results.................................................................................................................................. 13 3.1. Disturbance History...................................................................................................... 13 3.2. Environmental Variables.............................................................................................. 13 3.3. Species Richness........................................................................................................... 14 3.4. Linear Relationship between Environmental Variables and Plot Richness.................. 15 3.5. Multiple Regression Model for Plot Richness and Variable Correlation…................. 19 3.6. Species Composition..................................................................................................... 20 3.7. Wetland Status.............................................................................................................. 23 3.8. State Protected Species................................................................................................. 23 3.9. Dominant Species......................................................................................................... 25 iii 3.10. Non-Native Species..................................................................................................... 28 3.11. Swamp Richness and Variable Heterogeneity............................................................ 28 4. Discussion............................................................................................................................. 29 4.1. Disturbance History....................................................................................................... 29 4.2. Area and Species Richness............................................................................................ 32 4.3. Linear Relationship between Environmental Variables and Plot Richness.................. 33 4.4. Multiple Regression Model for Plot Richness and Variable Correlation..................... 35 4.5. Species Composition.....................................................................................................37 4.6. Wetland Status...............................................................................................................38 4.7. State Protected Species.................................................................................................. 38 4.8. Dominant Species.......................................................................................................... 39 4.9. Non-Native Species....................................................................................................... 40 4.10. Swamp Richness and Variable Heterogeneity............................................................ 41 5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 43 Literature Cited.........................................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 2. Investigating the Effects of Deer Density on the Species Richness/Diversity in Northern White-Cedar Swamps. Abstract..................................................................................................................................... 54 1. Introduction........................................................................................................................... 54 2. Methods...............................................................................................................................