Abstract Detail
Biogeography Williams, Justin Kirk [1], Hagyari, David [1]. Modeling species richness within the East Texas longleaf pine ecosystem: can C and z values determined at the community level be used to accurately calculate species richness at the landscape level. We established a series of nested plots within the East Texas Longleaf Pine Forest and identified the species richness of terrestrial plants at the community level starting at one m2, compounding exponentially to 100 m2. We then ran a regression model between the species richness and area of our plots. The intercept and slope of the regression line translate to the constants C and z respectively in the species area curve. Utilizing the species area curve with the constants C and z determined from our microplots we calculated/predicted the species richness at the landscape level of several management units with areas ranging in size from 3 to 100 km2. We then compared our predicted species richness values to management sites with known/observed species richness values. The Wilcoxon Test for variance between predicted and observed species richness for 10 management units resulted in a p-value of 0.28774, indicating that there is no statistical difference between predicted and observed species richness values. The model presented in this study, can be a useful tool for land managers working in east Texas. The model can function for best-practice land management in identifying areas of conservation concern and can also be used to reliably extrapolate species richness easily and affordably at the landscape scale. Along with the advantage of improving management practices, the model can test whether a floristic checklist has met expected values. Units such as Lance Rosier, Big Sandy Creek, and Canyonlands have observed species richness values significantly less than predicted values suggesting that additional field work is required to produce a comprehensive floristic checklist for these units.
1 - Sam Houston State University, Biological Sciences, Huntsville, TX, 77320-2116, USA
Keywords:
species richness
longleaf pine
species area curve
Big Thicket
Texas.
Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PBG005
Abstract ID:974
Candidate for Awards:None | 