Botany

North Carolina Botanical Adaptations

For Field Ecology we completed a thesis project that revolved around adaptations of plants found in the North Carolina region. Adaptations are ways certain plants and animals have changed and evolved to live in certain environments and living conditions. The Botanists were each required to pick multiple plants to research, illustrate, and write about how they have adapted.

One of the plants studied was the American Mountain Ash. The Mountain Ash was one of the dominant species on Black Balsam Knob. An adaptation of this plant is that in higher elevations it shrinks to the size of a shrub (TWC, 2014). We saw this at the top of Black Balsam Knob when the trees seemed to be almost shrinking. Another plant we studied was Swamp Milkweed. This plant has roots growing horizontally and vertically, allowing it to hold onto moist or eroded soil. This plant lives in swamp habitats near the coast of North Carolina (Arcsin, 2004). The third plant we studied was the Birdfoot Violet. This plant has adapted to thrive in multiple environments. These environments are rocky open woods, sandy pinelands, and prairies. This is an example of an adaptation because if the plant only grew in one location it would become scarce. This could cause problems for animals or environments that depend on it, like certain species of birds and butterflies (TWC, 2014). The last plant we studied was the American Holly. The American Holly's leaves are thick and grow spines to help the plant retain water and protect it from dry weather and animals. This plant’s adaptations help especially in the winter when the ground can be dry. The American Holly’s spines are an adaptation like the spines found on a cactus. These two adaptations help the American Holly survive in a harsh habitat (Reberg, 2009). These are some adaptations of plants found in North Carolina in multiple different regions. This project helped us make connections between what we observed and what we studied. It also helped us learn more about adaptations so we could observe and identify them in the field.

Botanical Methods

As Botanists, we gathered information by going out to different site studies and collecting data about the plants. A site study is a habitat where we study plants living, or not living, in that location. We not only identify them but try to understand why or why not that plant is growing there and how that relates to other groups data. Our site studies included Hilda Young Conservation Area, Creve Coeur Lake, and Riverlands before we left on Field Ecology. Then on Field Eco we went to Black Balsam Knob, Graveyard Fields, Fontana Lake, Goose Creek, Fort Macon, and a Salt Marsh. All these places had unique plants, animals, and habitats that couldn’t be found at other sites.

We identified many species of plants using books, ipads and other tools. One method we used to gather data was using an ipad. On the ipads we used an app called “iNaturalist”. This app helped us identify plants by taking photos of different parts of the plant like the leaf, flower, stem or trunk. The app would then give suggestions on what the identity of the plant was. This would help us quickly identify plants and collect data. Another tool we used was our field guides. If we could not use the ipad to identify a certain plant then we used the field guides. Another piece of data we collected was species richness, this is the number of species living in one area. We found this by looking around at the different plants and counting the number of different species we saw. Another type of data we collected was the average Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) of trees. The tools we used to help determine the DBH were a measuring tape and calculator. First we measured 130cm from the ground up, which gives us the standard spot on the tree to find the DBH. Then we found the circumference by measuring the spot where the 130cm fell around the tree. We used the circumference and divided it by 3.14 to find the diameter of the tree. We would take the data from five trees total and find the average DBH of that site. We would then find a plant that was special or important to the environment and we drew it. We used colored pencils to draw an accurate picture of the plants we found.

Botanical Data

On Field Ecology we went to many different locations. Each site had diverse wildlife. At these locations we were tasked with studying the different plants we found there. The first place we went to was at the top of a mountain called Black Balsam Knob. Here we were very surprised to find that there were no trees at the top of this mountain because all the other mountain tops had lots of trees. A dominant species we found there was the American Mountain Ash and Purple Stemmed Angelica. Part of our job was to find the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) of five trees, so we had to walk down the mountain to find the trees. The average DBH of the three trees we found was 8.1cm. The species richness here was 15.

Our second site study was at Graveyard Fields. There we saw multiple different species of trees and plants surrounding a small waterfall. We found that the Red Maple Tree was a dominant species there. We calculated the average DBH to be 25cm. There was a large range between the five trees individual diameters. We determined that there was a species richness of 20.

The third site study was at Fontana Lake. This was a very unique place because it is drained by a dam. The draining causes the soil to erode. There was a species richness of 20. A dominant species was the Virginia Pine. Another observation we had about the trees there was that they were smaller than the trees in the forest. We found that the average DBH was 10.35cm.

The fourth site study we went to was Goose Creek. At Goose Creek there were two very different types of environments to study. One of the environments was a wooded area. This spot was very rich with Loblolly Pines and old man's beard. The other environment was a beach along a brackish river. In this area Swamp Bay was a dominant species. In both environments we found lots of Pignut hickories. We determined the species richness was 27 and we found an average DBH of 31.6cm.

The fifth site study was at the beach in Fort Macon State Park. At Fort Macon we found that there were no trees. Therefore we were unable to calculate the DBH. The site consisted of many sand dunes which were full of plants called Sea Oats. This was a dominant species there along with Saltgrass and Goldenrods. The species richness at Fort Macon was 17.

The sixth and final site study we went to was a Salt Marsh in Fort Macon State Park. This was a unique place because the water levels would rise and fall with the tide. There were no trees in this habitat, which could be from the moist soil or variable water levels. The Salt Marsh had a species richness of 25. The dominant species were Switchgrass and Wax Myrtle. An interesting plant we found there was called Pickled Wart. This plant has the taste of salty pickles.

At first glance this habitat looked like it had only a few types of plants. However, when we looked closer we found many different species.

Botanical Conclusions

The data we collect is very important to the Field Ecology trip because it helps show the diversity of plant life at the different site studies. This is important because it helps other scientific groups know whether or not that environment has the species it is supposed to have. For example, if there are no trees there might not be as many birds there. The data we collect is also very important because it can help show the changes of the environment over time.

At the site study Fontana Lake there is a dam that drains the lake causing erosion and trees to fall down on the edge. There were no plants where there was eroded soil. There were many trees that had fallen in the direction of the lake. We hypothesize that these trees fell because their roots can't hold onto enough soil.

We found that the types of plants at specific environments directly relates to the type of soil, its makeup, and its chemistry. To help understand this, we talked with the Soil Chemists and compared notes.

One overall purpose of our research was to investigate what factors affect plant growth in an ecosystem. We found that certain places were especially affected by the soil chemistry. Some evidence of this was at Black Balsam Knob where the soil and trees on the mountain were affected by human impact. The area had been logged and had locomotive fires in 1925 and 1942 (North Carolina Outdoors, 2019). These fires burned deep into the soil causing trees to be unable to grow there. The data that we received from the Soil Chemists indicates that there was also very low moisture levels. This data also supports our observation that there were no large trees. This is important because it shows us that logging and man-made fires can have harmful and lasting effects on certain environments.

Another example of how soil chemistry affects botany was at Goose Creek. The Soil Chemists had found that there were acidic pH levels in the soil. This data supports our findings that there was a large population of Loblolly Pines. Pine trees are well adapted to thrive in acidic soils. This was important because the soil chemistry affected the dominant species in the environment.

Something the Soil Chemists found at most of the site studies was little to no nitrates. At the same site studies we found a large diversity of plants. This data makes sense because plants absorb most of the nitrates in the soil and the rest are taken away from runoff (BBC, 2019). Another thing that soil chemists found was a range from low to medium levels of potassium. Plants with very low levels of potassium don’t have the energy to properly grow which can cause them to die. Medium levels of potassium are good for plants (Brady et.al,1996).

Advice to Future Botanists

As Botanists the experiences we went through on Field Ecology taught us many lessons. One recommendation is to keep organized. This is very important, especially for the equipment. It is best to carry equipment and group supplies in a backpack. Make sure to waterproof all the gear in ziplock bags, and bring extra ziplocks. Another recommendation is that the backpack can be very heavy, so make sure to only carry the necessary supplies. One way to do this is by only carrying helpful books for that site study. Always bring a couple books in case the iPads don’t work. Make sure the iPads are well kept. Always charge and clean them after messy sight studies. Also, always check the battery level of the portable chargers. A third recommendation we learned is when having trouble identifying a plant ask a teacher for help. One interesting thing to do at the Black Balsam Knob site study would be to take the DBH of the American Mountain Ash trees at the start of the hike and at the end of the hike to compare. Finally, make connections early on with the Zoologists, Soil Chemists, or any other scientific groups. This will help later in the process when analyzing data.