Date of Award
2-10-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biology, MS
First Advisor
Travis Marsico
Committee Members
J. Abbott; Scott Mangan
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2022 M33
Abstract
Lower Mississippi River islands experience intense flood regimes that result in a supply of sediment and seeds from upstream. The islands are some of the last remaining floodplain habitats in the Delta region, and surveying their botanical diversity is important for learning about floodplain plant community structure. From June 2020 through December 2021, I conducted a flora of six Lower Mississippi River islands from Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, to Greenville, Mississippi. I collected 2,310 plant specimens for a total of 491 taxa, including five taxa not previously recorded in Arkansas and seven not previously recorded in Mississippi. From mid-July to late-August 2021, I surveyed plant community composition in fifty-nine 100-m2 plots on the islands. These plots were established across a range of elevations and habitat types. Important factors influencing variances in plot diversity and community composition include elevation, soil pH, percent bare ground, percent sand, percent tree cover, and island position.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
McCartha, Grace Leia, "Plant Community Patterns and A Flora of Six Lower Mississippi River Islands" (2023). Student Theses and Dissertations. 210.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/210
