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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY

The Plant Press

 

From The Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 4, October 2020.

ForestGEO welcomes 72nd plot to the network: Ordway Swisher, Florida, USA

ForestGEO is pleased to introduce its newest research site, the Ordway Swisher Forest Dynamics Plot, a 23.04-ha upland sandhill forest near Melrose, Florida, USA, that undergoes a regimen of prescribed burning every three to four years (including during the establishment of the plot). Field crews began the census in March 2019 and completed it in February 2020, less than one month before the coronavirus pandemic brought fieldwork around the world to a halt. Staff have entered and screened census data, which is now available upon request in the ForestGEO Data Portal. Dan Johnson and Stephanie Bohlman, both of the University of Florida, are the plot’s Principal Investigators. 

Ordway Swisher before burn
Fire is needed to maintain the longleaf pine ecosystem, thus Ordway Swisher undergoes a prescribed burn every three to four years. This photo shows the plot pre-burn. (photo by Dan Johnson)
Ordway Swisher after burn
Fire is needed to maintain the longleaf pine ecosystem, thus Ordway Swisher undergoes a prescribed burn every three to four years. This photo shows the plot post-burn. Dan Johnson says, “The post burn photo was 1 month after the fire. This system is amazing because of how everything sprouts right back after fire. Notice in the pre-burn photo all the understory woody plants are taller. The fire kills the aboveground portion, but the root system survives and sends up new shoots within two weeks after the fire.” (photo by Dan Johnson)
Longleaf pine at different stages of maturity.
There are 11 tree species >1 cm dbh in the Ordway Swisher Forest Dynamics Plot, and the dominant species is Pinus palustris, longleaf pine, shown above at different stages of maturity. This species used to be very prevalent throughout the southern U.S. but changes to land use have drastically reduced its presence. (photo by Dan Johnson)
field crew of the Ordway Swisher Forest Dynamics Plot
The field crew of the Ordway Swisher Forest Dynamics Plot: (left photo) Daniel Hutton and Youssef Kaddoura. (right photo) Joey Nieves, Jackie Bourdon, Regan Fox, Courtney Deviney, and Allen Percifield. (photo by Dan Johnson)