Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2016

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Biology

Degree Program

Biology, MS

Committee Chair

Carreiro, Margaret

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Emery, Sarah

Committee Member

Emery, Sarah

Committee Member

Day, C. Andrew

Author's Keywords

invasive plant; Lonicera maackii; woodland restoration; invasive management; invasion; Kentucky

Abstract

Impacts of Lonicera maackii on native forest communities have been widely researched, but long-term responses of plant communities to the removal of this exotic shrub have not been extensively evaluated. The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy removes exotic shrubs and vines to restore ecological processes and native species in the woodlands of Cherokee Park. Paired-plots were established in 2008 to gather baseline herb, vine, tree, and shrub community data. Honeysuckle was removed from one plot of each pair in 2009 and community data were gathered again in 2013. Native herb cover and richness, vine cover, and tree sapling abundance increased where honeysuckle had been removed. Higher summer herb cover was also correlated to sites with longer duration of L. maackii invasion and a more open tree canopy above. This suggests a legacy of L. maackii invasion on the forest community structure impacting herb communities, even 5 years after its removal.

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