Abstract Detail

Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Savage, Kiersten [1], Fuselier, Linda [2].

Will the loss of Ash trees (Fraxinus) impact bryophyte assemblages in Ohio forests?

There are over 254 million economically important ash trees (Fraxinus) in Ohio that are threatened by Emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation. Infestations kill ash trees and are indiscriminate of tree age or health. Glen Helen nature preserve in southern Ohio, where damage from the EAB was discovered in 2012, has a canopy of over 30% Fraxinus. The loss of ash trees has the potential to alter forest ecology, including the structure of epiphytic bryophyte assemblages. A recent study in Michigan showed that F. quadrangulata is less susceptible to EAB than F. americana, which opens the possibility that F. quadrangulata will remain available for bryophyte colonization while other species of ash disappear. In an ongoing study, we examined area and composition of bryophyte assemblages on white ash (F. americana) and blue ash (F. quadrangulata) in Glen Helen preserve. The two ash species occur intermingled in forest plots but their bark characteristics differ, indicating that they provide different colonization substrates for epiphytes. Preliminary results suggest that F. americana support a more diverse bryophyte assemblage that covers larger areas of the tree trunk compared to F. quadrangulata. We will present additional results from this study that show the influence of both plot-level and individual tree-level characteristics on epiphytic bryophyte assemblages on both species of Fraxinus.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Antioch College, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45387, United States
2 - Antioch College, Environmental Sciences, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs

Keywords:
Fraxinus
Bryophytes
epiphytes
ash borer.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBR002
Abstract ID:368
Candidate for Awards:None