Life Sciences Commons^™

Interactions Of Fire And Herbivory On The Management Of Ilex Glabra In Longleaf Pine Forests, Courtney R. Filliben

Honors Theses

The longleaf pine forest is characterized by the high levels of biodiversity and species richness that give it both ecological and economical importance. Decades of clear-cutting, habitat fragmentation, and natural fire restriction have reduced this once great forest system to a mere fraction of its original range. One of the specific causes of the decline of the longleaf pine is understory domination by woody shrubs. These shrubs limit the growth of characteristic grasses and forbs that are responsible for the majority of the biodiversity. The overall purpose of this study was to identify a new longleaf pine reforestation technique that …