Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Biology
Invasion Ecology And Response To Fire Of The Nonnative Fern Lygodium Microphyllum In The South Florida Everglades, Nicole Sebesta
Invasion Ecology And Response To Fire Of The Nonnative Fern Lygodium Microphyllum In The South Florida Everglades, Nicole Sebesta
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lygodium microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern (OWCF)) is a climbing fern native to tropical and subtropical regions of Australia, Asia, and Africa. First introduced to Florida as an ornamental in the 1960s, the fern has become a serious invasive in numerous Florida habitats, severely degrading native herbaceous and woody vegetation and altering fire behavior. One area with the greatest increase in OWCF cover is the sawgrass marsh of southern Everglades National Park (ENP), where prescribed fire is used for both maintenance of sawgrass marshes and management of OWCF infestations. However, the efficacy of OWCF control using fire in this habitat …
The Effects Of Fire On Spore Viability Of Lygodium Microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern), Nicole Sebesta
The Effects Of Fire On Spore Viability Of Lygodium Microphyllum (Old World Climbing Fern), Nicole Sebesta
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lygodium microphyllum, native to the Old World tropics, has invaded central and southern Florida, destroying native habitats, reducing biodiversity and altering fire regimes. Prescribed fire, one of several methods used to manage L. microphyllum infestations, reduces fern biomass over large areas, but its effects on spore viability are unknown. To provide tools to evaluate whether fire-dispersed spores are viable, this research determined how heat affects spore viability. Spores were exposed to temperatures of 50°C to 300°C for durations of 5 seconds to 1 hour, then allowed to germinate on agar in petri plates. Percent germination was assayed after two …