This research focused on the secondary succession of spring flora occurring within pits of windthrows located in the area described as Ginn/ Nixon Woods, an old growth beech-maple forest community that transitions to a mixed mesophytic forest community, approximately 12 miles north of Muncie, IN. More specifically, this research sought to identify the vegetative production capacities of pits as well as determine the extent to which pit microtopography and light influx affect the production of spring flora.In all sixty plots were established--30 test plots within the confines of windthrow pits, and 30 control plots, each one just six feet away from a test plot on undisturbed forest soil. One sampling period occurred in 1993 (just prior to leafing); four sampling periods occurred in 1994 (two prior to leafing and two after leafing). Species presence, density and cover data were used to produce two-dimensional ordinations for examination. Species presence, plot depth, slope, and light data were subjected to the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Test to determine the extent of influence pit microtopography and light influx have on spring flora.Examination of the data clearly showed that disturbed areas known as windthrow pits experience a significant decline in vegetative production--at least for a few years but likely for many years, after the initial disturbance or windthrow occurs. The data also clearly showed that over time windthrow pits eventually recover vegetative production.The recovery of vegetative production in pits was shown to have a positive correlation with plot depth; that is to say, as pit depth decreases, vegetative diversity increases. Standing water in pits, though not recorded statistically, was observed in the field as having a strong negative impact on vegetative recovery. Consequently, the environmental factors that work together to affect the topographical recovery of the pit to an elevation equal to or greater than the surrounding forest floor were found to be critical in the vegetative recovery of pits. This researcher has appropriately termed this recovery process as "elevation equilibrium," since the end result is a pit whose topographical relief has given way to a relatively static elevation equal to adjacent undisturbed areas of the forest floor.Unlike plot depth, the amount of slope in pits did not seem to play a significant role in reducing or encouraging vegetative recovery. Likewise the amount of shade cast on pits prior to leafing, and the size and/or presence of gaps in the canopy after leafing, appeared to have little influence on the recovery of spring flora. When plant diversity data for each test plot was correlated with its slope, pre-leafing light influx and post-leafinglight influx data using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation test, it found no significant relationships between any of the sets of variables. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, studies of two old-growth forest stands in Versailles State Park, Laughery Bluff and Dogwood Nature Preserves, were designed and carried out by Potzger to provide the baseline necessary to investigate future trends in these forest communities. In 1968 and 1988, Jackson surveyed these stands again and identified changes in attributes and size classes over that 20-year period. In 2011 and 2012, these sites were re-sampled to document change in species composition and stand structure since 1968. Diameter at breast height (dbh) and species identification were recorded for all stems with dbh ≥ 10 cm. Trees between 1 and 9.9 cm dbh were sampled by counting the number of individuals by species. These data were used to calculate density, dominance, and importance values, as well as to provide full-census data on the overstory size classes at the two sites. Notable findings since the prior studies included the continued increase of Acer saccharum in density and basal area as well as the continued loss of Cornus florida and Fagus grandifolia stems throughout both stands. / Department of Biology

The edaphic and pedologic factors of forest soils and their influence on the naturally occurring climax vegetation in an old-growht forest in east-central Indiana were examined. The northern portion of this woods is a virgin remnant of the presettlement forest that Braun (1950) described as the BeechMaple Forest Region. This remnant is best classified as a sugar maple-American beech-slippery elm association. The undisturbed soils found were the moderately well drained Glynwood soils (Aquic Hapludalfs, fine, illitic, mesic), the somewhat poorly drained Blount soils (Aeric Ochraqualfs, fine, illitic, mesic), the poorly drained Lenawee Variant soils (Typic Haplaquepts, fine, nonacid, mixed,mesic), and the very poorly drained Lenawee (taxajunct) soils (Mollic Haplaquepts, fine-loamy, nonacid, mixed, mesic). The seasonal high water table and internal soil drainage of the soils appear to influence the survival and importance of the dominant tree species. There were 25 tree species sampled.The three most important tree species were sugar maple (Acer saccharum, Marsh.), American beech (Fagus qrandifolia Ehrh.), and slippery elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.)on the Blount, Glynwood, and Lenawee Variant soils. The fourth most important tree species was silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) which was restricted to the lowland-depressional forest type (Lindsey and Schmelz, 1970) inclusion represented by the Lenawee (taxajunct) soils. The distribution of tree species occurring on each of the four soils was statistically examined at the 0.05 level of significance. Sugar maple had a significantly higher mean average basal area on the Glynwood soils; American beech had a significantly higher average number of trees on the Blount soils; and slippery elm had a significantly higher proportion of trees on the Glynwood soils.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Ginn Woods, a 161 acre tract of woodlands located in northern Delaware County, contains one of the largest remaining sections of old growth forest in East Central Indiana. Located approximately 15 miles north of Muncie, it has been regularly used by Ball State students and faculty for education and research for over 60 years. Despite this frequent use, little formal botanical exploration has been published. This study presents a comprehensive inventory of the vascular flora found in the woods and documents the composition and sizeclass distribution of the canopy tree species. The 370 species represent 237 genera and 94 families based on family classification by Gleason and Cronquist (1991). A total of 123 species were recorded for the first time in Delaware County. Of the 370 species listed, 56 or 15.1 % are non-native or naturalized species, thus indicating that the native species are dominant. The overstory canopy species are typical of a beech-maple woods with Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia as overallco-dominant species. However the importance of Fagus grandifolia varies in the sections known as North, South and Nixon Woods. With the fragmentation of regional ecosystems into isolated forest systems by urbanization and agricultural development, the maintenance and preservation of original communities becomes more difficult. Ginn Woods is one of the few remaining remanents of old growth forests in East Central Indiana and serves as an important reserve of the native flora of this area. The inventory and overstory tree species analysis provided by this study establishes important baseline data to which future studies can be compared.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306 / Department of Biology