We examined the influence of surface area and water permanence on plant species richness of ponds at Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland in north central Texas. Forty ponds were randomly selected and surveyed during a spring and fall field season. Ponds varied in size from <100 m2 to >4000 m2; species richness ranged from 20 to 78 species. A total of 228 taxa from 51 families were found. A cluster analysis showed all ponds to be at least 50% dissimilar in floristic composition. There was a significant, positive relationship between surface area and richness, number of wetland species, and number of perennial species. Permanent ponds displayed significantly higher richness, composition of perennial species, and numbers of wetland species than temporary ponds. While surface area and permanence helped in part to explain the variation in richness between ponds, stochastic events and other factors also influence the composition of pond vegetation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TCU/oai:etd.tcu.edu:etd-05132014-112442 |
| Date | 13 May 2014 |
| Creators | Ziomek, Sarah |
| Contributors | Will McClatchey, Michael Slattery, Ray Drenner |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University |
| Source Sets | Texas Christian University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf, application/octet-stream |
| Source | http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-05132014-112442/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to TCU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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