Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor's Name

Hong Liu

Advisor's Title

Committee Chair

Advisor's Name

Krishnaswamy Jayachandran

Advisor's Name

Joyce Maschinski

Keywords

Invasive Species, Invasive Grasses, Seed Bank Longevity, Seed Persistence

Date of Defense

7-9-2012

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to determine the seed bank longevity of Melinis repens at two Southern Florida sites. Seeds were divided among different exposure levels (shade versus sun) and depths (surface versus buried) and tested for baseline viability using 2,3,5-Triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride. Statistical analysis determined that at the pine rockland site there was a significant interaction between time, exposure, and depth. The initial mean viability at this site declined from 49.71% to 11.26% and 13.06% for sun/buried seeds and sun/surface seeds, respectively, by month 8. The mean viability of shade/surface seeds and shade/buried seeds declined to 24.56% and 22.06% after 8 months. There were no significant effects in the Florida scrub. In order for land managers to completely remove this species from a site, treatment with herbicide will need to continue for a minimum of one year to effectively kill all viable seeds in the seed bank.


Download

Files over 15MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "Save as..."

Share

COinS