Disturbance Ecology of Arundinaria Appalachiana
Thomas Walters, Dr. Jon Evans
Department of Biology, The University of the South
Introduction
•  Hill cane is a newly described species,
recently separated from A. gigantea (Triplett
et al. 2006).
•  The biology and ecology of hill cane is
largely unknown.
•  The disturbance ecology of A gigantea
involves fire and canopy reduction as factors
that promote growth and formation of
canebrakes (Platt and Brantley 1997,
Gagnon and Platt 2008, Gagnon 2009,
Gagnon et al. 2013)
•  Fire might stimulate flowering amongst the
Arundinaria (Lewis and Harshbarger 1973).
•  The response of hill cane to fire and canopy
reduction is unknown.
•  Hill cane habitat can be divided into two
categories on the on the Domain, in
drainages (lowland), or in isolated patches
on ridges or up slopes (upland).
•  The factors influencing the distribution of hill
cane on the Domain is unknown.
Methods
•  This study contains 6 replicates of 8 plots for a
total of 48 plots. Each plot receives a treatment
of fire and/or canopy reduction (Figure 1)
•  Plots were chosen based on similar culm
densities within each location.
•  Plots measure 1 meter in diameter
•  Nine culms were marked with metal tags in every
plot for tracking of response to disturbance.
•  Plots were measured in the Spring of 2014 to
establish a pre-experiment baseline. All surviving
tagged culms wil be re-measured in the fall of
2014 at the end of the growing season to
determine hill cane’s response to fire and canopy
disturbance in the first year
Upland L+/F+ L-/F+ L+/F- Control Lowland L+/F+ L-/F+ L+/F- Control Figure 1: Diagram
showing the treatments
applied to each of the 8
plots at each location. L+
means canopy reduced
overhead of the plot, Lmeans no canopy
manipulation. F+ means
that a 2m diameter circle
containing the plot is
burned, F- means the plot
is left unburned.
Abstract
Arundinaria appalachiana (Poaceae: Bambusoideae), or hill cane, was described in 2006 by Triplett et al., officially
separating it from its congeners Arundinaria gigantea and Arundinaria tecta and confirming some botanist's
suspicions of a third species in this North American genus. Previous ecological studies have revealed that fire and
canopy-opening disturbances are important factors in the formation and maintenance of dense monotypic
canebrakes of A. gigantea (Platt and Brantley 1997, Gagnon and Platt 2008, Gagnon 2009, Gagnon et al. 2013).
However it is unknown whether fire and canopy reduction are also important to canebrakes of hill cane. This study
will conduct field observations and apply treatments of fire and canopy reduction to several populations of A.
appalachiana on the Domain of the University of the South to determine the biological and ecological response of
hill cane to these disturbances. We hypothesize that A. appalachiana will increase culm density and re-sprout
vigorously in response to fire and reduction of canopy cover. We also hypothesize and that lowland patches of hill
cane closer to the bottom of stream drainages will exhibit a greater response to fire and canopy reduction than
isolated upland patches due to relative water and nutrient availability.
Figure 2: Thomas Walters burning a study plot in compartment 34.
Figure 3 (left):
Locations of study plots
in compartments 34,
38, 36, and 28. A total
of 48 plots are
distirbuted across 6
locations.
Figure 4 (right): Hill
cane has deciduous
leaves, a trait that
helps distinguish it from
its congeners. However
the dead leaves don’t
completely fall off on
some plants as shown
here on this snowy
patch of hill cane.
Expected Results
Triplett et al. 2006 hypothesize that hill cane is slow growing
and can persist for decades or even centuries. If hill cane is
always a slow growing clone, then one would expect little to
no response to fire or canopy reduction in the first several
growing seasons post-disturbance. If hill cane can be
triggered by fire or canopy reduction to increase culm
density and canebrake vigor in the first growing season,
then one could reasonably conclude that hill cane has a
similar fire ecology as its congener A. gigantea. If hill cane
is able to respond vigourously to disturbance, then this
would suggest that hill cane is a disturbance adapted
species able to take advantage of light gaps caused by tree
blow down and or fire. Perhaps hill cane can persist in an
area for long periods of time, “waiting” for fire or light gaps
to occur overhead. I expect that fire, canopy reduction, and
the combination of the two will increase culm density and
overall health of canebrakes of hill cane within one or two
growing seasons. However, I expect that canebrakes with
low culm density and small plants, as is the case for many
upland patches, might not have enough energy reserves to
respond vigorously, and might be killed by fire. This study
will implement fires and canopy reduction to 48 small plots
of hill cane, and is a necessary step to discovering more
about this newly described species.
Conclusion
I will continue this project this summer, continuing this study,
taking more measurements, and designing and conducting
more experiments to learn more about the biology and
ecology of hill cane. This study will serve as my honors
thesis and capstone project for my Ecology and Biodiversity
major. The goals of this study are to have this research
published, and to potentially collaborate with experts in this
field to conduct DNA analysis of this clonal bamboo.
Figure 5 (above): A culm
tagged in late winter shows the
first signs of a new sprout
branching off the base of the
plant.
Figure 6 (right): New leaves
emerge form the tips of
branches in spring.
References
Special thanks to Nate Wilson for his fire expertise and his assistance with burns and
permitting.
For a full list of works cited please see attached bibliography
Landscape Analysis Lab (LAL). 2013. Sewanee: University of the South. http://
lal.sewanee.edu/