Date of Award
August 2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Forestry and Environmental Conservation
Committee Member
Althea Hagan
Committee Member
Patrick Hiesl
Committee Member
Elizabeth Baldwin
Abstract
This thesis provides insight on best management practices for a longleaf pine restoration project occurring at the Camden Battlefield and Longleaf Pine Preserve (hereon referred to as the Camden Battlefield or battlefield). Chapter one is a literature review to summarize all the knowledge collected to design, implement, and analyze the work conducted in the subsequent chapters. Chapter two aims to identify and quantify the vegetative species currently found at the battlefield, to characterize vegetative and soil conditions before and after a prescribed fire to part of the battlefield, and to establish a monitoring protocol that could be done indefinitely in conjunction with the restoration management plan to record how the habitat changes. Chapter three presents experiments, done at the battlefield and in a greenhouse, comparing different seed sources of the regionally important bunchgrass species little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium (Michaux) Nash) and site preparation techniques to advise how to best increase the local population with broadcast seeding. Chapter four is an attempt to connect a broader audience to an endangered, unique ecosystem by creating online environmental resources highlighting the ecology of the longleaf pine savanna and dispersing them to local and national interest groups to provide educational content during a global pandemic (COVID-19).
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Elizabeth Eleanor, "Exploring Longleaf Pine Restoration in the Sandhills of South Carolina" (2021). All Theses. 3579.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/3579