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Flatwoods

Description of the Flatwoods project.

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This research evaluates current vegetation control methods to determine which are best suited to achieve management objectives in flatwoods ecosystems.  Treatments under evaluation include chop and burn, herbicide and burn, and burn-only.  Among the study areas are a wildlife environmental area (WEA) at Apalachicola River and wildlife management areas (WMA) located at Caravelle Ranch, Half Moon, and Three Lakes.  Quadrants, or four-sided sampling areas, and the line-intercept method, which is a method used to measure the amount of space occupied by a plant, are used to sample herbaceous, and woody vegetation, respectively, in experimental blocks randomly assigned to 12 test plots.  Some of the factors used to determine an effective, low-cost treatment for these communities are: the degree to which the vegetation shades the surface of the ground, the number of individual plants in an area, the amount of bare ground, and the height of the vegetation.

 

 

 

 

 

Flatwoods right after a roller chop treatment

 

Roller chop post treatment year 3

 

Roller chop post treatment year 4

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Photo and image credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)