| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Zomlefer, W. B. [1], Giannasi, David [1]. Floristic Survey of the Walls of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St. Augustine, Florida. Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St. Augustine, Florida, is administered by the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, and comprises 8.5 ha (20.5 acres) including the moat and expansive embankment (glacis) surrounding the historic fortress, the oldest masonry fortification in the United States. A floristic survey was conducted to provide park service personnel with a vouchered plant species checklist for the entire park, with special focus on the 10 m (33 ft) tall fort walls supporting a flourishing flora. Collecting trips conducted in 2003-2004 yielded 153 species of plants in 129 genera of 61 families within the park boundaries. Forty-one species were new county records. The largest families were Asteraceae (18 spp.), Poaceae (17 spp.), Fabaceae (10 spp.), Cyperaceae (8 spp.), Rubiaceae (7 spp.), and Euphorbiaceae (6 spp.). Fifty-six species comprised the vertical flora on the walls, with many plants having altered growth forms as compared to their terrestrial counterparts. Moisture retention by these plants and penetration by their roots seriously threaten the integrity of the irreplaceable coquina (shellstone) matrix, but manual and chemical removal of plants by the park service during the study period did little to prevent regeneration. Given the tenacity of the wall flora, the fort has potential as a vehicle for ecological interpretation.
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Related Links:
National Park Service homepage for Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
1 - University of Georgia, Department of Plant Biology, 2052 Miller Plant Sciences Building, Athens, Georgia, 30602-7271, USA
Keywords:
Castillo de San Marcos
coquina
Duval County
Florida
Floristics.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P59073
Abstract ID:1353 |
