Adam M. Davis

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Studying geological controls on succession in an
old fieldProgress toward a resource estimation
model

• Adam M. Davis
• Center for Geospatial Data Analysis
• Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

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Understanding geological influences on succession

• Predict the nature and quality of ecological
  resources after secondary succession
• Predict impacts of land uses on biodiversity
• Provide information for quantifying global
  climate change impacts on ecosystems

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Research Goal
Output
Inputs
Land Use History
Soil Chemistry
Predicted Map of Plant Communities
Slope
Succession Model
Bedrock Depth
Drainage
Light
Plant Interaction
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Old field Geo-ecology study

• Soil nutrients and pH
• Soil moisture
• Tree ID and size
• Herbaceous plant ID and biomass
• Hypotheses for future work

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Nitrogen
Biodiversity
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Conclusions

• Many interrelated factors contribute to species
  distributions and biodiversity
• A soil pH gradient (possibly due to biotic
  interactions) or another factor related to Pinus
  Sp. may have affected plant distribution in the
  old field
• Higher soil moisture may mediate this effect in
  some cases, such as Sassafras Sp. distribution

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Next Steps

• Further analysis of tree, herb, water, soil, and
  slope datasets
• Assess relative contributions of geologic factors
  to plant species distributions
• Examine Pinus distribution and associated soil
  slope properties
• Continue to investigate the hydrology 3-D soil
  moisture
• Investigate the role of the bedrock in the
  system. Does the drainage of the field involve
  fracture and solution channel flow?

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What is the role of the Limestone?
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Next Steps

• Further analysis of tree, herb, water, soil, and
  slope datasets
• Assess relative contributions of geologic factors
  to plant species distributions
• Examine Pinus distribution and associated soil
  slope properties
• Continue to investigate the hydrology 3-D soil
  moisture
• Investigate the role of the bedrock in the
  system. Does the drainage of the field involve
  fracture and solution channel flow?
• Meta-analysis of data from the literature to
  create a straw-person model
• Collect data and compare results for old fields
  in very different geologic settings
• Investigate potential applications and clients
• Ecological unit mapping for resource estimation
• Carbon sequestration before and after crops