| Abstract Detail
The Cross Timbers: Botany, History, and Current Issues Rice, Stanley A. [1], Gibson, J. Phil [2], Schrader, James [3], Graves, William [3]. The Oklahoma seaside alder (Alnus maritima ssp. oklahomensis): a unique subspecies, and what it means for the human development of water resources. The seaside alder (Alnus maritima) consists of three small disjunct populations on the Delmarva Peninsula, in Georgia, and in Oklahoma. Morphological and genetic studies suggest that these populations constitute three distinct subspecies that are remnants of a previously widespread species. All three populations consist of individuals that persist as clumps which do not grow well in shaded conditions. Preservation of existing clumps is therefore essential to the conservation of this species. The Oklahoma subspecies is one of the few plant taxa that are found only in the Cross Timbers forest. All individuals of this subspecies depend upon the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. Because this subspecies requires continuous moisture during the summer heat of Oklahoma, development of water resources that may reduce the water supply of the Aquifer might cause the extinction of this subspecies.
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1 - Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Biological Sciences, Box 4027, Durant, Oklahoma, 74701, USA
2 - Agnes Scott College, Biological Sciences, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur, Georgia, 30030
3 - Iowa State University, Horticulture, Horticulture Building, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA
Keywords:
Alnus maritima ssp. oklahomensis
Cross Timbers forest
endemic species
water resources
Betulaceae.
Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: 23-9
Location: Salon J - Austin Grand Ballroom/Hilton
Date: Tuesday, August 16th, 2005
Time: 11:45 AM
Abstract ID:40 |
