| The floristic and phenological (flowering) study of Lake Issaqueena in Pickens County, SC, conducted by William Pamplin in 1970-1971 was reinvestigated in 2011-2012 using the Carolina Vegetative Survey (CVS) natural community sampling methods and photo documentation using a GPS-enabled camera to determine floristic and phenological changes for this site during the forty years separating these two studies. Phenological events (flowering) were recorded via photographs taken by a GPS-enabled camera on a monthly basis. Photographs were downloaded and organized by sampling date in Picasa 3 web albums and stored in a project Google website. Plants were identified using expert knowledge, existing keys and the USDA plant database. Precipitation in 1970, 2011 and 2012 was below the long-term average and this combined with higher than average air temperature impacted drought severity in the area. Comparison of phenologies indicated 269 plant species blooming in 1970-1971 compared to 203 plants blooming in 2011-2012, and 149 common plant species blooming in both study periods. The blooming period was 11 months in 2011-2012 compared to 8 months in 1970-1971. A majority of plants were blooming earlier and longer in 2011-2012 than in 1970-1971. There appears to be a phenological shift in blooming dates, but it is unclear whether this is due to climatic variation, other environmental changes in the area, or differences in data collection methods. |
PDF Full Text Request