Oral Paper

         Floristics & Taxonomy

Modeling Niche Habitats of Expected Rare Species within the Vascular Flora of the Walls of Jericho, Alabama

Presenting Author
Garrett Billings
Description
The Walls of Jericho (WOJ) is a 5,062ha tract of land located in northern Alabama within the Cumberland Plateau ecoregion. The study area is known to be highly diverse with a high number of endemic species, likely due to its high concentration of limestone compared to the predominantly sandstone Cumberland Plateau. To better document these rare species, a habitat distribution model was developed for two federally listed species, Apios priceana (Fabaceae) and Clematis morefieldii (Ranunculaceae). The two species are known to occur within or adjacent to the study area and occupy similar habitats as other rare species, such as Cotinus obovatus (Anacardiaceae). This presentation will address the methodology used to create high resolution species distribution models using MaxEnt software and will present preliminary data on the accuracy and findings of the model. To date, 502 vascular plant taxa have been documented, representing 95 families and 192 genera including thirteen rare and sensitive species.