Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2003

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Botany

Major Professor

David K. Smith

Abstract

The bryophytes of Falls Branch Falls were sampled over two field seasons, 2000-2001. Falls Branch Scenic Area lies within the Citico Wilderness of Cherokee National Forest, Monroe County, Tennessee, USA. One thousand eight hundred seventy one (1871) record entries from 707 samples collected contained 49 families; 91 genera and 145 species representing 79 mosses; 65 liverworts and one hornwort. This study resulted in 7 6 new Monroe County bryophyte records. Bryophytes were sampled/inventoried within the riparian, spray and other wet zones of Falls Branch Falls, Cherokee National Forest, Monroe County, Tennessee. Environmental factors of substrate, moisture level and light intensity were noted. The streambed of Falls Branch was sampled along East, Center and West transects from 30 meters above the falls to a few meters beyond Split Rock Crossing, a distance of approximately 100 meters. Bryophyte components of each sample were identified and ranked according to approximate proportion present. The most intensively sampled environmental gradient was also the most abundant, shaded wet rock. Phytogeography of the taxa present ranged from narrow Southern Appalachian endemics to cosmopolitan taxa and populations disjunct from Asia, Europe and the Pacific Northwest. Several taxa also exhibited northern/boreal or southern affinities. Bryophytes were analyzed using SPSS TwoStep Cluster Analysis which sorted the taxa into 11 categorical clusters along environmental gradients. The same 11 clusters were generated using both the entire data set and only the most dominant taxa, sampled 25 times or more. The 11 clusters were arranged into a dendrogram of community, society, and facies structures based on environmental gradients and most dominant taxa. The Pisces Community Analysis package, containing TWINSP AN and Reciprocal Averaging analytical programs were applied to the data for further analysis. These analyses delineated associations of taxa between Rock and Non-Rock substrates. Among Non-Rock substrates further distinctions existed comparing taxa affiliated with Soil, Humus, Logs, and Trees. A final analysis, comparing the dominant species associations of the east, center, and west transects of the riparian zone, did not support separate divisions of associated taxa within the zone.

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