The UTC Graduate School is pleased to announce that Jonathon Towery will present Master’s research titled, The Vascular Flora of Bark Camp Barrens WMA, Coffee County, Tennessee on 02/07/2025 at 2:00 PM in Holt Hall rm. 112. Everyone is invited to attend.
Environmental Science
Chair: Dr. Joey Shaw
Co-Chair:
Abstract:
A vascular plant inventory of Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area, Coffee County, Tennessee was performed over the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. The site is a 1,395-ha area located 10km east of Manchester, Tennessee in the Barrens region of the Eastern Highland Rim. A total of 875 specimens were collected, resulting in the inventory of 698 species and lower taxa from 349 genera and 127 families. Two species found at Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area were considered G1 or G2, 34 species were listed on the Tennessee Rare Plant List, and 122 species were considered S1 or S2. This is the first known comprehensive floristic survey in the Barrens Region of Tennessee’s Eastern Highland Rim. In support of the flora of Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area, and to gain a fuller understanding of the flora of the Barrens Region of the Eastern Highland Rim, all known digitized herbarium specimens from the nearby May Prairie State Natural Area were cataloged, creating a vascular plant checklist of 387 species known to reside in the May Prairie State Natural Area. Furthermore, a list of 139 species believed to reside in the May Prairie State Natural Area, but which lack herbarium specimens, were identified for targeted specimen collection. After analyzing specimens from both Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area and May Prairie State Natural Area, most rare species in the Barrens Region were found to reside in geographically isolated wetlands, which are currently under imminent threat of deregulation in the state of Tennessee.