Survival of Juvenile Acer grandidentatum Nutt. (Bigtooth Maple, Aceraceae) in Central Texas Woodlands ()
ABSTRACT
Populations of Acer grandidentatum Nutt. (Bigtooth maple, Aceraceae = Sapindaceae) in
central Texas are mostly found in isolated, deep, relatively remote, limestone
canyons. Acer grandidentatum is found
with a few other mostly deciduous species. Recruitment of juveniles has been
reported to be lacking. One population of A.
grandidentatum juveniles was found in a limestone canyon in a State Natural
Area in Central Texas. Fifty juveniles were located. Wire enclosures were
placed around half of the seedlings with half left in the open. In an adjacent
canyon, 50 juvenile seedlings were planted in a similar habitat with adult A. grandidentatum trees nearby. Half
were in enclosures and half in the open. Plant survival was followed for four
growing seasons until November 2019. At the end of that time when survivals
were compared between plants in enclosures and those in the open in both canyon
communities, there was a significant difference in survival in both communities
(χ2, P < 0.001).
Survival in the planted population in enclosures was 92% with 52% in the open.
In the natural population in enclosures 68% survived, with 32% survivals in the
open. When population extinction was compared, extinction for planted juveniles
in enclosures using linear regression was 60.5 yrs and it was 11.9 yrs in the
open. For native juveniles, it was 12.6 yrs in enclosures and 5.9 yrs in the
open. The cause of most mortalities in the open seemed to be herbivory by
white-tailed deer (Odocoleus virginianus).
Share and Cite:
Van Auken, O. and Taylor, D. (2020) Survival of Juvenile
Acer grandidentatum Nutt. (Bigtooth Maple, Aceraceae) in Central Texas Woodlands.
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
11, 413-425. doi:
10.4236/ajps.2020.113030.