Burhan Riaz Biology II/Period 6

Spruce Creek High School 10/16/07

Melaleuca quinquenervia trees versus number of wildfires Introduction: Melaleuca quinquenervia has been a rising threat to Floridas wildlife ever since its introduction to the Everglades in the 1900s from Australia. The Swamp and Overflow act urged the federal government to drain and utilize the Everglades for residential and commercial use. This plan was never achieved due to the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which protected the Everglades from such exploits. However, the Everglades still suffer from the former encounters of the government. The government used many ways to drain the Everglades. They did everything from digging canals to introducing species that drain swamps. The Melaleuca quinquenervia is known for using so much water and for taking essential nutrients from the soil. It extremely invasive from extreme events such as floods and droughts and it has absolutely no natural predators in America. In addition, the seeds that it gives off also have no predators, which allow for unchecked population growth 1. The trees excrete highly flammable oils, which can contribute to the wildfires in Florida. It is not unusual to see some kind of correlation between the Melaleuca quinquenervia population and the number of wildfires in an area
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. These advantages allow the population to grow at an exponential rate. In the last

25 years alone, the population has increased 50-fold. Mainly, this non-native species affects the ecosystem biologically by ridding the soil of essential nutrients, displacing native organisms, and changing the fire scheme of an area, which in turn displaces more

organisms. The non-native species invasion has gotten so out of hand that it now encompasses almost all of Florida and is a great nuisance to the environment. The spread of this species has recently been monitored and reduced my certain environmental groups such as T.A.M.E Melaleuca, which like its counterparts needs to know on a continuous base of the population of the Melaleuca quinquenervia in an area. The best way to do this is with quadrant method. Because the tree can grow on both land and in water, the quadrat method works efficiently even though the everglades is divided by swamps and solid land 3. Simply counting the number of Melaleuca quinquenervia in several 100m2 lots and averaging them and then dividing the number into the total area of the Everglades can give a reasonable estimate of the Melaleuca quinquenervia population.

Problem: Is the Melaleuca quinquenervia population directly correlated with the fire regime of an area?

Hypothesis: If there is a higher Melaleuca quinquenervia population in an area, then there will be more wildfires in that same area than areas with a lower Melaleuca quinquenervia population because Melaleuca quinquenervia excretes flammable oils, which may increase the chance of wildfires.

Variables: Independent variable(s):

The location of Melaleuca quinquenervia. The area of the site. Time of year. Dependent variable(s): The Melaleuca quinquenervia population. Controlled variable(s): The dimensions of the areas where the Melaleuca quinquenervia is counted needs to be the same so that there can be a comparison of the two areas. The time of year needs to be the same because the trees may die or reproduce in different times of the year. The use of tape must be consistent with all trees so that there wont be any miscalculations.

Materials: Tape, marks each tree that is counted Marker (ex. Stick), marks the corners of each quadrat. Measuring tape, measures the dimension of each quadrat Glove, protects hands from sharp objects. Goggles, protects eyes from sharp objects.

Procedure for control of variables: The areas of the Melaleuca quinquenervia that will be used should be far apart and not anywhere close to each other because the Melaleuca quinquenervia population would be similar and it would be harder to find a correlation between the species and the number of wildfires in the vicinity. This can be done by choosing areas that are far apart such as south Florida and north Florida. The time of year should be the same because the trees

may reproduce or die at different times of the year. Use tape to mark each tree so that they wont be mistakenly recounted.

Procedure for Data collection: 1. Wear safety equipment (glove. goggles). 2. Find a location in the everglades that has an area of 160,000m2(400 x 400 meters). 3. Measure out 400 x 400 meters of the area by using the measuring tape, and divide the area into 16 quadrats so that each quadrat has the dimensions 100 x 100 meters. 4. Place a marker on each corner of the quadrats so you can identify them. 5. Randomly select 4 quadrats. 6. In these 4 quadrats, count the number of Melaleuca quinquenervia trees and mark each tree with a piece of tape. 7. Find the sum of all 4 quadrats and divide by 4 to find the average of one quadrat. 8. Multiply this number by the number of quadrats (6). This will be an estimation of the population of the total area. 9. Repeat these steps but in another location (Blue Spring State Park) 10. Once the number of Melaleuca quinquenervia is found in both areas, contact the local government for information on how many wildfires occurs each year in the area. 11. Create a t-test to see if there is a correlation between the number of trees and the number of wildfires.

Bibliography: 1. Hierro, J. L., Maron, J. L., and Callaway, R. M. 2005. A biogeographical approach to plant invasions: the importance of studying exotics in their introduced and native range. Journal of Ecology, 5-15

2. Mazzotti, F. J., T. D. Center, F. A. Dray, and D. Thayer. 1997. Ecological consequences of invasion by Melaleuca quinquenervia in south Florida wetlands: Paradise damaged, not lost. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin, 5. 3. Laroche, F. B. and Ferriter, A. P. 1992. The rate of expansion of Melaleuca in South Florida. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management, 77-80.