BOTANY & COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 2:00 PM SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2001 KOLENBRANDER-HARTER ROOM 202 CAROLYN HOWES-PRESIDING

Ohio Journal of Science, The, March, 2001

02:00 T. RICHARD FISHER'S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT SYSTEMATICS AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY (1956-1968). Ronald L. Stuckey, The Ohio State University, 1315 Kinnear Road, Columbus OH 43212-1192.

T Richard Fisher (1921-2000), hired in 1956 at the instructor level in the University's Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, developed a viable and active graduate-level program in plant systematics. Bernard S. Meyer, Department Chairman since 1946, long recognized the need for this sub-discipline if the Department was to have a credible balance in its course offerings and to provide well-rounded training for graduate students in botany. Although Meyer did not discuss Fisher's achievements in his book, Botany at The Ohio State University: The First 100 Years (1983), a study of Fisher's life shows that he accomplished this mission in twelve years by: (1) teaching new courses in advanced plant systematics at the Columbus campus, and in field botany and aquatic vascular plants that were added to the curriculum at the Stone Laboratory, (2) establishing a research program with over $400,000 support from the National Science Foundation to study the systematics and evolution of the genus Silphium that resulted in seven journal publications, (3) supervising 13 students who earned eight M. S. and eight Ph.D. degrees, and (4) making possible the hiring of Ronald L. Stuckey (1965) as an additional faculty member. Because of Fisher's effective, aggressive approach in his work, he developed a successful graduate program, resulting in advancement from instructor (1956) to full professor (1964) in eight years while at The Ohio State University.

02:15 EMANUEL D. RUDOLPH'S STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN BOTANY: THE MAKING OF A BOOK. William R. Burk, billburk@email.unc.edu. University of North Carolina, Biology Library, CB #3280 Coker Hall, Chapel Hill NC 27599.

Emanuel D. Rudolph (1927-1992), lichenologist and historian of botany, had life-long research interests in the popularization of North American botany. His intentions of writing a book on this topic were eclipsed by his untimely death at age 64. The Ohio State University botanist and executor of the Rudolph estate, Ronald L. Stuckey, and University of North Carolina biology librarian William R. Burk, first conceived the idea of publishing a memorial volume of Rudolph's writings in August 1992. Among Rudolph's research archives were numerous manuscripts, particularly for papers he presented at meetings of The Ohio Academy of Science; Ohio Academy of Medical History; Historical Section, Botanical Society of America; and the Midwest Junto for the History of Science. These manuscripts and other documentation formed the foundation for gathering and editing papers for the book. Eight major themes in Rudolph's studies emerged: 1) botany textbooks, 2) botany in children's books, 3) botanical teaching, 4) botanical educators, 5) botanical illustration, 6) women in American botany, 7) writing a history of Shaw's Garden, and 8) writing botanical history. Thirty research papers and eight talks on the relationships between science and religion presented by Rudolph at Wellesley College constitute a 410-page memorial volume with over 200 illustrations issued in October 2000 by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, as Sida Botanical Miscellany, No. 19.

02:30 TAWAWA WOODS NATURAL LANDMARK; GEOLOGIC, CULTURAL AND LAND USE HISTORY. Cadance A. Lowell(1), clowell@csu.ces.edu, John Silvius(2) and Shelia Darrow(1), (1) Central State University, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, P.O. Box 1004, Wilberforce OH 45384-1004,(2) Cedarville College, Department of Biology.

The Tawawa Woods, Xenia Township, Greene County, OH (39 [degrees] 42% 83 [degrees] 52'W) was given natural landmark status in 1990 because of its unique potential as a study site of forest recovery following a natural disaster(tornado). The purpose of this research was to document the history, geology and cultural land use of the Tawawa Woods to better understand changes in biodiversity both prior to and following the tornado in 1974. Archival-based accounts were used to reconstruct prior land use patterns. Historic tree species diversity and importance were estimated using Land Surveys from 1799-1856. Current tree species composition of Tawawa Woods was estimated (1988, 1999), by using a combination of plot and point-centered quarter sampling methods. Tree and herbaceous species outside plot sample areas were identified by walk-throughs and documented with photographs. Historically, the Tawawa Woods was a cultural "focal point" in Greene County used by ancient Native Americans, the Shawnee, and pioneers. Tawawa Woods today is a riparian forest adjacent to Massies Creek and an upland forest community on north-facing slopes adjacent to the Central State University campus. Slope soils are Miamian and/or Hennepin, while floodplain soils are classified as Genessee. Soils are calcareous and depth to bedrock is in excess of 1.5 m. Historic accounts suggest that the number of springs and flow rates have significantly decreased which may have affected species composition. Severe pollution in Massies Creek, trash dumping in the woods, and increased demand for lumber during the 1890's also may have altered biodiversity in this area. Witness tree data from land surveys identify 15 different tree species with the majority of trees identified as hickory (33%) and Sugar Maple (12%). Current surveys recognize 30 tree species with the majority of trees identified as Sugar Maple and Black Cherry. In addition, over 60 herbaceous and shrub species have been identified in the Tawawa Woods.