Effects of Mowing on Native Plant Biodiversity Along the Rivers of Broome County, NY

Michael Voorhees, Mark BlumlerFloodplain Biodiversity studies:

•Floodplain management has always focused on environmental issues such as flood control; however, there was very little thought given to biodiversity.

The biodiversity along the river was studied using two different methods.

•The first is 300 random points in a plot to see the variety of plant species that are present.

•The second, transects were run down the width of the plot to study the zonation and species abundance.

•Comparisons will be done of both native and non-native species within the study areas.

Since there seems to be a gap in the literature for this region the following questions will be addressed:

•What effects does mowing have on the distribution and diversity of plant life within the floodplains of Broome County?

•Why are the floodplains and levees mowed so frequently?•If the biodiversity in the region is negatively effected by the mowing policies, what can be done to remedy the problem?

Binghamton University Urban Ecosystem Initiative

The research is investigating three aspects of biodiversity:•Whether or not native biodiversity will be higher in areas where mowing is not occurring as frequently.

• If there will be a higher non-native biodiversity in areas where mowing is occurring frequently.

•Total Biodiversity will also be investigated.