Jonathan Bauer is conducting doctoral research on Purple Wintercreeper
invasion dynamics and best management strategies for removal of Purple Wintercreeper and restoration of native plant species.
Dunn’s Woods is an active site for research by faculty and students. Areas of study include methods of Purple Wintercreeper control and native species restoration, the influence of the soil microbial community on growth of exotic vs. native plant species, and plant species traits such as drought tolerance. Research to date shows that hand-pulling of Purple Wintercreeper is the most effective removal technique, native plants can be slow to recover and are vulnerable to herbivory by rabbits and other animals, soil underneath Purple Wintercreeper has a unique microbial composition and promotes its growth, and Purple Wintercreeper is more tolerant of drought stress than common native species.
Hobbs FC, Allaby E, Shanno-Firestone S, Swedo B, Gube J, Reynolds H. (2012) Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) associates with a unique soil bacterial community in a south-central Indiana woodland fragment. Poster, Indiana Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Lafayette, IN.
Rutherford WA, Bauer JT, Stoops RE, Reynolds HL. (2011). Consequences of Euonymus fortunei invasion for native plants and herbivores and initial results of management efforts. Poster, Indiana Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN
Smith L M and H L Reynolds. 2012. Positive plant-soil feedback may drive dominance of a woodland invader, Euonymus fortunei. Plant Ecology DOI 10.1007/s11258-012-0047-z.
Swedo BL, C Glinka, DR Rollo and HL Reynolds. 2008. Soil bacterial community structure under exotic versus native understory forbs in a woodland remnant in Indiana. Proceedings of theIndiana Academy of Sciences 117:7-15.