Management of NATL's Old-Field Plots: 1995 to date

Jump to 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013.

Dates when plots are tilled and started on their rotation are in red.

January 1995. IFAS Facilities Operations mows the cleared portions of the successional area (that is, Plots D and E and most of C), trucks away piles of construction debris, and uses a bulldozer to level piles of dumped dirt and smaller debris. Leveling the cleared area creates a ridge of spoil where the trees begin along the western edge of the cleared area.

October 1995. Cleared area mowed (Plots D and E and most of C).

9 April 1996. Most of Plot A burned as part of the first controled burn of the upland pine.

May 1996. Cleared area mowed (Plots D and E and most of C).

June 1996. IFAS Facilities Operations sprays Roundup on the dense stands of Johnson grass and elephant grass that cover much of the successional area.

August to October 1996. Tom Walker spot sprays Roundup on the regrowth of the invasive grasses.

January 1997. Reference photographs are taken at every grid stake in NATL's 50-meter grid.

February 1997. Plot D double-disked to begin its 10-year rotation.

June to October 1997. Tom Walker continues spot spraying of invasive grasses. In August, parts of Plots A and C are mowed to allow targeting of regrowth. Elephant grass eliminated in Plots A and C; some remains in Plot B.

14-26 May 1998. Contractor for the re-contouring of the retention basin (SEEP project) deposits plant debris and excess dirt in large, separate piles on the eastern portion of Plot C.

17 Jul 1998. Tom Walker completes the clearing of Plot C.

19 Sep 1999. Tom Walker burns piles of logs left from the clearing of Plot C.

October 1999. Contractor for 34th Street berm hauls away the SEEP dirt and excavates some of the clay that was dumped on the site during construction at the Shands medical center.

11 Jan 2000. Physical Plant Division clears all of the many piles of building debris from the northern portions of Plots A and B and levels the area with heavy equipment in the mistaken belief that that part of NATL was to be converted into a temporary limerock-covered parking lot during the construction of the Park-and-Ride parking garage. (This was of great help in preping these two plots.)

17 Feb to 6 Nov 2000. During three periods (in February, April, and August) loamy soil from the construction of UF's Lakeside Residential Complex was dumped on the eastern part of Plot C and the southern part of Plot A to use for filling the hole left by the excavation for the 34th Street berm and for covering some of the Shands' clay at the surface in these plots. On three occasions (ending 6 Nov 2000) IFAS and Lakeside-contractor bulldozers spread the dumped soil. At the end, the plots were level with loamy soil spread over the eastern two-thirds of Plot C and a narrow southern strip of Plot A.

July 2000. Don Dickson and Tom Walker mow accessible parts of Plots A, B, C, and E.

May to Nov 2000. Tom Walker uses Roundup to spot treat invasive grasses in successional plots.

28 Nov 2000. Plot C double-disked to begin its 40-year rotation.

18 Jan 2001. Don Graetz takes soil corings to help establish the site for an ephemeral pond in the southwest corner of Plot D.

12 Feb 2001. PPD digs ephemeral pond in the southwest corner of Plot D.

May to Nov 2001. Tom Walker uses Roundup to spot treat invasive grasses in successional plots.

15 July 2001. Don Dickson and Tom Walker burn stacks of logs from the clearing of plots A and B.

Aug 2001. Contractor hired by IFAS Facilities Operations removes stumps and remaining trees (other than longleaf pines) from Plot A and the western portion of Plot B.

25 Oct 2001. PPD mows Plots A and B.

16 Nov 2001. PPD double disks Plot A.

16 Nov 2001. PPD double disks Plot B to begin its use as a plot that will be tilled in years in which no other plot is tilled. A central portion remains uncleared but the trees within it have been girdled.

13 Mar 2002. PPD double disks Plot A to begin its 10-year rotation.

June to Aug 2002. Tom Walker uses Roundup to spot treat invasive grasses in successional plots.

22 Apr 2003. Plot B is mowed and double disked.

Aug 2003. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) sprays Roundup on Johnson grass in Plot B.

3-7 Sep 2004. Hurricane Frances dumps 12.2 inches of rain on NATL causing depression in east portion of Plot B to fill to the brim with water and to remain so filled for several days.

4 Oct 2004. Survey of damage caused by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne reveals an 18-inch DBH longleaf felled at west edge of old-field Plot C.

7 Jan 2005. Plot B is mowed and double disked. West portion has significant areas that can not be disked because of pines that hurricanes Frances and Jeanne topped or downed.

10 Nov 2005. Plot B mowed except where fallen pines prevented it.

13 Jan 2006. Rest of Plot B mowed.

6 Nov 2006. The portion of Plot B east of the Old-Field Nature Trail (=Subplot Bne)is mowed and thoroughly disked.

8 Nov 2006. Trees in Plot D >1.5m tall identified, measured, and recorded in PlotDtrees.xls.

10 Nov -1 Dec 2006. Laurel and live oaks growing from root sprouts cut and poisoned in plot A.

20 Nov 2006. Old-Field Self-Guided Nature Trail opened to the public.

1 Dec 2006. Completed cutting oaks in Plot A (and putting Garlon 3A on the stumps).

26-31 Dec 2006. All saltbush trees north of gridline 5 in Plot C cut (but not poisoned).

10 Jan 2007. The 183 trees >1.5m tall in Plot D felled, except for 1 peach tree. All stumps were poisoned with Garlon 3, except the 123 saltbush.

7 Mar 2007. Hardwoods remaining in Plot E cut or girdled and Garlon 3A applied to the wounds.

23 Apr 2007. Plot D bush-hogged.

30 Apr 2007. PPD moves brush and small logs from edges of plot D to a single stack in its center.

21 May 2007. Garlon 4 applied as basal stem spray to mimosas in Plot A and to some oaks at bases of trees in Plot B.

11 June 2007. Stumps in Plot D cut to ground level in preparation for disking.

14 June 2007. Plot D disked for first time since 1997.

15 June 2007. Environment Health & Safty sprayed glyphosate plus diquot on large patch of exotic grasses on east edge of plot B.

2 July -15 Aug 2007. Previously killed trees along south edge of Plot E felled.

25 July -26 Nov 2007. Johnsongrass and Panicum maximum sprayed in Plots B, D, and E.

27 July 2007. North half of Plot E mowed in preparation for its use as a laydown area for the construction of the SEEP boardwalk.

31 Aug 2007. Plot D mowed.

5 Sep 2007. Plot D disked for second time in 2007.

30 Nov 2007. Brush pile (from tree cutting in January) in Plot D burned.

19 Dec 2007. Plot D disked for third and final time in 2007 and started on its second 10-year rotation.

29 Feb 2008. About 120 gallons of concrete, asphalt, and other debris picked up from the tilled surface of Plot D and discarded.

9 Oct 2008. Portion of Plot B that is west of Old-Field Nature Trail (=Subplot Bsw) is mowed (as is sinkhole portion of Plot B [in error]).

15 Oct 2008. Subplot Bsw re-started by double disking.

15 Apr 2009. Hammock remnant near center of Plot B cleared and readied for bush-hogging .

2 Jun 2009. Subplot Bne is bush-hogged.

30 Sep 2009. Subplot Bne re-started by mowing and double disking.

23 Dec 2009. Hardwoods cleared from east-most portion of Plot E, in preparation for the start of Plot E in 2020.

4 Aug 2010. Online displays of semi-annual OF photos revised and updated (old-field_semi-annual.php).

15 Nov 2010. Old field Plot Bsw re-started by mowing and double disking.

28 Nov 2011. Old Field Plot Bne is re-started.

26 Jan 2012. Winter semi-annual OF photos of plots A, B, C, D are taken and posted online.

7 Jun 2012. Plot A is bush-hogged and disked.

27 Jul 2012. Plot A is disked a second time.

9 Aug 2012. Summer semi-annual OF photos of plots A, B, C, D are taken and posted online.

13 Sep 2012. Plot A is a third time.

13 Sep 2012. Plot Bsw restarted.

3 Dec 2012. Plot A is restarted by disking a fourth and final time.

9 Jul 2013. Summer semi-annual OF photos of plots A, B, C, D are taken and posted online.

17 Sep 2013. Plot Bne is mowed.

8 Oct 2013. Plot Bne is re-started by double disking.