Management Plans

This section summarizes the Natural Area Advisory Committee's plans for NATL. These plans include new projects and the continuance and completion of old ones. At the end of this section is a schedule of planned actions. As these are accomplished they are logged in Actions Taken.

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NATL-east and NATL-west

In the spring of 2005, UF administration approved the addition of the Surge Wetland conservation area to NATL. The Surge Wetland (renamed NATL-east) should be integrated with the original NATL (renamed NATL-west). This requires revising much of what is in the NATL pamphlet and posted on the NATL web site and kiosks.

Infrastructure for NATL-east

In addition to erection of boundary fencing as described below, the following should be done to increase the usefulness of NATL-east: extend the 50-meter grid of NATL-west to include NATL-east; make a grid-based photographic record of the vegetation (as was done in NATL-west in 1997), make a grid-based soil survey (done in NATL-west in 2000), establish foot trails that allow access to most of the perimeter of the central pond and to the north and south gates; near the north gate erect a kiosk not visible from the road; plan and erect signs for the trails and entrances.

New boundaries of NATL-west

In the development of the 2005-2015 update of the Campus Master Plan, nearly 3 acres that had been part of the Surge Area were proposed to be added to the NATL-west conservation area. If these new boundaries are approved, the boundary fences of NATL-west should be changed to incorporate the additional area and the 50-meter grid should be extended.

Trash--old and new

Legacy trash should be removed as it is discovered or uncovered during tilling. Users of NATL should be encouraged to avoid littering and to pick up and properly dispose of litter deposited by others.

Publicity

The NATL web site (http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu) should be used to publicize all aspects of NATL.

Pamphlets summarizing the most important aspects of NATL should be available at the kiosks near the NATL pavilion and in Natural Area Park.

At all times, plans for NATL and their rationale should be readily available from the NATL web site and from the NAAC Chair.

Fences

The perimeter of NATL should be fenced to define its boundaries, to make NATL users and their equipment more secure, to control vehicular entry, and to reduce littering. Board fencing should be used along Surge Area/Natural Area Drive and south of the Phillips Center, hurricane fencing on the exterior of campus where unauthorized entry is a problem, and farm fencing elsewhere (except east of the Phillips Center and south of Powell Hall, where no fencing is needed).

Places of entry

Entry to NATL-west should be restricted to these places:

East gate. The pedestrian gap in the fence across from the Entomology/Nematology building. This is the main academic entrance and leads to an assembly area that has the NATL kiosk and the NATL pavilion.
South gate. A pedestrian gate in the fence at the south end of Surge Area Drive will be directly across from a similar entry into NATL-east.
Museum entrance. Docent-led groups of K-12 students and visitors to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Powell Hall may enter NATL at the west end of the corral fence south of the Phillips Center. A trail between this entrance and the Florida Museum of Natural History is part of the master plan for UF's Cultural Complex.
Natural Area Park entrance. The pedestrian gap in the corral fence at Natural Area Park at the north end of SEEP.
DPI gate. The pedestrian gate in the east fence of the Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture, compound. (This gate accommodates foot traffic between the Entomology/Nematology building and the Doyle Conner Building.)
Main vehicular entrance. Dual gates open from Natural Area Drive onto NATL's Main Trail.
Surge Area vehicular entrance. Dual gates from within the Surge Area open onto NATL's Gasline Trail.

Entry to NATL-east should be restricted to these places:

North gate. The pedestrian gap in the corral fence immediately south of the Entomology/Nematology compound.
South gate. A pedestrian gate to be installed in a corral fence along Surge Area Drive south of the Housing compound. It will be directly across from a similar entry into NATL-west.

Access issues

The northern portion of NATL-west, including Natural Area Park, the five successional plots, the SEEP retention basin, and the northern portions of the upland pine and hammock ecosystems, is designated a public area (see map) with all interested persons being encouraged to use the area in any appropriate way and especially to learn from the nature trails planned for the area.

NATL-west south of Division Trail and all of NATL-east are designated areas for academic use only (see map). This protects these portions of NATL from harm by too much foot traffic and facilitates their use by classes and for special projects. Signs at the entrances to these areas should indicate that they are to be entered only for academic purposes and should give a URL for learning the details of the usage policies.

Nature Trails

The Natural Area Advisory Committee has proposed a system of self-guided nature trails for the northern, public portion of the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. Most visitors will access the trails at the entrance adjacent to the Florida Museum of Natural History (Powell Hall) or from Natural Area Park north of SEEP. The trails will also be easily accessed from the academic assembly area at the east gate. The trails will expose the visitor to upland-pine and hammock (two forest ecosystems), five stages of old field succession, an ephemeral pond, and an ecologically engineered wetland that includes a water-treatment forebay and permanent water, all within a 20 acre area. More than 240 species of plants and hundreds of varieties of insects, arachnids, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals live in this natural area.

Grid-based photographic record

The grid-based photographic record of NATL started in 1997 should be updated at intervals no greater than 10 years.

Hammock

Invasive exotic plants, including mimosa, Ardisia, climbing tree fern, and air potato should be controlled or extirpated.

Upland Pine

Most of the upland pine area of NATL (see map) will be restored to as near its original state as practicable. One to two acres in both the public and restricted areas will be left unburned to demonstrate the effects of eliminating fire from upland pine. During the course of restoration, methods of restoration and areas treated will be scheduled to maximize values for teaching and for demonstrating methods of restoration to those using the nature trails.

Once restored, the upland pine will be maintained by burning approximately one fourth of its area each year. Burning at 3- to 6-year intervals should maintain the upland pine species, and doing some burning every year will allow students each year to see immediate and longer-term effects of burning.

Old-field Plots

The succession area will be maintain as five management units (see map) that will be cleared and cultivated at ca. 1-, 10-, and 40-year intervals. Plots with the same period of rotation will be cleared and tilled out of phase. For example, every five years one of the two 10-year plots will be tilled. The 1-year plot will not be tilled during years that one of the other four plots is tilled. The goal is to exhibit five representative successional states at all times. To permit normal succession to occur, the dense stands of cogongrass in portions of the successional plots will be eliminated by applying herbicides. Mature longleaf pines in the successional plots will not be cut when the plots are otherwise cleared and tilled.

Retention Pond

NATL-west's retention pond has been ecologically engineered by the Wetlands Club in its Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (SEEP). The many species of native wetland plants established in SEEP by the Wetlands Club will be allowed to compete as they respond to the varied hydrological cycles produced by recontouring the retention basis. The resulting biotic communities will change as the trees planted by the Wetlands Club mature and the vegetational structure of SEEP becomes more complex and suited to a greater variety of wildlife.

Temporary Pools

Shallow depressions that periodically fill with rain water are essential to the breeding of some amphibians. An excavation in the southwest corner of successional plot D is intended to provide an ephemeral pond for amphibian breeding.

Sinkhole Pond

The sinkhole and adjacent pond will be cleared of debris and not altered otherwise. If debris is washing into the pond from storm drainage from Archer Road, DOT should be notified of the problem and asked if it can be remedied.

Schedule of planned actions

A schedule of planned actions, updated annually by the Natural Area Advisory Committee, is posted on the north side of the academic kiosk (near the pavilion).