An updated census of the native and non-native plants in Bates County: An under-surveyed region in western Missouri
Category
Sciences and Technology
Department
Biology
Student Status
Undergraduate
Research Advisor
Dr. Neil Snow
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
Human health is directly tied to the health of the local environment, which depends partially on what native and non-native plants occupy the land. However, many counties in the USA have had their plant (= floristic) diversity only partially documented. Previous research suggested that Bates County, Missouri, was less surveyed than other counties in the state. Our null hypothesis is that Bates County is not well collected, and (given existing knowledge) that over 300 more plant species could be documented with additional fieldwork. Our research involves seven or more day-long collecting trips annually to survey floristic diversity, including (with permission) areas managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Of the approximately 350 specimens collected in the first field season, 28 were documented for the first time in Bates County, corresponding to one in every eight collections being a county record. Among the county novelties were the aggressively invasive understory shrub Amur honeysuckle and pasture and roadside weed Musk thistle. This project will continue through the summer of 2026. Our results after only one collecting season corroborate the null hypothesis that Bates County was only partially documented for its plant diversity. It is well known that plant distributions change through time, and that climate change probably exacerbates such shifts among some species. Our project is providing baseline data for future ecological comparisons for things such as flowering times, the presence of invasive species, and monitoring the occurrences of rare taxa.
An updated census of the native and non-native plants in Bates County: An under-surveyed region in western Missouri
Student Center Ballroom
Human health is directly tied to the health of the local environment, which depends partially on what native and non-native plants occupy the land. However, many counties in the USA have had their plant (= floristic) diversity only partially documented. Previous research suggested that Bates County, Missouri, was less surveyed than other counties in the state. Our null hypothesis is that Bates County is not well collected, and (given existing knowledge) that over 300 more plant species could be documented with additional fieldwork. Our research involves seven or more day-long collecting trips annually to survey floristic diversity, including (with permission) areas managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Of the approximately 350 specimens collected in the first field season, 28 were documented for the first time in Bates County, corresponding to one in every eight collections being a county record. Among the county novelties were the aggressively invasive understory shrub Amur honeysuckle and pasture and roadside weed Musk thistle. This project will continue through the summer of 2026. Our results after only one collecting season corroborate the null hypothesis that Bates County was only partially documented for its plant diversity. It is well known that plant distributions change through time, and that climate change probably exacerbates such shifts among some species. Our project is providing baseline data for future ecological comparisons for things such as flowering times, the presence of invasive species, and monitoring the occurrences of rare taxa.
