Eight George Mason University plant-ecology students will be at Roundabout Meadows in the Gilberts Corner area of Loudoun County this month, collecting and identifying plant species as part of a formal survey of vegetation in the seven-acre wetlands-preserve area of the Piedmont Environmental Council-owned property.
Their work, led by Dr. Andrea Weeks, an associate professor and director of Mason’s Ted R. Bradley Herbarium, is part of a long-term floristic study that is sponsored by a grant from the Virginia Native Plant Society and conducted in partnership with the Piedmont Environmental Council and the herbarium.
“The mission of George Mason University’s herbarium is to advance our understanding of Virginia’s flora and to provide hands-on educational opportunities for our students – and the Gilberts Corner study is designed to fulfill both goals,” Weeks said.
The group’s work follows that of recent Mason graduate Cameron Pierce, who received funding through the Garden Club of America’s Joan K. and Rachel M. Hunt Summer Scholarship in Field Botany to begin the survey this past summer. He recorded around 140 species, including some rarities and one that may not have been previously documented in Loudoun County.
Pierce’s complete list of plants from the site can be viewed on iNaturalist, an online database and community of scientists and naturalists who record and share their projects and observations and a project of the National Geographic Society.
While some species still need to be identified, so far there have been some significant findings related to rare species collected and the potential submission of a county record.
Roundabout Meadows is located at Gilberts Corner, where PEC has helped protect more than 325 acres of land in an important transition zone between the historic, rural landscapes of western Loudoun County and the newer suburban neighborhoods to the east. At 141 acres, Roundabout Meadows is a highly visible showcase for ecologically responsible agricultural practices and their effects on habitat quality for native plants and animals.
Because Gilberts Corners lies within the 386-square-mile Goose Creek watershed that drains to the Potomac River, PEC’s work focuses on improving water quality and restoring wetland and upland habitat.
“We expect the effects of our restoration work to be substantial, but we lack baseline data about the current plant biodiversity at Roundabout Meadows,” said PEC habitat specialist Celia Vuocolo.
“The students’ plant survey will establish that baseline for us, creating a checklist of plant species within the meadow today that will allow us to track and measure the effects of restoration activities in place over time,” Vuocolo said.
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