I
was a Master's student in the Botany
Department at the University of Georgia. I completed my 
research
on the role of herbaceous legumes in the nitrogen cycle at Fort
Benning, Georgia. Fort Benning is located on the Piedmont-Coastal
Plain fall line and is under ecosystem management to promote longleaf
pine (Pinus
palustrus) through prescribed burns. The underlying soil types
(clayey to sandy) and fire regime may play a role in the distribution
of legumes, which in turn may have an affect on the distribution and
abundance of non-nitrogen fixing vegetation.
Background Information
I graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University
of Tennessee in December, 2000. I worked for the Environmental Sciences
Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a year studying invasive
plant species. I presented a talk on that work at the Southeastern Exotic
Pest Plant Council annual meeting last spring and presented a poster
at the Association of Southeastern Biologists as well. I have just submitted
a manuscript on my work with invasives to Castanea.