Committee Chair

Shaw, Joey

Committee Member

Manning-Berg, Ashley; Chatzimanolis, Stylianos; Crabtree, Todd

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

A vascular plant inventory of Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area, Coffee County, Tennessee was performed over the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. The site is a 1,395-ha area located 10km east of Manchester, Tennessee in the Barrens region of the Eastern Highland Rim. A total of 698 species and lower taxa from 349 genera and 127 families were inventoried. Two species were G1 or G2, 35 species were listed on the Tennessee Rare Plant List, and 209 species were S1 or S2. Additionally, all known digitized herbarium specimens from the nearby May Prairie State Natural Area were cataloged, creating a preliminary vascular plant checklist of 387 species. Furthermore, a list of 128 species believed to reside in the May Prairie State Natural Area, were identified for targeted specimen collection. Most rare species were found to reside in geographically isolated wetlands, which are under imminent threat of deregulation in Tennessee.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and the generous donors at Breedlove, Dennis & Associates, Inc. for supporting me through graduate school and supplying the means of my education. I would like to express utmost gratitude to my parents, Melissa and Clark Towery, for instilling in me a passion for science and the outdoors from a young age. The two most influential people from my high school education, Jeremy Byrn and the late John Newman, who both guided me on my current trajectory into the Sciences. My mentors during my undergraduate education, Mary Arthur and Rob Paratley, who helped shape my world view and have always supported my botany journey. My committee members, Ashley Manning-Berg, Stylianos Chatzimanolis, and Todd Crabtree, who have all been extremely supportive and helpful in the creation of this document. And lastly, my advising professor, Joey Shaw, who’s work ethic and motivation is contagious. He pushed me to work harder throughout my entire graduate school experience than any previous employer. Because of his motivation and know-how, I was able to accomplish more in two years than I had ever thought was possible. Thank you!

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2025

Subject

Botanical surveys--Tennessee--Coffee County; Rare plants--Tennessee; Vascular plants--Collection and preservation--Tennessee--Coffee County; Wetland conservation--Tennessee

Location

Coffee County (Tenn.)

Keyword

Flora, Tennessee, Vegetation, Rare species, Coffee County, Barrens

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xii, 99 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date Available

6-1-2026

Download

Available for download on Monday, June 01, 2026

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