April 17th, 2025 from 12pm to 1pm EDT
Speaker: Samantha Guercio
Bio: Sam is an undergraduate Biology major at Arcadia University. Her focus is centered around ecology and conservation with a specific interest in dendrochronology. Her future goals include broadening her knowledge of ecological studies through a professional lens, contributing to protection and restoration of natural ecosystems, and mitigating the negative impacts of environmental change. Currently, Sam is completing her first research project with Dr. Lauren Howard, investigating the fire frequency and its correlation to human interference in Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland.
Webinar: Rocky Gap State Park, Maryland and its surrounding area has an extensive and rich fire history, although it is not thoroughly studied. To fill in historical gaps and expand the knowledge and understanding of local fire frequency, this study will create a chronology extending as far back as the 1600s, including recordings of visible fire scars. Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), and Table Mountain Pine (Pinus pungens) are two extremely fire adaptive species due to their thick bark, high resin content, and deep roots making them ideal to analyze fire scars. A total of 18 Pine trees with multiple cross sections were sampled, recorded, and cross dated using computer software (CooRecorder, CDendro, and FHAES). Fire scars were labeled based on seasonality to gather a more detailed fire frequency analysis. During the webinar I will be discussing the significance to understanding regional fire history, giving additional background on human interference of forests, reviewing my methods, and my reporting on my findings. I will also be explaining how my results demonstrate the negative effects of 18th and 19th century industrialization, logging, and fire suppression.
