Sydney Clingo

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Saarinen, Emily

Area of Concentration

Agroecology and Environmental Studies

Abstract

Forest gardens mimic natural forest ecosystems in several ways, suggesting that research on forest ecosystems could be applied to forest gardens. The similarities of these systems could aid in closing the gap of knowledge that exists currently for forest gardens and their resilience to climate change, but more research is necessary. This thesis initiates a discussion on what makes Florida forest gardens resilient to climate change, focusing on factors that make forests resilient: the level of species diversity, perennials, natives, tolerance to extreme conditions, and the vertical layers or levels filled. With a focus on three forest garden sites located in the state of Florida — New College of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Bay Haven School of Basics Plus — I analyze what resilience factors are present, the implications these have for ecological resilience, and if management practices influence the presence of these factors. By conducting in-person interviews with the managers at each of the sites, current management practices, goals, and history of the site were able to be assessed. By analyzing an updated species list for each of the forest garden sites, the presence of factors that contribute to system resilience were able to be understood more clearly. Each site was analyzed as a unique ecosystem, considering local climate change impacts, and the strengths and weaknesses of that site. The results were then compared with one another to understand similarities among the sites. The results showed several similarities in management practices and the presence of resilience factors. Each of the forest garden sites, which were managed as multi-functional ecosystems, had all of the resilience factors present! This suggests that all of the forest gardens are ecologically resilient. Further research is necessary to confirm the strength of the ecological resilience of each site to climate change. Luckily, this thesis created a data point that can be used for this type of future research. I suggest that future research on forest gardens continues to focus on the benefits provided to communities where forest gardens exist, especially those most at-risk to climate change impacts.

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