Guilford College Woods

Herpetological Census, 2000-2008

During the fall in alternate years, students from the Vertebrate Field Zoology course (BIOL 235) census the reptiles and amphibians in the College Woods during one or two field trips in late August and early September. The results of those surveys vary from year to year, of course, depending on the weather conditions (for example, whether there has been a drought during the previous summer) and the number of students participating in the census. Typically, we survey the edges of the College Lake, the stream through the woods in several locations, and forested drier slopes throughout the woods.

Courtesy of Lynn Moseley.

Bird Species Checklist 
The Guilford College campus is home to a wide diversity of bird species. The main campus area where most of the academic and residential buildings are located, the College Lake and adjacent wetland areas, and the College Woods provide three distinct habitat types for various species. Bird populations vary as the seasons change. Ornithologists recognize four different categories of birds according to the time in which they inhabit an area. Permanent Residents are found on campus year-round. Winter Visitors fly south to our area for the non-breeding season, and can be found on campus between Fall Break and Spring Break (October through March). Summer Residents spend the winter in the Neotropics, then return after Spring Break for the breeding season

Migrants (or Passage Migrants) winter to the south and breed to the north, so they pass through our area only during a short window of time in fall and spring migration. The checklist provided indicates the abundance, residence status, and location for birds on the Guilford campus. Courtesy of Lynn Moseley.

Herpetological Checklist

This list includes all species of reptiles and amphibians that could potentially occur in the Guilford College Woods. Not all of these species have yet been documented on College property.  Courtesy of Lynn Moseley.

Invasive Plants at Guilford College: Extent, Impact, and Management

Undergraduate thesis by Ian Breckheimer ‘06 focused on invasive plants management at Guilford College, with a focus on Akebia (Akebia quinata) a comparatively little-known invasive vine.  A presentation based on this thesis was the winner of a national Brooks award for undergraduate research granted by Tri-Beta Biological Society. 

Guilford College Biology Theses on the Woods

The Guilford Woods have been the subject of a number of theses from the Biology Department over the years. Theses are located in Hege Library in the Friends Historical Collection's College Archives. Contact archives@guilford.edu to access.

Undisturbed Soils, Landscapes, and Vegetation in a North Carolina Piedmont Virgin Forest

McCracken, R.J., R. B. Daniels, and W.E. Fulcher. " Undisturbed Soils, Landscapes, and Vegetation in a North Carolina Piedmont Virgin Forest." Soil Science Society of America Journal, 53:1146-1152 (1989).

This article, written by R. J. McCracken, R. B. Daniels, and former Guilford biology professor William E. Fulcher and published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal in 1989, reveals that soil in parts of the Guilford Woods have been undisturbed by farming or development. The journal is available online through Guilford's Hege Library. 
ABSTRACT:
The North Carolina Piedmont has been fanned for nearly 200 years and there is considerable concern about the effect of soil erosion on the productivity of Piedmont soils. Most attempts to assess the effect of erosion on soil properties and productivity have few comparable virgin areas to use for baseline data. Fortunately, a 12-ha virgin tract, mapped as Cecil sandy loam, B and C slopes, was located on the Guilford College campus in Greensboro, NC. The purpose of our study was to quantify the physical and chemical properties of a virgin Cecil soil map unit and to compare soil properties and distribution to that of cultivated sites. Detailed studies of the surficial sediments, geomorphology and soil morphology were made along five transects run at right angles to the topographic trend. Maps of hillslope sediment thickness and geomorphic surfaces were made using the information from the transects and bore holes. Pedons were sampled by landscape position for laboratory analyses. Horizon thickness and depth to residual material varied with landscape position. Nutrient status of all virgin soil horizons are very low, especially when compared to cultivated sites.