Antietam National Battlefield is widely recognized for its historical significance, but its forests also hold a rich natural history that reflects both the region’s geology and centuries of human land use. The battlefield supports populations of several rare native plant species, many of which are restricted to specific habitats associated with limestone geology, mature forests, and unique topographic conditions. Understanding why these species occur where they do is important for conserving Maryland’s botanical diversity, particularly as forests continue to face pressures from habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and changing land-use patterns.
This presentation discusses a recent study of rare forest plants at Antietam National Battlefield that combines botanical surveys with soil data, topographic analyses, and historical aerial imagery to investigate the factors influencing rare plant occurrence. The research reveals how interactions among geology, landscape features, and past land use help explain the distribution of rare species across the battlefield’s forests and provides insights for conserving native plant communities in Maryland and beyond.
Dr. Vanessa Beauchamp is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Towson University, where she teaches classes in plant ecology and botany. With a BS in Biology from the University of California, Irvine, and a PhD in Plant Biology from Arizona State University, she has 25 years of experience working with plant communities from the desert Southwest to the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont. Her other research interests include urban forest succession, effects of deer browse on ecosystem processes, and ecology of streamside (riparian) plant communities. A large part of her research program involves practical applications related to management, conservation, and restoration of plant communities.
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