Drive across the coastal plain of North Carolina and you might pass through open woods dominated by tall pine trees and grasses. Look closely and you might spot trunks stained by soot from the fires longleaf pine forests need to thrive. Michael Izzo, a senior studying plant biology, spent his summer at the Blackwater Ecological Preserve in Zuni, Virginia studying the plants and insects that call these forests home. 

Izzo’s summer research project explored how different burn histories affected which species were present and how well they grew. He also looked at the impact manually removing plants had on those left behind, and which plants grew back after they were removed. 

“Blackwater is a pretty unique property, because as far as we are aware, it is one of the furthest north, old-stand, longleaf pine habitats. It’s one of the few sites that are in Virginia with mature longleaf pines, and of those it is one of the oldest,” shared Izzo. 

Longleaf pine forests historically stretched from Virginia to Texas across the coastal plain. Since Blackwater is at the northernmost range of the longleaf pine forest, some species can be found there that aren’t found further south. On the other hand, some species found in longleaf pine forests further south aren’t found that far north. 

Izzo’s work is particularly useful for scientists exploring the range of different plants and efforts to conserve and restore longleaf pine forests. Plants may be found in one site that are absent from a site across a small dirt road with a different burn history. “It’s really cool to get to work with and begin documenting these species that aren’t typically found this far north or south in this ecosystem and are only seen under special conditions.”

Although Izzo’s area of study is plants, he had the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers and work with the resident animals and insects who call the longleaf pine forests home. “It’s really cool getting to not only contribute my own piece of the puzzle with plant data, but also see the broader picture as it ties into other disciplines such as ecology or zoology.” 

For other students looking for summer internships, Izzo recommends reaching out to programs and using your network. Sometimes, he explains, “opportunities are going to come through weird side branches of your life that you would never think that they could come through.”

This post was originally published in Plant and Microbial Biology.