Hillcane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a newly split species of cane, exists in watersheds around Sewanee. Thomas Walters (C'15) set up a design to track hillcane culm density across five populations in 2014. Thomas also applied fire treatments to determine whether fire promoted culm growth, but there appears to be an overall trend of mass mortality within all plots.
In 2015, lab members Katie Kull and Callie Oldfield returned to permanent markers to record hillcane culm height and density. They completed the fieldwork in October!