Conservation management of Pinus palustris ecosystems from a landscape perspective

Abstract

Question: Do case studies from silvicultural and restoration studies and applied conservation management in second-growth Pinus palustris stands provide unique insights for conservation models? Methods: A review of management paradigms that conserve the high biological diversity and rare species, drawn from characteristics in both second-growth and old-growth stands, is presented for fire-maintained Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) forests. Results: A common assumption that old-growth stands provide the primary information for the development of conservation management strategies de-emphasizes lessons learned from second-growth and restoration studies. Primary conservation management goals for the Pinus palustris ecosystem include the perpetual regeneration of the fire-maintained forest and conservation of the characteristically high biological diversity and rare species. Several attributes, such as a sustained population of Picoides borealis (red-cockaded woodpecker), Aristida stricta (wiregrass)-dominated ground cover, and undisturbed upland-wetland ecotones, can predict a diverse and ecologically functional ecosystem. Such indicators are linked to critical structural and functional features of the system and reflect previous land management histories that suggest sustainable approaches. Conclusions: A traditional definition of 'old-growth' relying on overstorey may be limited in describing important features of healthy, diverse Pinus palustris ecosystems. Some characteristics are significantly more important for maintenance of diversity than age of the trees and these features may be present in old-or second-growth forests. We advocate that the management history, structural characteristics and landscape context of stands that harbour desirable conservation attributes (red-cockaded woodpeckers, wiregrass, gopher tortoises and undisturbed upland-wetland ecotones) can be used as indicators to identify important conservation and forest management principles.

Post-fire Mediterranean vegetation dynamics and diversity: A discussion of succession models

“…This supports the hypothesis that Egler's ''initial floristic composition'' model applies to post-fire dynamics in this Mediterranean ecosystem and others (Purdie and Slatyer, 1976;Trabaud and Lepart, 1980;Guo, 2001), as well as in temperate (e.g. Kirkman and Mitchell, 2006), boreal (e.g. Bergeron and Dubuc, 1989;Bergeron, 2000) or mountain forests (e.g.…”

Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: Effects on planted longleaf pine seedlings

“…We also observed that the H treatment did not increase seedling RCD in Control plots. Because overstory trees often limit the abundance of understory vegetation and longleaf pine seedling growth is strongly limited by competition with a dense overstory (Kirkman and Mitchell, 2006;Mitchell et al, 2006), it is likely that the herbicide release treatment was ineffective at increasing resource availability in unthinned plots. However, the H treatment significantly increased seedling RCD in MedBA, Low-BA, and SG plots, suggesting that herbicide application would benefit the initial growth of planted longleaf pine seedlings under a loblolly pine canopy retained at an intermediate level.…”

Soil fungal communities respond compositionally to recurring frequent prescribed burning in a managed southeastern US forest ecosystem

“…To properly maintain forest stands for silviculture, fire must be implemented to retain the fire-adapted species and remove competing fire sensitive species (Waldrop et al, 1992;Glitzenstein et al, 1995;Callaham et al, 2012). In many natural southern forest types, fire exclusion can lead to successional changes away from the diverse, fire-adapted ecosystems that developed there following Pleistocene glaciations (Abrahamson and Hartnett, 1990;Kirkman and Mitchell, 2006). Prescribed fire is viewed as a tool for restoration of these ecosystems, and frequent fires can result in overall improvement in terms of plant species richness, and animal food and habitat requirements (Ligon et al, 1986;Kowal et al, 2013;Steen et al, 2013).…”