Management of Longleaf Pine Woodlands for Threatened and Endangered Species

Abstract

Longleaf pine woodlands on military installations support multiple uses, including the Department of Defense (DoD) training and testing mission; threatened, endangered, and sensitive species (TES) conservation; and forest commodities (e.g., timber, pine straw) production. This report documents strategies to manage TES and their habitats on a plant community basis, using methods that apply to multiple species, and using methods that apply across the southeastern region of the United States. This report combines the pine flatwoods and sandhills communities because they have several features that link them. Ecological descriptions are provided for each community, along with available information about community occurrences on DoD installations throughout the southeast region. Known occurrences of plant and animal TES associated with longleaf pine woodlands on DoD lands are also reported. Known and potential impacts to the integrity of longleaf pine woodlands as TES habitat, and to associated species are reported. Impacts may be related to habitat fragmentation, or changes in community composition, structure and function due to altered fire regime, hydrologic patterns, soil stability and structure, groundcover integrity, or the invasion of exotic or pest species. Management recommendations are made within an ecosystembased, adaptive management context.

Feral swine management for conservation of an imperiled wetland habitat: Florida’s vanishing seepage slopes

“…The total number of plant species observed in each plot was also recorded. Among the measured vegetative variables listed in Table 1, the percent cover of toothache grass Ctenium aromaticum, wiregrass Aristida beyrichiana, and herbaceous cover (forbs and graminoids) were of particular interest, as coverage by these grasses is an indicator of seepage slope health (Harper et al, 1998). Also of particular interest among the variables in Table 1 were several state-listed threatened and endangered species including: whitetop pitcher plant Sarracenia leucophylla, red-flowered pitcher plant Sarracenia rubra, spoonflower Peltandra sagittifolia, as well as species groupings, such as bogbuttons and asters that could include other state-listed species.…”

“…Seepage slope soils are saturated but are rarely inundated by water. Many rare and endemic species are found on seepage slopes including insectivorous plants and several species of orchids and lilies (Florida Natural Areas Inventory [FNAI] 1990, Kindell et al, 1997Harper et al, 1998). Only 1% of the original extent of seepage slopes in Florida is estimated to remain, with Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB) in northeast Florida containing some of the largest remaining tracks, thus making the base particularly important for conservation of this habitat (FNAI, 1990;Kindell et al, 1997).…”

Management of Florida Scrub for Threatened and Endangered Species

“…Scrub communities are closely associated with xeric longleaf pine sandhills and other pyrogenic plant communities. Earlier reports from this SERDP work unit include summaries of management recommendations for a number of these associated communities (Harper et al 1997 andHohmann, 1998). While conducting research for this report, researchers found management recommendations pertaining to species inhabiting both scrub and longleaf pine woodlands that tended to be biased toward longleaf pine.…”

Impacts from control operations on a recreationally hunted feral swine population at a large military installation in Florida

“…The wet season lasts, on average, 133 days from May 21 to October 1, while the dry season, despite being almost twice as long, from October 2 to May 20, has only half the rainfall (Slocum et al 2010), thereby drying soil moisture and lowering water levels especially in seasonal low-elevation wetlands. A variety of seasonal wetland plant communities found on the base are highly sensitive to ground disturbance (e.g., seepage slopes, wet flatwoods, wet prairies, and peaty marshes) and harbor many rare and endemic plants (Bridges and Orzell 1999;Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2010;Harper et al 1998;Orzell 1997). The climate's seasonality coupled with the pronounced elevation gradient from wet to xeric plant communities and the resultant fluctuations in soil moisture causes wetland plant communities to be seasonally vulnerable to feral swine rooting.…”