Vegetative Forage Quality and Moist-soil Management on Wetlands Reserve Program Lands in Mississippi

Fleming, Kathy; Kaminski, Richard M.; Tietjen, Todd; Schummer, Michael L.; Ervin, Gary N.; Nelms, Kevin D.

doi:10.1007/s13157-012-0325-5

Cited by 15 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Agricultural landscapes also have multiple sources of colonizing herbs; for example, drainage ditches support wet vegetated habitats that can supply propagules of wetland herbs to restored areas (Herzon & Helenius ). The entire MAV landscape is covered by an extensive network of open field ditches and drainage channels that contain various herb and hydrophyte species (Bouldin et al ); hydrologically enhanced areas on afforested tracts also support wet‐site vegetation (Fleming et al ). Thus, WRP sites have nearby sources of herbaceous hydrophytes other than forest, which may account for lack of correlation with forest distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Local hydrology restoration is critical to improving functional services, given that recovering the historic flood regime is impractical. Adding hydrology enhancements on otherwise afforested tracts can also increase landscape‐scale diversity by supporting a different wetland flora from that which occurs under forest canopies (Haynes ; Fleming et al ; cf. Bruland & Richardson ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understory vegetation as an indicator for floodplain forest restoration in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, U.S.A.

Steven

Faulkner

Keeland

et al. 2015

Restoration Ecology

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In the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV), complete alteration of river-floodplain hydrology allowed for widespread conversion of forested bottomlands to intensive agriculture, resulting in nearly 80% forest loss. Governmental programs have attempted to restore forest habitat and functions within this altered landscape by the methods of tree planting (afforestation) and local hydrologic enhancement on reclaimed croplands. Early assessments identified factors that influenced whether planting plus tree colonization could establish an overstory community similar to natural bottomland forests. The extent to which afforested sites develop typical understory vegetation has not been evaluated, yet understory composition may be indicative of restored site conditions. As part of a broad study quantifying the ecosystem services gained from restoration efforts, understory vegetation was compared between 37 afforested sites and 26 mature forest sites. Differences in vegetation attributes for species growth forms, wetland indicator classes, and native status were tested with univariate analyses; floristic composition data were analyzed by multivariate techniques. Understory vegetation of restoration sites was generally hydrophytic, but species composition differed from that of mature bottomland forest because of young successional age and differing responses of plant growth forms. Attribute and floristic variation among restoration sites was related to variation in canopy development and local wetness conditions, which in turn reflected both intrinsic site features and outcomes of restoration practices. Thus, understory vegetation is a useful indicator of functional progress in floodplain forest restoration.• On former agricultural floodplains, some floristic differences between afforested sites and mature bottomland forests are a natural result of differing successional age. However, species-composition attributes of understory vegetation offer useful indicators of restoration progress. • Relative growth form composition (herbaceous vs. woody) reflects the role of tree-planting practices in establishing a forest overstory. Functional-group composition (based on wetland-fidelity rankings) can be an important indicator of hydrologic conditions and practices. • Active afforestation can restore forest habitat structure, but restoring local hydrology is key to enhancing functional ecosystem services such as nutrient retention and carbon sequestration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understory vegetation as an indicator for floodplain forest restoration in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, U.S.A.

Steven

Faulkner

Keeland

et al. 2015

Restoration Ecology

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“…Additionally, our protocols can be adapted for use by LCCs, NAWMP, and partners in other regions to acquire comparable data sets to guide habitat-conservation planning and implementation in North America. In Louisiana and Mississippi, our objectives were to estimate seed and waterbird densities and species richness on WRP lands in the MAV portions of these states, and compare these metrics between MBHI and non-managed sites within replicate landowner properties (e.g., Fleming 2010, Fleming et al 2012). We estimated relative abundances of detected waterbirds using conventional flush surveys from late summer 2011 through April 2012 (Fleming 2010, Weegman 2013.…”

Section: Waterbird and Seed Abundance And Diversity In Mbhi And Non-mmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We evaluated MBHI management practices generally associated with Farm Bill conservation programs at multiple scales in the MAV and GC regions (e.g., WRP; Fleming et al 2012, Olmstead et al 2013 Wetland Reserve Program particular aspects of MBHI; when and where integrated, projects were designed to enable spatiotemporal comparisons between MBHI-managed and paired non-managed wetlands and assess relative effects of different MBHI practices in providing habitat and food resources for migratory and resident waterbirds. Thus, our evaluation of MBHI was a designed natural experiment to assess management practices applied by incentivized landowners after the DWH oil spill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Framework for Ecological Assessment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Davis

Webb

Kaminski

et al. 2014

Southeastern Naturalist

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“…Although wetlands restored through WRP are essential to meeting regional wetland and wildlife habitat conservation goals (King & Keeland ; King et al ), efforts to evaluate management on restored WRP easements have been limited (cf., Kaminski et al ; Evans‐Peters et al ; Fleming et al , ; Olmstead et al ). Evaluating effects of management on food abundance and waterbird use of restored wetlands is important for understanding how these habitats contribute to meeting avian and habitat objectives of conservation initiatives, such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP; King et al ; North American Waterfowl Management Plan ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waterbird communities and seed biomass in managed and reference‐restored wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Tapp

Weegman

Webb

et al. 2017

Restoration Ecology

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) commenced the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) in summer 2010 after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The MBHI enrolled in the program 193,000 ha of private wet‐ and cropland inland from potential oil‐impaired wetlands. We evaluated waterfowl and other waterbird use and potential seed/tuber food resources in NRCS Wetland Reserve Program easement wetlands managed via MBHI funding and associated reference wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. In Louisiana and Mississippi, nearly three times more dabbling ducks and all ducks combined were observed on managed than reference wetlands. Shorebirds and waterbirds other than waterfowl were nearly twice as abundant on managed than referenced wetlands. In Arkansas and Missouri, managed wetlands had over twice more dabbling ducks and nearly twice as many duck species than reference wetlands. Wetlands managed via MBHI in Mississippi and Louisiana contained ≥1.3 times more seed and tuber biomass known to be consumed by waterfowl than reference wetlands. Seed and tuber resources did not differ between wetlands in Arkansas and Missouri. While other studies have documented greater waterbird densities on actively than nonmanaged wetlands, our results highlighted the potential for initiatives focused on managing conservation easements to increase waterbird use and energetic carrying capacity of restored wetlands for waterbirds.

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Vegetative Forage Quality and Moist-soil Management on Wetlands Reserve Program Lands in Mississippi

Cited by 15 publications

References 23 publications

Understory vegetation as an indicator for floodplain forest restoration in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, U.S.A.

Understory vegetation as an indicator for floodplain forest restoration in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, U.S.A.

Comprehensive Framework for Ecological Assessment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Waterbird communities and seed biomass in managed and reference‐restored wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

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