Restoration of Longleaf Pine Ecosystems
Restoring longleaf pine to hydric soils: minimizing adverse effects
on native ground cover
Principle Investigators:
Joan Walker
Southern Research Station, USFS, Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634
Susan Cohen
Southern Research Station, USFS, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
(919) 549-4079
Funding for this project in the amount of $436,479 has been awarded
and work will begin Summer 2002.
Introduction
Large land areas, once dominated or co-dominated by longleaf pine, now
support different forest types, especially on wetter, more productive
sites. This is the result of historical land uses, especially fire suppression
and silvicultural preferences for other species. Marine Corps Base,
Camp Lejeune and other Department of Defense installations include former
longleaf pine lands and remnant longleaf pine habitats that support
federally protected plants and animals such as the endangered Red-cockaded
woodpecker (RCW). Management direction for the RCW calls for providing
longleaf pines with diverse herbaceous ground layers such as those that
historically characterized the frequently burned landscape. Most existing
longleaf pine stands occur on drier sites and traditional approaches
to restoring longleaf pine to wetter sites on the coastal plain require
intensive practices that compromise the integrity of the ground layer
vegetation. Land managers need better information about the efficacies
of alternative site preparation practices to support longleaf pine seedling
establishment without degrading the ground layer. Camp Lejeune personnel
recognized the need for this information and this research represents
the cooperative effort between Camp Lejeune and the US Forest Service.
Immediate and short-term effects of management treatments on ground
layer vegetation, and on longleaf pine establishment and early growth
will be evaluated with a controlled field experiment. Long-term effects
will be investigated by quantifying vegetation composition and structure
in mature plantations, and relating current conditions to known treatment
histories and to the vegetation in high quality natural areas. Thus,
the project will employ a unique blend of operational forestry techniques,
ecological sampling and analysis, historical and land-use research,
and multivariate analysis and modeling.
Objective
This project is designed to evaluate a range of site preparation methods
that could potentially be used to restore longleaf pine stands on sites
that no longer have a natural seed source. It will also determine the
impact of these methods on the extraordinarily diverse ground layers
that occur on moist, poorly drained sties.
Benefit
The results of this work will provide a scientific foundation for assessing
management choices for managing longleaf pine and associated species
on the landscape. The successful expansion of longleaf pine stands and
RCW habitat to wet, poorly drained sites will provide managers flexibility
for simultaneously maintaining defense-oriented training and fulfilling
DoD obligations to preserve endangered species. The results of these
studies will be used to support site preparation decisions, potentially
retaining management tools that might otherwise be restricted in the
revised RCW Recovery Plan. Implementing results from this study should
ensure the sustainability and native biodiversity of DoD managed ecological
systems, and reduce litigation potential for DoD installations with
RCWs. Results should be applicable to all military installations with
responsibilities for recovering the RCW.
The overall goal of this project is to strengthen the scientific basis
for selecting site preparation methods to restore longleaf pine to somewhat
poorly drained sites, while retaining and restoring the diverse ground
layers of these sites. The project objectives are related to two general
research questions, which represent complementary approaches to the
overall problem.
Question #1: What are the effects of selected
site preparation methods on ground layer vegetation, longleaf pine establishment
and early growth? This question will be addressed with a replicated
field experiment.
Objective 1--Quantify plant species abundance
and plant community diversity in treatment areas prior to site preparation
and planting, and at 1, 2, and 3 years after planting.
Objective 2--Quantify seedling survivorship
at 1 and 2 years after planting.
Objective 3--Quantify LLP seedling growth
and emergence from the grass stage at 3 years after planting.
Question #2: What are the persistent effects
of past plantation establishment practices on the structure and composition
of the ground layer vegetation on sites that historically supported
longleaf pine or a pine mixture including longleaf pine? Data to answer
this question will be collected by sampling plantations at least 25
years old, with known land use histories, and relatively undisturbed
longleaf pine stands. Multivariate statistical methods will be used
to describe relationships between past treatments and current conditions.
Objective 4--Compare vegetation in undisturbed
longleaf pine stands with vegetation in plantations, at least 25 years
old, on comparable sites.
Objective 5--Build models that describe
how past plantation establishment and other silvicultural practices
affect current vegetation.
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