Monitoring is a key activity in management and restoration, yet practitioners' choices among methods may be limited by available resources. Coefficients of Conservatism (C values) have been widely used among practitioners because they are easy to apply. To determine C, expert botanists assign species in a flora to one of 11 categories, from 0 to 10, with “0” assigned to species most tolerant of human disturbance, and “10” to species of highest-quality native habitats. Although first proposed over 30 y ago, C values are criticized as subjective, creating a need for external validation using independently derived metrics. Our study corroborates earlier validations of C values for forest understory species. Our work was made possible by consistent collection of herbaceous layer data from 126 plots at 38 sites across Iowa, USA, spanning five types of forests common in the Midwest: secondary, grazed, urban, managed (timber), and preserved. We used PCA to develop an independent metric of human disturbance (LH_i) based on five plant attributes (exotic, annual, biennial, closed-canopy specialist, mesic-site specialist, and fern) that are determined apart from species' C values. We found high correlation between mean C and LH_i (r = 0.837) and an identical pattern of means for these indices between the five forest types, with secondary forests having lowest and preserved forests highest values. This evidence supports earlier assertions that mean C provides a valid, simple, and inexpensive means to assess qualitative differences in the forest herbaceous layer of upland mesic forests due to human disturbance.

Three native palms are dominant features of the pine rocklands understory of peninsular southern Florida: sabal palm (Sabal palmetto), saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), and silver palm (Coccothrinax argentata). Despite the abundance of these three palm species, the breeding system and pollination mechanisms need further clarification. We used controlled hand-pollination experiments to investigate the breeding systems of these three species. We also observed and captured floral visitors, as well as examined their bodies for pollen, to determine the pollinator assemblages. Our experiments demonstrated that all three palms are self-compatible, and some flowers may set fruit with no manipulation. Natural (open) pollination treatments yielded more fruit than either cross- or self-pollination, indicating no shortage of pollination and suggesting that multiple visits by many pollinators enhances fruit set. We observed a wider variety of visitors (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera) to flowers of sabal and saw palmetto, as they offer both nectar and pollen. On flowers of silver palm, we observed only pollen-collecting bees. We found evidence of palm flower specialists in only two cases: Xylocopa micans bees carried only Coccothrinax pollen and Anartia jatrophae butterflies carried only Sabal pollen. All other visitors appeared to be generalists as they carried pollen from multiple plant species. These results highlight the importance of subcanopy palms in the pine rocklands ecosystem as they provide floral rewards for a wide array of insects that are beneficial for other plants of this imperiled habitat.

Pine flatwoods ecosystems of the Gulf Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States are known for their species richness, mainly contributed by herbaceous groundcover. However, intensive silvicultural operations and exclusion of fire over a large extent of these ecosystems in the past century has led to a serious depletion of groundcover diversity. Consequently, restoration of these ecosystems has become a high priority for ecological management of forests in the area. The present study was carried out at mesic-hydric flatwoods sites in northwest Florida to examine the effects of restoration activities, including varying intensities of thinning and prescribed burning, on the dynamics of the vegetation and the soil seed bank composition and structure. Three site conditions—degraded, partially restored, and restored—representing a restoration management gradient were sampled for aboveground vegetation and soil seed bank. Vegetation and seed bank composition changed following restoration activities. However, there was little effect on the seed bank structure across the site conditions. A total of 24, 59, and 124 species in the aboveground vegetation, and 26, 39, and 64 species in the seed bank were observed in degraded, partially restored, and restored site conditions, respectively. Most of the species in the seed bank were ruderal, although native. The effect of site conditions on seed density and seed species richness and diversity was not statistically significant. However, these characteristics did vary significantly with the soil depth (main effect) where the soil sample was taken. Higher seed densities were observed in top 0–5 and 5–10 cm than 10–15 cm soil depths across all sites. Seed banks tended to resemble each other more than the vegetation and the vegetation and seed bank across all sites. The presence of mostly ruderal species in seed bank in degraded site indicates that seed bank is not a good source of regeneration of typical flatwoods communities.

We evaluated the influence of preestablished plant species distance, direction, and identity on antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata Pursh) seedling establishment and biomass production. Antelope bitterbrush seeds were planted 10- and 20-cm away from the base of three preestablished plant species. We monitored seedling establishment and growth during and after two growing seasons. Sowing antelope bitterbrush seeds 20-cm away from preestablished plant bases yielded 1.59 times greater seedling establishment than seeds sown 10-cm away, suggesting that established plants interfere with bitterbrush recruitment. Antelope bitterbrush seedling survival after 2 y of growth was greater than 96% for all treatments, suggesting that early growth phases were the primary bottlenecks to establishment. Antelope bitterbrush forage production decreased with proximity to preestablished plants. After 2 y of growth, antelope bitterbrush biomass was almost 3 times greater for plants grown without preestablished plant neighbors or with a preestablished grass (Elymus elymoides Raf.) than with preestablished forb species (Dalea candida Michx. ex Willd. or Gaillardia aristata Pursh). Inoculating preestablished plants with soil from native sites or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi did not influence antelope bitterbrush establishment or growth. We suggest that plant trait complementarity and spatial relationships can be used to design seeding strategies to increase antelope bitterbrush establishment and forage production.

Conservation of global biodiversity requires studies of rare taxa at high risk for extinction due to anthropogenic impacts. Rhodiola integrifolia subsp. leedyi (Leedy's roseroot, Crassulaceae) is a rare cliff-dwelling subspecies federally listed as threatened in the United States. Thought to be glacial relicts, all seven known populations of Leedy's roseroot are endemic to cliffs, likely in large part due to the specific environmental factors at these cliffs. This study took place at Glenora Cliffs, New York, the location of the largest population of this subspecies in the world. We identified habitat factors associated with Leedy's roseroot occurrence by comparing areas where Leedy's roseroot was present to adjacent areas where Leedy's roseroot was absent. Leedy's roseroot occurrence was associated with increased light, lower height on the cliff, geologic features of the cliff including greater degree of water seeping from crevices, higher plant species richness, and higher mean temperatures, with temperature trends varying over the growing season. Leedy's roseroot stem length was correlated with decreased light and temperature, and cliff features. Analysis of the Glenora Cliffs plant species community suggested seepage and cliff features structure the community. Leedy's roseroot co-occurred with other cliff-dwelling species that may serve as indicators of Leedy's roseroot habitat. Our characterization of habitat factors associated with Leedy's roseroot supports its glacial relict status, suggests global climate change may impact it differently than most plant species, and informs management and potential ex situ conservation of this rare subspecies.

Exotic species are fairly common within cities. However, urban areas also contain isolated fragments of original ecosystems, which may act as small ecological reserves. Unfortunately, these natural areas that are completely surrounded by urban structures are more vulnerable to human-induced disturbance and to the presence of nonnative species. Given the importance of these remnants of original ecosystems embedded within cities, efforts must be made to know if, once a nonnative species enters an urban reserve, it occupies the majority of the area or becomes restricted to some specific patches. This knowledge is important to determine the invasiveness and success of nonnative species, as well as the level of threat to the native biota. Additionally, it is important to understand which microhabitat conditions promote the presence and establishment of such nonnative species. Here, we used occupancy models to estimate the proportion of the total area that is occupied by exotic species of plants and animals within a natural reserve completely surrounded by urban areas. We also examined which environmental factors are associated with the presence of these exotic plants and animals. Our results revealed that occupancy of nonnative species is relatively high (>40%) within this urban reserve. However, we found an overall preference of nonnatives for specific patches of the reserve where human-made structures are present and where gardening activities take place. Some of the species that we studied deserve special attention because of their potential negative effects on native species.

Despite historically dominating many landscapes of the southeastern United States, old-growth stands of southern pine (Pinus palustris, P. elliottii var. densa, P. elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii, P. echinata, and P. taeda) are extremely rare and have high ecological value, but may be underrepresented and mischaracterized due to small fragment size and restrictive definitions. Such misunderstanding is a barrier to future old-growth management and conservation. To quantify, characterize, and conserve these remnants, we conducted inventories for five species of old-growth southern pines on 16 sites across ∼44,110 forested ha managed by the Florida Park Service. We used characteristics of old-growth pines and forests from the literature to locate potential sites and assess status and threats. This inventory documented 4697.5 ha of old-growth southern pines in 16 parks throughout Florida. The median size stand we inventoried or included due to existing documentation is 121 ha, with stands as small as eight ha and as large as 2020 ha. Despite their small relative extent, these stands harbor rare, threatened, or endangered species and represent significant conservation areas in the region. A threat common to most of the old-growth stands in Florida State Parks is complications from reintroduction of prescribed fire following prolonged fire exclusion. Heavy fuel loading and invasion of off-site species has resulted in high post-fire mortality linked to both forest floor duff consumption and overstory crown consumption. Management measures are presented to improve conditions of old-growth southern pines in Florida State Parks, and have relevance to broader conservation efforts in the southeastern USA.

Describing historic wildlife communities is important for evaluating changes in ecosystems through time and developing contemporary objectives for conservation and restoration. The early historical record in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been analyzed many times using a small number of written accounts, with interpretations vigorously disputed among historians, scientists, and other stakeholders. We compiled a comprehensive narrative of thousands of first-hand accounts of wildlife in the ecosystem during 1796–1881, summarized them in a georeferenced relational database, and categorized and mapped output from queries to clarify conflicting past perceptions and gain insights for contemporary management issues. The historical record indicates large mammals such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), and wolves (Canis lupus) were present and widespread in present-day Yellowstone National Park and the larger ecosystem prior to Euro-American colonization. However, casual observations could not be used to estimate population sizes, relative abundances, seasonal movements and migration routes, or periods of occupancy with certainty. Despite these shortcomings, the approach was useful for informing contemporary management issues regarding wolf restoration, seasonal distributions of ungulates, and whether mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) were native to the Yellowstone area. Similar evaluations could be conducted elsewhere to clarify historic wildlife conditions and provide reference information for modern conservation decisions.

The historic Wiley Ranch is located in western Nevada where progressive stewardship and management, with the cooperation of the landowner and state and federal agencies, is addressing past resource abuses. In this note I detail those abuses and the restorative actions, and make recommendations for further improvements.