Understanding human use of landscapes is important for managing recreational lands. Predicting human behavior is difficult, however, and methods for assessing human habitat use could benefit from advances in other fields. Habitat selection methods from wildlife ecology provide useful tools for studying such topics. We present a case study of the adoption of wildlife habitat selection methods to human land use. We use the locations of recreational shooters in Idaho and environmental features along with a species distribution model (that uses a presence-only modeling framework) to identify features associated with shooting locations. Additionally, we derive maps of the predicted suitability of locations for recreational shooting. These results illustrate the way habitat selection methods from wildlife ecology can be translated to research on human space use and highlight the potential for adoption of such methods. Providing land managers with maps that predict human use in natural landscapes may aid in the identification of areas of conflict and the implementation of management.

We monitored Roswell springsnail (Pyrgulopsis roswellensis), Koster's springsnail (Juturnia kosteri), and Noel's amphipod (Gammarus desperatus), three endangered aquatic invertebrates, from 2014 through 2017 at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Chaves County, New Mexico. We initiated the effort to develop baseline abundance estimates in a rigorous, repeatable framework, and to inform long-term monitoring efforts. Surveys were focused on three spring systems. Density estimates for the two species of springsnails combined ranged from 7870 ± 1693 SE snails per m² (CV = 22%) to 39,704 ± 10,035 SE snails per m² (CV = 25%) in the three systems combined. Noel's amphipod density estimates ranged from 144 ± 42 SE individuals per m² (CV = 29%) to 404 ± 109 SE individuals per m² (CV = 27%). We can detect a proportional change (α = 0.1, power = 0.8) in density ranging from 30% to 60% in Bitter Creek, Sago Springs, and the Snail Unit. We predicted increases in statistical power that could be gained from increases in survey effort. Because of seasonal changes in density in some systems, year-to-year evaluation of trends must be focused on a given season. Likewise, seasonal changes in spring flows may impact density estimates. We provide estimates of density, precision, and power that can inform future efforts to monitor both species status and restoration efforts.

The decline and extinction of native plant species is a global conservation crisis, and there is a need for rapid prioritization of our conservation efforts. In the USA, the two main systems used to identify at-risk species, Threatened and Endangered (T&E) status and conservation status ranks by NatureServe (G- and S-ranks), are categorical and typically assessed with large-scale criteria, thus are not ideal to aid practitioners in developing priorities at smaller scales. Our goal was to develop a continuous risk assignment for plant species using monitoring data collected at a smaller scale so that limited conservation resources can be better prioritized among at-risk species. To do this, we modified a count-based population viability analysis to produce two regional, species-level viability metrics: a regional growth rate and a regional 50-y probability of extinction. Our validation exercises confirmed these metrics could reliability place 24 rare forb species along a continuous scale of viability. We identified nine species (37.5% of those analyzed) in need of conservation effort in northern Illinois. The challenges we faced developing these metrics and our solutions are discussed more generally to improve rare plant species monitoring practices. Overall, this method is an innovative expansion of the use of population size monitoring data to inform conservation beyond the population.

The southern Cumberland Plateau is a resilient landscape, meaning one that can resist or rebound from a suite of interacting disturbances such as climate change, herbivore release, introduced pathogens, and fire suppression. This region possesses several attributes that contribute to landscape resilience, including topographic variability, high species diversity, geological heterogeneity, and landscape connectivity. However, individual communities within the region may have different levels of resiliency. We used a 19-year study of forest change in two adjacent Cumberland Plateau communities to test for differences in ecological resistance to species loss. We found that the study area experienced a net loss of 7 species, with more species disappearing from the cove (–9 species) than the upland (–3 species). In the cove forest, the smallest size classes experienced significant species loss, with a mean loss of 4.8 and 6.0 species for sapling size classes, leading to a skewed size distribution with the majority of woody species represented by large adults. Upland communities maintained their structure, possibly due to a greater prevalence of stem and root sprouting species. From these results, we conclude that the upland community was more resistant to species loss and better maintained its structure compared to the cove community. Differential change between two adjacent communities highlights that the purported landscape resilience of the southern Cumberland Plateau may vary between its two most dominant communities.

As wildfires become more frequent and severe in the United States, effective post-fire intervention is increasingly important for soil and plant conservation. Erosion control is often necessary after wildfire, but methods vary in effectiveness and impacts on vegetation. Little is known about the effects of hydroseed, an erosion control product, on post-fire plant recovery trajectories. Hydroseed was applied to control erosion of sandy soils after the 2011 wildfire in the Lost Pines region of Texas. Pre-fire, the region was dominated by loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), an obligate-seeder, and resprouting oak species, including sand post oak (Quercus margaretta). We investigated the effects of hydroseed and burn severity on pine and oak recovery in Bastrop State Park, within the Lost Pines. Forty-six permanent plots were surveyed 1999–2015; hydroseed was applied to 15 plots post-fire. Hydroseed inhibited P. taeda regeneration in the first post-fire year but had no subsequent effect on P. taeda seedling numbers, and no effect on Q. margaretta resprout numbers in any year. P. taeda seedling numbers were greatest in lower burn severity plots in the first post-fire year and increased following high rain in 2015. Q. margaretta resprout numbers were greatest in higher burn severity plots in the first post-fire year only. Our results suggest that hydroseed may reduce initial post-fire pine recruitment but is unlikely to permanently alter long-term woody plant community recovery in this region; burn severity may be a more important factor. Further research is warranted to examine the effects of hydroseed on herbaceous plant communities.

The Berry College Longleaf Pine Management Area (BCLPMA) harbors one of the few old-growth mountain longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests. Like many remnant longleaf pine forests, Berry College's stands have been fire-suppressed for decades. Since 2003, ∼160 ha of the BCLPMA has been managed using prescribed burns and herbicide injection of hardwoods with the goal of achieving an open, pine-dominated canopy, low duff, litter, and downed woody fuels, increased groundcover vegetation, and improved longleaf pine recruitment. Canopy tree structure was quantified using the point-quarter method in eight managed and five unmanaged stands in 2004 and 2014. Understory vegetation and downed woody fuels were estimated in a subset of these stands in 2003/2004 and 2015 using a plane-intercept method. Data from mountain longleaf pine stands in Alabama were included as external frequently burned and fire-suppressed references. Overall canopy and understory structure of managed stands has moved over time in the direction of frequently burned external reference stands. Longleaf pine basal area has been maintained and importance values have increased with management despite the loss of some canopy trees associated with duff smoldering after burning. Duff and litter levels have decreased substantially in managed stands, while understory plant cover (herbs, grasses, shrubs, vines, and small trees) has increased. Downed woody fuels, which have varied as a result of fire events, have generally dropped in managed stands, whereas longleaf pine recruitment has increased. Results show progress being made in restoring the vegetative structure to desired conditions and may inform analogous restoration projects throughout the mountain longleaf pine ecosystem.

Alvars are globally rare ecosystems occurring mostly in the Great Lakes region of North America and the Baltic region of northern Europe. They are defined by calcareous rock (dolostone, limestone, or marble) plains with exposed pavement, thin soil with grasslands, or forested areas that are usually stunted. One of the largest alvars in the Great Lakes region is the Carden Alvar Natural Area (Carden), which is in southern Ontario ∼100 km NNE of Toronto and ∼25 km E of Orillia. In recent decades, recognition of the rare and uncommon species inhabiting Carden has led to the protection of 3035 of its ∼12,873 ha (24%). To continue to better understand Carden's wildlife, the first detailed survey of the lichens and allied fungi was completed in 2015 and is presented herein. The study was conducted on protected lands and revealed 199 species in 99 genera. Twenty-five species are provincially listed as S1 (critically imperiled), S2 (imperiled), or S3 (vulnerable) by the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, several species represent major range extensions in the province, and a high number (17) of species with cyanobacteria as their primary photobiont were discovered. Results from this study can assist land managers in Carden to identify areas of high conservation value, develop sound conservation strategies, and justify the purchase or donation of additional property for conservation purposes.

The objectives of this study were to reconstruct historical fire regime characteristics of red pine (Pinus resinosa) forests in the Adirondack Mountains, and to highlight potential implications for the conservation and preservation of fire-dependent natural communities. Tree-ring dating of dead and living fire-scarred trees at two sites produced records spanning from 1577 to 2015. Historical fire years spanned the years 1693 to 1913 with a concentration of events in the mid-1800s. Fires were primarily low to moderate severity, dormant-season events that were not associated with summer drought. The historical fire record establishes that fire disturbances were historically present in the Adirondack Mountains and silvicultural intervention (e.g., prescribed burning) may be needed to maintain fire-dependent red pine communities, thus preventing their inevitable succession to northern hardwoods.

While the sessile oak (Quercus petraea) may be widely distributed across Europe, it is somewhat rare on the NE Iberian Peninsula, its southern distribution and xeric limit. Understanding the relationship this forest has with not only climate factors but also with past human activity is important. This study aims to analyze the species composition and structure of sessile oak forests that form the xeric limit populations as well as examine the effect environmental factors have on them. The work was focused on the southernmost sessile oak forest, the Montseny Massif populations, which have a marked environmental Mediterranean influence. The sessile oak forest types were defined from field inventories and a cluster analysis classified the inventoried stands into five forest types. The compositional differences among the forest types were the result of past land uses and the intensity of forestry activity 50 y ago. Furthermore, the species composition is influenced by environmental factors, because more hydric stress promotes Mediterranean species. The study concludes that sessile oak are recovering from past forestry activity.

Research Natural Areas (RNAs) are federal lands designated to protect exemplary, relatively undisturbed ecosystems where ecological processes may proceed unencumbered with minimal human intervention. Ideally, RNAs serve as properly functioning reference sites for more heavily managed landscapes. However, many RNAs have been modified to some degree by past and ongoing human actions. In the western United States, these actions commonly result in altered disturbance regimes, most notably fire. Ecological disturbance regimes are important components of natural ecosystems, and major changes to such regimes challenge the usefulness of the RNA system as a reference network. To assess the extent of modern departure from their pre-Euroamerican settlement (i.e., pre-1850) fire regimes, we examined 64 RNAs on Forest Service lands in California. We found that 76% exhibited moderate to high fire regime departure. Of these, 87% are burning much less frequently than they would have under the presettlement fire regime and 13% are burning more frequently. Within RNAs, ecosystems historically characterized by frequent, mostly low-severity fire have missed multiple fire cycles and tend to burn at higher fire severities than expected under the presettlement fire regime. We present four case studies that demonstrate how recent wildfires have affected California RNAs. We also indicate where and how future fire management strategies could address altered fire regimes and more effectively sustain target ecosystems within RNAs. Our findings suggest that a re-examination of the hands-off approach to management in some protected natural areas like RNAs is needed.

Prior land use and soil legacies related to land use continue to play a significant role in ecosystem structure and functioning in the eastern deciduous forest. On the surface of the southern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, abandoned agricultural and home sites are characterized by unusual assemblages of tree species and ground cover, as well as light artifact scatters. To better understand the legacies of past land use on soil properties and forest composition in this region, we intensively sampled three home sites that were abandoned more than 70 y ago and compared them to adjacent forest controls. The home sites had significantly higher concentrations (soil A horizons) for eight of the fourteen elements studied. After examining our plots in ordination space by soil variables, we found that surface soil calcium and phosphorus concentrations were negatively associated to control plots and were the best indicators of intensive human disturbance. Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) had the highest importance value in the control forest, and the 23rd highest importance value at the home sites. There were 34 different species encountered at the home sites, including many species usually found at lower elevations in limestone-derived soils (e.g., Celtis occidentalis, Juglans nigra, Viburnum rufidulum, Fraxinus spp.). We recovered historic artifacts and charcoal from surface soils at all three sites, and prehistoric artifacts were found at two sites. Abandoned home sites are common throughout the eastern deciduous forest and evidence from this study indicates that land use legacies continue to influence forest dynamics several decades after anthropogenic inputs ceased.