Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) and glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus Mill.) are considered invasive plants in North America, capable of displacing native vegetation. Their invasion often results in decreased biodiversity and weakened ecosystem resilience. Therefore, their removal is important for forest restoration. Invasive buckthorns are often managed using chemical herbicides and manual removal. We sought to determine the efficacy of Chondrostereum purpureum (a naturally occurring basidiomycete in North America) as a biocontrol agent for the treatment of invasive buckthorns in Upper Michigan, USA. We compared application treatments of C. purpureum and glyphosate to cut stump and girdled R. cathartica and F. alnus stems, to gain a better understanding of each treatment's relative impact on buckthorn regrowth in forested ecosystems of the Keweenaw Peninsula. We girdled or cut 300 buckthorn trees and applied either C. purpureum, glyphosate, or no treatment (control). One year after treatment applications, apparent tree mortality (i.e., zero stump sprouts) as proportion of total number of trees per treatment was highest for the glyphosate cut (94%) and girdle (81%) treatments and lowest for the controls (cut = 11% and girdle = 8%). Apparent mortality for C. purpureum treatments was 51% for cut surface and 67% for girdle applications. The C. purpureum treatments significantly reduced buckthorn stump sprouting compared with control treatments in just one growing season (P < 0.001) and showed statistically comparable stump sprout reduction with that of glyphosate treatments. Glyphosate applied to girdled stems showed similar success in reducing stump sprouts as C. purpureum applied to cut trees and to girdled trees (P ≥ 0.238). Additionally, we found that percent canopy cover was significantly related to treatment success (P = 0.013), but that the influence of percent canopy varied among treatments. These findings suggest that C. purpureum application to buckthorn trees could provide land managers with an effective alternative or complement to traditional control techniques.

Red spruce (Picea rubens) is the keystone species of the red spruce–northern hardwood forest, a unique high-elevation plant community that supports high biodiversity in the Central Appalachian mountains. These forests were drastically reduced by the Industrial Logging Era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the few remaining patches of this forest type remain in a degraded and fragmented state. Efforts to restore this ecosystem in West Virginia have been ongoing for over a decade and include red spruce plantings on old-field agricultural sites and on legacy coal mines. This project seeks to examine restoration outcomes for vegetation and soils along a 10 year chronosequence of planting sites. Significant differences in seedling height were observed for each year examined with old-fields exhibiting higher early (Year 1) heights, while legacy mines were significantly taller in Years 7 and 10. Annual growth rates did not differ between the two planting treatments. Soil chemical differences between treatments may have influenced seedling response. Although comparison of soil characteristics from the reforested sites to those from relatively undisturbed reference red spruce stands exhibited some statistical similarities, it was clear that mining and agricultural practices altered the soil environment greatly. As such, additional research to further examine practices that could improve soil health on these disturbed lands is recommended.

Marshallia pulchra is a globally rare forb endemic to riverscour ecosystems within high-gradient rivers in the Appalachian Plateau of eastern North America. Given the high conservation priority and limited ecological understanding of M. pulchra, we sought to establish knowledge pertaining to the hydrologic conditions of sites supporting this species. We assessed flow records for 10 rivers to determine if climate change is modifying flood frequency, magnitude, or duration of M. pulchra–supporting rivers. Records in the Youghiogheny River were also linked to cameras trained on individual plants to quantify the flood frequency and duration sustained annually. Finally, we used a century of M. pulchra presence/absence data from the Youghiogheny River to assess long-term persistence. Discharge records indicate that floods in smaller, free-flowing rivers are becoming more frequent at a rate of up to one flood per year. However, we detected no trends suggesting that floods are becoming more intense. M. pulchra individuals in the Youghiogheny are inundated a median of 17 times annually, mostly during winter and spring, and usually for periods less than 2 d. Results suggest that the long-term viability of M. pulchra in the Youghiogheny may be diminishing, as individuals were absent in nearly 40% of previously occupied sites during the most recent surveys. Given the signs of population decline in the Youghiogheny, additional investigations exploring the hydroecology of M. pulchra are urgently needed, especially those that consider the role of invasive species in changes to riverscour ecosystem dynamics.

Wiregrass, Aristida beyrichiana, is frequently employed for habitat restoration of southeastern pine forests due to its flammability and dominance. We used data from translocations of wiregrass to assess restoration practices and to evaluate plastic responses of survival, growth, and reproduction to translocation into different microhabitats characterized by the relative occurrence of dominant shrub species. Data were collected between 2013 and 2016 and in 2019 and 2020. Target microhabitats included areas near oaks, palms, pines, and in open gaps, randomly selected at two paired elevations on three parallel ridges in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest, Polk County, central Florida, USA. Height and number of tillers were relevant in explaining vital rate variation across microhabitats. We found a unimodal nonlinear relationship between plant height and number of tillers that varied after translocation to different habitats. Areas near pines and with enough ground cover allowing burning increased plant survival, growth, and production of caryopsides, while locations farther from the ridge crests and in open areas, and near palms and oaks, were less favorable. Plastic phenotypic adjustments between number of tillers and plant height may explain commensurate reproductive outputs of wiregrasses in open habitats and near oaks and palms.

Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), a woody shrub native to northeastern Asia, is a common invasive species in many urban, suburban, and rural environments in North America. Honeysuckle negatively impacts native plant communities, and prolonged removal efforts are required to slow its spread and prevent reestablishment. However, intensive management is not always feasible for homeowners and small landowners, so the potential for small-scale honeysuckle removal followed by a passive approach is highly desirable. To test the potential for small-scale honeysuckle removal to initiate observable native plant recruitment, we established a long-term, small-scale study within a well-established honeysuckle infestation located in a 12.1 ha suburban patch of oak-hickory forest in Shawnee County, Kansas. We annually cleared 10 plots of all honeysuckle and maintained 10 adjacent, uncleared plots for the duration of the study. Native plant numbers increased within 1 y in the removal plots, and this increase continued across years. However, the vast majority of individuals consisted of aggressive and early successional species, and no significant differences in the effective number of common or dominant native species were observed between 2017 and 2020. Our results suggest that small-scale suppression of honeysuckle in well-established honeysuckle populations will likely lead to recolonization by a small number of species that may remain dominant for several years. Therefore, in areas with well-established honeysuckle populations, small-scale management of honeysuckle growth will likely be insufficient to ensure that even a moderate sample of native species becomes established.

The Mogollon Highlands of Arizona and New Mexico is a uniquely biodiverse ecoregion that has been previously neglected by scientific studies. Here, we delineate, map, and describe the area, and focus on two taxonomic groups—snakes and conifers—to exemplify the region. The Mogollon Highlands Ecoregion (MHE), as described here, has potential to serve as a center of adaptation to changing climate. This, combined with its inherently high biodiversity, merits its consideration as a conservation priority. We document the diversity and distribution of snakes in the MHE: 39 species were found, a species richness on par with the Madrean Archipelago (sky islands) of Arizona and New Mexico, a region known for its high snake diversity. The MHE is also home to unique conifer diversity, with elevated levels of endemism and genetic exchange. We recommend consideration of the MHE as a uniquely diverse region, and a high conservation priority.