The relationship between landscape pattern and the distribution and spread of exotic species is an important determinant of where and when management actions are best applied. We have developed an interdisciplinary approach for prioritizing treatment of harmful, nonnative, invasive plants in National Park landscapes of the Mid-Atlantic USA. The approach relies upon a detailed model of reinvasion risk that combines information on: (1) global factors representing park-level infestation from seed and sprout, (2) landscape factors including disturbance-based spread vectors and neighborhood seed density, and (3) local factors determining establishment probability based on habitat suitability. Global seed rain estimates are derived empirically from park inventory data and modified by information on species reproductive strategies. Landscape-level propagule pressure is modeled spatially using species life history characteristics including dispersal attributes, connectivity to nearby plant populations, and increased propagule pressure through disturbance. The local-scale habitat suitability model uses a Mahalanobis distance approach, parameterized from plant inventory plot data and GIS-based data on plot wetness, land cover, slope, radiation, and soil characteristics. We illustrate the model for Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven) in Antietam National Battlefield Park. The results of the A. altissima modeling highlight regions of the park where eradication would be most prudent and feasible based on current infestation patterns and landscape heterogeneity. Although the success of different treatment modalities is often considered in invasive species management, a spatially explicit assessment of likely treatment success is rarely undertaken. Our approach provides a valuable tool to assist natural resource practitioners to prioritize management options in confronting biological invasions.

The primary objective of this study was to detect fractional vegetation cover changes associated with off-trail hiking or trampling using three vegetation indices (NDVI, SAVI and TVI) on Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. The study area was divided into two different zones on the basis of proximity to the trail network (Zone I: within 100 m from the trail network, and Zone 2: 100 m to 400 m from the trail network), with the expectation of much higher impact and lower recovery in closer proximity to the trail network. Spatial interactions between the trail network and the decreased vegetation areas were tested using Cross K-functions to assess whether or not the existing trail network attracted more vegetation impact in a spatial context. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the two zones in terms of the amounts of recovery and impact (all p values >0.05), indicating that the magnitudes of impact and recovery were similar regardless of the proximity to the trail. Nonetheless, the applied methods based on zoning and spatial interaction analyses were useful for identifying spatially explicit patterns of vegetation impact related to the hiking trail network.

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) forests in western North America are increasingly threatened by the exotic pathogen white pine blister rast (Cronartium ribicola J.C. Fisch.). Whitebark pine is designated a high priority species on the candidate list of Endangered or Threatened species, spurring activity to monitor the rast infection and develop restoration strategies. We surveyed two major whitebark pine ecosystems (Northern Divide Ecosystem [NDE], including Glacier National Park, and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem [GYE], including Yellowstone National Park) to quantify stand density, structure, species composition, blister rust infection, and mortality. We compared ecosystems based on these variables and suggest alternative restoration strategies. Overall stand densities were similar between the two ecosystems; however, NDE forests had only 79 live whitebark trees ha-1 compared to 274 in the GYE. Rust infection, crown kill, and mortality were all significantly greater in NDE forests. Nearly 75% of all whitebark trees in the NDE were dead, and approximately 90% of the remaining whitebark were infected with rust. These high infection and mortality levels suggest that planting rust-resistant whitebark seedlings should be a high-priority restoration strategy in the NDE. Conversely, nearly 30% of large seed-bearing whitebark remain uninfected in the GYE, indicating that avian seed dispersal should be reasonably dependable during good cone years in that ecosystem. Our study preceded a recent bark beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic, and provides a comparison of rust-infected whitebark communities in two major ecosystems under virtually beetle-free conditions, and establishes a baseline for assessing impacts of beetles in the future.

High-elevation rock outcrop ecosystems are home to a unique flora, with endemic and disjunct species hypothesized to be susceptible to shifts in species composition or phenology with climate warming. Easily accessed outcrops also are susceptible to human disturbance. We surveyed vegetation, flowering plant species, and insect pollinators on seven outcrops that range from relatively inaccessible to frequently visited to determine if: (1) vegetation composition or abundance correlates with accessibility; (2) establish baseline information on species composition and abundance; and (3) determine if specialized plant-pollinator interactions indicate susceptibility to shifts in flowering time. Richness of plant cover was not related to outcrop accessibility; however, the least accessible outcrop had the lowest frequency of bare rock, relatively high lichen cover, and vegetation patches with a distinct flora of spikemoss (Selaginella sp.), mosses, lichens, and vascular plants. Bare rock was most abundant on the most accessible outcrop. Almost half of obligate outcrop plant species within sampled vegetation occurred on only one or two of the seven outcrops. Each outcrop had a unique subset of species in flower at each sampling time. Flowering plants were visited, on average, by five different insect morpho-species and families. Each insect morpho-species visited at least two plant species; bumblebees (Bombus) and sweatbees (Halictidae) visited as many as eight plant species. Generalist interactions suggest lower susceptibility to temporal mismatches between plants and pollinators with climate warming; however, individual outcrops do not harbor the full suite of specialized and sensitive plant species, and conservation efforts should focus on retaining outcrop plant communities.

Complex early seral forests (CESFs) occupy potentially forested sites after a stand-replacement disturbance and before re-establishment of a closed-forest canopy. Such young forests contain numbers and kinds of biological legacies missing from those produced by commercial forestry operations. In the Sierra Nevada of California, CESFs are most often produced by mixed-severity fires, which include landscape patches burned at high severity. These forests support diverse plant and wildlife communities rarely found elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada. Severe fires are, therefore, essential to the region's ecological integrity. Ecologically detrimental management of CESFs, or unburned forests that may become CESF's following fire, is degrading the region's globally outstanding qualities. Unlike old-growth forests. CESFs have received little attention in conservation and reserve management. Thus, we describe important ecological attributes of CESFs and distinguish them from early serai conditions created by logging. We recommend eight best management practices in CESFs for achieving ecological integrity on federal lands in the mixed-conifer region of the Sierra Nevada.

There are few published studies examining the effects of invasive vascular plants on cooccurring nonvascular species, despite the fact that photoautotrophic algae and cyanobacteria exist at the base of the marine food web. This study tested whether the removal of the invasive dense-flowered cordgrass (Spartina densiflora Brogn.) resulted in an increase in biomass of micro- and macroalgae in a salt marsh located in northern California. The site was sampled over a two-year time period, and percent cover of benthic algae was measured using a point-intercept technique in treated and control areas. Treatment consisted of selective mechanical removal of S. densiflora. The functional groups green filamentous and green sheet algae as well as diatoms and cyanobacteria were found. Growth peaks in algal biomass were significantly lower in the control compared to the treated areas. In addition, successional trends were observed in treated plots; green filamentous algae and diatoms were first to colonize, followed by cyanobacteria during the second year's growth. Our results suggest that the presence of S. densiflora lowers both algal biomass and functional group diversity in an invaded salt marsh, with implications for resulting trophic cascades.

The rocky shoals spider-lily (Hymenocallis coronaria (J. Le Conte) Kunth inhabits select rocky shoals in certain Piedmont rivers at, and above, the Fall Line in scattered populations in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. One of the largest and most northern populations is located in the Catawba River at Landsford Canal State Park, South Carolina. The pollination ecology of this plant has not been fully explored. Sphingophily (Lepidoptera) (hawkmoth) pollination has been suggested as the likeliest pollinator syndrome for H. coronaria. Throughout the peak blooming season (May — June 2011 and 2012) we made numerous observations and documented potential pollinators/insect visitors of H. coronaria with camera equipment at various times of the day and night. We recorded 623 total flower visits during the 96 hours of camera and observation time. Of the nineteen species of flower visitors documented. Apidae: Bombus spp. (Bumblebees). Hesperiidae: Epargyreus clarus Cramer (Silver spotted skipper), Papilionidae: Papilio glaucus Linnaeus (Tiger swallowtail), and Battus philenor Linnaeus (Pipevine swallowtail) were the most common visitors, comprising over 80% of the visitations. Using a Chi-square test we determined that insects were attracted to different parts of the flower bloom (P < 0.01). The majority of flower visitors were observed during the morning and midday hours (P = 0.01). Our results indicate that numerous insect species may act as potential pollinators for H. coronaria and that H. coronaria does not seem to fit into a rigid pollinator syndrome, but rather depends on a generalist pollinator community.

We review Miami-Dade County's Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Covenant Program as a means to create protected areas on private property via financial incentives. Such incentives go a step beyond regulatory and fee simple approaches to conservation. The program is codified under Chapter 25B, Article II, of the Miami-Dade County Code as authorized by section 193.501, Florida Statutes. Under the EEL Covenant Program, landowners enter into a ten-year conservation agreement with the county, where owners agree to keep a portion of their land in its natural condition in exchange for a property tax reduction of 90%. The program creates protected areas where laws have not, sometimes in areas most vulnerable to development pressure. There are currently 85 properties in the program, encompassing 173 hectares of pine rockland, hardwood hammock, transitional ecotone, and wetland habitat. Pine rocklands are a globally imperiled ecosystem. Covenant sites can act as stepping stone reserves for some species, and several federally listed plant and animal species have been documented on multiple sites. These sites probably provide the most benefit to rare upland plant species, which often thrive in relatively small protected areas. Program successes have not come without challenges. By virtue of their location in an urban-agricultural matrix, several covenant properties experience fragmentation and edge effects, especially exotic plant species. Several covenant holders have participated in the program since its inception in 1979. The program fosters successful public/private partnerships whereby the government works directly with landowners, furthering public awareness and conservation.

Beaverhills Lake, a shallow wetland of roughly 10 km × 18 km, shrank in size until it completely dried up in 2006. The primary cause was a ten-year cycle of drought beginning in 1995 when annual precipitation fell below the 30-year mean of 450 mm. Superimposed on the drought, inflowing creeks were dammed for the purpose of restoring or creating upstream duck breeding habitat and to flood hay meadows for local farmers. Since 1973, 17 impoundments and weirs have diverted 1.5 million cubic meters of water per annum. The proportional cost to the lake grew as it became smaller and shallower, and the evaporation rate increased. In 1987, under the North American Waterfowl Conservation Plan, Beaverhills Lake was designated as a Wetland for Tomorrow and an International Ramsar site. In 1996, the lake became a Western Hemisphere Regional Shorebird Reserve. None of these accolades, intended to safeguard the wetland from mismanagement, appears to have helped in halting or reversing the lake's decline. Long-range precipitation and temperature records available from Environment Canada do not support the hypothesis that climate change was a factor in the drying-up of Beaverhills Lake.

This study utilized satellite data and the published coefficients about the world and China's ecosystem to analyze the effects of oasis land-use change on ecosystem services in Keriya Oasis where both economic development and arid, fragile ecosystems have strongly affected land use. A sensitivity analysis was employed to determine the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values. Results indicated that: (1) the total values of ecosystem service in Keriya Oasis were about $232.2 million. $212.8 million, and $207.2 million in 1991, 2002, and 2008, respectively, and the net decline in ecosystem service value was about $25.0 million within 1991–2008; (2) the aggregated ecosystem service value of medium-cover grassland, wetland, low-cover grassland, cropland, and water body was about 90% of the total value; (3) waste treatment and soil formation were the top two ecological functions with high service value, and contributing about 41% of the total services value; and (4) ecosystem services values estimated in this study were inelastic with respect to the value coefficients. Therefore, the estimation was robust in spite of uncertainties on the value coefficients. A reasonable land-use plan should be based on rigorous environmental impact analyses for maintaining stability and sustainable development of Keriya Oasis.

No species in North America today more powerfully represents the United States than the plains bison (popularly called “buffalo”); preserving Bison bison bison Linnaeus, and its genetic integrity, is important to the nation. This paper first examines the bison's prehistory, migrations to North America, relationship with North American Native American cultures, and events leading to the nineteenth century near-extinction. It then discusses early conservation successes, including the work of individuals and organizations that made this possible. This paper focuses on mainly the prospects for bison protection today in the face of strong challenges such as bison-cattle (Bos Taurus Bojanus) interbreeding and the threat of bison genomic extinction. This work is being carried out by bison protection organizations and a Department of the Interior (DOI) bison working group. Their goals include finding and establishing connected habitats wherein buffalo can roam and migrate as they did historically across broad ranges. Maintaining genetic integrity and creating safe habitats for bison herds can lead to long-term viability.

This paper introduces the “Protected Forest” as a new conservation approach in Nepal. Historically there were two dominant forest management approaches in Nepal: protected areas and community-based forestry. These site-based management approaches were able to contribute to protect- ing endangered wildlife species, enhancing greenery, and improving livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. However, these approaches were not suitable when applied to increasing populations of wide-ranging mobile species because, outside of protected areas, conservation activities are in their infancy. To enhance the mobility of wildlife and conserve biodiversity, the Government of Nepal de- clared particular forest patches as Protected Forests to link the existing protected areas creating their network to manage the flora and fauna, while acknowledging the reliance of local communities on the forest resources. In order to create and maintain a balance between conservation and human needs for forest resources, a zoning-based Protected Forests management plan was devised, assigning specific forest patches for specific purposes. Since local community forest user groups were enjoying full benefits from their community forests, in the initial phase of the implementation of protected forest management, local communities may have to compromise on their consumption of forest products as some sections of the area are assigned for absolute protection. In the short run, they are compensated by support provided for income-generating activities; and, in the long ran, they can enjoy more benefits through ecotourism. Hence, the protected forest approach creates a win-win situation for both wildlife and local communities.

This Steward's Circle Note presents a review of the available information about and a preliminary description of the River Fork Ranch thermal wetland in Douglas County, northwestern Nevada, with an outline of future studies we hope to accomplish. The wetland is a component of the River Fork Ranch, a middle Carson River restoration and management project of The Nature Conservancy.