We monitored plant community assembly during the first five years of longleaf pine—wiregrass (Pinus palustris—Aristida stricta) savanna restoration on four former bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) pastures in peninsular Florida, which were restored via removal of exotic vegetation followed by mechanical planting with a wild-harvested native seed mix. We sampled randomly selected vegetation quadrats in each restored pasture annually, as well as randomly selected quadrats in each of four reference sites. All species were assigned to one of five functional groups (C4 graminoids, C₃ graminoids, forbs, legumes, or shrubs) and one of three floristic quality categories (characteristic, pioneer, or weedy). Five years after restoration, we found that native C₄ graminoids had supplanted the sod-forming P. notatum as the dominant graminoids on all sites. Restored sites had higher average C₄ graminoid and forb cover than reference sites, but lower average species richness in both categories. Reference sites had much higher shrub species richness and cover than restored sites. Pioneer and weedy species accounted for the bulk of the species richness on restored sites, while the majority of species on the reference sites were characteristic. Using indicator species analysis (ISA) and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, we identified species and functional groups abundant on reference sites but scarce on restored sites, and vice versa. Although species composition differed greatly between restored and reference sites, some of the pioneer species on restored sites may serve as functional analogs for wildlife food provisioning. Species richness and cover of graminoids and legumes (both important classes of wildlife foods) were comparable on reference sites and restored sites, though pioneers made up a much larger proportion of both functional groups on restored sites. Mast-producing shrubs, however, were largely absent from the restored sites, representing a deficiency in a major class of wildlife foods.

An 8-ha, extremely rich fen, surrounded by saline wet meadows, occurs on the western edge of mixed-grass prairie in the northwestern Great Plains, 47 km east of the Montana Rocky Mountain Front. The site occurs on an outwash plain near the junction of Pleistocene-age continental and mountain glaciers and on the western edge of former glacial Cut Bank Lake. Five wetland plant communities are described from this site. A total of 93 vascular plant and 65 diatom species have been found. Twelve diatom taxa could not be identified with available floras and one has been confirmed as new to science. Both diatoms and vascular plants indicate a locally disjunct, post-glacial assemblage similar to those found in boreal and mountainous habitats, adapted to alkaline waters. Saline-influenced, extremely rich fens are a rare sub-type of peatland in the northern Great Plains, and contain high diatom and vascular plant species richness as well as rare taxa.

Half of a 400-year-old forest in northeastern Minnesota, USA, burned in autumn 2006 providing a unique opportunity to examine stability and response to stand-replacing fire in a region where the historic mean fire return interval was about 100 y. We installed 18 permanent 50-m transects in 1977 and 18 more in 1997. In 2008, 18 additional transects were surveyed along with the initial transects; half were in the burned portion of the forest and half remained unburned. In 2010 and 2014, all transects were again inventoried. Before the fire, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), historically the dominant tree, represented less than 4% of the canopy in which northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) had become dominants. In 37 y of observation, few significant changes occurred in the unburned forest. In the burned forest, however, the intense fire killed virtually all trees on the upland, and reduced tree cover from near 90% to just over 10%, with survival primarily in wet draws. There was no nearby seed source for jack pine (Pinus banksiana) or quaking (Populus tremuloides) or big-toothed (P. grandidentata) aspen, the most frequent post-fire pioneers. Seedlings of aspen and paper birch established dominance in the small-tree layer within eight years, and dense white cedar established in mesic microsites near surviving seed sources. Stand-level diversity of vegetation after the fire was about the same as before the fire, but primarily as a result of species that survived in wet draws. Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), fire-weed (Epilobium angustifolium), and several sedges (Carex spp.) became temporarily abundant, peaking six years after fire. There was no post-fire white pine regeneration. Results indicate that in the long-term absence of fire there was a gradual shift in canopy composition with relatively little corresponding change in the understory. Results also underscore the importance of microsites in buffering change and driving landscape scale diversity, and how a shift in fire regime can initiate a different successional trajectory.

Natural disturbances, such as tornados, can alter local habitat conditions and have the potential to affect animal communities in preserves. When such disturbances occur in natural areas, understanding these effects can help land managers develop responses and restoration actions following a disturbance. The effects of tornado and other strong wind damage on insect communities is poorly known even though insects comprise the majority of macroscopic diversity in terrestrial systems and are important contributors to ecosystem function. We examined ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities in spring, summer, and fall following an EF-4 tornado that struck a forested preserve in Illinois. We compared the communities and vegetation structure in plots that were affected or unaffected by the tornado. Sites within the tornado's path had reduced canopy cover but increased ground-level vegetation throughout the growing season. Beetle abundance and species richness were unaffected, but Shannon diversity was significantly higher in fall in areas affected by the tornado. Beetle community composition was shifted by tornado effects only in the spring, and tornado-affected areas contained 13 species that were not present in unaffected sites. These sites also contained more seed-eating or omnivorous species and small predators, in contrast to unaffected sites that were dominated by large predatory species. Our results indicate that tornado damage may increase biodiversity in small natural areas by increasing habitat heterogeneity. Land managers may not want to restore tornado-damaged sites to pre-disturbance conditions if maximizing biodiversity is a goal of the preserve.

Fire affects environmental attributes associated with the distribution, abundance, and reproduction of butterflies, and studies have demonstrated that species richness and abundance of butterflies respond to fire. However, the effects of fire on resources used by adult butterflies, and on butterfly occupancy, are largely unknown. In 2014 and 2015, we surveyed butterflies and elements of their habitat within the boundary of the Rim Fire (Stanislaus National Forest, Tuolumne County, California), one of the largest fires known to occur in California during the past century. We examined the extent to which butterfly occupancy and abundance in the first two years following the Rim Fire were associated with environmental attributes that were affected by fire. We also tested whether vegetation and soil burn severity, two indices used by resource management agencies, explained variation in the environmental attributes that we included in models of butterfly occupancy and abundance. We found that the percentage of live ground cover and canopy cover were strongly associated with occupancy of the majority of the species we modeled. In some cases, environmental attributes associated with occupancy also were associated with the abundances of those species. Values of environmental attributes that explained substantial variation in butterfly occupancy and abundance were associated with vegetation and soil burn severity. Understanding how fire affects environmental attributes that are associated with butterfly occupancy and abundance may inform strategies for managing these species with prescribed fire or following wildfire, or when fire treatments are applied for other reasons.

Montane rock outcrops are a sensitive habitat type throughout the Appalachian Mountains. These areas provide habitat for a variety of endemic or rare fauna and flora species assemblages. Our objective was to conduct a status survey of focal mammal species considered rare in the Appalachian region, including Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister), eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), least weasel (Mustela nivalis), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), and fisher (Martes pennanti) at rock outcrops in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. From 7 May to 27 September 2015, we conducted camera surveys at 48 rock outcrop sites in the Park. Over 1,985 trap nights (TN), we obtained 2,572 images and detected 16 mammalian species. We quantified capture success, related success to a set of predefined landscape variables and determined co-occurrence patterns of various species. Allegheny woodrats had the highest capture success (10.7%; 212/1,985 TN); however, black bears (Ursus americanus) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) were both detected at greater than 90% of sites. Allegheny woodrats were captured more frequently at outcrops that were farther from rights-of-way, roads, and development. The best predictor of capture success for eastern spotted skunks was distance from rights-of-way. We report the greatest capture success of long-tailed weasels using game cameras as compared to previous studies. Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) had a negative impact on co-occurrence of all species at sites where they were detected. The presence of several uncommon species in this habitat type, in addition to negative effects of dogs, warrants the need for continued monitoring and habitat protection.

Recreational use of public land is high and rising. Thus, it is critical to understand the dynamics of land use at the wildland—urban interface so managers can simultaneously meet varying human needs while mitigating environmental impacts caused by recreationists and their canine companions. Using motion-activated camera surveys along official trails near the urban edge of Boulder, Colorado, we quantified daily patterns and the relative frequency of human recreational activities, with particular focus on activities involving domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and human compliance with dog regulations. We also tested hypotheses regarding potential predictors of human activity as well as predictors of human accompaniment by dogs, both on-leash and off, and user compliance with leash laws. Pedestrians used the trail system most frequently, followed by dog-walkers, mountain bikers, and recreationists of other types, with activity peaking in the mornings and evenings. Use of open space lands was primarily, and positively, predicted by the presence of scenic vistas or trails on which users could be accompanied by their dogs. Compliance with dog regulations depended on the type of policy imposed, with stricter and more consistent restrictions resulting in fewer violations. This study suggests that to maximize compliance with leash laws, consistent policies may be more effective than temporally varying leash laws. Additionally, it may be beneficial to increase enforcement at peak times for all trails, and at all times on trails where violations are more likely, such as those with seasonal leash laws.

Removal of invasive species is a common management goal to maintain native species composition and wildlife habitat. Due to the time and effort necessary to remove invasive species, it is important to clearly understand the benefits that will be gained through removal and what methods will best achieve those results. This study evaluated the response of native plant understory communities to the removal of invasive species that fell into a range of functional groups including perennial herbs (Microstegium vimineum, Liriope muscari), vines (Lonicera japonica, Lygodium japonicum, Hedra helix), shrubs (Ligustrum sinense), and trees (Albizia julibrissin, Triadica sebifera). Eight invasive plant species were removed from twenty-seven 1-m² plots for 8 y in an upland mixed hardwood—pine and riverine woodland within the Ocmulgee National Monument, Macon, Georgia. Species richness, herbaceous cover, and woody species number was measured 2 y before removal and each year during removal. Mechanical removal reduced invasive species richness, cover, and number, however all measures of native species diversity remained unchanged. Overall, common species remained common but there was some turnover in less common species over the 8 y. During the study period, the area experienced an exceptional drought and it is likely that native species recovery after invasive species removal was hindered by these extreme weather conditions. Invasive species may be a determinant of native species composition, but environmental factors like drought may be a more important determining factor.

Positive interactions (facilitation) between plant species have been documented, particularly in stressful environments. We investigated whether an invasive shrub enhances growth or survival of native tree seedlings in forests where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are abundant. Seedlings of four tree species were planted under, or 0.5 m outside of, the canopy of Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) shrubs in plots unfenced or fenced to exclude deer in two stands in southwestern Ohio, USA, and monitored for 1 y. One species succumbed to transplant shock, but browse was extensive on the other three species in unfenced plots. Facilitation was evident on sugar maple (Acer saccharum), as seedlings under shrub cover had higher survival and final leaf count in unfenced plots, but not where deer were excluded. However, there was no significant facilitation by L. maackii of seedling growth or survival for white oak (Quercus alba) or shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), indicating this shrub's branches do not deter deer browse on highly preferred species or the effect is too modest to emerge in a one-year study. In at least some cases, the negative effects of L. maackii on tree seedlings that have been documented previously are offset by mitigation of the negative effects of deer herbivory. This suggests that where browsing impacts are problematic, deer abundance should be reduced before this, and perhaps other invasive shrubs, are managed.

We present a case study of the Little Traverse Conservancy (LTC) of Harbor Springs, Michigan, as an example of a contemporary land trust. Land trusts are community-based organizations that rely on both economic and social incentives to acquire and monitor lands. Our objective is to define criteria that make land trusts successful and effective. This case focuses on the accomplishments, structure, and challenges of LTC as well as its partnerships with private organizations and local and state governments. Research shows that there are often gaps in the effectiveness of conservation efforts involving land trusts. For organizations such as LTC, these gaps must be addressed for land trust operations to prosper into the future. We finish by proposing an applied research protocol to improve ecological and sociopolitical knowledge about the workings of LTC and, by corollary, other similar land trusts.

The provision of landscape-level public goods, such as scenery or adequate wildlife habitat, requires coordination amongst many landowners whose private decisions can, in the aggregate, produce outcomes with which they themselves are unhappy. This has certainly been the case in the US state of Vermont, where a strong public preference for landscape conservation has been frustrated by a sprawling pattern of development. This paper uses a case study from one Vermont town to illustrate how problems of collective action can stand in the way of conservation of private land. The case study focuses on a community-wide survey investigating the need for landowner education and the relative importance of various incentives for conservation on private land. Results suggest that education may not be what is most needed and that when making conservation decisions, it matters to many landowners what their neighbors are doing. The practical implication is that it might be more effective to work with neighboring landowners in groups than to expect unilateral action to result from educational outreach. This paper concludes by suggesting the need to situate private land conservation in the context of community land use planning.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has engaged conservation partners to assist in assessing current conditions and needs to retain and restore one of the South's rarest pine ecosystems. The “wet-piedmont longleaf pine forest” is characterized by the presence of longleaf, loblolly, and pond pines in association with facultative-wetland species. This longleaf forest type is assigned the rarest ranking by NatureServe and the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (G1S1). A remnant of that ecosystem type exists on the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in Wadesboro, North Carolina, where overstory species include longleaf and pond pine in association with the commonly represented loblolly pine. In addition, shortleaf pine and a variety of hardwood species are present. Initial restoration actions have focused on (1) reducing the understory presence of sweetgum; (2) introducing variable density retention of loblolly pine within a mixture of longleaf, pond, and shortleaf pines; and (3) application of prescribed fire. Stem-mapping of longleaf, pond, and shortleaf pine was accomplished over a 61-ha stand to evaluate natural-regeneration potential and assist in defining and advancing ecosystem restoration.