Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
Fire and Wildlife Habitat Restoration
Johanna Freeman, PhD student
Johanna Freeman (jfree11@ufl.edu)
UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Is this good wildlife habitat?
Small carnivorous
mammals
Carnivorous/
insectivorous
birds
Large carnivorous
mammals
Carnivorous/
Insectivorous
reptiles
Bats
Medium/large
herbivorous
mammals
Tortoises/Turtles
Omnivorous birds
Dwarf
Shrubs
Legumes
Amphibians
Large omnivorous
mammals
Squirrels
Small omnivorous
and herbivorous
mammals
Invertebrates
Large-seeded
grasses
Forbs
Fire-maintained
understory
Wiregrass
Longleaf Pine
What is a functional group?
• Analysis of vegetation often requires that the great diversity of plant
species be reduced to a much smaller number of logical categories.
• Plant Functional Group (or guild) is a general term that groups plants
according to their function in ecosystems and their use of resources
• Can be based on taxonomy (i.e. family), size (i.e. tree vs. shrub),
or specific traits (i.e. herbaceous vs. woody), depending on the
interests of the researcher
Example 1 – Wildlife food emphasis
Mast-producing shrubs
Large-seeded grasses
Legumes
Forbs
Example 2 – Fire emphasis
Herbaceous plants
Pines
Oaks
Shrubs
LLP restoration: The Reference System
Forbs
Dwarf shrubs
C4 bunchgrasses
Legumes
C3 graminoids
• These functional groups coexist by exploiting different niches both above and belowground
• Restoration goal: create a similar assemblage of species, by restoring the necessary
environmental conditions (e.g. fire) and/or the species themselves
Functional groups important in LLP restoration: Legumes
• Members of the Fabaceae family
• Most have associations with symbiotic N-fixing bacteria
• Replace N lost to volatilization during fires
• Protein-rich seeds in pods
• N-rich foliage
Functional groups important in LLP restoration: C4 grasses
• Members of the Poaceae family
• Fire-carrying fine fuels (best known is wiregrass)
• C4 photosynthetic pathway = adaptation to heat and water stress
• Some have large seeds, important food for birds
• Many are bunchgrasses, which leave bare ground for
seedling recruitment and wildlife movement, and
provide nesting cover for small wildlife
Functional groups important in LLP restoration: Dwarf shrubs
• Members of various families
• Resprout vigorously after fire, but small size
does not disrupt fine fuel structure
• Mast-producing, key wildlife foods
• Examples include numerous blueberry species,
huckleberries, runner oak, pawpaw, gopher apple
Community Assembly Theory
…attempts to explain the existence of environmentally similar sites with
differing assemblages of species.
• Community
formation due to
random variation
in colonization,
migration, and
extinction rates
• Assumes species
have similar niche
requirements
T0
Environment
Site A
Site B
Community Assembly Theory
…attempts to explain the existence of environmentally similar sites with
differing assemblages of species.
• Community
formation due to
random variation
in colonization,
migration, and
extinction rates
• Assumes species
have similar niche
requirements
T1
S1
S2
S3
T2
Environment
Site A
Site B
Environment
Site A
Site B
S1
S4
S5
Community Assembly Theory
Order is important
• Composition of
seed mixes
• Planting order
• Year of planting
T1
S1
S2
Site A
Site B
S3
S4
Site B
S1
S2
T2
S3
S4
Site A
Community Assembly Theory
Order is important
• Composition of
seed mixes
• Planting order
• Year of planting
Do altered
communities have
the ability to repair
themselves?
Or does history
allow for many
(infinite?) number
of communities?
T1
S1
S2
Site B
S3
S4
Site A
Site B
S1
S2
Site A
Site B
Site A
T2
S3
S4
T3
Community Assembly Theory
Environmental filters: suite of factors influencing seed germination,
seedling emergence, and species establishment (Harper 1977)
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
Sn
Environment 1
Species Pool
S1
S2
S4
Environment 2
S3
S7
S8
Trait Matrix
filter
Unable to
tolerate
drought
filter
Unable to
tolerate fire
filter
Weak
competitors
Community
Community assembly on restored LLP sites
Factors hypothesized to influence community assembly
Niche factors
Stochastic factors
Species traits
(i.e. N-fixing,
Wind-dispersed)
Species interactions
(i.e. competition,
facilitation)
Legumes
Forbs
C4 grasses
C3 graminoids
Local seed pool
(Mostly ruderal?
Reference sites nearby?)
Environmental filters
(i.e. fire regime, rainfall)
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #1
Plot 1: All functional groups in Yr 1
Subplot 1B:
Fire + Irrigation
Subplot 1A:
Fire Only
Plot 2: C4 grasses Yr 1, other groups Yr 2
Subplot 2B:
Fire + Irrigation
Subplot 2A:
Fire Only
4m
Subplot 1D:
No Treatment
Subplot 1C:
Irrigation Only
4m
Subplot 2D:
No Treatment
4m
Subplot 2C:
Irrigation Only
Plot 5: Unplanted,
volunteers only
Subplot 5A:
Fire Only
Subplot 5B:
Fire + Irrigation
Subplot 5D:
No Treatment
Subplot 5C:
Irrigation Only
4m
Plot 3: Other groups Yr 1, C4 grasses Yr 2
Plot 4: C4 Grasses Only
Subplot 3A:
Fire Only
Subplot 3B:
Fire + Irrigation
Subplot 4A:
Fire Only
Subplot 4B:
Fire + Irrigation
Subplot 3D:
No Treatment
Subplot 3C:
Irrigation Only
Subplot 4D:
No Treatment
Subplot 4C:
Irrigation Only
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #1
•
The treatment plots will be established on four Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission sites: Half Moon, Three Lakes, Caravelle
Ranch, and Hilochee Wildlife Management Areas
•
The pre-treatment condition at each study site is bahiagrass (Paspalum
notatum) pasture
•
All four pastures occur on Spodosols that historically supported longleaf
pine flatwoods vegetation
•
FWC’s Wildlife Management Area system includes over 100,000 acres of
abandoned pasture. The agency is interested in restoring these pastures
because they are poor habitat for native wildlife.
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2
“If you build it, they will come…?”
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2
• Beneficial effects of fuel treatments on understory structural
parameters (i.e. decreased woody cover/increased herbaceous cover)
have been documented by several researchers in longleaf pine
systems….
• But it appears that certain plant functional groups important to
wildlife may be chronically underrepresented on restored sites
(Provencher et al 2001, Kirkman et al. 2004, Kreye et al. 2013).
• Few studies have isolated and examined the functional group
composition of restored longleaf pine understories, and those that have
addressed these parameters have been experimental studies at a single
location
• The proposed project will offer a new perspective by surveying plant
communities on numerous restored sites across a wide geographic area
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2
List of study sites so far:
Agency
Soil Type
Treatment Type
Restored Sites
King Sale Tract (Big Bend WMA)
Florida FWC
Sandhill
Root rake + Fire
Tide Swamp Unit (Big Bend WMA)
Florida FWC
Sandhill
Root rake + Fire
Belle Glade WMA
Florida FWC
Sandhill
Thin + Fire
Watermelon Pond WEA
Florida FWC
Sandhill
Thin + Fire
Ocala National Forest
USFS
Sandhill
Fire Only
Half Moon WMA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Fire Only
Three Lakes WMA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Fire Only
Caravelle Ranch WMA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Fire Only
Austin Cary Memorial Forest
Univ. of FL
Flatwoods
Fire Only
Osceola National Forest
USFS
Flatwoods
Mastication + Fire
Apalachicola River WEA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Mastication + Fire
Apalachicola River WEA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Chemical + Fire
Apalachicola River WEA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Roller chop + Fire
Aucilla WEA
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Roller chop + Fire
Reference Sites (long term maintenance with historic fire interval, representative of “target” community)
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
USFWS
Sandhill
Long term prescribed fire
Gold Head Branch State Park
Florida DEP
Sandhill
Long term prescribed fire
Withlacoochee State Forest
FFS
Sandhill
Long term prescribed fire
Myakka River State Park
Florida DEP
Flatwoods
Long term prescribed fire
Triple N Ranch Wildlife Mgmt Area
Florida FWC
Flatwoods
Long term prescribed fire
Apalachicola National Forest
USFS
Flatwoods
Long term prescribed fire
Jennings State Forest
FFS
Flatwoods
Long term prescribed fire
Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2
All of the plant species found in this study will be classified
according to
- functional group (legume, shrub, grass, or forb),
- seed dispersal type (wind, gravity, animal, or ant),
- seed bank longevity (persistent vs. not persistent),
- reproductive strategy (seed, vegetative, or both),
- life span (annual vs. perennial) and
- life history strategy
Site variables will include:
-pre-treatment fire-free interval;
-type, frequency, and seasonality of treatment;
-time since treatment; and
-proximity to reference sites
Small carnivorous
mammals
Carnivorous/
insectivorous
birds
Large carnivorous
mammals
Carnivorous/
Insectivorous
reptiles
Bats
Medium/large
herbivorous
mammals
Tortoises/Turtles
Omnivorous birds
Dwarf
Shrubs
Legumes
Amphibians
Large omnivorous
mammals
Squirrels
Small omnivorous
and herbivorous
mammals
Invertebrates
Large-seeded
grasses
Forbs
Fire-maintained
understory
Wiregrass
Longleaf Pine