Fire and Wildlife Habitat Restoration Johanna Freeman, PhD student

1. Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission Fire and Wildlife Habitat RestorationJohanna Freeman, PhD student Johanna Freeman (jfree11@ufl.edu) UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation

2. Is this good wildlife habitat?

3. Carnivorous/ insectivorous birds Small carnivorous mammals Large carnivorous mammals Carnivorous/ Insectivorous reptiles Bats Large omnivorous mammals Medium/large herbivorous mammals Amphibians Squirrels Tortoises/Turtles Small omnivorous and herbivorous mammals Omnivorous birds Invertebrates Dwarf Shrubs Large-seeded grasses Forbs Legumes Fire-maintained understory Wiregrass Longleaf Pine

4. 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 Example 2 – Fire emphasis Mast-producing shrubs Large-seeded grasses Legumes Forbs Herbaceous plants Pines Oaks Shrubs

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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 Environment T0 Site A Site B

10. 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 Environment T1 S1 S2 S3 S1 S4 S5 Site A Site B Environment T2 Site A Site B

11. Community Assembly Theory T1 Orderis important Site A Site B S3 S4 S1 S2 • Composition of seed mixes • Planting order • Year of planting T2 Site A Site B S3 S4 S1 S2

12. Community Assembly Theory T1 Orderis important Site A Site B S3 S4 S1 S2 • Composition of seed mixes • Planting order • Year of planting T2 Do altered communities have the ability to repair themselves? Or does history allow for many (infinite?) number of communities? Site A Site B S3 S4 S1 S2 T3 Site A Site B

13. Community Assembly Theory Environmental filters: suite of factors influencing seed germination, seedling emergence, and species establishment(Harper 1977) Environment 1 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 Sn Species Pool S1 S2 S4 Trait Matrix Unable to tolerate drought filter Unable to tolerate fire Environment 2 filter S3 S7 S8 Weak competitors filter Community

14. Community assembly on restored LLP sites Factors hypothesized to influence community assembly Niche factors Stochastic factors Species traits (i.e. N-fixing, Wind-dispersed) Local seed pool (Mostly ruderal? Reference sites nearby?) Legumes Forbs C4 grasses C3 graminoids Environmental filters (i.e. fire regime, rainfall) Species interactions (i.e. competition, facilitation)

15. Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #1 Plot 5: Unplanted, volunteers only Plot 1: All functional groups in Yr 1 Plot 2: C4 grasses Yr 1, other groups Yr 2 Plot 4: C4 Grasses Only Plot 3: Other groups Yr 1, C4 grasses Yr 2 Subplot 1B: Fire + Irrigation Subplot 3B: Fire + Irrigation Subplot 2B: Fire + Irrigation Subplot 4B: Fire + Irrigation Subplot 5B: Fire + Irrigation Subplot 2A: Fire Only Subplot 4A: Fire Only Subplot 3A: Fire Only Subplot 5A: Fire Only Subplot 1A: Fire Only 4m 4m Subplot 4D: No Treatment Subplot 5D: No Treatment Subplot 2D: No Treatment Subplot 1D: No Treatment Subplot 3D: No Treatment Subplot 3C: Irrigation Only Subplot 5C: Irrigation Only Subplot 4C: Irrigation Only Subplot 2C: Irrigation Only Subplot 1C: Irrigation Only 4m 4m

16. 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.

17. Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2 “If you build it, they will come…?”

18. 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

19. Community assembly on restored LLP sites: Study #2 List of study sites so far:

20. 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

21. Carnivorous/ insectivorous birds Small carnivorous mammals Large carnivorous mammals Carnivorous/ Insectivorous reptiles Bats Large omnivorous mammals Medium/large herbivorous mammals Amphibians Squirrels Tortoises/Turtles Small omnivorous and herbivorous mammals Omnivorous birds Invertebrates Dwarf Shrubs Large-seeded grasses Forbs Legumes Fire-maintained understory Wiregrass Longleaf Pine