• Topics: Environmental Horticulture | Adams, Carrie Reinhart | Steigerwalt, Nancy M | Ecosystem Restoration

Research Needs and Logistic Impediments in Restoration, Enhancement, and Management Projects: A Survey of Land Managers¹

Restoration, enhancement, and management projects involve reducing the effects of anthropogenic and biological stressors on ecosystems as much as possible. Managing the influence of stressors, such as invasive flora and fauna that occur in ecosystems throughout the southeastern coastal plain, is often important for project success (Schmitz 2007; Simberloff, Schmitz, and Brown 1997; Wilcove et al. 1998). Additional anthropogenic stressors affecting a number of ecosystems in this region are hydrologic alteration (Light and Dineen 1994; Pringle, Freeman, and Freeman 2000; Slate and Stevenson 2000) and nutrient enrichment (Mitsch et al. 2001; Schelske et al. 2005; Slate and Stevenson 2000). Fire (Kirkman et al. 2000; Main and Barry 2002; Tucker and Robinson 2003) and hurricanes (Edmiston et al. 2008; Otvos and Carter 2008; Ugarte et al. 2006) are naturally occurring stressors influencing ecosystems in this region.

Logistical impediments affecting restoration, enhancement, and management projects may include a lack of research in needed areas, adequate funding, employees and contractors with necessary expertise, equipment, plant material, and time. Some logistical problems, such as extreme weather events or a lack of core habitat, are beyond control, while others have the potential of being remedied or lessened. For example, educational workshops can be developed for contractors and developers, plant material needs can be communicated to growers, and research can be conducted to answer questions in critical areas.

The University of Florida's Restoration and Plant Ecology Lab surveyed practitioners and land managers in an effort to determine current research and outreach needs and common impediments to restoration, enhancement, and management goals in the southeastern coastal plain. Data were gathered on the types of ecosystems they restored, enhanced, or managed; stressors affecting the ecosystems; current research needs; sources of information commonly used; and factors found to interfere with meeting project goals, including logistical impediments and plant material availability.

Methods

Surveys were distributed to land managers at the annual symposium of the Society for Ecological Restoration, Coastal Plain Chapter, and at the Florida Native Plant Society annual conference. Surveys were also accessible on the Restoration and Plant Ecology Lab Web site from February to December 2007. Surveys were anonymous and did not contain requests for any personally identifiable information. Thirty-eight completed surveys were returned for analysis. The 17 participants who volunteered geographic information from the Florida Native Plant Society conference were from Florida (14), Alabama (1), Louisiana (1), and North Carolina (1). The annual symposium for the Society for Ecological Restoration, Coastal Plain Chapter, also included participants from Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The survey consisted of six voluntary questions, each allowing both closed and open-ended responses. For each question, respondents were instructed to mark each response that applied to their management experiences and record any additional details in the space provided below each question. Questions were developed using knowledge gathered from literature, practitioners, and personal experience.

All survey questions and summaries of the participants' answers are provided below. Summaries of responses volunteered by participants are also included. Surveys were analyzed by calculating the percentage of participants who selected each response.

Results

The most widespread stressor to sites managed or restored by respondents was invasive species (74%) (Table 1). Imperata cylindrica (21%) was the most frequently encountered species. Hydrologic alteration was the second most common stressor indicated by respondents, affecting over half of sites (55%). Respondents frequently worked in pine flatwoods and dry prairies (71%), scrub and high pine (47%), and wetland mitigation banks (45%) (Table 2).

The top two perceived research needs were, in order of preference, propagation and practical planting advice (Table 3). Restoration and management information was most frequently gathered from other practitioners or natural resource management staff (87%) (Table 4). Scientific journals were read by 74% of respondents, and 61% used white papers and reports.

A myriad of logistical difficulties hampers restoration, enhancement, and management goals, including sufficient money for projects (61%), knowledgeable contractors (39%), and employees who have the needed expertise (32%) (Table 5). Obtaining the appropriate quantity and quality of plant material for projects was also a problem (Table 6). Forty-seven percent of respondents were unable to find appropriate genotypes, and 42% were unable to find necessary species.

Conclusions

The results of this survey indicate that invasive species affected most of the sites that respondents restored, enhanced, or managed. Research into control and eradication of invasive species, including recolonization site management, is currently needed. Additional research in plant propagation and germination (especially for less common species) and practical planting advice was also deemed necessary. Respondents gathered the majority of their restoration and management information from their colleagues and journal articles. Individuals worked in a wide range of ecosystems, including pine flatwoods, dry prairies, wetland mitigation banks, and salt marshes. The main logistical impediment to achieving restoration, enhancement, or management goals was a lack of money; however, the inability to obtain both common and rare native plant species and appropriate genotypes also hindered success. Other logistical impediments affecting projects included the lack of knowledgeable contractors and the lack of employees with needed expertise.

By collecting information on stakeholder situations and information needs, research can be designed to be immediately applicable, and industry can target profitable markets. These survey conclusions can be used to:

1) Tailor experiments and projects to meet the research needs identified by land managers.

2) Communicate critical plant material needs to the nursery industry.

3) Develop educational programs, including workshops to fill gaps in employee and contractor knowledge.

References

Edmiston, H. L., S. A. Fahrny, M. S. Lamb, L. K. Levi, J. M. Wanat, J. S. Avant, K. Wren, and N. C. Selly. 2008. Tropical storm and hurricane impacts on a Gulf Coast estuary: Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Journal of Coastal Research SI 55: 38–49.

Kirkman, L. K., P. C. Goebel, L. West, M. B. Drew, and B. J. Palik. 2000. Depressional wetland vegetation types: A question of plant community development. Wetlands 20(2): 373–385.

Light, S. S., and J. W. Dineen. 1994. Water control in the Everglades: A historical perspective. In Everglades: The ecosystem and its restoration, ed. S. M. Davis and J. C. Ogden, 47-84. Boca Raton, FL: St. Lucie Press.

Main, M. B., and M. J. Barry. 2002. Influence of season of fire on flowering of wet prairie grasses in South Florida, USA. Wetlands 22(2): 430–434.

Mitsch, W. J., J. W. Day Jr., J. W. Gilliam, P. M. Groffman, D. L. Hey, G. W. Randall, and N. Wang. 2001. Reducing nitrogen loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River basin: Strategies to counter a persistent ecological problem. BioScience 51(5): 373–388.

Otvos, E. G., and G. A. Carter. 2008. Hurricane degradation—Barrier development cycles, northeastern Gulf of Mexico: Landform evolution and island chain history. Journal of Coastal Research 24(2): 463–478.

Pringle, C. M., M. C. Freeman, and B. J. Freeman. 2000. Regional effects of hydrologic alterations on riverine macrobiota in the new world: Tropical–temperate comparisons. BioScience 50(9): 807–823.

Schelske, C. L., E. F. Lowe, L. E. Battoe, M. Brenner, M. F. Coveney, and W. F. Kenney. 2005. Abrupt biological response to hydrologic and land-use changes in Lake Apopka, Florida, USA. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 34(3): 192–198.

Schmitz, D. C. 2007. Florida's invasive plant research: Historical perspective and the present research program. Natural Areas Journal 27(3): 251–253.

Simberloff, D., D. Schmitz, and T. Brown. 1997. Strangers in paradise: Impact and management of nonindigenous species in Florida. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Slate, J. E., and R. J. Stevenson. 2000. Recent and abrupt environmental change in the Florida Everglades indicated from siliceous microfossils. Wetlands 20(2): 346–356.

Wilcove, D. S., D. Rothstein, J. Dubow, A. Phillips, and E. Losos. 1998. Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the United States. BioScience 48: 607–615.

Tucker, J. W., Jr., and W. D. Robinson. 2003. Influence of season and frequency of fire on Henslow's sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) wintering on Gulf Coast pitcher plant bogs. The Auk 120(1):96–106.

Ugarte, C. A., L. A. Brandt, S. Melvin, F. J. Mazzotti, and K. G. Rice. 2006. Hurricane impacts to tree Islands in Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Southeastern Naturalist 5(4):737–746

Tables

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.

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