Friday, August 10, 2007: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
Blrm Salon IV, San Jose Marriott
OOS 50 - The longleaf pine ecosystem: Ecology, management, and restoration
The overall objective of the session is to bring together researchers from ecology, forestry, wildlife biology and restoration ecology to showcase the latest research in their respective disciplines pertaining to the longleaf pine ecosystem, the most threatened ecosystem in North America. The history and development of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystem in the southeastern United States has intrigued natural resource professionals, researchers, and the general public for years. Over the last decade, considerable interest has grown in conserving and restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. For example, these ecosystems provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species including the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Similarly, interest in longleaf pine regeneration and management systems has been high among land managers, ecologists, the forest products industry, and the general public. The organizers of this session have been conducting research and teaching courses on the ecology and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem for the past several years. One of the organizers recently published an edited volume that sold more than 500 copies in the first two months. This clearly demonstrates the interest in the ecology and restoration of this unique system across a wide range of audiences from students to practitioners. Both the organizers co-developed an undergraduate course on the ecology and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem which is being taught at each of their universities. Topics covered in the session include overstory and understory responses to fire and fire surrogate treatments as well as other disturbances, restoration of the understory, retranslocation of redcockaded woodpecker, understory habitat quality for gopher tortoise, exotic plant invasion, and the ecophysiology of longleaf pine regeneration. The session will be a unique treatise to anyone interested in learning more about this magnificent ecosystem that has lost over 97% of its original extent since European settlement. The lessons from papers presented in this session may be transferable to similar fire dependent ecosystems in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
Organizer:Shibu Jose, University of Florida
Co-organizer:Scott Roberts, Mississippi State University
Moderator:Scott Roberts, Mississippi State University
8:00 AMOOS 50-1Effects of burn season on reproductive success of grasses in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Miller) sandhills of North Florida
Benjamin J. Shepherd, University of Florida, Deborah L. Miller, University of Florida, Mack Thetford, University of Florida
8:20 AMOOS 50-2Integrating fire, silviculture, and regeneration in longleaf pine through fuels management
Steve Jack, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Robert Mitchell, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Kevin Hiers, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center
8:40 AMOOS 50-3Response of longleaf pine forests to fire and fire surrogate treatments for wildfire hazard mitigation and ecological restoration
Kenneth Outcalt, USDA Forest Service, Dale Brockway, USDA Forest Service
9:00 AMOOS 50-4Fire dependence of longleaf pine regeneration: An examination of the evidence and implication for restoration
Geoff Wang, Clemson University, Joan Walker, USDA Forest Service
9:20 AMOOS 50-5Conceptual models for the role of natural disturbances in ecological restoration of southeastern pine savannas
Frank Gilliam, Marshall University, William Platt, Lousiana State University
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 50-6Water use, aboveground net primary production, and water use efficiency in a longleaf pine wiregrass savanna
Chelcy Ford, USDA Forest Service, Robert Mitchell, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Robert Teskey, University of Georgia
10:10 AMOOS 50-7Elton's hypothesis revisited: Can species-rich understory of the longleaf pine ecosystem resist invasion by Imperata cylindrica?
Shibu Jose, University of Florida, Alexandra Collins, University of Vermont
10:30 AMOOS 50-8Rates of spread of the invasive species, cogongrass: Implications for restoration of gopher tortoise habitat
Lisa Yager, The Nature Conservancy, Jeanne Jones, Mississippi State University, Deborah Miller, UF
10:50 AMOOS 50-9Restoring and reintroducing red-cockaded woodpecker populations: The ecological basis for translocation success
Ralph Costa, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Roy DeLottele, US Fish and Wildlife Service
11:10 AMOOS 50-10Ecological restoration of a longleaf pine savanna in the Southeastern Coastal Plain
Susan C. Carr, University of Florida, Kevin Robertson, Tall Timber Research Station, Richard Martin, The Nature Conservancy, Nelwyn McInnis, The Nature Conservancy, Latimore Smith, The Nature Conservancy

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