Document: GLE-3-83-7

Incorporating regional-historical perspectives into conservation of uncommon plant communities: A study of the northeastern Coastal Region.

MOTZKIN, G.*, D.R.FOSTER, B.HALL, J.HARROD and T.PARSHALL

Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA 01366 USA ¹

Abstract:
Although the importance of determining the history of uncommon communities is increasingly recognized as critical for conservation efforts, most studies have been restricted to investigations of individual sites, with little attempt to place local results in a regional or long temporal context. Such a context is necessary to determine the degree to which local dynamics are characteristic of the community type targeted for protection and to determine geographic and temporal variation in disturbance regimes, species distributions, and ecosystem processes. We investigated the history and development of upland plant communities in the northeastern Coastal Region, an area that supports numerous uncommon species and is highly threatened by development. Land-use and natural disturbance history vary considerably across the region. Nantucket and Block Island were almost completely cleared for agriculture in the 17-early 20th C., whereas extensive areas on Long Island, Cape Cod, and Martha's Vineyard were cut or burned but never cleared. Modern community patterns strongly reflect this history of land-use; several characteristic or rare lepidopteran species are largely restricted to sites that were never cleared for agriculture, whereas numerous rare plant species are most frequent on sites that were disturbed intensively for agriculture or other uses. Land-use history is also a primary determinant of distribution patterns of common species. Although recent conservation efforts have emphasized the introduction of prescribed fire, vegetation patterns have largely been determined by historical land-use practices, suggesting that prescribed fire alone may not be adequate to ensure the long-term persistence of uncommon species and assemblages.

Keywords: conservation, land-use history, fire, New England

This abstract is being presented at: 3:30 PM in session:
CONSERVATION ECOLOGY