PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #42: Restoration of Public Lands.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Sweetgrass restoration in South Carolina: II. Reestablishing a coastal prairie habitat.

Burke, Marianne^*,1, Halfacre, Angela², ¹ USDA Forest Service, Charleston, SC² Department of Political Science, Charleston, SC

ABSTRACT- Sweetgrass (Muhlenbergia filipes ) is a grass that has important ecological and cultural roles in South Carolina. It is a component of the once abundant Atlantic coastal prairie that is now rare and a national priority habitat for management. Coastal prairie species co-evolved with Native Americans and the fires they set to control succession. Today, fire suppression has allowed competitive pressure to mount, limiting the present range of sweetgrass to the most physically stressful edge of its original range, the back dunes just seaward of the shrub/scrub community. Simultaneously, coastal development and recreation are impinging on remaining habitat, resulting in dwindling acreage of the habitat and an inadequate supply of sweetgrass relative to cultural demand. Restoration requires reestablishing populations of sweetgrass to provide a seed source and limiting competition with other plants. Like other prairie species these stress tolerators are poor competitors. An effort is underway to reestablish coastal prairie habitat in South Carolina and to provide a sustainable supply of sweetgrass for cultural use. We are 1) parameterizing sweetgrass habitat and identifying the importance of fire and other disturbance in habitat maintenance, 2) identifying former, present, and potential habitat in South Carolina, 3) developing a restoration guide or manual for use by the stakeholders and the larger citizenry, and 4) developing criteria for measuring sustainability or restoration success.

KEY WORDS: restoration, prairie, Muhlenbergia filipes, National Forest