An official website of the United States government
Active management such as prescribed fire and thinning can restore savanna and prairie ecosystem to maintain a full suite of ecosystem services and create suitable habitat for wildlife species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Active management comes with the cost of management and acceptance of management tools. The south-central transitional ecoregion of the USA, which otherwise was a mixture of forest, savanna, and tallgrass prairie, is increasing in woody plant dominance due to the exclusion of fire and other anthropogenic factors. Deer hunting is a vital source of revenue generation to offset the landowner’s management cost in the region. We studied Oklahoma landowners’ perceptions regarding active and sustainable management of forest and rangeland for deer habitat using two established theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as well as expanded theories adding moral norms. We analyzed mailed survey data using structural equation modeling. We found that subjective norms and perceived behavior control significantly affected deer hunting intention when moral norms were introduced into the model. Attitudes independently significantly affected intentions of deer hunting but have negative relations with the intentions. The study suggested that landowners have positive social pressure and were interested in active management but associated financial burden and risk could be shaping negative attitudes. Keywords Theory of planned behavior ● Theory of reasoned action ● Moral norms ● Prescribed fire ● White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
more »
« less
Impacts of Forest Thinning and White-Tailed Deer Herbivory on Translocation of the Rare Terrestrial Orchid Platanthera integrilabia
Translocation is increasingly being used to supplement existing occurrences and establish new occurrences of rare plant species, but translocation success is dependent on understanding responses to habitat conditions and management. Platanthera integrilabia (white fringeless orchid) is a rare terrestrial orchid species presently found in mostly small occurrences that comprise a fraction of its historical distribution and abundance in the southeastern United States. We investigated the influence of shade and white-tailed deer herbivory, as cited concerns for this species, on the early success of its translocation from tubers as determined through measures of emergence, survival, growth, and reproduction of two cohorts. Our findings suggest that translocation from tubers could be a viable option to assist the conservation of P. integrilabia relative to its propagation from seed, but that low early emergence, survival, and flowering rates should be considered in translocation plans. Our results also indicate that translocation and ongoing habitat management should consider the potential for light availability to differentially impact distinct plant life stages and influence deer herbivory. We recommend that additional translocation studies designed to investigate the influence of site conditions on outcomes could improve the success of such efforts as well as inform the management of extant occurrences.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1655762
- PAR ID:
- 10283104
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Diversity
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 1424-2818
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 412
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Premise Herbivores directly influence plant reproduction by damaging reproductive tissue which reduces seed production in consumed plants. Consumption of reproductive tissue may also indirectly depress reproduction in unconsumed plants by isolating unconsumed individuals from prospective mates and reducing pollination. However, empirical support for such hypothesized indirect effects remains limited. Methods To investigate potential indirect effects of herbivory on mating opportunities and pollination, we quantified spatial patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herbivory and reproductive outcomes in Lilium philadelphicum (Liliaceae). We mapped 708 flowering plants, monitored deer herbivory, and examined how distance to prospective mates influenced rates of ovule fertilization, a proxy for pollen receipt. Results Most floweringL. philadelphicum plants (83%) failed to produce seed. Deer consumption of flowers prevented seed production in 35% of individuals. The probability of deer herbivory declined with distance to flowering conspecifics. Sixty-five percent of the remaining, unconsumed plants failed to produce seed due to apparent pollen limitation. While ovule fertilization rates declined with multiple predictors quantifying distances to flowering conspecifics, isolation metrics that excluded plants consumed by deer significantly improved predictions of ovule fertilization. Conclusions Our results offer empirical support for the hypothesis that herbivory reduces pollination and seed production in unconsumed plants by altering spatial mating opportunities. This feedback between deer herbivory and distance-dependent pollination contributes to widespread reproductive failure in L. philadelphicum, though the extent to which deer reduce seed production varies with plant isolation. Herbivory may exacerbate pollen limitation in other species by isolating unconsumed plants from prospective mates.more » « less
-
Solanum jamesii (jam) is the only wild potato species with its natural range primarily within the USA. Its tubers are known to have unusual abilities to survive various environmental stresses. It has been observed during germplasm collecting that mother tubers (those that produced the plant) often appear to be as firm and viable as the new daughter tubers. This prompted investigation of whether such mother tubers can produce multiple seasons of shoots (after periods of intervening cool storage to simulate winter). We compared serial production of 20 cm shoots by the same tuber in subsequent seasons of a set of 162 jam populations to that of a diverse set of 75 populations of 25 other potato species in greenhouse cultivation at the US Potato Genebank. It was rare for tubers of any species other than jam to produce even two serial shoots. But over half of jam populations were able to produce four serial shoots (M4), and 14 populations produced five serial shoots (M5) with tubers remaining firm. When we looked for associated traits, M4 and M5 populations have no apparent single geographic origin or similarity by DNA markers. But natural origin sites for M4 and M5 populations were significantly associated with ancient human habitation. This work reports a new survival mechanism in potato by which a tuber does not expend all resources in maximizing new shoot growth, but instead presumably restocks itself to survive several seasons if all other reproductive options fail. Future work could study the physiological and genetic basis of the trait, and ways it could have practical benefit to the crop.more » « less
-
Abstract Two of the major factors that control the composition of herbaceous plant communities are competition for limiting soil resources and herbivory. We present results from a 14-year full factorial experiment in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem that crossed nitrogen (N) addition with fencing to exclude white-tailed deer,Odocoileus virginianus, from half the plots. Deer presence was associated with only modest decreases in aboveground plant biomass (14% decrease; −45 ± 19 g m−2) with no interaction with N addition. N addition at 5.44 and 9.52 g N m−2 year−1led to increases in biomass. There were weak increases in species richness associated with deer presence, but only for no or low added N (1 and 2 g N m−2 year−1). However, the presence of deer greatly impacted the abundances of some of the dominant perennial forb species, but not the dominant grasses. Deer presence increased the abundance of the forbArtemisia ludovicianaby 34 ± 12 SE g m−2(94%) and decreased the forbSolidago rigidaby 32 ± 13 SE g m−2(79%). We suggest that these changes may have resulted from trade-offs in plant competitive ability for soil N versus resistance to deer herbivory. Field observations suggest deer acted as florivores, mainly consuming the flowers of susceptible forb species. The preferential consumption of flowers of forbs that seem to be superior N competitors appears to create an axis of interspecific niche differentiation. The overpopulation of white-tailed deer in many tallgrass reserves likely structures the abundance of forb species.more » « less
-
Alday, Josu (Ed.)Abstract Question Nurse–beneficiary plant interactions are often used to restore degraded habitats. However, whether and how shifts in plant–plant interactions along the facilitation–competition continuum alter revegetation success has been seldom considered. To test whether and how shifts in plant–plant interactions (due to woody species identity, study site, early life stage, and individual nurse) might alter plant recruitment and thus the success of revegetation projects, we chose a system comprising the Mediterranean dwarf palm ( Chamaerops humilis ) and seven common woody plant species. Location Two human‐degraded sites within Doñana National Park (southwestern Spain). Methods We carried out several well‐replicated field experiments to compare plant performance (seed survival, seedling emergence, seedling survival, seedling recruitment) in the presence and absence of Chamaerops humilis . Results Chamaerops humilis had marked effects on the performance of woody species that, however, changed among life stages. Depending on woody species identity, seed survival was up to 193 times greater in adjacent open spaces than beneath Chamaerops humilis . Conversely, seedling survival and recruitment were up to 19 times greater beneath Chamaerops humilis than in open spaces. Importantly, none of the studied woody species showed greater accumulated recruitment in open spaces than beneath Chamaerops humilis . Interestingly, we found strong inter‐individual palm variation in the sign and strength of their effect on woody plant performance. Conclusions We found strong seed–seedling conflicts the strength of which was species‐specific. The strong inter‐individual palm variation depicts a facilitation–competition continuum with important implications for restoration. We propose several management recommendations across different hierarchical levels (i.e., from individuals to communities) that may increase plant recruitment and therefore the success of revegetation projects. Our results are particularly relevant for restoring arid, semi‐arid and alpine landscapes worldwide where the nurse–beneficiary plant interactions are critical to ameliorating stressful conditions.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/d12110412
