Restoring oak ecosystems

Selected abstracts aimed at, especially using watershed courses as corridors. (P.J.Jarvis)

Regional NATURE CONSERVATION REGIONAL

411

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952/00017 Survival of woodland caribou in commercial forests of nor&em Ontario H. G. Cumming & D. B. Beange, Forestry Chronicle, 69(5), 1993, pp 579-588. Rangifer tarandus caribou did not use cut portions of traditional wintering areas for 12 yr after cutting. Minimal efforts to ensure caribou survival in commercial forests should include deferral of cutting in caribou wintering areas, protection of calving areas, and accelerated research. (from Authors) 952/00018 Effeeta of channel incision on base flow stream habitats and fishes F. D. Shields Jr, S. S. Knight&C. M. Cooper, Environmental Management, 18(l), 1994, pp 43-57. Fishes and physical habitat variables were sampled at base flow from three incised stream channels and one reference stream in NW Mississippi. Incised channel habitat quality was inferior to the reference channel despite the presence of structures designed to restore channel stability. Incised channels had physical habitat diversity levels similar to a nonincised reference channel, but contained fewer types of habitat. At base flow, incised channels were dominated by shallow, sandy habitats, moderate to high mean local Froude numbers, and had relatively little organic debris in their beds. The reference stream had greater mean water depth, contained more woody debris, and provided more deep pool habitat. Fish assemblages in incised channels were composed of smaller fishes representing fewer species relative to the reference site. (from Authors) Moist-soil management of playa lakes for 952/00019 migrating and wintering ducks D. A. Haukos & L. M. Smith, Wild&e Society Bulletin, 21(3), 1993, pp 288-298. The Playa Lakes Region of the Southern High Plains is an important area for wintering and migrating waterfowl. Research undertaken in eight playa lakes in NW Texas showed the value of moist-soil management (irrigation of dry playas or drawing down flooded ones) to waterfowl, increasing seed production of important food plants such as smartweeds Persicaria spp. and barnyard grass Echinochloa crusgalli, and generally improving cover. (P.J.Jarvis) 95Z/OOO20 Catastrophes, phase sbifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef T. P. Hughes, Science, 265(5178), 1994, pp 1547-1551. In Jamaica, the effects of overfishing, hurricane damage, and disease have combined to destroy most corals, whose abundance has declined from > 50% in the late 1970s to < 5% today. A dramatic phase shift has occurred, producing a system dominated by fleshy macroalgae (> 90% cover). Immediate implementation of management procedures is necessary to avoid further catastrophic damage. (from Author) 95Z/OOO2 1 Maintenance of diversity in tropical forests J. Terborgh, Biotropica, 24(2B), 1992, pp 283-292. Focuses on the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil which have been reduced to < 10% of their former extent and which have been greatly fragmented. Implications of such loss and fragmentation to species richness are reviewed, and possible management steps to counteract such trends are mooted, bearing in mind the need to marry conservation with human needs. Marginal lands should be excluded from intensive development, and extensive, sustainable alternative forms of land use should be promoted. Hunting needs to be regulated. Maximum interconnectedness between wildlands should be

boundaries

and water-

952/00022 Kalkningsforsok - effekter pa mark ocb vegetation. En studie i naturreservaten Libbbults angar ocb Varaskruv, Krouobergs Ian (Liming experiment - effect on soil and vegetation in the Libbhults angar and Varaskruv nature reserves, Kronoberg County) G. Blom, Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift, 87(4), 1993, pp 197-209. Liming, with dolomite, olivine and wood-ash, as a means to neutralize soil acidification was studied in two areas in S Sweden. Soil pH was increased by the treatments, but the effect of intensified grazing was greater, possibly due to a decrease of Calluna vulgariswhich was dominant at the beginning of the studies. (from English summary) 952/00023 Setting conservation priorities for threatened species: a joint grouping and sequencing method A. V. Hall, South African Journal ofBotany, 59(6), 1993, pp 581-591. The Fynbos and Karoo Biomes in South Africa have the highest concentration of threatened plant species of any temperate region in the world. In the first stage, the criteria are aspects of the need for conserving the species and in the second, their biological and practical ease of conservation. Species with similar profiles are grouped together, making the sequences more information-rich and a better guide for conservation planning. The methods are demonstrated using 20 Endangered and Vulnerable plant species from the Cape Peninsula. (from Author)

Restoration

ecology

952/00024 Canada’s rough fescue grasslandsz a trial restoration project in Alberta is yielding encouraging results R. D. Revel, Restoration & Management Notes, 1 l(2), 1993, pp 117-124. Describes the Edgemont Project, an effort to restore grassland characterised by Festucascabrellain Calgary, and part of the Native Species Parkland Project initiated in 1989. The paper reports on initial trials, planning the community project, implementation through sod transplanting, and subsequent monitoring. The sodding technique holds considerable potential for other small- to medium-scale restoration projects, and provides a means for preserving native sod that would otherwise be destroyed. (P.J.Jarvis) 952/00025 Restoring oak ecosystems S. Packard, Restoration &Management Notes, 1 l(l), 1993, pp 5-16. Research into the nature and functioning of the oak savannas and woodlands of the American Midwest is leading to reevaluation of ideas concerning plant community structure and succession, which in turn requires reassessment of landscape management and restoration. The author’s goal is to restore savanna to its last known natural state and then let processes that are as natural as possible proceed. (P.J.Jarvis) 952/00026 Moguah barrens: pine barrens restoration experiment initiated in Cbequamegon National Forest R. S. Vora, Restoration &Management Notes, 1 l(l), 1993, pp 39-44. Describes this 184-ha project on the Baytield Peninsula, N Wisconsin, established as a pilot evaluative scheme for possibly wider application in the surrounding area. Most trees were cut, though clumps were allowed to remain: the resultant scattered red pine Pinus resinosa, some aspen Populus and red maple Acer rubrum, and an open area (which will need to be kept tree-free though prescribed burning) provide many of the characteristics of true pine barrens. (P.J.Jarvis) 952/00027 Impacts of coal pile leachate on a forested wetland in South Carolina C. L. Carlson 8c C. A. Carlson, Water, Air, L Soil Pollution, 72(1-4), 1994, pp 89-109. Determined the probable cause of several areas of stressed