Developing a blueprint for

conservation of the longleaf ecosystem based on centers of

Coastal Plain endemismBruce A. Sorrie

and Alan S. WeakleyUniversity of North Carolina

Herbarium / North Carolina Botanical

Garden

Endemic areas in North America

• Californian floristic province (Raven & Axelrod 1978)– 50 endemic genera– 2125 endemic species– Ca. 2600 endemic taxa

• Southern Appalachians (Weakley in prep.)– 2 endemic genera– 165 endemic taxa

• Ozark-Ouachitas (Zollner in prep.)– 0 endemic genera – 31 endemic taxa

• Pacific Northwest• ?? Southeastern Coastal Plain ??

The Coastal Plain

Southeastern Coastal Plain

Analysis based on:– over 1000 publications with range information

(county dot maps)– herbarium records (ca. 25 herbaria)– taxonomy largely following Kartesz 1999

checklist– definition of endemic = over 90% of

occurrences within region

Southeastern Coastal Plain endemism

• 48 endemic genera

• Ca. 1350 endemic species

• 1732 endemic taxa

Why?

• Monotonous, “flatter than a pancake”, unconsolidated sediments (geologically “young”), warm temperate to tropical humid climate, vermin-infested, etc.

• But …– Soils diversity (pH 3 – 8.5)– Extremely xeric to variety of wetlands– Coastal habitats, wide diversity of other habitats– Long evolutionary history [never glaciated, refugium

during glaciation events, tropical elements, Southwestern elements (Astragalus, Eriogonum, etc)]

Dune grasslands

Coastal Plain sandstone glade

South Florida marl prairies

Endemic genera

Within-region patterns of endemism and diversity

• What are the patterns?

• What does this tell us about evolutionary history of the region?

• What are the implications for conservation?

Subregional endemism

• 8 subregions (of which 5 are “Longleaf Pine ecoregions”)

• 2 areas outside the province but with substantial disjuncts (Inland North America and West Indies/Central America)

The Coastal Plain

Subregions

• Coastal Plain– Mid-Atlantic CP (se. VA south to s. SC)– South Atlantic CP (n. GA to n. FL)– Temperate Florida Peninsula– East Gulf Coastal Plain (sw. GA and w. FL west to se. LA)– West Gulf Coastal Plain (w. LA – e. TX)– Northeastern Coastal Plain (c. VA north to Massachsetts, Nova

Scotia, Newfoundland)– South Florida– South Texas and northern Tamaulipas

• Disjunct areas– Inland (Cumberland Plateau, S. Appalachian bogs, Great Lakes

shores, etc.)– West Indies and Central America, Bermuda

The “core Coastal Plain” – the Longleaf Pine ecosystem

Longleaf Pine associates

• 1000 of 1732 endemic taxa distributed in– All 5 subregions -- 109 taxa

(11%)– 4 subregions – 188 taxa

(19%)– 3 subregions – 155 taxa

(16%)– 2 subregions – 195 taxa

(19%)– Only 1 subregion – 353

taxa (35%)

Endemic Taxa Distribution across Subregions

35335%

109(11%)

19419%

15516%

18819%

all 5 4 3 2 only 1

Of the single-subregion endemics:

• East Gulf Coastal Plain – 125 taxa

• Florida Peninsula – 122 taxa

• Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain – 44 taxa

• South Atlantic Coastal Plain – 33 taxa

• West Gulf Coastal plain – 29 taxa

Conservation of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

• Prescribed fire + viable sized landscapes = public lands (for the most part)

• USDA Forest Service (Apalachicola, Ocala, Croatan, DeSoto, Conecuh, Kisatchie, Texas Forests, etc.)

• DOD (Eglin, Bragg, Jackson, Benning, Stewart, Gordon, Avon Park, etc.)

• State conservation lands• Some large private preserves (TNC)

Are public lands “protected”?

• USDA Forest Service – pressure for greater timber production, greater recreational uses (incl. ORV)

• Dept. of Defense – efforts to get exemption from conservation laws, including the Endangered Species Act

Are private lands “protected”?

The Nature Conservancy– new emphasis on divestiture of preserves to

other stewards – focus on large landscapes and ecological

systems, not “small sites” and species

Gaps in the system – Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

Of 51 endemics (LLP and non-LLP):– 32 are well-protected with many occurrences

on conservation lands*– 19 are not, with few or no protected

occurrences on conservation lands

Gaps in the system – Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

• Marl savannas: Allium sp. nov., Carex lutea, Hypericum sp. nov., Parnassia caroliniana, Scleria sp. nov., Thalictrum cooleyi

• Sandhills: Polygonella polygama var. croomii• Pineland ponds: Oxypolis canbyi, Sagittaria sp. nov.• Blackwater rivers: Hymenocallis pygmaea, Isoetes

microvela, Nuphar sagittifolia, Sabatia kennedyana• Tidal marshes: Oenothera riparia, Ptilimnium sp. nov.• Mesic bluffs: Rhododendron eastmanii• Bottomlands: Scirpus flaccidifolius, Trillium pusillum var.

pusillum

Other gaps in the system

• The “Grit”: Altamaha grit communities and species

• Central portion of the Florida Panhandle – ponds and fens

• Southwest Louisiana “saline longleaf” (Natraqualf savannas)

Implications for conservation

• Longleaf associated taxa “turn over” rapidly• Greatest endemism in FL panhandle (esp. Apalachicola),

FL peninsula (esp. central ridges• High levels of endemism in all ecoregions of the

Southeastern Coastal Plain and all ecoregions of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

• Conservation needed in all subregions, and in the distinctive sub-subregions of the subregions

• Viability / manageability an important issue• But… extreme local endemism means that many

conservation areas will be needed – many of them new and many unlikely to be large

Pond-cypress savanna, SC

Mid-Atlantic and East Gulf patterns