Bruce A. Sorrie and Alan S. Weakley University of North Carolina Herbarium /

1. Bruce A. Sorrie and Alan S. Weakley University of North Carolina Herbarium / North Carolina Botanical Garden Developing a blueprint for conservation of the longleaf ecosystem based on centers of Coastal Plain endemism

2. 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 ??

3. The Coastal Plain

4. 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

6. Southeastern Coastal Plain endemism • 48 endemic genera • Ca. 1350 endemic species • 1732 endemic taxa

7. 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)]

12. Dune grasslands

14. Coastal Plain sandstone glade

15. South Florida marl prairies

17. Endemic genera

18. 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?

19. 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)

20. The Coastal Plain

21. 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

22. The “core Coastal Plain” – the Longleaf Pine ecosystem

23. 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%)

24. 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

25. 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)

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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)

31. 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

33. Pond-cypress savanna, SC

34. Mid-Atlantic and East Gulf patterns