Coastal Plain Plants Research Articles

Phytophthora cinnamomi disease expression and habitat suitability of soils on a topographic gradient across a coastal plain from dunes to forested peneplain

Ex-situ comparison of Phytophthora cinnamomi habitat suitability of soils from a topographic gradient across the Swan Coastal Plain from dunes to a forested peneplain provides clues to the influences of soil type on disease development. Only ex-situ testing was possible to compare P. cinnamomi habitat suitability because of confinement of Swan Coastal Plain plant communities to a relatively few, small remnants. Disease expression was determined in a shadehouse environment and stimulation of sporangium production in a controlled environment. Greater than 90 % mortality of Banksia grandis following P. cinnamomi ex-situ soil inoculation and greatest stimulation of sporangium formation and release of zoospores by soil extracts from Bassendean Dune, Pinjarra Plain, Ridge Hill Shelf and Jarrah Forest reflected high disease incidence and severity that occurs in these landscape elements. In Quindalup Dune (QD) soil there were no deaths of B. grandis following P. cinnamomi soil inoculation, consistent with the lack of disease incidence and expression that occurs in QD plant communities. However QD soils stimulated sporulation similar to the other landscape element soil extracts. Higher levels of phosphorus and calcium in QD soils possibly influenced the host-infection process after sporangium formation and zoospore release. Greater than 90 % plant mortality following P. cinnamomi soil inoculation and stimulation of sporulation by Spearwood Dune (SD) soil extracts did not reflect low disease incidence and severity that occurs in this landscape element. Differences in measured variables between soils did not indicate reasons for the high plant mortality following ex-situ soil inoculation and low disease expression in SD plant communities, possibly due to post sporulation effects of the soil environments on host infection and invasion by P. cinnamomi.

Habitat and Search Criteria of the Rare Sandhills Lily, Lilium pyrophilum M. W. Skinner and Sorrie

Thirty populations of Sandhills lily (Lilium pyrophilum) in North Carolina and Virginia were studied to understand the habitat requirements and develop search criteria to find new populations. In each population a study plot containing lily individuals was compared with a nearby plot lacking the lily. Lilium pyrophilum habitat occurred on floodplains and adjacent side slopes that supported four Coastal Plain plant community types and maintained rights-of-way and had an open canopy with an understory dominated by herbs and shrubs. Lily individuals occurred on a range of organic to mineral-organic soils but not on sandy soils and lily soils had higher sulfur levels. Relative to plots lacking lily individuals, Lilium pyrophilum plots had a higher wetness index. Since 97% of plots were in jurisdictional wetlands, a wetland indicator of FACW was recommended for L. pyrophilum. Search criteria for finding new populations were developed on the basis of the habitat features elucidated in this study.

Breeding system and early stage inbreeding depression in a Nova Scotian population of the global rarity, Sabatia kennedyana (Gentianaceae)

Abstract The survival of populations of rare plant species may be affected both by total levels of seed production and by inbreeding depression expressed upon self-fertilization. We examined natural seed production and rates of self-fertilization in a Nova Scotian lakeshore population of the globally rare Atlantic Coastal Plain plant, Sabatia kennedyana Fernald (Gentianaceae), and determined the effect of self and cross pollinations on fitness at early plant life stages. Seed production was not limited by natural pollination levels. Furthermore, flowers from which pollinators were excluded produced 66% as many seeds as unprotected, naturally pollinated plants, indicating that substantial seed set can occur in the absence of pollinators. The selfing rate of naturally pollinated flowers was estimated as 21% using the inbreeding depression method. Stage-specific inbreeding depression was 19% at germination, and cumulative inbreeding depression from fertilization through germination was 23%. Seed formation (s...

Developing a blueprint for conservation of the endangered longleaf pine ecosystem based on centers of Coastal Plain plant endemism

AbstractQuestion: Can the geographic patterning of endemic plant species inform reserve selection in a region of high endemism?Location: The Southeastern Coastal Plain of North America, focusing primarily on the imperiled longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Miller) ecosystem.Methods: We documented the high level of plant endemism in the region, and characterized the endemic taxa into distributional subregions.Results: A total of 1630 plant taxa are endemic to the Coastal Plain, a large proportion of which are endemic to phytogeographical subregions within the Coastal Plain, with particularly large numbers of narrow endemics occurring in the East Gulf Coastal Plain and Florida Peninsula.Conclusions: This pattern of local endemism presents challenges in conserving the full biota of the region: a reserve system focusing on few and large conservation areas has theoretical benefits for long‐term management and viability, but will fail to capture many local endemics. We propose that the dispersed distribution of endemic species will require a mixture of large core reserves and smaller satellite reserves.

Lakeshore diversity and rarity relationships along interacting disturbance gradients: catchment area, wave action and depth

Diversity patterns of riparian plant communities have been associated with disturbance. Populations of a diversity of Atlantic Coastal Plain plants occur as disjuncts on shores of large catchment area lakes in Nova Scotia. These lakeshore communities contain rare plants with local, national and global rankings. The populations of rare plants are dynamic and their management requires an understanding of the relationship between disturbance and the survival of rare plants. This present study measured (overwinter wooden dowel removal) and observed disturbance along gradients of catchment area (CA), exposure and depth. In three separate experiments ranging from the landscape to the lake, to the single shoreline level, disturbance was linked to lake CA, exposure and depth, respectively. At all scales, disturbance was positively associated with the presence of rare species. The pattern of rare species richness over the river system was complex; at the within-lake level, the frequency of rare species per site was greatest in the intermediate CA lake while the pool of rare species was greatest in the largest CA lake. The findings focus field efforts on wide, exposed shorelines of large CA lakes where new rare plants continue to be discovered. In addition, the discrepancy between highest frequency of rare plants on intermediate CA lakes and highest species pools of rarities on large CA lakes, reinforces the need for larger protected area systems for the most naturally disturbed ecosystems which often support populations having a high turnover rate but a low site to site frequency.

Winter-hardiness trials of Vaccinium corymbosum L. in Nova Scotia

In order to assess cold tolerance in V. corymbosum L. in Nova Scotia, 336 even-aged seedlings from 21 locations (representing five different habitats and six eastern North American floristic regions) were set out at the Kentville Research Centre in 1978. Frost damage is largely restricted to Coastal Plain plants and to a lesser extent the Appalachian Mountain plants. Principal component analysis indicates that berry weight co-varies negatively with winter-kill and days from the anthesis until fruit ripening. Hardy plants that flower in early May also need the fewest days to produce ripe fruit. Among the 23 early flowering biotypes, six early fruiting biotypes were identified. Key words: Vaccinium corymbosum, highbush blueberries, frost tolerance, drought tolerance, early flowering and fruiting biotypes

Quaternary paleoecology of the Lower Mississippi Valley

In 1938, Clair A. Brown published his classic paleobotanical discoveries from the Tunica Hills of southeastern Louisiana, indicating ice-age plant migrations of more than 1100 km. Brown collected fossils of both boreal trees such as white spruce ( Picea glauca) and southern coastal plain plants from deposits mapped as the Port Hickey (Prairie) river terrace by Harold N. Fisk. Subsequent revisions of terrace mapping, radiocarbon dating, and paleoecological analysis reconciled Brown's conceptual and stratigraphic “mixing” of these two ecologically incompatible fossil plant groups. An older Terrace 2 (of Sangamonian to Altonian age) contains the warm-temperate assemblage. A younger Terrace 1 (of Farmdalian, Woodfordian, and Holocene age) includes full-glacial and late-glacial remains of both boreal and cool-temperate plants; and a warm-temperate suite of plants dates from the Holocene interglacial. New plant fossil localities with radiocarbon chronologies are now available from within the Lower Mississippi Valley of Missouri and Arkansas as well as from the adjacent Ozark Plateaus, the Interior Low Plateaus of Kentucky and Tennessee, and the bordering Blufflands of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These studies demonstrate that glacial and interglacial patterns of vegetation have been influenced by regional changes in climate, glacial runoff, and regime of the Mississippi River.

A protocol to identify and prioritize significant coastal plain plant assemblages for protection

A systematic method for establishing priorities for the protection of coastal plain plant species assemblages and their habitat was developed and applied to 49 lakes in Ontario. A list of coastal plain species found in the area was made based on the literature. From herbarium records for these species, 62 candidate lakes were selected for the field survey and priority for investigation was determined by the number of species collected from each. Lake significance for coastal plain plants was initially ranked numerically based on the following score: (total no. of coastal plain species × 4) + (no. coastal plain species nationally rare × 3) + (no. coastal plain species provincially rare × 2) + (no. other nationally/ provincially rare species). Ranks for the 12 most significant lakes were then adjusted to reflect the proportion of shoreline harbouring coastal plain plant assemblages and the occurrence of exceptionally large populations of significant species. Priority for shorelines protection was determined by adjusting this secondary rank according to existing protection, disturbance, threats and history of scientific study. The procedure used can serve as a model for evaluating other natural areas and themes.

The low competitive ability of Canada's Atlantic coastal plain shoreline flora: Implications for conservation

With over 22 nationally or globally significant Atlantic coastal plain taxa in Canada, there is a need for broadly applicable management strategies and the general models that make such strategies possible. Coastal plain species occur primarily in infertile areas and/or on shorelines exposed to wave wash or seasonal flooding. Experiments show that coastal plain species are restricted to such areas by the inability to compete with competitively superior species that occupy fertile, undisturbed areas. Coastal plain plants almost always co-occur with either isoetids or carnivorous species, two well-known stress-tolerant groups of plants, indicating that coastal plain species are also stress tolerators. The rarity of coastal plain species is a consequence of limited habitat with low competition intensity, so conservation strategies should emphasize the preservation of remaining habitat and the maintenance of existing levels of infertility, flooding and exposure.

Disjunct Atlantic coastal plain species in Nova Scotia: Distribution, habitat and conservation priorities

Nova Scotia supports some of the rarest Atlantic coastal plain plant species in Canada. Concentrations of these species are found in two regions; the Tusket and the Medway River systems. Much is known about the distribution and habitat of coastal plain plants in the Tusket system, so our objective was to document the distribution, abundance and habitat of three species from along lakeshores in the Medway system. Lachnanthes caroliana is restricted to one lake, while large populations of Lophiola aurea and Scirpus longii were found in several locations. Sites that supported either of these three species were prioritized for protection based on the population sizes of these species and the status and number of other rare plants. All three species typically co-occurred with other rare plants, isoetids, carnivorous species, and Cladium mariscoides. The species were most abundant on windward cobble and peat shorelines similar to the infertile lakeshores which support sizeable coastal plain populations in the Tusket system. Similarities in the habitat of both the Medway and the Tusket regions suggest that conserving these species will require the preservation of their habitat.

Prediction of Rarities from Habitat Variables: Coastal Plain Plants on Nova Scotian Lakeshores

Predictive models relating species richness of rare plants to measured habitat variables were developed using data from the shoreline vegetation of lakes in southwestern Nova Scotia. These lakes contain large disjunct populations of many Atlantic Coastal Plain plant species whose main ranges are along the eastern seaboard of the United States. The richness of rare coastal plain herbs was easier to predict than richness of the "background flora" of wide—ranging species from noncoastal plain elements. Multiple—regression models using habitat variables accounted for 83% of the variability in species richness of rare coastal plain species but only 45% of that for the background flora. Richness was best correlated with the two inter—related variables, watershed area and shoreline width. The mechanism underlying this pattern appears to be that flooding kills woody plants, thereby reducing competition from shrubs and creating open expanses of shoreline.

EVIDENCE FOR POLLINATION ECOTYPES IN THE YELLOW-FRINGED ORCHID, PLATANTHERA CILIARIS.

Platanthera ciliaris is a butterfly-pollinated, terrestrial orchid with a loose terminal raceme of 10-50 orange flowers, characterized by a long nectariferous spur. In the southeastern United States, P. ciliaris occurs in the Appalachian mountains and coastal-plain physiographic provinces, but it is found rarely in the intervening Piedmont. In 1983 and 1984, detailed observations of two populations within these disjunct areas revealed that the butterfly species that serve as the primary pollinators differ sharply. In the mountains, Papilio troilus (spicebush swallowtail) was the most frequent and effective visitor, whereas in the coastal plain, P. palamedes (palamedes swallowtail) was the predominant pollinator. Proboscis lengths of P. troilus (mean = 23.3 mm) were significantly shorter than those of P. palamedes (mean = 28.7 mm). Floral characters, most notably spur length, also differed significantly between mountain (mean = 23.8 mm) and coastal-plain (mean = 25.6 mm) plants. In both 1983 and 1984, levels of pollinator service, as assessed by rates of removal and insertion of pollinia, were higher in the mountains (0.81 and 0.86) than in the coastal plain (0.63 and 0.67). In addition, fruit-set was significantly greater in mountain (83.9% in 1983, 86.5% in 1984) than in coastal-plain (63.8% in 1983, 65.5% in 1984) populations. We hypothesize that selection pressure exerted through pollinator proboscis lengths has resulted in pollination ecotypes of P. ciliaris. The short-spurred mountain plants appear to be in equilibrium with their short-tongued butterfly pollinators, receiving high levels of effective pollination and achieving high levels of fruit-set. Coastal-plain plants produce flowers with longer spurs which, nevertheless, are shorter than optimal for insuring that very long-tongued butterflies make contact with their pollinia. Thus, effective pollinator service and fruit-set are reduced. Correlation analyses in 1984 showed a positive relationship between spur length and fruit-set only in the coastal plain. The presence of long-tongued nectar thieves in the coastal plain may also contribute to lower effective pollinator service and fruit-set. Results of reciprocal-transplant studies attempting to determine the genetic basis of floral characters, including spur length, were inconclusive but suggest that differences between mountain and coastal-plain plants are not due solely to phenotypic plasticity.

The conservation and management of a threatened coastal plain plant community in Eastern North America (Nova Scotia, Canada)

The distribution of wetland plant species was described along a standing crop and litter gradient at Wilsons Lake, a nationally significant wetland habitat in Nova Scotia, Canada. Disjunct populations of rare and endangered Atlantic coastal plain species were found to contribute most to total standing crop when biomass was low. A similar distribution for isoetids, a group of stress-tolerant shoreline plants, indicates that low biomass areas are also infertile. The rarity of the coastal plain flora seems to be related to the lack of low biomass/infertile shorelines within the flora's geographical range. Conservation of the flora therefore involves preserving the remaining habitat and maintaining the current processes of flooding, wave wash, and ice scour that are maintaining infertility.

ON THE “RESIDUAL” INTERPRETATION OF COASTAL FLORAS IN THE APPALACHIAN UPLANDS OF EASTERN UNITED STATES

PR E S E N T I N G a discussion on coastal species in the Appalachian Uplands requires a survey of the work of Braun (I937a), Carr (I938a), Fernald (I93I, I937), Harshberger (I903), and Kearney (I900). In viewing the problem from aphytogeographical and ecological standpoint, these authors have sought to correlate the occurrence of coastal species in the uplands with the physiographic history of the province concerned. Such correlations combined with the disjunct ranges of the species have led to the residual interpretation. Geological evidence indicates that during late Cretaceous and early Tertiary the Appalachian Uplands were essentially reduced to a peneplane status, affording ideal conditions for a mesophytic plant growth. At this period the tropical groups were widespread in the North as shown by fossil record. Here the Coastal genera Stenophyllus, Xyria, Eriocaulon, Sarracenia, HIelonias, and Utricularia, etc., prevailed along the low meandering streams and in the swampy areas, until an uplift of the Schooley peneplane (Cretaceous) altered the conditions, in turn initiating a recession of the mesophytic and hydrophytic types to the available coastal strip. Mesophytes gave way to the developing xerophytes. However, relics of this flora still persist in segregated colonies in the Appalachian Uplands where ponds, bogs, and grassy meadows prevail. Braun (I937a) reports such relics as UJniola laxa (L.) B.S.P., Panicum longifolium Torr, Cleistes divaricata (L.) R.Br., Bartonia paniculata (Michx.) Robinson, Lobelia 2Vuttallii R. & S., and Orontium aquaticum L. from the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky. All of these plants are to-day primarily confined to a narrow strip along the Atlantic Coast of Eastern United States, and show marked affinity with tropical groups. Of great interest is the report of Cleistes from the standpoint of extreme antiquity. To-day it shows a local distribution in the uplands, and has retreated only slightly to the Coastal Plain. Fernald (I937) comments on its slight occurrence in south-eastern Virginia in a region contributing such local plants as Xyris Curtissi Malme, Burmannia bifJlora L., and UJtricularia virgatula Barnhart. Its extreme antiquity is indicated by its scattered and disjunct range. It shares equal rank on thle relic list with ilelonias bullata L. which holds a similar, local distribution with slight intrusion in the coastal region. Following Fenneman (I928), Braun concludes that the Cumberland peneplane represents only the eroded and reduced Schooley peneplane (Cretaceous). Braun (I937 a) writes: rThe present known distribution of most of the coastal plain plants in the Cumberland Plateau coincides with the undissected remnants of the Schooley

A Remarkable Colony of Coastal Plain Plants on the Cumberland Plateau in Laurel County, Kentucky

A small area of wet meadow and swamp forest on the Cumberland Plateau near the headwaters of the Laurel River in Laurel County, Kentucky, contains a remarkable assemblage of Plain species. Here are fifteen or sixteen distinctly Plain species and a number of others whose ranges might be stated as Coastal Plain and adjacent provinces. Furthermore, some of these species are among the commonest in the area concerned. Plain species occur in other places on the Cumberland Plateau; the remarkable feature of this colony is, however, the groupinlg together of so large a number of such species in a relatively small area. More than half the species have not as yet been seen elsewhere on the Cumberland Plateau.

The Nipissing flora of the Apostle Islands Region

In Science, February 13, 1931, a fossil flora of the Nipissing Great Lakes was briefly described by the writer. As was there stated, the plant remains are preserved in the form of rather extensive peat beds submerged in Lake Superior in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The samples, sent by Prof. J. A. Merrill, of the Superior State Teachers College, were recovered from beneath fourteen feet of sand and forty feet of water about one and one-half miles west of Sand Island, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The geological significance of this deposit has been discussed by Dr. F. B. Taylor (Science 74: 265-267, 1931.) and the formation of the peat set as contemporaneous with the original one-outlet stage of the Nipissing Great Lakes. The botanical importance of this deposit becomes evident when one reviews literature dealing with the plant life associated with the Glacial Great Lakes. Two facts stand out, particularly: that the actual knowledge of the plants occurring at this period in the history of the Great Lakes is confined to one or more species of Chara (Coleman, A. P., Toronto University Studies, Biol. Sur. No. 21; 1922), and that much hypothetical dating of the appearance of certain Atlantic Coastal Plain plants and others in the upper Great Lakes Region, has been done, based entirely upon an interpretation of their present distribution (Peattie, D. C., Rhodora 24: 57-70, 80-88; 1922., McLaughlin, W. T., Ecol. Mon. 2: 335-383; 1932, and Anderson, E., Rhodora 35: 154-160; 1933). The appearance of these Coastal Plain plants in the Great Lakes Region at an early post glacial date seems very probable, but only since the discovery of the submerged peat beds in Lake Superior is it possible to reconstruct a picture of the ecological conditions of early Glacial Lake Nipissing time and to state definitely what plants then existed in northern Wisconsin. An examination of the largest sample of peat, which is approximately eighteen inches square and four inches thick, shows that it is of a type formed in comparatively still shallow water. About one-half of the thickness of the sample is made up of organic mud, throughout which occur fragments of plant and animal tissues. This portion of the sample is evidently a deeper water deposit than the other half which contains organic tissues in greater abundance and perfection. It seems reasonable to consider the latter as the upper side, but considering the history of the region it is impossible to state definitely. The largest sample was separated arbitrarily into three horizons, and examined both macroand microscopically for fossils. The horizon con-

Atlantic Coastal Plain Plants in the Sand Barrens of Northwestern Wisconsin

Ecological MonographsVolume 2, Issue 3 p. 335-383 Article Atlantic Coastal Plain Plants in the Sand Barrens of Northwestern Wisconsin W. T. McLaughlin, W. T. McLaughlinSearch for more papers by this author W. T. McLaughlin, W. T. McLaughlinSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 July 1932 https://doi.org/10.2307/1943067Citations: 11AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume2, Issue3July 1932Pages 335-383 RelatedInformation

Some Coastal Plain Plants in the Piedmont Region of Georgia

Some Coastal Plain Plants in the Piedmont Region of Georgia