Rangeland Ecology & Management

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SOUTHEASTERN RANGELANDS - STATE OF THE STATE
Author
Estes, Dwayne
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

The greatest threat to eastern North American biodiversity is the loss of eastern grasslands, especially those found in the southern states. Prior to European settlement, grasslands (including savannas, prairies, barrens, glades, balds, meadows, and several types of open wetlands and riparian grasslands) and open grassy woodlands once rivaled forests in their coverage of the southeastern U.S. landscape. Conservatively, more than 100 million acres of these "naturally open" vegetation types once existed from Maryland and Missouri south to the Gulf of Mexico. Fire suppression, overgrazing, conversion to row-crop agriculture, hydrologic changes, and development, among other factors, has led to the loss of more than 90 percent of the South's historic grasslands. Similarly, many of the open woodlands, whose understories would have been grassy and provided forage for native herbivores as well as cattle and other livestock, have become dense due to many decades of fire suppression. Today, the South's grasslands exist in three states of conservation. First, a very small number of types associated with rocky or inaccessible sites (e.g. Appalachian Plateau riverscour barrens, Blue Ridge grass balds) are likely similar in their present composition and acreage to pre-settlement times with >75% of original acreage still intact. Second, are the formerly vast network of oak and pine savannas that have become closed woodland or forest. More than 90% of savannas have been lost but several success stories indicate these may be our most easily restorable grassland systems. Third, are the millions of acres of former open, nearly treeless prairies that now represent extinct ecosystems. These have experienced near total losses exceeding 99.99%. Each case will require different restoration and management strategies. A review of the major grassland systems of the Southeast is presented along with a discussion of their conservation needs both in the short-term and long-term.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV