1. HABITAT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INVASION BY COGONGRASS ON CAMP SHELBY TRAINING SITE, MS Lisa Y. Yager, The Nature Conservancy Deborah L. Miller, University of Florida Jeanne Jones, Mississippi State University

2. Cogongrass Spread by wind- dispersed seeds, man- dispersed rhizomes, rhizomatous growth. Establishes in a wide variety of habitats including roadsides, firing points, upland pine forests, and wetlands

3. Displaces Native Species Why Do We Care?

4. Poor Forage Quality Why Do We Care? Degrades Gopher Tortoise Habitat

5. Alters Fire Intensity and Frequency Why Do We Care? More Flammable, Burns Hotter

6. Camp Shelby Training Site

8. Limited Resources Protect and prioritize areas of high conservation value –gopher tortoise habitat –longleaf pine/bluestem habitat Determine most effective use of resources for prevention and control

9. Objectives Compare Linear Vegetative Growth Seed Dispersal In Different Habitats

10. Pine/Shrub Pine/Bluestem

11. Mowed Herbaceous Hardwood

12. Vegetative Growth- Methods Patch Map Arcview Cogongrass 2002 2003

13. Vegetative Growth 2003 0.6 1.09 0.56 0.85 0.92 2.72 2.57 3.22 2.53 1.89 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 HardwoodPine/ Bluestem Pine/ Shrub RoadsideMilitary Areas Tiller Extension (m/yr) MeanMaximum

14. Vegetative Growth 2004 0.48 0.74 0.71 0.78 0.91 2.36 1.92 3.49 2.16 5.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 HardwoodPine/ Bluestem Pine/ Shrub RoadsideMilitary Areas Tiller Extension (m/yr) MeanMaximum

15. Soil Disturbance Military Training Areas Patches with > 7 m and > 10 m linear growth Reduced patch size for 2003 and 2004 for a patch which was “rehabilitated”- disked and planted with ryegrass

16. Seed Dispersal 3 Locations for Each Habitat 5 Releases of 50 Spikelets/ Habitat/ Location Flag and GPS Locations

17. Pine/Bluestem Pine/Shrub Mean Maximum Wind Speed 1.7 m/sec 0.7 m/sec

18. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Dispersal Distance (m) Pine/Bluestem Pine/Shrub 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Mean Distance **Maximum Recordable Distance Pine/Bluestem Pine/Shrub Seed Dispersal n = 15

19. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 > 5 m Percentage of Spikelets 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 > 5 m > 10 m Distance Dispersed Pine/Bluestem Pine/Shrub Pine/Bluestem Pine/Shrub Seed Dispersal

20. Seedbed % Spikelets Landing on Bare Ground or Litter Pine/BluestemPine/Shrub 34 %16 %

21. Conclusion Vegetative encroachment by cogongrass occurred in all habitat types Cogongrass vegetative growth rate was lowest into the hardwood habitat

22. Conclusion Soil disturbance can enhance rapid vegetative growth

23. Cogongrass spikelets penetrated further into the pine/bluestem habitat type Cogongrass spikelets were more likely to land on bareground or litter in the pine/bluestem habitat Conclusions

24. Priorities Pine/bluestem and Military Training Areas (Mowed Herbaceous Habitats) Treatment of cogongrass prior to activities which create soil disturbance or reduce canopy/shrub cover

25. Acknowledgements MS Army National Guard USDA Forest Service The Nature Conservancy Brian Mitchell, Robin Switzer, CJ Sabette, Jeff Kaminski.