2007 journal article

Effects and importance of soil wetness and neighbor vegetation on Solidago verna M. A. Curtis ex Torrey & A. Gray (spring-flowering goldenrod) [Asteraceae] transplant survivorship and growth

Effects and importance of soil wetness and neighbor vegetation on Solidago verna M. A. Curtis ex Torrey & A. Gray (spring-flowering goldenrod) [Asteraceae] transplant survivorship and growth. Castanea, 72(4), 205–213.

By: M. Fleming*, J. Stucky n & C. Brownie n

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

Solidago verna M. A. Curtis ex Torrey & A. Gray (spring-flowering goldenrod) [Asteraceae] is threatened in North Carolina, a species of federal concern, endemic to fire– adapted longleaf pine flatwoods in the Carolinas, and is in the Center for Plant Conservation's National Collection of Endangered Plants. Highway construction threatens the largest known population of S. verna. We conducted a transplant study to provide information for the plan being developed to mitigate for the impact of the highway. Plants of the threatened population were transplanted into study plots on seven Coastal Plain soils varying in wetness. Half of the plots on each soil were controls with unclipped neighbor vegetation; the others were experimental plots with clipped vegetation. Soil was the most important factor affecting transplant survival. Survival was lowest on soils that experienced ponding or flooding. Neighbor vegetation clipping tended to improve survival, with the greatest improvement on soils of intermediate wetness. Soil wetness and vegetation treatment (clipped or unclipped) accounted for only 16% of transplant growth variation. We recommend establishing a mitigation transplant population on moderately well drained or somewhat poorly drained soils such as Craven or Lenoir. Managing the transplant population could utilize mowing during those periods when fire is not practical.