Definition: Combined basal area of southern yellow pine species appropriate to the Southern Open Pine Grouping of the site, primarily longleaf pine or shortleaf pine. The cross section area of longleaf pine, slash pine, South Florida slash pine, shortleaf pine, and/or loblolly pine tree stems (defined here as square feet /acre) for trees > 5 inches DBH, and measured using a 10x basal area prism or gauge at the center point of the rapid assessment area and at 4 nearby locations, or by measuring all longleaf pine trees >5 inches DBH within the defined area plot or assessment area.

Background: An open canopy of southern yellow pine is important for the functioning of southern open pine ecosystems, and it is especially important for management with fire and promoting the grassy herbaceous understory and associated wildlife. This metric accommodates each of the Southern Open Pine Groupings, which may have longleaf pine, slash pine, shortleaf pine, and/or loblolly pine tree stems. This metric emphasizes longleaf pine and shortleaf pine basal area. These two pines have large natural ranges, have declined dramatically during the 20th century and naturally grow in open stands which support characteristic wildlife species. Basal area of trees by species is data very commonly collected as part of forestry inventory. It is a widely used measure quantifying the dominance of tree species, and is repeatable by using several measures with a 10x basal area prism or gauge.

Definition: Percentage of the ground within the plot or rapid assessment area covered by canopy foliage, branches, and stems of southern yellow pine, (primarily longleaf pine or shortleaf pine) as determined by ocular estimate. Southern yellow pine canopy is defined as the canopy trees of longleaf pine, slash pine, South Florida slash pine, shortleaf pine, or loblolly pine with stems greater than or equal to 5" at 4.5 feet (54"), diameter at breast height (DBH).

Definition: Southern yellow pine, especially longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) stand age structure.

Background: Age structure for southern yellow pine, especially longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) is an important ecological integrity metric for woodlands where it is naturally present. This is combined with abundance of large trees, to better reflect actual life history functions in the mixed shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) stands (Bragg 2002, NatureServe 2006). This metric is applied to Upper Coastal Plain Pine Flatwoods based on the age structure of shortleaf pine or loblolly pine (Bragg et al. 2014). Presence of large (basal area at least 20 ft2/acre of trees ≥ 14" DBH class) or flat-top longleaf pine is evidence of mature characteristics in a southern open pine stand (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014). Due to the slow growth of longleaf pine in the Xeric Longleaf Pine Barrens, the presence of large longleaf pine ≥ 12" DBH is used rather than ≥ 14" DBH. Basal area of trees by species is data very commonly collected as part of forestry inventory. It is a widely used measure quantifying the dominance of tree species, and is repeatable by using several measures with a 10x basal area prism or gauge. It can be measured using a 10x basal area prism or gauge at the center point of the rapid assessment area and at 4 nearby locations, or by measuring all longleaf pine trees ≥ 14" DBH (and also those 12-14" DBH since some foresters prefer the 12" cutoff instead of the 14" cutoff) within the defined area plot or assessment area

Definition: Combined basal area of all canopy hardwood trees. The cross section area of hardwood tree stems (defined here as square feet /acre) for canopy trees ≥ 5 inches DBH, and measured using a 10x basal area prism or gauge at the center point of the plot or rapid assessment area or by measuring all canopy hardwood trees ≥ 5 inches DBH within a plot of a defined area.

Background: Basal area of trees by species is data very commonly collected as part of forestry inventory. It is a widely used measure quantifying the dominance of tree species, and is repeatable using several measures with a 10x basal area prism or gauge. Hardwood trees in southern open pine can include ruderal and fire-intolerant hardwood trees, including red maple (Acer rubrum), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), water oak (Quercus nigra), and especially in wet flatwoods and savannas, Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) (Bragg 2014, NatureServe 2011). A small amount of hardwood tree basal area naturally occurs in many upland southern open pine ecosystems, especially oaks such as southern red oak (Quercus falcata), post oak (Quercus stellata), black oak (Quercus velutina), turkey oak (Quercus laevis), sand post oak (Quercus margarettiae), and blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) (Bragg 2002, Bragg 2014, Hiers et al. 2014, NatureServe 2015b). There are various wildlife benefits to retention of some fire tolerant hardwoods, especially oaks, in southern open pine ecosystems (Hiers et al. 2014). Increasing dominance or codominance by hardwoods can result from lack of fire, and is associated with declines of southern open pine wildlife. For brown-headed nuthatch and pine warbler, hardwood basal area less than 22 ft2/acre is best, when deciduous hardwoods begin to reach the canopy of stands, these birds are rarely present (Richardson 2014). Bachman’s sparrow and prairie warbler habitat should lack or have a low proportion of hardwood in the canopy (Richardson 2014a). In good red-cockaded woodpecker areas, the canopy lacks hardwood, or has low proportion of hardwoods, only 10 to 30% of the canopy trees (USFWS 2003). Several declining reptiles prefer open canopy longleaf pine dominated woodlands, these include Louisiana pine snake, Florida pine snake, black pine snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and gopher tortoise (Hinderliter 2015, NatureServe 2015b). The eastern diamondback rattlesnake also uses hardwood dominated areas, in addition to southern open pine woodlands. Maintenance condition for longleaf pine woodlands is considered to be basal area ≤ 10 ft2/acre of canopy hardwoods or off-site pines ≥ 5” DBH. (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014).

Definition: Midstory Fire Tolerant Hardwood Cover. Percentage of the ground within the plot covered by fire tolerant hardwood midstory foliage, branches, and stems as determined by ocular (visual) estimate. Midstory is defined as any woody stems (including tall shrubs, small trees, and vines) which are > 10 feet tall, up to the height of the bottom of the tree canopy. Young trees of this size are called saplings. Fire tolerant hardwood tree species include turkey oak, sand post oak, bluejack oak, blackjack oak, black oak, post oak, southern red oak, black hickory and flowering dogwood. Individuals which grow into the canopy are tree size and are included in the canopy basal area metrics.

Background: Southern open pine ecosystems with an open midstory can provide better habitat for many of the characteristic wildlife. Metrics similar to this have been used successfully on other southern open pine projects (FNAI and FFS 2014, NatureServe 2011). Many of these wildlife species rely on grassy herbaceous groundcover with some dwarf shrubs, often associated with open midstory and open canopy of longleaf pine. Wildlife which prefer an open midstory include reptiles such as Louisiana pine snake, Florida pine snake, black pine snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and gopher tortoise (Hinderliter 2014, Hinderliter 2015, NatureServe 2015). While also preferring an open midstory, the northern bobwhite and Bachman’s sparrow both use scattered tall shrubs and saplings for perching, including oaks, sassafras, black cherry and persimmon (NatureServe 2015, Richardson 2014a). Fire tolerant hardwood species naturally occur in upland southern open pine ecosystems, and include turkey oak, sand post oak, bluejack oak, blackjack oak, post oak, southern red oak and flowering dogwood. There are various wildlife benefits to retention of some fire tolerant hardwoods in southern open pine ecosystems (Hiers et al. 2014). For longleaf pine woodlands, maintenance conditions are considered to be 20% or less mid-story cover, with most of this fire tolerant species and < 5% cover of fire-intolerant hardwood or off-site pine trees over 16 feet tall (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014). To recover the biodiversity associated with shortleaf pine natural communities of the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita region), desired future conditions for cover of the midstory layer were determined to be <10% for Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem, <30% for Dry Mesic Shortleaf Pine-Oak Woodland, and 15% for Dry Shortleaf Pine-Oak. Midstory was defined as >10 feet (>3 m) tall and below the bottom of the canopy (Blaney et al. 2015), which is followed here. Most of the midstory would be composed of fire tolerant or fire resistant trees and tall shrubs.

Definition: Midstory Overall Cover. Percentage of the ground within the plot covered by midstory foliage, branches, and stems as determined by ocular (visual) estimate. Spaces between leaves and stems do NOT count as cover. Midstory is defined to include any woody stem (including tall shrubs, trees and vines) which are > 10 feet tall, up to the height of the bottom of the tree canopy.

Background:Southern open pine ecosystems with an open midstory can provide better habitat for many of the characteristic wildlife. Metrics similar to this have been used successfully on other southern open pine projects (FNAI and FFS 2014, NatureServe 2011). Many of these wildlife species rely on grassy herbaceous groundcover with some dwarf shrubs, often associated with open midstory and open canopy of longleaf pine. Wildlife which prefer an open midstory include reptiles such as Louisiana pine snake, Florida pine snake, black pine snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and gopher tortoise (Hinderliter 2014, Hinderliter 2015, NatureServe 2015). While also preferring an open midstory, the northern bobwhite and Bachman’s sparrow both use scattered tall shrubs and saplings for perching, including oaks, sassafras, black cherry and persimmon (NatureServe 2015, Richardson 2014a). To recover the biodiversity associated with Shortleaf Pine natural communities of the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita region), desired future conditions for cover of the midstory layer were determined to be <10% for Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem, <30% for Dry Mesic Shortleaf Pine-Oak Woodland, and 15% for Dry Shortleaf Pine-Oak. Midstory was defined as >10 feet (>3 m) tall and below the bottom of the canopy (Blaney et al. 2015). For longleaf pine woodlands, maintenance conditions are considered to be 20% or less mid-story cover, with < 5% cover of fire-intolerant hardwood or off-site pine trees over 16 feet tall (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014).

Definition: Percentage cover of all (native) species in the ground layer.

Background: The native herbaceous groundcover is an important part of the habitat needs of many species of wildlife found in southern open pine ecosystems.

Definition: Advance longleaf pine regeneration cover is 5-15% of stand. Includes grass stage or regeneration < 2" DBH (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014).

Background: This metric has gone through extensive review and was adopted as part of the longleaf pine maintenance class definitions by the Longleaf Partnership Council (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014).

Definition: Native warm season grass cover is also called cover of pryrophytic graminoids which include grasses and grass-like plants. This metric is the percent cover of native warm season grasses and other perennial graminoids that are maintained by periodic fire. These are the native grasses and grass-like plants (mostly native warm season grasses) which are natural groundcover in southern open pine stands. For open longleaf pine woodlands in Florida, these include wiregrass (Aristida stricta), pineywoods dropseed (Sporobolus junceus), Florida dropseed (Sporobolus floridanus), Chapman's beaksedge (Rhynchospora chapmanii), cutover muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris var. trichopodes), toothache grass (Ctenium aromaticum), little bluestem (Schizachyrum scoparium) and Florida toothache grass (Ctenium floridanum). However, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is not included, as it can become so dominant that other grasses, legumes and small bare ground areas are crowded out. Some typical wide ranging southern native warm season grasses of Dry & Mesic Longleaf Pine Woodlands include splitbeard bluestem (Andropogon ternarius), Elliott's bluestem (Andropogon gyrans var. gyrans), broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus), pineywoods dropseed (Sporobolus junceus), rough dropseed (Sporobolus clandestinus), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), slender little bluestem (Schizachyrium tenerum), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), slender Indiangrass (Sorghastrum elliottii), and lopsided Indiangrass (Sorghastrum secundum). In the Wet Longleaf & Slash Pine Flatwoods & Savannas, Carolina wiregrass or pineland threeawn (Aristida stricta) or Southern wiregrass or Beyrich's threeawn (Aristida beyrichiana) often dominates, but toothache grass (Ctenium aromaticum), cutover muhly (Muhlenbergia expansa), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Florida dropseed (Sporobolus floridanus), Carolina dropseed (Sporobolus pinetorum), wireleaf dropseed (Sporobolus teretifolius), chalky bluestem (Andropogon capillipes), other bluestems (Andropogon spp.), or other grasses may also dominate. In the Ozarks and Ouachitas (Interior Highlands), native warm season grasses include little bluestem (Schizachyrum scoparium), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), bearded shorthusk (Brachyelytrum erectum), Elliott’s bluestem (Andropogon gyrans), blackseed speargrass (Piptochaetium avenaceum), composite dropseed (Sporobolus compositus), and other grasses (Blaney et al. 2015, Farrington 2010, Nelson 1985). In open shortleaf pine woodlands in northern Mississippi, native warm season grasses include little bluestem (Schizachyrum scoparium), Bosc’s witchgrass (Dichanthelium boscii) and broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) (Brewer et al. 2015, Maynard and Brewer 2013).

Background: Grasses and grass-like plants provide much of the fine fuels which allow frequent low intensity fire to occur in southern open pine ecosystems (Kirkman et al. 2004). Fires are an important natural disturbance and process which helps maintain longleaf pine ecosystems. Native grasses and grass-like plants which provide the fine fuels in southern open pine are called pyrophytic graminoids. These are mostly native perennial warm season grasses, which can resprout fairly quickly following fire during the growing season. Native warm season grasses use the four Carbon, C4 pathway in photosythesis (not the more common three Carbon C3 pathway used by cool season grasses) and generally are associated with prairies and open woodlands. The C4 pathway is more efficient for photosynthesis in warmer temperatures (Edwards et al. 2010). For most southern open pine ecosystems, there is broad overlap between native warm season grasses (using the C4 pathway), and the plants measured in this metric, which have been called pyrophytic graminoids. Areas with good cover of native warm season grasses can be foraging areas for gopher tortoise (Hinderliter 2014), nesting and feeding areas for Bachman’s sparrow, and bobwhite quail (McIntyre 2012, Richardson 2014a), and 100 habitat for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (NatureServe 2015). This metric has been useful in other assessments (FNAI and FFS 2014, NatureServe 2011). Maintenance condition class for herbaceous cover in longleaf pine woodlands is considered to be herbaceous cover >35% with native pyrogenic species present in stand (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014).

Definition: Invasive plant presence/distribution. Describes the extent and distribution of invasive exotic plants within or along the perimeter of the polygon; includes only Florida EPPC category I and II listed species. http://www.fleppc.org/list/list.htm

Background: Invasive exotic species are a major threat to biological integrity in a wide variety of ecosystems (Miller 2003). These species can out compete the native species, alter ecological functions (Bryson and Carter 1993, Lippincott 2000) and contribute to decline in biological integrity. For wetlands, NatureServe has used cover of invasive nonnative plants for rapid ecological integrity assessment (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2015). NatureServe’s categories are excellent if absent or < 1% cover, good if sporadic or 1-3% cover, fair if somewhat abundant with 4-10% cover, between fair and poor if abundant with 11-30% cover, and poor if very abundant with >30% cover of invasive nonnative plants (FaberLangendoen et al. 2015). Less than or equal to 1% cover of invasive exotic plant species or ongoing progress towards this indicates maintenance condition for longleaf pine woodlands (Longleaf Partnership Council 2014). The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council reviews and updates their list of invasive exotic plants every two years. The distributions within Florida are listed for north, central, and south Florida (FLEPPC 2015). For areas outside of Florida, refer to those invasive exotic species listed for north Florida. Exotic subtropical grasses are a particular threat to longleaf pine ecosystems. Tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) and cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) are threats to Wet Longleaf & Slash Pine Flatwoods & Savannas (Brewer 2008, Wang et al. 2011). Cogongrass is also a threat to other longleaf pine ecosystems. Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) are threats during restoration of open woodlands in northern Mississippi, such as the Dry & Mesic Hilly Pine Woodlands (Brewer, Abbott and Moyer 2015).

Definition: A measure of the current absolute size (ha) of the entire wetland type polygon or patch. The metric is assessed with respect to a comparison of patch-type sizes for the type across its range.

Background: This metric is one aspect of the size of specific occurrences of a wetland type. The metric rating is taken from NatureServe’s Ecological Integrity Assessment Working Group (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2008). Assessors are sometimes hesitant to use patch size as part of an EIA out of concern that a small, high quality example will be down-ranked unnecessarily. We address these concerns to a degree by providing an absolute patch-type scale, so that types that typically occur as small patches (seepage fens) can use a different rating than types that may occur over large, extensive areas (e.g., marshes or boreal bogs/fens). Size is also more accurately assessed at finer scales of classification (e.g., Systems or Groups). For example, with this approach, Midwest prairie fens are compared separately from boreal fens.

Definition: A measure of connectivity assessed using the percent of natural habitat directly connected to the AA, including options for sub-metrics for the inner zone (0–100 m), and outer zone (100–500 m). For AAs based on points, the landscape may largely consist of the same wetland that the point is within, rather than surrounding habitat; preliminary testing has shown that it may be desirable to extend the zone to 1000 m to ensure that more of the landscape outside the wetland polygon is accounted for (K. Walz pers. comm. 2016).

Background: This metric addresses the broader connectivity of the natural land cover to the AA. The metric assesses the natural habitat that is directly contiguous. Still, not all organisms and processes require directly contiguous habitat, and organisms perceive "connectivity" differently, so this metric may under-estimate contiguous habitat for some organisms.

Definition:This metric measures the intensity of human dominated land uses in the surrounding landscape beyond the 100 m buffer, based on an additional 150 m with for the core landscape and an additional 250 m width for the supporting landscape.

Background: This metric is one aspect of the landscape context of specific stands or polygons of ecosystems and is based on Hauer et al. (2002) and Mack (2006).

Definition:A measure of the percent of the wetland system perimeter with a vegetated, natural buffer.

Background: The buffer of wetlands is important to biotic and abiotic aspects of the wetland. The Environmental Law Institute (2008) reviewed the critical role of buffers for wetlands. We assess key aspects of buffer within a 100 m sub-zone, but add a surrounding landscape assessment that extends to 500 m from the AA edge (see metrics LAN1 and LAN2).

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