the vascular flora of the natchez trace parkway - NPS Inventory and ...

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The “Natchez Trace” has played an important role in transportation, trade, and communication in the region since pre-historic times. As the development and use of steamboats along the Mississippi River increased, travel on the Trace diminished and the route began to be reclaimed by nature. A renewed interest in the Trace began during, and following, the Great Depression. In the early 1930’s, then Mississippi congressman T. J. Busby promoted interest in the Trace from a historical perspective and also as an opportunity for employment in the area. Legislation was introduced by Busby to conduct a survey of the Trace and in 1936 actual construction of the modern roadway began. Development of the present Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR) which follows portions of the original route has continued since that time. The last segment of the NATR was completed in 2005. The federal lands that comprise the modern route total about 52,000 acres in 25 counties through the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The route, about 445 miles long, is a manicured parkway with numerous associated rest stops, parks, and monuments. Current land use along the NATR includes upland forest, mesic prairie, wetland prairie, forested wetlands, interspersed with numerous small agricultural croplands. The National Park Service (NPS) contracted the S. M. Tracy Herbarium to conduct an inventory of vascular plants over the entire length of the NATR. The inventory objectives were to document vascular plant diversity within the NATR, ascertain the location of threatened and endangered vascular plant taxa, and determine which of the extant plant species were invasive. These objectives were achieved through a combination of a literature search, herbarium search, and an intensive field inventory. Five (5) trips to the NATR were conducted beginning in August 2004 and ending in October 2005, to make field collections. Collections were made over the entire length of the NATR on each of the five trips. Vouchers were collected and processed in the field for subsequent identification at the S. M. Tracy Herbarium. Verification of several specimens required trips to Ft. Worth, Texas to utilize the collections housed at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT). Processing of vouchers involved identification, label preparation, and mounting. These tasks were performed in accordance with NPS protocol. Vouchers for the study comprise a total of 167 families, 750 genera, and 2197 taxa (including infraspecific taxa). Significant increases in the number of grasses (Poaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae) were added by the study team. Vouchers were collected by the team for 1154 native taxa, 212 introduced taxa and 8 taxa considered both native and introduced. Previous NPSpecies (NPS Database) records account for an additional 642 native taxa, 173 introduced taxa, and 6 considered both native and introduced taxa. 2
Field observations were made of two possible locations in Tennessee where Apios priceana B.L. Robbins (a federally listed endangered species) may exist. However, impacts on the two sites due to haying and roadside maintenance made the subsequent verification of this species impossible. The study team recommends the NPS reassess its maintenance activities with respect to mowing at sites where A. priceana may exist. Persistence of this, and any other endangered species, is doubtful if such sites are continually mowed to an 8 inch stubble height. 3
Page 1: THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE NATCHEZ T
Page 5 and 6: A. Kruse 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXE
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Natchez Trac
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The Vascular Flora of the Natchez T
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Godfrey, R.K. and J.W. Wooten. 1981
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APPENDIX A Collection Locations by
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Site Date Site Description GPS Coor
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APPENDIX B Endemic Vascular Plants
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Family Taxon NATR Voucher State Ref
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APPENDIX C Locations of Rare, Threa
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some degree of color variation in t
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Taxon State Location Last Verified
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APPENDIX D Alphabetical List (by Ge
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Taxon Common Name(s) Codes Voucher
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