It was just a standard assignment – or so it seemed when the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration hired Scheda Ecological Associates to eradicate exotic plants at their national weather service radar facility in Miami-Dade County. The enemy plant was Burma reed, Neyraudia reynaudinia, a tall grass that had invaded the 10-acre site, increasing fire fuel loads and the risk of more intense and frequent fires.
But closer inspection of the site yielded a rare find, pine rockland, one of the world’s most imperiled habitats. The discovery gave new urgency to efforts to restore the site, and with NOAA’s blessings, SCHEDA worked with a team to protect and revive the rare habitat.
Pine rockland is a unique type of pine flatwoods that is found exclusively on limestone outcroppings in the Florida Keys, the Big Cypress Swamp, and the Miami Rock Ridge . The overstory of pine rockland habitat consists of a single canopy species, the south Florida slash pine. The dominant pines tower over a savanna-like understory of saw palmettos, locust berry, willow bustic, beautyberry, broomgrasses, silver palms, and a rich herbaceous layer. This community is well adapted to seasonal wildfires and the lack of soil on exposed limerock. Pine Rockland communities are globally imperiled and support 284 federal and state listed plant species, such as deltoid spurge and Small’s milkwort which occur nowhere else in the world.
Before restoration efforts commenced, SCHEDA helped to document the many listed and endemic pineland plants that needed special protection. Then specially trained crews went to work with machetes to clear away thickets of Burma reed and bundle the grass for removal. Afterwards, herbicide was applied to prevent the grass from returning and make way for tiny sun-loving plants previously crowded out.
“We realized going into this project that it would take a great first year effort, and multiple maintenance years thereafter, to meet the eventual goal of eradicating exotic plant species from the NOAA site. With SCHEDA's efforts, the first year was a great success" stated Mark George, a NOAA Environmental Engineer.”
Follow up treatments are planned and NOAA staff have now been trained to keep close tabs on the rockland’s recovery.
