The Challenging Past and Precarious Future of Canada Yew (Taxus Canadensis) in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science The Challenging Past and Precarious Future of Canada Yew (Taxus canadensis) in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Natural Resource Report NPS/APIS/NRR—2021/2251 ON THIS PAGE Robust yew understory Photograph courtesy of Matthew J. Widen ON THE COVER Canada yew arils Photograph courtesy of Matthew J. Widen The Challenging Past and Precarious Future of Canada Yew (Taxus canadensis) in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Natural Resource Report NPS/APIS/NRR—2021/2251 Sarah E. Johnson*, Jordan S. Mead, Matthew J. Widen, Emily E. Leonard Natural Resources Department Northland College 1411 Ellis Avenue Ashland, Wisconsin 54806 * Primary contact: [email protected] April 2021 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service. The series supports the advancement of science, informed decision-making, and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series also provides a forum for presenting more lengthy results that may not be accepted by publications with page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from the Natural Resource Publications Management website. If you have difficulty accessing information in this publication, particularly if using assistive technology, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Johnson, S. E., J. S. Mead, M. J. Widen, and E. E. Leonard. 2021. The challenging past and precarious future of Canada yew (Taxus canadensis) in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Natural Resource Report NPS/APIS/NRR—2021/2251. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2285336. NPS 633/175245, April 2021 ii Contents Page Figures.................................................................................................................................................... v Tables ................................................................................................................................................... vii Photographs ........................................................................................................................................... ix Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................................xiii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Study Species.................................................................................................................................. 5 Study Area ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Field Methods ................................................................................................................................. 6 Transect and plot layout ............................................................................................................ 8 Yew surveys and browse assessments ....................................................................................... 9 Historical Land Survey Records ..................................................................................................... 9 Statistical and Geospatial Analyses .............................................................................................. 10 Contemporary Canada yew status ........................................................................................... 10 Temporal change in Canada yew ............................................................................................ 10 Spatial interpolation of Canada yew status and change .......................................................... 10 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 13 Contemporary Yew Distribution Among Islands Relative to Deer Management Zones ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Status and Change in Canada Yew Abundance............................................................................ 17 Plot-level analysis of change in abundance ............................................................................. 17 Geospatial analysis of change in Canada yew abundance ....................................................... 22 Herbivory Among Islands ............................................................................................................ 27 iii Contents (continued) Page Island-by-Island Observations and Recommendations ................................................................ 28 Zone 1 islands .......................................................................................................................... 28 Zone 2 islands .......................................................................................................................... 34 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Variation in Yew Abundance Over Space and Time in Relation to Human and Deer History .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Yew Declines and Potential for Recovery .................................................................................... 43 Biological Implications of Yew-Deer Interactions ....................................................................... 44 Other Potential Agents of Change ................................................................................................ 45 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 46 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................................... 47 iv Figures Page Figure 1. State deer management units and NPS deer management zones in the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin. ................................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2. The location and orientation of plots (red circles) surveyed along transects on 18 islands within Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, 2013. ............................................................... 6 Figure 3. The location and orientation of plots surveyed along transects on 18 of the Apostle Islands in the 1990s (a), and a subset of those plots that best matched the location of plots surveyed in 2013 (b). ................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 4. Percentage of plots with Taxus canadensis (Canada yew) and percentage with probable browse by deer or hare on Canada yew or other woody species among 18 Apostle Islands grouped by deer management zone. ........................................................................... 16 Figure 5. Mean (± 1 SE) percent cover of Taxus canadensis (Canada yew) in plots measured in the 1990s and in 2013 on 18 of the Apostle Islands, grouped by Deer Management Zone. .............................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 6. Mean percent cover of Canada yew (± 1 SE) between the 1990s and 2013, and between Deer Management zones (Zone 1 = low-to-no deer history, Zone 2 = low-to- high deer history)