CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository Conservation Assessment for the Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes A.Gray) Steven R. Hill, Ph.D. Division of Biodiversity and Ecological Entomology Biotic Surveys and Monitoring Section 1816 South Oak Street Champaign, Illinois 61820 Prepared for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region (Region 9), Shawnee and Hoosier National Forests INHS Technical Report 2007 (25) Date of Issue: 30 April 2007 Cover photo: Poa alsodes A.Gray, from University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point website, Robert J. Freckmann Herbarium, Plants of Wisconsin. Spikelets immature. Photographer: Emmet J. Judziewicz. http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=POAALS This Conservation Assessment was prepared to compile the published and unpublished information on the subject taxon or community; or this document was prepared by another organization and provides information to serve as a Conservation Assessment for the Eastern Region of the Forest Service. It does not represent a management decision by the U.S. Forest Service. Though the best scientific information available was used and subject experts were consulted in preparation of this document, it is expected that new information will arise. In the spirit of continuous learning and adaptive management, if you have information that will assist in conserving the subject taxon, please contact the Eastern Region of the Forest Service - Threatened and Endangered Species Program at 310 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 580 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. 2 Conservation Assessment for the Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes A.Gray) Table of Contents Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................4 Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................5 Nomenclature and Taxonomy..........................................................................................................6 Description of the Species..…...........................................................………..................................7 Habitat and Ecology.........................................................................................................................8 Distribution and Abundance..........................................................................................................11 Protection Status............................................................................................................................13 Life History....................................................................................................................................15 Population Biology and Viability..................................................................................................17 Potential Threats............................................................................................................................18 Research and Monitoring...............................................................................................................21 Restoration.....................................................................................................................................24 Summary........................................................................................................................................24 References......................................................................................................................................26 Websites Consulted........................................................................................................................29 Contacts..........................................................................................................................................29 Appendix 1. Representative United States specimens of Poa alsodes examined or cited in the literature………………………………………………………………………........31 Appendix 2. The distribution of Poa alsodes in the United States. Information from herbarium specimens and the literature……......…………………………………....……........33 Appendix 3. Natural Diversity Database Element Ranking System..............................................35 3 Conservation Assessment for the Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes A.Gray) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the staffs of the United States Forest Service, Shawnee and Hoosier National Forests, for the opportunity to compile these conservation assessments and for their invaluable assistance with data and field opportunities. Beth Shimp and Steve Widowski have been particularly helpful in facilitating these cost share agreements. I would also like to thank the grants and contracts staff of the Illinois Natural History Survey and the University of Illinois, Champaign, for their assistance with logistics necessary to complete these reports. Curators of several herbaria, cited in the appendices to this report, were very helpful in allowing access to the collections to obtain data on this plant. Several people also assisted by contributing information on this locally rare plant, including Mike Homoya in Indiana. Julie Holling and Bert Pittman helped by providing information on the occurrence of this grass in South Carolina. Matthew Smith, of Silver Spring, MD, who has compiled an unpublished Atlas of the Plants of Maryland, provided information on the species distribution in that state. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region, under Cost Share Award No. AG03-CS-11090804-024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region. 4 Conservation Assessment for the Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes A.Gray) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Conservation Assessment is a review of the taxonomy, distribution, habitat, ecology, and status of the Grove Bluegrass, Poa alsodes A.Gray, throughout the United States, and in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service lands, Eastern Region (Region 9), in particular. This document also serves to update knowledge about potential threats to, and conservation efforts regarding, the Grove Bluegrass to date. Poa alsodes is a perennial tufted grass normally 30-60 cm tall (though it can be taller), without rhizomes, and it has been confused with several similar species (e.g., Poa autumnalis, P. pratensis, P. sylvestris and P. wolfii) but it differs from those by means of the hairless marginal nerves on its lemmas as well as by its short anthers (0.4-0.8 mm long). This generally upland grass grows mainly in shade in cool mesic hardwood forests and it appears to prefer areas of moderate to high rainfall in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. It is normally found growing in buffered soils that are circumneutral to slightly acidic. In the United States it has been reported from 22 states from Maine west to Minnesota and south to Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina. In Canada, Poa alsodes has been reported in five eastern provinces. There are no verified records of this grass in adjacent Iowa or Missouri. The global ranking for Poa alsodes is G4 (Apparently Secure) and in the United States the species is given the National Heritage status rank of N4N5 (Apparently Secure to Secure). The state rankings vary, but it has been designated as Endangered in Illinois, Rare in Indiana, and it has been included on the list of rare, threatened and endangered plants of Maryland without official state designation. It has been designated as ‘At Risk’ in the Shawnee National Forest of Illinois only. It is more common and not threatened in several other Region 9 and Region 8 national forests. There remains some question as to whether or not this grass actually occurs in Illinois. In addition to species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), or species of Concern by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service lists species that are Sensitive within each region (RFSS). The National Forest Management Act and U.S. Forest Service policy require that National Forest System land be managed to maintain viable populations of all native plant and animal species. A viable population is one that has the estimated numbers and distribution of reproductive individuals to ensure the continued existence of the entity throughout its range within a given planning area. The objectives of this document are to: -Provide an overview of the current scientific knowledge on the species. -Provide a summary of the distribution and status on the species range-wide and within the Eastern Region of the Forest Service, in particular. -Provide the available background information needed to prepare a subsequent Conservation Approach. 5 Conservation Assessment for the Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes A.Gray) NOMENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY Scientific Name: Poa alsodes A.Gray [1856] Common Names: Grove Bluegrass; Grove Blue Grass; Grove Meadow Grass; Woodland Bluegrass; Drooping Bluegrass. Synonymy: none known Class: Liliopsida (Flowering Plants - Monocotyledons) Family: Poaceae (= Gramineae; The Grass Family) Plants Code: POAL3 (USDA NRCS plant database, W-1) http://plants.usda.gov/ The grass genus Poa contains about 75 species in North America north of Mexico, 61 of which are native, five are hybrid species, and nine species are introduced