The Ecology and Management
of Atlantic White Cedar
(Chamaecyparis thyoides)
Ecosystems

A Symposium held on June 9 - 11, 2009
Greenville, North Carolina

Abstracts of poster presentations
listed in alphabetical order by first author

Partnering for Environmental Enhancement and Education

Authors: Robert T. Belcher, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.; Kendall A. Smith, US Fish and Wildlife Service; H. Glen Hargett, City of Jacksonville, NC; Joseph P. McCann, Sturgeon City, Inc.

Abstract: The City of Jacksonville, North Carolina (City) required wetland mitigation for unavoidable impacts associated with their Wastewater Land Treatment System Upgrade and Expansion Project. As part of a compensatory mitigation package, the City established the Ben Williams Pocosin Preservation Area. Recognizing the potential of the 640-acre preservation area, the City in consultation with Malcolm Pirnie, Inc (MPI) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, reserved environmental restoration and enhancement rights in a conservation easement held by Sturgeon City, Inc. (SCI), a local non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. In collaboration with the City, staff from SCI, MPI, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources met on site to discuss their shared goals and partnering opportunities. As a result of this meeting the City and SCI developed the Ben Williams Pocosin Preservation Area Phase I Project and submitted an application for a Partners for Fish and Wildlife Grant. Components of the above-referenced project includes the establishment of 20-acres of Atlantic white-cedar within a pond pine pocosin, the establishment of a 3- to 4-year burn rotation in 100 acres of longleaf pine and pond pine community and SCI developing environmental education programs focusing on the enhancement work. By working with many organizations and partnering with SCI, the City will be able to enhance the Ben Williams Pocosin Preservation Area and provide students within the City of Jacksonville and Onslow County an additional environmental education opportunity.
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Effect of Seed Covering on Germination of Containerized Atlantic White-Cedar

Author: Eric Hinesley, NC State University, Department of Horticultural Science

Abstract: Atlantic white-cedar seed were sown in HiK.O. HV265 trays containing a standard North Carolina Forest Service mix of 3 peat: 2 coarse vermiculite: 1.5 perlite (v/v/v). Ten seed coverings consisted of combinations of fine vermiculite and coarse vermiculite. Some treatments used a single layer of vermiculite (about 2 mm thick); others used a double layer about 5 mm thick); others used a combination of fine and coarse. In some treatments, the seed were underneath the mulch; in others, they were sown between layers. Half the trays were misted immediately after sowing, resulting in 20 total treatments. A control treatment used no seed covering. Each treatment was replicated 5 times. Trays were placed under 45% shade, and briefly watered every 2 hours during the day. In early June, after a 5-week germination period, cell occupancy was greatest (87%) with no seed covering. A double layer of vermiculite - fine or coarse -- reduced cell occupancy to about 60%, whereas sowing seed between two thin layers of vermiculite had no adverse effect. Average cell occupancy, excluding the double vermiculite treatments, was 83. It appears that no seed covering is needed if the substrate is kept moist by frequent watering.
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Pitfall and Bee Bowl Trapping Results from the Long-Term Brendan Byrne State Forest Research Site in New Jersey

Authors: Stephen Mason, Caroline DiGiovanni and George Zimmermann, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Abstract: The long-term research site in the Brendan Byrne State Forest, New Jersey was one of four sites fully re-measured in the summer of 2008 – 18 years since the experiments began. This site had received four different treatment combinations designed to control deer and competing vegetation: electric fence/herbicide, Hinder/herbicide, no deer control/herbicide, and a control/control. These treatments have been documented to produce significant vegetational structural differences. Pitfall traps and bee bowls were placed at sample points across all treatments (n for each, 40 total). The sampling was done in 2008 and 2009.
The goal of pitfall traps is to see what types of insects are occurring in the ground cover. Bee bowls capture flying insects. The insects that were caught in both traps were separated to taxonomic order and lower when possible. The faunal diversity reflects in some ways the vegetational and ground structure differences produced by the various treatments and show the impacts of deer and competing vegetation on other ecosystem levels.

The pitfall trap results to date show less diversity of insect orders (and diversity within insect order) represented in the control/control treatment versus all other treatments. Furthermore, the Hinder/herbicide and control/herbicide treatments produced the highest number of Diptera. The electric fence/herbicide treatment produced the most Collembola (not an insect but an arthropod). The bee bowl sampling in the control/herbicide treatment collected the most bees, Diptera, Thysanoptera and had the only Collembola out of all treatments. The Hinder/herbicide treatment collected the least amount of bees and Diptera.
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Restoring Atlantic White-Cedar, an Embedded Ecological Community within the Longleaf Pine Sandhills at Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve: Aiken County, SC

Authors: Brett Moule and Johnny Stowe, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; Eric Hinesley, NC State University, Department of Horticultural Science

Abstract: In 2002, Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) seedlings, grown by North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources as part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant, were planted on Spring Branch at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area in Aiken County. Most of the seedlings were planted on areas previously inundated by man-made ponds. These ponds were expeditiously and crudely drained to facilitate planting when free seedlings unexpectedly became available. Ideally, natural stream flow would have been restored before planting. In 2007, the natural topography and hydrology were restored by entirely removing the earthen dams. We provide background details on this restoration project, as well as an update on seedling survival and growth, and restoration of the sites’ hydrology.
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Mosquito Sampling Updated: Cedar Swamps of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Author: Gabrielle Salsky, Cape Cod Mosquito Control; Aimlee Laderman, Swamp Research Center

Abstract: Since its inception in 1930, the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project (CCMCP) has worked to reduce mosquito populations in Barnstable County. This includes running surveillance to measure both efficacy of treatments and levels of arbovirus. Adult mosquito populations were monitored weekly at 5 Atlantic white-cedar (AWC) sites from June through August using Encephalitis Vector Survey light traps (Bioquip, Gardena, CA) baited with CO2. These traps are especially effective for monitoring nuisance mosquito populations. Light traps were run for a 24 hr period. Resting boxes were deployed at each swamp and collected weekly to monitor adult Culiseta melanura populations. Larval surveys were conducted once each month April through October. Field crews, using a standard 350 dipper, sampled water from a minimum of 20 locations in each cedar swamp. Maps of sampled sites are filed in a GIS database. Adult mosquitoes were identified to species, and then placed in vials in a 0*C freezer. Larvae were also identified to species. Collections of potential vector species were pooled by location and trap date then sent on ice overnight to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health State Laboratory for identification of any pathogens being carried by the insects. We have documented 23 freshwater species, 2 saltwater species, and one brackish species in Barnstable County. Of these, 13 species in 5 genera have been found in these cedar swamps. Cs. melanura, which bite birds and are known to be the epizootic vector for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), were found at all the sites sampled. To date, only one pool of mosquitoes collected in these AWC sites has tested positive for arboviruses. Treatments to control mosquito populations were limited to a liquid larvicide. The active ingredient is Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis, commonly known as Bti. Click here for additional information on this poster.
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Bear Damage in a Small-Pole Stand of Atlantic White-Cedar on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

Authors: Wendy Stanton, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Eric Hinesley, NC State University, Department of Horticultural Science

Abstract: A 12-acre stand of Atlantic white-cedar (AWC) was established at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge by Weyerhaeuser Company around 1990 to demonstrate the suitability of using rooted cuttings for regeneration. The site -- a mineral soil with high organic content -- was bedded and fertilized with rock phosphate prior to planting. Deer were excluded with a solar-powered Gallagher electric fence during the initial years after planting. Recently, extensive damage of small pole trees was noted, apparently by bears. Entire rows and/or clusters of trees have been killed by having the bark stripped off up to a height of about 5 or 6 feet. The reason for this unusual behavior is likely territorial. The Refuge conducts an annual Pungo Lottery Deer Hunt in September and October. Hunters are encouraged to deposit their deer remains in a pit adjacent to the AWC stand. Prior to the hunts, this 12-ft deep pit is dug with an excavator and continually filled with dirt to cover exposed deer carcasses. Depending on the number of deer harvested, the pit can easily contain remains of more than 100 harvested deer by the end of October. Bears have been observed digging remains out of the pit and dragging their cache into the stand. In addition, the stand is very dense and provides good shelter for bears. Based on a black bear study conducted in 2002-2003 by Virginia Tech (Tredick 2005), the population estimate for bears on the Refuge was approximately 3.5 bears per square mile. At that time, this was considered the densest black bear population ever recorded in the literature.
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New Vacuum Head for Sowing Containerized Atlantic White-Cedar

Authors: James West and Drew Hinnant, NC Division of Forest Resources; Eric Hinesley, NC State University, Department of Horticultural Science

Abstract: The North Carolina Division of Forest Resources has used a vacuum system for sowing into Ropak 6-45 trays. The vacuum seeder was originally designed to sow large seed such as longleaf pine and loblolly pine. It has been used to sow Atlantic white-cedar (about 440,000 seeds per pound), but is very inefficient, sometimes dropping as many as 10 seeds into individual cells. This not only wastes seed, but makes it necessary to thin the overstocked trays later, which adds additional cost of labor. The company that made the seed head is no longer in business. Recently, a new vacuum head was machined with smaller holes to accommodate smaller seeds such as Atlantic white-cedar. This promises more efficient utilization of seed and less subsequent labor to reduce stand density in trays.