Highlights

DECLINING LONGLEAF AND SHORTLEAF PINE ECOSYSTEMS

Developing native plant germplasm for understory restoration

• Coastal Plains Germplasm little bluestem and Neches Germplasm splitbeard bluestem are native warm season perennial grasses commercially available or under evaluation as fine fuels to carry fire through these declining habitats and for wildlife conservation.
• Cajun Sunrise Germplasm ashy sunflower, Pineland Gold Germplasm swamp sunflower, and Pineywoods Germplasm thickspike gayfeather provide species richness in conservation seed mixes.
• Plants released for commercial production and plants under evaluation are tested throughout the Southeast to expand their area of use in shortleaf and longleaf pine habitat. Species currently under evaluation include rattlesnake master, roundleaf thoroughwort, blue mist flower, purple top tridens, longspike tridens and silver bluestem.

DECLINING WILDLIFE HABITAT

Utilizing native plants for wildlife habitat improvement

• Forage, cover, bedding areas, and travel corridors for a variety of game and non-game animals are provided by ‘Nacogdoches’ eastern gamagrass, Harrison Germplasm Florida paspalum, Coastal Plains Germplasm little bluestem, and Neches Germplasm splitbeard bluestem.
• Crockett Germplasm herbaceous mimosa, a warm-season, perennial legume, provides high quality forage for white-tailed deer and excellent bugging sites for large game birds such as the eastern wild turkey.
• Cajun Sunrise Germplasm ashy sunflower, Crocket Germplasm herbaceous mimosa, Pineland Gold swamp sunflower, and Pineywoods Germplasm thickspike gayfeather provide nectar for pollinating insects including the monarch butterfly.

SOIL HEALTH AND PROTECTION

Utilizing plant technology to protect and improve degraded soils

• Commercially available cover crops are evaluated for adaptation and use for soil improvement in the Western Coastal Plain.
• NRCS rainfall simulator demonstrates the benefits of soil health as it relates to water quality, surface erosion, and infiltration rates during outreach events. 
• Crocket Germplasm herbaceous mimosa provides ground cover for soil protection and as N source in conservation plantings.

OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION

Promote plant material programs and conservation

• Common Flora of East Texas Version I, is a plant identification training aid for NRCS field office personnel.
• Native Pollinator Plants of East Texas and the Western Coastal Plain,  Native Soft Mast of East Texas and the Western Coastal Plain and Native Legumes of East Texas and the Western Coastal Plain  are brochures that provide general information such as growing period, distribution, blooming dates, and planting information on these important conservation plants.
• Open shortleaf and longleaf pine understory restoration
  • USDA NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center Longleaf Understory Plant Development   is a poster presentation highlighting the ETPMC’s plant development work for understory restoration in the longleaf pine ecosystem.
  • NRCS Newsroom Feature: A Healthy Forest Starts with the Sun: Winston 8 Ranch and Boggy Slough is a video focusing on the multiple benefits of an open pine system.
  • Constructed Wetlands for On-Site Septic Treatment is a brochure focusing on the use and benefits of wetland plants for water quality improvement and the treatment of waste in an anaerobic septic system. Constructed Wetlands for On-Site Septic Management; A Guide to Selecting Aquatic Plants for Low-Maintenance Micro-Wetlands (usda.gov)
• Caddo Mounds: Learning from and Supporting the First Farmers of Texas - YouTube is a NRCS Newsroom Feature video spotlighting the ETPMC’s partnership in a prairie restoration at the historical site.