Dionaea muscipula, a federal and state species of concern, occurs naturally only in southeastern North Carolina and in northeastern South Carolina within 140 km of Wilmington, NC. The plants occupy habitats that are wet, acidic, and nutrient-poor, with the most common location in the ecotone between the wet pine savannas and pocosins. A five-year study in the Green Swamp of Brunswick County, NC has helped reveal the impacts of seasonal controlled burns and poaching on health, flowering, and numbers of plants. Fourteen plots (1 x 3 m) and four transects (10 m in length) from four different savannas were used in the study. A study of total plants, based on flowering percentages of the total plant count, was performed in a small savanna to provide an estimate of the numbers of plants in an area.
Results/Conclusions
Dormant season (winter) burns lead to reduced numbers of flowering plants immediately following the burn, but increased flowering the following year. Growing season (summer) burns mostly show increased numbers of flowering plants the following year as well as increased plant numbers over several years following burns. In the absence of fire, thick grass and thatch lead to a reduction in size and eventual numbers of plants. Habitat management with fire is most important for maintaining large plant numbers. Poaching has reduced plant viability with the reduction in numbers but also with leaving behind mostly smaller plants. Raising the penalty for poaching to a felony (2014) may be a deterrent, but poaching occurred in all three years since that time. Poaching is particularly critical for smaller populations. Well-managed large preserves, such as the Green Swamp, are critical to the plant’s viability.