Protocol narrative: Monitoring exploited plants of rich coves in the Appalachian Highlands I&M Network

Murdock, Nora; Smyth, Regan; Robinson, Timothy; Raskin, Evan; Emmott, Robert; Witcher, Brian; Watson, Brian; Peterson, Sarah; O'Donoghue, Brigitte

This protocol describes the background, rationale, and sampling design for monitoring commercially exploited plants on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BLRI) by the Appalachian Highlands Inventory and Monitoring Network (APHN). The main goals of this document are: (1) to outline an overall strategy for long-term monitoring of selected target species that is credible and scientifically rigorous, and (2) to provide a specific set of instructions in the form of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are sufficiently detailed to ensure consistent and comparable data collection for current and future practitioners. The structure of this protocol follows the recommended framework and suggestions of Oakley et al. (2003). Commercial-scale illegal harvesting of plants for sale in medicinal and floral markets is a growing concern in many parks. The Appalachian Highlands Inventory and Monitoring Network is monitoring several plant species known to be significant commercial poaching targets on the Blue Ridge Parkway, including black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), trilliums (Trillium spp.), and ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). These species were selected as part of the suite of vital signs identified in the long-term monitoring plan for the Appalachian Highlands Network. Vital signs were chosen to meet the needs of park management and to detect responses to unanticipated environmental conditions and future management issues. The Southern Appalachian Mountains are well known for their exceptional plant diversity, and public lands are increasingly being targeted by harvesters seeking large quantities of certain species to satisfy commercial market demands. North Carolina National Forests (two of which are adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway) issue more permits for special forest products, including medicinal herbs and floral products, than any other National Forests in the United States. North American ginseng has been harvested from the wild for more than 250 years to supply demands from traditional medicinal markets. Due to sustainability concerns, the species was included on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) list in 1975. Demand for the root of this species, particularly from China, has driven prices to unprecedented high levels in recent years, with associated increases in harvest pressure. The early results from APHN monitoring plots are alarming—over the past seven years, 214 locations with suitable habitat have been located and surveyed at Blue Ridge Parkway; only 48 (22%) had any ginseng plants growing in them. These sites were distributed across the 469-mile (755-kilometer [km]) length of the Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia, and included remote backcountry sites, far from roads and trails. Essentially, all of the remaining ginseng populations showed signs of heavy poaching, and 71% of the populations had fewer than 15 plants remaining—far short of the 200–500 individuals that some experts have estimated to be the minimum necessary for long-term survival. Ginseng is widely cultivated for sale, but wild ginseng commands a much higher price in Asian markets. Bloodroot has been used in the past as a component of toothpaste, to prevent dental plaque. Recently, there has been more interest in its antibiotic properties. It is currently harvested primarily for use as a cattle feed supplement in countries where synthetic antibiotics have been banned in livestock feed. Bloodroot is principally exported to Germany, where projected demand exceeds 300,000 pounds of dried root per year. While bloodroot is not currently considered a threatened species, annual harvest levels of this magnitude could rapidly deplete its numbers throughout the southern Appalachians, as well as across a significant portion of its range. At present, there is no cultivated source of bloodroot which can supply such a large demand, and 94% of all bloodroot sold is harvested from the wild.

Protocol narrative: Monitoring exploited plants of rich coves in the Appalachian Highlands I&M Network

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