West Costal Plain & Ouachitas Open Pine Birds

This indicator identifies areas with existing pine trees that, if managed for open condition, could support a population of three umbrella bird species (brown-headed nuthatch, Bachman’s sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker). It evaluates potential habitat based on each species’ habitat needs and population dynamics, prioritizing opportunities to restore and manage habitat to benefit open pine birds. Final scores reflect both the selectiveness of the species and whether an area meets the habitat requirements through one large patch, or clusters of smaller patches in sufficiently close proximity for breeding pairs to disperse. This indicator updates the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture’s open pine decision support model for the West Gulf Coastal Plain and Ouachitas region.

Reason for Selection

These three bird species represent the structure and function of open pine ecosystems in the West Coastal Plain. Open pine and other grassland birds are experiencing significant declines and are currently off-track for meeting the SECAS 10% goal, so it is important that the Blueprint capture opportunities to restore open pine habitat. This indicator also promotes consistency with the priorities of the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture.

Input Data

• 2019 National Land Cover Database (NLCD)
• West Gulf Coastal Plain/Ouachitas floodplain map produced by the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (LMVJV) (contact the LMVJV for access)
• West Gulf Coastal Plain/Ouachitas Bird Conservation Region (WGCPO BCR) (2010 version, contact the LMVJV for access)
• Base Blueprint 2022 extent
• Base Blueprint 2022 subregions

• Update to the WGCPO Open Pine Decision Support Model

  The Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture created the original data and methods in 2011 as the WGCPO Open Pine Decision Support Model. The original model used 2001 National Land Cover Database (NLCD) landcover as an input. This layer re-runs the model using the same methods, but an updated 2019 version of the NLCD. This model represents 3 species: brown-headed nuthatch (BHNU), Bachman’s sparrow (BACS), and red-cockaded woodpecker (RCWO). It highlights patches of pine trees that are large enough to support a population of the umbrella species, but are not necessarily in the open condition required to provide quality habitat. Its goal is to prioritize existing pine forests for open pine management actions.

  Additional information about model assumptions

  • The brown-headed nuthatch analysis assumed a density of 3 ha/pair, a minimum viable population of 28 pairs, a suitable habitat requirement of 84 ha, and a dispersal potential of 0.92 km (½ dispersal potential of 0.46 km).
  • The Bachman’s sparrow analysis assumed a density of 3 ha/pair, a minimum viable population of 50 pairs, a suitable habitat requirement of 150 ha, and a dispersal potential of 3 km (½ dispersal potential of 1.5 km).
  • The red-cockaded woodpecker analysis assumed a density of 50 ha/pair, a minimum viable population of 20 pairs, a suitable habitat requirement of 1,000 ha, and a dispersal potential of 8 km (½ dispersal potential of 4 km).

Mapping Steps

• Buffer the WGCPO BCR by 10 km to create the study area.
• Clip the 2019 NLCD to the study area.
• Pull out the evergreen and mixed forest classes from NLCD (values 42 and 43) to use as an estimate of the location of current pine forests.
• Remove all pine forests pixels that occur in the floodplain, using the West Gulf Coastal Plain/Ouachitas floodplain layer.
• Perform a patch analysis on the remaining pine pixels to determine the size of contiguous patches.
• Convert patch size from number of pixels to hectares.
• At this point, the model performs a series of the same analysis steps, but modifies the thresholds to be specific for each species.
  • Remove all patches of forest that are not large enough to support at least one pair of birds. The BHNU and BACS analysis removed patches smaller than 3 ha, while the RCWO analysis removed patches smaller than 50 ha.
  • Buffer (enlarge) each patch by ½ the dispersal distance for that species. If the buffer of one patch intersects the buffer of another patch, then we assume the two patches are in close enough proximity that birds have the ability to disperse from one to another. The BHNU analysis buffered by 0.46 km, the BACS analysis buffered by 1.5 km, and the RCWO analysis buffered by 4 km.
  • Perform a new patch analysis on the buffers of the original patches. This identifies clusters of patches or areas that contain patches that are all close enough together that birds could disperse from one to another (to another, to another, etc.).
  • Analyze each cluster of patches to determine if they contain enough pine forest to support a minimum viable population (MVP) for the species. This analysis is done using the patches, so we exclude any patches of forest that aren’t big enough to individually support one pair. The amount of forest needed to support an MVP was calculated by multiplying the hectares needed to support 1 pair by the number of pairs that represent an MVP of each species. The BHNU analysis used a minimum habitat amount of 84 ha (3 ha/pair times the MVP of 29 pairs = 84 ha), the BACS analysis used a minimum habitat amount of 150 ha (3 ha/pair times the MVP of 50 pairs = 150 ha), and the RCWO analysis used a minimum habitat amount of 1,000 ha (50 ha/pair times the MVP of 20 pairs = 1,000 ha).
  • If a cluster of patches contains enough pine forest to support at least one MVP, then all the original patches contained in that cluster of patches are identified as potential targets for open pine management.
• Reclassify the BHNU layer produced above so that:
  • 0 = Not an upland pine patch or an upland pine patch too small to support 1 pair
  • 1 = Patch large enough to support 1 pair, but outside of dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 2 = Patch is large enough to support 1 pair, and is within dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 3 = Patch alone is large enough to support MVP
• Reclassify BACS layer above so that:
  • 0 = Not an upland pine patch or an upland pine patch too small to support 1 pair
  • 10 = Patch large enough to support 1 pair, but outside of dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 20 = Patch is large enough to support 1 pair, and is within dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 30 = Patch alone is large enough to support MVP
• Reclassify RCWO layer above so that:
  • 0 = Not an upland pine patch or an upland pine patch too small to support 1 pair
  • 100 = Patch large enough to support 1 pair, but outside of dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 200 = Patch is large enough to support 1 pair, and is within dispersal distance of enough habitat to support MVP
  • 300 = Patch alone is large enough to support MVP
• Add three species layers above together using cell statistics “sum.” The result is a raster with habitat values for BHNU in the hundreds place, BACS in the tens, and RCWO in the ones.
• Reclassify to create the legend values seen below:
  • 6 = 333
  • 5 = 331, 332
  • 4 = 312, 321, 322
  • 3 = 222
  • 2 = 122, 220, 221
  • 1 = 120, 121, 210
  • 0 = 0, 110
• Clip to the ‘West Gulf Coastal Plain’ and ‘Ouachita’ subregions, where this indicator was used in Zonation. The source data also covers some areas in the ‘Gulf Coastal Prairies’ and ‘Mississippi Alluvial Valley’ subregions. We didn’t include data in those subregions due to an oversight in which indicators were used for the Blueprint priorities in those subregions.
• As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Base Blueprint 2022.

Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available in the Southeast Blueprint 2022 Data Download under BlueprintInputs > BaseBlueprint2022 > 6_Code.

Final Indicator Values

Indicator values are assigned as follows:

• 6 = Pine patch large enough to support a population of all 3 umbrella bird species (brown-headed nuthatch, Bachman’s sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker) if managed in open condition
• 5 = Pine patch large enough to support a population of 2 umbrella bird species if managed in open condition
• 4 = Pine patch large enough to support a population of 1 umbrella bird species if managed in open condition
• 3 = Pine patch part of a cluster of nearby patches able to support a population of all 3 umbrella bird species if managed in open condition
• 2 = Pine patch part of a cluster of nearby patches able to support a population of 2 umbrella bird species if managed in open condition
• 1 = Pine patch part of a cluster of nearby patches able to support a population of 1 umbrella bird species if managed in open condition
• 0 = Pine patch too small and isolated to support a population of any umbrella bird species or not an upland pine patch if managed in open condition

Known Issues

• This indicator does not capture areas where planting new pine stands in existing agricultural areas would benefit open pine birds.
• While the indicator source data extends into some areas within the Gulf Coastal Prairies and Mississippi Alluvial Valley subregions, those areas are not included in the indicator ecause they were not used in the Blueprint priorities for those subregions. We didn’t include those pixels due to an oversight in which indicators were used for the Blueprint priorities in those subregions.

Disclaimer: Comparing with Older Indicator Versions

There are numerous problems with using Southeast Blueprint indicators for change analysis. Please consult Blueprint staff if you would like to do this (email hilary_morris@fws.gov).

Literature Cited

Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture. October 2011. West Gulf Coastal Plains/Ouachitas Open Pine Landbird Plan. [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bb3865d2727be6f94acf2fc/t/5bedd2650ebbe83079c0c7b1/1542312550791/WGCPO_Landbird_Open_Pine_Plan_Oct_2011.pdf].

Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy. 2021. Recent Trends in Southeastern Ecosystems (2021): Measuring Progress toward the SECAS Goal. [http://secassoutheast.org/pdf/SECAS-goal-report-2021.pdf].

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Published June 2021. National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2019 Land Cover Conterminous United States. Sioux Falls, SD. [https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KZCM54].

Yang, L., Jin, S., Danielson, P., Homer, C., Gass, L., Case, A., Costello, C., Dewitz, J., Fry, J., Funk, M., Grannemann, B., Rigge, M. and G. Xian. 2018. A New Generation of the United States National Land Cover Database: Requirements, Research Priorities, Design, and Implementation Strategies, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 146, pp.108-123. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2018.09.006].