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Gentiana autumnalis (pine barren gentian) is a rare, fall-flowering perennial that is endemic to pine barren habitat from New Jersey to South Carolina. This disturbance-adapted, early successional species is at risk in New Jersey as a result of human interactions, namely growing season mowing and fire suppression. We used a repeated measures design to compare the differences between managed (mowing and prescribed fire) and unmanaged G. autumnalis populations for density, life stage, mortality, and fecundity. Managed populations had a greater gentian density, proportion of reproductive individuals, and seedlings compared to unmanaged populations. Implementing prescribed burns and mowing at previously unmanaged sites prior to spring growth increased gentian density, flowering, and seed set the same year. Our data support that prescribed burning and mowing can be beneficial management tools for the conservation of G. autumnalis and other disturbance-adapted species that require open early-successional habitat. However, their implementation can have negative consequences if conducted during the growing season, especially for roadside populations that are periodically mowed. Declining rare plant populations have the potential to benefit from management practices that facilitate ideal growing conditions and influence life stage transitions that will best improve population growth rate over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline in snake populations has been attributed primarily to anthropogenic disturbances, including habitat destruction and fragmentation. We radio-tracked Northern Pinesnakes ( Pituophis m. melanoleucus) in a military Target Zone and in the surrounding undisturbed buffer zone at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, USA, to examine differences in spatial movement patterns and behavior. There were no differences in home range size ( X¯ = 60.0 ± 32.7 ha), core activity area ( X¯ = 10.6 ± 8.2 ha), range length ( X¯ = 1294.8 ± 32.7 m), or mean distance traveled per day ( X¯ = 65.2 ± 30.1 m) across all snakes, or between sexes (male n = 13, female n = 11), or location within ( n = 13) or outside ( n = 11) of the Target Zone. However, there were differences between tracking years. Northern Pinesnakes in 2005 and 2006 ( n = 13) traveled greater total distance and mean distance per day and had larger home ranges compared to snakes radio-tracked in 2003 and 2004 ( n = 11). In 2005 and 2006, snakes in the Target Zone traveled longer distances compared to snakes outside the Target Zone. Pinesnakes used both the Target Zone and undisturbed buffer zone for mating, nesting, foraging, and hibernating. Although the Target Zone was disturbed regularly, the open-canopied landscape, cover availability, and sandy soils maintained habitat for Northern Pinesnakes. Our data indicate that the military disturbance had little impact on the spatial ecology of Northern Pinesnakes; the disturbed area supported enough natural habitat features used by Northern Pinesnakes and was surrounded by a large tract of undisturbed landscape. These data can aid in developing mitigation and conservation strategies where the habitat of Northern Pinesnakes is threatened by development, in particular, across other military installations, which commonly overlap with the occurance of Northern Pinesnakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]