Population recovery following differential harvesting of Allium tricoccum Ait. in the southern Appalachians Original Research Article

Over 100 native herbaceous forest perennials are harvested in the United States. Management of these populations for continued survival requires information on the long-term effects of varied harvesting levels on populations of forest perennials. Allium tricoccum Ait. is a species that is harvested throughout its range for its edible bulb. We examined the recovery of A. tricoccum populations over a 5-year period following experimental harvests of different intensity to predict the number of years required to return to pre-harvest levels and to establish guidelines for sustainable harvesting. Our harvest treatments included removal of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of plants within experimental plots. Treatments were repeated at three sites. Population recovery was monitored for 4 years at two sites and 7 years at one site. We found a relationship between the level of harvest and the negative impacts on populations of A. tricoccum, with limited population recovery in the 4 years following harvesting. We projected recovery times as a function of harvest level using a population projection model. Deterministic projections of recovery time ranged from 148 years for a 95% harvest to 2.5 years for a 5% harvest. Incorporating stochasticity into our projections increased the uncertainty in our estimates of recovery time. For example the recovery time from a 5% harvest ranged from 1 to 89 years (95% confidence limit). Based on our results, a 10% harvest once every 10 years would, on average, be a sustainable level of harvest for A. tricoccum in southern Appalachian forests.