Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection

Invasive non-native plant species in the Buffer Preserve are a continual management issue and at present are largely confined to the southern boundary of the preserve in residentially developed areas. The following species have been treated as part of the Buffer Preserve's invasive plant management program:  camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica), Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), torpedo grass (Panicum repens), and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera).

The natural systems that occur on Buffer Preserve lands form a complex mosaic of natural communities that are not managed independently of each other. Most natural communities that occur on the Buffer Preserve are fire dependent or fire-adapted. The preserve's fire dependent communities include sandhill, scrub, scrubby flatwoods, mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, and wet prairie. The frequent application of prescribed fire is the single most important and cost-effective management tool used to benefit listed species and promote biodiversity in those communities.