CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^103abandoned fields and cutover areas of the blackbelt prairie region. Cedar thickets are occasionally found
in the Jackson prairie region and other parts of the state. The community is often found on hilly uplands
with shallow, eroded, calcareous soils related to outcropping. Shading, heavy cedar litter or shallow
soils reduce the amount of herbaceous cover, causing a barren appearance in places. Cherokee sedge is
frequently found among with redcedar. Many prairie grasses or forbs will occur scattered in openings
and along the edges of cedar patches. A variety of shrubs or small trees such as Chickasaw plum,
chinkapin oak, Osage orange, eastern redbud and Carolina buckthorn may also be found.
LOCATION, SIZE, CONDITION AND CONSERVATION STATUS
UEGCP
Very small patches of northeast prairie (1 to 100 acres) remain in the
northeastern part of the state. Many are situated along road and power line
corridors or on eroded old fields. Cedar glades are more abundant and cover
wider expanses (approximately 1,000 acres) of former crop or pasture land.
Parcels of this subtype are scattered through the northeastern blackbelt region
and occasionally in the Pontotoc hills region. The subtype is commonly
situated on areas with shallow soils over chalk. Total area of this subtype is
estimated at 15,000 acres in Mississippi.
Northeast prairie/cedar glades are generally regarded to be in poor condition because of habitat
conversion and a lack of ecosystem management on the remaining parcels. Prescribed fire is necessary
to maintain the prairie species. Erosion has been extensive on areas with shallow soils. The community
usually shows a lack of diversity and vigor due to the shallow soil. Agriculture uses have caused
extensive declines to these prairies. An exotic grass, pitted beardgrass, is becoming established on some
prairie sites.
The prairie community of this subtype is critically imperiled in the state due to its extreme rarity
resulting from having a restricted range, agricultural conversion and a lack of management on the few
extant prairie sites. Cedar glades, which are regarded as a degraded form of the prairie community, are
vulnerable to decline because of conversions of many sites to improved pasturelands.
SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED ASSOCIATED WITH
NORTHEAST PRAIRIE/CEDAR GLADES
GROUP SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME TIER
Amphibians Rana areolata Crawfish Frog 2
Birds Thryomanes bewickii Bewick's Wren 1
Ammodramus savannarum Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Aimophila aestivalis Bachman's Sparrow 2
Columbina passerina Common Ground-Dove 2
Range of Northeast
Prarie/Cedar Glades