Abstract. North America harbors an astounding proportion of the world's freshwater species, but it is facing a freshwater biodiversity crisis. A first step to slowing the loss of biodiversity involves identifying gaps in existing efforts to conserve biodiversity and prioritizing opportunities to fill these gaps. In this monograph we detail two separate, but complementary, conservation planning efforts-a Gap Analysis (GAP) and a State Wildlife Action Plan (WAP)-for Missouri that address this first step. The goal of the Missouri Aquatic GAP Project was to identify riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species not adequately represented (i.e., gaps) within existing conservation lands. The goal of the freshwater component of the Missouri Wildlife Action Plan was to identify and map a set of conservation-opportunity areas (COAs) that holistically represent all riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species in Missouri. Since conservation planning is a geographical exercise, both efforts utilized geographic information systems (GIS). Four principal GIS data sets were used in each planning effort: (1) a hierarchical riverine ecosystem classification, (2) predicted species distributions, (3) public ownership/stewardship, and (4) a human-threat index. Results of the gap analyses are not encouraging. Forty five, mostly rare, threatened, or endangered, species are not represented in lands set aside for conserving biodiversity. Results also illustrate the fragmented nature of conservation lands, which are mainly situated in the uplands and fail to provide connectivity among riverine habitats. Furthermore, many conservation lands are severely threatened by an array of human disturbances. In contrast, results of the WAP provide hope that relatively intact riverine ecosystems still exist. A total of 158 COAs, representing ;6% of the total kilometers of stream in Missouri, were selected for the WAP. This illustrates that a wide spectrum of biodiversity can be represented within a small portion of the total resource base, but the area of conservation concern is often much larger. Identifying priority riverscapes for conservation is an important first step toward effective biodiversity conservation. Yet, achieving the ultimate goal of conserving biodiversity will require vigilance on the part of all responsible parties, with particular attention to addressing and coordinating the many remaining logistical tasks.

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Sixty-three upland True and Upper Coastal Prairie grasslands were sampled for vegetation composition and soil variables. The first axis from principal components analysis produced a south to north arrangement of stands along which temperature and precipitation decrease and soil organic matter increases (P < 0.0001). The second principal components analysis axis was related to a soils gradient, primarily within Texas communities, which had more varied soils than grasslands to the north. Species response curves against the first axis showed a continual replacement from north to south, with Schizachyrium scoparium and Paspalum plicatulum dominants in the south, Andropogon gerardii more important in central and northern communities, and Stipa spartea and Sporobolus heterolepis important in the north. The C3/C4 ratio of grasses increased rapidly northward from Nebraska. Species diversity and richness did not vary greatly and showed nonsignificant correlations with environmental variables across this latitudinal gradient. Stand relationships from cluster analysis corresponded with the results of principal components analysis, and based on these analyses, plus a review of the literature, seven community types were recognized. Five form a continuum, across which Andropogon gerardii increases northward and Schizachyrium scoparium increases southward, while two are limited to high-precipitation areas of north Texas.

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Old growth is widely acknowledged today as an essential part of managed forests, particularly on public lands. However, this concept is relatively new, evolving since the 1970's when a grassroots movement in the Pacific Northwest began in earnest to define old growth. In response to changes in public attitude, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, began reevaluating its policy regarding old-growth forests in the 1980's. Indeed, the ecological significance of old growth and its contribution to biodiversity were apparent. It was also evident that definitions were needed to adequately assess and manage the old-growth resource. However, definitions of old growth varied widely among scientists. To address this discrepancy and other old-growth issues, the National Old-Growth Task Group was formed in 1988. At the recommendation of this committee, old growth was officially recognized as a distinct resource by the Forest Service, greatly enhancing its status in forest management planning. The committee devised "The Generic Definition and Description of Old-Growth Forests" to serve as a basis for further work and to ensure uniformity among Forest Service Stations and Regions. Emphasis was placed on the quantification of old-growth attributes. At the urging of the Chief of the Forest Service, all Forest Service Stations and Regions began developing old-growth definitions for specific forest types. Because the Southern and Eastern Regions share many forest communities (together they encompass the entire Eastern United States), their efforts were combined, and a cooperative agreement was established with The Nature Conservancy for technical support. The resulting project represents the first large-scale effort to define old growth for all forests in the Eastern United States. This project helped bring the old-growth issue to public attention in the East. Definitions will first be developed for broad forest types and based mainly on published information and so must be viewed accordingly. Refinements will be made by the Forest Service as new information becomes available. This document represents 1 of 35 forest types for which old-growth definitions will be drafted. In preparing individual old-growth definitions, authors followed National Old-Growth Task Group guidelines, which differ from the standard General Technical Report format in two ways-the abstract (missing in this report) and the literature citations (listed in Southern Journal of Applied Forestry style). Allowing for these deviations will ensure consistency across organizational and geographic boundaries.