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Habitat suitability and herbivores determine reintroduction success of an endangered legume
Matthew A. Albrecht, Quinn G. Long
Plant Diversity    2019, 41 (02): 109-117.   DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2018.09.004
Abstract   (240 PDF(pc) (4732KB)(27)  

Reintroductions of rare plants require detailed knowledge of habitat requirements, species interactions, and restoration techniques. Thus, incremental experimentation over many years may be required to develop adequate knowledge and techniques for successful reintroduction. To determine drivers of extinction in historical reintroductions of a federally endangered perennial (Astragalus bibullatus), we developed a reintroduction experiment to disentangle the relative importance of habitat quality, herbivores, and restoration technique on reintroduction success. In a factorial design, we manipulated access to vertebrate herbivores across different habitat types (mesic ecotone vs. xeric barren), and used founder populations comprised of more transplants and genetic sources than previous reintroduction attempts. In mesic ecotones where historical reintroductions failed, excluding herbivores, thinning woody encroachment to improve habitat quality, outplanting across a greater array of microhabitats, and increasing founder population size did not improve demographic rates over previous attempts. Compared to mesic ecotones, transplant survival rates and cumulative fruit production were more than two and ten times greater, respectively, in a xeric barren ecotone characterized by open, grassy, and dry microenvironmental conditions. Across all sites, herbivores decreased probabilities of survival and flowering of larger adult plants. Flowering rates were 80% greater inside relative to outside herbivore exclusion cages. Over a four-year period, only a single uncaged plant produced fruit. Our study demonstrates that habitat quality and vertebrate herbivory are key drivers of long-term persistence in rare plant reintroductions. Using incremental experiments that build on previous knowledge gained from long-term monitoring can improve reintroduction outcomes.

地理单元
Geographic regions
净相关指数
Net relatedness index
系统发育结构
Phylogenetic structure
I 0.60 聚集型 Underdispersed
II 0.05 聚集型 Underdispersed
III -1.20 离散型 Overdispersed
IV 0.81 聚集型 Underdispersed
V 0.02 聚集型 Underdispersed
VI 1.01 聚集型 Underdispersed
VII 1.35 聚集型 Underdispersed
VIII 1.00 聚集型 Underdispersed
Table 2 Phylogenetic structure of different geographic regions for the seed plants in Yunnan
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