Progress 03/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation (Rare Care) was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service to collect seeds of Region 6 sensitive plant species. The collections were made for ex-situ conservation of germplasm of sensitive species to preserve the genetic diversity of individual populations. Species targeted for collection were selected based on discussions between Rare Care staff and U.S. Forest Service botanists in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Olympic National Forest, and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests. For each species, one to three potential collection sites were identified. Final selection of collections was made based on site access requirements, seed availability, and recent information on population size and threats. All collections followed the collection protocol developed by Rare Care, which conformed to the guidelines established by the Center for Plant Conservation. A single collection consisted of seeds from an individual element occurrence, as defined by NatureServe and tracked by the Washington Natural Heritage Program. Collections were made by Rare Care staff and volunteers. All volunteers participating in seed collections were required to attend two days of training: one on rare plant monitoring and one on seed collecting. For all collections, seeds were collected along maternal lines and up to 20 seeds per plant were collected from up to 50 individuals, depending on the size of the population. In no case was more than 10 percent of the seed production of a population collected in order to minimize the impact of the seed collection on the population demography. Collected seeds were accessioned into the Miller Seed Vault and allowed to dry in the storage room where the ambient environment is held at 15 degrees C and 22 percent relative humidity. The seeds were dried for at least one month in order to achieve a moisture content of approximately 6 to 8 percent. Seeds were then cleaned, counted, and packaged by trained volunteers. The packaged seeds were placed in aluminum foil packets, heat-sealed, and placed in the freezer where they are held at -18 degrees C. PARTICIPANTS: Sarah Reichard, Professor, University of Washington College of Forest Resources. Wendy Gibble, Project Manager, University of Washington College of Forest Resources. Richard Ramsden, Volunteer, University of Washington College of Forest Resources. Barry Wendling, Volunteer, University of Washington College of Forest Resources. Fred Stark, Volunteer, University of Washington College of Forest Resources. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include the US Forest Service, land managers, botanists, volunteers, researchers, students, and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: 1. We discovered a new population of Astragalus australis var. olympicus. However, a number of pods contained moldy seeds, which limited the size of the collection. In addition, a number of plants had pods predated by insect larvae. 2. The very small population limited the size of our collection of Astragalus microcystis. Some pods contained partially eaten seeds and insect frass. 3. The Ranunculus cooleyae population was very small and significantly reduced from previous sightings in the 1980s. Only two plants were reproductive during the reconnaissance site visit on July 6th. Seeds were of full size, but green. During the July 18th site visit, all fruiting heads on one plant had been browsed and only 3 of 7 heads remained on the second plant. Thus, in a 12-day period, more than half of the seeds were lost to herbivory. As Ranunculus seeds are known to germinate while green (M. Jarisch, The Nature Conservancy, personal communication, 2007), Rare Care decided to collect some seeds after noting that the seeds readily detached from the receptacle when brushed with a finger. Future collections should try using snoods or cages to prevent herbivory. Typically, we collect no more than 10 percent of the seed production of a population in order to minimize the impact of the seed collection on the population demography. For Ranunculus cooleyae, we made an exception. The population of R. cooleyae at Lake Serene has dropped precipitously in the last couple decades and only 7 individuals remain. Rare Care staff and the Forest Botanist agreed that up to 30% of the seed production would be collected because this population is particularly vulnerable to extirpation due to global climate change. 4. In addition to the completed seed collections listed above, Rare Care worked towards the collection of two other species. a. Dodecatheon austrofrigidum: A site visit was made in September to the population located at Mt. Colonel Bob in the Olympic National Forest; however, the visit was too late in the season to collect seeds. Although this is a small population with a limited number of plants accessible on the cliff, we recommend this species be reattempted in a future year because of its limited geographic range and low number of populations. b. Platanthera chorisiana: A site visit was made in September to the population located at Lake Serene in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Forest; however, the visit was too late in the season to collect seeds. We recommend this species be reattempted in a future year and that individual plants be marked because of the low stature of the plants.
Impacts
Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation completed the goal of eight collections for the 2007 season: 1. Astragalus australis var. olympicus. 514 seeds collected; 127 were deemed non-viable. 2. Astragalus microcystis. 50 seeds collected; 17 were deemed non-viable. 3. Carex flava. 914 seeds collected. 4. Chaenactis thompsonii. 1,094 seeds collected. 5. Coptis aspleniifolia. 55 seeds collected. 6. Ranunculus cooleyae. 29 seeds collected. 7. Silene seelyi. 668 seeds collected. 8. Synthyris pinnatifida var. lanuginosa. 1,030 seeds collected. All seeds were dried and subsequently cleaned, counted and accessioned into the Miller Seed Vault between August and December 2007. The seeds are currently stored at -18 degrees C and are part of the Rare Care seed bank collection. Copies of the seed collecting reports were mailed to Forest Botanists and are held in the Rare Care files. Two additional collections were attempted and not completed. Both of these are recommended for future years.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|