Plants of Conservation Concern of the United States Virgin Islands
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Plants of Conservation Concern: Herbs and Plants of the United States Virgin Islands Authors: Kevel C. Lindsay Eleanor Gibney Toni Thomas Jean-Pierre Bacle Island Resources Foundation island resources FOUNDATION "In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination: write USDA Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer." "This publication is made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF), to the US Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture's Urban & Community Forestry Program." Island Resources VI Department of US Department of VI U&CF Council US Forest Service Foundation Agriculture Agriculture Cover photo of Lyonia rubiginosa, a St. Thomas endemic, by Kevel Lindsay at Hawk Hill, 2015 2 PLANTS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN: HERBS AND PLANTS OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS Acknowledgements The Island Resources Foundation team would like to thank the US Department of Agriculture’s Urban and Community Forestry Program of the Virgin Islands for its support and commitment. We thank the USDA Forest Service’s International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) for funding the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the VI Department of Agriculture. IITF has provided funding for work in the studies of introduced pests and species, the status of forests of the Virgin Islands, and the work of the Urban & Community Forestry Program. Thanks are owed to Rudy O’Reilly of St. Croix for his input, information, and advice. To Olasee Davis, thanks for his willingness to author “An Historical Perspective of the Virgin Islands’ Tropical Forests”. Also a special thanks to Gail Karlsson for her generous hospitality as she provided logistical support and accommodations during our stay in St. John. And to the many colleagues and supporters who have in countless ways helped to advance this project and to further native plant conservation in the Virgin Islands. Kevel Lindsay, for the entire project team 3 PLANTS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN: HERBS AND PLANTS OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 3 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 5 The Islands ........................................................................................................................... 7 The Forests and Plants of the U.S. Virgin Islands .................................................................... 8 Settlement, Colonization, and Transformation ................................................................. 8 Status of Virgin Islands Vegetation and Plants Today ................................................... 19 Importance of Conserving Native Plants and Habitats ...................................................... 24 Approach and Methodology ............................................................................................... 25 Native Plant Species of Priority Concern ............................................................................. 27 Introduced Pests and Diseases ....................................................................................... 28 Primary Species of Concern ........................................................................................... 33 Secondary Species of Concern ...................................................................................... 70 Next Steps: Saving Native Plants .................................................................................... 71 Appendix I: Native Plant Species of Secondary Conservation Concern for the US Virgin Islands .............................................................................................................. 94 Appendix II: Puerto Rico—Virgin Islands Bank Plant Endemics .......................................101 Appendix III: The Outer Islands and Cays of the USVI .......................................................103 References and Citations .....................................................................................................110 The Project Team ..................................................................................................................114 List of Tables Table 1. Vegetation Communities of the US Virgin Islands. ................................................ 22 Table 2. Physiognomic, origin and status breakdown of USVI plants. ............................... 23 Table 3. Priority Species of Concern for the US. Virgin Islands. .......................................... 27 Table 4. Conservation Action for Rare Plant Species of the USVI ....................................... 72 Table 5. Long-term Collective Action to Protect Rare and Endangered Native Plants and their Habitats ............................................................................................................ 76 Table 6. Conservation Action for Critical Habitat Protection and Management .............. 82 Table 7. USVI Privately Owned Outer Islands and Cays in Need of Extensive and Comprehensive Ecological Assessment. .............................................................. 93 4 PLANTS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN: HERBS AND PLANTS OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS Overview The Territory of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an insular part of the United States of America, is located about 64km (40 miles) east of Puerto Rico. There are three main islands, namely St. Croix (the largest), St. Thomas and St. John, and a number of minor cays (outer islands). The total land area of the Territory is 346.4km2 (133.73 sq. miles). The islands are home to a number of indigenous and unique plants and habitats, many of which are under severe threat, mainly as a result of habitat loss, fragmentation and ecological decline. It is with this in mind that Island Resources Foundation (IRF) worked with its U.S. Virgin Islands partners to initiate efforts to focus on the long-term conservation of these native species and their dependent ecosystems. This project focuses on conservation of native trees in the U.S. Virgin Islands, particularly rare and endangered species and their habitats, in order to help ensure sustainable populations. The purpose of the project was: To identify and map the U.S. Virgin Islands’ most critical native tree species, understand the threats to these species, and develop long-term, on-the-ground conservation and management options. The objectives were: 1. To establish an updated baseline list of the native tree species of the territory. 2. To identify the Territory’s most critical rare and endangered tree species and develop a short list of priority species for conservation. 3. To identify and GPS known locations of the critical species, including those on private lands. 4. To develop conservation options for rare and endangered species. Working with Urban and Community Forestry Program, the IRF team: updated the list of native and naturalized species of trees of the Territory; identified key areas of remaining relatively pristine forests for native flora; provided GPS locations of critically rare and endangered species (where possible); produced a set of conservation options for their long-term sustainability; and worked with local and regional experts to devise an effective approach for determining species and habitat health/ecological status. This is part of a longer-term vision for ensuring sustainable populations and habitats of the Territory’s native wild plants. By developing much needed information tools about 5 PLANTS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN: HERBS AND PLANTS OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS island resources FOUNDATION the native species, we inform ourselves about what is present, what the threats are, the status of the species and habitats, and what options are possible for their management and conservation. The following report outlines the results of field efforts and research, including a comprehensive list of the species of plants on all three major islands, a list of the rare and endangered trees and shrubs, a brief profile of these species, a list of critical habitats and sites that are important to native plants, locations for these species, a list of the minor islands of the Territory and a summary overview of the conservation options that would be useful as a way forward for their conservation and management. Note that for the purposes of this report, in the use of the terms “invasive” and “introduced” species, the writers have opted to for the latter term. Across the region and throughout the world, some authorities prefer to use the term invasive to define those plants and animal species that may or are having some form of deleterious effect on the survival and success of other species and the functions of ecosystems. 6 PLANTS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN: HERBS AND PLANTS OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS island resources FOUNDATION The Islands The United States Virgin Islands, is an insular area—an unincorporated territory—of the United States, located at 17º40”N – 18º30”N latitude and 64º30”W – 65º10”W longitude, about 64km (40 miles) east of the island of Puerto Rico, and about 200km (124 miles) southwest