PROTECTING NATIVE PTERIDOPHYTES IN ANTIGUA, BARBUDA AND REDONDA: A CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE A p r i l 10, 2 0 1 2 PROTECTING NATIVE PTERIDOPHYTES IN ANTIGUA, BARBUDA AND REDONDA: A CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE By Kevel C. Lindsay Ap r i l 1 0 , 2 0 1 2 FINAL i Cover photograph of native fern Blechnum occidentale, Thelypteris species and native vines, shrubs and other plants at Christian Valley along ghaut, Antigua, June 2011. Photo: Kevel C. Lindsay, 2011 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2 2.0 BACKGROUND 6 2.1 The Evolution of this Project 6 2.2 The Setting 7 2.2.1 Geography and Landscape 7 2.2.2 Geology, Drainage and Soils 9 2.2.3 Climate 13 2.2.4 Vegetation 15 2.2.5 Flora and Fauna 22 3.0 ABOUT PTERIDOPHYTES 23 3.1 The Evolution of the Pteridophytes 26 3.2 Pteridophyte Life Cycle and Ecology 26 4.0 THE PTERIDOPHYTES OF ANTIGUA, BARBUDA AND REDONDA 33 4.1 The Lesser Antillean Context 33 4.2 History, Discovery and Research 36 4.3 The Pteridophytes Today 40 4.4 Ecological Factors and Pteridophyte Species Diversity in Antigua 47 5.0 STATE OF THE FOREST 52 6.0 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 71 7.0 MAMAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF PTERIDOPHYTES 72 7.1 Local Institutional, Policy and Legislative Framework 72 7.2 Existing Legislative Framework 73 7.3 A Main Policy Tool: The Physical Planning Act (2003) 75 7.4 Other Existing Legislation 76 7.5 Multilateral Obligations 78 iii 7.6 Institutional Framework 79 7.7 The IUCN Regional Red List of Pteridophytes: Summary of Findings 79 7.8 Threats to the Pteridophytes 80 7.9 Invasive Species and their Impacts 81 7.10 Pests and Diseases 91 7.11 Climate and Sea Level Rise 94 7.12 The Economics of Pteridophyte Conservation 95 7.13 Species Requiring Legal Protection 98 7.14 The Need for Habitat Protection 98 7.15 Conservation: Recommendations for Next Steps and a Future Ahead 99 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 105 REFERENCES AND CITATIONS 106 APPENDIX I: List of Pteridophytes of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda 111 iv ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION This publication was produced by the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) of Antigua and Barbuda, with funding support from The Rufford Small Grants for Conservation, UK, and The Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, United Arab Emirates. With this effort, the EAG hopes to focus attention on the country’s pteridophyte flora, to encourage national support for the protection of native species and habitats, to stimulate science and research into the local biodiversity, and to help increase the awareness about the importance and value of the islands’ native fern flora. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of The Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation, UK and The Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, United Arab Emirates. 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION The pteridophytes of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda are one of the islands’ least studied and understood group of plants. Unfortunately, many are quite rare. In the past four years, and particularly in the past year, several species have been newly added to the country plant record. The current national list stands at over 80 species. Most are found in the volcanic southwest, with some narrowly restricted to moist sheltered valleys. Some species are rarely seen, and a few have not been observed for more than 30 years. Since April 2011, the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) has embarked on a study to survey the nation’s pteridophytes, looking at their distribution, habitats, threats and their conservation needs. It is with this in mind that the organisation has produced this document Protecting Native Pteridophytes in Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda: A Conservation Perspective. This document forms part if a larger effort: The Conservation of the Ferns of Antigua and Barbuda and their Forest Habitats, which focuses on the regional range-restricted pteridophytes—species of which are only known from one small population or from areas less than a few hundred square meters in extent. The project highlights the plight of these ferns and their ecosystems, and in addition to the Conservation Perspective, it has published a Regional Red List of the islands’ ferns and fern allies, and by 2013, will produce an atlas and guide to the pteridophytes of these islands. The project aims to strengthen national biodiversity conservation by highlighting the enormous challenges that the species face, and use them as a vehicle to promote forest protection, and management. The main objectives of the fern project include: I. To survey and determine the status of the ferns of the country and highlight species of critical concern; 2 II. To survey and determine the taxonomy and conservation status of the West Indian range-restricted endemic ferns and other rare species, including: Adiantum pyramidale, Adiantum cf. melanoleucum, Pityrogramma chrysophylla and possibly Asplenium cf. ocoense, Adiantum fragile, Ophioglossum harrisii, Marsilea nashii, Asplenium barbadense, Thelypteris patens, Thelypteris hispidula var. inconstans and Pteridium caudatum; III. To increase the awareness of the value of native ferns and in cooperation with local stakeholders, develop effective guidelines and measures for the conservation and protection of their habitats; IV. To develop a national conservation perspective for the recovery of the range-restricted fern species; V. To develop a much better understanding of the distribution of ferns and their conservation status GIS and GPS mapping of this data; and VI. To produce a National Red List of ferns. Protecting Native Pteridophytes in Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda: A Conservation Perspective was developed with funding support from The Rufford Small Grant for Nature Conservation, of The Rufford Small Grants Foundation, UK, and The Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, United Arab Emirates. Though pteridophytes are recognised for their horticultural value, imparting great joy and wonder to gardeners and others, their role in the natural environment is less obvious or understood. They, like other plants, are important in their own right, and are a significant part of the country’s biodiversity heritage. In some Antigua’s forest ecosystems for example, ferns often make up the bulk of the ground cover on the forest floor, and therefore, are a significant part of the forest biomass, contributing significantly to the nutrient and water cycles of the upper layers of the soil. It is critical that the islands’ native pteridophyte flora be protected. The loss of the ferns and their allies would not only be a blow to the psyche and culture of Antigua and Barbuda (because the country loses yet again a part of native natural heritage, and it has already lost so much), but it would also cause tremendous damage to the islands’ ecological framework. Pteridophytes are great environmental indicators, and because many species are habitat-specific, they can provide important clues as to changes that may occur, including the quality of the habitat, the effects of deforestation and fragmentation on the long- term ecological processes and stability of an area, and even on the potential impacts of global Climate Change on the forests. 3 By focusing on ferns, this project is supporting a long-term integrated conservation approach in order to address both acute and broad conservation issues, including the plight of regional (West Indian) plant and bird endemics, and critical ecosystems. This project forms part of an ongoing plant conservation programme being led by the EAG in Antigua, and supports the organisation’s long-term goal to conserve and protect the country's native biodiversity; developing a pteridophyte Red List and the Conservation Perspective are two significant parts of achieving this. The purpose of this the Conservation Perspective is: To bring together paleontological, historical, geological, ecological and other key information on the islands ferns together to create a unique local perspective on the islands’ pteridophyte flora ; To be a basis for input to new environmental protection legislation in Antigua & Barbuda; To encourage, promote and instill greater research into the pteridophyte and other flora of these islands; To increase the conservation and protection of native pteridophytes and their habitats; To be one of the focal points for native plant and habitat protection in Antigua and Barbuda; and To increase the awareness and understanding of the pteridophyte flora. Two questions that the reader may ask (and rightly so) is why a conservation perspective? Why not produce a conservation plan? The simple truth is that a conservation plan is an enormous undertaking and well beyond the scope and resources of this project. Additionally, and an equally important reason, is that the country faces enormous challenges with regard to all of its biodiversity, and there are a number of species and issues that also require significant attention. By first tackling these issues on a holistic basis, and by setting the groundwork for more focused efforts, it can then dedicate more time and commitments to specific groups such as the pteridophytes. In the meantime, organisations such as the EAG will do whatever it can to help conserve and protect the country’s ferns and their allies. Because our knowledge of the local pteridophytes is growing and will undoubtedly improve over time, this Conservation Perspective is meant to be updated as a result of future work, and as our understanding and knowledge of the taxonomy of the species and the on-the-ground situations. In due course it is hoped that this publication, along with the project’s other outputs, will facilitate 4 future protected area legislation and in situ conservation programmes on Antigua and on Barbuda, and secure the long-term protection of the island of Redonda as a nature reserve.