Saving Plants and the Planet

Kayri Havens Director, Division of Plant Science and Conservation Chicago Botanic Garden

The plant diversity crisis According to IUCN: • 29% of the US flora is rare (4th in world) • 12.5% of the world’s flora is imperiled (33,400 taxa) . 1/3 of the species on earth may be extinct in 50 years, 2/3 in 100 years (Raven) Federally Listed Plants & Animals (Total: 1254)

Animals (519) 41%

Plants (746) 59%

FWS 6-04 Example of T&E Expenditures 4500 4000 3500 3000

2500 Total 2000 Plants 1500

Spending in Thousands in Spending 1000 500 0 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Federal Agency Landholdings (in millions of acres) FS (191) 29%

BLM (262) 41%

FWS (93) 14%

DOD (20) NPS (84) 3% 13% 650 million acres 29% of total US land area Federal Agency Spending Per Acre (2000)

Agency Funding in Millions Amount Per Acre

NPS $1,365,000 $16.85 FWS $716,000 $7.70 FS $1,270,000 $6.65 BLM $745,000 $2.82 Botanists are endangered too!

. BLM has 54 botanists –one botanist per 4.8 million acres . NPS has 28 botanists – one botanist per 2.9 million acres . USDA FS has 115 botanists – one botanist per 1.7 million acres . USFWS has 26 botanists - one botanist per 3.6 million acres Contributions to Plant Conservation by Botanical Gardens and Arboreta Botanic Gardens and Arboreta

. Develop and manage a documented collection of plants…they represent some of the most concentrated sites of species richness . Are evolving from “collections of curiosities” to centers of research and conservation, a bit behind zoos . Serve as “windows to the plant world” . Public gardens collectively host over 150 million visitors per year…serving as centers for outreach on plant conservation is an area where we can make a unique and significant impact What is ex situ delivering?

. 1800 botanic gardens hold 2.5 million accessions, representing 18,000 taxa . About 100 taxa exist only in botanic gardens . Many ex situ collections vastly outnumber surviving wild populations . In the US, over 80 rare taxa are being reintroduced Think globally, act locally

. 331 plant species are rare in Illinois (state listed E or T), 344 in Wisconsin (E,T or SC) . Less than 1/100 of 1% of tallgrass prairie remains in

Illinois . More state listed plants are found in Cook and Lake counties than any other IL counties The Chicago Botanic Garden

. A 385 acre botanic garden (documented collection of living plants) in Glencoe, IL . A unique public/private partnership (owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society) . A non-profit organization with the mission “to promote the enjoyment, understanding and conservation of plants and the natural world” Chicago Botanic Garden’s Conservation Mission

. To support the understanding and conservation of plant biodiversity, particularly within the framework of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation . To address the most pressing anthropogenic threats to plants . To improve methods in plant conservation • ex situ conservation • in situ conservation • reintroductions/habitat restoration The most severe threats to plant biodiversity are:

Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation Introduction of invasive species Climate change Overexploitation for human use Disease and predation

Restoration and Management of Plant Communities Restoration genetics research

. Questions: Does seed source matter? If so, how far away can you go to collect seed for restorations? . Testing in 2 Lobelia species as models – partnership with MNTP . Studying Penstemon and Eriogonum taxa in Great Basin with BLM Lobelia outbreeding depression study

• Lobelia cardinalis - hummingbird pollinated, larger neighborhood size

• Lobelia siphilitica - bumblebee pollinated, smaller neighborhood size

• Comparing fitness of offspring from three cross types (<10m, 10-100m, and ~100km) over 3 generations Lobelia cardinalis

F1 F2 F3 Origin - MNTP Grown - MNTP

0. 18

0. 13

0. 08 (g)

0. 03 total dry weight

-0. 02 nn 0. 1 km 100 km

cross-pollination distance Lobelia siphilitica Study species Penstemon Penstemon Penstemon rostriflorus pachyphyllus deustus

Common Garden Locations

Idaho Botanical Garden

Utah Botanical Center Common Garden Results Penstemon rostriflorus

At planting (May 04) Early Flowering (Aug 04) Lab-Based “Common Garden”: Seed Germination Trial

.Seeds bulked by population, placed in common environment, determination of days in cold stratification required for germination by population.

180

160

140

120

100

80 germination 60 P. deustus P. pachyphyllus 40 P. rostriflorus P. deustus (trend) P. pachyphyllus (trend) P. rostriflorus (trend)

20 Average ofnumber days in Cold Stratification before

0 -12.5 -10 -7.5 -5 -2.5 0 Jan Average (C) Demography of Lespedeza leptostachya . Collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and Illinois DNR . Pati Vitt designed and set up experiment to look at effect of grazing on prairie bush clover (Lespedeza leptostachya) . Alona Banai is studying hybridization between  Hanky Lespedeza leptostachya and Panky?  the more common native Les lep congener L. capitata Les cap

Platanthera leucophaea research

• Does hand pollination to increase fruit and seed set cause increased mortality or decrease plant vigor (is there a cost of reproduction)? • What level of pollination is optimal?

Platanthera leucophaea research

Relative Responses to Hand Pollination - 2001

Flower Leaf Plant Mortality** Number Width*** Height* 0% 7.4 (1.28) 1.88 (0.23) 40.12 (5.34) 27% Pollination 30% 11.21 (1.57) 2.44 (0.25) 50.75 (4.78) 16% Pollination 70% 7.88 (1.43) 1.94 (0.27) 38.68 (5.39) 27% Pollination Natural 8.5 (1.65) 1.55 (0.29) 36.63 (6.36) 38% Pollination

*Means in Centimeters, with Standard Error. **Separate Analysis reveals that smaller plants are the ones that tend to die in all groups. *** Means in Millimeters, with Standard Errors. Invasive plant research and policy The Invasive Problem . Invasive species are the 2nd largest threat to biodiversity . We depend on biodiversity • Food, Medicines • Shelter • Ecosystem services . Invasive species cost the US $138 billion/year, invasive plant costs are conservatively $35 billion/year Invasives harm plant communities and populations

Lythrum salicaria Centaurea solstitialis Trapa natans Horticulture as a pathway

. As many as 85% of our invasive species were introduced for horticulture purposes . Fortunately most exotics are not invasive . Determining risk of new introductions is key

Hesperis matronalis, Berberis thunbergii invading woods How will CBG avoid invasive introductions?

. Avoid growing taxa on list of known invasives for the region . Perform a risk assessment on new introductions to region . Perform risk assessment and evaluation on new Aegopodium podagraria introductions to country Risk assessment: Important characteristics . Taxa invasive in other regions . Short juvenile period . Vegetative reproduction . Broad ecological amplitude . Short generation time . Seeds that germinate without pretreatment

Lonicera japonica, Lythrum salicaria, Rhamnus cathartica Climate Change Programs Even with modest change, many plants are in trouble The proportion of native US vascular plant species that were entirely out of their climate envelopes as a function of the increase in temperature above mean annual temperature. Three methods were used to determine climate envelopes (A, B, C). From Morse, Kutner and Kartesz, 1995.

Natural migration will be difficult

• In the past, plants and animals migrated as the climate changed

•Today anthropogenic, as well as natural, barriers limit dispersal ability Barriers to migration (from Abraham J. Miller-Rushing and Richard B. Primack, Plant Talk 2004)

Chicago Botanic Garden’s Programs related to climate change

. Project Budburst . Floral report card: global change monitoring garden . Plants of Concern . Seed banking . Predictive modeling . Studies on carbon sequestration

Phenological changes in Chicago

. Contemporary phenology records from Project BudBurst were compared to phenology records gathered from 1950-1994 published in “Plants of the Chicago Region” by Swink and Wilhelm . Half of the species have had an early flowering record in the last 3 years, from a few days to one month earlier than previously recorded . Gerry Wilhelm reports that roughly half of the plant species he saw in the 60s and 70s (while working on earlier editions of the book) have now disappeared from the Chicago region flora Floral Report Card: Project Design

. Identical gardens at each of 7 botanic gardens (16’ x 16’ garden beds) . 4 clonal replicates of each of 4 ecotypes (collected in USDA Zones 4,5,6,7) of 7 species (Penstemon digitalis, Monarda fistulosa, Baptisia australis, Physostegia virginiana, Aster novae-angliae, Schizacharium scoparium, Panicum virgatum) . Climate datalogger and web cam . Ultimately, kits for homeowners and schools in 2 sizes with curriculum materials Components of a “Climate Change Monitoring Garden” Predicting Range Shifts for 17 Federal Status Plant Species

Aconitum noveboracense Apios priceana Asclepias meadii Boltonia decurrens Cirsium pitcheri Dalea foliosa Erythronium propullans Iris lacustris Isotria medeoloides Lespedeza leptostachya Lesquerella globosa Platanthera leucophaea Platanthera praeclara Sedum integrifolium Solidago shortii Tetraneuris herbacea Trifolium stoloniferum

Data Source: NatureServe and its Natural Heritage member programs. Acknowledgement Statement: This information is provided by NatureServe (www.natureserve.org) and its Natural Heritage member programs, a leading source of information about rare and endangered species, and threatened ecosystems. Climate Variables Used Mean Annual Temp Mean Monthly Temp Isothermality Range Temperature Max Temp Warmest Min Temp Coldest Seasonality Month Month Temp Annual Range Mean Temp Warmest Mean Temp Driest Quarter Quarter Mean Temp Warmest Mean Temp Coldest Annual Precipitation Quarter Quarter Precip Wettest month Precip Driest Month Precip Seasonality

Precip Wettest Quarter Precip Driest Quarter Precip Warmest Quarter Precip Coldest Quarter Altitude (Elevation)

Current Climate Data: Worldclim, version 1.3, October 2004 Future Climate Data: (2xCO2 climate conditions, CCM3 model) B. Govindasamy, PB Duffy, J.Coguard, 2003. High-resolution simulations of global climate, part 2: effects of increased greenhouse cases. Climate Dynamics 21: 391–404 Predicted Cirsium pitcheri Distribution using MaxEnt

Current Climate

Future Climate

Data Source: NatureServe and its Natural Heritage member programs. Acknowledgement Statement: This information is provided by NatureServe and its Natural Heritage member programs, a leading source of information about rare and endangered species, and threatened ecosystems. Are ranges shifting? Plants of Concern: Volunteer plant monitoring to ground truth models

. In 2006: • 322 volunteers • monitored 508 element occurrences • of 176 rare plant species • at 192 sites • in partnership with 71 landowners . Next year, expand to invasive species

What can we do now?

Abronia umbellata . Bank seeds, particularly edge of range populations. Outlier populations may harbor important adaptations for heat and drought tolerance as well as adaptations for seed dispersal (Eckert, 2008, New Phytologist) . Conduct research related to AM and restoration . Develop policy framework Seed banking

. CBG is a founding partner of Seeds of Success, a national network collecting and banking seed of the US flora . CBG is collecting seed of Midwest flora (~3000 species) . It will be available to restoration community, serve as a “safety net” against extinction, and may provide material for assisted migration in the future Mitigation of climate change

. Do some plant communities sequester carbon better than others? . Does restoration improve carbon sequestration? 2/3 of the prairie biomass is below ground

"Root Systems of Prairie Plants" by Heidi Natura ©1995, Conservation Research Institute Soil carbon in a restoration chronosequence

12

10 Remnant

8 10-20 cm

6 0-10 cm

4

Carbon content Carbon (%)

2 10-30 cm

0 0 10 20 30 40 500 Age (year) Conclusions

. Remnant prairies have higher carbon contents than restored prairies

. Prairie restoration increases carbon sequestration in soils in the long term (>30 years) Training Programs Conservation and Land Management Mentoring Program

Mentoring program goals:

.To provide recent graduates interested in conservation careers with mentoring and hands-on experience .To provide BLM and other agencies with assistance for conservation and land management initiatives

60-hour training course

• GPS use, GIS mapping • Endangered Species Act • Map and compass skills • Field safety

• Plant and animal identification • Monitoring techniques

Mentor Feedback The value of an intern “It seems as though as each year goes by, the workload increases and the workforce stays static or decreases. [My intern] has assumed the project responsibilities for preparing a biological assessment for a resource management plan encompassing nearly 4 million acres of public land. Without her help this assignment would not have even started.”

Woo hoo… We’ve got baby ferrets! On Site Sustainability New Plant Conservation Science Center

. LEED gold status awarded . Incorporates sustainable design elements in several areas: • Clean air • Alternative transportation • Energy efficiencies • Roof garden and solar power • Limiting land impact • Pollution and waste prevention • Recycled, regional and eco-materials • Water efficiencies

Acknowledgements:

. Thanks to the staff of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation and collaborators on several of these projects who shared their information and photos for this talk: Pati Vitt, Jennifer Schwarz, Barron Orr, Ann Thwaits, Sandra Henderson Susanne Masi, Jim Tang, and Kirsten Meymaris