Chapter 8. Dalea Carthagenensis (Jacq.)J.F.Macbr
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Chapter 8. Dalea carthagenensis (Jacq.)J.F.Macbr. var. floridana (Rydb.) Barneby Jennifer Possley and Stephen R. Hodges Introduction The sub-shrub Dalea carthagenensis var. floridana (Florida prairie clover) is a Florida endangered species and a candidate for the USFWS endangered species list (USFWS 2010). It is endemic to South Florida, and is found only in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. The taxon (hereafter “Dalea”) can be found only in four protected areas: Big Cypress National Preserve and three small Miami-Dade County preserves: CDE, RHMP and CR. It is also known to be present in three unprotected private properties in the Cutler Bay area of Miami-Dade County. This taxon is found in the ecotone between hammock and pineland as well as in the coastal strand plant community at CR. Updates on Monitoring Wild Populations of D. carthagenensis var. floridana Over the prior year we have monitored all known sites that we could access. We specifically targeted locations where Dalea was known to occur in the past but which have not been surveyed in several years. Additional survey work was conducted in the Goulds area where Dalea occurs on 3 private unprotected parcels. Unfortunately our search did not locate any additional populations. There was a 1930 collection of Dalea by Harold N. Moldenke from the edge of Cox Hammock (646, NY) (Gann 2002). On March 25 of 2014 Jennifer Possley and Stephen Hodges visited the Monkey Jungle, former site of Cox’s Hammock. We surveyed there but did not locate Dalea. Big Cypress Preserve On January 15, 2013 Fairchild staff members Stephen Hodges and Joyce Maschinski were joined by Big Cypress National Preserve botanist Jim Burch and Everglades National Park botanist Jimi Sadle to survey the four known populations of Dalea. We were able to relocate plants in two of them. At location A, north of Oasis visitor center, we counted 65 adults, 42 juvenile plants and 129 seedlings. All plants are immediately adjacent to a dirt road in a pineland hammock ecotonal community. Potential threats to the plants include possible road work. This population represents the vast majority plants remaining in the Big Cypress. Site B is along 11 mile road in mesic pineland with nearby hammock areas. Despite our surveys we were unable to relocate this population. The area where they were thought to have been present is now heavily overgrown with hardwoods and so we suggest that surveys be conducted again if that area ever burns. Site C and D are both located along Loop Rd. We were unable to locate plants at site C, but did find plants at site D. The area is immediately adjacent to the road, there has been some dumping at the location and exotics have encroached. The plants appeared unhealthy. We counted 9 adults, 7 juveniles and 1 seedling at the site. We recommend germplasm collection both for long term seed storage, but also to make sure that plants can be reintroduced in a more appropriate location in the immediate vicinity. Unprotected Private Locations There are three known sites where Dalea populations exist on unprotected land. We have been able to visit two of these locations, sites STF and HRS. The third location is a parcel of land owned by FPL. All three locations are highly disturbed and plants are growing in precarious scenarios. These locations are presumably along the historic black creek and are all within reasonable proximity to the current C1 canal. Other potential locations for Dalea exist in this area, the best of which would probably be Black Creek Forest, owned by Miami-Dade County. That site has been surveyed many times but there have been no reports of Dalea being present at the site. Other undeveloped locations exist along the C1, many of which are disturbed and overrun with exotics. All of the sites we have been able to locate where Dalea might be present are privately owned and some pose somewhat of a security risk to survey. We surveyed locations from the vehicle or roadside in several cases, but have located no other populations. 31 Because a bike trail travels along much of the C1 canal, it would be possible to survey the canal banks and trail sides for possible presence of Dalea, but this has not been done yet. We visited site STF on March 11th, 2014. This site is owned by a neighborhood association and is a highly degraded hammock with active dumping and a large invasive exotic plant presence. Plants exist on the edge in an area that is probably mowed occasionally. We located 2 adult plants and 15 juveniles. In March of 2011 Keith Bradley sent Institute for Regional Conservation data indicating population estimates for all known Dalea locations. He visited site STF with Sam Wright of Fairchild in 2010 and they estimated a total of 40 plants at the site. We also visited site HRS on March 11th, 2014. This location is owned by Miami-Dade county public health trust and sits adjacent to a community health clinic. The site is ostensibly a natural area that had been overrun by invasive exotic plants (Figure 8-1). Apparently, there has been a major effort to remove some of these and much of the area has now been cleared, but the site is highly degraded. We located 3 adults and 18 juveniles. The plants are surrounded by disturbed species, both native and exotic, and there is the potential for the plants to be unintentionally harmed by crews clearing exotic vegetation. On the same day we surveyed the FPL site from outside the property line. This property is highly impacted by invasive exotics, dumping and homeless activity. There are potential security concerns involved in surveying the property and if plants do remain there, every opportunity should be made to collect germplasm and possibly transplant individuals as soon as possible. Fairchild staff will continue to make efforts to gain access to the site. Figure 8-1. Dalea habitat at site HRS. The vegetation primarily consists of disturbed area species, invasives exotics and other weedy species. 32 CDE From 2003 to 2007, the number of woody Dalea in CDE’s north pineland was between 50 and 80 individuals, with the number of seedlings ranging from 3 to 54. In the past 5 years, we have documented pulses of seedling establishment (Figure 8-2). We conducted annual monitoring at CDE in January 2014, finding that the total population size in the north pineland (seedlings + woody plants) was 347 individuals, a very slight decline from the previous year’s survey. Figure 8-2. Census data for Dalea in CDE’s north pineland (2003-2014). 33 RHMP From 2004-2008, the Dalea population at RHMP diminished from 31 woody individuals to just one woody plant and three seedlings (Figure 8-3). In summer 2009, the wild population surged to 330 seedlings. We conducted annual monitoring at RHMP in January 2014, finding 98 individuals, a slight decline from the previous years’ survey. This does not include Dalea that resulted from our 2009 seed augmentation at RHMP (see below). Figure 8-3. Census data for Dalea at RHMP (2003-2014) Update on experimental seed augmentation Jennifer Possley and Joyce Maschinski By 2008, the Dalea population at RHMP appeared to near extirpation, with only four plants present. To bolster the declining wild population, we conducted an experimental seed augmentation. As reported previously, we initiated an experimental reintroduction of 6000 Dalea seed at RHMP in summer 2009. In brief, we introduced seeds that had been either frozen or not into intact pineland (with leaf litter raked away) or to a restored area (see Possley et al. (2010) for complete details). In 2010, we noted 152 Dalea had established in our experimental plots. During annual monitoring in January 2014, we documented 88 established plants. Of these, 36 were new (non-woody) seedlings. We returned to the augmentation plots again in late February 2014 and it was apparent that many more seedlings had germinated in the last two months. We re-conducted our census and counted 208 non-woody seedlings and 52 woody plants. We did not notice a similar germination pulse in the wild population, indicating that our augmentation may prove to be very important for the preservation of Dalea at RHMP. We submitted a detailed manuscript on this seed augmentation to American Journal of Botany in April 2014. In addition to describing the field augmentation, we incorporated information on seed biology obtained through cooperative research with the USDA National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (Maschinski et al. In review). 34 Next Steps We will continue annual monitoring of Dalea populations in Miami-Dade County preserves, including wild and reintroduced populations. References Maschinski, J., J. Possley, C. Walters, L. Hill, D. Walters, L. Krueger, and D. Hazelton. In review. How seed biology influences Dalea carthagenensis (Fabaceae) episodic recruitment, demography, restoration, and population persistence in pine rockland habitat. Manuscript submitted to Am. J. Bot., April 2014. Possley, J., J. Maschinski, and L. Krueger. 2010. Year 7 report: Biological monitoring for plant conservation in Miami-Dade County natural areas. Miami-Dade County Resolution #R-808-07. 35 Population Trends at CR and Factors influencing Pulses of Dalea Seed Germination Joyce Maschinski Dalea carthagenensis var. floridana is under severe threat from fire suppression, invasive exotic species, and human activities that have contributed to an alteration or reduction of its habitat. We examined population growth patterns of the federal candidate species growing in coastal strand habitat from 2007- 2014. Methods Demography Study At Site CR in February 2007 we initiated demographic studies of D. carthagenensis var. floridana growing in coastal strand.