Guidelines for the Translocation of Threatened Plants in Australia Third Edition Editors: L.E. Commander, D.J. Coates, L. Broadhurst, C.A. Offord, R.O. Makinson and M. Matthes © Australian Network for Plant Conservation, 2018 Information in this publication may be reproduced provided that any extracts are acknowledged National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Guidelines for the translocation of threatened plants in Australia. 3rd ed. ISBN-13: 978-0-9752191-3-3 1. Plant conservation - Australia. 2. Plant communities - Australia. 3. Endangered plants - Australia. I. Commander, Lucy Elizabeth, 1981- . II. Australian Network for Plant Conservation. 333.95320994 First Published 1997 Reprinted 1998 Second Edition 2004 Third Edition 2018 Cover design: TSR Hub Cover photograph: Translocation site of Banksia brownii in south-west WA. (Photo: A Cochrane). Printed by IPG Marketing Solutions, 25 Strathwyn Street, Brendale, QLD 4500 This publication should be cited as: Commander, L.E., Coates, D., Broadhurst, L., Offord, C.A., Makinson, R.O. and Matthes, M. (2018) Guidelines for the translocation of threatened plants in Australia. Third Edition. Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Canberra. For more information about the Australian Network for Plant Conservation please contact: ANPC National Office GPO Box 1777, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Phone: + 61 (0)2 6250 9509 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.anpc.asn.au Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................................................ix Dedication ..........................................................................................................................................................................................xi Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................................................................xi Authors .............................................................................................................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1 – Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................1 1.1. Definition of translocation .............................................................................................................................................................1 1.2. Objectives and content of these guidelines ..............................................................................................................................1 1.3. Objectives of translocation programs ........................................................................................................................................ 2 1.3.1. Types of translocation actions ..................................................................................................................................................3 1.3.2. Sources of plants for translocation .........................................................................................................................................4 1.4. Translocations: why, when, where, what, who and how? ..................................................................................................... 4 1.4.1. History of plant translocation in Australia ..............................................................................................................................4 1.4.2. Overview of plant translocations: where, who, why and how? ......................................................................................5 1.5. Past translocation successes ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2 – Deciding whether to translocate .............................................................................................................................9 2.1. Conservation actions for species recovery, and how translocation may be part of a broader strategy ..................... 9 2.1.1. Management options available for threatened plants ..................................................................................................... 10 2.1.2. Factors driving translocation ................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2. Benefits and risks associated with translocation ....................................................................................................................12 2.2.1. Benefits .........................................................................................................................................................................................12 2.2.2. Conservation translocation risks ............................................................................................................................................13 2.2.3. Mitigation translocation risks ...................................................................................................................................................14 2.3. Factors to consider when determining whether translocation is necessary ................................................................... 14 2.3.1. Taxonomy ....................................................................................................................................................................................14 2.3.2. Distribution ..................................................................................................................................................................................14 Box 2.1 – Steps involved in targeted surveys for populations of threatened plants .................................................15 2.3.3. Drivers of extinction risk and threatening processes ........................................................................................................15 2.3.4. Recipient sites .............................................................................................................................................................................16 2.3.5. Population persistence .............................................................................................................................................................17 2.3.6. Other means of increasing population size ........................................................................................................................18 2.3.7. Success of past translocation projects .................................................................................................................................18 2.3.8. Resource availability and cost .................................................................................................................................................19 2.4. Define the goals and objectives ................................................................................................................................................ 19 2.4.1. The ultimate goal .......................................................................................................................................................................19 2.4.2. Objectives and tracking progress .........................................................................................................................................20 2.4.3. What ‘number’ constitutes success?....................................................................................................................................20 2.4.4. Getting the most out of the translocation: Linking monitoring and actions .............................................................21 2.5. Decision making framework .......................................................................................................................................................21 2.6. Checklist ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Case Studies ..........................................................................................................................................................................................24 Case Study 2.1 - A Ministerial condition mandating translocation .......................................................................................... 24 Case Study 2.2 - Learning from translocation failure .................................................................................................................. 25 Case Study 2.3 - Success and failure – different outcomes at different sites ......................................................................26 Chapter 3 – Pre-translocation assessment of biology and ecology .....................................................................................27 3.1. Recovery team or translocation working group involvement ............................................................................................ 27 3.2. Ecology .....................................................................................................................................................................................