Proceedings 7th European Conference on Ecological Restoration Avignon, France, 23-27/08/2010 Reintroduction and reinforcement of endangered woody species populations in Tapia woodlands, Mount Ibity, Madagascar: protocol and preliminary results Swanni T. Alvarado 1, 2 , Elise Buisson 1, Harison Rabarison 2, Charlotte Rajeriarison 2, Chris Birkinshaw 3 and Porter P. Lowry II 4,5 . 1 Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie (UMR CNRS IRD), IUT d’Avignon, Université d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, France ([email protected] ; [email protected]) 2 Département d’Ecologie et Biologie Végétales, Université d’Antananarivo, Madagascar 3 Missouri Botanical Garden, Madagascar Research and Conservation Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar 4 Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa and Madagascar Department, St. Louis, Missouri, USA 5 Département Systématique et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (USM 7205 CNRS), Paris, France Abstract: After centuries of environmental degradation, the indigenous vegetation of Madagascar is now highly fragmented, reduced to small islands of relatively intact vegetation surrounded by a sea of anthropogenic savanna. This situation has serious implications for the capacity of Madagascar ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Climate change is expected to increase fire intensity and frequency, resulting in increased anthropogenic pressure on remaining patches of indigenous vegetation. Fire is the principal factor of degradation of Tapia woodlands (= woodland type vegetation in which the dominant tree species is Uapaca bojeri ) on the Mount Ibity, located in the Malagasy Highlands. Eight woody species have been studied since March 2010: Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium brevicaule, P. densiflorum, Xerochlamys bojeriana, Sarcolaena oblongifolia, Carissa edulis, Weinmannia stenostachya and Aphloia theaeformis in an ex-situ experiment carried out at a plant nursery on 2 soil types (local Ibity soil and standard nursery soil). Seedlings of various ages are burnt in burn-boxes (6, 12, 16, 20 and 24 months-old seedlings) to determine what fire interval is an issue for seedling survival and thus recruitment. These seedlings are burnt with 2 different dry biomass of Loudetia simplex , the principal Poaceae in the herbaceous strata. This study on the regeneration of these woody species (seed production, germination, seedling establishment) and seedling survival in response to various fire scenarios will be the basis for possible protocols for the restoration and reinforcement of populations of these endangered species. First results will be discussed. Keywords: climate change, disturbance by fire, land use changes, reafforestation, (re-)introduction, restoration of wilderness areas Introduction Madagascar’s ecosystems have all suffered from great anthropogenic pressures especially in the last 50 years (Kull 1998) and will undergo a major climate change in the years to come (Hannah et al. 2008). These changes and disturbances lead to profound modifications in natural processes (e.g. changes in fire regimes), the introduction of exotic species, the selective use of certain local species all of which lead to the fragmentation of natural ecosystems and landscapes, increasingly replaced by agricultural landscapes dominated by fields, extensive livestock rangelands and plantings of exotic, fast-growing trees, such as Eucalyptus and Australian acacias. All of this contributes to environmental, and, ultimately, to socio-economic and cultural deterioration and impoverishment of the island and its human society (Jenkins 2003). Due to the apparently inevitable climatic changes combined with the pressures induced by the increasing human populations, conservation efforts inevitably have to evolve from the current emphasis on the protection of well defined and relatively intact habitats to a much broader focus which includes the active management of protected areas and the restoration of degraded and disturbed landscapes within and outside protected areas. Ecological restoration can assume a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity and in the maintenance of human subsistence. In addition, the restoration of buffer zones around protected areas can provide a range of natural products required by the neighboring human populations, restore continuous corridors between bocks of natural vegetation and to increase areas of natural habitats thereby promoting their long 1 Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Development - Establishing Links Across Frontiers term viability. Considering the advanced state of degradation of some ecosystems in Madagascar and the predicted climate changes (e.g. Hannah et al. 2008), it is urgent to launch pilot studies for the restoration and the management of the protected areas in Madagascar whose results are quickly applicable. This research concerns the Ibity Mountain, located in the Malagasy Highlands, approximately 25 km south of the town of Antsirabe, and 200 km south of the capital city, Antananarivo. This quartz mountain range is currently being examined as a candidate to become a new protected area in the country. The area is currently exposed to moderate and heavy anthropogenic pressures, such as livestock grazing, artificial plantings of exotic species, over-exploitation of native species; and disturbed fire regimes (Birkinshaw et al. 2006). The protected area will be bounded so as to include most of the characteristic environments of the Massif: dense forest, and Tapia (Uapaca bojeri ) woodlands and savannas. In Tapia woodlands the dominant tree species is the endemic Uapaca bojeri (Phyllanthaceae). A disrupted fire regime is the main factor of degradation in this ecosystem on Mount Ibity. Fires burn the herbaceous layer and can affect germination, establishment and survival of woody seedlings. We selected eight woody species which occur in Tapia woodlands and are studying their regeneration (seed production, germination, seedling establishment) and seedling survival in response to various fire scenarios to provide the basis for possible protocols for the restoration and reinforcement of populations of these plants, some of which are endangered. Figure 1 . Landscape of Tapia woodland in Ibity (left) and experiment set up at a plant nursery in Ibity (right) (by: Swanni T. Alvarado) Materials and methods Experiment set up at a government-run plant nursery (Ibity, Antsirabe district, Madagascar). Eight woody species have been studied since March 2010: Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium brevicaule, P. densiflorum, Xerochlamys bojeriana, Sarcolaena oblongifolia, Weinmannia stenostachya, Carissa edulis and Aphloia theaeformis . This species were sown in two soil types: soil from Ibity collected from below Tapia trees and standard soil (standard nursery soil mixed with the sand and compost in proportion 1:1:1). Most plant species dynamics are strongly correlated to soil organism development, in particular, soil microorganisms (van der Heijden et al. 1988). Tapia woodland is associated to the fungal community (Ramanankierana et al. 2007). Many studies have demonstrated that an appropriate management of the microbial biodiversity in the soil can contribute to improvement of the plants performance (Barea & Jeffries 1995; Requena et al. 2001). Seedlings of various ages (6, 12, 16, 20 and 24 months) will be exposed to fire in burn-boxes to determine the relationship between the age of the seedling when burnt and seedling survival and how this might impact recruitment. The seedlings will be burnt using 2 different quantities (dry biomass) of Loudetia simplex , the main species of Poaceae that serves as fuel in the herbaceous strata. While burning, measurements of the rate of the spread of fire 2 Proceedings 7th European Conference on Ecological Restoration Avignon, France, 23-27/08/2010 (m/s) and flame height (m) will be noted. Measurements on plants before the controlled burn will be: stem diameter, height of the seedling, number of leaves. Two months after the controlled burn the mortality, stem diameter, height, number of leaves will be monitored. Results and discussion Seed germination was monitored every week for 3 month. The species with the highest rates of germination, 3 months after sowing, are Carissa edulis (23.6 and 23.3%) and Uapaca bojeri (17.5 and 23.3%), on Ibity and standard soil, respectively (Figure 2) . Wilcoxon tests show no significant difference in germination between soil types (p-value = 0.590). Figure 2: Preliminary results of germination rate Uapaca bojeri begins to germinate starting in the sixth week, showing that this species may exhibit prolonged dormancy due to the physical and physiological characteristics of its seeds. Germination of Carissa edulis is completed after eight weeks and reached ca. 23%. The other six species may be recalcitrant, which would explain the low rate of germination since the seeds were sowed 3-4 months after the seed collection. Germination tests in controlled conditions are being carried out in order to evaluate these germination issues. Figure 3: Germination percentage of the Uapaca bojeri and Carissa edulis . 3 Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Development - Establishing Links Across Frontiers These preliminary results show low germination rates for all 8 species studied. As a consequence, and in order to supplement the number of seedlings available for planned controlled burning experiments, more seeds were sown in June 2010. The controlled burns will be carried out in January-February 2011. Conclusions One