The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or any of the funding organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN. Published by: IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group & Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi Copyright: © 2018 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Soorae, P. S. (ed.) (2018). Global Reintroduction Perspectives: 2018. Case studies from around the globe. IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland and Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE. xiv + 286pp. 6th Edition ISBN: 978-2-8317-1901-6 (PDF) 978-2-8317-1902-3 (print edition) DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2018.08.en Cover photo: Clockwise starting from top-left: I. Reticulated python, Singapore © ACRES II. Trout cod, Australia © Gunther Schmida (Murray-Darling Basin Authority) III. Yellow-spotted mountain newt, Iran © M. Sharifi IV. Scimitar-horned oryx, Chad © Justin Chuven V. Oregon silverspot butterfly, USA © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service VI. Two-colored cymbidium orchid, Singapore © Tim Wing Yam VII. Mauritius fody, Mauritius © Jacques de Spéville Cover design & layout by: Pritpal S. Soorae, IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group Printed by: Arafah Printing Press LLC, Abu Dhabi, UAE Download at: www.iucnsscrsg.org www.iucn.org/resources/publications ii Plants First conservation translocation project of the East Asian trixspermum on Jeju Island, South Korea Sungwon Son1, Ji-young Jung1, Jung-hun Pi1, Hyung-ho Yang1, Gang-Uk Suh1, Cheul-ho Lee1, Hyun-Chul Kim2 & Yong-Shik Kim3 1 - Korea National Arboretum, 415 Gwangneung Soomokwon-ro, Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea [email protected] 2 - Halla Arboretum, 72 sumogwon-gil, Jeju-si, Jeju, Korea [email protected] 3 - Korean Plants Specialist Group of IUCN SSC, Department of Forest Resouurces & Landscape Architecture, College of Applied Life Sciences, Yeungnam Uniiversity, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea [email protected] Introduction East Asian thrixspermum (Thrixspermum japonicum) (Miq.) Rchb.f., is an evergreen epiphytic orchid, having stems pendulous with many nodes and dense leaves on branches and major habitats are located at forest margins along rivers or valleys (Chen et al., 1999). This epiphytic orchid is distributed in East Asia including Japan, China and Korea. In Korea, it is documented only on Jeju island, where its habitats are in an evergreen forest in the Donnaeko Valley in South region of Jeju Island at an altitude of 250 - 350 m a.s.l. (KNA, 2008; National Institute of Biological Resources, 2012; Lee, 2011). The wild populations of this species have a limited area of occupancy and extent of occurrence in Korea. The main threat to most of orchid in Korea is over-collection due to its ornamental value (Kim, 2016). Although the remnant habitats of this species are located within the boundaries of the national park, the high demand for this species as an ornamental materials will remain as an ongoing potential threat. Because of this, it is under major pressure considering its extremely small area of occupancy. The estimated population size is less than 50 individuals in its habitats (National Institute of Biological Resources, 2012) and this was categorized as Critically Endangered in the national level of Korea (KNA, 2008) and has not yet been evaluated for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at a global level. All orchid species, including the Thrixspermum japonicum, East Asian thrixspermum orchid 272 Plants are listed on the Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Main Goals Goal 1: To prepare in and ex situ conservation strategies of T. japonicum. Goal 2: To implement a regular monitoring to the translocated site over 10 years. Goal 3: To establish a self- sustaining population of T. Monitoring orchid in the wild japonicum in the wild. Goal 4: To enhance recognition on public awareness on the conservation values of threatened plant taxa. Success Indicators Indicator 1: Alleviating of population decrease due to illegal and over collection in the wild. Indicator 2: Obtaining the progeny from translocated population to apply for ex situ conservation. Indicator 3: Securing long-term survival of more than 10 years of the translocated population. Indicator 4: Improve flowering and fruiting rates in the translocated population. Project Summary Feasibility: The information on natural habitat of T. japonicum is very limited and there is only one herbarium specimen documented in the wild in Korea. According to reference, natural habitats of T. japonicum in Korea involve only one location; unique remaining of habitats for this orchid is located near the Donnako Valley of Jeju Island. The estimated population size in this site is less than 50 individuals (National Institute of Biological Resources, 2012). It is very difficult to find the mature individuals in the wild due to restricted population size and epiphytic characteristics of loading on branches. Some mature individuals were documented in 2011 by a staff of the Halla Arboretum, Jeju Island, during the field survey and then mature fruit was collected in the wild. Using this fruit, artificial propagation has been executed in the Korea National Arboretum since 2012 and now all seedlings are in Korea National Arboretum and Halla Arboretum for ex situ conservation. Implementation: The main purpose of this project is to prepare appropriate in and ex situ conservation strategies for T. japonicum. Thus it is very important to secure a population for in situ conservation because of its restricted distribution range. 273 Plants Post-planting monitoring: All of translocated individuals have been marked, monitored and recorded annually to secure data on surviving individuals, flowering and fruiting rates, human interferences and seedlings. There was no human interferences and 73% of the founder individuals survived the first year after translocation. But, the survival rate was dramatically decreased to 63% in the second year after translocation. Although some individuals failed to survive in the translocated site, a few individuals successfully flowered and fruited after translocation. About 10.1% and 26.3% of the founder individuals became reproductive in the first and second years, respectively. Nearly all individuals matured in the first and second years. Mean number of fruits per individual was 1.75 and 2.83 in the first and second years, respectively. There was no emerged seedling so far. Table 1. Survival, flowering, and fruiting rates Period 2015 2016 2017 No. of surviving individuals 216 158 (73%) 137 (63%) (Survival rates, %) No. of flowering individuals - 16 (10.1%) 36 (26.3%) (Flowering rates, %) No. of fruiting individuals - 16 (10.1%) 35 (25.5%) (Fruiting rates, %) Major difficulties faced There are limited reference and knowledge on the species such as distribution range, ecological environment of natural habitats to select the appropriate translocation site. It is difficult to secure parental individuals to conduct the mass propagation for translocation. Due to the number of limited parental individuals used for mass propagation, it is expected that neo-population has very low genetic diversity. Due to the epiphytic growth characteristics of this species, it takes a lot of time to get settled in the beginning. The maintenance of the original site, whose habitats are unique remaining ones in Korea, is uncertain and unpredictable. Major lessons learned Selecting an appropriate site is the key factor to success of translocation project of T. japonicum because this target species has very limited distribution range in Korea. Establishment of a monitoring collaboration system with local residents and stakeholders is effective to prevent human interference for ornamental orchid translocation project. Before starting the translocation project, securing sufficient biological understanding such as life cycle must be established. The long-term monitoring and adequate documentation are essential factors for successful translocation project. 274 Plants As for translocation of epiphytic orchid transplanting should be made in a way that roots can effectively grow on branches of the host plant. Success of project Highly Successful Successful Partially Successful Failure √ Reason(s) for success/failure: High rates of flowering and fruiting and high number of seeds per plant in two years. Establishment collaboration system with local stakeholders. Short-term monitoring. Decreased survival rate in two years. References Chen S., Zhongjian, L., Guanghua, Z., Kaiyong, L., Zhanhe, J., Yibo, L., Xiaohua, J., Cribb, P.J., Wood, J.J., Gale, S.W., Ormerod, P., Vermeulen, J.J., Wood, H.P., Clayton, D. & Bell, A. (2013) Orchidaceae. In Flora of China, Vol. 16. Wu, Z.Y. & P.H. Raven (eds.), Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden, Beijing and Missouri. pp. 143-188. National Institute of Biological Resources (2012) Red data book of endangered vascular plants in Korea. National Institute of Biological Resources. Incheon. pp. 95. Kim, S.N. & Lee, K.S. (2006) The orchids of Korea. Hyo-Hak Publishing Co., Seoul. pp. 442. Kim, Y.K., Kang, K.W. & Kim, K.J. (2016) Restoration of endangered orchid species, Dendronbium moniliforme (L.) Sw. (Orchidaceae) in Korea. Korean J. Pl. Taxon. 46(2): 256-266. https://doi.org/10.11110/kjpt.2016.46.2.256 Korea National Arboretum (2008) Rare plants data book in Korea. Korea National Arboretum. Pocheon. pp. 95. Lee, N. (2011) Illustrated flora of Korea orchid. Ewha Womens Univerisity Press, Seoul. pp. 324. Lee, N.S., Lee, W.B., Choi, B.H. & Tae, K.H.