Rare plant reintroductions are a critical conservation tool for the augmentation of diminishing populations, or re-establishment of extirpated populations. Analysis of reintroduction failures suggests that a sophisticated understanding of species biology, ecology, and habitat is essential for producing self-sustaining rare plant populations. This study sought to generate that background knowledge...
Pleuropogon oregonus Chase is a rare wetland grass endemic to eastern Oregon. The species is composed of two widely separated populations, one in Lake County and one in Union County. In order to reduce the risk of extinction, the Oregon Department of Agriculture Native Plant Conservation Program initiated several reintroduction...
Rare plant reintroductions that result in additional or more viable wild populations are important conservation tools for maintaining biodiverse ecosystems. Ideally, such projects are best designed as experiments, to improve biological and ecological knowledge of the selected species and monitoring long-term results. Northern wormwood (Artemisia campestris var. wormskioldii: Asteraceae), a...
Plagiobothrys hirtus (Boraginaceae) is a state and federally listed endangered plant found only in Douglas County, Oregon. This vernal pool endemic has historically been threatened by agricultural conversion of seasonal wetlands in the Sutherlin area, and is currently being eradicated as habitat is lost due to the rapid urban development...
In the wetland prairie of William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge (FNWR) in western Oregon, we investigated the response of Delphinium pavonaceum Ewan (peacock larkspur, Ranunculaceae), an endangered perennial forb, to four unreplicated dormant season fire regimes of 0, 2, 4, or 10 fires that were applied over a 12-year...
An experimental reintroduction was performed to determine the best method to create new populations of the tuberous species Perideridia erythrorhiza, a rare vascular plant endemic to southern Oregon. Only a handful of sites are currently present, and many of these are subject to other land uses such as urban development...
The role of unusual geologies in plant distribution and form is well-known. Serpentine (ultramafic) soils exert a particularly strong influence on plants, as evidenced by a high level of endemism and the morphological and physiological traits displayed in adaptation to the extraordinary chemistry of these substrates. Adaptation may lead to...
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Robert J. Meinke
The role of unusual geologies in plant distribution and form is