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A Common Passion M U LT I P L E A G E N C I E S A N D V O L U T E E R S UNITE TO REINTRODUCE

Goatsfoot Passionflower TO ROCKLAND HAMMOCKS OF MIAMI, FLORIDA

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N AT I V E P L A N T S | FA L L 2 0 0 7

| Jennifer Possley, Kirsten Hines, Joyce Maschinski, Jane Griffin Dozier, and Cristina Rodriguez

ABSTRACT We conducted a reintroduction program for rare goatsfoot passionflower (Passiflora sexflora Juss. [Passifloraceae]) that was possible only through the cooperative efforts of 4 different agencies, one private homeowner, and several volunteers. The reintroduction program included surveying for and collecting wild plants, nursery propagation, and reintroduction to 2 locations within the historic range of goatsfoot passionflower. Reintroductions tripled the known population size of this species. Early results show that 90% of transplants have survived to date, with more than one-third of these reproducing. Possley J, Hines K, Maschinski J, Dozier JG, Rodriguez C. 2007. A common passion: multiple agencies and volunteers unite to reintroduce goatsfoot passionflower to rockland hammocks of Miami, Florida. Native Plants Journal 8(3):

KEY WORDS reintroduction, Passiflora, interagency collaboration N O M E N C L AT U R E USDA NRCS (2005b)

Figure 1. Goatsfoot passionflower, Passifora sexflora. Photo by Keith Bradley

S C AT T E R E D P I E C E S O F SOUTH FLORIDA ROCKLAND The extreme southeastern tip of the continental US is home to South Florida Rockland—a unique ecosystem characterized by limestone outcroppings, a paucity of soil, and primarily tropical flora with a high degree of endemism (Snyder and others 1990). The two dominant plant communities of South Florida Rockland are rocky pine savannas known as “pine rocklands” and hardwood forests known as “rockland hammocks.” Since the early twentieth century, South Florida Rockland has

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disappeared at an alarming rate. Currently, Florida is experiencing one of the highest rates of human population increase in the US (US Census Bureau 2005). The city of Miami now occupies much of the space that was once South Florida Rockland. In urban Miami, less than 2% of the original rockland habitat is left (Bradley 2005), with remaining fragments of protected natural areas scattered throughout the urban matrix. Other small fragments are protected in the Florida Keys, while a few intact areas are protected within the federal Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. In Miami, remaining rockland forests are distributed among a wide range of landowners. Restoration biologists interested in conducting reintroductions throughout a rockland species’ range often must seek out high levels of collaboration from local and federal governments as well as from private property owners. Our work with goatsfoot passionflower (Passiflora sexflora Juss. [Passifloraceae]) is an example of an effective, multiagency collaboration to restore a rare native plant species in 2 locations in its historic range.

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Goatsfoot passionflower is an herbaceous perennial vine (Figure 1) native to the tropical Americas, the West Indies, and the extreme southeastern tip of the US. Within the US, its entire distribution is limited to 4 conservation areas and one private property containing South Florida Rockland (Gann and others 2002). Through 2004 and 2006, surveys by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (FTBG) documented approximately 40 plants in conservation areas. The total population size may be greater than 40 plants (vines are widely scattered and not easy to locate); however, the wild population most likely does not exceed 200.


The major threat to goatsfoot passionflower on protected property is invasion by exotic pest plants (Gann and others 2002). In urban hammock fragments, goatsfoot often grows in disturbed forest gaps and edges alongside aggressive native and nonnative species that may outcompete it. As an additional danger, weed management crews treating invasive vines have been known to accidentally kill goatsfoot passionflowers while carrying out their management work. Given these threats, combined with very small population sizes, FTBG, Miami-Dade County (MDC), and the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC) agreed there was a clear need to conduct goatsfoot reintroductions. This program fit into the goals and (or) management plans of all three organizations.

C O O P E R AT I O N O N PA P E R AND ON THE GROUND Four different agencies participated in this project, including local and federal governments and two nongovernmental organizations (Table 1). Collaboration was achieved by signing several formal interagency agreements that allowed for multilevel cooperation. First, an agreement between MDC and FTBG created a biologist position to manage and oversee this project (and other projects) and granted permission for collections and reintroductions in all Miami-Dade County natural areas. Second, IRC and the Everglades National Park (ENP) signed an agreement to conduct rare-plant monitoring and restoration in ENP. This agreement was followed by a partnership wherein a joint IRC-ENP employee was hired in part to perform reintroduction tasks. Finally, FTBG and IRC entered into a memorandum of understanding for collaborative conservation work. Volunteer efforts were crucial to the success of this project, making volunteer recruitment an important factor. We drew upon staff from each participating agency, FTBG’s long-established volun-

teer program, and the local chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. In total, we estimate that 10 unpaid volunteers donated 40 h of labor to the goatsfoot reintroduction and 16 staff members spent 64 h working directly on these reintroductions. Volunteers helped us accomplish this project within the limited budgets available. But more important, volunteers have become our emissaries for spreading the news about the plight of rare plant species and the possibilities for contributing to the solution.

WILD COLLECTION AND P R O PA G AT I O N During 2004 and 2005, we conducted dozens of field surveys to locate, tag, and map wild goatsfoot plants in 3 protected urban forest fragments in Miami-Dade County. Collection sites included 3 county parks and one private property (with homeowner permission). We did not collect seeds because of their limited availability. Instead, we took vegetative cuttings from the largest, most healthy plants, bringing 14 maternal lines into FTBG’s nursery. To prepare cuttings for propagation, we first cut wild-collected vine sections into lengths that contained 2 nodes. At the top node, we cross-cut leaves to reduce water loss. At the bottom node, we removed all leaves and excess stem tissue below the node, then dipped the end of the stem in GardenTech Rootone® rooting hormone with fungicide. We planted cuttings in containers of perlite and placed them on tables where they received 2 s of mist every 10 min. After 4 to 6 wk the majority of cuttings had produced several roots. We transferred these rooted cuttings to 1-q pots containing soil (10% perlite, 40% Canadian peat, 20% composted bark, 30% sand) and controlled release fertilizer (Nutricote Total 18-6-8, Florikan E.S.A.) and maintained them in a greenhouse where they received water 2 to 3 times per wk. Within 2 mo, plants produced enough roots to fill quart-size pots.


Once plants were established, we propagated more cuttings from these rapidly growing vines, increasing our holdings to hundreds of individuals. Prior to conducting reintroductions in the rainy (summer) season, we “stepped up” all plants from 1-q pots to 1-gal pots. Goatsfoot does not trellis easily, so we pruned plants every 2 mo to prevent tangling. In response, plants sent out branches from the rootstock, making a bushier vine that was stronger at the base.

REINTRODUCTIONS For reintroductions, we chose an intact rockland hammock in Everglades National Park and a 14-ac, protected hammock fragment within urban Miami known as Hattie Bauer Hammock. This latter conservation area is owned by the Miami-Dade County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. The canopy of rockland hammock is dominated by evergreen, broadleaved trees, while the understory is relatively species poor. Yet treefall gaps often contain high species diversity. Hammock soils consist of limestone covered by a layer of organic matter ranging in depth from less than one to a few cm (Snyder and others 1990). Solution holes in the limestone are a prevalent feature of most rockland hammock. The climate is subtropical, with mean annual rainfall of 1400 to 1530 mm (55 to 60 in). The study site at Hattie Bauer Hammock, which required a small amount of site preparation before planting, is shown in Figure 2. Natural Areas Management crews from Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation removed large dead branches and patches of invasive ferns from the hammock understory to make room for the goatsfoot planting. No site preparation was required in ENP. We conducted 2 reintroductions of goatsfoot in the summer and winter of 2006 (Table 2). We planted 106 individuals in Hattie Bauer Hammock and 30 in Everglades National Park. Staff and volunteers used digging bars, pickaxes, and mattocks to plant vines in the limestone substrate (Figure 3). Neither reintroduction required extensive artificial watering. In Hattie Bauer Hammock, Miami-Dade County Parks Natural Areas Management crews watered plants by hand approximately once a week for the first month until they were established. In Everglades National Park, plants were watered on planting day and the subsequent day. Regular summer rains precluded the need for any further artificial watering.

E VA L U AT I N G S U C C E S S Early survival of P. sexflora has been very high (Table 2). The reintroduction of 106 plants at Hattie Bauer Hammock had 88% survival after 8 mo. Of these, 37% produced flowers and fruits within 8 mo of planting. In Everglades National Park, the reintroduction of 30 plants had 100% survival after 6 wk.

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TABLE 1 Agencies and individuals participating in reintroduction of goatsfoot. Agency

Type

Activities

No. of staff

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

NGO

Surveys, collection, propagation, planting, monitoring

6

The Institute for Regional Conservation

NGO

Surveys, collection, planting, monitoring

4

Miami-Dade County (Dept of Environmental Resources Management’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program and the Park & Recreation Dept’s Natural Areas Management Program)

Local gov’t

Permitting, funding, surveys, collection, planting, monitoring

3 + crew

National Park Service Private homeowner

Federal gov’t Individual

Permitting, funding Donation of native plant material

2 1

Volunteers

Individual

Planting

10

A

B

Figure 2. Miami-Dade County study site on day of planting. Note limestone outcropping and low understory diversity. (A) The same study site, 2 mo after reintroduction. Photo A by Kristie S Wendelberger, B by Jennifer Possley

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This goatsfoot reintroduction program was possible only through interagency cooperation and the help of volunteers. Although it is true that interagency agreements require some time and effort to form, the amount of effort was far outweighed by the results that we achieved in working together (in this project, as well as in many others). In this case, MDC’s participation was crucial for funding the organizing biologist at FTBG as well as for collection permission, site preparation, and watering. FTBG fulfilled the role of monitoring, collecting, horticulture, and organization. Because of the stringent federal permitting process, reintroduction within Everglades National Park would have been a challenge without the additional participation of IRC and ENP and the partnership agreement between these two organizations. Even with these agreements, the second planting in ENP was possible only after the Miami-Dade County planting was shown to be a successful “pilot project.” Vallee and others (2004) suggest 4 criteria for evaluating early success of rein-


troduction projects. Although we have not been able to collect fruit to compare viability of reintroduced and wild seed, our work meets 3 of their other criteria. Specifically, we have had 1) greater than 70% survival of plants from a range of genetic individuals; 2) survival and growth of the reintroduced population similar to that of the natural populations; and 3) transplants have survived to reproductive age. In addition, we are confident that these reintroductions have significantly lower threats from weed encroachment and weed management crews than the wild populations have, because the managing agencies participated in the plantings. FTBG and IRC will continue to monitor both wild and planted goatsfoot in the coming years. We will take special interest in the life span of individual plants and whether our transplanted populations are sustainable through seedling recruitment.

TABLE 2 Reintroduction sites and results to date. Site

Description

No. surviving/ No. planted

Time of assessment

Hattie Bauer Hammock

County park

93/106

8 mo

Everglades National Park

Federal preserve

30/30

6 wk

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Staff and volunteers who participated in goatsfoot reintroductions included Patty Castillo-Trenn, Al Chapin, Margaret Dunn, Jesse Hoffman, Loretta Kendregan, Lauren McFarland, Linda Peters, Bob Petzinger, Devon Powell, Lauren Raz, Lucero Riviero, Julissa Roncal, Brian Sidoti, Emilie Verdon, Taylor Wall, Don Walters, Kristie Wendelberger, Larry Whipple, Sam Wright, and crew members from Miami-Dade County Natural Areas Management. We also thank additional staff and collaborators for their support, including Jeff Blakely, Hillary Burgess, Mary Collins, Arlene Ferris, George Gann, Phil Gonsiska, Dallas Hazelton, Ken Neugent, and Alison Walker.

Figure 3. A volunteer plants goatsfoot passionflower among chunks of limestone in the hardwood hammock understory. Photo by Kristie S Wendelberger

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REFERENCES AUTHOR INFORMATION Bradley KA. 2005. Delineation and organization of natural forest communities of Miami-Dade County. Database submitted to Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management. Miami (FL): The Institute for Regional Conservation. Gann GD, Bradley KA, Woodmansee SW. 2002. Rare plants of south Florida: their history, conservation and restoration. Miami (FL): The Institute for Regional Conservation. Snyder JR, Herndon A, Robertson WB. 1990. South Florida Rockland. In Myers RL, Ewel JJ, editors. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando (FL): University of Central Florida Press. pp 230–277. US Census Bureau. 2005. Nevada edges out Arizona as the fastest growing state. Press release from 22 Dec 2005. [USDA NRCS] USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2007. The PLANTS database, version 3.5. URL: http://plants.usda.gov. Baton Rouge (LA): National Plant Data Center. Vallee L, Hogbin T, Monks L, Makinson B, Matthes M, Rossetto M. 2004. Guidelines for the translocation of threatened plants in Australia. 2nd edition. Canberra (Australia): Australian Network for Plant Conservation.

Jennifer Possley Center for Tropical Plant Conservation Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 11935 Old Cutler Road Miami, FL 33156 [email protected] Kirsten Hines The Institute for Regional Conservation 22601 SW 152nd Avenue Miami, FL 33170 Joyce Maschinski Center for Tropical Plant Conservation Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 11935 Old Cutler Road Miami, FL 33156 [email protected] Jane Griffin Dozier [email protected] Cristina Rodriguez [email protected] Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Natural Areas Management Division 22200 SW 137th Avenue Miami, FL 33170

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