Experimental translocation of the endangered shrub Apalachicola rosemary Conradina glabra to the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, Florida Original Research Article

Apalachicola rosemary Conradina glabra Shinners is an endangered woody mint, endemic to the northwestern portion of Liberty County, Florida, USA. Because the few remaining populations of this species are on private silvicultural lands and subject to disturbance, C. glabra was reintroduced within its original range onto The Nature Conservancyʹs Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. Forty-eight plots of nine rooted cuttings were planted in each of three sites at the preserve in 1991. All above-ground herbaceous and small woody vegetation was clipped monthly during the growing season around 24 of the plots at each site in 1991 and 1992. Removal of competition resulted in significantly taller plants with more branches and flowers than in control plots across all sites. By the end of the second growing season, however, treatment effects diminished. Survival of planted cuttings was 94%, but was reduced by the prescribed fire management applied to two of the sites. Roughly 25% of the plants which had 50–100% tissue scorch in the fires resprouted. Seedling establishment was highest in the burned sites, and almost entirely limited to clipped plots. Evaluation of the success of this translocation effort will require long-term monitoring of these C. glabra populations and some reduction of fuel around plants prior to prescribed burning.