<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://mail.elsevier-alerts.com/go.asp?/bESJ001/mVY1823F/qWYAZ23F/uACPL5/x5GQZ23F/cutf%2D8">How successful are plant species reintroductions?
</a><br>by Sandrine Godefroid et al., <i>Biological Conservation
</i>, Volume 144, Issue 2, Pages 672-682.<br><br><span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-51BWXVD-1&_user=3928936&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000061806&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3928936&md5=100869b37619964a662af414c5170c3a&searchtype=a">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-51BWXVD-1&_user=3928936&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000061806&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3928936&md5=100869b37619964a662af414c5170c3a&searchtype=a</a></span><br><br>Reintroduction of native species has become increasingly important in
conservation worldwide for recovery of rare species and restoration
purposes. However, few studies have reported the outcome of
reintroduction efforts in plant species. Using data from the literature
combined with a questionnaire survey, this paper analyses 249 plant
species reintroductions worldwide by assessing the methods used and the
results obtained from these reintroduction experiments. The objectives
were: (1) to examine how successful plant species reintroductions have
been so far in establishing or significantly augmenting viable,
self-sustaining populations in nature; (2) to determine the conditions
under which we might expect plant species reintroductions to be most
successful; (3) to make the results of this survey available for future
plant reintroduction trials. Results indicate that survival, flowering
and fruiting rates of reintroduced plants are generally quite low (on
average 52%, 19% and 16%, respectively). Furthermore, our results show a
success rate decline in individual experiments with time. Survival
rates reported in the literature are also much higher (78% on average)
than those mentioned by survey participants (33% on average). We
identified various parameters that positively influence plant
reintroduction outcomes, e.g., working in protected sites, using
seedlings, increasing the number of reintroduced individuals, mixing
material from diverse populations, using transplants from stable source
populations, site preparation or management effort and knowledge of the
genetic variation of the target species. This study also revealed
shortcomings of common experimental designs that greatly limit the
interpretation of plant reintroduction studies: (1) insufficient
monitoring following reintroduction (usually ceasing after 4 years); (2)
inadequate documentation, which is especially acute for reintroductions
that are regarded as failures; (3) lack of understanding of the
underlying reasons for decline in existing plant populations; (4) overly
optimistic evaluation of success based on short-term results; and (5)
poorly defined success criteria for reintroduction projects. We
therefore conclude that the value of plant reintroductions as a
conservation tool could be improved by: (1) an increased focus on
species biology; (2) using a higher number of transplants (preferring
seedlings rather than seeds); (3) taking better account of seed
production and recruitment when assessing the success of
reintroductions; (4) a consistent long-term monitoring after
reintroduction.<br><br></div><br>
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