Restoration planting strategies for climate-threatened endangered vernal pool endemic, Burke’s goldfields
Faculty Mentor Name
Ezra Kottler
Research or Creativity Area
Natural Sciences
Abstract
Climate change is making water availability more variable and unpredictable in California, significantly affecting the functioning of native plant species. Vernal pools, seasonal wetlands that are inundated in the winter wet season and dry out in the summer season, host a diversity of rare native plant species that depend on water availability for their survival. The conservation of these species depends in part on establishing newly created vernal pool wetlands and inoculating them with seeds to establish new plant populations. Despite this need, there is limited data on how restoration seeding methods affect plant performance in created vernal pools. We conducted a multi-year field transplant study with Burke’s Goldfields (Lasthenia burkei, Family: Asteraceae), an endangered vernal pool plant which occupies areas of Santa Rosa and Lake County, in order to address the following research questions: 1) How does planting elevation within created vernal pools affect plant growth and fitness? 2) Does using seeds from different sites and generations affect plant growth fitness? Seeds from different source populations and years were planted in created vernal pools in Santa Rosa, CA in November 2022, and 2023. Seeding plots were laid out across different micro-elevational zones in the pools, zones which experience different flooding durations. Plant germination, survival, and flowering were recorded, and plants were harvested at peak growth to weigh aboveground biomass. We will present findings on the reproductive fitness and biomass production of plants across elevation treatments and seed sources. In the first growing season, plants planted at middle elevations produced the most reproductive and vegetative biomass. Our results will be used to provide recommendations for seed sourcing practices to vernal pool managers that will establish the healthiest restoration populations.
Restoration planting strategies for climate-threatened endangered vernal pool endemic, Burke’s goldfields
Climate change is making water availability more variable and unpredictable in California, significantly affecting the functioning of native plant species. Vernal pools, seasonal wetlands that are inundated in the winter wet season and dry out in the summer season, host a diversity of rare native plant species that depend on water availability for their survival. The conservation of these species depends in part on establishing newly created vernal pool wetlands and inoculating them with seeds to establish new plant populations. Despite this need, there is limited data on how restoration seeding methods affect plant performance in created vernal pools. We conducted a multi-year field transplant study with Burke’s Goldfields (Lasthenia burkei, Family: Asteraceae), an endangered vernal pool plant which occupies areas of Santa Rosa and Lake County, in order to address the following research questions: 1) How does planting elevation within created vernal pools affect plant growth and fitness? 2) Does using seeds from different sites and generations affect plant growth fitness? Seeds from different source populations and years were planted in created vernal pools in Santa Rosa, CA in November 2022, and 2023. Seeding plots were laid out across different micro-elevational zones in the pools, zones which experience different flooding durations. Plant germination, survival, and flowering were recorded, and plants were harvested at peak growth to weigh aboveground biomass. We will present findings on the reproductive fitness and biomass production of plants across elevation treatments and seed sources. In the first growing season, plants planted at middle elevations produced the most reproductive and vegetative biomass. Our results will be used to provide recommendations for seed sourcing practices to vernal pool managers that will establish the healthiest restoration populations.
