Population dynamics of the climate‐sensitive endangered perennial Ferula sadleriana L edeb. ( A piaceae)

• Published in: Plant species biology 2014-05, Vol.29 (2), p.138-151
• Main Authors: Lendvay, Bertalan, Kalapos, Tibor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0913-557X; 1442-1984
• DOI: 10.1111/1442-1984.12003

Ancient plant species surviving in isolated small populations are particularly vulnerable to extinction, therefore understanding their population dynamics is necessary for conservation. The iteroparous perennial relic endemic Ferula sadleriana L edeb. ( A piaceae) is restricted to seven distant localities in the C arpathian B asin, where it inhabits rocky hills. We monitored the species' largest population on the P ilis H ill, H ungary, over 14–19 years (depending on trait) between 1979 and 2010, and relationships were sought between climatic properties and population attributes. The population of 4000 ± 1509 emergent individuals underwent large interannual fluctuations, with the vegetative stage displaying sevenfold and the reproductive stage twenty‐eight‐fold differences. Spring and early summer precipitation had a marked influence on abundances and seed set. Alternating years of high and low counts of reproductive plants suggest costs of reproduction that most probably incur prolonged dormancy and retrogression to the vegetative stage. Seed set was positively influenced by number of reproductive plants over years and by plant size within a year. Ungulates nullify yearly reproductive output by grazing on reproductive individuals. This is particularly intense in dry summers, when reproductive output is already low. The strong precipitation response of abundance, absence of clonal propagation and soil seed bank, and geographical isolation of the populations place F. sadleriana at considerable risk under an increasingly variable and extreme climate. Management should seek to maintain the species' original habitat mosaic (potentially compensating for climate variation), minimize grazing damage and anthropogenic disturbance, and establish ex situ conservation programs to provide propagules for eventual reintroduction.