| Habitat conversion |
High |
Habitat and species protection |
- Identify protection mechanisms/instruments for the species and its critical habitat.
- Conserve habitat which could be made suitable (may require restoration) where the species is known to have occurred within the last 35 years.
|
Invasion of alien plants
Encroachment of native and alien vegetation
Altered grazing or browsing regime
Threat: Changes in weather patterns, especially spring and early summer precipitation |
High |
Stewardship |
- Prepare Best (Beneficial) Management Practices guidelines for Slender Popcornflower to support landowners and land managers in stewardship activities.
- Develop location-specific plans for managing invasive alien plants, encroachment of vegetation, grazing/browsing regimes, and key habitat attributes such as amount of bare soil.
- Engage landowners and land managers in recovery decisions and activities.
|
| Medium |
Public education and outreach |
- Develop priorities to deliver public education and outreach concerning species at risk, their habitats, and their management.
- Increase public awareness of the existence, conservation value, threats, and harm reduction measures for Slender Popcornflower and associated species at risk.
|
| Medium |
Research |
- Determine effects of grazing/browsing and invasive alien plants on Slender Popcornflower.
- Consider effects of climate change on all aspects of recovery.
|
| Knowledge gaps regarding population size and trends and demography. |
High |
Population research and monitoring |
- Design and implement an inventory and monitoring program to track population trends for 10 successive years, with subsequent monitoring as required.
- Report on population trends, area of occupancy, and habitat condition every 2 years.
- Conduct demographic research in order to identify critical life stages (e.g., pollination/reproduction, dispersal, seed production, recruitment, and recruit survival) necessary for population growth.
- Identify demographic criteria that would trigger immediate re-evaluation of recovery priorities and activities, and incorporate these into the management plans.
- Determine species-specific population thresholds and targets suitable for long-term population objectives.
- Monitor impacts of recovery activities on habitat, non-target species, plant communities, and ecological processes.
|
Knowledge gaps regarding and propagation and augmentation techniques.
Knowledge gaps: genetic connectivity
Limitation: Demographic collapse |
High |
Population restoration |
- Identify, prioritize and rank habitat within the Canadian range for suitability and recovery potential.
- Develop appropriate restoration techniques and location-specific management/restoration plans (including prescribed burn and invasive alien plant management) for Slender Popcornflower habitat.
- Determine conditions (e.g., light requirements, soil type, vegetative cover) necessary for germination, establishment, growth and reproduction.
- Collect soil samples from locations and conduct germination trials to evaluate presence of an existing seed bank at each population location.
- Develop and implement establishment/ augmentation plans (including monitoring of success and effects on non-target species), consistent with existing guidelines (i.e., Maslovat 2009).
- Assess genetic connectivity (if plants are found at locations other than Saturna Island).
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