There has been little research on and little success transplanting the endangered Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina). Transplants have low-levels of survival and the determinate variables and practices remain largely unknown. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) does not consider transplanting as a viable conservation measure. This study evaluates transplanting in two parts. First, we monitor 84 individual Pima pineapple cactus (PPC) transplanted southwest of Tucson, Arizona in 2014 with and without soil (bare roots) as well as with and without water added at the time of the transplant. Second, we followed up on additional transplant experiments with which we could compare biotic and abiotic variables that seem to be associated with transplant success. This post-transplant monitoring and analysis of varying transplant methodology and abiotic variables associated with each site forms a framework for determining the best practices to maximize PPC transplant successes. Precipitation within the period after transplanting greatly increases transplant success while other factors have strong interactions.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.