Botrychium campestre W.H. Wagner & Farrar (Iowa moonwort): A technical conservation assessment
Anderson DG and Cariveau D. 2003. Botrychium campestre W.H. Wagner & Farrar (Iowa moonwort): A technical conservation assessment. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Fort Collins, Colorado
Botrychium campestre (Iowa moonwort) is known from nine possible locations in Rocky Mountain Region, U.S. Forest Service (Region 2), but only five of these have been verified and observed within the last five years. The total number of individuals documented at five occurrences where abundance data are available is at most 28 plants. It is ranked globally vulnerable (G3) by NatureServe. Threats include habitat loss, disturbance of populations by human activities, collection, succession, and habitat fragmentation. Stochastic processes and non-native species invasion may also pose a threat. At present, conservation efforts to protect the known populations of B. campestre in Region 2 are most likely to be effective. Other populations are known from land owned by The Nature Conservancy, the State of Colorado, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and on private land. Restoration of prairie and ponderosa parkland habitats may benefit B. campestre by buffering its habitat from edge effects and weed impacts, but it is unlikely that restored habitats will be suitable habitat Further inventory of B. campestre and research on belowground life history, the role of mycorrhizae, and the role of disturbance in autecology are needed.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Anderson, D.; Cariveau, D.
- Date of Issue
- 2003-11-18
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region
- Units
- PIRO
- Keywords
- Conservation, Iowa moonwort (Botrychium campestre), moonwort, Natural Resource Management