Changes of an endangered population of Iris dichotoma after conservation translocation in Taeanhaean National Park, Korea

Abstract

Sustainable habitats play a significant role in determining the survival and habitat preservation of endangered species. To conserve the endangered species Iris dichotoma Pall. and its habitat in Taeanhaean National Park, we collected seeds from a natural population and germinated and propagated them in a greenhouse. In 2019, the propagated individuals of I. dichotoma were transplanted at two study sites in Taeanhaean National Park. After conservation translocation, annual monitoring was conducted from 2020 to 2022, and factors related to the survival and growth of I. dichotoma (clonal propagation rate [%], the flowering rate [%], the population density [individual/m2], the maximum leaf bundle length [height; cm], the maximum leaf bundle width [cm], and the pedicel length [cm]) were measured. According to the results of the monitoring of the flowering and fruiting periods for three years after transplantation, 82.4% of individuals in total were found to have survived. During 2020 to 2022, the mean population density (individual/m2) increased from 0.36 to 0.42 and the size of the leaf bundle length and the width both decreased compared to the corresponding figures in 2019 (p < 0.05). According to the findings here, the transplanted population of I. dichotoma is considered to have adapted successfully to its new site in Taeanhaean National Park.