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Transplanting Native Sonoran Desert Plants 1
George A. Ruffner2, Donald A. Fedock3, and Steven W. Carothers2
Plant
community
structure
and
composition determine the ~value/ of
revegetated
habitats
to
wildlife,
particularly
birds.
Revegetation
projects in Sonoran Desert communities
are
often dependent
on
non-native
plants,
however.
Widespread
introductions of exotic plant species
adversely affect
wildlife.
Insects
found on many exotic species are not
capable
of supporting native birds.
Furthermore, structural characteristics
of
many plants may preclude
their
utilization
by native
animals
for
nesting or cover. Non-native plants are
poorly
adapted
to
prevailing
environmental
conditions
and
often
require
intensive management.
Even
though these plants are often touted as
~arid
land" or "drought tolerant"
they
frequently use more water than do native
species.
<Table 1).
We have transplanted these
plants with a survival
rate exceeding
90% for some species. This technique is
labor intensive and time consuming, but
it is possible to revegetate large sites
given adequate lead time a~d planning.
It has applications in flood control
projects,
habitat
restoration,
developments,
and as mitigation for
habitat 1 asses.
Table
1.
Survivorship of transplanted
Sonoran Desert plants during
1983 and 1984 near Tucson,
Arizona.
L 90%
blue palo verde
<Ca~~LdLum £La~Ldum)
foothills palo verde
Cacti
and other native succulents
have been widely used in revegetation
projects
for
a number
of
years.
Unfortunately,
"cactus patches" are not
representative
of
existing
Sonoran
Desert
communities.
Woody
native
perennials from commercial sources are
usually raised from
seed.
Limited
availability
of
large-stemmed
individuals, due to slow growth rates
and high costs, prec 1 udes their use
in
revegetati6n projects.
<£~~~~~~m ~~~~b~~~~m>
b•Jrsage
daLLaLdaa>
(Qmb~asLa
creosote
(~~~A ~~~~~~AlA)
desert willow
<ChLLa~sLs LLnaa~Ls)
ironwood
<D~~~~A ~~.s.oJ:A)
Mitigation
measures
which
anticipate revegetation features could
benefit from utilizing mature native
plants.
Wildlife
use of
habitats
revegetated in this manner is greater
and more rapid than in habitats solely
with sap 1 i ngs.
mesquite
<E.~asa~Ls s~~->
L SOX
br i t t 1 e bush
This paper describes a method for
transplanting woody native plants in
Sonoran Desert communities.
Mesquite,
palo verde, ironwood, catclaw acacia and
other perennials ~ay be transplanted
<En~aLLa
£a~Lnasa)
L 70%
catclaw
(Q~a~La
1 Paper presented at the First North American
Riparian Conference, Riparian Ecosystems and The~r
Management: Reconciling Conflicting Uses, April 1618, 1985, Tucson, Arizona.
g~agg.LL>
UnKnown
desert hacKberry
<£~~~Ls .pll~.l.d.a. )
2 SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Flagstaff,
Arizona.
gray thorn
abLusL£aLLa)
3 Don's Desert Digs, Ajo, Arizona
<~L~L~~us
498