Towards a conservation plan: The biology and ecology of the endangered Australian tree Alectryon ramiflorus S.Reyn

The focus of this thesis is the rare, endangered sub-tropical tree Alectryon ramiflorus S.Reyn (Sapindaceae). Its habitat is Araucarian microphyll vine forest of which little remains and is restricted to six geographically small locations located near the town of Childers in Queensland, Australia. At the start of this project, a population of 27 trees was known to exist in these environmentally degraded remnant locations. Overall numbers of the species were declining and there was low natural regeneration. The species had been first described in 1987 and a recovery plan was enacted shortly afterwards and revised in 2003 to address the projected extinction of the species. However, the recovery plan included acknowledgement that implementation of the plan would be hampered by the lack of understanding of the species’ reproductive biology and ecological and environmental requirements. There was also an acknowledged imperative to search for hitherto unknown wild populations that could be protected to augment the known remnants. Commencing in 2013, these issues were established as the objectives of the research project on which this thesis reports, and that was framed around the recovery actions. The scientific findings have enabled the production of a draft recovery plan for the years 2016 – 2020 which differs from the former because the species’ environmental requirements and reproductive biology have now been documented and propagation techniques have been explored. Furthermore, a large new wild population has been discovered and it is being protected in line with legislation and the project’s recommendations. Translocations are being planned and the strategic approach guiding the process considers the critical biological and ecological conditions required to facilitate natural regeneration. It is evident that vegetative propagation is feasible and indications are that it will be a mainstay of translocation activities. Such accomplishments have made possible a strategic approach to conservation of the species that considers its biology, including threats to its existence and other members of the food web and key vegetation associations.