Have tubestock plantings successfully established populations of rare grassland species into reintroduction sites in western Victoria?

The introduction of plants into secure, managed reserves is seen as vital t o the conservation of many grassland species that are now confined to small , fragmented remnants in western Victoria, Australia. The survival (> 5 yrs after planting) of reintroduction plantings conducted at three sites were assessed and success related to plant and site attributes. Of the 151 plant populations, 48 species and 10 699 plants introduced by tubestock planting s to these sites over the period 1985-1992, 48 plant populations, 19 specie s and 1285 plants remained at November 1997. No single plant or site attrib ute explained success or failure across the sites, suggesting that reintrod uctions will present many novel challenges to practitioners. Interestingly, threatened species proved no more difficult to establish than non-threaten ed species. Second generation seedling recruitment was exceedingly rare: on ly five species in a total of 16 populations produced successful seedling c ohorts and only three species (Acaena echinata, Caesia calliantha and Podol epis sp. aff. jaceoides) are considered to be established in at least one s ite. Failure of most populations to recruit threatens the longterm persiste nce of reintroduced plantings and suggests that the conservation and manage ment of remnant populations in situ remains crucial to the survival of thes e species in natural habitats. Determining the requirements for seedling re cruitment of reintroduced populations presents a major challenge to ecologi sts. Without this knowledge, plant reintroductions in western Victorian gra sslands, and their implicit role as a conservation tool, are likely to rema in problematic. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.