Lupinus nipomensis population data at Black Lake Ecological Area in 2015-2016

Along the coast of California, dune ecosystems protect coastal cities from damaging storms and provide habitat for native wildlife. Despite the economic and ecological importance of coastal dunes, habitat loss due to land use change has continued and is now predicted to accelerate as sea levels rise with a changing climate. To ensure that coastal dunes will persist into the future, they need to be prioritized for conservation and restoration. However, for restoration to be successful, endemic plants need to be prioritized because they make up a significant portion of the biodiversity in California coastal dunes. Because endemic plants are rare and there is limited stock of plants available for transplant, we need to be more aggressive in using pilot studies to evaluate the biotic and abiotic conditions that maximize growth and reproduction, and then use these studies to guide effective reintroduction. To evaluate how such exploratory pilot studies can enhance the restoration of rare and endemic plant species, we did a study restoring Lupinus nipomensis, a federally endangered species, on coastal dunes in Santa Barbara County, California. We found that L. nipomensis had the highest seed production in plots that had a steep, north facing slope and were protected from herbivores. Our results suggest that restoration efforts should be focused on areas with these characteristics to maximize restoration success. Our pilot reintroduction of L. nipomensis highlights the importance of using pilot experiments to enhance reintroduction success for other endangered plants and to quicken the recovery of coastal dune ecosystems.