Sarracenia Biology

All the threats that face Sarracenia can be connected to human activity in some form. One of the major threats to the genus is habitat degradation and habitat loss. Because Sarracenia are heavily reliant on high water tables, activities such as wetland draining and land development are posing major problems. As development occurs in the Eastern US, wetlands are being drained and water tables begin to drop. In addition, soil chemistry, pH, and composition changes because of this. Sarracenia are perfectly adapted to poor soils. When organic material is allowed to be broken down into nutritive molecules and to accumulate because of the absence of the flowing water, the soil becomes nutrient-rich. Sarracenia roots begin to die in the presence of rich soil and the plants ultimately die. The change in hydrology due to development also alters the natural ranges of Sarracenia species. In some cases, the ranges of species like Sarracenia oreophila have ended up being fragmented. Not only this, but the direct development of the land has posed serious issues. Donald Schnell accounts how several plants were bulldozed over as construction workers prepared the land to lay down pavement on a North Carolina site (Rice, 2006 and Stucky, 1999). Another threat to Sarracenia is water pollution. Sphagnum moss, the main component of peat bogs, is highly sensitive to impure water. Any alien chemicals or change in the water TDS (total dissolves solids) level is enough to kill the sphagnum moss. Water in the habitat of these plants has been affected with increase in agricultural runoff, uses of general pesticides, and human pollution. As a result, many populations of Sarracenia species have begun to decrease in size and quality (Rice, 2006). Next, Sarracenia are threatened by fire suppression. Many carnivorous plants are adapted to small and frequent fires. The fires usually eliminate large woody growth as well as dead vegetation left over from annual plants in their habitats. When fire suppression is practiced, large vegetation is allowed to grow and accumulate. This usually ends up displacing Sarracenia as well as physically covering them with foliage. This results in the reduction of photosynthesis carried out by the plant, and can eventually kill the plant (Schnell, 1982 and Rice, 2006). Lastly, poaching has become a growing problem for Sarracenia. People that go into Sarracenia habitat and collect wild specimens are poachers. Since all Sarracenia are listed under the CITES appendices, it is illegal to collect them from the wild and distribute or sell those wild-collected specimens. Most of these people do this in order to sell off the specimens into the carnivorous plant hobby. Some specimens have been shipped overseas out of the US as well. This brings up the question, is not the carnivorous plant hobby just hurting Sarracenia and other threatened and endangered carnivorous plants? The subject is controversial, however most carnivorous plants growers are very well aware of the conservation issues that these plants face. In fact, many growers are the best conservationists for the plants as they are the ones that help educate others about the plants as well as being those that help organizations that aid Sarracenia conservation efforts. Most have formed groups that focus on finding Sarracenia locations in the wild and many help identify poached plants and sometimes the poachers and illegal vendors. Most of the plants in the hobby have been produced via tissue culture, asexual rhizomic divisions of other captive plants, or grown from seed. Therefore, these plants are legal to have in captivity. Many have also been introduced to the hobby by botanic gardens and conservancies. Because of poaching, many natural Sarracenia habitat sites are not disclosed; not even to hobbyists because of fear that the location information may make it to the hands of poachers (Schnell, 2002 and Rice, 2006 and ---, 1998). Currently there are three Sarracenia species listed under CITES Appendix I, S. oreophila, S. alabamensis, and S. jonesii. The latter two are subspecies of S. rubra, but are seen and categorized as separate species by some botanists. All other Sarracenia species are listed under Appendix II. The three mentioned Sarracenia are federally listed under the Endangered Species List in the US as well. This means that these three species have both protection in the US and on an international level. Heavy restrictions and penalties exist for collection and transport of these plants as well as specimens that are already in cultivation. The loss of these species will ultimately lead to the loss of other species that are unique to peat bogs and other wetland habitats. For some Sarracenia like S. alabamensis populations are heavily and very rapidly decreasing. The number of sites that house these species are degrading and disappearing. Without adequate conservation efforts, those plants that are most threatened as well as other, less threatened Sarracenia will most likely decline very rapidly (Godt, 1996 and Schnell, 2002).