Period of Performance: 1995 – 2005

Funding was received from Harris Environmental Group, Inc.; University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station, McIntire-Stennis Grant; and Arizona Game and Fish Department Heritage Fund (Grant #U03004).

Sabino Springs Development, Raven Golf Course, Arizona National Golf Course, and the U.S. Forest Service, Coronado National Forest gave us access to their property, which was where our study plots were located.–that may be considered an in-kind contribution.

In this 10-yr study, we compared the survival of transplanted and preserved-in-place saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantean) at a golf course and housing development in Tucson, Arizona to the survival of plants in an adjacent undisturbed (control) site in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area of the Coronado National Forest. One thousand saguaros were selected for study and included 800 transplants, 100 preserved-in-place plants, and 100 plants on the adjacent control site. Samples in each group were stratified such that a roughly equal proportion of plants were selected from 1-m height classes (the last class included plants > 7m). Our data demonstrated that the fitness, survival, and reproductive capacity of preserved-in-place and transplanted saguaros depend greatly on plant size and developmental stage. Thus, creation of guidelines for preserving and transplanting saguaros should take into account plant size, or as a minimum developmental stage.

We found that transplant success decreases with increasing plant size such that decadal survival of large plants (> 7 m) was less than 40%. Preservation in place of the large plants did not increase their chances of survival. Location was an important variable in preservation and transplantation success. Proximity to fairways, cart paths, and pathways of any kind contributed to injury incidence. Over watering and certain soil (sandy) conditions led to toppled plants.

The results of this large-population, long-term study were intended to provide urban planners and natural resource managers with information on the success of preserved and transplanted saguaros in an urban development project. The goal was to aid in the determination of appropriate mitigation policies in areas where saguaros naturally occur and urban development is planned.

The study results were published in Desert Plants 2004, Vol 20 (1) 33-42.