Abronia alpina

Abronia alpina is endemic to alpine meadows of Tulare County in the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S.A., where it is known from only one fairly extensive extant occurrence comprised of two nearby meadow systems. The entire occurrence is on USFS lands. In a good year, the population size can be as high as 132,000 plants. The main threat stems from the fact that this species occurs in a single place in the world and has ongoing moderate threats.

Abronia alpina occurs in California, U.S.A., where it is endemic to the Templeton and Ramshaw Meadows and nearby places in a small area of the Sierra Nevada in Tulare County. The global range extent does not exceed 5 sq km. Other similar meadows in the region have been searched and this plant has not been found.

There is one extant occurrence with 34 suboccurrences spanning the Templeton Meadows and nearby (within 0.25 mi) Ramshaw Meadows, an area of about 15 acres (Inyo National Forest 2018, Jabis et al. 2011).

Habitat succession, primarily due to the expansion of Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta), and habitat alteration due to hydrological changes are ongoing threats to this species. Potential threats include climate change, the loss of pollinators, and gophers, which dig up plants and cause plant damage. Past threats to this species included grazing and trampling by cattle and trampling by hikers and their pack animals. These threats have been stopped with awareness of the plant and a management plan in place. Cattle can be particularly destructive, destroying plants by trampling, reducing reproduction and degrading the habitat. In the 1980's, cattle were regularly grazed on the meadows and affected about half the populations annually. By 1993, cattle were encouraged to use established trails and later, in 2001, grazing was stopped altogether at this site. Hikers have been rerouted, but some still occasionally walk through the site.