As part of the Red List Species Conservation Program, Georgia’s National Wildlife Agency is launching a large-scale initiative to restore the endangered floodplain oak (Quercus pedunculiflora), a species listed as Vulnerable in Georgia’s Red List.
Agency specialists have collected around 20,000 acorns of the floodplain oak within the Chachuna Managed Reserve. The seeds have been planted in a specially designated area equipped with optimal conditions to support healthy growth and development. Once the seedlings mature, they will be transplanted into their natural habitats, sites where the species historically thrived.
The floodplain oak was once widely distributed across eastern Georgia, particularly along the floodplains of the Mtkvari, Aragvi, Ksani, Liakhvi, Iori and Alazani rivers. The species is distinguished by its long-stalked acorns which have earned it the local name ‘long-stalked oak.’
