| Abstract Detail
Flora of North America: Synergy with other Botanical Projects Stein, Bruce A. [1]. Imperilment and Extinction in the North American Flora. CONSERVATION status assessments provide an estimate of the relative extinction risk facing a particular species, due either to natural rarity or anthropogenic-related declines. Over the past 30 years NatureServe and its natural heritage program members have assessed the status of all North American vascular plants. Extinction risk in the North American flora is disproportionately clustered in certain geographic regions. In the U.S. these include California, other Southwestern states, and Florida, while in Canada the Yukon Territory has a surprising number of rarities in its flora. Extinction risk can also be viewed with respect to taxonomic patterns, and plant families such as Polygonaceae, Brassicaceae, and Cactaceae exhibit particularly elevated levels rarity, due in part to the evolution of numerous narrowly restricted habitat specialists. Ten North American plant species are presumed to be extinct, while around 50 other species are regarded as “missing” and possibly extinct. Our understanding of the conservation status of North American plants is still incomplete, however, and there is a great need for improved knowledge of the distribution, abundance and population trends for many species. Filling these gaps in knowledge can only be accomplished through close collaboration among the botanical research community, the conservation and resource management community, and interested and knowledgeable “citizen scientists”.
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Keywords:
Extinction
Imperilment
Conservation assessment
rare plant conservation.
Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: 70-10
Location: 352/Holt
Date: Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Time: 3:00 PM
Abstract ID:360 |
