Rare Plant Ecology and Conservation

Rare Plant Ecology and Conservation

1. What is rarity?

   • From the Oxford Shorter English Dictionary: 1 Having the constituent particles not closely packed together 2 Thinly populated 3 Stationed at wide intervals 4 Few in number and widely seperated in space/time forming a scattered class 5 Of a kind, seldom found. Uncommon or exceptional 6 Unusual in respect to some good quality
   • For Biologists
     • The definition of rarity depends on the spatial scale at which a biologist is working: globally, nationally, or locally. Rarity of a species is the usual concern. Bringing the pace of extincinon under out control by preventing rare species from becoming low in abundance.
   • For the Layman
     • To the layman rarity is the conservation of prominent endangered species of plant and animal, made popular by the media and non-governmental organisation.

2. Species can engage in rarity as a survival mechanism

3. Situations that engender rarity

   • Boom or bust
   • Seedbanks

4. Distriubtion Patterns

   • Local
   • Global

5. Difficualties of Conservation

   • Assessing/predicting rarity

6. Named Examples

7. Plant community rarity

   • Is conserving habitat more important?

8. The response to rarity

   • What to do about it?
   • In-situ conservation
   • Ex-situ conservation

9. SSSIs

   • A variation of species in protected sites

10. Conservation genetics

11. To conserve native or alien species?