Plant Conservation – A Natural History Approach - Softcover

Krupnick, Gary A; Kress, W John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226455130 ISBN 13: 9780226455136

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2005

Synopsis

Natural history has always been the foundation of conservation biology. For centuries, botanists collected specimens in the field to understand plant diversity; now that many habitats are threatened, botanists have turned their focus to conservation, and, increasingly, they look to the collections of museums, herbaria, and botanical gardens for insight on developing informed management programs. Plant Conservation explores the value of these collections in light of contemporary biodiversity studies. Plant Conservation opens with a broad view of plant biodiversity and then considers evolutionary and taxonomic threats and consequences of habitat alteration; specific threats to plant diversity, such as invasive species and global climate change; consequences of plant population decline at the ecological, evolutionary, and taxonomic levels; and, finally, management strategies that protect plant biodiversity from further decline. With a unique perspective on biodiversity and scientific collections, Plant Conservation ultimately emphasizes the role museums and botanical gardens will play in future conservation.

About this title

About the Authors

Gary A. Krupnick is director of the plant conservation unit at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.

W. John Kress is curator and research botanist as well as director of the Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet at the Smithsonian Institution.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226455130
• ISBN 13: 9780226455136
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344