Skip to main content

What have herbaria ever done for us? The role of herbaria in conservation assessments

Roberts, David L., Moat, Justin, McInerny, Greg J. (2005) What have herbaria ever done for us? The role of herbaria in conservation assessments. Selbyana, 26 (1-2). pp. 299-303. ISSN 0361-185X. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:38429)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.

Abstract

The world is entering a time of immense environmental upheaval, where experts increasingly are required to provide conservation assessments. A quantitative assessment of trends in range and abundance of flora is costly, requiring extensive field studies over a long period of time. Unfortunately, many plant species are known only from a few chance sightings or a handful of specimens. Specimen-based records provide information on the distribution of taxa through time and space, and a wealth of this knowledge can be found in the taxonomic collections and libraries of herbaria and museums. Conservation assessments are increasingly important, as lists of threatened species often form the primary source of information in the allocation of limited resources for conservation. One of the strengths of using herbarium data is that the results are built on current taxonomic expertise. Such data are derived directly from individual, verifiable records, which represent primary observations. Here we describe a number of techniques that are available for conservation assessments, including Red Listing of species.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled keywords: extinction, decline, threat, herbarium data, conservation assessments, IUCN Red List criteria
Subjects: Q Science
Q Science > QH Natural history
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Q Science > QK Botany
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User: David Roberts
Date Deposited: 21 Feb 2014 08:51 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:14 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/38429 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.