Learn to Protect Threatened Plants
- Contribute professionally, as a volunteer or activist
- Better manage appropriate conservation initiatives
- Restore damaged sites
- Formulate plans
Why Study Plant Conservation?
Here are some of the most compelling reasons why you should study this course.
- Action is Needed - 25%+ of plants are endangered, habitat loss is rampant, 83% of endangered species are threatened by human activity.
- Plants are valuable - previously unknown commercial uses are constantly being discovered for plants -many are going extinct before we even know their value.
- Work Opportunities - Employment, business & career opportunities are getting stronger and more prolific in plant conservation.
- Climate Protection (mitigating global warming) - Ethical reasons - Conserving wildlife - Protecting the economy.
This is an experiential learning-based course. Throughout your studies you will have the opportunity to network with and learn from a variety of industry professionals. Establishing real-world relationships and confidence is key to career success.
Lesson Structure
There are 9 lessons in this course:
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Scope and Nature of Plant Conservation
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Introduction
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Eight Principles for Conservation Success
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Raising Awareness
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Policy, Legislation, and Organisations
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International Conventions and Legislation
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National Conventions and Legislation
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Conservation Organisations
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Protection and Preventing Degradation
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Protected Areas
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Planning For Protected Areas
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How The Red List Is Used
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Land Sparing and Sharing
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Weeds
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Soil Degradation
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Pollinator Management
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Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems
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Restoring Ecosystems
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Restoration Projects
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Principles Of Ecological Restoration
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Stages Of Ecological Restoration
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Restoring Populations
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Establishing A New Self-Propagating Population
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Long-Term Storage of Germplasm
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A Successful Case-Study – The International Conifer Conservation Programme
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The Pivotal Role of Horticulture in Plant Conservation
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Genetic Conservation
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Assessment Of Genetic Diversity in Plants
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Need For Germ Plasm Conservation
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Germplasm Storage and Conservation
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Recording And Recalling Evolutionary History
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Ecosystem Conservation
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Ecosystem Conservation – Pollinators, Soils, Environments
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Forest Conservation
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Soil Conservation
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Pollinators
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Drone Conservation
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Community Action
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Citizen Science and Collaboration
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Community-Led Conservation
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First Nations Involvement
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Raising Awareness
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Adjusting to Environmental Change – The Future of Conservation
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Conservation And Climate Changes
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Plant Responses to Climate Changes
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Novel Threats To Plants as A Result of Climate Changes
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Natural Capital
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Nature-Based Solutions
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Ex-Situ Conservation of Plants
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Conservation Of Plants of Plants in The Anthropocene
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Discuss the nature and scope of plant conservation.
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Determine problems and challenges associated with plant conservation in different specific situations.
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Formulate protection measures for plant conservation, appropriate to the circumstances in different situations.
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Determine restoration measures to be undertaken for achieving plant conservation.
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Explain a variety of ex situ conservation measures for threatened plant populations.
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Explain the application of genetics to plant conservation.
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Explain ecosystem conservation methods used for plant conservation.
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Explain a variety of community action initiatives that may be used for plant conservation.
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Explain ways to respond to environmental change in order to better conserve plant species and populations.
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Formulate plans to manage appropriate conservation initiatives for threatened plants.
Plant Conservation Starts with Protecting what we have
Prevention of damage in the first place is best. Despite good intentions, problems can arise from:
- Insufficient legislative protection – governments ignoring the protection.
- Insufficient practical protection on the ground – poaching, mining, logging.
- Threats from beyond the fences that cannot be controlled.
- The concept of offsetting that can justify damaging one area in return for protecting somewhere else.
- The fact that the drivers for the damage may come from other countries. Research demonstrates that in some regions it is not the local populations who are driving the damage, but external companies and actors.
Factors considered in prioritising which areas should be protected include:
- Species richness
- Level of endemism
- Red List status of the species present
- Ecosystem services to humans
- Carbon sequestration
- Cost of the land
Schemes that work best are those where indigenous and local people can derive income from the protected area.
PROTECTED AREAS
Protected areas are an important part of plant conservation. A protected area is a space that has been set aside specifically for conservation purposes. The IUCN notes that these areas are set aside for long-term goals and are an important part of maintaining biodiversity.
Protected areas include:
- National parks
- Nature reserves
- Wilderness parks and reserves
- Community conserved areas.
These are found across a variety of ecosystems and include marine protection zones. Each country is responsible for defining its own protected areas. In some cases, activist groups and organisations may work with policy makers to have specific areas declared protected.
Protected areas allow for conservation to occur early, before significant degradation has occurred, and restoration efforts become necessary. Generally, protected areas are places with high levels of biodiversity, but also which contribute significantly to the country’s ecological landscape in some way. This may be through resources, heritage, cultural significance, and richness of species. Hawaii, for example, is one of the most species-rich areas on Earth, and species richness within several areas (such as Kauai) has contributed to helping declare protected areas in the US state.
It is important to remember that protected areas preserve not just individual plant species but ecosystems. Plant conservation focussed on a single species level in the wild has rarely been effective, preserving ecosystems. However, has been much more successful. This is because the preservation of an ecosystem recognises the depth of the interconnection of species within the area, from the basics of producer and consumer through to the subtle links of root networks which help prevent erosion along a riverbank, or the different species which contribute to the formation of leaf litter and tree mast which allow for seed dispersal via small animal species.
Who Should Study Plant Conservation?
This extensive and transferrable subject is relevant to a variety of fields and people, including:
- Landowners and land managers
- Politicians
- Conservation, land and community advocates
- Environmental lawyers
- Academics, professional scientists, biologists
- Teachers
- Citizen science and community action groups
- Volunteers
- Horticulturists, arborists, and more!
Why Study with ACS?
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