Plant Population Viability: Where to from Here?

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, threats to plant populations have increased worldwide. Habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, and disrupted disturbance regimes are just a few of the factors negatively affecting plant populations globally. As threats to plants have increased, so has interest and research in population viability analysis (PVA). Although there are relatively few PVAs for plant species, the number is increasing yearly (Menges 2000). PVA can be used to assess future status of populations or management strategies, compare populations, and identify sensitive life stages. In this volume, Bell and Bowles (Chap. 12, this Vol.) presented a novel use of PVA to explore the status and future of restoration projects. However, as many of the authors in this volume have pointed out, PVAs are very data-intensive, requiring years of monitoring data. The future of PVA and plant conservation is uncertain. In the balance, will land managers and conservation biologists use PVAs successfully to aid in rare plant management, or will this tool simply be too data-intensive? The future of PVAs and plants seems to lie in several areas outlined below.