Biodiversity Conservation Activities Research Articles

Using a perception matrix to elicit farmers‘ perceptions towards stakeholders in the context of biodiversity-friendly farming

Farmers' pro-environmental action is substantially influenced by various stakeholders from their business and social environment. Recent studies recommend actively involving influential stakeholders in agri-environmental initiatives, information or media campaigns. While it has been argued that farmers' perceptions towards these stakeholders can help inform effective involvement, comprehensive assessments of these perceptions remain scarce, particularly in the context of biodiversity-friendly farming. To understand and compare farmers’ perceptions of these stakeholder quantitatively, we developed and applied a perception matrix. In an exploratory survey with 49 farmers across ten European countries, farmers rated twelve groups of stakeholders (e.g. government bodies, farm advisors and input suppliers) against eight perception constructs (e.g. trustworthiness, interest in protecting biodiversity). We found that perceptions differed significantly both between groups of stakeholders and between constructs. Whereas several stakeholders were, on average, perceived positively regarding their general characteristics, such as trustworthiness, reliability, understanding and support for farming, perceptions regarding their biodiversity-related behavior were significantly more negative. Our findings indicate potential to improve policy development and implementation of agri-environmental initiatives through the involvement of multiple, non-governmental, agricultural and non-agricultural stakeholders in biodiversity-friendly farming initiatives across the entire agri-food value chain. Such multi-stakeholder initiatives could help to not only reinforce biodiversity conservation action among the farming community, but across society as a whole as emphasized by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Further research is needed to confirm the observed trends on a larger, representative sample, for which the presented perception matrix is well suited.

Agreeing that maps can disagree: Moving away from map confusion in conservation

Abstract Deciding where to implement actions for biodiversity conservation remains challenging for many reasons, including the increase in maps aimed at prioritizing locations for conservation efforts. Although a growing numbers of maps can create the perception of uncertainty and competing science, a shared set of principles underlie many mapping initiatives. We overlaid the priority areas identified by a subset of maps to assess the extent to which they agree. The comparison suggests that when maps are used without understanding their origin, confusion seems justified: The union of all maps covers 73% of the contiguous United States, whereas the intersection of all maps is at least 3.5%. Our findings support the need to place a strong focus on the principles and premises underpinning the maps and the end users’ intentions. We recommend developing a science-based guidance to aid scientists, policymakers, and managers in selecting and applying maps for supporting on-the-ground decisions addressing biodiversity loss and its interconnected crises.

Genomics empowering conservation action and improvement of celery in the face of climate change.

Integration of genomic approaches like whole genome sequencing, functional genomics, evolutionary genomics, and CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing has accelerated the improvement of crop plants including leafy vegetables like celery in the face of climate change. The anthropogenic climate change is a real peril to the existence of life forms on our planet, including human and plant life. Climate change is predicted to be a significant threat to biodiversity and food security in the coming decades and is rapidly transforming global farming systems. To avoid the ghastly future in the face of climate change, the elucidation of shifts in the geographical range of plant species, species adaptation, and evolution is necessary for plant scientists to develop climate-resilient strategies. In the post-genomics era, the increasing availability of genomic resources and integration of multifaceted genomics elements is empowering biodiversity conservation action, restoration efforts, and identification of genomic regions adaptive to climate change. Genomics has accelerated the true characterization of crop wild relatives, genomic variations, and the development of climate-resilient varieties to ensure food security for 10 billion people by 2050. In this review, we have summarized the applications of multifaceted genomic tools, like conservation genomics, whole genome sequencing, functional genomics, genome editing, pangenomics, in the conservation and adaptation of plant species with a focus on celery, an aromatic and medicinal Apiaceae vegetable. We focus on how conservation scientists can utilize genomics and genomic data in conservation and improvement.

Global conservation priorities for wetlands and setting post-2025 targets

Wetland conservation is becoming increasingly important as wetland areas decline globally. However, no comprehensive global-scale mapping of wetland conservation priorities and targets has been published. This information is needed to extend the current protected area network and improve the conservation efficiency for wetlands. Here, we propose a cost-effective assessment model for wetland conservation by integrating wetland conservation value- and human impact-related indicators to identify global wetland conservation priorities. These priorities cover 28% of the potential global wetland distribution, and of that, only 44% is currently protected by existing protected areas. To protect more wetland conservation priorities, we propose three target-setting scenarios for protected area expansion that offer additional contributions of 9.40%, 42.40%, and 55.97%, respectively. These three global targets can be downscaled to the national level and used to update national wetland biodiversity conservation strategies and action plans under a harmonized legal and regulatory regime at different scales and jurisdictions.

Characteristics of Action Groups Engaged in Biodiversity Conservation Activities on Agricultural Land in Japan

Characteristics of Action Groups Engaged in Biodiversity Conservation Activities on Agricultural Land in Japan

Spatially heterogeneous shifts in vegetation phenology induced by climate change threaten the integrity of the avian migration network.

Phenological responses to climate change frequently vary among trophic levels, which can result in increasing asynchrony between the peak energy requirements of consumers and the availability of resources. Migratory birds use multiple habitats with seasonal food resources along migration flyways. Spatially heterogeneous climate change could cause the phenology of food availability along the migration flyway to become desynchronized. Such heterogeneous shifts in food phenology could pose a challenge to migratory birds by reducing their opportunity for food availability along the migration path and consequently influencing their survival and reproduction. We develop a novel graph-based approach to quantify this problem and deploy it to evaluate the condition of the heterogeneous shifts in vegetation phenology for 16 migratory herbivorous waterfowl species in Asia. We show that climate change-induced heterogeneous shifts in vegetation phenology could cause a 12% loss of migration network integrity on average across all study species. Species that winter at relatively lower latitudes are subjected to a higher loss of integrity in their migration network. These findings highlight the susceptibility of migratory species to climate change. Our proposed methodological framework could be applied to migratory species in general to yield an accurate assessment of the exposure under climate change and help to identify actions for biodiversity conservation in the face of climate-related risks.

Similar effects of seasonal nitrogen enrichment on plant species–area relationship in a temperate grassland

1. Nitrogen (N) enrichment often decreases plant species richness in local communities, thus altering plant species–area relationships (SAR). However, whether N enrichment affects the SAR across global grasslands has not yet been well explored. Additionally, whether and how seasonal N enrichment alters the SAR remains unknown.2. This study employed data from global grasslands (meta-analysis) in combination with a seasonal field N addition experiment during the first 6 consecutive years (2014–2020) in a temperate grassland in northern China.3. We found that N addition did not alter the SAR slopes across global grasslands and our experimental grassland, but significantly reduced the intercepts (plant species richness at the 1 m2 plot scale). There was no significant difference among seasonal N treatments. The SAR intercepts were negatively correlated with increasing experimental years in our temperate grassland, without significant differences among the three seasonal N addition treatments, indicating a cumulative effect on the reduction in plant species richness at 1 m2 with N-enriched conditions.4. These results suggest that N enrichment affects the SAR in grassland ecosystems by reducing the SAR intercepts. Therefore, biodiversity conservation activities should be applied urgently in localities facing increasing atmospheric N deposition.

Mangrove Conservation and Biodiversity Protection Strategies in Universitas Diponegoro to Achieve Net Zero Emission

Indonesia is set the net zero emission target to be achieved by 2060. As part of that, Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) is committed to support the achievement of the goal by implementing several strategies. First is to reduce the amount of emission generated by the university daily activities, and second is boosting the activities of mangrove conservation and biodiversity protection. As UNDIP located in the northern part of Central Java, part of 108.000 kilometers coastline region of Indonesia, UNDIP prioritizes its academic activity and research focus on coastal region environmental and ecological development which enthuse the implementation of mangrove conservation and biodiversity protection. The strategy includes the structured mangrove and biodiversity conservation action directed by the University leaders, encouraging research and community service activities focusing on coastal region development and developing environmental-related curriculum for the students. In addition, UNDIP also supports research centers and students’ communities who focus on mangrove conservation, biodiversity protection, and coastal region development. By that, there are more than 50 types of flora in UNDIP land forest with carbon stock calculation up to 6,480.20 metric tons CO2 eq. Acc

Global distribution modelling of a conspicuous Gondwanian soil protist reveals latitudinal dispersal limitation and range contraction in response to climate warming

AbstractAimThe diversity and distribution of soil microorganisms and their potential for long‐distance dispersal (LDD) are poorly documented, making the threats posed by climate change difficult to assess. If microorganisms do not disperse globally, regional endemism may develop and extinction may occur due to environmental changes. Here, we addressed this question using the testate amoeba Apodera vas, a morphologically conspicuous model soil microorganism in microbial biogeography, commonly found in peatlands and forests mainly of former Gondwana. We first documented its distribution. We next assessed whether its distribution could be explained by dispersal (i.e. matching its climatic niche) or vicariance (i.e. palaeogeography), based on the magnitude of potential range expansions or contractions in response to past and on‐going climatic changes. Last, we wanted to assess the likelihood of cryptic diversity and its potential threat from climate and land‐use changes (e.g. due to limited LDD).LocationDocumented records: Southern Hemisphere and intertropical zone; modelling: Global.MethodsWe first built an updated global distribution map of A. vas using 401 validated georeferenced records. We next used these data to develop a climatic niche model to predict its past (LGM, i.e. 21 ± 3 ka BP; PMIP3 IPSL‐CM5A‐LR), present and future (IPSL‐CMP6A‐LR predictions for 2071–2100, SSP3 and 5) potential distributions in responses to climate, by relating the species occurrences to climatic and topographic predictors. We then used these predictions to test our hypotheses (dispersal/vicariance, cryptic diversity, future threat from LDD limitation).ResultsOur models show that favourable climatic conditions for A. vas currently exist in the British Isles, an especially well‐studied region for testate amoebae where this species has never been found. This demonstrates a lack of interhemispheric LDD, congruent with the palaeogeography (vicariance) hypothesis. Longitudinal LDD is, however, confirmed by the presence of A. vas in isolated and geologically young peri‐Antarctic islands. Potential distribution maps for past, current and future climates show favourable climatic conditions existing on parts of all southern continents, with shifts to higher land from LGM to current in the tropics and a strong range contraction from current to future (global warming IPSL‐CM6A‐LR scenario for 2071–2100, SSP3.70 and SSP5.85) with favourable conditions developing on the Antarctic Peninsula.Main ConclusionsThis study illustrates the value of climate niche models for research on microbial diversity and biogeography, along with exploring the role played by historical factors and dispersal limitation in shaping microbial biogeography. We assess the discrepancy between latitudinal and longitudinal LDD for A. vas, which is possibly due to contrast in wind patterns and/or likelihood of transport by birds. Our models also suggest that climate change may lead to regional extinction of terrestrial microscopic organisms, thus illustrating the pertinence of including microorganisms in biodiversity conservation research and actions.

Anthropogenic activities explained the difference in exotic plants invasion between protected and non-protected areas at a northern subtropics biodiversity hotspot

Biological invasion poses a major threat to biodiversity and conservation efforts in protected areas. The Greater Shennongjia Area (GSA) is one of China's 16 key areas for biodiversity, as stated in the China National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan. However, the local authorities lack appropriate data on the extent and impact of exotic species in protected areas, as well as lack the capacity and motivation to properly plan for exotic species strategy and action plan to support both prevention, control as well as management of exotic plants in their jurisdiction. In addition, while most previous studies have focused on exotic species in protected areas, little effort has been devoted to specifying which environmental factors contribute to the difference between protected and non-protected areas. Here, we explored the current distribution pattern of the richness and abundance of exotic species in relation to environmental variables within the GSA. In total, we found 84 exotic plant species, of which 41 exotic species within the protected areas, in 64 genera and 27 families, predominately from Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae. The generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) revealed that the protection status and the distance to human settlements were the most important predictors of exotic plant richness and abundance in the GSA. Our results showed that the average exotic plant richness and coverage in the protected areas were 22% and 31% lower than outside the protected areas, respectively. Such differences were probably the result of anthropogenic activities (e.g., proximity to human settlements and the proportion of cropland). Although protected areas provide an important barrier against plant invasions, invasion may be a tricky issue for protected area management in the future. The Alliance of Protected areas in Western Hubei and Eastern Chongqing will need to further consider stringent control and management strategies for the entry of exotic species into protected areas to effectively maintain the continuity and integrity of the GSA's biodiversity and ecosystems. Our results provided guidance and support to enhance the capacity of scientific and effective management and sustainable development of the Shennongjia World Natural Heritage Site and other protected areas.

Estimating the visitor’s willingness to pay towards biodiversity conservation at Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park, Malaysia, using the Contingent Valuation Method

Abstract. Musa F, Shahrudin INM. 2023. Estimating the visitor’s willingness to pay towards biodiversity conservation at Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park, Malaysia, using the Contingent Valuation Method. Biodiversitas 24: 3690-3699. The Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park is within the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, Malaysia's oldest and most biodiverse hill dipterocarp forest. The destruction of urban greenery in the heart of Kuala Lumpur has prompted stakeholders to conserve this forest as urban ecotourism areas for recreational, educational, and research activities. Due to the absence of a market, the economic value of biodiversity cannot be quantified in monetary terms from an economic perspective. Therefore, it will be difficult for stakeholders to justify the cost of conservation in their management in the future. This study's objective was to determine the economic value of biodiversity conservation at Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park by determining a visitor's Willingness to Pay (WTP) using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed randomly to both international and domestic tourists to conduct this study. Five bid prices were chosen for domestic and international visitors based on the Logit Model's estimation of the visitor's WTP for biodiversity conservation. This study indicates that most visitors are willing to pay for biodiversity conservation influenced by religion, marital status, income, employment, and education. Furthermore, the results indicate that the WTP's mean and median per visit are MYR3.81 and MYR2.58 based on domestic visitor data. Consequently, this research may aid decision-makers in managing the financial strategy for biodiversity conservation activities. Thus, the conservation fee that visitors can accept based on their willingness to pay will further boost visitors' future visits to the Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park.

Effects of occurrence data density on conservation prioritization strategies

Place-prioritization analyses are a means by which researchers can translate information on the geographic distributions of species into quantitative prioritizations of areas for biodiversity conservation action. Although several robust algorithms are now available to support this sort of analysis, their vulnerability to biases deriving from incomplete and imbalanced distributional information is not well understood. In this contribution, we took a well-sampled group (i.e., Icteridae or New World blackbirds) in an intensively sampled region (the contiguous continental United States), and developed a set of pseudo-experimental manipulations of occurrence data density—in effect, we created situations in which data density was reduced 10- or 100-fold, and situations in which data density varied 100-fold from region to region. The effects were marked: priority areas for conservation shifted, appeared, and disappeared as a function of our manipulations. That is, differences in density of data can affect the position and complexity of areas of high conservation priority that are identified using distributional areas of species derived from ecological niche modeling. The effects of data density on prioritizations become more diffuse when considerations of existing protected areas and costs related to human intervention are taken into account, but changes are still manifested. Appropriate considerations of sampling density when constructing ecological niche models to identify distributional areas of species are key to preventing artifactual biases from entering into and affecting results of analyses of conservation priority.

Charting success for the Plastics Treaty

Charting success for the Plastics Treaty

Problems in Threatened Species Conservation: Differences in National Red Lists Assessments with Global Standards

The solution of transnational environmental problems in the field of the protection of threatened species and conservation biology directly depends on the level of international communication, which can significantly decrease due to differences in Red Lists and Red Data Books of different levels. In order to identify the similarities and differences in approaches to the assessment of national Red Lists and Books of the Baltic Sea region countries (Russia, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Sweden) with the IUCN Red List, a comparative analysis was carried out. It was determined that the level of discrepancy between Red Data Lists and Books varies considerably, with differences in the scales of species categories, species lists and categories. Most of the threatened species at the national level are not listed under the IUCN Red List, while species in a more stringent category at the national level prevail (37% and 3% on average, respectively). However, national Red Lists and Red Data Books do not take into account the global trend of the risk of extinction of species. The percentage of species with insufficient information to define a category at the national or global level ranges from 6% to 28%. These discrepancies make it difficult to exchange data on threatened species and create a unified database with information on protected species at different levels and, therefore, reduce the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation activities at regional and international levels. The results also demonstrate that countries have an international responsibility to conserve a species, and the cases identified can provide useful additional information to guide a national conservation strategy.

Large biodiversity datasets conform to Benford's law: Implications for assessing sampling heterogeneity

Inadequate sampling can cause biased estimates of species diversity, as species occurrence generally follows a log-normal distribution with a long tail. Understanding this sampling bias is fundamental to inform biodiversity conservation actions. However, currently available tests to assess data quality, such as fitting species abundance distribution (SAD) models and rarefaction curves are computationally costly and can still lead to erroneous conclusions.We evaluated Benford's law (first digit distribution) as a complementary method to assess data heterogeneity and survey coverage in large biodiversity datasets, including eBird data for 157 countries and three non-avian GBIF datasets. We also tested conformity to Benford's law of four simulated communities with different SAD models and four corrupted datasets with log-normal SAD. Finally, we evaluated the effect of including rare species in three datasets on the conformity to Benford's law and also compared Benford fit to the results of traditional methods to estimate survey completeness in seven datasets.Species-rich datasets with a large number of observations tended to obtain a good fit. Benford conformity can be a simple and sensitive measure of sampling evenness, complementing traditional methods to assess quality data in large-scale studies. Benford's test can reflect species abundance heterogeneity, especially in log-normally distributed data, but was not ideal to evaluate surveys completeness, as its results diverged from those of traditional methods.As the contribution of citizen science continues to increase in biodiversity monitoring, this fast and efficient method can play a critical role to assess the quality of datasets.

Considering counterfactual scenarios in conservation planning: Perspectives from a biodiverse mining area in the Atlantic Forest

Mining and associated infrastructure have been driving land use changes, affecting important biodiversity values and ecosystems services. To balance these impacts, some mining companies implement biodiversity offsets and conservation actions. By simulating a counterfactual land use scenario, this study quantifies the cumulative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services resulting from land use and land cover change in a biodiverse region in the Atlantic Forest after implementation of a new mine and its offsets. Our results show that conservation actions at the project scale should be planned considering the regional context, which may influence impacts on areas with high conservation priority as well as the ecosystem services budget. The comparison among scenarios reveals that raw materials and carbon storage are the least affected budgets, while fresh water, pollination, and local climate and air quality regulation are most impacted. Areas with high conservation priority could be benefited with increased forest cover in future, whilst the demand for some ecosystem services can be affected. Counterfactual baselines could support conservation targets by prioritizing protection and restoration measures – especially offset planning – for halting pressures on biodiversity and balancing ecosystem services supply and demand.

Small sight—Big might: Economic impact of bird tourism shows opportunities for rural communities and biodiversity conservation

Birdwatching is considered one of the fastest growing nature-based tourism sectors in the world. Tourists who identify as birdwatchers tend to be well-educated and wealthy travellers with a specific interest in the places they visit. Birdwatchers can bring economic resources to remote communities diversifying their economies and contribute to biodiversity conservation in areas of bird habitat with global significance. Alaska plays a critical role in understanding the link between bird conservation and bird tourism as it supports the world’s largest concentration of shorebirds and is a global breeding hotspot for hundreds of migratory species, including many species of conservation concern for their decline across their ranges. Alaska is also a global destination for birders due to the large congregations of birds that occur during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Despite its global importance, relatively little information exists on the significance of bird tourism in Alaska or on opportunities for community development that align with conservation. This study used ebird data to look at trends in Alaska birdwatching and applied existing information from the Alaska Visitor Statistics Program to estimate visitor expenditures and the impact of that spending on Alaska’s regional economies. In 2016, nearly 300,000 birdwatchers visited Alaska and spent $378 million, supporting approximately 4,000 jobs. The study describes bird tourism’s contributions to local jobs and income in remote rural and urban economies and discusses opportunities for developing and expanding the nature-based tourism sector. The study points toward the importance of partnering with rural communities and landowners to advance both economic opportunities and biodiversity conservation actions. The need for new data collection addressing niche market development and economic diversification is also discussed.

Monitoring biodiversity mainstreaming in development cooperation post-2020: Exploring ways forward

From 2022 onwards the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity will guide biodiversity conservation actions worldwide, which includes mainstreaming biodiversity into a wide range of activities, sectors and policies. Biodiversity mainstreaming in development cooperation is particularly relevant given the direct dependence of many communities in the Global South on biodiversity and on the benefits it provides. We conducted a Delphi survey among development cooperation practitioners at the aid provider (donor) side, to gain insight into current and future (post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework) biodiversity mainstreaming and its monitoring. Our results demonstrate that despite efforts towards biodiversity mainstreaming and its monitoring, biodiversity mainstreaming indicators remain inconsistent and difficult to compare. The lack of biodiversity data, as well as their low accessibility and suboptimal use, and the inherent complexity of addressing biodiversity loss are considered key challenges. Respondents indicated that they strongly orient their own biodiversity mainstreaming and monitoring approaches towards international biodiversity governance dynamics. We conclude that, at least on paper, the indicator ambitions of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework are in line with the expectations and challenges of aid providers with respect to biodiversity mainstreaming. However, future effective mainstreaming of biodiversity requires indicator-based monitoring, exchange of good practices among aid partners, and a continued focus on awareness-raising regarding the linkages between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction.

Environmental DNA-Based Methods in Biodiversity Monitoring of Protected Areas: Application Range, Limitations, and Needs

Novel methods for species detection based on collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) are not only important in biodiversity assessment in a scientific context, but are also increasingly being applied in conservation practice. The eDNA-based biodiversity detection methods have significant potential for regular use in biodiversity status assessments and conservation actions in protected areas (PAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) worldwide. Species detection based on DNA from environmental samples, such as water, sediment, soil, air, or organic material, has a broad application scope with precise, comprehensive, and rapid species identification. Here, we provide an overview of the application range of eDNA-based methods for biodiversity monitoring in PAs, evaluate environmental assessments in which this technology has already been implemented for nature conservation, and examine the challenges that can hamper further application in real world practice. Based on the outcomes of two projects, practical experience, and current scientific literature focusing on their application, we conclude that eDNA-based species detection methods provide promising novel approaches that have strong potential as supplement methods, or in some cases even as substitutes for the conventional monitoring methods used for PAs. This advancement is expected to affect decision-making in biodiversity conservation efforts in PAs and OECMs.

Ex situ conservation of plant diversity in Romania: A synthesis of threatened and endemic taxa

Romania hosts a relatively high species diversity, including 3,829 vascular and 979 non-vascular spontaneous plant taxa. Multiple national red lists exist, with the number of taxa assessed as threatened varying greatly between them, from 548 to 1,438, and with number of taxa assigned to a given threat category also varying between the different sources. A composite list including all taxa mentioned in at least one of the selected red listings from Romania is required in order to compensate for this lack of consensus and to assess their ex situ conservation status. In this study, we synthesized data from the national red lists and counted 1,220 spontaneous vascular plant species and 201 subspecies, of which 77 are endemic and 76 subendemic for Romania. In addition, 18 non-red-listed endemics and 14 subendemics have been added, bringing the total to 1,453 threatened and (sub)endemic plant taxa, representing almost 38% of the total native vascular flora of Romania. Despite the large network of protected areas in Romania, many taxa are still being threatened with extinction in the region mainly due to anthropogenic pressure. Several ex situ conservation measures have been employed to assure a more substantial buffer against plant extinction in the wild, supported by thorough and adequate conservation strategies and multiple means to reintroduce taxa back to their natural habitats. Consequently, our second aim was to evaluate the ex situ conservation status of these threatened and (sub)endemic plants from Romania, focussing on both conventional methods (cultivation in botanic gardens, seed banking) and biotechnological approaches (in vitro tissue culture, medium-term storage and cryostorage). Of the 1,453 taxa included in our list, 642 (44.2%) are conserved by ex situ approaches. Of these, 524 are harboured in the most important botanic gardens throughout Romania, while 156 are currently held in long-term seed banks locally or in the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew (UK). Conversely, only 64 taxa from the list are preserved at the national level through in vitro cultures, and cryopreservation protocols have been developed for only 8 taxa. Overall, more than half of the threatened and (sub)endemic vascular flora from Romania remains unprotected outside the classical in situ conservation measures. For red-listed bryophytes, only 0.6% are preserved in national ex situ collections. Moreover, some aspects related to population genetic studies and the genetic stability of ex situ conserved plants are also briefly discussed, as essential prerequisites for applied biodiversity conservation programs. Finally, considering the distribution range of targeted taxa, we included a synthesis of biotechnological approaches at both national and international level. Our study presents not only a first assessment of the ex situ conservation status of national red listed flora, but also, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive and updated overview of the rare, threatened and (sub)endemic taxa from Romania. This evaluation will provide a supporting tool for national decision- and policy-making actions for biodiversity conservation, using both in situ and ex situ approaches. We also highlight the need for an updated red list for the Romanian flora that accurately follows the IUCN assessment criteria and protocols.