The beautiful Jade Vine,Strongylodon macrobotrys: Conservation status - vulnerable
We all need plants.People around the world are recognizing just how important both wild and cultivated plants are to human survival and development. Conservation action takes many forms, from education, research and seed banking activities, to natural area management and restoration. But why is it so vital to conserve plants?
- The natural processes of plants protect our planet and supply the air we breathe and the water we drink.
- Plants harvest sunlight and are the primary producers of the energy in all food chains. Plant communities or vegetation are the structural basis of the ecosystems in which we all live. They maintain the physical and chemical integrity of those ecosystems.
- Plants prevent soil erosion and desertification.
- Plants provide the raw materials for food, clothing, medicines, construction and many other products that sustain our lives.
- Plants enhance our quality of life – they add variety and beauty to our surroundings.
- Plants help to shape our culture and provide inspiration for writers, artists and poets. They are steeped in history and folklore and illuminate significant life events like birth, marriage and death.
- The trade in ornamental plants and trees forms a major part of the world economy
- Plants are an important part of our heritage that we must not deny to future generations.
- Plants are a precious resource requiring effective, wise and sustainable management. The genetic diversity between and within plant species is being eroded each year.
We are at the centre of biodiversity loss. Any human activity that affects the delicate relationships between species and habitats will impoverish our quality of life and reduce the number of resources available to us. Ultimately this could threaten the survival of our descendants. Biodiversity is the foundation of our survival.
Plant conservation is an urgent task and although estimates vary as to the rates of loss of global and regional plant diversity, it is fair to say that each year several species, varieties and old crop cultivars are lost and every one of these plants possessed potential that had not been fully assessed. They have disappeared without any possibility of ever being replaced – extinction is forever!
Plant Talk promotes the vital need to conserve our Earth’s plant riches and is one of few publications devoted entirely to plant conservation. Plant Talk provides a link and support for colleagues and friends worldwide, encouraging the exchange of ideas and techniques that will increase the number of plant savers and help them to build effective capacity to expand and consolidate their efforts.
