Working to Conserve and Protect the Alpine Environment of North America

North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation

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Alpine Strategy

Objectives

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Understanding & Documenting Alpine Plant Diversity

Objective 1

OBJECTIVE 1. Understand and document alpine plant diversity.

TARGET 1. Develop a working map of all North American alpine areas by 2022.

A clear understanding of the distribution of North American alpine habitat is needed in order to protect alpine plant diversity. Using the definition of alpine as the treeless regions at the uppermost reaches of the mountains,4 a map of alpine habitats in North America will be compiled using a GIS format. The map will include all areas that meet the narrow definition of alpine described as having a mean growing season temperature of <6.4oC.15,16

TARGET 2. Create a list of all known alpine plants of North America that highlights alpine plants whose conservation status is ranked G1/T1 – G3/T3 by 2022.

A definitive list of online flora providing the scientific names for 300,000 species of plants has been created as a result of the work done for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).17 The list of alpine plants known to occur within North America will be built from various sources such as the online Flora of North America18, the PLANTS database administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture19 and other alpine specific resources. Additional online resources will include the Global Obser– vation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA),20 and the Rock Garden Plant Database.21 Online herbarium specimen databases covering areas that align with mapped alpine habitats such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)22 and iDigBio23 will also be used.

The compiled list for alpine plant species within North America will be compared to the NatureServe database24 to determine conservation ranks for all taxa. Those with a global rank of G1/T1 – G3/T3 will be highlighted.

TARGET 3. Assess land management designations for all North American alpine habitats by 2023.

Land ownership and management status will be compiled for all Target 1 mapped areas of North America. Areas will be classified based on IUCN protection designations:25

Category Ia — Strict Nature Reserve • Category Ib — Wilderness Area
Category II — National Park • Category III — Natural Monument or Feature
Category IV — Habitat/Species Management Area — Category V — Protected Land- scape/Seascape a Category VI — Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources

Land management designations will be determined and ranked based on current land management agency definitions for habitat protection and security of designation.

TARGET 4. Provide online access to floristic inventories and research on North American alpine plants to minimize gaps in knowledge by 2030.

Existing data and studies will be compiled to provide comprehensive access to resources. This also allows for gaps in knowledge to be determined.

Areas where alpine botanical diversity is under-studied or poorly understood will be identified based on Target 1 and Target 3 mapping. Those areas needing further documentation and greater knowledge of the flora with the potential to improve conservation will be prior– itized. Floristic inventories will be conducted through collections to enhance knowledge of alpine plant diversity and distribution. Spec- imens will be deposited in herbaria of the region where plants are collected. Specimen data will be shared broadly on publicly accessible platforms such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF),22 iDigBio,23Symbiota,26 and the Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet).27

Objective 2

OBJECTIVE 2. Conserve alpine plants and their habitats.

TARGET 5. Protect 50 percent of the most Important Plant Areas (IPAs) for alpine plant conservation in North America by 2030.

An Important Plant Area (IPA) is a natural or semi-natural site exhibiting exceptional botanical richness and/or supporting an outstanding assemblage of rare, threatened and/or endemic plant species and/or vegetation of high botanic value.28

Protection of alpine plants will be increased by additional habitat conservation. Areas of high alpine diversity, particularly those with numerous occurrences of G1-G3 plants, will be highlighted as IPAs. The Native Plant Conservation Campaign’s IPA Program29 and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program methodologies for IPA identification30 will be utilized in alpine areas of North America. Once North American alpine IPAs have been designated, they will be further ranked based on level of protection following the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories.25 Botanic gardens will work with land managers to protect at least 50 percent of these areas.

The broad goal is to maintain or improve the management of protect- ed areas to achieve a favorable conservation status for alpine plant species. While only public land management organizations can control the level of protection on various parcels, the scientific community can work to provide the agencies with robust, sound data on which to base management decisions. Success will involve collaboration among botanic gardens and public land management agencies.

TARGET 6. Conserve at least 25 percent of all identified North American alpine flora in-situ by 2030.

Following Target 5 identification of IPAs, it will be verified that 25 per– cent of North American alpine plants are located in protected areas. Areas that are designated as IPAs with low protection designation
and areas with high alpine flora diversity not included in IPAs will

be targeted for improved protection. Scientists will conduct studies to further clarify life histories of species and floristic inventories that improve understanding of species distributions. Recommendations can then be made for fencing and road closures that enhance protection for individual species where appropriate. This can only be accomplished through collaborative efforts among botanic gardens, scientists and public land management agencies.

TARGET 7. Conserve 60 percent of threatened alpine plant species in North America in-situ by 2030.

Sixty percent of threatened alpine species – those with a G1-G3 rank, will be conserved in areas identified as protected by IUCN protection designations.25 Botanic gardens will commit to preventing alpine plant species extinction and habitat loss through in-situ conservation activities. Botanic garden staff will endeavor to work collaboratively with land agencies to provide technical skills and botanical information.

TARGET 8. Conserve 60 percent of all identified alpine plant species in North America ex-situ by 2030.

Sixty percent of identified North American alpine plant species will be maintained in ex-situ collections of botanic gardens or seed banks as plants, living tissues or seeds, with appropriate genetic representation to support restoration and will be managed according to science-based protocols.

Ex-situ conservation measures such as seed banking, cryopreservation and tissue culture are the most important methods to preserve alpine plant genetic material. Alpine species are particularly vulnerable to climate change and banking seed of these species will allow for studies to understand their ecological tolerance and potential for adaptation, thus informing conservation and restoration programs. This target will require cooperation with public land management agencies as well as private landowners for collection permitting.

It is also important to develop carefully monitored living collections for a better understanding of propagation protocols and ecological requirements. Collections grown as living specimens in botanic gardens can also be valuable for educational purposes and raising public awareness.

Data on all these collections will be shared with the community through tools such as BGCI’s Plant Search database.31

TARGET 9. Ensure that at least 75 percent of all identified threatened North American alpine plant species are held in ex-situ collections, and 10 percent are in recovery and/or restoration programs by 2030.

As noted in Target 8, ex-situ collections can take the form of plants, living tissues or seeds. Target 9 focuses on securing 75 percent of those with a G1-G3 rank in living and seed bank collections. A higher ex-situ collection target of 90 percent is planned for species with a greater risk of extirpation or extinction based on conservation assessment and threat. Seed banking is considered the highest priority for ex-situ conservation.

Ten percent of threatened alpine plants will be placed in recovery and/or restoration programs following protocols such as those developed by the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC).32 These programs constitute rigorously tested science-based protocols for conservation and in-situ re-introduction.

Objective 3

OBJECTIVE 3. Promote awareness of the alpine ecosystem and plant diversity through education and outreach.

TARGET 10. Incorporate the irreplaceable value of the North American alpine ecosystem and plant diversity into educational and public awareness programs at botanic gardens by 2025.

Communication, education, and the raising of public awareness about the importance of alpine plant diversity are critical for the achieve- ment of all targets of the Alpine Strategy. This target is understood
to refer to both informal and formal education at all levels. Target audiences include botanic gardens’ board members, staff, docents and volunteers as well as students, the general public, and policy makers.
Consideration should be given to developing specific indicators to mon– itor progress toward overall achievement of the target.

Botanic gardens have an important role in raising public awareness about plant biodiversity loss and its potential effects on the alpine eco- system. Gardens have been shown to positively influence visitors’ envi– ronmental attitudes ,33 where they expect to receive accurate, unbiased information. Multiple informational techniques should be used to meet the knowledge, interests and needs of visitors for greatest impact.34 Visitor conversations with staff and docents is especially important for dispersal of sound scientific information.

It is not enough to just inform visitors about the need for alpine plant conservation35 and the work being done by botanic gardens in this regard.36 Supplying pathways to be active in conservation projects is essential.37 An educated and motivated citizen can discern the accura- cy of publicly distributed information and provide valuable personal support to conservation projects and organizations. Education and individual behavior are not sufficient to turn the tide on threats to al– pine plant biodiversity and survival, however. Change must also occur at the legislative level. With education, environmental legislation can be proposed and supported by botanic gardens and citizens and, with their pressure, compel conservation actions by their legislators.38

Objective 4

OBJECTIVE 4. Build capacity for the conservation of alpine plant species and associated habitats.

TARGET 11. Increase the number of trained professionals working on North American alpine plant conservation to address local, regional and national needs by 2030.

Botany is an established science. However, there has been a decline in formal botanical education programs at all levels and in the number of professional government agency botanists, raising concern about the future study and fate of plants.39 A deficiency of educational programs and interest in botanical studies has led to a general lack of basic botany and plant identification skills in the current generation of scientists.

Botanic gardens must increase educational programs, fieldwork, and research in alpine plants to address the decline in botanical studies and shortage of botanists and horticulturists. These programs and collabora- tive efforts with universities will contribute to training future botanists and horticulturists whose work will be necessary to stem the growing loss of the world’s plants and threats to botanical diversity.

TARGET 12. Establish and strengthen networks, partnerships, associations and stakeholders for alpine conservation activities at regional, national and international levels by 2030.

This Strategy urges botanic gardens to partner with institutions and ap- propriate stakeholders to strengthen plant conservation activities. Look- ing after North America’s alpine plants and habitats is a shared respon- sibility of professional and amateur botanists and horticulturists alike. Botanic gardens must take on the responsibility of championing diverse partnerships with governments, public agencies, academic institutions and individuals who all have a role to play in alpine plant conservation.