Across the world conservation groups, researchers and volunteers are working to combat the five key drivers of biodiversity loss identified by scientists.
1. Saving grasslands
The names running glade clover, cream tick-trefoil and Porter’s goldenrod may evoke the riotous colours of a summer meadow in bloom, but these particular plants are also quietly tucked away in a conservation seed bank that it is hoped will ensure the future of North America’s grassland plant populations.
Changes in land and sea use is the key driver of biodiversity loss in the world – and grassland loss is “the single greatest conservation issue currently facing eastern North American biodiversity”, according to the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) at the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, which is working to conserve and restore this crucial ecosystem.
Last year it launched a conservation seed bank (CSB) to preserve vulnerable populations of rare and declining grassland species. Cooper Breeden, the SGI’s plant conservation manager, says: “One of the reasons we decided to pursue the CSB was because the loss of our rare plant populations is outpacing efforts to conserve them in many cases, though not for lack of effort. There is simply not enough funding and capacity for conservation.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...ers-five-great-projects-to-protect-nature-aoe
1. Saving grasslands
The names running glade clover, cream tick-trefoil and Porter’s goldenrod may evoke the riotous colours of a summer meadow in bloom, but these particular plants are also quietly tucked away in a conservation seed bank that it is hoped will ensure the future of North America’s grassland plant populations.
Changes in land and sea use is the key driver of biodiversity loss in the world – and grassland loss is “the single greatest conservation issue currently facing eastern North American biodiversity”, according to the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) at the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, which is working to conserve and restore this crucial ecosystem.
Last year it launched a conservation seed bank (CSB) to preserve vulnerable populations of rare and declining grassland species. Cooper Breeden, the SGI’s plant conservation manager, says: “One of the reasons we decided to pursue the CSB was because the loss of our rare plant populations is outpacing efforts to conserve them in many cases, though not for lack of effort. There is simply not enough funding and capacity for conservation.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...ers-five-great-projects-to-protect-nature-aoe