Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: islands and plants
- 2 The reproductive biology of island plants
- 3 Spatial methodologies in historical biogeography of islands
- 4 Origin and evolution of Hawaiian endemics: new patterns revealed by molecular phylogenetic studies
- 5 Origins and evolution of Galapagos endemic vascular plants
- 6 The plants of the Caribbean islands: a review of the biogeography, diversity and conservation of a storm-battered biodiversity hotspot
- 7 The biogeography of Madagascar palms
- 8 Evolution and biogeography of the flora of the Socotra archipelago (Yemen)
- 9 Biogeography and conservation of the flora of New Caledonia
- 10 Phytogeography and relationships of the Pitcairn Islands flora
- 11 Chromosomes and evolution in New Zealand endemic angiosperms and gymnosperms
- 12 Jesters, red queens, boomerangs and surfers: a molecular outlook on the diversity of the Canarian endemic flora
- 13 Endemism and evolution in Macaronesian and Mediterranean Limonium taxa
- 14 Dispersal, diversity and evolution of the Macaronesian cryptogamic floras
- 15 Invasive alien species and islands
- 16 Ecology, demography and conservation in the Galapagos Islands flora
- 17 New directions and challenges for the conservation of the flora of Madagascar
- 18 Climate change and island floras
- 19 Conservation status of endemic plants on Isla del Coco, Costa Rica: applying IUCN Red List criteria on a small island
- 20 Botanic gardens and the conservation of island floras
- 21 The hazardous future of island floras
- Index
- References
21 - The hazardous future of island floras
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: islands and plants
- 2 The reproductive biology of island plants
- 3 Spatial methodologies in historical biogeography of islands
- 4 Origin and evolution of Hawaiian endemics: new patterns revealed by molecular phylogenetic studies
- 5 Origins and evolution of Galapagos endemic vascular plants
- 6 The plants of the Caribbean islands: a review of the biogeography, diversity and conservation of a storm-battered biodiversity hotspot
- 7 The biogeography of Madagascar palms
- 8 Evolution and biogeography of the flora of the Socotra archipelago (Yemen)
- 9 Biogeography and conservation of the flora of New Caledonia
- 10 Phytogeography and relationships of the Pitcairn Islands flora
- 11 Chromosomes and evolution in New Zealand endemic angiosperms and gymnosperms
- 12 Jesters, red queens, boomerangs and surfers: a molecular outlook on the diversity of the Canarian endemic flora
- 13 Endemism and evolution in Macaronesian and Mediterranean Limonium taxa
- 14 Dispersal, diversity and evolution of the Macaronesian cryptogamic floras
- 15 Invasive alien species and islands
- 16 Ecology, demography and conservation in the Galapagos Islands flora
- 17 New directions and challenges for the conservation of the flora of Madagascar
- 18 Climate change and island floras
- 19 Conservation status of endemic plants on Isla del Coco, Costa Rica: applying IUCN Red List criteria on a small island
- 20 Botanic gardens and the conservation of island floras
- 21 The hazardous future of island floras
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction: the changed context
When I contributed the final chapter to Plants and Islands (Bramwell, 1979), my conclusions about the future of island organisms and communities were described by the editor as ‘rightly pessimistic’. Now 30 years later, it is perhaps even more difficult to be optimistic about their future. This is despite the fact that the intervening years have seen the coming into force of international treaties and agreements such as CITES, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Climate Convention, the Migratory Species Convention, the Leipzig Report and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, as well as the publication of a series of major reports and assessments such as the Agenda 21, the Global Biodiversity Assessment and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The period has also witnessed major advances in our understanding of island floras, their nature, origin, evolution, biogeography, the threats to them and conservation responses, as the preceding chapters in this volume will testify.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Biology of Island Floras , pp. 488 - 510Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
References
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