The state of plant conservation in Canada: a survey of practitioners

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dc.contributor.authorMcCune, Jenny L.
dc.contributor.authorBaldwin, Sarah J.
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Joseph R.
dc.contributor.authorHusband, Brian C.
dc.contributor.authorJoly, Simon
dc.contributor.authorKraus, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorLamb, Eric G.
dc.contributor.authorVamosi, Jana C.
dc.contributor.authorVan Natto, Alyson C.
dc.contributor.authorWhitton, Jeannette
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-08T18:32:37Z
dc.date.available2025-10-08T18:32:37Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionOpen access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) applies
dc.description.abstractPlants make up more than one quarter of all species listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, but very few have improved in status over time. Ineffective legal protections, lack of public awareness, difficulties in prioritizing species, and a scarcity of research relevant to the recovery of plant species at risk are some of the many challenges facing effective plant conservation in Canada. We used an online survey to ask 243 people who work in plant conservation or who do research in plant ecology or evolution to assess the state of plant conservation in Canada and to identify the actions needed to improve it. Most respondents agreed that Canada is underperforming or merely average when it comes to conserving plants. Based on their responses, we outline a set of recommendations that could form the basis of a national strategy for plant conservation in Canada. These include greater advocacy for habitat protection, connecting researchers with funding opportunities, supporting graduate students working on research related to plant conservation, increasing public awareness of plants, collaborating with and respecting Indigenous knowledge holders, promoting collaboration between researchers and local conservation groups, and increasing capacity to assess the status of species that are potentially at risk.
dc.description.peer-reviewYes
dc.identifier.citationMcCune, J. L., Baldwin, S. J., Bennett, J. R., Husband, B. C., Joly, S., Kraus, D., Lamb, E. G., Vamosi, J. C., Van Natto, A. C., & Whitton, J. (2024). The state of plant conservation in Canada: A survey of practitioners. Facets, 9, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0216
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/7163
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCanadian Science Publishing
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciences
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Science
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridge
dc.publisher.institutionMount Allison University
dc.publisher.institutionCarleton University
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Guelph
dc.publisher.institutionMontreal Botanical Garden
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Waterloo
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Saskatchewan
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgary
dc.publisher.institutionQueen's University
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of British Columbia
dc.publisher.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0216
dc.subjectConservation translocation
dc.subjectEndangered species
dc.subjectHabitat protection
dc.subjectRare plants
dc.subjectSpecies at risk
dc.subjectRecovery strategies
dc.titleThe state of plant conservation in Canada: a survey of practitioners
dc.typeArticle
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