Biodiversity conservation and conservation biotechnology tools

This special issue is dedicated to the in vitro tools and methods used to conserve the genetic diversity of rare and threatened plant species from around the world. Species that are on the brink of extinction because of the rapid loss of genetic diversity and habitat come mainly from resource-poor areas of the world and from global biodiversity hotspots and island countries. These species are unique because they are endemic, and only a few small populations or sometimes only a few individuals remain in the wild. Therefore, the challenges to support conservation by in vitro measures are many and varied. The editors of this invited issue solicited papers from experts from Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and North and South America. This compilation of articles describes the efforts in these diverse regions toward saving plants from extinction, and details the direct application of in vitro and cryopreservation methods. In addition, these contributions provide guidance on propagation of rare plants, including techniques for large-scale propagation, storage, and reintroduction. The in vitro techniques for conserving plant biodiversity include shoot apical or axillary-meristem-based micropropagation, somatic embryogenesis, cell culture technologies and embryo rescue techniques, as well as a range of in vitro cold storage and cryopreservation protocols, and they are discussed in depth in this issue.     

Values-led conservation

In international nature conservation policy, value‐arguments based on science and economic rationalism increasingly overshadow the aesthetic and ethical arguments that originally inspired the conservation movement. We argue that this trend risks removing conservation from the public realm, in part because it facilitates the adoption by nongovernment conservation bodies of corporate values and/or their integration with government bureaucracies. By contrast, the explicit recognition of aesthetic and ethical values would complement arguments based on science and economic utility. We subscribe to a reformist view of globalization that accepts the inevitability of a globalizing world but argues that the process needs humanizing by incorporating quality of life values in the policy process. We argue that re‐emphasis of aesthetic and ethical arguments in international conservation policy would contribute to this goal by reasserting links between conservation bodies and the public, thereby leading to more effective action on the ground.     

Legal instruments in private land conservation: the nature and role of conservation contracts and conservation covenants

Management of private land for ecological outcomes has emerged as an important facet of biodiversity management and ecological restoration in Australia. Common law conservation contracts and conservation covenants are important tools within this framework of private land conservation. They can provide legal protections to biodiversity and natural assets on private land, as well as legal frameworks, in the form of obligations, to restoration programs. They can provide distinct qualities of binding obligation: fixed term or enduring. Conservation contracts and covenants need to be recognized as possessing both transactional and relational qualities, and these qualities should be considered and reflected in the design of agreements and in practices of conservation management and agreement‐making. Two design questions are considered in this article. Conservation agreements need to contend with dynamism in ecological and social realities and this may be accommodated in mechanisms for adjustment of obligations between or within agreements. Dispute management is a second field of practice and drafting requiring attention. Constructing disputes provisions that are adapted and appropriate to long‐term conservation actions and restoration initiatives is reflective of good faith principles and can include scope for graduated, independent, corrective, and fair arrangements, informed as necessary by expert input.     

植物保护遗传学

从遗传多样性、系统发育和地理系统发育角度对当前保护遗传学在植物保护中的作用进行了探讨。在植物保护过程中,要考虑多群遗传多样性的大小,在就地和迁地保护的过程要减少近交和远交衰退影响,并可利用遗传标记为提供关于种群大小、基因流动等方面的信息。系统发育和地理系统发育的研究在于了解物种进化的历史,以确定物种保护单元。同时结合两个具体生态学问题（生境片段化和外来种）对当前植物保护遗传学的研究进行了介绍,揭示了保护遗传学在植物保护上重要作用和不可取代性,为今后研究提供参考。     

Monitoring for conservation

Human-mediated environmental changes have resulted in appropriate concern for the conservation of ecological systems and have led to the development of many ecological monitoring programs worldwide. Many programs that are identified with the purpose of 'surveillance' represent an inefficient use of conservation funds and effort. Here, we revisit the 1964 paper by Platt and argue that his recommendations about the conduct of science are equally relevant to the conduct of ecological monitoring programs. In particular, we argue that monitoring should not be viewed as a stand-alone activity, but instead as a component of a larger process of either conservation-oriented science or management. Corresponding changes in monitoring focus and design would lead to substantial increases in the efficiency and usefulness of monitoring results in conservation.     

Scoring residue conservation

The importance of a residue for maintaining the structure and function of a protein can usually be inferred from how conserved it appears in a multiple sequence alignment of that protein and its homologues. A reliable metric for quantifying residue conservation is desirable. Over the last two decades many such scores have been proposed, but none has emerged as a generally accepted standard. This work surveys the range of scores that biologists, biochemists, and, more recently, bioinformatics workers have developed, and reviews the intrinsic problems associated with developing and evaluating such a score. A general formula is proposed that may be used to compare the properties of different particular conservation scores or as a measure of conservation in its own right.     

Pastoralism and conservation

Traditional subsistence pastoralists are often seen as causing environmental degradation through overgrazing, and are also seen as responsible for a decline in wildlife numbers through resource competition and habitat change. This paper investigates recent ideas on the interaction of pastoralism and conservation that question the validity of the concepts of overstocking and overgrazing as applied to arid and semiarid rangelands. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a Maasai pastoralist/wildlife conservation joint land use area in northern Tanzania, shows no clear signs of pastoralist-induced environmental degradation despite a preoccupation with this possibility by successive administrations. Ecological studies together with other considerations suggest that joint land use works to the long-term benefit of both pastoralism and conservation in this and other areas.