Arboretum de Villardebelle

10 March 2001 Aljos FARJON & Christopher N. PAGE (compilers)
CONIFERS
Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
Conifers, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan - Cover

Conifers, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan - Cover

IUCN/SSC Conifer Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, 1999, ix + 121 pages, black-and-white photographs, tables, maps, references, appendix

ISBN 2-8317-0465-0

Foreword by Aljos Farjon
    'Conifers, that is pines, spruces, firs, and, oh yes... cypresses, and larches, are these endangered? Most people, when they think of conifers in nature, conjure up images of vast forests in Canada, Scandinavia, Siberia, perhaps in the Alps or the Rocky Mountains, built of spruces, firs, and pines. Surely these species are not in danger of extinction? Some years ago, there was much concern about the effects of acid rain in such forests near industrial centres in Europe and the USA. With the reduction of the emission of SO₂, these problems are in many areas gradually being overcome. Forests (both planted and natural) may have been badly affected, but species were not because they commonly occurred outside the affected regions. Yet conifers, as species, are threatened with extinction globally. To appreciate this, we wil have to adjust the common perceptions indicated above and realise that the majority of conifer species do not occur in the northern lands but are scattered on all continents except Antarctica, mostly in small areas, often with very few individuals in a population.
    There are about 630 species of conifers world-wide. Despite the much smaller total land mass, nearly 200 of these are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where extensive conifer forests are virtually non-existent. Many conifers, notably in the family Podocarpaceae, but also in Araucaraiceae, are restricted to the tropics, often in the mountain but also in lowlands. The fringes of deserts and desert mountains, as well as the high and arid plateaus of continents are home to yet other conifers, mostly unheard of in more temperate and boreal latitudes. The relatively small tropical Pacific island of New Caledonia has 43 species, all restricted to the island. And in many cases, these conifers have only relict populations that were historically much larger and more widespread. In the Action Plan, evidence shows that an astonishingly high proportion of conifer species are threatened with extinction. The main causes have nothing to do with air pollution, but are the common litany of ills accompanying the overpopulation of this planet with humans and their impact on the natural environment: exploitation, conversion of woods to farmland and urbanisation, degradation of woodland vegetation by excessive gathering of firewood, grazing of livestock, burning etc. What little is left after large-scale exploitation by the affluent portion of humankind is further deteriorated and destroyed by the larger and less well-off resident populations. The situation is bleak in many parts of the world. Yet conifers are highly important ecologically, economically, scientifically and, not least, aesthetically. They have existed in various forms for over 250 millions years, twice as long as the flowering plants.
    This Action Plan is the first attempt to address the conservation issues of conifers on a global scale, focusing on species (taxa), not forests as such, although the two aspects are intricately connected. It is neither complete, as important gaps in its coverage remain to be filled, nor does it 'solve' all of the problems identified. But the Conifer Specialist Group, whose combined expertise this document represents, believes that it has taken an important first step in presenting what we know of this difficult subject to a wider audience of conservationists and policy makers, whose awareness and subsequent help will bring us closer to the protection of this fascinating type of plant life.'

Aljos Farjon
Chair, IUCN/SSC Conifer Specialist Group

Contents

Foreword	iv
Compilers	v
Acknowledgements	v
Executive Summary	vi
Resúmen (Spanish)	vii
Résumé (French)	viii
Summary Table of Recommended Actions	ix

Chapter 1 Global Assessment of Conifer Diversity and Threats	1
Introduction	1
Conifer diversity and distribution	2
Global diversity	2
Regional diversity	6
Major threats to conifer survival	7
Global red List of Conifers	11

Chapter 2 Conservation Issues	27
Conservation	27
Conservation incentives	27
Conservation priorities	27
Recommendations for conservation action	31
Guidelines for in situ strategies	31
Strategies for ex situ conservation	32
Integration of in situ and ex situ strategies	36
The role of botanic gardens in conifer conservation	36
Summary of action recommendations	37
References	39

Chapter 3 Regional Accounts	40
Introduction	40
New Caledonia Action Plan	41
Himalayas Action Plan	50
Mexico: Nueva Galicia Action Plan	55
Caribbean Action Plan	59
Tasmania Action Plan	63
Southwest Pacific oceanic islands Action Plan	72
Californianan Floristic Province Action Plan	75

Chapter 4 Species Accounts	89
Clanwilliam Cedar Widdringtonia cedarbergensis J.A.Marsh	90
Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) J.Buchholz	92
Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides (Molina) I.M.Johnston	95
Sicilian Fir Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei	97
Fiji Acmopyle Acmopyle sahniana J.Buchholz and N.E.Gray	99
Bigcone Pinyon Pine Pinus maximartinezii Rezd	101
Dawn Redwood Metasequoia glyptstroboides Hu and W.C.Cheng	103
Krempf's Pine Pinus krempfii Lecomte	105
White Berry Yew Pseudotaxus chienii (W.C.Cheng) W.C.Cheng	106
Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani A.Rich	108

Appendix 1 Conifer Specialist Group members and contributing authors	112
Appendix 2 IUCN Red List Category Summaries	114
Appendix 3 IUCN Protected Area Management Categories	121

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10 March 2001