What is the aim of the review?

Re-introductions are considered by some conservation practitioners to be a controversial management option for mitigating threatened plant declines.  The use of translocations (including re-introductions) has been criticised for the lack of monitoring and central recording, inappropriateness of the action due to genetic considerations, a lack of knowledge of the demography of the donor populations and inadequate information on the habitat requirements of the species.  Despite these arguably justified criticisms, re-introductions are growing in use as practitioners see no other option for meeting management plan targets. Re-introductions have been proposed as options for overcoming habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and reproductive isolation.  An extension of this increasingly interventionist approach, often termed assisted colonisation, is being considered as a potential method for preventing extinctions due to climatic shifts too rapid to allow corresponding species’ distribution changes.
This review evaluates the effectiveness of re-introductions as a conservation tool by using the available evidence to determine in what context plant translocations have improved the status of threatened species.

Who's in the review team?

• Sarah Dalrymple (Lead reviewer) - School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
• Gavin Stewart
• Andrew Pullin
  

At what stage is the review?
This review is now complete.

Comments?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this review, please email us. Your feedback is appreciated.