‘Biodiversity' represents diversity at all levels of biological organization, from the community to the gene. It forms the link between the evolutionary past, through the present and into the future, determining either adaptation and evolution, or decline and extinction. Basically, biological diversity is a measure of the number and abundance of different species within a community. This is also a reflection the differences between individuals and species. Such diversity is encoded by specific genes that some individuals possess but others lack. Why is this important? The reason is that the genetic variation of a species is it's first resource for survival and evolution, as well as the fact that a small fraction of the genes are a potential resource for improving the productivity of other populations or species.
Conserving biodiversity is important. For instance, all domesticated crop species derive, directly or indirectly, from wild species; some of which were among the much larger numbers of species used by hunter-gatherers. All of these crops have come from wild stock. If the base of the system of domestication is not conserved, when the system collapses, we will have nothing left from which to rebuild. The genetic integrity of our species base will have been destroyed. The conservation of plant genetic diversity is easier when using seeds instead of living plants. This way many more individuals can be incorporated into the conserved community, and the impacts to the living communities from whom the stock is taken will be minimized.
A basic concern when starting a conservation/restoration project is establishing a minimum viable population (MVP). This is an estimate of the minimum number of individuals of a species necessary to form a viable population. The specific MVP is not an exact number but it is an amount that falls within certain reasonable boundaries of plant success, longevity, and diversity of individuals. Each MVP has an ecological context and can only be applied to the habitat in which it was determined. All MVP's work within a certain time span and parameter of a maximum tolerable probability of extinction.
Conservation of biodiversity is not only important when dealing with individual species, but is also fundamental when dealing with plant communities. Plant communities are not simply groups of many different free-living species. Plant communities are rich in dependency relationships between the plants. For instance there are plants that need each other to grow, be it by sharing nutrients (symbiotic), feeding another's pollinator or deterring another's predator (mutualistic), or by surviving solely on another plant's systems (parasitic). All of the inter-plant associations vary in complexity and degree of interdependence depending on the species involved. This is why there is such concern for the conservation of entire plant communities or the whole ecosystem. This is because most of the time, single plant species cannot have a healthy existence on their own. The plant communities that we see today are the product of the interactions of an extremely diverse range of forces, both physical and biotic. These communities cannot be successfully conserved outside of these forces.
As all systems of this earth, plant communities exist within their own time cycles. What is the time line that these systems are working with? All communities and systems begin, flourish and end in extinction. The same cycle of life and death is true of communities as it is of individuals. We need to know where we are in this cycle. Are these particular communities disappearing because they are nearing the end of their cycle, or are they disappearing because of human influences? If it is the first case, the communities should be documented and allowed to let pass, if it is the second, we have a responsibility to restore and protect that which we have helped to destroy. Species cannot exist outside of their communities and communities cannot exist without a diversity of species, therefore it is essential to help to maintain the global integrity of both.
Conservation of the regional genetic diversity is one of the main principles motivating Project C.A.R.E. Through the use of ethical seed collection and local knowledge and labour for growing the seedlings, restoration projects become local on more level than one. Plants change themselves when they grow in different conditions. Tallgrass prairie plants from Southern Ontario have modified themselves to this environment. Therefore they have slightly different genetics than the same plants from Ohio, for example. Conserving the integrity of the local ecosystems helps to conserve the diversity and stability on the larger scale as well. Secondly, when people can go out into their community and recognize the plants as being something special, they get a deeper respect and understanding of the processes that surround them. This resource is not ours to control. It belongs to the people that live, have lived, and will live in the area.
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