Applied Plant Conservation Course

The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) is thrilled to announce the development of a brand-new, online Applied Plant Conservation Course coming in 2023-2024. This professional development resource will serve to train our current and future botanical workforce in the best practices of rare plant stewardship and conservation. The course will bring the CPC Best Practices Guidelines to life as an educational tool for those working with rare and native plants at any stage in their career.

The Applied Plant Conservation Course, will feature nine overarching subject modules:

Module I: Introduction to Rare Plant Conservation – Available Now
Module II: Ensuring the Conservation of Rare Plant Genetic Diversity – Available Now
Module III: Where Rare Plants Live: Now and In the Future – Available Now
Module IV: Assessing Wild Plant Populations – Available Now
Module V: Rare Plant Reintroductions – Available Now
Module VI: Collecting Seeds for Conservation Collections in Long-term Seed Banks – Coming Soon!
Module VII: Conservation of Exceptional Species – Coming Soon!
Module VIII: Propagation and Horticulture of Rare Plants – Coming Soon!
Module IX: Tools and Partnerships – Coming Soon!

More updates on the Applied Plant Conservation Course coming soon! Sign up the the CPC newsletter to stay up-to-date with announcements and more.

Before you Begin:

Pre & Post Course Survey – Help us understand how this course is being used and how we can continue to make improvements for future learners. Access the survey here.
Reflections Journal – Dig deeper and connect what you’re learning to your personal and professional projects. Download the Reflections Journal and use alongside the course. A great tool if you want to present to your team or supervisor about this training. Available as: Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint

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Partial funding for the Applied Plant Conservation Course is generously provided by:

BLM California | Agreement No. L20AC00413
BLM Colorado | Agreement No. L20AC00374
BLM Nevada | Agreement No. L20AC00266

Course Information

53.73%

Module I: Applied Plant Conservation Course Introduction

Introduction and History of the Applied Plant Conservation Course

Module I: Why We Conserve Rare Plants

The Role of Plant Diversity in Ecosystem and Human Health

Effects of Plant Diversity on Ecosystem Function

Threats and Extinction Risks of Rare Plants

The Importance of Native Plants vs. Weeds

How Do We Restore Diversity?

Sourcing and Selecting Seeds for Restoration

As Seen on RPA: Changing the Conversation About Plants

Module I: The Nature of Plant Rarity

The Nature of Plant Rarity – Natural Causes of Plant Rarity

The Nature of Plant Rarity – Legal Protections for Rare Plants

The Nature of Plant Rarity – Endangered Species Act & State Listings

Module I: Rare Plant Resources and Conservation Ranks

Rare Plant Resources and Conservation Ranks

What’s in a Name? The Importance of Taxonomy in Conservation

Module I: Rare Plant Ecology

Introduction to Rare Plant Ecology

Natural and Human-induced Impacts on Rare Plants

Impacts of Weather Events and Climate on Your Site

Plant Responses to Disturbance

Dispersal, Seed Banks, and Restoration

Edge Effects

Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Effects

Case Study: How Soil Influences the Rarity and Evolution of Wild Rare Buckwheats

Module I: Rare Plants on Public Lands

Rare Plants on Public Lands

Managing Rare Plants on Public Lands

Case Study: San Benito Evening Primrose

Case Study: Recovering Sentry Milkvetch

Implementing Rare Plant Conservation on Public Lands

Module II: The Importance of Rare Plant Genetic Diversity

The Importance of Genetic Diversity – Defining Genetic Diversity

The Importance of Genetic Diversity – Why Genetic Diversity is Important to Conservation

The Importance of Genetic Diversity – How Much Genetic Diversity is Enough?

The Importance of Genetic Diversity – When Are Genetic Studies Needed?

As Seen on RPA: Practical Applications of Genetic Studies in Rare Plant Conservation

As Seen on RPA: Genetic Metrics Used in Rare Plant Conservation: A Primer for Non-experts

The Importance of Genetic Diversity – Case Study

Module II: Measures of Rare Plant Genetic Diversity & Population Structure

Genetic Issues Critical for Rare Species

Genetic Diversity Within a Population

Between Population Variation

When Are Differences Between Populations Biologically Meaningful?

Quantifying Genetic Structure – Measuring Diversity Within Populations

As Seen on RPA: Distinguishing Acuña Cactus From Its Close Relatives Using Genetic Information

Quantifying Genetic Structure – Within Population Inbreeding

Quantifying Genetic Structure – Measuring Diversity Between Populations

Evaluating Genetic Data – Differences Between Studies

Evaluating Genetic Data – Demystifying Genomics

As Seen on RPA: Population Genomics in Conservation: Gambel’s Watercress

Evaluating Genetic Data – What Each Study Type Tells Us…Evolutionary Geneticist

Evaluating Genetic Data – What Each Study Type Tells Us…Population Geneticist

Evaluating Genetic Data – What Each Study Type Tells Us…Molecular Geneticist

Module II: Genetic Issues Related to Maintaining Collections

Maximizing Genetic Diversity

As Seen on RPA: Conserving Genetic Diversity of Southeastern Oaks and Magnolias in Botanic Gardens: How Much is Needed?

Seed Collections

Field Genebanks

DNA Collections

Meta-collections

Case Study: Meta-collections

Module II: Evaluating Genetic Information for Land Management Decisions

Evaluating Genetic Information for Land Management Decisions

Module III: Theory Behind Plant Species Distribution & Ecological Niches

Overview of Species Distribution and Ecological Niche Modeling

Introduction to Modeling Species Distribution and Niches for Conservation

Species Distribution Modeling vs Ecological Niche Modeling

Biodiversity Occurrence Data: Structured Data

Biodiversity Occurrence Data: Unstructured Data

Biodiversity Occurrence Data: Georeferencing

Where Rare Plants Live: Now and in the Future

San Clemente Island: A Conservation Success Story

Module III: Characterizing Habitat Suitability for Rare Plants Through Species Distribution Models

Environmental Data for Modeling Species Distributions and Niches

Selecting Predictors for Modeling Species Distributions and Niches: BIOCLIM+

Environmental Data: Main Questions

Absences, Pseudoabsences, and Background Sites

Defining Study Regions: Part I

Defining Study Regions: Part II BAM

Defining Study Regions: Part III M

Model Algorithms and Model Tuning

Module III: Using Species Distribution Models to Make Conservation Decisions

Evaluating Model Accuracy: Threshold-dependent Metrics

Evaluating Model Accuracy: Threshold-dependent Metrics – AUC

Evaluating Model Accuracy: CBI and Types of Accuracy

Evaluating Model Accuracy: Evaluation Data

Bias Correction

SDMs, ENMs, and Environmental Change

Data-Poor Species

Uncertainty

Module III: Managing Habitat to Benefit Rare Species

Rare Plants and Strategic Land Conservation and Management

Module IV: Conducting Botanical Surveys for Rare Plants

Conducting Rare Plant Surveys

Rare Plant Surveys: A Case Study in the Mojave Desert

Case Study: Use of Grid System Technology for Rare Plant Surveys

Floristic Surveys Towards Understanding Rare Plants

Impacts of Invasive Species to the Rare Annual Kelso Creek Monkeyflower

Rare Plant Surveys and Monitoring

Module IV: Monitoring Design

Monitoring Design

As Seen on RPA: Monitoring Wild Reference Populations to Determine Future Conservation Actions

Module IV: Rare Plant Site Ethics

Conservation Ethics

Module IV: Rare Plant Population Models and Modeling Plant Demography in R

Rare Plant Population Models: What is Demography?

Rare Plant Population Models: Design

Rare Plant Population Models: Life Cycle Diagrams

Rare Plant Population Models: Demographic Data

Rare Plant Population Models: Intro to Demographic Models

Rare Plant Population Models: Matrix Models

Example Matrix Model: Analysis of Ribes echinellum Demographic Data

Rare Plant Population Models: IPMs

Case Study: Ribes echinellum

Rare Plant Population Models: Stem Demography

Module IV: Making Management Decisions from Population Models

Making Management Decisions With Population Models

Module V: Overview and Planning a Reintroduction

Overview to Plant Reintroduction

Is the Species Ready for Reintroduction?

Example – Key Tree Cactus Reintroduction

Genetic Considerations while Collecting, Maintaining in Nursery and Reintroducing to the Field

As Seen on RPA: How to Conduct a Rare Plant Reintroduction with the Help of Volunteers

CPC’s Reintroduction Database

Module V: Knowing Species Reproductive Biology

Reintroductions and Reproductive Biology

Seed Sourcing for Reintroductions

Reintroductions and Climate Change

Case Study: Penstemon Ecological Genetics

Module V: Genetics of Reintroductions

Genetics of a Reintroduction Part 1: Where Do We Start?

Genetics of a Reintroduction Part 2: Sourcing New Populations

Maximizing Genetic Diversity

Genetic Issues Related to Reintroductions

Module V: Choosing One Source Population or Mixing Sources for the Founding Population

Mixing Sources: When to be Concerned of Outbreeding?

Module V: From Nursery to Field

The Importance of Good Horticulture

Module V: Selecting the Suitable Recipient Site and Recipient Site Assessment

Selecting a Suitable Recipient Site

Recipient Sites will Change

As Seen on RPA: Planting in a Riparian System

Module V: Adaptive Reintroductions – Generate Hypothesis, Test, Evaluate Cycle

Adaptive Reintroductions Part 1

Adaptive Reintroductions Part 2

Adaptive Reintroductions Case Study with Astragalus bibullatus

Module V: Monitoring and Sharing Information

Monitoring and Sharing Information in a Reintroduction Program

Monitoring – What is Measured?

Monitoring – Marking Plants and Sample Units in the Field

Monitoring and Transplanting Case Studies

Module V: Adjusting Monitoring to Species Life History

Adjusting Monitoring to Species Life History

Case Study of Adaptive Monitoring

Module V: Examples of What Can Be Done with Monitoring Data

What to do with Monitoring Data

Case Study of Exemplary Analyses

Module V: Characterizing Successes and Failures in Reintroduction

Characterizing Successes and Failures in Reintroductions

Characterizing Successes and Failures in Reintroductions – Case Studies