The Application of Minimum Viable Population Theory to Plants

Abstract Conservation biology is a crisis-oriented science, yet faced with the difficult challenge of understanding and predicting the long-term dynamics of complex systems (Soule 1985). At the population level, conservation biologists are largely concerned with population viability. The analysis of population viability holds the same challenge as conservation biology as a whole; that is, we need to understand the long-term viability (or survivability) of populations, but we must make immediate decisions on their protection and management. Therefore, as conservation biologists we must tolerate uncertainty and be prepared to make best guesses based on available data.