Description
TitleEndangered Plant Species Populations in New Jersey: Health and Threats
PublisherNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Office of Policy, Planning and Science
Date Created2006-12-31
DescriptionThe native flora of New Jersey is an important component of its biological diversity, which is continually diminished as species, populations, and habitats are lost from the state. Fifteen percent of New Jersey's native flora, which comprises more than 2100 species, is currently classified as endangered. In New Jersey, an endangered plant species is one whose survival within the State or the nation is in jeopardy. An endangered species requires immediate attention or extirpation within New Jersey is possible. This study attempts to uncover spatial patterns and data trends regarding the status and distribution of these species.
Populations of 331 vascular endangered plant species and 32 extirpated plant species in New Jersey were examined using the Natural Heritage Database (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection). Endangered plants are monitored as populations of individuals that inhabit a given area. Thus, an endangered plant may have one or many populations. When only one or a few populations exist, loss of the entire species from the state is of heightened concern. For the purpose of this report, an extirpated species is a species that formerly occurred in New Jersey, but is not known to exist within the state today; an extirpated population is one that was historically document in a specific area, but cannot be found today. Plant population occurrence data was verified and updated, and spatial analyses were conducted using GIS. Data describing threats to extant (i.e., currently existing) plant populations and causes of plant population extirpation were examined, and landscape trends were determined by grouping populations according to species, physiographic region, and habitat type, as well as county, state, and watershed boundaries.
NoteThis submission includes the final report plus 3 appendices.
Genrereports
Extent (Original item)198 p., color photos, figures
CollectionNew Jersey Environmental Digital Library
Organization NameRutgers University Libraries
RightsThis object has been provided by Rutgers University Libraries after a copyright, permissions, and usage rights evaluation. You may make use of the information under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 license (see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/). If undeclared, you may need to contact the rights holder for permission for further use.
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