A Red Data List for the Falkland Islands vascular flora

Abstract

The Falkland Islands are situated in the South Atlantic and have a native flora of 171 vascular plant species. Although a relatively high proportion of the native flora is of conservation concern, this is poorly recognized, both nationally and internationally. Typically, threatened species occur as only a few small, isolated populations, and they are facing increasing pressure from land-use change, particularly agricultural intensification. This paper presents the first national Red Data List for the Falkland Islands, and provides an overview of the 23 threatened plants of the archipelago as well as covering another 16 species of relevance to the national conservation strategy. This Red List provides an important first step towards the recognition and conservation of the threatened native flora of the Falkland Islands at both the national and international level. © 2002 FFI.