Focusing on the Landscape - BushBlitz

Where a family of vascular plants was represented by fewer than 70 species with
records in ANHAT, we did not attempt to determine patterns of distribution or
vegetation types within the various reservation tables. There were often very few
species in a table, making it unclear if a pattern would exist if several more species
with information were added. Furthermore, data usually was not available on the
distribution and vegetation associations of up to half the species. It was not clear
whether the species without information would have followed the same pattern and so
it was considered unwise to make any judgements. Also, smaller families often are
relatively localised in Australia.
We consider that a thorough review of the vascular plants in Australia would be of
great benefit, along the lines of reviews undertaken or proposed for the vertebrates
(e.g. the global amphibian assessment). Such a review is highly likely to lead to a
very large number of species being listed in the Data Deficient category of the IUCN,
but this would greatly assist in providing an accurate representation of vascular plants
in Australia as the review would include experts and authorities on each family of
vascular plants. The limitations of the project meant that floristic specialists could not
be used to supplement published or online information.
Any such review would be assisted or could otherwise lead to the development of
some form of consolidated information base for each family. Such a resource would
greatly assist in the continued development of our understanding of many of these
families of vascular plants. A few families have available either books or websites
that summarise the known information and/or profile many, most or all species within
a family, but this was a rarity. For most families, no books exist that provide even a
basic summary of up-to-date knowledge on the families and searches on the internet
produced mixed results relating mainly to scientific papers covering few species. The
information on most families was time consuming to obtain (if available) and often
involved going to several websites for each species. This is a very direct contrast to
the Australian vertebrate fauna, which are covered by either field guides or websites
with extensive information on families and the species within them. A provision of
online resources on all families of Australian vascular (and non-vascular) plants
would be of great benefit in future decision-making processes in regards to plant
conservation.
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