Professional Practice
Floristic Quality Assessment of Terrestrial Landscapes
Date: 6/21/2022 - 6/21/2022
Description: In the evaluation of landscapes, a critical question is the contemporary ecological health of the vegetation it supports, and Floristic Quality Assessment offers an invaluable tool. It assigns a Coefficient of Conservatism (0-10) to each vascular plant in the flora of a state or portion of a state. The higher the number, the less historic human disturbance or alteration of historic environmental conditions that species can tolerate. In this session Gerould Wilhelm, the botanist who co-developed this now widely used system, explains how landscape practitioners can use it to better understand the landscapes they are working in, set conservation priorities, select species for restoration, and specify management protocols.