yes,you are right,it is a big problem indeed for rare and endengered species.Detailed photography of rare and endengered species for Identification purpose, may solve this problem.Additionally plant sampling can be done with available plants related to those plants only.In my view, every Institute must estiblish its own plant garden for sampling purpose scientifically.

Sampling of endangered plants should be rstricted to scientific necessary and well-founded purposes like investigations of taxonomy (type specimen!), molecular genetics, or chemotaxonomy of the respective taxon. The vulnerability of the species' population must be considered in all cases.

Detailed photography is sufficient for projects on biodiversitity or vegetation ecology.

The collection of endangered species is always a contentious issue, and the key is the responsibility of the researcher. Indiscriminate or unnecessary collection is really a serious problem for these species, but sometimes the sampling may be necessary to carry out conservation studies. The legal protection of these species is the best solution to avoid these problems. In Spain, endangered species protected by law can only be collected if you have previously requested the necessary authorization, justified for scientific reasons, from the regional environmental council.

Thank you very much for your answers!

In Sudety Mts (South-West Poland) we have many examples of rare species population which was destroyed by a collectors at the beginning of the XX century. It was e.g. Saxifraga nivalis in Karkonosze Mts, (only 3 plants are occurred now on this locality), Allium strictum on Pogórze Kaczawskie Foothill (Ex) and Asplenium onopteris on serpentine rocks of Slęża Massif (also Ex). I know at least one locality of Phyllitis scolopendrium which was destroyed this way. Now, the collecting plants (probably to private collection) is very serious threat to Asplenium cuneifolium and A. adulterinum, even if they are strictly protected in Poland. Sometimes of course collection of endangered plants would be necessary, but during my field investigation I do not collect the rare species. Detailed photographs is enough in my opinion.

Thank you very much Krzysztof, this information is very usefull to me, could you recommend any literature or links on this subject?

Concerning Saxifraga nivalis - yes.. but only in Polish with English summary, I am sorry :(. Please look at the paper of Ewa Szczęśniak at al. 2009 http://www.zbiosr.uni.wroc.pl/sites/default/files/abs_4_107-116.pdf.

The most of information is unfortunately, not confirmed in literature. The scale of disturbance we may saw however comparing the number of herbarium specimens with the abundance of plants still occurred in the nature. For example many of Woodsia ilvensis and Allium strictum specimens is stored in WSRL Herbarium in Wrocław (Poland), but the species is lacking in the reported localities.

Information about destruction of localities of Asplenium adiantum-nigrum by the colletors is also mentioned in article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235665465_Rautenstreiffarn_Asplenium_adiantum-nigrum_L._wieder_gefunden_im_Naturschutzgebiet_Geiersberg(Radunia)(Massiv_des_Zobtenberges_Sudeten_Vorgerbirge)_in_Polish_with_German_and_Czech_summary?ev=prf_pub

Article Rautenstreiffarn Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. wieder gefunde...

I'll start learing Polish then :) thank you very much.

Yes and No too. Its all depend upon the plants and its nature of presence i. e. freueency whetere it is abundance or rare ?

I've seen becoming sites of vulnarable plant species been destroyed by photographers, lying in the grass, eager to photograph the only remaining specimen... So I'm not happy with photographing hordes, and won't recommend it as replacement for herbarium sampling. It can be as destructive as well!

Its depend upon the species... Ya.. it may possible for few of the species,...

Not always. It depends to the species, some times a herbarium specimen could remain after destroyed the species. Many factors increases the threat for endangered and rare species such as collecting them as medicinal plants, programs for developing the road and etc.

Yes some plants are site species so they are rare in distribution. You have to do sampling for your research but you can do by the least/no harm approach.

Dear Ripu,

Can you suggest any methods for sampling by the 'least/no harm approach' please. I am not intending to collect any rare plants; I am interested in applying this approach to collecting common plants so that I can learn as much as possible as a student. Thankyou.

To the discussion in general:

In relation to photographers' methods being a threat to the survival of rare plants, is there any literature on this please?

I am of the opinion that some plant species may have already been threatened by the use of land for various purposes. Let us not use the remaining plant resources Indiscriminately. Collection of the plant specimens should be avoided to the extent one can. This will help in the conservation of plant diversity. Yes for study/identification purposes, one can take the photograph of the species which can be compared/ confirmed using the her-barium available online.

Perhaps it helps to know that the plant existed at a time, whether a plant is collected for herbarium purpose or not, if effort is not on ground to cultivate the plant, it becomes extinct and would never be known by coming generation of botanists, except through textbooks

Thank to Sato-Prado and other researchers to be very concerned about conservation of rare and threatened species. in Pakistan we have many endemic species that are rare and threatened as well. I think that species that are already identified in this category should not be sampled at all, and only reproductive propagules should be harvested for regeneration. Species not in the category should also be sampled with care depending on its frequency and density (abundance). Findings to be shared so no need to samples again and again. Herbaria can share digital image of any one record available in globe.

Certainly it can be a major threat and has contributed to the decline of certain species. With that said, collections of the sort often provide information that is otherwise unavailable which help conserve species.

Responsible collecting is important to establish the abundance and distribution of taxa - rare species should not be collected once they have been established as such.

Dear M. Mousa,

Let me add something. If the number of a particular tree species is limited, in that case collection may be avoided.

Regards

Ideally, species identified as 'tourists' in a particular environment are not to be collected but rather photographed.

If you are undertaking a combination of genetic and field based studies, it would be pertinent to register plant specimens you sample from and use in your analysis,

(unless you are doing a massive population genetics study..then I think the herbarium curators would want to kill you),

the benefits are other researchers can track/verify your results, and plant identification can be qualified....rather than add to the current bottleneck in poorly named GenBank entries . If you intend presenting/publishing any molecular data, I believe a registered voucher should accompany your results. That said, ethical collecting should be a given, and stated as such on any plant collecting permit granted.