Contributions of Plant Taxonomy, Herbarium and Field Germplasm Bank to Conservation of Threatened Plants:Case Studies from the Himalayas and Eastern and Western Ghats

Conservation of biodiversity, a growing concern today, faces multiple challenges. Although ecosystem approach has been recommended as a solution, conservation of threatened species is difficult as they are spread across the ecosystems and are often restricted to microhabitats. In this article, the importance of taxonomy, herbarium and field germplasm bank in conservation of threatened species is discussed. It is concluded that individually each of these measures has important role to play in conservation. They also complement each other in reversing the threat perspective of the species.