Conclusions

STUESSY T.; BERNARDELLO G.; CRAWFORD D.; ANDERSON G.J.

Plants of Oceanic Islands: Evolution, Biogeography, and Conservation of the Flora of the Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe) Archipelago

Cambridge University Press

Año: 2017; p. 367 - 376

Over the 35 years of our investigations on the evolution, biogeography, and conservation of the vascular flora of the Juan Fernández Archipelago, a number of insights on island biology have indeed resulted. Some of these contributions have already been summarized in a number of general reviews (e.g., Crawford et al., 1987b; Crawford and Stuessy, 1997; Baldwin et al., 1998; Stuessy and Ono, 1998), but the present book goes well beyond previous syntheses and presents one of the most comprehensive views of historical-biological aspects of the endemic flora of any oceanic archipelago. The concepts of evolution and biogeography presented here provide models for tests in other oceanic archipelagos. This book also establishes a new research and conservation platform from which future investigations on the islands can more profitably be initiated. We hope that it will serve as a fundamental resource to support the Chilean government?s search for international funds for stronger conservation initiatives. The book may also be helpful to support upgrading the archipelago from ?tentative? (since 1994) to ?official? status on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Over these three and one-half decades, we have seen a dramatic increase in sensitivity to and action by the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) toward conservation of the endemic flora of the islands. Much still needs to be done, but progress is steadily being made toward preservation of the species and vegetation of this remarkable archipelago.