In a message dated 1/24/2004 12:07:57 PM Central Standard Time, Jshields writes: > If we want to practice ex situ preservation (preserving a species by > growing it in cultivation) we each should grow the climatic or geographic > population that is best suited to our local ex situ climate. Hi, It seems likely that "ex situ" conservation is all that is possible for many lineages. Predicting the future is tricky, for economists, politicians, and biologists. Some predictions about loss of plants are startling in their claims, and very sad if they are anywhere near true. The one that got my attention recently was published this month in the science journal Nature. The prediction was that 15% to 37% of the world's species of plants and animals will be lost by 2050 if current warming trends continue. The study explored a range of geographic and biodiversity regions from Europe, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Cape Floristic Region (South Africa). Some of these locations have provided exceptional bulb species and are of interest to this group for that reason alone. But they are also interesting because the authors claim the geographic locations are representative of much of the earth, and allow extrapolation of findings. Naturally, the greatest uncertainty in the study was global warming: 1) will it continue and 2) how much warming can be expected. Opinions vary, but I'm in the group that thinks global warming is not going away. LINK 1: National Geographic Magazine report of Study http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/… LINK 2: CBS News Report of Study http://cbsnews.com/stories/2004/… Cordially,