Rare plant species such as bog greenswords, may constitute a conservation target.

Feral ungulates are alien mammals that constitute a critical threat to Hawaiian ecological systems.

The snow-capped alpine ecological system is one of the conservation targets of the Hawaiian High Islands ecoregion.

Glossary

acceptable range of variation– limits of variation allowing persistence of the target (persistence may still require human management intervention). This acceptable range of variation is the minimum criteria for identifying a target as “conserved.”

alien - non-native, introduced by human beings; also: exotic, adventive, non-indigenous.

biogeoclimatic - biological, geological, and prevailing climatic conditions, combined to characterize a region.

biogeography - the study of the patterns and process determining the global distribution of biota.

biota - living elements, from species to ecological systems.

CAP Excel Workbook – An Excel-based software program developed by The Nature Conservancy to facilitate the Conservation Action Planning (CAP) process, automate the roll-up of summary results, and serve as a consistent repository for CAP information. Download from: http://www.conserveonline.org/2003/07/s/ConPrjMgmt_v4.

condition - one the three factors considered in viability assessment; an integrated measure of biotic and abiotic factors, structures, and processes related to the "health" or viability of a conservation target, e.g., reproduction, levels of competition/predation/disease, population structure. For natural communities and ecological systems, condition relates to structure and biotic composition, and typical ecological processes. see also, size, landscape context, viability

Conservation Action Planning (CAP) – The Nature Conservancy’s process for helping conservation practitioners develop strategies, take action, measure success, and adapt and learn over time. See: http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/cap/TNC_CAP_Basic_Practices_v_17_Jun_05.pdf

conservation area/site – In Ecoregional planning, synonymous with the more appropriate term “area of biodiversity significance”. In Conservation area planning, equivalent to “project area”. Although Ecoregional plans may delineate rough or preliminary site boundaries or use other systematic units such as watersheds or hexagons as site selection units, the boundaries and the target occurrences contained within these areas are first approximations that will be dealt with in more specificity and accuracy in the CAP process.

conservation target - an element of biological diversity identified for protective action; often a surrogate for regional diversity.

conservation value - an index for a conservation area (see above) that assesses three factors: biodiversity (at species, natural community and ecological system levels), viability (see below), and complementarity (contribution of an area to the overall biodiversity of the ecoregion, closely linked to area endemism). Conservation value is an integral part of action site ranking. 

critical threat – sources of stress that are most problematic. Most often, “very high” and “high” rated threats based on the Conservancy’s rating criteria of the scope, severity, contribution, and reversibility of their impact on targets

current status – an assessment of the current “health” of a target as expressed through the most recent measurement or rating of an indicator for a key ecological attribute. Compare to desired status.

desired status – a measurement or rating of an indicator for a key ecological attribute that describes the level of viability/integrity that the project intends to achieve. Compare to current status.

disharmonic - a term in biogeography referring to taxonomic units (e.g., genera, families) conspicuously absent from an ecoregion due to isolation.

ecological system - suites of ecologically linked natural communities sharing similar biogeoclimatic conditions.

ecoregion - a large unit of land or water containing a geographically distinct assemblage of species, natural communities, and environmental conditions.

ecoregional assessment – the Nature Conservancy’s process for setting priorities for conservation in ecoregions. same as “ecoregional plan”.

ecoregional goals – the number and spatial distribution of  conservation targets (species, communities, and ecological systems) needed to adequately conserve the targets in an ecoregion. also called “conservation goal.” 

ecosystem integrity - see integrity

ecoregional plan – see ecoregional essessment

ecoregional portfolio - the suite of conservation sites that will collectively conserve the biodiversity of an ecoregion.

effective conservation - a combination of permanent protective designation, and active management to abate threats and maintain or increase the viability of conservation targets and biodiversity in an area. The goal of The Nature Conservancy globally is to bring effective conservation to at least 10% of the world's major habitat types.

element - shorthand for "element of biological diversity" referring to the basic building blocks of diversity: plants, animals, and natural communities.

endemic - restricted biogeographically to a place.

focal conservation target – target in Conservation Area Planning; a limited suite (≤8) of species, communities, and ecological systems chosen to represent and encompass the full array of biodiversity in a project area. One focal conservation target may reflect the needs of many other targets in a conservation area or ecoregion.

goal - see ecoregional goal.

Holdridge life forms  - categories of ecological settings (temperature, moisture, elevation, latitude), established for global biogeographic description and comparison by L.R. Holdridge (1947).

indigenous - native to a place; found naturally there, but necessarily restricted to a place.

integrity – status or “health” of an ecological community or system; ability of a community or system target to withstand or recover from natural or anthropogenic disturbances. See also viability for species.

key ecological attributes -- aspects of a target’s biology or ecology that are critical to persistence of that target over time; i.e., that determine the target’s viability or integrity. These are typically  the most critical components of biological composition, structure, interactions and processes, environmental regimes, and landscape configuration that sustain a target’s viability or integrity.

landscape context - one the three factors considered in viability assessment; spatial aspects of connectivity or access to other populations, species and ecological processes in the surrounding habitat or landscape. see also size, condition, viability.

natural community - a consistent and distinctive set of ecologically interacting plants and animals that occur together via shared habitat requirements.

portfolio of sites - see ecoregional portfolio

size - one the three factors considered in viability assessment; a measure of area or abundance of a conservation target occurrence (size of a species occurrence may include area of occupation or population counts, while size of a natural community or ecological system is typically couched in area of extent)

sources of stress – proximate agents or factors that directly degrade targets; direct threats.

stakeholders – individuals, groups, or institutions with a vested interest in the natural resources of an area, and/or who potentially will be affected by conservation activities.

strategic actions – interventions designed to reach strategic objectives. see strategy

strategy – broad course of action defined by having one or more objectives, strategic actions required to accomplish objectives, and specific steps required to complete those actions.

stratification unit - one of several broad geographical subdivisions established across an ecoregion to ensure representation of biodiversity.

stress – disturbance likely to destroy or degrade a conservation target directly or indirectly. 

target - see conservation target.

threat – agent or factor that directly or indirectly degrades a conservation target. see sources of stress.

viability – status or “health” of a species population; ability of a conservation target to withstand or recover from  natural or anthropogenic disturbances and persist for long time periods. See also integrity for natural communities and ecological systems. Three factors are examined when characterizing viability: size, condition, and landscape context.

watershed - an area of water input and flow, typically upland and defined by stream drainages from high precipitation areas, often, but not always forested. In Hawai‘i, watersheds typically correspond to native wet forest ecosystems.

watershed partnership - a voluntary alliance of public and private landowners and managers working together to protect a defined upland forest area for its ecological and water resource values. (see watershed).