Representation of natural vegetation in protected areas: capturing the geographic range

Current conservation strategies for plant and animal species rarely address the need to protect the species throughout its geographic range thereby ca pturing potential genetic and ecological variation. We examined the degree that existing protected areas in the western United States satisfied this g oal for four widespread vegetation cover types. We used latitude and longit ude to stratify the distribution of these types into 16 cells, each of whic h was further stratified by up to five elevation classes. While protection of some vegetation types was high in parts of their range, it was minimal t o nonexistent in other parts. While it is yet to be shown that protecting a given species throughout its geographic range is essential for its long-te rm existence, in the face of often unpredictable environmental changes, it seems a prudent course to follow. Our results suggest that if full range pr otection is a conservation goal, the existing network of protected areas ma y be inadequate for the task.