XVI International Botanical Congess

Most studies of plant population viability concern themselves with short-lived plants growing in temperate environments. Conclusions from these studies have been used to develop guidelines for the conservationbiology of rare species. Recent work on savanna ecosystems have illustrated that the storage of reproductive potential in the form of a large adult population is essential for the persistence of long-lived species growing in variable environments. In this paper I explore the consequences of the storage syndrome for the conservation biology of rare tree species in arid savanna. The analyses show that smaller population sizes than conventional analyses would suggest are sufficient for persistence.