Red Lists and conservation prioritization of plant communities - a methodological framework

Aims: Red Lists of threatened species are a well-established conservation tool throughout the world. In contrast, Red Lists of ecosystems, habitats or plant community types have only recently found interest at the global level, although they have a longer tradition in Central Europe. We contribute to the debate by presenting and discussing a comprehensive conservation assessment methodology for plant communities that was developed within the framework of the project ‘The plant communities of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and their vulnerability’.