In-situ conservation is the opposite of ex-situ conservation. With in-situ conservation, the animals, plants, etc. stay in their natural habitat and are conserved there. National parks and other areas of that nature are a good example of in-situ conservation in action. However, this can have a host of issues.
Since in-situ conservation requires natural habitat, there is a lot of land involved in this. It does keep them away from some predators and keeps the ecological chains intact, but it can also lead to other issues. Diseases and natural disasters are still major threats to animals and plants with in-situ conservation. Inbreeding can be more rampant in in-situ conservation since the population is often kept a bit separated from the rest of the population that is not being conserved in that land.
In-situ conservation is defined at Differencesbetween.net as the “conservation and protection of genetic resources of plant and animal species in their natural habitats itself”. Examples of in-situ conservation include protected area networks, both terrestrial and marine, such as wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and biosphere reserves. In-situ conservation has advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage is that because species are not removed from their natural ecosystems, ecological integrity is maintained. Several disadvantages are that large land areas are needed, there is an increased risk of inbreeding, and the plants and animals are not protected from natural disasters and diseases.
