Extirpation

• Title

  Extirpation

• Definition

  The process by which a plant or animal species is eliminated from a given geographic area.

• Notes

  An extirpated plant or animal species that is now absent from an area that it had once occupied, i.e., it has been removed from a specific area but is still found in other areas. Thus, an extirpated plant or animal can recolonize an area if conditions for its survival there again become favorable or it can be reintroduced by humans.

• Related Terms

  Extinction

• *For more educational content, please visit The Hand Lens and explore our herbarium collections and the stories they tell.