Journal of Botanic Gardens Conservation InternationalVolume 11 Number 2 July 2014Botanic gardens:Using databasesto support plantconservation
Volume 11 Number 2EDITORSSuzanne SharrockDirector of GlobalProgrammesSara OldfieldSecretary GeneralCover Photo: Examining herbarium specimens in Curitibaherbarium, Brazil (Michael Willian / SMCS)Design: Seascape www.seascapedesign.co.ukEDITORIAL BOTANIC GARDENS AND DATABASES Sara OldfieldCLICK & GO02NETWORKING BOTANIC GARDENS FOR CONSERVATIONTHE ROLE OF BGCI’S DATABASES Suzanne Sharrockand Abby HirdCLICK & GO03THE EVOLUTION OF LIVING COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENTTO SUPPORT PLANT CONSERVATION Andrew Wyatt andRebecca SucherCLICK & GO07INTEGRATED BOTANICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS –THE AUSTRALIAN SEED BANK ONLINE Lucy SutherlandCLICK & GO11USING GIS TO LEVERAGE PLANT COLLECTIONS DATA FORCONSERVATION Ericka WitcherCLICK & GO15“CHAPERONED” MANAGED RELOCATION Adam B. Smith,Matthew A. Albrecht and Abby HirdCLICK & GO19CLICK & GO23CLICK & GO26CLICK & GO30CULTIVATING BITS AND BYTES Eduardo DalcinBGjournal is published by Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational (BGCI). It is published twice a year and is sentto all BGCI members. Membership is open to all interestedindividuals, institutions and organisations that support theaims of BGCI (see inside back cover for Membershipapplication form).A GLOBAL SURVEY OF LIVING COLLECTIONS Dave AplinFurther details available from: Botanic Gardens Conservation International, DescansoHouse, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3BWUK. Tel: 44 (0)20 8332 5953, Fax: 44 (0)20 8332 5956E-mail: info@bgci.org, www.bgci.orgCULTIVAR CONSERVATION IN THE UK Kalani Seymour andSophie Leguil BGCI-Russia, c/o Main Botanical Gardens,Botanicheskaya st., 4, Moscow 127276, Russia.Tel: 7 (095) 219 6160 / 5377, Fax: 7 (095) 218 0525,E-mail: seed@aha.ru, www.bgci.org/russia BGCI-Netherlands, c/o Delft University of TechnologyJulianalaan 67, NL-2628 BC Delft, NetherlandsTel: 31 15 278 4714 Fax: 31 15 278 2355E-mail: n.tudelft.nl BGCI-Canarias, c/o Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo,Apartado de Correos 14, Tafira Alta 35017,Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain.Tel: 34 928 21 95 80/82/83, Fax: 34 928 21 95 81,E-mail: jmlopez@grancanaria.es BGCI-China, 723 Xingke Rd., Guangzhou 510650 China.Tel:(86)20-37252692. email: Xiangying.Wen@bgci.orgwww.bgci.org/china BGCI-Colombia, c/o Jardín Botánico de Bogotá,Jose Celestino Mutis, Av. No. 61-13 – A.A. 59887,Santa Fe de Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Tel: 57 630 0949,Fax: 57 630 5075, E-mail: /jardinesdecolombia/html/la red.htm BGCI(US) Inc, c/o Chicago Botanic Garden,1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois 60022, USA.E-mail: usa@bgci.org, www.bgci.org/usaBGCI is a worldwide membership organisation established in1987. Its mission is to mobilise botanic gardens and engagepartners in securing plant diversity for the well-being ofpeople and the planet. BGCI is an independent organisationregistered in the United Kingdom as a charity (Charity Reg No1098834) and a company limited by guarantee, No 4673175.BGCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation in theUSA and is a registered non-profit organisation in Russia.Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarilyreflect the views of the Boards or staff of BGCI or of itsmembers01BGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2)
EDITORIALBOTANIC GARDENS AND DATABASESWhat is a botanic garden? This is aquestion that we are often asked at BGCI.The defining feature of a botanic garden isthe maintenance of documentedcollections of plant species. Nowadaysthe collection records are generallycomputerised in database systemsdesigned to support collectionmanagement, research, conservation andeducation. This issue of BGJournalfocuses on the uses of databases withinthe botanic garden community andbeyond. As noted by Ericka Witcher andMichael Calonje on p15 “Rigorous datastewardship combined with spatialinterpretations and analyses can supportthe spectrum of plant conservation efforts,from discovery to restoration, adding tothe legacy of botanical collections handeddown to us and preserving them for thefuture”.From the very outset, maintaining data onthe plants grown in botanic gardens, hasbeen a core activity of BGCI. Emphasishas been placed on recording speciesthat are rare and threatened, as far aspossible in line with the IUCN Red ListCategories and Criteria. Ex situconservation is clearly a vital role playedby botanic gardens and BGCI’sPlantSearch database records globalprogress comparing collection data withthe IUCN Red List.as safeguarding rare and threatenedspecies. The Australian Seed Bank Onlineis an information sharing hub connectedto the Atlas of Living Australia which is inturn a node of the Global BiodiversityInformation Facility (GBIF).Increasingly botanic gardens arebecoming involved in ecologicalrestoration. The Missouri BotanicalGarden hosted an excellent publicsymposium on this topic on 16 July.As described by Andrew Wyatt andRebecca Sucher of the Missouri BotanicalGarden, the newly developed integratedLiving Collections Management System ofthe Garden will ultimately evaluate thesuccess of restoration efforts at the ShawNature Reserve at both the species andgenetic level. Based on this, a system isproposed to support restoration effortsworldwide.With changing climatic conditions,restoration of the populations ofthreatened species and of speciesassemblages needs to take into accounttheir climatic envelopes – areas of suitableclimate where species can grow, possiblyoutside their traditional range. The use ofbotanic gardens in “chaperoned”managed relocation is described by AdamSmith, Matthew Albrecht and Abby Hird.Well maintained records of themovements of plants between gardensalong a climatic gradient will be essentialin this process.Lucy Sutherland also notes in her in herarticle on the Australian Seed BankOnline, that ex situ collections areextremely important to support diverseplantings in ecological restoration as wellThe skills of botanic gardens inconservation, research, ecologicalrestoration, invasive species control and arange of other attributes are recorded inBGCI’s GardenSearch database. Theonline PlantSearch and GardenSearchdatabases are described by SuzanneSharrock and Abby Hird on p3. BGCI ismost grateful to all the botanic gardensand related institutions who provide datafor these databases. We are constantlytrying to improve the databases for thebenefit of botanic gardens worldwide andwe welcome your suggestions on otherfeatures we might consider. Please shareyour ideas with us!Sara OldfieldSecretary General, Botanic GardensConservation International02BGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2) 02
Authors: Suzanne Sharrock and Abby HirdNETWORKING BOTANIC GARDENSFOR CONSERVATION –THE ROLE OF BGCI’S DATABASESBGCI’s databases provide essential tools to support information exchange withinthe global botanic garden community and to promote the work of botanic gardensmore widely.IntroductionSome statisticsGardenSearchGCI’s maintains two free, onlinedatabases to support plantconservation in botanic gardens:GardenSearch and PlantSearch.GardenSearch is an on-line directory ofthe world’s botanic gardens and relatedinstitutions while PlantSearch provides anaccount of the plant species held by theseinstitutions. Information included in thesedatabases is provided by the institutionsthemselves and each institution isresponsible for regularly updating its ownrecord, using an on-line log-in facility.GardenSearch:3,200 records (institutions)No of countries represented: 176Breakdown of institutions per region –see Figure 1BGCI’s GardenSearch database is agateway to information about the world’sbotanic gardens. Each garden recordprovides basic information about thegarden and where applicable, a link to thegarden’s own website. For smallergardens that do not have their ownwebsite, GardenSearch provides a webpresence they would not otherwise have.All records in GardenSearch are georeferenced, allowing easy mapping ofsearch results using a mapping ‘applet’available via GardenSearch. As well asbotanic gardens, GardenSearch alsoincludes an increasing number of relatedinstitutions (seed / gene banks, zoos etc.),with a common interest in conservationand maintaining plant collections.BPlantSearch:1,255,261 collection records413,167 taxa1,079 institutions providing dataThere has been a significant increasein the amount of data included in thesedatabases in recent years –see Figure 2500,000400,000300,000200,000100,000no. ofinsitutions1,2001,000800600400No of igure 1: Regional breakdown of institutionsrepresented in GardenSearch03200420062008201020122014Figure 2: No of taxa and No. of insitutions providing data to BGCI PlantSearch database since 2002BGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2) 03-06
GardenSearch fields are divided intothree sections. Section 1 allows the garden toprovide basic information in a freetext format, including uploading animage. This information can beprovided in the garden’s locallanguage and/ or English. Thisprovides an opportunity for the gardento promote itself in whatever way itprefers. Section 2 consists of a form to collectinformation on features and facilities,plant collections, and conservation,research and education programmesin a standard format. This sectionforms the ‘backbone’ of the databaseand the data provided is compiledinto a unique, searchable globaldirectory of skills, expertise andfacilities relevant to plantconservation.Figure 3: Global map of institutions recorded in GardenSearch Section 3 allows the garden’s recordto be linked to related resources(journal articles, news items etc.)that appear elsewhere on the BGCIwebsite.Advanced SearchingIn 2012, BGCI launched an AdvancedSearch function for GardenSearch.The Advanced Search function not onlylocates institutions geographically andby keyword, but also allows users toexplore in more detail the conservation,research, education and public outreachfacilities and expertise offered at botanicgardens around the world.Figure 4: Botanic gardens with herbaria around the world – total 370.GardenSearch includes a total of 63searchable fields related to the work ofbotanic gardens, each of which can besearched at the global or national level.Some examples of the use ofGardenSearch are provided below.See Figures 4, 5 and 6.GardenSearch, as well as providing aunique tool to identify specific expertiseand resources in countries around theworld, also allows major gaps inbotanical capacity to be identified.GardenSearch also supports studiesrelated to plants and climate change,allowing the identification of gardensoffering different climatic conditions inwhich to test and potentially grow plants04Figure 5: Botanic gardens with seed banks in the USA: total 56BGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2)
can be easily identified. This canfacilitate the establishment ofconservation priorities for the collectionholder and contribute to collectionevaluation (Aplin, 2008; Aplin 2013).Using PlantSearchEx situ surveysPlantSearch can be used to carry outsurveys of ex situ collections on a global,regional or national level, as well as fortaxon-level surveys.Figure 6: Botanic gardens in Asia with plant conservation programmesin the face of changing environmentalconditions. An example of this isprovided by Smith et al., 2014,(see p. 19 of this issue).PlantSearchBGCI’s PlantSearch database is the onlyglobal database of plant speciesmaintained in the collections of botanicgardens and similar organizations.In addition to hundreds of living plantcollections around the world, PlantSearchincludes taxon-level data from gene andseed banks as well as cryopreserved andtissue culture collections.This dynamic collections database wasoriginally developed to measureprogress towards Target 8 of the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation bytracking which threatened species are inbotanical collections throughout theworld. Through its online interface,PlantSearch also connects collectionsdirectly to conservationists, educators,horticulturists, researchers, policymakers and many others around theworld who are working to save andunderstand plant diversity.“GSPC 2020 Target 8: At least75% of threatened plant speciesin ex situ collections, preferably inthe country of origin, and at least20% available for recovery andrestoration programmes.”All data included in PlantSearch areuploaded by collection holders directlyto PlantSearch via an on-line facility.Uploaded taxa lists consist of seventaxonomic fields ranging from genus to05cultivar name. Before being included inPlantSearch, records are screenedagainst existing names in the databaseand IPNI (International Plant NamesIndex) to ensure that only valid namesenter the database.As of July 2014, the PlantSearchdatabase included 1,255,261 collectionrecords, representing 413,167 taxa,at 1,079 institutions. Each record inPlantSearch is linked to a record inGardenSearch, thus providing a georeferenced location for each plant.Location details are however not madepublic, to ensure the anonymity ofspecies in cultivation. A ‘blind email’request system has been developed toallow users to request further informationon species of interest.PlantSearch has direct links to a numberof other databases, most notably theIUCN Red List, but also other taxonomicdatabases (IPNI, Tropicos), a list ofCITES species and lists of socioeconomically useful plants (medicinal,crop wild relatives). Work is presently ongoing to also add links to information oninvasive species.At the global level, monitoring progresstowards GSPC Target 8 is constrainedby lack of progress in Red Listing, with,to date, only 6% of plants having beenassessed at the global level. A recentassessment by BGCI identified 29% ofglobally threatened species in ex situcollections, but the lack of informationon which species are under threatmeans that this is probably aconsiderable under-estimate.As national and regional lists ofthreatened species are more widelyavailable, BGCI has also carried out anumber of national/regional assessmentson ex situ conservation progress.In the USA, a recent review found that39% of threatened native U.S. speciesare now maintained in living plant andseed bank collections. This is up from37% in 20101. This leaves more than3,000 threatened species to add tocollections by 2020 for the USA to meetthe 75% ex situ target.Taxa not reported in AU/NZ collectionsTaxa reported in AU/NZ collections1000Benefits for data providers800PlantSearch provides a useful collectionmanagement tool for collection holders.By uploading a plant list, the collectionholder will be notified of misspelled orunrecognised plant names in their list.Once uploaded, the list can becompared with the global database,allowing collection holders to identifyhow many other gardens are maintainingthe same taxa. Plant lists are alsoautomatically screened against the IUCNRed List and CITES lists, so that rareand threatened species in the collection600415400173481 53.7%200296 63.1%6393 59.6%CriticallyEndangeredEndangeredAt RiskFigure 7: Results of an assessment of ex situcollections in Australian and New Zealand botanicgarden collectionsBGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2)
In Australia and New Zealand, 56% (854of 1,519) of threatened species aresafeguarded in living plant collections.However, although this is the bestregional progress towards GSPC Target 8found so far, there is still work to be doneto reach the 75% goal by 2020.Furthermore, nearly 40% of reportedthreatened native species are known inonly one collection, which suggests thatcollections contain low levels ofintraspecific genetic diversity2. Oaks: The survey identified 3,796 oakrecords from 198 institutions in 39countries. However, only 91 ex siturecords representing just 13 of the 29most threatened oaks were located.This means that more than half of theCritically Endangered or Endangeredoak taxa are not currently reported byliving plant and seed collectionsworldwide5.Taxon-based surveysBGCI’s databases can also be used tosupport projects that require a networkingapproach – helping to identify gardenswith similar research interests, or growingspecific plant species. One such exampleis the International Plant Sentinel Project,a new BGCI-coordinated project that aimsto bring botanic gardens and arboretatogether to share information on pest anddisease attacks on plants in theircollections6. The overall aim is to developan early warning system for new andemerging pests and diseases in a globallydistributed network. The knowledge ofwhich gardens are cultivating which plantspecies is an essential tool in thedevelopment of this network.BGCI and its partners also usePlantSearch to carry out ex situ surveysof the conservation status of plant familygroups. So far, these have includedmagnolias, oaks, rhododendrons and,most recently, conifers.These surveys are typically carried outby BGCI following the publication of aRed List for the family or group inquestion, with the aim of identifying howmany collections are cultivating speciesidentified as threatened during the RedListing process.A summary of the results obtained todate is provided below: Conifers: The survey identified 81%of globally threatened conifer taxa inover 800 ex situ collections. However134 threatened conifer taxa are knownin very few or no collections. Theseare highlighted as priorities forestablishing a more effective safetynet against extinction of threatenedconifers (Shaw and Hird, 2012). Rhododendrons: The surveyidentified 12,068 rhododendronrecords from 304 institutions in 42countries. However, only 276 ex siturecords represent just 48 of the 77most threatened rhododendrons. Thismeans that nearly 40% of the CriticallyEndangered or Endangered taxa arecurrently not known in cultivation3. Magnolias: The survey included2,274 Magnoliaceae records from 238institutions in 47 countries. However,only 362 of these records represent 37of the 89 most threatenedMagnoliaceae. This means that morethan half of the Critically Endangeredor Endangered taxa not currentlydocumented and protected in livingcollections4.06Royal Horticultural Society in the UK).Of course, as with any database,the value of the GardenSearch andPlantSearch databases is only as good asthe data they contain. BGCI is aware thatthe databases are incomplete and manygardens have yet to participate. However,we do believe that in our databases wehave a unique and powerful tool tosupport plant conservation and the workof botanic gardens.Networking projectsFuture developmentsBGCI is keen to further develop itsdatabases as a tool to support theconservation of threatened plant speciesand to promote and strengthen the workof botanic gardens in this area. There isclearly a high demand for information onplants in collections as evidenced by theapproximately 2,000 requests passedthrough the PlantSearch ‘blind email’request system every year. WhilePlantSearch does not publicly identifywhich gardens hold with species, manygardens are already publishing theircollections data online (e.g. thecatalogue of the Living Collections ofthe Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh3.BGCI is therefore considering variousoptions of how to make information onplants in collections more accessible tobona fide users, while still maintaininganonymity where this is required.We therefore call on all gardens to join inand help us build this shared resource asa benefit to the global botanic gardennetwork and the wider plantconservation community.References, Aplin, D. M. 2008. How useful arebotanic gardens for conservation? ThePlantsman, Royal Horticultural Society7: (3), 190 – 193., Aplin, D. M. 2013. Assets andliabilities: the need to evaluate livingcollections. Sibbaldia, Journal ofBotanic Garden Horticulture, RoyalBotanic Garden Edinburgh 11: 87-96., Shaw, K. and Hird, A. 2014. Globalsurvey of ex situ conifer collections.BGCI, Richmond, UK., Smith, A., Albrecht, M and Hird, A.2014. “Chaperoned” managedrelocation. BGjournal 11 (2): 19-22.For further information and to consult thedatabases, please visitwww.bgci.org/garden search.php andwww.bgci.org/plant search.phpSuzanne SharrockBotanic Gardens ConservationInternationalDescanso House199 Kew Road, RichmondSurrey TW9 3BWNotes123Other areas where developments are ongoing are in the identification ofsynonyms (using information from ThePlant List – see the article by Dalcin inthis issue, p. 23) and better verification ofcultivar names (in collaboration with bgbase/livcol/bgbaselivcol.phpBGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2)
Authors: Andrew Wyatt and Rebecca SucherTHE EVOLUTION OF LIVING COLLECTIONSMANAGEMENT TO SUPPORT PLANTCONSERVATIONThe living collections management system is an advanced tool to aid MissouriBotanical Garden in the conservation and management of almost every aspect ofthe living collections and horticulture activities.he living collections at MissouriBotanical Garden (MBG),developed over 150-plus years,are at the heart of our mission andencompass over 17,500 documentedtaxa. From MBG’s inception, plantrecording was a fundamental task andbegan with its founder, Henry Shaw.An accomplished businessman, Shawkept detailed handwritten ledgers of alltransactions of goods imported fromEngland and sold in St. Louis. Apassionate plantsman, Shaw recordedthe initial plantings at MBG with thesame level of detail. In 1859, when MBGfirst opened to the public, thesehandwritten records represented the firstplant recording system at MBG. Theevolution of plant recording transitionedfrom Shaw’s handwritten accessionbooks to card systems, to the firstcomputerized database systemdeveloped in the early 1970s. Since thattime, MBG has custom designed anditeratively developed several separatebut related databases to manage theliving collections. These systems eachserved a narrow purpose and were notcoupled or integrated. Over time, theinadequacies of the databases began toimpact collections care and progresstowards strategic goals. In recent years,increasing threats to plants and habitatsworldwide have made thedocumentation of our various livingcollections management practices moreT07Figure 1: iPad inventory screenBGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2) 07-10
“One of the most importanttasks of the living collections isthe development of knowledgeof plant cultivation and itssubsequent documentation for”future use.Figure 2: Collecting book pagecritical. In 2011, it became a top priorityto redesign and integrate our databasesystems to support a large scaleincrease in living collections acquisitions,horticulture processes, and curatorialdetails for plant conservation. The newLiving Collections Management System(LCMS) was released in July 2013.“Expertise of staff fromacross MBG’s disciplines,including horticulture, taxonomy,ecology, and conservation, allprovided input to help developand test a truly cutting-edgetool.”Plant conservation activitiescurrently supported by LCMSManagement of ex situ collectionsThe Missouri Botanical Garden hasrecently increased its efforts towardsbuilding and managing living collectionsto support Target 8 of the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation.Additions of both native plants ofconservation concern and criticallyendangered species at the global levelare key components of MBG’scollections development. Any collectionor other addition of plant material to the08living collection requires high quality fielddata. This data adds enormous value toa specimen and allows for its effectiveuse in conservation, education, andresearch.To support this effort, field collectingbooks were developed in-house andfields were added and rearranged in theLCMS to match the field books exactly.This promoted high quality field datacollection and increased data entryefficiency. Links to MBG’s renownedTropicos database further help integratetaxonomy, references, and specimendata from associated herbariumcollections.The tracking of plants and maintainingaccurate and up-to-date accessionrecords are core functions of any plantrecords database system. The LCMSfeatures a web-based user interface, andcan therefore be accessed from anyweb-enabled device, including PCs,tablet computers, and mobile phones.This enables records to be updateddirectly in the database by horticulturistsas they work in the gardens. The LCMSis also directly connected to MBG’smapping data via ArcGIS Server. Usingmobile tools developed specifically formobile devices, records can be updatedin the LCMS and plants can be moved tonew locations on the map either usingheads-up digitizing or the device’s onboard GPS.The development of horticulturalpropagation protocols and cultivationtechniques can play a primary role inspecies recovery and capacity building.The propagation module in the LCMSallows for recording of propagationmethods. A wide range of data iscaptured as the process unfolds,including dormancy breaking treatments,pretreatments, growing media, lightlevels, container used, and growingenvironment. This data can quickly andeasily generate propagation andcultivation protocols for a given species.These protocols form the foundation ofany recovery plan and are particularlyuseful when dealing with ultra-rareplants.The workflows associated with MBG’splant recording have changedsignificantly to make use of the modernfeatures of the LCMS. Most processesare now digital, saving time and effortover previous paper-based processes.Furthermore, it has allowed for thedecentralization of plant records,ensuring every horticulturist has theFigure 3: Collection data screenshotBGCI 2014 BGjournal Vol 11 (2)
ability and responsibility to aid inmaintaining plant records. Thesechanges have prepared us for the abilityto increase the value of our collectionsfor conservation. Over the past threeyears, incoming wild source material hasincreased 957%, thanks in large part toinnovations within the LCMS.Exchanging records with otherbotanical institutionsAt the outset of any plant conservationproject, the first questions are generally:Is a given taxon or flora represented inliving collections held by otherinstitutions? What levels of diversity areheld? And how good are the associatedcollection records? In order to facilitatethe sharing of this information to helpothers with conservation projects,several tools were built into the LCMS.In addition to a large number of standardsearch fields, LCMS also has a querybuilder, enabling any data to besearched, filtered, and displayed in areport or exported for sharing withothers. There are also many preconfigured reports for commonlyrequested information, including a reportthat generates a file for uploadinginventory data to the BGCI PlantSearchdatabase.Exchanging seed via index seminumThe LCMS facilitated the production ofMBG’s second index seminum catalogfor sharing of wild collected plants withother institutions around the world. Seedbank accessions are marked for sharingin the LCMS, and a report generates acatalog which is linked on MBG’swebsite. As requests are received via email, appropriate records are marked asshared. Later, the LCMS producesreports showing who requested whichseed, and QR code labels are printed forthe seed packets prior to mailing.Access to collections data byresearchers and visitorsThe web functionality of the LCMSallows for instant accessibility to dataanywhere that an internet connection isavailable. MBG has regular requests foruse of its collections to support a widerange of research projects, much ofwhich is related to conservation. A link tosearch the LCMS is provided on MBG’sonline plant material request form, and isoften included in e-mails responses toresearchers requesting information onthe collections. Aforementioned links to09Figure 4: Collecting data on an iPad in the orchid collectionTropicos and GIS mapping data makes iteasy for researchers and visitors to seeassociated scientific data and where theactual plant is located in the garden. Inaddition, MBG staff find the livingcollections data useful while they arefield collecting, enabling comparison ofdatabase records of a given taxon in thewild, where cell phone service isavailable.“To discover and shareknowledge about plants andtheir environment in order topreserve and enrich life.Mission of the MissouriBotanical Garden”MBG’s living collections provide almostendless educational opportunities. At themost basic level, the LCMS supports theproduction of plant display labels; over5,000 new labels are produced eachyear. Labels can be requested via theweb interface by any registereddatabase user, and the LCMS facilitatesthe organization, review, and productionof label orders.On a higher level, building plants ofconservation concern into collections,together with associated stories aboutthe plants, allows us to highlight thevalue of plant and habitat conservation.The improved infrastructure, additionalfields, and links to mapping and Tropicoshave provided a stable and robustplatform on which to build futureinteractive mobile multimedia, includinggames, crowdsourcing activities, andsocial media. By leveraging the livingcollections data through these apps, wecan transform our visitors’ experienceand increase their appreciation of plants.Plant conservation activities tobe added to LCMSSeed cleaning, seed banking, andviability testingIn 2012, MBG set up a seed bank for thepurpose of conserving the flora ofMissouri. This new initiative supportsTarget 8 of the Global Strategy for PlantConservation. Current seed collectionsfocus in the Ozark Plateau region, due tothe high species diversity found there.LCMS supports all access
botanic gardens in "chaperoned" managed relocation is described by Adam Smith, Matthew Albrecht and Abby Hird. Well maintained records of the movements of plants between gardens along a climatic gradient will be essential in this process. The skills of botanic gardens in conservation, research, ecological restoration, invasive species .
The Royal Botanic Gardens Board Victoria is a statutory authority established under the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1991. The Board is responsible to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change for fulfilling its statutory obligations under the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1991 and the Royal Botanic Gardens Regulations 2004.
managed gardens, the Australian National Botanic Gardens' collection includes over 70,000 plants. Collected over the last five decades, the plants range from coastal regions, alpine meadows, tropical rainforests to dry deserts. A world-leader in research The Australian National Botanic Gardens has a strong international reputation for scientific
Botanical Gardens and two areas of open parkland now known as the North and South Gardens. The Botanical Gardens Nursery was established in 1859. Plants and seeds were received from the Royal Melbourne and Geelong Botanic Gardens. In the 1860s, the principal tree planting began while in 1888 a maze was built in the North Gardens to the same .
the botanical knowledge of experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, combined with traditional knowledge, is being used to alleviate poverty (SDG1) in Mozambique (p.18). In completely different, urban, developed country settings, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Ontario is working with local authorities and nature conservation
Kew Gardens and Wakehurst attract visitors from all over the world, led by the US, Australia, and Canada. In 2018/19, we estimate that overseas visitors received 13.6 million of value from visits to Kew's two botanic gardens, while Kew's total educational value to international students was 1.5 million.
botanical garden at Calcutta and he and Banks inaugurated the exchange of plants and seeds between Kew and botanical gardens in colonies and foreign countries. In 1823 the walled botanic garden at Kew occupied 11 acres, compared to the surrounding pleasure ground of lawns and woodlands of 178 acres. After the death of Banks in 1820, the gardens no
The St Kilda Botanical Gardens is distinguished from other gardens in the municipality by its botanic function. A botanic (botanical) garden has four key roles - scientific (plant collections), conservation, education (including interpretation) and recreation. The St Kilda Botanical Gardens is recognised by Heritage Victoria for its cultural
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