RESEARCH Acacia pycnantha
THE CUTTING EDGE RESEARCHERS WORKING WITH THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE PUBLISH MORE THAN 90 PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES EACH YEAR. PROFESSOR BRETT SUMMERELL HIGHLIGHTS A FEW RECENT PROJECTS.
A consortium of authors1 – including our own Senior Principal Research Scientist, Dr Cathy Offord – recently examined the contribution that living collections and seed banks based in botanic gardens around the world make to wild plant conservation and to tackling global challenges. They focused on the advantages and limitations of conservation of plant diversity as both living material and seed collections, and the need for additional research and conservation measures, such as cryopreservation, to enable the long-term conservation of ‘exceptional species’ (such as rainforest speciesch ihw aredifficuseed otl ban). k In particular, they highlighted the importance of networks and sharing data and plant material. 10 THE GARDENS SPRING 2022
The skill sets found within botanic gardens and seed banks complement each other and enable the development of integrated conservation (linking in situ and ex situ efforts). The authors demonstrated how botanic gardens and seed banks support integrated conservation and research for agriculture and food security, restoration and reforestation, as well as supporting local livelihoods. They concluded that botanic gardens and seed banks are well placed to respond to the biodiversity crises, but their conservation efforts need to be massively scaled up and supported by long-term funding. In addition, activities need to be coordinated across institutions, sectors (government agencies, universities, NGOs, etc.), geographies, and political and cultural boundaries.
GENOMIC INSIGHT INTO INDIGENOUS DISPERSALS
Over millennia, Indigenous peoples have dispersed seeds (and other propagules) of non-crop plants through trade, seasonal migration or attending ceremonies. In the process, they have potentially increased the geographic range and abundance of many food species around the world. Scientists are now exploring how genomic data might be used to reconstruct how and when this dispersal happened. This research will further highlight the importance of Indigenous people in moving plant species and the importance of plants in their cultures. In an important new paper2, Macquarie University PhD student Monica Fahey and colleagues sought to develop a simple and cost-effective strategy to screen out Australian
Photos: Dr Russell Barrett, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
PLANT DIVERSITY CONSERVATION CHALLENGES
