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Assisted Migration - the Answer to Climate Change?
Category(-ies): Climate Change , Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Thank you to Claire Thompson, UBC BG work-study student, for writing this entry.
Scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden are sending teams of people out across the Midwest and northern Great Plains of America to collect seeds from 1500 prairie species before 2010.
The collections are part of a project to preserve species and investigate assisted migration of plants as a response to climate change. Researchers are planning to test this idea with Pitcher's thistle, a native plant to sand dunes along several of the Great Lakes.
Assisted migration is a controversial issue among scientists, as it has risks associated with interfering with complex habitats and uncertainties surrounding climate change. Scientists at the botanic gardens in favor of assisted migration have recently finished a paper outlining a strategic framework for collecting and prioritizing seeds from species that are most likely to go extinct under climate change, and for predicting where species should be relocated.
Links:
- "A Hunt for Seeds to Save Species, Perhaps by Helping Them Move" via the New York Times
- The Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank and National Tallgrass Prairie Preparation Laboratory at Chicago Botanic Garden
- Vitt et al. 2009. Assisted migration of plants: Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes. Bio. Cons. Available online doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.08.015
- Pitcher's thistle (Cirsium pitcheri)
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 7:00 AM
Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art opens at Kew Gardens
Category(-ies): Botanical Art , Other Botanical Gardens
Many works of botanical art never before seen by the public will be exhibited in the newly-opened Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Read more, or watch the video:
New botanical art museum to open via the BBC
New Gallery of Botanical Art, an RBG Kew press release
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:52 PM
Three Gorges Botanical Garden Closes
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Xiang Xiufa, a Chongqing businessman and plant conservationist, raced to rescue rare and endangered plants that were going to be exterminated by the Three Gorges Reservoir. His efforts initially met with some success: the formation of The Three Gorges Botanical Garden for Rare and Specious Plants. After startup funding of 53000 USD was received in 2002, government funding has run dry and the garden has been forced to close, placing the plants in jeopardy once again.
Garden’s Closure Leaves Nowhere to Go for Three Gorges’ Plants by Yunwu Cao for the Worldwatch Institute
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:59 PM
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Category(-ies): Invasive Plants , Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Though the article describes a tour of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii, its emphasis is on the conservation of native Hawaiian plants and the efforts against invasives and plant extinction.
A Tour of Hawaii's Rare Paradise from The Christian Science Monitor
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:03 PM
Gardens by the Bay
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
Singapore's well-planned efforts to green the city over the past forty years have earned it a reputation as a leadingTropical Garden City. The city's newest project, The Gardens by the Bay, should secure Singapore's standing as a leader among tropical cities. An international design competition is being held to plan the three-garden complex that is to be built on 94 hectares of prime waterfront land. The Garden at Marina South will be a little larger than the existing Singapore Botanic Gardens. Plans include what is expected to be the largest cool house in the tropics. The other two sections of the project will offer beachfront recreation and water-sports in beautiful garden settings.
Links:
- Top talent invited to design Gardens at Marina Bay from Channel NewsAsia
- Gardens by the Bay website of the international design competition
- Singapore Botanic Gardens Singapore's premier botanic garden, founded in 1859
- National Parks Board, Singapore the lead agency in promoting garden and park development in Singapore
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:39 AM
Furcraea selloa var. marginata
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
A close relative of agaves, Furcraea selloa var. marginata has put forth an impressive, gigantic inflorescence at the royal Botanic gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. The plant, which was accessioned by the garden in 1976, flowers only once and will die after blooming. Fortunately, many plantlets will form from the inflorescence, offering good opportunities for propagation.
Continue reading "Furcraea selloa var. marginata"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:36 AM
Auction of Jurassic Trees Brings in Over a Million Dollars
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation , Plant Discoveries
The Wollemi pine, a tree thought to have been extinct for millions of years, was discovered in Australia in 1994. Since then, the species has been a focus of fascination for botanists. Wollemia nobilis apparently survived in isolation in a small pocket of sheltered forest about 150 kilometres north of Sydney. Fewer than 40 adult trees in two small groves were discovered in the wild. The exact location of the groves has been kept secret.
The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney held a special exhibition to promote and fund research and preservation of the Wollemi pine. A display grove was created from the first generation of plants grown from cuttings taken from the wild trees. 292 of the rare trees offered in an international Sotheby's auction at the close of the exhibition, raised over $ 1 million for conservation efforts.
Links:
- Dinosaur trees attract a mint from The Australian
- The Wollemi Pine Global Launch from Wollemi Pine International Pty Ltd
- Hawkesbury Valley Wollemi Pine a descriptive page about Wollemi pine from the Hawkesbury (tourist information)
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:08 PM
Botswana to Open First Botanic Garden
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Conservation
Botswana is to open its first botanic garden in November this year. The nine acre garden in Gaborone, Botwsana will feature collections of living plants for education and research in a beautiful natural setting with historic buildings. Established indigenous trees and shrubs at the site were incorporated into the garden design and other native plants were brought in from various areas around Botswana.
An herbarium has been set up for research. One of the main goals of the garden's planners was to promote awareness of the biodiversity of the region and to conserve its rare indigenous plant species.
Link: First botanical garden opens from the Daily News
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:45 PM
Microchips Foil Theft of Rare Plants
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens , Plant Legal News and Issues
Curators at Ventnor Botanic Gardens on the Isle of Wight had microchips inserted into two rare tree ferns when they first arrived at the garden. After the ferns were stolen recently, this fact was made public. The two pilfered plants were found shortly after, having been dumped off by the thieves, who must have realized that they would not be able to sell the plants.
Link: Microchips save rare tree ferns from the BBC News
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 9:55 AM
Artistic Vision Guides Garden's Rise from Ruins
Category(-ies): Other Botanical Gardens
The Italian village of Ninfa was so lovely it was named for the nymphs that the residents believed inhabited the area. Destroyed as an act of revenge in a dispute between members of the Caetani family, the village lay in ruins for nearly six centuries. When Ada Wilbraham married into the family, in 1920, she became enamoured with the village and set about to create a garden from its ruins.
Continue reading "Artistic Vision Guides Garden's Rise from Ruins"
Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:41 PM
