Sibbaldia - the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Journals)
Not a member yet
282 research outputs found
Sort by
The Gardens of Singapore : Enthusing and Educating the Public in the World of Plants
Get PDFSingapore has several public gardens of which two, Singapore Botanic Gardens and Gardens by the Bay, are of particular national and international renown. These two gardens have contrasting but complementary ways of enthusing and educating the public about plants and of gaining their support for horticultural excellence, botanical research and conservation. Founded in 1859, Singapore Botanic Gardens is an old and established garden with a long history of horticultural and botanical research, plant exploration and conservation. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2015, the world’s first tropical botanic garden to receive this accolade. Gardens by the Bay opened in 2012 and its focus is on large-scale displays in spectacular settings, thereby attracting huge numbers of visitors since its opening. In their contrasting ways, both gardens enthuse and educate the public about plants and the natural world. This work lays the foundations for public advocacy of conservation efforts in Singapore, resulting in a very high level of public support for greening efforts and the protection of natural areas in land-scarce Singapore
Reproductive Biology, Morphological Taxonomy, Biogeography and Molecular Phylogeny of Aglaia Lour. (Meliaceae) : The Monographic Approach to a Large Genus of Tropical Trees
Get PDFThe molecular revolution has given us new opportunities to explore species relationships, evolution and historical biogeography. It is at its most powerful when combined with studies of the living plants in the field and information gleaned from the many thousands of herbarium specimens that go into preparing comprehensive taxonomic revisions.For the genus Aglaia, a genus of more than 100 species, morphological, distributional and biological information has been combined with the history of plate tectonics in the Indo-Malayan Australasian Archipelago, molecular phylogenies and historical biogeographical analyses. Hypotheses for the origin, expansion and species radiation since its origin c. 24 million years ago have been proposed. The tribe Aglaieae was the first monophyletic plant group for which a fully resolved, fossil-dated phylogenetic tree was published. Subsequent studies of some other groups of plants and animals have revealed similar patterns of dispersal, establishment and radiation in the region. The comprehensive nature of the research carried out on this medium-sized genus of tropical rain forest trees has contributed and continues to contribute to an understanding of the Sunda-Sahul floristic interchange and the species radiation that follows dispersal between these continental shelves.The genus is found mainly in lowland tropical rain forests from the Western Ghats of India to Samoa and from southern China to tropical Australia, with its greatest diversity in Malesia. In SE Asia section Aglaia is dispersed by mammals, especially greater and lesser apes (orang-utan, siamang and gibbons). This section of the genus has diversified in New Guinea without its primate dispersers and with no obvious alternative disperser. No marsupial is known to be an efficient seed-disperser. The other two sections of the genus, section Amoora and section Neoaglaia, are bird-dispersed. The coastal and estuarine species, Aglaia cucullata, almost certainly sometimes survives a sea journey. This may partly explain its morphological uniformity over a wide geographical area, from Bangladesh to New Guinea
Tree Demography Plots : A Neglected Resource for Systematic and Conservation Research
Get PDFThe pantropical network of large tree demography plots coordinated by the Smithsonian’s Center for Tropical Forest Science has now gone global, as part of the Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatories. Some four million tropical trees, representing about 10,000 species, are now tagged, provisionally identified and periodically recensused. Some 3,000 species are captured in the six plots within Malesia. These include species rarely collected and many that are now endangered. Easy location of trees for periodic examination for fertile material and detailed ecological data, together with seasoned in-country research teams, provide unique opportunities for research collaboration
The Sapotaceae of Indonesia and the Potential Role of Botanic Gardens in their Conservation
Get PDFIndonesia holds a large percentage of Malesian Sapotaceae taxa with an estimated 15 genera and 158 species. Bogor Botanic Gardens currently hold 12 genera and 41 species of which 29 are native to Indonesia. This represents just under 20% of Sapotaceae species currently recorded from Indonesia. The utility of these collections is dependent on the type of data associated with them and on the quality of identification of the material. Of the 29 native species only three have had a global threat assessment made and, of these, one, Madhuca boerlageana (Burck) Baehni, is considered Critically Endangered. The regional botanic gardens initiative of the Indonesian government is establishing botanic gardens in each of the 47 ecoregions of Indonesia. This new initiative is potentially very important for in situ and ex situ conservation of the Indonesian flora. So far it has brought into cultivation 39 threatened species, however none of these are Sapotaceae. The lack of global IUCN threat data is a major impediment to the prioritisation of collection, cultivation and conservation of Sapotaceae species
Dancing Butterflies of the East Himalayas : New Meconopsis Species from East Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibet
Get PDFThe region from eastern Bhutan to Arunachal Pradesh of India and the adjacent south-eastern Tibet and northern Myanmar seems to be one of the last frontiers not only for Meconopsis hunting but also for other botanical exploration. Although there remain political difficulties for foreigners to approach the unsettled border between India and China, including the famous Tsari valley with its prominently rich flora, which was visited by Frank Ludlow, George Sherriff, Frank Kingdon-Ward and a few other plant hunters before 1950, some botanical and horticultural treasures in this region have gradually been revealed to recent travellers. As a result of examining the photographs taken by these travellers and our own botanical field research in eastern Bhutan in 2014, accompaniedby subsequent herbarium studies, two species new to science are described. The first, from eastern Bhutan and adjacent Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, has long been cultivated under the names M. grandis or M. grandis GS600, and has recently been described as M. grandis subsp. orientalis (Grey-Wilson, 2010). It is the national flower of Bhutan. However, the type of M. grandis from Sikkim belongs to a species quite distinct from the eastern populations and the latter is now described as a new species, Meconopsis gakyidiana. The second novelty, Meconopsis merakensis,is newly described from eastern Bhutan and adjacent Arunachal Pradesh. In the past this species was confused with the closely allied M. prainiana. The two species are isolated geographically, M.prainiana being found only much further to the north-east, in south-eastern Tibet, including theTsari valley. The title of this article is based on a comparison made by Frank Kingdon-Ward of Meconopsis flowers with butterflies in Tibet (see below)
The Restoration of Erica verticillata : a Case Study in Species and Habitat Restoration and Implications for the Cape Flora
Get PDFThe Threatened Species Programme at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, is integrated to include both ex situ and in situ conservation activities. Plant conservation is driven by South Africa’s Strategy for Plant Conservation which was developed in response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.
This case study examines the conservation of Erica verticillata (whorl heath), a flagship for threatened species at Kirstenbosch, and documents the integration of ex situ with in situ conservation at three areas on the Cape Flats. The whorl heath was thought to be extinct by 1950. Horticulturists have since rediscovered eight clones in botanic gardens worldwide, the Heather Society and commercial growers. Ex situ conservation in botanic garden collections and the Millennium Seed Bank has since allowed in situ conservation in the critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos vegetation type. The process of restoring the whorl heath presented many challenges. Initially attempts were hampered by limited available knowledge on suitable niche habitats. Pioneering work carried out at Rondevlei Nature Reserve identified the suitable habitat and this was applied in subsequent in situ work at Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area and at Tokai Park – the only natural areas remaining in or near this species’ historical distribution range. Successful re-establishment of this species depends upon its capacity to recruit after fire, which is an essential ecological process in the fynbos. Many clones have been in cultivation for a long time and are poor seed producers: seed production was first recorded at Rondevlei only after additional clones were planted together. Only one population (Rondevlei) to date has seen a fire and thus has recruited seedlings; however these are competing with vigorous companion plants.
The study continues and is currently exploring the role of herbivory in the restoration process. The key lesson learnt to date is the need to include sustainable management of the entire ecosystem in the restoration process and not limit it to single species. Success in restoring a species depends upon a healthy stand of the vegetation type in place, along with pollinators and other key fauna and other natural ecosystem processes. It is recommended that successful re- establishment of a species in fynbos requires the reintroduced population to survive three fire cycles
The Value of Community Engagement in Botanic Gardens with Examples from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Get PDFThe Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has community engagement at its core. With health and environmental challenges facing society, its mission “to explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future” is more important and relevant than ever. The established community engagement programme at RBGE includes the Edible Gardening Project and activities at the Botanic Cottage and these are described here. Programmes explore food-growing skills and focus on improving health and wellbeing. Significant impact has occurred at the level of the individual and community, while the wider impact on the health of society and on biodiversity while implied remains to be fully assessed
Postcards from the Field : the Role of Partnership and Horticulture in Plant Conservation in Southeastern United States of America
Get PDFIncreasingly, botanic gardens and arboreta are highlighted as effective partners to conserve plant species diversity and restore natural communities at a time when the need for these activities has become more urgent. Capacity for restoration and conservation at botanic gardens comes directly from staff expertise for horticulture and research. Botanic gardens make good partners for connecting botanical science with conservation practice. They are in a position to communicate information about rare plant species to owners and managers of public and private lands, and they can be instrumental in creating networks for effective conservation action. Several examples from south-eastern United States of America illustrate how this has been put into practice. These examples provide evidence that efforts to expand collaboration between federal agencies, states and non-governmental organisations can lead to effective alliances to conserve plant biodiversity, especially when plants receive a disproportionately low share of resources for conservation
Assessing the Effects of Drought and Temperature on the Establishment of Juniperus seravschanica Saplings in Northern Oman
Get PDFClimate change poses a serious threat to the survival and distribution of Juniperus seravschanica in the northern mountains of Oman. A better understanding of this species’ responses to environmental changes is essential if the potentially harmful effects of climate change are to be mitigated. One such step is to understand how changes in climate may influence the growth of juniper saplings. Two- and five-year-old saplings were grown under different temperature and watering regimes to determine effects on establishment and growth. Under an optimum growing temperature, reducing water to 50 per cent and 25 per cent of the optimal irrigation regime significantly decreased the growth of juniper saplings. In field studies, saplings re-introduced to three different altitudinal locations showed varying rates in establishment success and growth. Both two-yearold and five-year-old saplings established better at higher altitude. Overall, survival rates were considerably better with the transplantation of five-year-old rather than two-year-old saplings.Applying irrigation improved the survival of two-year-old stock when grown at the lowest altitude, but rates were not always significantly different from other treatments. Apical extension growth was found to be reduced at higher altitude, indicating that temperature influences the growth of juniper saplings. However, it was the combination of drought and high temperatures that reduced the growth of non-irrigated saplings at lower altitudes. These preliminary results suggest there is potential to artificially re-introduce juniper saplings to their natural habitat as part of a conservation programme, but more time is required to judge the success of the transplanting initiative when dealing with slow-growing trees such as juniper