Sibbaldia - the Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Journals)
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Botanic gardens and plant pathogens: a risk-based approach at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Get PDFIntroduced and emerging plant diseases as a result of live plant movements are increasingly recognised as a global environmental and economic threat. This presents a fundamental challenge to botanic gardens and other ex situ plant conservation organisations: how to continue this important work while recognising and mitigating the plant health risks. The approach taken by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is presented as a case study, showing how we have reduced ecological and evolutionary opportunities for pests in ex situ conservation and are monitoring the success of these efforts. We have developed protocols in quarantine and horticultural practice, expanded visitor engagement and public education, and taken a precautionary approach towards plant distribution supported by in-house diagnostics and working closely with statutory authorities. We hope that by sharing activities as well as difficulties, botanic gardens can acknowledge and address the new biosecurity landscape
An integrated approach to meet future plant health challenges in Scotland
Get PDFPlants are a vital component for the maintenance of life on Earth and serve as the feedstock for many industries on which large parts of the world rely. Like all other forms of life, they are susceptible to disease and attack, sometimes with disastrous consequences for habitats and economies. Safeguarding plant health is therefore rightly recognised as one of the major objectives for the Scottish Government, and the reason for which the Government launched its Plant Health Strategy in 2016. This paper describes the drivers and aims for this Strategy and some of the industry-led initiatives which are enabling its implementation
Phytophthora root rot: its impact in botanic gardens and on threatened species conservation
Get PDFPhytophthora root rot is one of the most devastating diseases of perennial plants worldwide, affecting plants in food production, amenity plantings and in natural ecosystems. The impact of these diseases in botanic gardens can be substantial and can affect how a site may be used for months and years ahead. Management is critically dependent on avoidance of the introduction of the pathogen and effective hygiene protocols are key to achieving this. Additionally, botanic gardens have a key role to play in protecting plants and enhancing conservation outcomes through surveillance, education and ex situ conservation programmes, as well as through the recognition that they can be critical as sentinel sites to detect new incursions of pests anddiseases. The impact of several Phytophthora species on the in situ and ex situ management of the critically endangered Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine), which is highly susceptible to phytophthora root rot, is used to highlight the need to ensure management of these pathogens is a critical component of threatened species recovery and management
Hydrological and planting design of an experimental raingarden at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Get PDFA new experimental raingarden has been created at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) to help cope with the impacts of more frequent and intense rainfall events. Raingardens offer a sustainable, nature-based solution to flood mitigation by mimicking natural rainwater retention and infiltration characteristics within a constructed bioretention system. By incorporating specially selected plants that can withstand both very wet and very dry conditions, raingardens also provide enhanced biodiversity capacity.
This paper reports on the hydrological design of the raingarden, which is aimed at reducing the occurrence of waterlogging and localised flooding within RBGE, before discussing the selection and cultivation of the planting. It is hoped that the mix of plants chosen will encourage a great diversity of wildlife, providing nectar sources for insects and bees in summer, and homes for invertebrates and food for seed-eating birds in winter. With the raingarden having been in place for over a year at the time of writing, reflections on its maintenance and
upkeep during that time and performance assessment for significant storm events will also be discussed
Phytophthora pathogens threaten rare habitats and conservation plantings
Get PDFPhytophthora pathogens are damaging native wildland vegetation including plants in restoration areas and botanic gardens. The infestations threaten some plants already designated as endangered and degrade high-value habitats. Pathogens are being introduced primarily via container plant nursery stock and, once established, they can spread to adjacent areas where plant species not previously exposed to pathogens may become infected. We review epidemics in California – caused by the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthoraramorum Werres, De Cock & Man in ‘t Veld and the first USA detections of P. tentaculata Kröber & Marwitz, which occurred in native plant nurseries and restoration areas – as examples to illustrate these threats to conservation plantings
The International Plant Sentinel Network: an update on phase 2
Get PDFInvasive plant pests and pathogens pose a considerable threat to plant health worldwide. With increasing globalisation of trade in plants and plant material, and the effects of climate change, this threat is predicted to continue to rise. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of these harmful invasive organisms which cause large-scale environmental and economic damage. A significant issue in managing this threat is predicting which organisms will pose a threat in the future. Sentinel plants are individuals found outside their native ranges that can be surveyed for damage by organisms they would not otherwise encounter. Monitoring plant sentinels can build knowledge and understanding of pest/host relationships to support the development of management plans and risk assessments. Botanic gardens and arboreta, whose collections are estimated to include 30–40 per cent of all known plant species, many of which are exotic, are unique and under-utilised resources that can support sentinel research. The International Plant Sentinel Network (IPSN) consists of botanic gardens and arboreta, National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) and plant health scientists who collaborate to provide an early-warning system for new and emerging plant pests and pathogens. Members provide scientific evidence to NPPOs to inform plant health activities and thus help safeguard susceptible plant species. In the UK, the IPSN conducts research activities prioritised by a Research and Development committee and preliminary findings of recent research activities are outlined in this paper. The IPSN also focuses on increasing knowledge and awareness, seeking best practice, developing standardisedapproaches and providing training materials and methodologies for monitoring and surveying to enable gardens to contribute to sentinel research. Through multi-disciplinary collaboration and information sharing the IPSN aims to reduce the risk that alien invasive pests and pathogens pose to global plant health
Determining the temporal interaction of Camellia cultivar flowering periods and camellia petal blight disease presence in Auckland, New Zealand
Get PDFBotanic gardens hold diverse and valuable living collections that provide a number of research, conservation and education opportunities. Auckland Botanic Gardens (ABG) has an internationally significant collection of species and cultivar camellias that have been used for scientific research into understanding which species are susceptible to camellia petal blight. ABG has surveyed all cultivars and species in its collection over multiple years to identify which camellias are affected by petal blight and which avoid it, based on their flowering period. A total of 363 camellias were assessed for petal blight over 6 years of surveying. It was found that 245 cultivars and 6 species were susceptible to the disease, while 68 cultivars and 32 species did not display any visual symptoms. These are important findings, as enthusiasts and breeders alike may use them to inform their respective interests.
 
Botanic Garden Profile Inverewe: gardening on the edge
Get PDFSet in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, Inverewe is one of the most spectacular garden locations in the UK. Situated beside the A382 on the North Coast 500 tourist route, the property receives over 100,000 visitors each year, drawn to see a diversity of plants and to enjoy the breathtaking backdrop of mountains and seascape it affords. Since its first plantings in 1864, the property has been a centre for experimental approaches to establishing and growing tender woody and herbaceous perennials, while a diaspora of alumni have gone on to fulfil prominent roles in the horticultural industry over the years. The garden today covers approximately 22 ha of mainly woodland gardens, renowned for the diversity of their designed elements and whose conservation management is based on a thorough understanding, appreciation and analysis of the garden’s historical development and its significance in local, regional and national contexts.In recent years, Inverewe has faced a number of challenges related to the growing impact of global change, with increased occurrences of extreme weather events, and emergent pest and disease incidents associated with climate change and the movement of plants and their vectors, which include human-aided transport of problems between sites. In this context, this article provides a lens on the drivers of change that the plant collection is facing in the early decades of the 21st century. After an introduction to the garden, its evolved collections and management approach, three case studies are highlighted as examples of emerging threats to Inverewe as a garden and work of art. Inverewe is presented as a landscape that endures through adaptation to social, economic and, increasingly, environmental challenges that shape the direction it takes as a garden and plant collection growing on the edge
Diversity of woody-host infecting Phytophthora species in public parks and botanic gardens as revealed by metabarcoding, and opportunities for mitigation through best practice
Get PDFThe diversity of Phytophthora species in soils collected from 14 highly disturbed sites in northern Britain, including botanic gardens, arboreta, public parks and other amenity woodland sites, was analysed using a molecular technique known as DNA metabarcoding. This technique enables the identification of multiple species present in a single environmental sample based on a DNA ‘barcode’ unique to each species. The genus Phytophthora was targeted in this study due to its increasing impact on Britain’s forests and woodlands over thelast 20 years. The introduction and spread of new Phytophthora species into Britain has been strongly associated with the movement of traded containerised plants, with a number of Phytophthora outbreaks reported on host trees located in public gardens and parks that had recently undergone planting or landscape regeneration schemes. This study was undertaken to assess the extent to which these highly disturbed sites with extensive planting regimes act as harbours for woody-host infecting Phytophthora species. A total of 23 Phytophthora species, the majority of which are known to be pathogens of woody hosts, were detected across the 14 sites sampled. These included four quarantine-regulated pathogens and four species notpreviously recorded in Britain. Also detected were three as-yet undescribed Phytophthora species and nine oomycete sequences with no clear match to any known genus. There was no effect of geographical location, elevation, underlying soil type, host family or host health status on the Phytophthora assemblages at each site, suggesting that the Phytophthora communities detected are likely to comprise introduced species associated with planting programmes. P. austrocedri and P. pseudosyringae were two of the most abundant Phytophthoraspecies detected, both of which cause serious damage to trees and are regarded as fairly recent introductions to Britain. The practical implications of the findings in terms of mitigating Phytophthora introduction, spread and impact at botanic gardens, arboreta and urban parks are discussed