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Posted Mar 28, 2022, 5 :09 am
A changing climate Extreme weather conditions
– such as California’s frequent wildfires and Arizona’s unrelenting
drought – certain species that have been on the extinction list are
Being given a second chance by seed banks
Over 1,000 seed banks are located all over the globe, with 20 of them in Africa.
They are working in the United States to preserve fragile ecosystems.
As the planet heats up, our diversity will decrease. Some banks only
Some banks have seed storage that is open to all species.
The world.
The bank is located at the California Botanic Park in Claremont.
The preservation of the genes of over 6,000 species of seeds.
Participates in larger conservation efforts and other living organisms
Monitoring rare plants and vegetation mapping.
Director of conservation programs believes that the work is important.
California Botanic Garden Naomi Fraga, a botanist specializing in
Floristics and plant conservation.
“Thinking about the extinction crisis and global change, there is the
potential that we can lose many plant populations in the near future,”
Fraga said. “And in fact we know we have populations in here that are
Actually extinct in the wild. Not entire species, but populations that are extinct.
longer exist. And so those materials represent something that’s
absolutely irreplaceable.”
As a backup policy, seeds are kept so that multiple varieties can be grown within the same plant.
If a species is available, it can be grown or obtained from another country.
Anywhere they can be reintroduced to the wild.
“Each seed represents a distinct genetic individual,” Fraga said.
“And they’re generally small, so you can fit billions of genetically
Different people into a small space and store tremendous
amounts of genetic diversity.”
Fraga said that seed-banking has existed for a century and is viewed as an agricultural practice with regard to food security.
“Now in agriculture, they’re not just focusing on the specific kinds
of cultivars that are grown to produce food, but they’re also
seed-banking crop wild relatives,” she said. “For instance, the banana
This is an example of a crop in danger of extinction.
Of a fungal pathogen.”
A fungal disease infected the beloved GrosMichel banana.
In the 1950s, almost all of the species had been exterminated. The industry changed.
Cavendish, a different banana species. Because bananas can be grown from
Cavendish is a concern about genetic clones and propagation
Gros Michel will also be a victim of the same fate as bananas.
“If we’re not backing up the world’s diversity of bananas, there will
be no bananas to eat in the future,” Fraga said. “So we can’t just
Concentrate on the food we eat right now. We need to think about the wild animals.
relatives because that’s the source of future genetic diversity that
people will need to pull from in order for us to do crop improvement.”
Although it is important to back up rare plants, the goal of seedlings is different.
Banks are committed to preserving and gathering as much genetic diversity possible.
Maybe even one day, entire ecosystems.
Because banking seeds for biodiversity can only be done within the confines of the country.
the past 100 years, how long seeds can be stored isn’t fully
understood. Scientists do know why seeds are important.
respond to different types of storage, and they’re making more
Every day, new discoveries are made.
Cheryl Birker, the California Botanic Garden’s seed conservation program manager, recounted an accidental discovery.
When putting several varieties of seeds through cold stratification –
an operation to trick seeds into germinating – the refrigerator
The shelves fell down and the shelves malfunctioned, which mixed the seeds
together.
Although the seeds weren’t germinating well before the accident, the
The first samples began to grow. Botanists discovered this variety of
Some species prefer to be physically disturbed.
“We’ll do germination tests to try to pick up on if any of our
(banked) species are dying,” Birker said, “and then we would make plans
To recollect, we could plant the seeds in the nursery and make a.
second-generation seed collection or come up with other means if we’re
This species is not found in storage.
We’d have to come up with some other measure, like maybe having a living
collection in the garden.”
Sometimes scientists are able to find wild specimens that are well preserved. 2012 saw scientists being able to bring back Silene stenophylla
Ancient Siberian squirrels kept some berries of this fruit in their homes.
The flowering plant was 32,000 years old. Examples like these exist in
Scientists believe that seed banks will prevent the wild from reproducing.
This helps to ensure biodiversity and food security.
California Botanic Garden sends seed collections to the endangered species to ensure biodiversity never disappears. National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation
in Fort Collins, Colorado. Although seed banks do their best to preserve native seeds,
The botanical garden shares its collections with others, which are kept locally.
Keep seeds in a safe place, in case of floods, fires or other natural disasters.
The garden has partnered up with a not-for-profit organization California Plant Rescuewith other organizations to collaborate in conservation efforts, innovation and sample collection.
Botanists go to great effort to collect seeds from the field.
treacherous. These areas are often remote and have no roads or trails.
Uncertain weather conditions can make it dangerous. There’s no guarantee
It is likely that the collection will be a hit.
Fraga stated that it can take several years to collect certain seeds.
“Rare plants are rare for a reason,” she said. “They might have
There are reproductive issues that could limit our ability to get 100 seeds per year. So
That means we need to keep trying in other years to make enough.
Seed where we have a sufficient amount of seed that we feel is suitable
representative of the population.”
Collectors don’t want to disrupt the environment or do more harm than
good. That’s why guidelines are in place to make sure that seed
Extraction is efficient, and it is sustainable.
“We have extensive protocols to optimize collecting the genetic
diversity present at the site,” Fraga said. “We’re only collecting a
sample of plants, so we can’t collect seeds from every single
individual. We only collect 10% of the total seed.
production because we don’t want to collect too much and harm the
natural population.”
Land development plays an important role in the development of commercial and residential properties.
Why biodiversity is declining in natural ecosystems?
California has many restrictions that help species survive. But there are loopholes
These protections have placed additional pressure on already fragile populations
populations.
Birker uncovered the sad truth behind Linanthus maculatusThe rare flowering herb, was discovered in Ocotillo (California), about a decade ago, close to the border with Mexico.
“They found a population in an area that was slated for remote
development,” she said, “but because it was a plant that had not been
They are not listed on any rare plant lists, and they have not been described.
to stop their work. They continued to bulldoze and put up, and so they did.
These were huge wind turbines. Unfortunately, the project was not completed.
very successful.”
The wind farm has a troubled history, including several turbine collapses – most recently in September, as reported by local Residents and news media.
The California Botanic Garden did however keep a few samples. Linanthus maculatus, it’s a good example of how easy it is to lose a wild plant population.
“We never know when future advances might come,” Fraga said, “and how
We might be able learn to restore populations better. If you have
Nothing is more than nothing. But to have the seeds and seed banks, it’s
Some type of insurance policy for genetic individuals
represented someplace, and can potentially be grown and introduced at
some point.”
Seed banks all over the world share information with one another.
Another is to promote biodiversity in natural ecosystems. To
Seed banks offer opportunities to attract more public support.
Donations can be used to sponsor collections
If you want to help preserve biological diversity, it is worth connecting with local seed bank members.
“It just adds to sort of the data gathering about life and it
contributes to our understanding of biodiversity,” Fraga said. “We’re
We hedge our bets and think, what if all of these populations disappear?
“To lose it to extinction is to lose it forever.”
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