Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual Compiled by: Sara Oldfield and Adrian C. Newton November 2012 Acknowledgements Many individUals have generoUsly contribUted their time to the preparation of this manUal and are acknowledged with gratitUde. Andrea Kramer provided sUbstantial Recommended citation: comments on an early draft and helped to shape the Oldfield, S. and Newton, A.C. 2012. strUctUre and content of the manUal greatly enhancing Integrated conservation of tree species by the final docUment. Larry Stritch critically reviewed the botanic gardens: a reference manUal. final draft and provided valUable improvements to the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, text. Ildiko Whitton provided assistance with research Richmond, United Kingdom throUghoUt the preparation of the manUal and prepared case stUdies as noted in the text. GratefUl thanks are ISBN-10: 1-905164-44-0 also dUe to Bart C. O’Brien, Joachim Gratzfeld, Dan ISBN-13: 978-1-905164-44-8 LUscombe, Megan Marrison, Matt Parratt, Lorraine Perrins, Simon Marshall and Mark Nicholson for the Cover image: provision of expert case stUdies. Thank yoU also to Barney Wilczak/Wilczak Photography.co.Uk Professor Patricio Arce, Corey Barnes, Lillian ChUa, Allen Coombes, Tonya Lander, Dr Philip Moors, Maricela Design: RodrigUez Acosta and Xiangying Wen. We acknowledge Seascape. www.seascapedesign.co.Uk the major contribUtion of Professor Zeng Qingwen to the conservation of Magnolia spp. Zeng Qingwen Published by prepared the case stUdy on p 35. He died in the field Botanic Gardens Conservation International whilst collecting Magnolia specimens in 2012 and will Descanso HoUse, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, be remembered by the international botanical SUrrey, TW9 3BW, United Kingdom commUnity for his skills, enthUsiasm and willingness © BGCI 2012 to share information. 02 Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual Contents 1. Introduction . 04 2. Why conserve and restore tree diversity? . 05 2.1 Importance of tree diversity . 05 2.2 The need for action . 05 2.3 Policy context . 08 3. Conservation approaches . 10 3.1 In situ approaches . 10 3.2 Ecological restoration and reintrodUction . 10 3.3 Ex situ conservation . 12 3.4 Integrated conservation approache s . 13 4. A step-by-step guide to integrated conservation of tree species . 18 4.1 Step 1: Identify priorities for action . 18 4.2 Step 2: Plan and implement ex situ conservation approach . 21 4.3 Step 3: Plan and implement reintrodUction programme . 30 4.4 Step 4: Develop and implement longer term conservation strategy . 38 5. Taking action . 47 References . 48 Annexes . 52 Annex 1: FUrther resoUrces . 52 Annex 2: Principles of Access and Benefit Sharing . 54 Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual 03 Foreword This manUal focUses oUr attention on tree conservation, The series of case stUdies the aUthors present provide and is designed to gUide and stimUlate action to save a range of perspectives on tree conservation, inclUding threatened trees from extinction. Trees do not often popUlation diversity assessments, propagation receive special focUs for conservation, yet they are techniqUes, ex situ and in situ approaches, and enormoUsly important and Under threat worldwide. integration with planning, policy, monitoring, edUcation, As many as one in ten tree species is endangered, and sUstainable Use. As inspiring as they are, the case threatened, or vUlnerable. stUdies also paint a pictUre of how mUch more there is to do. Trees provide the strUctUre for natUral ecosystems where they grow and habitat for myriad other living This book provides a valUable framework for integrated things. They inflUence growing conditions, approaches to tree conservation. The need is great, biogeochemical cycles, and light and water regimes, and the opportUnities to make meaningfUl contribUtions and seqUester carbon that is of principal inflUence in to both conservation and oUr collective knowledge are planetary climate trends. many. The aUthors and I hope this manUal will spark yoUr attention and stimUlate yoU to act to save the Trees are also valUable for hUman Use: timber, fiber, world’s trees. food, fUel, and medicine. BecaUse of this, they tend to be harvested and often over Utilized – threatening the Gerard T. Donnelly, Ph.D. very soUrce of these valUes. Forest clearing for President and CEO agricUltUre and development also threatens tree and The Morton ArboretUm forest biodiversity. And becaUse of their long lifespans, and often-constrained reprodUctive and dispersal capabilities, trees are more sUsceptible to the effects of rapid climate change. For those of Us associated with arboreta and botanical gardens, we are in a position to address the challenge of saving the world’s threatened tree species. We need to do more than jUst inclUde them in the plant collections of oUr gardens. Effective tree conservation may reqUire a finessed combination of different kinds of ex situ and in situ actions, ecological restoration and plant reintrodUction, and socio-economic and regUlatory considerations to trUly secUre them from threat. With this book, Sara Oldfield and Adrian Newton bring together pertinent thinking aboUt plant conservation and apply it to the special considerations associated with tree conservation. They present step-by-step gUidelines that can be Used in laUnching conservation work with trees. (Kemal Jufri) 04 Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual 1. Introduction This reference manUal has been developed to sUpport This manUal bUilds on A handbook for botanic gardens the integrated conservation of threatened tree species on the reintroduction of plants to the wild pUblished by by botanic gardens and arboreta (referred to collectively BGCI in 1995 (Akeroyd and Wyse Jackson, 1995) and as botanic gardens within the manUal). It is aimed at the reflects the increasing imperative to restore and staff and associates of the world’s botanic gardens, and conserve damaged ecosystems. It draws on both the is designed to help the development, planning and scientific literatUre and on practical experiences gained implementation of conservation activities focUsing on in tree conservation projects from aroUnd the world. We tree species. Botanic gardens are exceptionally well are gratefUl to a wide range of experts who contribUted placed to make an important contribUtion in this area, their knowledge and experiences, as acknowledged on as they have access to the skills and techniqUes to p 01. The following sections first briefly consider why identify, cUltivate and propagate a wide range of trees. tree species shoUld be conserved and restored, and In addition, they hold important collections of living how integrated approaches to conservation can be trees, seeds and other germplasm that can be of valUe developed. A step-by-step gUide is then provided to in sUpporting both in situ and ex situ conservation sUpport the design and practical implementation of efforts. integrated conservation approaches. While this manUal can only serve as a brief introdUction to what is a large Many botanic gardens are increasingly becoming and complex sUbject, it is hoped that it will both involved in conservation activities that integrate in situ facilitate and encoUrage botanic gardens and land and ex situ approaches to tree conservation, which are management agencies to develop integrated typically Undertaken in partnership with other conservation activities focUsing on tree species. organisations, sUch as nat ional park agencies, forest services, non-government organisations (NGOs) and local commUnities. Case stUdies of sUch initiatives are highlighted in this manUal, to demonstrate how botanic gardens can provide leadership in this area, leading to highly sUccessfUl oUtcomes for both plants and people. Tree conservation is not withoUt its challenges, however, and therefore a fUrther objective of this manUal is to help identify potential problems and pitfalls, and how these may be overcome in practice. There is an Urgent need to conserve tree species. AroUnd 7,800 tree species are cUrrently recorded as threatened with extinction at the global scale (Oldfield et al ., 1998; Newton and Oldfield, 2008). However, information is lacking on the statUs and distribUtion of many sUspected rare species of trees, and the trUe figUre is likely to be mUch higher. Trees are of exceptional ecological importance, providing habitat for a wide range of other organisms. Many of these trees also benefit people, and are associated with social, economic or cUltUral valUes. ConseqUently, their continUed decline or loss can have a major impact on hUman wellbeing. Sophora toromiro. (Magnus Lidén) Integrated conservation of tree species by botanic gardens: a reference manual 05 2. Why conserve and restore tree species? 2.1 Importance of tree species Trees are of exceptionally high ecological, socio- economic and cUltUral importance. As the principal biomass component of forest ecosystems, they provide habitat for at least half of Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity (MillenniUm Ecosystem Assessment, 2005), sUpporting 80% of amphibian, 75% of bird and 68% of mammal species (Vié et al ., 2009). Forest ecosystems play a major role in the Earth’s biogeochemical processes, and contain aboUt 50% of the world’s terrestrial carbon stocks (FAO, 2010; MillenniUm Ecosystem Assessment,