Module 5: Germination and Dormancy Science Places Plants People

Linking in situ and ex situ conservation GSPC Target 8 ’20% of threatened species to be available for recovery and restoration programmes’ Linking in situ and ex situ conservation Using collections for restoration activities We have already touched on the first part of Target 8. The second part of the GSPC target calls for 20% of threatened species to be available for recovery and restoration programmes. Progress towards this part of the target remains challenging. However there is an increased understanding in the importance of linking in situ and ex situ conservation using collections for restoration activities.

Conserving quality collections Cleaning and drying Storage and longevity Germination and dormancy Restoration Collection in the wild In order for seed to be useful for restoration it needs to be of conservation quality. Seed need to be collected and stored in a way that increases Genetic Diversity Viability and Longevity

Restoration- Botanic Gardens Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, South Yunnan, China - Restoring remnants of tropical forest Cleared for rubber plantations Using historical records to determine what has been lost An example of this is the ERA. An association of botanic gardens that are actively involved in ecological restoration which are coordinated by BGCI which aims to restore 50 degraded sites by 2020. Xishuagbanna BG is an example of a garden that is using expertise in ex situ conservation to implement restoration in tropical forest cleared for rubber plantations. Using the knowledge acquired from propogating species in the garden they are using historical records to deterine what has been lost and to put it back.

Germination requirements are species-specific Consider -Taxonomy -Habitat -Life cycle of the plant -Climate -Dormancy

Taxonomy http://data.kew.org/sid/ If information is not present for the species of interest find the most closely related species

Habitat type Aquatic Dune Temperate Forest Tropical forest Grassland

Life Cycle Books Journal Papers

What is the life cycle in the natural habitat? When does this occur? When does this occur?

What is the life cycle in the natural habitat? What are the environmental conditions when this occurs What are the environmental conditions when this occurs

Climate Seed dispersal Max Min Average

Climate eg. Temperate regions summer annuals Seeds germinate Seeds dispersed

Dormancy Evolved to delay germination until favourable environmental conditions are present for survival.

Exogenous (external) dormancy Physical dormancy Dormancy breaking in the wild Dormancy breaking in the lab Hard seed coat. Fire stimulated high temperatures crack the seed coat Scarify seeds to allow imbibition of water Animal dispersed-digestive tract breaks physical dormancy Sulphuric acid used to break dormancy

Endogenous (internal) dormancy Morphological dormancy Dormancy breaking in the wild Dormancy breaking in the lab Embryo underdeveloped. needs to grow before germination occurs Cold or warm stratification Cold or warm stratification- Move along experiment Seed dispersal 20/10C 15/5C 20/10C

Dormancy – Plant orders

Germination in the wild and the lab Taxonomy - Nymphaeae caerulea. Habitat - Aquatic. Germination occurs in water Climate - Distribution. East Africa rivers, Nile. Warm water Dormancy - Physical dormancy. To break seed coat needs scarification

Germination- Ex situ Physical dormancy –Scarification of seed coat Allows water in and germination takes place Germination takes place in water

End of Module Five (Germination and Dormancy) Go to Module Six (Data Management)