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What is the Conservation Value of a Plant in a Botanic Garden? Using Indicators to Improve Management of Ex Situ Collections

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Abstract

Living botanic garden plant collections are a fundamental and underutilized worldwide resource for plant conservation. A common goal in managing a botanical living collection is to maintain the greatest biodiversity at the greatest economic and logistic efficiency. However to date there is no unified strategy for managing living plants within and among botanic gardens. We propose a strategy that combines three indicators of the management priority of a collection: information on species imperilment, genetic representation, and the operational costs associated to maintaining genetic representation. In combination or alone, these indicators can be used to assay effectiveness and efficiency of living collections, and to assign a numeric conservation value to an accession. We illustrate this approach using endangered palms that have been studied to varying degrees. Management decisions can be readily extended to other species based on our indicators. Thus, the conservation value of a species can be shared through existing databases with other botanic gardens and provide a list of recommendations toward a combined management strategy for living collections. Our approach is easily implemented and well suited for decision-making by gardens and organizations interested in plant conservation.

Resumen

Las colecciones vivas en jardines botánicos son una parte fundamental y poco utilizada en la conservación de plantas a nivel mundial. Un objetivo común en el manejo de las colecciones botánicas vivas es mantener la mayor biodiversidad al menor costo económico y logístico. Sin embargo hasta ahora no existe una estrategia unificada para el manejo de plantas vivas dentro y entre jardines botánicos. Aquí proponemos una estrategia que combina tres indicadores para establecer prioridades de manejo de una colección: información acerca del riesgo en estado silvestre de la especie, representación genética, y los costos operativos asociados a mantener la representación genética. En combinación o solos, estos indicadores pueden ser utilizados para evaluar la efectividad y eficiencia de las colecciones vivas, y para asignar un valor numérico de conservación a un espécimen. Demostramos esta estrategia con palmas que tienen diversos tipos de estudios e información disponible. Decisiones de manejo basadas en nuestros indicadores se pueden extender y aplicar fácilmente a otras especies de manera similar a como lo demostramos aquí. Además, el valor de conservación de un especie puede ser compartido con otros jardines botánicos utilizando bases de datos pre-existentes y así proveer una serie de recomendaciones hacia el manejo integrado de las colecciones vivas. Nuestra estrategia se puede implementar fácilmente y es apropiada para la toma de decisiones en jardines y organizaciones interesadas en la conservación de recursos en plantas.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Laurie Danielson, Michael Dosmann, Chad Husby, Andrea Kramer, Carl Lewis, Sandra Namoff, Larry Noblick, Sandra Rigotti and Arantza Strader, for their assistance and input; AH acknowledges the Arnold Arboretum Putnam Fellowship, ACJ acknowledges funding from the MBC, the Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics of the American Museum of Natural History, and the Dorothy and Lewis Cullman Postdoctoral Fellowship; MPG acknowledges the International Palm Society and the Kelly Foundation for generous funding. This is contribution number 221 from the Tropical Biology Program of Florida International University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (Langebio), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (Cinvestav), Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico

    Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo

  2. The New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street & Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458-5126, USA

    Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo & Helen Ma

  3. Montgomery Botanical Center, 11901 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL, 33156, USA

    Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo & M. Patrick Griffith

  4. Botanic Gardens Conservation International U.S., 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL, 60022, USA

    Abby Hird

  5. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Abby Hird

  6. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, University Park, FL, 33174, USA

    Nora Oleas & Javier Francisco-Ortega

  7. Centro de Investigacion en Biodiversidad y Cambio Climatico, Universidad Tecnologica Indoamerica, Machala y Sabanilla, Quito, Ecuador

    Nora Oleas

  8. USDA-ARS Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, National Germplasm Repository, 13601 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL, 33158, USA

    Alan W. Meerow

  9. Center for Tropical Plant Conservation, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 11935 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL, 33156, USA

    Javier Francisco-Ortega

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  1. Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo
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Cibrian-Jaramillo, A., Hird, A., Oleas, N. et al. What is the Conservation Value of a Plant in a Botanic Garden? Using Indicators to Improve Management of Ex Situ Collections. Bot. Rev. 79, 559–577 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-013-9120-0

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