Seed banking

Abstract

Strategies to conserve Australia’s unique native plant heritage depend on understanding how plant species function. The collection, storage and study of plant germplasm – whether as seed, tissue samples, frozen samples, or whole plants – helps us gain this knowledge. It provides research material to unlock the secrets of seed dormancy in the lab and in the wild; it allows us to establish new wild populations of threatened species with the best chance of success; and it provides an ‘insurance policy’ of genetically representative samples, to guard against the risk of extinction and the new threat of rapid climate change. Plant Germplasm Conservation in Australia includes the latest advances in ex situ germplasm conservation. Written by many of Australia’s foremost experts, they place the conservation of this country’s unique and varied plant life in a national and international context, outline the key conservation treaties and strategies and provide a practical knowledge-kit for programs requiring germplasm collection, storage, research and utilisation. Content is relevant for both long-term conservation storage and short-term revegetation seed banking