2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Land preservation has been the primary means of endangered plant conservation for many years. As we continue to lose species there is an increasing recognition of the need for ex situ conservation techniques to complement these in situ techniques. Ex situ conservation is generally gene banking, which can take many forms, seed banking being the most common, but can also include techniques such as tissue culture preservation or living off-site populations. Whatever the form, ex situ conservation is ultimately only going to be successful as a form of conservation if genetically diverse and ecologically/genetically appropriate plants can be grown and moved back onto natural landscapes, which is where horticulture is important. Horticultural techniques will also be important as land preservation groups seek to connect the fragmented genetics of land preserve “islands”. Both the techniques and the infrastructure of modern horticulture, especially those available at a public-forward institution like a botanic garden, would fit well with the ex situ conservation needs that land preservation alone does not meet. Of particular note are the technology and data tracking botanic gardens often have available, which are vital tools to help track and manage genetics. As climate change continues and static land preserves change to different ecotypes we will need to have a system in place to help plants migrate to new, and newly appropriate, locations. Horticulture and botanic gardens are the logical choice for these systems and are in many cases already preparing for this work.