Chile
Crinodendron patagua, in flower and fruit (Photo: Pablo Guerrero)
The National Agricultural Research Institute of Chile (INIA) has been working with RBG Kew since 2001 to seed bank the precious flora of Chile’s desert and mediterranean regions. The project ‘Ex situ Conservation of Endemic, Endangered and Vulnerable Plant Species from the Arid Lands of Chile’is based at the INIA base bank near La Serena in Chile’s Coquimbo region. All steps in the seed conservation process are carried out in Chile with advice and support from RBG Kew as part of agreed capacity building. Species are prioritised according to their uniqueness and their distribution. Herbarium specimen data is analysed to provide quality information for the project collectors, following procedures developed by RBG Kew's species targeting team . A small team of botanists and ecologists undertake collecting expeditions targeting the rarest and most threatened plants from the north of Chile. Seed collections and herbarium vouchers are returned to the INIA base bank for processing, long term conservation, and research. Seed collections are duplicated at RBG Kew under the terms of an Access and Benefit Sharing Agreement (ABSA) signed by INIA and RBG Kew in 2001 and renewed in August 2006.
As a result of generous support from Rio Tinto plc, five particularly threatened species, that do not produce sufficient seed for effective seedbanking, have been included in a linked project the Ex Situ Conservation of Threatened Chilean Flora Through Propagation. Pollination studies and propagation trials will be used as a basis for restoration and reintroduction efforts if required in future.
Collaborators include
- University of Concepción. Herbarium personnel have kindly provided INIA with botanical data to help identify and locate target species
- National Botanic Garden of Viña del Mar. Personnel have made several seed collecting expeditions for the project, with a particular emphasis on orchids and other threatened taxa.
- University of Talca. Botanic garden personnel are making seed collections for the project
- Rio Tinto Exploration. Logistic support has been generously provided to assist two INIA collecting expeditions in the north of Chile. Printing and dissemination of the Spanish-language Seed Collecting Manual was also kindly supported.
