The Italian seed bank network (RIBES) aims to improve the quality and safety of the germplasm reserves of native plant species in Italy to ensure the long-term conservation of endangered and/or endemic flora. The strategy includes traditional methods to secure seed conservation. Priority lists for the collection of both endemics and Crop Wild Relatives have been already drawn up and continuously updated according to the last published red lists. A safety-backup programme of duplicates will soon be implemented to secure the conservation of the most threatened species in at least two seedbanks of the network. Finally, RIBES participates as co-funder in the LIFE Nature project SEEDFORCE, coordinating 11 seedbanks of the network for collecting seeds/spores of 28 threatened species of EU interest. On the other hand, the RIBES strategy also includes research by applying modern techniques. In particular, a study of the behaviour of seeds and spores during freezing/heating cycles through thermal analysis is ongoing together with the Millennium Seed Bank to inform conservation. Using the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), a powerful technique commonly used in Material Science, we could evaluate seed properties such as glass transition temperature, melting, crystallisation, oxidation behaviour, and thermal stability. The first DSC analyses of terrestrial orchid seeds showed useful results indicating different optimal storage temperature ranges for different genera. Last but not least, RIBES collaborates with the Italian Scientific Commission for Antarctica for “Seeds for Future”, with the endorsement of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the IUCN/SSC Seed Conservation Specialist Group. The project aims to create a Global Wild Plant Seed Vault in Antarctica, the most reliable and natural freezer globally, to secure the safe storage of seeds of the most threatened plant species, for the longest possible periods, possibly up to several centuries.
The RIBES strategy for ex situ conservation: conventional and modern techniques to inform seed storage
Cristaudo Antonia;
2021-01-01
Abstract
The Italian seed bank network (RIBES) aims to improve the quality and safety of the germplasm reserves of native plant species in Italy to ensure the long-term conservation of endangered and/or endemic flora. The strategy includes traditional methods to secure seed conservation. Priority lists for the collection of both endemics and Crop Wild Relatives have been already drawn up and continuously updated according to the last published red lists. A safety-backup programme of duplicates will soon be implemented to secure the conservation of the most threatened species in at least two seedbanks of the network. Finally, RIBES participates as co-funder in the LIFE Nature project SEEDFORCE, coordinating 11 seedbanks of the network for collecting seeds/spores of 28 threatened species of EU interest. On the other hand, the RIBES strategy also includes research by applying modern techniques. In particular, a study of the behaviour of seeds and spores during freezing/heating cycles through thermal analysis is ongoing together with the Millennium Seed Bank to inform conservation. Using the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), a powerful technique commonly used in Material Science, we could evaluate seed properties such as glass transition temperature, melting, crystallisation, oxidation behaviour, and thermal stability. The first DSC analyses of terrestrial orchid seeds showed useful results indicating different optimal storage temperature ranges for different genera. Last but not least, RIBES collaborates with the Italian Scientific Commission for Antarctica for “Seeds for Future”, with the endorsement of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the IUCN/SSC Seed Conservation Specialist Group. The project aims to create a Global Wild Plant Seed Vault in Antarctica, the most reliable and natural freezer globally, to secure the safe storage of seeds of the most threatened plant species, for the longest possible periods, possibly up to several centuries.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
