Aug 31, 2023 | News
A behind the scenes look at the small conservation collection of Acacia phasmoides (Phantom wattle), which has just started flowering in the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) nursery. The Phantom wattle only occurs on Pine Mountain, in northeast Victoria, and Woomargama in NSW. This species is federally listed as Vulnerable and is at risk of local extinction due to unpredictable natural threats, including severe floods or fire.
RBGV conservation geneticists are analysing genetic data to guide ex situ conservation of the Phantom wattle, which will include collections for the Victorian Conservation Seedbank and propagation of additional plants to build the conservation collection.
Holding seed and plants ex situ acts as insurance against the loss of wild populations and forms part of the Preventing the extinction of Victoria’s threatened flora project. RBGV botanists will be joined by members of the local community when undertaking surveys and collecting the plants.
This research is funded by DEECA’s Victoria’s Nature Fund. The ‘Preventing the extinction of Victoria’s threatened flora’ project is led by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in partnership with La Trobe University, Australian Network for Plant Conservation, DEECA, Trust for Nature, ENVITE, Bairnsdale & District Field Naturalists Club, Friends of the Grampians Gariwerd, Wimmera CMA, Nillumbik Shire, Halls Gap Botanic Gardens and the Australasian Native Orchid Society Victorian Branch
Image: Acacia phasmoides growing in the RBGV nursery. (Laura Simmons)
Jun 1, 2023 | Events Category, News
In collaboration with the Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW, the ANPC held ‘FLORA AFTER FIRE – winners, losers and lessons‘ via Zoom webinar on Wednesday 16 August 2023.
This free online symposium was focused on the post-fire recovery of native vegetation.
A range of speakers covered three themes:
1/ plant and fire relationships
2/ impacts and observations (case studies)
3/ lessons and actions moving forward
Download the program here.
Speakers from across Australia discussed plant and fire impacts, with special emphasis on Black Summer impacts and recovery. Topics and speakers included:
- Post-fire epiphytic orchid surveys – Prof Jeremy Bruhl and Dr Heidi Zimmer
- Rainforests in SE NSW and the Western Dorrigo – Mark Graham
- Plant disease after fire – Bundjalung Country – Dr Geoff Pegg
- Kangaroo Island seed production area for restoration – Dr Jenny Guerin
- Improving the evidence base to support decision-making – Dr Libby Rumpff
- Planning for post fire restoration and reintroductions – Dr Melinda Pickup and Dr Tein McDonald
- Threat assessments and revised threatened species listings – Prof Tony Auld and Tom Le Breton
- Planned Actions of the NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre Environment Node – Assoc. Prof. Rachel Gallagher
Recordings of the presentations will be available soon!
Jul 28, 2023 | News
Australia lacks the seed supplies, knowledge for nature repair market, experts say – Carbon Pulse, 26 July 2023
“The ANPC has identified a “high level of concern” across the native seed sector that future demand for seed would be difficult to meet from the wild.
“This is due to the high costs of seed collection and the lack of seed from a broad range of the species that are critical for restoration.
“There may not be enough native seed in many regions to support the large-scale restoration required for landscape recovery.
“The ANPC said the further development and funding of seed production areas – where native species are cultivated for their seeds, like agricultural crops – would be critical to meeting seed needs and preserving wild populations.
“High quality seed from a range of native species is the foundation for restoring many of our threatened plants and natural landscapes.”
Read the full article here.
Download the ANPC’s Australian Native Seed Survey Report for more information on this issue.
Image: Collecting Nitre Goosefoot (Chenopodium nitrariaceum) seed (Sue Logie)
Jul 26, 2023 | Events Category, News
Myrtle Rust threatens an estimated 350 Australian plants, killing new growth, buds and flowers, meaning severely impacted species can no longer reproduce. Worst affected species will disappear from the wild. Myrtle Rust is having such a devastating impact on some native plants, that scientists, community groups and First Nations groups in Australia and New Zealand are working together to devise an Australasian response. In June 2023 over 100 experts from around the globe met in Sydney to share knowledge in the inaugural Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference, supported by the Australian Network for Plant Conservation.
Download the Summary of Proceedings of the Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference here [PDF link]
Attendees were buoyed by the breadth of work and dedication to preventing Myrtle Rust extinctions. They were simultaneously unanimous in the sentiment that stronger leadership, greater coordination, and long-term funding were the crucial missing elements. Priority next steps include improved sharing of resources and of research and its outcomes, and refining priority species and actions for conservation efforts to maximise the involvement of researchers, communities and land managers.
Several key themes emerged from the 50 presentations given during the conference, giving rise to potential simultaneous directions to tackle Myrtle Rust incursions and extinctions:
International guest speaker Dr Richard Sniezko from the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, presenting on developing disease resistance tree populations for restoration. Credit: Dan Turner
Jul 28, 2023 | News
Thanks to funding from DEECA Victoria’s Nature Fund,
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria will be leading research to conserve 24 threatened Victorian plant species as part of the ‘Preventing the extinction of Victoria’s threatened flora’ project. Stay tuned over the next year to hear more about the incredible plants being conserved for future generations.
One of these plants, and the first to be featured over the next 12 months, is
Spyridium furculentum (forked spyridium).
Considered Critically Endangered in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, this rare species is endemic to heathy mallee in western Victoria – where it is only known from a few locations.
Forked spyridium is a shrub that grows to approximately 1.6 m tall, and the young branches are covered with star-shaped (stellate) hairs giving them a soft, furry appearance.
Ahead of field work later this year when populations will be surveyed and samples collected to characterise the genetic diversity of those populations, scientists are investigating seed viability and germination of seed collections held in the Victorian Conservation Seedbank (VCS) at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
The VCS holds collections of over 880 rare and threatened Victorian plant species for long-term conservation and this includes nine collections of Spyridium furculentum made since 2004. Like many species in the family Rhamnaceae, seeds of forked spyridium have a hard seed coat which acts as a physical barrier to water uptake and germination, so a dry heat treatment will be used to break this physical dormancy and enable germination. Seedlings will then be grown on to bolster populations in the wild.
This project is led by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in partnership with La Trobe University, Australian Network for Plant Conservation, DEECA, Trust for Nature, ENVITE, Bairnsdale & District Field Naturalists Club, Friends of the Grampians Gariwerd, Halls Gap Botanic Gardens and the Australasian Native Orchid Society Victorian Branch.
Image: Jo Lynch
Jun 30, 2023 | News
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment funded an extension to the ‘Safe Custody for Native Guava’ project for the 2023/24 financial year, with the aim to:
- Continue monitoring already-dispersed Native Guava (R. psidioides) collection.
- Ensure continued integration of Qld’s dispersal and monitoring activities with those in NSW.
- Send new lineages of Native Guava to partner garden dispersed collections.
- Collate monitoring data and suggest updates to monitoring methods.
- Communicate progress and lessons.
- Trial sharing of Scrub Turpentine (Rhodamnia rubescens) lineages to partner gardens.
ANPC Project Manager Chantelle Doyle is coordinating this project and can be contacted on this email.
Read this Botanic Gardens of Sydney blog piece written by Chantelle to find out more about how ‘genetics is helping to save plant species decimated by myrtle rust’ dated 28 July 2023.
The project has facilitated monthly meetings of the Myrtle Rust Consortium, established under the original Native Guava project, where members have been able to present, share information, network, collaborate and report on germplasm collection, propagation, planting, maintenance of the ex situ collections, research findings and any issues or problems.
To further expand communications, the ANPC is collaborating with UNSW and the BGANZ Collections and Records Management group (BCARM) to co-ordinate a quarterly series of informal virtual get togethers, the “Myrtle Rust Management for Practitioners – open series” which commenced in February 2024, focusing on practical aspects of managing and maintaining a conservation collection of Myrtle Rust susceptible species. To date, two sessions have been held:
1/ “Fundamentals of managing a Myrtle Rust sensitive collection” on 22 February 2024. Themed presentations were recorded and are available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqyyjPw0meA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMa9MkvekWc
2/ “Pest and Disease Control – Chemical Use and Permits” on 16 May 2024. A themed presentation was recorded and is available at
https://youtu.be/eEN5WEa-K9I
Thank you to all our partner organisations for their generous support and commitment to this project:
Main image: Members of the Myrtle Rust Project steering committee at the Myrtle Rust Conference in June 2023:
Front (L-R): Amelia Martyn Yenson, Stephanie Chen, Chantelle Doyle, Karen Sommerville, Peter Gould.
Back (L-R): Bob Makinson, Veronica Viler, Geoff Pegg, Craig Stehn, Fiona Giblin, Tracey Menzies.
(Not present: Ian Allen, Tony Auld, Jason Bragg, Damian Butler, Michael Elgey, Chris Fernance, Jo Lynch, Ash Filipovski, Toby Golson, John Hodgon, Phil Hurle, Zoe Knapp, Tex Moon, Ryan Newett, Cathy Offord, Angela Verner, Marion Whitehead, Damian Wrigley, Samantha Yap).
Images: Native Guava ex situ collections at Australian Botanic Garden Mt Annan. Credits: Veronica Viler (L) and Nathan Emery
