Collections Policy for Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank (2009)

Collections Policy for Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank (2009)

The Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank at the Chicago Botanic Garden is committed to collecting and storing seeds across the Midwest.  Due to land use changes, fragmentation, urbanization and invasive species, the tallgrass prairie has been reduced to less than 0.01% of its former range, making it one of the world’s most threatened habitats. The Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank is a key collaborator in the Millennium Seed Bank Project coordinated by Royal Botanic Garden Kew and the US based Seeds of Success project supported by the Bureau of Land Management (http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/).  The Millennium Seed Bank project is an international seed banking efforts that has a goal to collect 25% of the world’s flora by 2020 (http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/msbp/index.html).  Seeds of Success aims to bank seeds from multiple populations of targeted taxa for use in restoration activities.

Goals for the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank

• Lead the National Seeds of Success effort to bank the entire flora of the U.S. in collaboration with several other botanic gardens and the Plant Conservation Alliance.
• Collect seed from 10-20 populations from across their range of approximately 150 targeted species,
• Conduct research into optimal growth conditions for “bulk” seed production of our accession to preserve genetic diversity
• Begin bulk production of seed for large-scale restoration practice

1. INTRODUCTION

Seeds of Success (SOS) in the United States is a conservation project between the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG, Kew) and the Plant Conservation Alliance. The Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) is related to Seeds of Success in that the collections made for SOS contribute to the international conservation project (http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/msbp/index.html). Often, CBG staff will refer to Seeds of Success as the Millennium Seed Bank Project. The official Seeds of Success website can be found at http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/.

The purpose of the program is to establish a high quality, accurately identified, and well documented native species seed collection at the population level. Each seed collection should comprise a significant representation of the genetic variation within the sampled population. The collections can act as a basis for off site (ex situ) conservation and, where and when appropriate, can be used for study and multiplication in the native plant materials development program for restoration purposes.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has agreed to collect seeds from 1,500 native species from 2003-2009. The Garden’s initial focus was the preservation of the flora of the tallgrass prairie – an endangered habitat of which less than 0.01% of its former extent remains, but all habitats are targeted now. By drying the seeds to low moisture content and freezing them in sealed containers, those seeds can remain viable an average of 200 years for many species. Half of each seed collection is sent to RBG, Kew where the seeds are stored in freezers in anticipation of a worst-case scenario from climate change, habitat destruction, etc. The remaining half is split between CBG and the USDA National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation and seeds are available for research and restoration.

This protocol sets out the procedures for making collections for Seeds of Success