Global Trees Campaign -
A Global Survey of Ex situ Conifer Collections has analysed how well represented threatened conifers are in botanic garden and arboreta collections around the world and highlights priority taxa for conservation action.
A global reassessment of the conservation status of the world's conifers was undertaken and up-to-date assessments published on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in July 2013. This showed that 34% of conifers (292 taxa) are globally threatened with extinction.
In response to this, collection lists were requested from botanic garden and arboreta worldwide to determine how well represented threatened conifers are in ex situ collections. Information provided to the BGCI PlantSearch database shows that 81% of globally threatened conifer taxa are present in over 800 ex situ collections. The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation calls for 80% of threatened taxa to be held in ex situ collections by 2020. According to data provided, this target is being met, but further analysis shows that 134 threatened conifer taxa are known in very few or no collections. These are highlighted as priorities for establishing a more effective safety net against extinction of threatened conifers.
