SEEDFORCE - Conservation in situ and ex situ of endemic species under threat of extinction

Significantly improving the conservation status of 29 species of plants classified as particularly rare and at risk of extinction, present in 76 biodiversity hotspots (SCI/SAC areas of Natura 2000 Network) in Italy and neighbouring regions: this is the objective of SEEDFORCE (Using SEED banks to restore and reinFORCE the endangered native plants of Italy), a project funded by the European Commission through the LIFE programme. SEEDFORCE involves the nodes of the RIBES network (Italian network of germplasm banks for the conservation ex situ of Italian spontaneous flora, of which Padua Botanical Garden is a founding member) and 3 international partners (France, Slovenia and Malta) engaged in concrete actions implemented through an integrated ex situ/in situ approach.These actions include improving the quality of a habitat covering 450,250 hectares, comprising areas in which the target species still grow or have recently become extinct, harvesting seeds (germplasm) for long term preservation, and undertaking a mass reproduction of these species, on the basis of specially developed germination and propagation protocols and using a carefully selected mix of genotypes that imitates the natural gene flow. Padua Botanical Garden is involved in schemes for the conservation of 3 species: Kosteletzkya pentacarpos in coastal areas of the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions, Adenophora liliifolia on the Belluno Dolomites, and Marsilea quadrifolia in the Mesola forest. Starting in 2024, young plants grown from the harvested seeds will be transferred to the natural environment, for reintroduction or as reinforcement for wild populations, and monitored constantly thereafter in collaboration with local land management authorities, to verify the effectiveness of the initiative.