Australia

South Australia

SACRED Seeds (South Australian Centre for Rare and EnDangered Seeds) is the locally recognised programme of collaboration between the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project. Based at the Adelaide Botanic Garden’s Seed Conservation Centre, SACRED Seeds has become a key link in the State’s Biodiversity Strategy.

Acacia menzelii (Photo: Phillip Ainsley)

In 2002, the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide developed a Strategic Plan (2002-2005) focused on becoming an international leader in horticulture for arid and semi-arid environments.  This focus is because approximately 75% of South Australia is considered to be arid/semi-arid; defined as areas frequently affected by drought receiving 200 to 350 mm of rainfall per annum.  One of the key objectives in the Strategic Plan is plant conservation.

The Project purpose will be addressed through the delivery of four Project aims:

1. An enhancement and strengthening in the capacity of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide Seed Conservation Centre to collect and conserve South Australia’s threatened and priority plant species;
2. An increase in the number of long-term seed conservation collections of threatened and priority South Australian flora using the most current and appropriate seed banking and collecting technologies;
3. The development and adoption of improved seed management procedures for long-term conservation collections held at the Seed Conservation Centre;
4. Improved availability of seed management information and procedures for South Australian plant species to end-users.

Olearia pannosa ssp pannosa (Photo: Phillip Ainsley)

The Seed Conservation Centre is the only unit within the state undertaking research to develop germination and storage protocols for each taxon of native plant species collected.  In addition, the strategy of the Seed Conservation Centre has been tightly aligned with state and national legislation, and closely links with South Australia’s regional biodiversity plans.  Since its establishment the unit has been actively collaborating with regional groups and research teams within the state to complement existing programs where the focus has been on in situ plant conservation of native plant species.

Of the 3504 vascular plant species in the state, 800 are listed as being under threat of extinction. There are large numbers of endemic species, with the highest concentration of endemism occurring on the Eyre Peninsular. The SACRED Seeds project will collect 1,010 species new to the Millennium Seed Bank over the six year life of the partnership.