Alice Di Sacco
Research Assistant
Department
Team
Specialism
Seed collecting, processing and conservation; seed germination and dormancy; seed storage behaviour; seed conservation techniques training.
Biography
During my time at the Millennium Seed Bank I covered various roles from Seed Processing Assistant and Germination Specialist to Seed Conservation Projects Officer, also spending a significant time in Latin America. This enabled me to learn all the different aspects and procedures of seed banking and understand how this form of ex situ conservation can be efficiently used for wild species of plants both in the UK and overseas.
My current role involves providing scientific and technical support to the Newton Project “Use of seed-banking to enhance conservation and access to medicinal plants from highlands of Moquegua, Peru”, which includes delivering a seed conservation techniques course in Lima, participating in seed collecting expeditions in the highlands of Moquegua and supporting seed processing, germination and research in seed dormancy and longevity in the CENSI medicinal seed bank of Lima. I am also involved with various seed conservation projects in Latin America, including the Garfield Weston Global Tree Seed Bank Project in Colombia, assisting with the seed collection, storage, viability testing and storage behaviour of trees from the Tropical Dry Forests of Colombia.
Qualifications and appointments
Education
- MSc (Hons) Management and Development of Natural Resources, University of Pisa, 2011
- BSc (Hons) Natural Science, University of Pisa, 2007
Affiliations
Member of International Seed Testing Association Flower Seed Testing Committee since February 2014
Selected publications
Di Sacco, A. & Bedini, G. (2015).
Demography and reproductive performance of Calystegia soldanella on a sandy seashore in Tuscany, Italy.
Botany, 93: 101-108.
Roma-Marzio, F., Carta, A., Di Sacco, A., Peruzzi, L. & Bedini, G. (2015)
“Contributo alla conoscenza della flora vascolare endemica di Toscana ed aree contermini. 8. Salix crataegifolia (Salicaceae).”
Informatore Botanico Italiano 47: 205-211.
Davies, R., Di Sacco, A. & Newton, R. (2016).
Technical Information Sheet 13a. Germination testing: procedure and evaluation.
Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, Kew.
Davies, R., Di Sacco, A. & Newton, R. (2016).
Technical Information Sheet 13b. “Germination testing: environmental factors and dormancy-breaking treatments.”
Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, Kew.
Di Sacco, A., Way, M., León Lobos, P. & Suarez Ballesteros, C.I. (2018).
Manual de recolección, procesamiento y almacenamiento de semillas de plantas silvestres.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Projects
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Boyacá Seed Bank
Building expertise and capacity for conservation seed-banking in Colombia, with the initial focus on Boyacá flora within the Páramo biome.
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Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in Bolivia
Identifying Tropical Important Plant Areas in the Chiquitano ecoregion of Bolivia and bordering Brazil.
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Global Tree Seed Bank Programme
Conserving some of the world’s rarest, endangered and useful tree and shrub species as well as conducting vital tree conservation research in order to retain a significant resource for humanity.
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