A long-term conservation-oriented program for cycads should have three objectives: 1) protection, 2) conservation, and 3) preservation of populations. These objectives can be achieved through two types of activities: 1) on-site (in situ) activities, which are conducted in the original habitat, and 2) off-site (ex situ) activities, which preserve genetic diversity outside of the plants’ native habitat. Protection is integral to both activities. Conservation and protection keep populations under the same conditions as in their natural environment so they can evolve naturally. Realistically, conservation and protection can only be realized in situ. Once a plant is removed from its natural habitat, we cannot restore the whole spectrum of ecological and evolutionary conditions which naturally affect the population (Esser, 1976). Preservation attempts to keep populations at the evolutionary stage they had attained before they were taken from nature. The combined objectives of preservation and protection are generally considered achievable with the development of an off-site program.

Although this series of three articles focuses on off-site collections, the reader should understand that on-site and off-site activities are interdependent for a complete conservation program. Any private or governmental organization should consider both of these activities when developing a program for populations of specific cycad taxa.

What Is Off-Site Preservation?

Off-site preservation of cycads is the development and management by humans of plants away from their areas of natural occurrence. Off-site collections are important genetic libraries for plant taxa. Esser (1976), Given (1994), Brown and Briggs (1991), and Walters and Hubbuch (1992, 1994) state numerous justifications for developing, managing, and financially investing in off-site collections of threatened, rare, and endangered living plants.

• To provide a protective and managed site for growing plants to arrest the potential genetic erosion of wild populations;
• To provide a gene reservoir for basic and applied research for the present and for the future;
• To provide plants and material to individuals, organizations, and institutions so that the pressure is taken away from wild populations;
• To provide plants and material for display collections and education; and
• To provide seeds and plants for introduction into the nursery trade.

Of course, the highest value of any off-site collections is in restoring plants to an extinct or critically endangered population in its native habitat (Barrett and Kohn, 1991).

There are numerous other justifications, including probably many that have not yet been realized. The above justifications speak for themselves; development and management of ex-situ collections is beneficial for preserving and protecting the genetic diversity of rare and endangered cycads.

How Do We Decide Which Taxa To Preserve?

In 1991, the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) recommended that a taxon with a high selection priority for establishment within an off-site collection is characterized by at least one of the following (CPC, 1991):

• a high degree of endangerment;
• a rapid decline in population numbers or size; and
• taxonomic and evolutionary uniqueness.

The majority of known cycad taxa would be considered as priority for being included in ex-situ collections, according to the CPC guidelines.

Who Should Do It?

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenges, responsibilities, and costs for off-site cycad collections and little impressed with the rewards and dividends. Those who are involved with the funding, development, and management of off-site collections have to ask themselves the rhetorical questions: who will speak for the cycads?, and, if not now, when? If research institutions, both private and public botanical gardens and collections, experimental field stations, and arboreta do not undertake off-site preservation, it simply will not be done. The inevitable result will be to jeopardize an enormous amount of biodiversity and economic potential which would otherwise be available for future generations.

Cycad populations, species, and even genera do not respect state, provincial, or national borders. This introduces an international element into developing genetically-based resource management programs for the protection, conservation, and preservation of cycads. Ultimately, however, the setting of priorities for a resource management program for cycads lies with national and local governments, botanical institutions, and plant societies.

Botanical gardens, both government and privately supported, are usually the providers and supporters of off-site activities. Dedicated experimental gardens, those that primarily grow plants for research and educational use, are essential for effective preservation. These types of gardens are usually found within universities, governmental agricultural stations, and private botanical gardens. Such gardens facilitate and encourage research which forms the basis for management of species in wild habitats, for translocation and establishment of new populations, and for rescue exercises.

Experimental gardens can grow plants that are not of interest to public gardens. In addition, they are able to grow large numbers of plants of the same taxon in one area. Gardens that are supported by the public focus on displaying interspecies diversity as opposed to intraspecies diversity. For example, the public generally is not interested in seeing a collection of 30 plants representing the three known populations of Cycas panzhihuaensis. However, for a collection of this species to be truly useful for off-site preservation, a minimum of 30 plants would be necessary.

One option that has met with success is dividing a botanical garden into two areas: one area, open to the public, displays species diversity; the second area, not open to the public, concentrates on developing ex-situ collections of specific taxa. The National Botanical Institute’s Lowveld National Botanical Garden in Nelspruit, South Africa, has successfully adopted this scenario to support their commitment to cycad education, research, and preservation

New botanical gardens are on the increase, both at the national and regional levels, in countries where native cycad populations occur. In addition, many older gardens and collections are becoming revitalized with financial support from both the government and private sectors. Of 1,700 botanical gardens worldwide, approximately 800 are active in some significant way in conservation, and this number is increasing yearly (Jackson, 1998). If only 400 of the 800 conservation-oriented gardens focused some conservation energies on at least one cycad population or taxon, the majority of critically endangered cycads would have an institution overseeing them.

The author recommends that, in countries where cycads naturally occur, national and regional government officials and management at botanical gardens, arboreta, and experimental agricultural stations evaluate the present and future status of native cycad populations. They should prioritize the level of urgency for developing off-site collections of specific cycad populations, based on the amount of potential disturbance to the habitat by population growth and land clearing for agriculture and industry.

Each institution should then commit to developing an ex-situ collection for one or more populations or for one or more taxa, either at their institution or in partnership with a sister institution in another country. Available space and future financial support for the collection must be considered during the entire development process. Institutions in countries where cycads do not occur but are in demand as ornamentals should consider funding off-site population, taxon, or taxa collections in a country with native cycad populations. Because off-site preservation plays a critical role in a complete conservation program, everyone concerned about the fate of cycads will reap the benefits of off-site collections of these uniquely wonderful plants.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of three articles on off-site preservation of cycads.

Literature Cited:

Barrett, C. H. and J. R. Kohn 1991. Genetic and evolutionary consequences of small populations size in plants: implications for conservation. In Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plant,s eds. D. A. Falk and K. E. Holsinger. Oxford University Press, New York.

Brown, A. H. D. and J. D. Briggs. 1991. Sampling strategies for genetic variation in Off-site collections of endangered plant species. In Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plants, eds. D. A. Falk and K. E. Holsinger. Oxford University Press, New York.

Center for Plant Conservation. 1991. Genetic sampling guidelines for conservation collections of endangered species. In Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plants, eds. D. A. Falk and K. E. Holsinger. Oxford University Press, New York.

Esser, K. 1976. Genetic factors to be considered in maintaining living plant collections. In Conservation of threatened plants, ed. J. B. Simmons, R. I. Beyer, P. E. Brandham, G. L. Lucas, and V. T. H. Parry, pages 185-197. Plenum Press: London.

Given, D. R. 1994. Principles and practice of plant conservation. Timber Press: Portland Oregon. 292 pages.

Hurter, J. 1995. Off-site cycad conservation in the Lowveld National Botanical Garden. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Cycad Biology, ed. P. Vorster. The Cycad Society of South Africa, Matieland, South Africa.

Jackson, P. W. 1998. Botanic gardens: a revolution in progress. World Conservation 2: 14-15

Walters, T. W. and C. Hubbuch. 1992. Strategic Plan for the Fairchild Tropical Garden Cycad Collection. Fairchild Tropical Garden Montgomery Library (bound manuscript), Miami, Florida