Seeking Spatial Patterns of Photosynthesis: Innovative technology and the UC Botanical Garden Collections Paul Seibert How does photosynthesis change across the surface of a leaf? This was the driving question that led to my involvement with the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley. My name is Paul Seibert, and I am an environmental engineering PhD student…
Conservation Projects Protecting biological diversity Conservation of plant biodiversity is central to the Garden’s mission, and much of this work happens ‘behind-the-scenes’. We’re excited to share news about the Garden’s partnership with the Mt. Diablo Buckwheat Working Group, a consortium of local stakeholders including California State Parks, among others, working together to preserve Mt. Diablo…
Director of Collections Andrew Doran Dear Garden Community, At approximately 4:30pm on Tuesday March 21st a loud crash was heard by the few remaining staff on site during the high winds that gusted through the Garden. Immediate suspicions were that the large coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) that predates the Garden had partially failed with the loss…
Clare Loughran, Assistant Curator Like many other activities this year, our 2020 conservation field season was heavily impacted by restrictions due to COVID-19. Luckily, the Garden made a few seed collections this year, primarily contributions to the California Biodiversity Initiative, which seeks to bank seeds of the rarest plants in California. Most recently, on November 6th,…
Vanessa Handley, Director of Collections & Research This article was originally printed in the UC Botanical Garden Newsletter, Vol. 44, 2019 Tropical forests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, collectively harboring roughly 60% of the world’s species. Tragically, these cradles of biodiversity are also among the most critically imperiled. Current estimates indicate that tropical…
Vanessa Handley, Director of Research & Collections The Garden’s magnificent public collections are its raison d’être but behind-the-scenes conservation projects are also points of great institutional pride. Conservation activities at UCBG are very diverse and include propagation in the Nursery, population monitoring at remote sites and genetic analyses in the laboratory. As befits a Garden…
Ben Anderson, Horticulturist Starting in June of 2016, UCBG staff have taken regular trips to Point Arena, California to conduct a floristic survey of the 1,665 acre Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument. This work has been accomplished through a contract for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Our team scoured ocean bluffs,…