Annual Accounts 2011-2012 (pdf - 973 kB) - Royal Botanic Garden ...

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Annual Report and Accounts for the year to 31 March 2012
3. sustainable use - wise exploitation of plants so they are still available for future
generations, and
4. ecosystem services - preserving the function of Earth’s biosphere and ecosystems.
RBGE’s international programme of research attracts scientists and horticulturists from many
countries to work on collaborative projects and contribute to the knowledge associated with the
rich living and preserved collections at RBGE. With the support of external funding we have
been able to digitise and database herbarium specimens from priority geographical and
taxonomical areas. Over 28,000 herbarium specimens were digitised during the reporting
period, mostly funded by external grants, we now have over 158,000 specimens imaged and
available at our website. In addition the new technology of high resolution digital imaging has
been incorporated into existing work flows. One example of this has been the reduction in the
number of specimens sent out on loan from 4,276 for the year 2010/11 to 1,777 for 2011/12
which has provided significant savings in our postage bill. Our collection backlog of unmounted
incoming material has continued to rise due to large gifts from other international herbaria in
addition to the continuing steady flow of incoming specimens from staff and colleagues.
RBGE’s key role in plant identification is being revolutionised through the application of DNA
barcoding tools, particularly for small, less charismatic organisms like lichens and bryophytes.
The RBGE has a global role in this emerging and fast moving field. At the same time we
continue to make progress on unravelling the histories of plant diversity in the tropics, in Latin
America, Asia and Africa and producing fundamental taxonomic outputs in the forms of floras
and monographs. The resulting total of 223 publications reflects a wide range of peer reviewed
scientific papers, popular articles, book chapters and books. One of the several books published
in this reporting year by RBGE was the first volume of the Flora of Nepal which reflects a
considerable increase in the information now available for the plants of Nepal.
Grant income of £928,851 was received for the past year compared to £1.01m in FY 10/11.
Most of this grant income was for biodiversity research.
At the end of the year the Living Collection comprised 347 plant families, 2699 genera, 13,302
species and 17,257 taxa, from 152 countries. New material was obtained from 67 countries and
especially from Chile, south west USA and eastern USA. A large stocktaking exercise was
undertaken during the year in readiness for production of the Catalogue of Plants 2012, due to
be published later in the year. This exercise provides reassurance that those plants cited as
alive in the plant records database really are alive and growing in a particular garden area. The
Living Collection has been used for a wide range of biodiversity research, particularly species of
Begonia, Zingiberaceae, Gesneriaceae and conifers. During the year the target to ‘data capture’
at least 1,000 accessions was reached. Although the work is detailed and time consuming, the
process of preserving a leaf sample for future DNA analysis, taking photographs of key
characteristics and making an herbarium specimen is considered a vital part of maximising the
research potential of the Living Collection. As part of our environmental work surveys of birds,
bees, moths, butterflies and hoverflies were undertaken in the garden during the last year (full
listings are being published and will be available from Mill, R. (2012). Biodiversity recording at
the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Sibbaldia, 10, due to be published in October 2012).
Conservation
RBGE contributes to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the
ecosystem, species and genetic levels through research and by developing policies and
practices for protecting biodiversity and halting its loss. As a consequence of our expertise we
are able to inform both public and professional audiences about the importance of plant
conservation and the ways in which they themselves can contribute; the RBGE has developed
models with protocols for plant conservation and sustainable use. We have produced
conservation reports for government agencies and helped develop habitat protection strategies,
including conservation initiatives at local level. We work with conservation agencies at all stages
of their projects. We build capacity in Scotland and abroad for the conservation of plant
biodiversity; this responds directly to the needs of users who wish to access our expertise.
Much of RBGE’s conservation work directly supports the 16 targets of the Global Strategy for
Plant Conservation (GSPC). In particular, over the last reporting year, RBGE has taken a lead
with 3 other international institutions on target 1, which is to produce an online Flora of all
known plants. Target 2, an assessment of the conservation status of all know plant species, has
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