The European Native Seeds Conservation Network (ENSCONET) was a conservation project for the preservation of wild species by maintaining a germplasm bank. It was initially made up of 24 institutions from 17 member states of the European Union, as well as 5 associate members. The network was coordinated by the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom and was founded under the auspices of the 6th "Research Framework Program" of the EU, and covered 5 of the 6 European biogeographic regions.
History Although the project had been in the making for several years, it was not until November 2004 that it was definitively consolidated. The first annual meeting of ENSCONET took place at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, in Crete in June 2005. At this time, the drafting of a protocol agreed by all the members for future collections began. The next annual meeting took place in Valencia and was organized by the Botanical Garden of Valencia. In total, 5 annual meetings and 10 management meetings were held. The project concluded in October 2009.
Main activities The work carried out by the associated institutions within the network can be summarized in 4 sections
Collecting the seeds preferably from their natural environment, identifying the place and conditions of the specimens from which the sample is taken. Conservation, with the latest methods that guarantee its viability for the longest period of time possible. Database, containing all possible information about the specimen from which the seeds are collected, its location, date of collection, state in which it was found. All these data can be recorded both in writing and in computer support Dissemination of all the work carried out within the community of the institutions involved, with a view to improving the collection and conservation methods with the latest techniques among the member institutions, as well as in a more general scope to other institutions outside the field of participating members.
Member institutions The network was initially made up of 24 organisations from 17 countries. Later during the project, 5 additional full and 7 associate members were incorporated.
The 24 original full members were: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, Budapest Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Crete IMGEMA- Botanical Garden of Córdoba, Córdoba Botanical Garden, Trinity College Dublin Botanical Garden of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands Agricultural Research Institute Cyprus Bank of Plant Germplasm-UPM, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid Meise Botanic Garden, Meise Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris University of Pavia / Centro Flora Autóctona della Lombardia, Pavia University of Pisa, Botanical Garden, Pisa Botanical Garden of Soller, islas Baleares Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences Trento, Trento Botanical Garden, University of Valencia, Valencia University of Vienna, Vienna Botanical Garden Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw, Warsaw Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, FU Berlin Helsingin yliopisto, Helsinki Jardim Botânico - Foundation of the University of Lisbon, Lisbon Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo Institute of Botany - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia
Outputs
ENSCONET Seed Collecting Manual For Wild Species ENSCONET Curation Protocols & RecommendationsENSCONET Curation Protocols & Recommendations, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 15 June 2009. ENSCOBASE: the ENSCONET Virtual Seed Bank
References