Consortia

Consortia

Global Conservation Consortia - Erica

The Global Conservation Consortium for Oak brings together the world’s oak experts, conservationists, and the botanic garden community to ensure that no wild species of oak becomes extinct.

No one garden or arboretum can or should conserve all of the world’s threatened oak species, so a coordinated, global effort is needed. Led by the Morton Arboretum in collaboration with BGCI and dozens of other partners, the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO) was launched to prevent extinctions and ensure healthy oak species and populations for the future.

The goal of the GCCO is to mobilize a coordinated network of institutions and experts who work collaboratively to develop and implement a comprehensive conservation strategy to prevent the extinction of the world’s oak species.

Coordinated by

About the GCCO

Comprising around 450 species, oaks are found in forest and shrubland ecosystems throughout the northern hemisphere.
As keystone species, they exhibit an astonishing array of morphological and ecological diversity, thriving in the subtropical forests of southeast Asia, the deserts of Mexico, and the temperate hardwood forests of North America. Their two centers of diversity are in Mexico and eastern Asia, both of which harbour nearly 200 native species. Oaks are prized for their sturdy timber and are valuable sources of wood for building ships, wine barrels, and fine furniture. They are the source of many other non-timber products such as cork, tannins and nutritious acorns for feeding livestock. These iconic trees grace the flags of many nations and states and hold cultural and religious value for people around the world.
Despite their great economic, ecological, and cultural value, many oaks are under threat of extinction. Threats including habitat destruction, climate change, modification of natural systems, pests, and diseases are impacting oak populations around the world. As part of the Global Tree Assessment, The Morton Arboretum leads efforts to compile IUCN Red List threat assessments for all of the oak species. The Red List of Oaks (Carrero et al., 2020) reveals that at least one-third of the world’s oak species are at risk of extinction. This report, including a comprehensive ex situ collections survey, was published in 2020, updating the 2007 Red List of Oaks (Oldfield and Eastwood, 2007) including more than twice the number of species previously assessed.
Species identified as at risk of extinction require conservation action to ensure that they not only survive but are also resilient to the myriad threats they face. This entails protection of threatened wild populations of plants in their natural habitats, and ex situ conservation in botanic gardens and seed banks. Because oaks are “exceptional species” – their acorns do not survive the low temperature and humidity conditions of a standard seed bank – these species require alternative methods for effective ex situ conservation of genetic diversity. Living collections of trees and cryopreservation of embryos and vegetative (growth) tissues are two solutions to this challenge, but these require more time, expertise, and management than standard seed banking. Thus, oaks are in urgent need of a coordinated, global effort to efficiently and effectively preserve species and populations both in their native habitats and in ex situ collections.

Lead Coordinator

The GCCO is being led by The Morton Arboretum.

For questions or more information on how to join, or if you are interested in learning more about current GCCO activities  please contact Amy Byrne, GCCO Coordinator.

Current Steering Committee Members: 

In other regions where threatened oak species occur such as Europe and Africa, we are still looking to identify Consortium Steering Committee members If you are interested in joining as a committee member for another region, please contact Amy Byrne

Join the GCCO

Link to the conservation action tracker

Operational Regions

The GCCO is currently divided into the following operational regions:

United States

There are 91 native US oaks. The GCCO is focusing on 29 species of conservation concern, under the coordination of Amy Byrne (The Morton Arboretum).  

Mexico/Central America

Mexico is an important centre of diversity for oaks with more than 168 species distributed across multiple habitats, with  around 32 species that are threatened in the wild.

Dr. Maricela Rodriguez is coordinating the GCCO in Mexico and Central America, focusing efforts on the priority, threatened and Data Deficient species in this region, outlined in The Red List of Oaks 2020 report.  

China

With around 117 oak species, of which 36 are threatened, China is another important diversity hotspot for oaks. Dr. Yi-Gang Song from Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden is coordinating oak conservation efforts in this region, focusing on the priority threatened, and Data Deficient species, outlined in The Red List of Oaks 2020 report.

Southeast Asia

There are around 86 oak species in Southeast Asia. 36 species are threatened. Dr. Hoàng Văn Sâm, Vietnam National University of Forestry, is coordinating efforts in the Indochina region of Southeast Asia. Focus in this region is on the priority threatened, and Data Deficient species, outlined in The Red List of Oaks 2020 report. 

Recent news on the GCCO

Pink flowers of Rhododendron_dendrocharis.

Conserving threatened Rhododendron species

Date

26 May 2023

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A fly visits the flower of Erica caffrorum

Research needed to support species conservation

Call for papers: Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae)

Date

26 May 2023

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2023 APGA Conference: Metacollections Management: new approaches for improving living conservation collections workshop

Event date

June 5, 2023

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New opportunity to fund projects to support Global Conservation Consortia conservation action

Date

16 May 2023

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Parashorea buchananii (C.E.C.Fisch.) Symington in Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve of Yunnan, Southwest China (Photographed by Jian-Wu Li)

Parashorea buchananii, a newly recorded species of Dipterocarpaceae from China

Date

20 April 2023

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Monitoring for Myrtle Wilt in Nothofagus cunninghamii populations, Tasmania

Date

19 April 2023

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Supporters of the GCCO

The GCCO is generously supported by:

Fondation Franklinia

Institute of Museum and Library Services

The United States Botanic Garden

The United States Forest Service