RBGE - Research into Endemic Conifers of New Caledonia

Research

Browse the list below of RBGE Araucaria Research Projects

	Conservation Genetics
	Taxonomy
	Evolutionary Genetics
	Ex-situ conservation



Map and Location

	Click on the map for more detail on the Island of New Caledonia .

Welcome to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Araucaria website. The aim of this site is to introduce the research that we are carrying out and disseminate information on this fascinating group of conifers.

Background: New Caledonia is regarded as one of the world's 'biodiversity hotspots'. Of the 3000+ vascular plants, 77% are endemic. The conifer biodiversity is particularly important, all of the 43 conifer species are endemic, representing almost 7% of the world's conifers. This is remarkable considering the small size of New Caledonia (19000km2).

Threats: Mineral mining coupled with timber exploitation, land clearance and increased fire frequency have resulted in 29 species of conifer being considered as threatened under IUCN classification. There are 13 species of Araucaria on New Caledonia (all endemic), 11 of which are classed as threatened.

Browse the roll-over image to the right for a glimpse of this diversity and the species status.

Araucaria research at RBGE: We are adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to help address conservation issues within this group and also to elucidate the evolutionary processes which have given rise to this incredible diversity. Combining molecular techniques, herbarium and field based research, we aim to clarify the species limits and inter-relationships as well as patterns of historical and contemporary gene flow. Developing an understanding of these topics will help inform both In-situ and ex-situ conservation programmes.
Link direct to our research team

Partners: The project is based primarily at RBGE but consists of full and active collaborations with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh, Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD), Service Province Sud and INCO.

Funding: Research on New Caledonian Araucaria at RBGE has received funding support from NERC, the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh, and the Scottish Executive and Rural Affairs Department.

Resources

Browse the list below of RBGE Araucaria resources

	Species Distribution Map
	Araucaria Biodiversity Database (coming soon)
	RBGE Collection



Species Status

Browse the arrows below to view the IUCN conservation status of some of the threated species.