The status of arboreta in South Africa and the taxa they contain

0562619 - BÚ 2023 RIV ZA eng J - Journal Article
Cheek, M. - Wilson, J. R. U. - Richardson, David Mark - Procheş, Ş.
The status of arboreta in South Africa and the taxa they contain.
Southern Forests. Roč. 84, č. 2 (2022), s. 174-191. ISSN 2070-2620. E-ISSN 2070-2639
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EF18_053/0017850
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : forestry * history * introduced species * inventory * species trials
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 0.8, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.2989/20702620.2022.2102453

Between 2012 and 2022 a survey was undertaken to assess the status of arboreta in South Africa and the taxa present in such sites, the first such assessment since 1986. At least 172 arboreta have existed in South Africa, but 51 of these are no longer present, with the total number of arboreta peaking around 1980 and declining thereafter. Arboreta have been lost mostly because of conversion of sites to other land-uses, but in some cases because the specimens were felled or burnt down and not replaced. Most of the remaining 121 arboreta are on municipal or forestry land. The biggest challenge facing the extant arboreta is the financial burden of maintaining the collections. The extant arboreta house 2 309 taxa from 158 plant families, of these, 128 taxa (occurring variously in 88 arboreta) are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild under the 2020 IUCN Red List, and 400 taxa (If the value of current arboreta for conservation, education, and research is to be fulfilled, they need to be formally catalogued, their species lists regularly updated, and measures put in place to ensure their sustainability.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0339350