National Seed Bank

2. Seed Collecting

A. SEEDY VOLUNTEERS WHAT TO BRING LIST

Please meet on your rostered day at 8am at the National Seed Bank.

Sign off on;

i. Field Trip Activity Plan procedure,

ii. Communication and Emergency Medical plan,

iii. Field trip risk assessment plan

Ensure that contact details are up to date

iv. Please bring the following personal items:

Water bottle Note pad & pencil Camera (if volunteer photographer for the day or you may organise to use the Seed Bank

camera) – will be notified Hat/sunscreen Lunch Mobile phone Hand lens Backpack Sturdy walking shoes Appropriate attire for field work

v. Basic Materials/Equipment from the seed bank

Standard Collection Field Note Book (example below) Calico bags/paper bags/envelopes for collected seed, depending on seed size Hand lens x10 magnification Identification books Jewellers tags for herbarium specimen Large plastic bags for herbarium specimens Herbarium press Camera GPS We have 3 books of Grassland Flora & 3 of Flowers of the ACT & Region which can be used

on the day. Additional maps – depending on area of trip First Aid Kit

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B. GUIDE TO SEED COLLECTING WITH ANBG

Overview

Standard protocol for the collection of native seeds for ex situ conservation and general research purposes.

Procedure

Identify the species and check that there are no similar species in the site with which it could be confused.

1. Attempt to identify family, genus and species - Field name o Use expertise, photos, herbarium specimens, publications.o If species ID is not certain but collecting seed is deemed worthy, take special care to

collect seed from exactly the same species.o The Herbarium can determine whether or not the Field name is correct using the

herbarium specimen (see below).

2. Assess safety and practicality of making collection o Can all plants be sampled from safely?o Is there enough time left in the day?o Consider weather conditions.o Are there enough people?

Consider conditions and assess whether the seed is dry. If at all possible only collect seed when it is dry. If you must collect wet seed, be certain to spread it out to dry in a cool dry place.

3. Locate plants setting mature seed o This may be an opportunistic find or a targeted population of a specific species.o Plants need to be at or very close to the point of natural seed dispersal to ensure

seed maturity and maximised longevity in storage.

o To assess seed maturity, consider:

-Seed colour change

-Seed hardness

-Fruit development, colour, texture, odour (e.g., ripe fleshy fruits)

-Detachment of seed within the fruit (e.g., rattling)

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-Detachment of the dispersal unit from the mother plant

4. Assess seed quality o Carry out a cut test in order to assess the proportion of empty, damaged, infested

and immature seeds.o Select a total of at least 10 seeds from a range of several well-spaced individuals

across the population.o Use scalpel, scissors, nail clippers or finger nails to cut seeds in half and examine

embryo/endosperm contents.o Ascertain what a healthy, full, mature seed looks like (i.e. full, with firm and fresh

endosperm / embryo).o Tiny seeds can be held on adhesive tape during sectioning and examined using a

hand lens.5. Average number of dispersal units per plant

o Allow 2 or 3 people to quickly estimate number of dispersal units (flower heads/capsules/fruits etc.), per plant and agree on an average.

6. Average number of potentially viable seeds per dispersal unit o Estimate the number of seeds per dispersal unit.o Based on cut test results (# 4), estimate the proportion of viable seeds per dispersal

unit.

7. Estimate number of potentially viable seeds available for collection o Estimate the total number of potentially viable seeds ready for collection.o Calculate 10% of this available seed.o Minimum number of seeds required per collection: 25 potentially viable seeds from

20 parent plants (total 500 seeds) without sampling more than 10% of available seed.

Decide to make a collection and decide sampling technique.

8. Allocate someone to fill out the FIELD DATA SHEET (example below) 9. Assess population size

o Allow 2 or 3 people to independently estimate the number of individual plants within the visible population and agree on a rough total.

o At least 50 individual plants will constitute a population.10. Recommended general sampling strategy for seed collection.

o Whatever sampling strategy is adopted, the method should be recorded.o Proceed if a minimum of 500 seeds can be collected without sampling more than

10% of available seed.o Agree on number of plants to be sampled from by each person.o Each person to sample from different plants, therefore decide on most appropriate

approach.o Remember that seed collecting must be carried out randomly and evenly - each

individual plant must have an equal chance of being selected.o Agree on how many seeds/fruits are to be collected from each plant.o Agree upon a sampling technique that minimises the presence of any empty,

damaged or immature seeds.

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o Decide between calico bags/paper bags/envelopes depending on seed size.o Agree if collectors should increase sampling effort further.

o Goal to obtain in a single population sample, 95% of all the alleles present in the population at a frequency greater than 5%.

o When population size permits, at least 50 individuals should be sampled in a non-biased manner. Preferably, samples should be greatly in excess of 50 as this will more closely reflect the allelic frequencies and will also maximise seed quantity.

o When assessing the number of individuals to be sampled, collectors are advised to be observant for species reproducing via rhizomes or stolons.

o To reflect allelic and genotypic frequencies especially with a view to reintroduction. Note that a few populations may contain alleles that have important local adaptive value, and allele frequencies may also differ as a result of local adaptation.

o High variation or isolation observed between populations or individuals.o Self-fertilising species.o Herbaceous annual or short-lived perennial.

If field observations suggest there may be significant genetic differences between close stands of a species, either through selection or isolation, the stands should be harvested separately.

o Keep collections made from separate ‘clumps’ of the same species separate.

For rare populations of 20 or less individuals or listed threatened species, samples from individual plants should ideally be kept separate. This will allow maximum genetic variation to be maintained in any multiplication step.

o Harvest from every parent plant individually in situ.o Keep individual plant collections separate and assign an individual collection # to

each collection.o If possible, roughly draw a diagram of order of collection through the population for

future reference.

For common species with large number of individuals within the population;

o Bulk seed collection into one bag and assign an individual collection # to that bag.o Record the total number of plants sampled from on the field data sheet.o Agree to stop collecting when either 10% of available seed or 10,000 seeds have

been collected – assuming it is time efficient to collect up to 10,000 seeds.

Take care not to damage the growing shoots of the plant, as this will impact its growth and seed production in the future.

Try not to collect material other than fruit or seeds, keep the collection as clean as possible.

Label collection bags with the collection number, genus and species name (or working name), date and location, no. of plants sampled and size of population.

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Record the number of bags collected under the same collection number on the bags and in the field note book.

Complete the collecting notes in the collecting book.

o Do not collect seeds from the ground.

11. Collect a herbarium specimen o Select vigorous, typical specimens. Avoid insect-damaged plants.o Specimens should be representative of the population, but include the range of

variation of the plants.o Specimens should include flowers and/or fruits. Different types of foliage, flowers

and fruits should be collected from the same plant.o Roots, bulbs, and other underground parts should also be dug up, and soil removed.o Tie a numbered tag onto the specimen. Assign specimens the same corresponding

individual collection # as the seed collection. All duplicate specimens should bear the same number.

o Collect sufficient material to fill a herbarium sheet (c. 450 x 300 mm), leaving enough room for the label. Plants too large for a single sheet may be divided and pressed as a series of sheets.

o Bark and wood samples are desirable additions when collecting woody plants.o Tall rosette plants and grasses may be pressed complete by bending them once or

more into the shape of a ‘V’, ‘N’ or ‘M’.o Dioecious plants should be represented by both sexes.o Press specimens ASAP. If pressing is not possible, specimens may be stored in plastic

bags, preferably wrapped in damp (not wet) papers. Keep cool and moist.o Place each specimen in a fold of several sheets of newspaper within the press.o Add a sheet of corrugated cardboard to act as a ventilator if necessary.o Replace newspaper with dry sheets each day until specimen is dry and brittle.

12. Allocate someone to:

-Check everything is appropriately labelled

-Take photos

-Take responsibility for additional necessary handling (e.g. seed drying etc.) prior to returning from field

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After the collection:

Once collected seed must be kept dry. If the seed will not be delivered to the dry room at the seed bank on the day it was collected store the seed in a COOL dry place.

If possible spread the seed thinly on dry paper and allow them to air dry in a cool, low humidity place.

Deliver the seeds to the seed bank lab in the labelled envelopes. Deliver the collecting notes and herbarium samples to the herbarium.

C. HOW TO USE FIELD NOTE BOOKS

Aims

Data collected without a specific purpose in mind is usually wasted. Hence before we consider what data should be collected during routine field work we must examine our aims.

The herbarium sheet carries all the data from the field collection. It also carries the original plant specimen; hence it is the ultimate reference point for all associated data, and for all purposes.

Herbarium specimens service a variety of purposes. These may be summarised conveniently in three categories:

Criteria

Several considerations limit the types of data to be collected.

Simplicity

The data categories must be simple enough to be understood by people with no ecological training.

Computerisation

The data must be reducible to numbers for computerisation. This requires a strict classification of data and simple, logical terminology.

Interpretation

The data must be interpretable in themselves i.e. by reference to the herbarium sheet alone. This is because they will be used by outsiders to the Herbarium.

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What to Record

For those who do not have one of our field note books, here is one of the pages. The red numbers below refer to the numbers on the example page. You can download a Word version too.

One Page Per Collection

Each page of your field book should be used for a single collection; no more, no less. A single collection is defined as material taken from one plant on a particular day. Thus an herbarium specimen, cuttings, and seeds, all taken from the same tree on 27 August 1976, comprise a single collection. A further specimen taken from the same tree a week later does not belong to that single collection, and must be treated separately. There are two exceptions to this rule. Very small plants, especially annual herbs, do not provide enough material for an herbarium specimen, let alone propagating material. In such a case several plants from a single localised population are regarded as a single collection. Whole-plant transplants may also be grouped with a voucher from another plant as a single collection.

Registration Number (1)

The space after the heading CANB is for the registration number of the specimen. This number is not to be entered in the book during the field trip, but will be added later when the field book is registered.

Collector and Number (Coll.) (2)

Write you name and your personal collecting number in this category. Your name must have all initials, and your surname in full. Ideally you should have only a single number series, starting from 1 increasing throughout your collecting career. In the event that you lose your field book, or leave it behind on a trip, leave a good gap from what you think the last number was and recommence your number series from a much higher number. A gap is infinitely preferable to duplicated numbers.

Examples:

o F.E. Davies 1279 (tag - FED 1279) o I.R. Telford 4750, M.D. Crisp & A. Tyrrel. (Tag - IRT 4750)

Date (3)

The date is always the date of collection. The standard way of expressing it is thus : 19 JAN 1996

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Click to enlarge to full size, red numbers refer to following text

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

State and District (4)

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Locality (LOC) (5)

The precise collecting locality must be recorded, preferably to the nearest 1/10th kilometer (km), or at the worst the nearest l km, from a precise and well-known map-point. If the place is remote, its relationship to a better-known place should be given. Map names are acceptable, local names are not. Suitable reference points are post-offices (usually at the centres of towns or cities), trig-points, road crossings or junctions and river or stream junctions.

Examples:

15.4 km from Braidwood along road to Nerriga. (It is assumed that the distance was measured from Braidwood P.O.).

c. 60 km NNW from Balranald, 8 km from Bidura h.s. along rd to Wampo Stn.

Acceptable Abbreviations:

km - Kilometre(s)c. or ca. - Approximately (circa) rd - Road Hwy - Highway Rly - Railway Rly Stn - Railway Station Stn - Station (grazing property) h.s. - Homestead, head station

P.O. - Post Office Mt(s) - Mountain(s), mount Ck - Creek Is. - Island Penin. - Peninsula

Words not to be abbreviated:

Range, RiverPark, Peak Port, Point Cape State Forest Junction Lake Waterhole

Topography (6)

Details of topography recorded when collecting plants gives botanists, ecologists and horticulturists a general insight into the ecosystem to which the plant is adapted.

Aspect (7)

Aspect should be specified to the nearest 45 degrees, i.e. N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW.

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Substrate (8)

Soil

The following table gives a relatively simple method of describing the surface soil when collecting plants.

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Vegetation (9)

Two variables are to be recorded, namely structure and dominants.

Latitude (Lat.) and Longitude (Long.): (10)

Give coordinates to the nearest second (if you used a GPS (global positioning system) unit) or to the nearest minute (if you did not use a GPS unit). They can be obtained from a GPS unit or by pinpointing the locality on a map with 1 : 250,000 scale or better, and measuring the coordinates

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from the map margins. All latitudes in Australia are in degrees and minutes s (i.e. S of the equator) and all longitudes in degrees and minutes E (i.e. E of Greenwich).

Lat.: 35° 26' 43'' S Long.: 135° 17' 29'' E

Altitude (11)

Give altitude in metres (m). Precision should preferably be to the nearest 10 m, but in very mountainous country the nearest 50 m will do.

Habit (= Plant description, notes) (12)

Check List for Habit, Growth, Form

TreeA tree is a woody plant unusually with < stems and >5m tall

Shrub

A shrub is a woody plant usually with >1 stem and <8m tall. A shrub usually has its principal branching point at or near soil level.

MalleeA Eucalyptus with many branches arising from a massive underground stem or lignotuber

Herb No woody tissue presentFern Any pteridophytsParasite A terrestrial parasite is a tree, shrub or herb.Vine or Liana A climber rooted in the groundGrass, Sedge, Rush, Graminoid These may be qualified by 'tussock' or 'tufted'Arborescents Shrub, grass or herb e.g. Bamboo

Rosette TreeUnbranched stem with crown of leaves, e.g. Palms, cycads, Xanthorrhoea, Tree ferns

Rosette Shrub e.g. DianellaStem-succulent Shrub

Rare e.g. Sarcostemma, Opuntia and some Euphorbia

Hummock Grass Triodia and PlectrachneMat & Cushion plant Found in alpine areas

Check List for Habit QualifierClonal, thicket - formingStraight, crooked, slender, robust, whipstick, virgate.Open, dense diffuseMany - few - long - short - stemmedDivaricate - flexuose - drooping - erect - spreading - whorled - intricate -

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arching stems, branches, or branchletsMuch - few - branchedErect, leaning, decumbent, procumbent, prostrate, ascending, pendulousWeek, trailing, stragglingPyramidal - cylindrical - rounded - umbrella - shaped - spreading - weeping crownTufted, tussock.Creeping - shortly creeping - extensively creeping - rhizome, rhizomatous, rooting at nodes

Size

Always record height. If no other measurements are recorded the suffix "tall" or "high" is unnecessary. If you also record breadth, diameter at breast height (dbh) or other measurements (but only if they are remarkable), then you must write "tall", "broad", "dbh", etc.

Type of material, abundance and duplicates (13)

Herbarium

The type of material that makes up the collection, circle the relevant item/s:

sheet – pressed plant specimen (one should always be collected). spirit – flowers etc. that have been put in 70% alcohol. fruit sep. – bulky fruits destined for the carpological collection image – photographs/digital images of living plant, if more than one write image name dissect – floral card with dissected floral parts, e.g. orchids cryptpkt – specimens to be filed vertically in envelopes, usually mosses, liverworts and

lichens cryptbox – bulky cryptogam specimens that require protection in a box, e.g. fungal fruiting

bodies w’block – wood and bark sample

Living

Information about material taken to propagate at ANBG, circle the relevant item/s:

Cuttings, plant, seed, spores, bisexual, male, female

Duplicates

The number of duplicate herbarium specimens intended for distribution to other herbaria and the code for each herbarium (see Index Herbariorum for codes) or leave for herbarium staff to decide.

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Public Reference dups.: Canberra, Jervis Bay – Public Reference herbaria administered by CANB

Abundance

Abundance is an expression of the commonness or otherwise of a population (or species) in the vegetation in which it is found.

You should estimate the abundance of the population from which your specimen is taken from its weight or volume, by taking careful account of the following points.

o Abundance must be estimated as a relative term in relation to the layer of the vegetation in which the plant occurs. Thus the abundance of a tree species is relative to that of the other tree species, that of a shrub species to that of the other shrub species, etc.

o Many species do not have random or regular distributions, but are clumped in varying degrees. If clumping is apparent in the population, you must record the fact (see terminology below).

o Four types of population dispersion in a community. o Bias may occur when a species is either more or less conspicuous than the rest of the

vegetation. For example, a broad-leaved tree with large bright flowers in full bloom will look far more common than it really is. Conversely, a leafless diffuse scrambler will be all but invisible, even if it is very common. Again, use your judgement carefully to avoid bias.

Terminology

Abundance - dominant, common, frequent, occasional, rare.

Note that a dominant species is one of the most abundant 2 or 3 in its layer).

Clumping (if present) can be in -

small, medium, large, or extensive clumps or in, clumps or strong clumps.

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Examples:

o Dominant in strong, extensive clumps. o Rare. o Frequent in clumps

Phenology

The reproductive and vegetative state of the specimen collected, circle relevant states:

Bud , flower, fruit, seed, fertile, sterile, bark

Voucher purpose

Often the material is collected for a specific purpose, circle purpose/s if appropriate:

DNA, pollen, ecological, ANBG Details: details or name of project Voucher ID: if the voucher will have a different number to the herbarium accession number

allocated to the collection when it is databased.

Name (14)

Four levels are provided for recording the name and taxonomic position of the specimen viz. Group, Family, Field name and Determined name. The first three of these categories are to be recorded as far as possible in the field.

Group

Groups of the Plant Kingdom

CA ALGAECMH LIVERWORTS

CF FUNGI CPPTERIDOPHYTES (Ferns)

CL LICHENS PG GYMNOSPERMS

CMBRYOPHYTES PD DICOTS

CMM MOSSES PM MONOCOTS

Family

The herbarium card index lists the families of genera in our collection, and many which are not.

Field name

Enter the botanical name of the specimen, as far is known.

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Determined name

The Determined name is determined by the botanist in the herbarium, and is not to be recorded in the field, even by a botanist.

Determined by (Det.) (15)

When Determined Name is entered (later, of course, not in the field), you should write the name (initial and surname) of the botanist who made the determination, followed by the date of determination.

References

by M.D. Crisp & D.J. Cummings, January, 1977

(Updated by A.M. Lyne, September, 1996)

The original document is available at http://prometheuswiki.publish.csiro.au/tiki-index.php?page=Seed+collecting+%28alpine%29

- See more at: http://prometheuswiki.publish.csiro.au/tiki-print.php?page=Seed%20collecting%20%28alpine%29#sthash.xdntWH7L.dpuf

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EXTERNAL FIELD BOOK

WILD COLLECTION FLOW CHART

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Collector sends Field Books and Herbarium Sheets to

CSIRO Herbarium for data entry (Maggie Nightingale)

Collector sends Cuttings and Live

Plants to the Nursery

CSIRO Herbarium processes, mounts and stores the Herbarium Sheet in the

Herbarium

Collector sends Seeds to the Seed Bank or to Nursery

The Seed Bank and or Nursery create a Stock Screen in IBIS from the field book Registration Number

Nursery grows on and develops

Plants for plant out

CSIRO Herbarium returns Field Books

to the Collector

CSIRO Herbarium advises Plant Records, Nursery and Seed Bank

that ANHSIR data entry is completed.

Plant Records, Seed Bank & Nursery run

ANHSIR query

Seed Bank processes the collection in IBIS. Collection is allocated to a location. Label

requests are completed in IBIS