Field Institute Seed Bank
My blogs
| Location | United States |
|---|---|
| Introduction | As a part of the Mcdowell Sonoran Field Institute and with the help of the amazing volunteers, docents, and soon to be full blown citizen scientists of the Mcdowell Sonoran Conservancy we are happy to begin a seed bank excursion in the Scottsdale Community College greenhouse. A seed bank refers to any un-germinated seeds stored within soils, usually the top 2cm. Because many plants have seeds that lay dormant in this soil until favorable rains arrive, and the unfortunate fact that we have not had favorable rains, some species remain uncollected simply because they have not had the conditions to grow. In order to capture some of these more rare ephemerals we have collected seed bank soil samples from 24 sites and are giving them optimal conditions to bring them out of dormancy and give them a rightful place in our ever growing species count for the flora on the preserve. For now it is a waiting game to see what we get and we hope you will follow along with us on this exciting journey! |