Marc Freestone - Orchid conservation in Australia: global lessons for plant conservation from the world’s largest threatened orchid rewilding program

SUMMARY OF THE WORKSHOP:

Australia is an internationally-significant hotspot for plant conservation, and has a unique and highly threatened orchid flora. Fortunately, it is also an epicentre of orchid conservation research and home to the world’s largest threatened orchid rewilding program at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Creating new and self-sustaining populations of threatened orchids requires a detailed understanding of their ecology, including mycorrhizal fungal biology, pollination ecology and germination requirements. My presentation will highlight the innovative research originating in the Australian orchid conservation space and how it is being applied to help turn the tide for many threatened Australian orchids, with relevance to threatened plant rewilding projects globally.   

 ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Marc is a botanist and ecologist from Australia. His research interests span the fields of plant conservation, mycorrhizal fungi, pollination biology, taxonomy and fire ecology. He has a PhD from the Australian National University and has been associated with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - Orchid Conservation Program for nearly 10 years. He currently runs a consulting service providing advice to governments in Australia on threatened plant recovery planning.