0Living Collection Policyofthe Botanical Garden Organization

The Botanical Garden Organization
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment2020

1Forward
The Botanical Garden Organization (BGO) envision to be an ex situ conservation
institute and learning space for sustainable of plant resources and environment in Thailand. The
living plant management system has been recognized as the importance basis for using plant
specimens and supporting plant information to achieve the goal of the organization. Therefore theorganization has a commitment to continuously develop a living plant management system thatmeets international standards by collecting the plants with clear objectives and scope support theimplementation of the goals of the organization, conducting plant specimen management to comply
with the relevant rules and regulations. Sufficient plant details are stored in a database system thatcan be efficiently retrieved. Plants are cultivated in the right condition, are located and can betracked for easy use. Plant health and survival are declared as the main priority. The living plant
specimens are cultivated according to the horticultural principles appropriate to the ecologicalcondition to make vigor specimens ready to be a source of genetics for sustainable conservation, tosupport research programs efficiently as well as an example for education purpose.
To provide the resources necessary to carry out the management of living plants
sufficient for the implementation of the organization's goals as well as to enhance the understandingof the living plant management process of the Botanical Garden Organization to all personnel of theorganization to operate the task in the same direction in accordance with the goals of theorganization, the Botanic Garden Organization has therefore developed a policy for living plantmanagement in 2016 and updated in 2020 in order to provide clear standards and guidelines forplant collection. This has helped to make the plant collection process more systematic, able tocollect most of the plant information of the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden and start working in
branch gardens in across Thailand. The policy provides aims, scope of the collection, andoperational guidelines for decision-making in plant management. The policy is a further advice fordaily working to the strategic planning of the organization.

2ContentpagePart 1 Introduction
1.1 Objective of the Living Collection Policy
1.2 Objective of the Plant Collection
1.3 Scope of the Plant Collection

333Part 2 Legal and Ethical Consideration
2.1 International Legislation

6

2.2 National Legislation

6

2.3 Organization Legislation

6Part 3 Guidelines
3.1 Acquisition
3.2 Accession
3.3 Plant Information
3.4 Plant Label
3.5 Caring and Stock Inventory
3.6 Name Validation

7778893.7 Weed, Pest & Decease Management
3.8 Move99

3.9 Deaccession
3.10 Access and Use

99

Part 4 Development of the Collection
4.1 Review of the Policy
4.2 Review of The Plan
4.3 Development of the Operation Manual

1010104.4 Capacity Building4.5 Future Perspectives

1010

3Part 1 Introduction
Botanical Garden is an institution where living plants are gathered cultivated anddocumented in a systematic way for the benefit of research, conservation, and educational purposes.
The main activities of botanic garden are: collecting the plants for the specific purpose, taking agood care and monitoring of the plants, recording the plant information in a database system,
publishing and distributing plant documents, install the plant labels appropriately, communicate andexchange plant species and information with other botanical gardens and academic institutions,carry out botanical researches especially the plants that are collected. Most of them are linked to theherbarium and the botanical library. There are plant conservation activities, especially ex situ
conservation and the restoration of threatened plant populations and open to the public for learningand recreation.
The Botanical Garden Organization was established to be an important plant genetic
resource of Thailand and a learning center on natural resources and the environment which isimplemented according to international standards, by providing plant specimens and plant
information to be the material for research programs, a base for the development of value added
plant products, the example for education programs and plant sources for interpretive gardens andlandscape development. To achieve the above objectives, it is necessary have a well-manage plantcollection which can be efficiently access and use. The collection policy is a vital document for
managing of living plant collection to ensure that the plant collection are executed according to thegoals of the organization.
1.1 Objective of the Living Collection Policy
The policy is documented to be a guideline for the development and management of theliving plant specimens to meet an international standard and to support the objective, vision andmission of the organization, to improve efficiency in the management operation of plant specimens,and development of a strategic plan and action plan for the collection of live plant specimens. It isalso a communication
1.2 Objective of the Plant Collection
The plant collection have been managed to support the goal of the organization. The living
plant specimens are collected the following purposes:
1) Ex situ Conservation
2) Supporting botanical research
3) Providing knowledge and raising awareness of the conservation of nature andenvironment
1.3 Scope of the Plant Collection
Living plant collection of the Botanic Garden Organization is the living plants collected andplanted in all botanical gardens under the Botanic Garden Organization for a clear purpose, andrecord the registration data in the living plant database system. They are divided according to themain purpose of collection and management style into two categories as follows:

4

1.3.1 Collection for ex situ conservation and researchThis category is align with the research and conservation strategy of the Botanic Garden
Organization that aim to be an important genetic resource of native plant of Thailand supporting
conservation research and development and to be the strength of the organization.
The plants of this group must be collect according the genetic diversity of the sample. All
specimens must be registered and recorded in the database system, attached with permanent label,
have good care and regularly checked for health and label condition. The information of thespecimens must be sufficient for research and conservation activities. The exact source must beknown, the scientific name is correctly identified, contains sufficient ecological information,
distribution, etc.
The BGO research and conservation strategy have been focus on 4 plant groups which areThreatened Plants of Thailand, Thai Orchids (Orchidaceae), Thai Gingers (Zinggiberaceae) andMedicinal Plants.
1.3.2 Public Display Collection
This category includes plants that are permanently displayed on site and in exhibition
greenhouses of all gardens under the Botanical Garden Organization. The display collections havebeen grown with a primary purpose for providing knowledge and raising awareness of theconservation of nature and the environment, and further recreation and relaxation of the public. It
may be a local plant species or a foreign plant species. The plant specimens are properly identified.
The permanently cultivated plants must be registered and recorded in the database system.
Permanent labels are attached and properly maintained. The relevant plant information to be used
for the exhibition and education activities is provided.
The collection and display of plants that are the highlight of each botanical garden are:1) Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden
a. Glass House Complex Collection
i. Arid Plants
ii. Tropical Rain Forest Plants
iii. Orchids and Ferns
iv. Aquatic Plants
v. Carnivorous Plants
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.

Medicinal Plants
Ethnobotanical Plants
Water lily and Lotus
Foliage Plants
Bromeliads

5b. Aboretum
i. Annonaceae
ii. Dipterocarpaceaeiii. Ebenaceae
iv. Fabaceae
v. Bambusoideae-Poaceae
vi. Moraceae
vii. Arecaceae
viii. Gymnosperm
c. Climber collectiond. White flowers collection
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

Medicinal plant garden
Ginger garden
Fern garden
Rock garden
Banana Avenue
Giant Pill Millipede Nature Trail2) Romklao Botanical Garden
a. Magnoliaceae
b. Annonaceae
c. Aceraceae
d. Ericaceae
3) Khon Kaen Botanic Garden
a. Arid plants
b. Saline tolerant plants
c. Medicinal plant and ethnobotanical plant of northeastern Thailand
4) Rayong Botanic Garden
a. Wet land plants
b. Carnivorous plants
5) Pra Mae Ya Botanic Garden
a. Cultural Plants
b. Banana Collection
c. Water Lily and Lotus Collection

6Part 2
Legal and Ethical Consideration
Activities related to the management of living collection of the Botanical Garden
Organization must be. Plant collecting, exchanging, giving, accepting donations, Importingand exporting are required to comply with all level of the relate rules and regulations andfurther obligations that the BGO has agreed to a contract. The examples of the mainregulation are:
2.1 International Legislation
2.1.1 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
2.1.2 The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing
2.1.3 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora (CITES)
2.1.4 Global Strategy of Plant Conservation (GSPC)
2.2 National Legislation
2.2.1 Plant Varieties Protection Act
2.2.2 National CITES regulations
2.2.3 National ABS of biodiversity resources regulations
2.2.4 Drug plants regulations
2.2.5 Invasive plants regulations
2.3 Organization Legislation
2.3.1 The Living Collection Management Practice of The BGO B.E. 2559
2.3.2 The Access and Benefit Sharing regulation of plant resources of the BGO

7Part 3Guidelines
3.1 Acquisition
Acquiring of plant specimens is the basis of the collection of living plants of the BotanicalGarden. Introducing plants that meet the target together with a good information record will allow
the collected plant specimens to be used to support each aspect of the organization's mission withfull efficiency. The criteria for obtaining plants specimens to the gardens are:3.1.1 The plants serves the purpose of the collection and the goal of the organization.
3.1.2 The plant sources must be known (field survey, purchase, donate, exchange, receive
as a gift) and the acquisition and possession are in accordance with the relevant laws andregulations.
3.1.3 The plant origin should be known (wild collected /cultivate varieties/wild plantobtained from cultivation or other gardens, etc.)
3.1.4 The information is available such as locality, habitat, ecology and cultivation andother data according to information standards.
3.1.5 Reducing impact on the natural population of the plant must be taken into account.
3.1.6 Plant collection attention should be given to the genetic diversity, risk of extinction,
rarity, endemism and the attractiveness of being an example for learning so that the plants can beefficiently used in conservation, research and education.
3.2 Accession
Plants collected for the purpose and scope of the Botanical Garden Organization to bepermanently planted to use according to the mission of the organization will be registered.
The same plant taxa gathered together in the same form (seed, branch, shoot or whole plant)
and the same even number will be assigned as an accession. All registered accession must berecorded in the register book and import data into BG-BASE system and identify planting
areas in the gardens and install permanent accession label.
An accession number will be assigned using a 4-digit year number followed by 4
digits order in that year. Duplicate of the accession will be assigned by plant number(qualifier) by using the order of planting place in English capital letters and the number
indicating plant number in that place for example 20201234 A2.
In addition, plants collected and accessed prior to the policy and have different
number system are allow until it have been changed to be in the form according to this policy.
Seedlings propagated from seed of accessioned plant will be assigned a new accession
number and specify the parent number in the database. The plants cultivated from asexual
propagation will use the original accession number.
3.3 Plant Documentation
Maintaining plant information along with the plant specimens is one of the importanttasks of the botanical garden. Consistency and accuracy information and plant caring qualitydetermines the scientific value of the plant specimens. Therefore, the following information
guidelines have been adopted.

83.3.1 Information Standard1) New accession should be collected with as much detail as possible. At least, thespecimen must be have the collection locality, field plant name, type of specimens, source orcollector number, collection date, note on habitat characteristic and growing
recommendation, note of plant character, accession number, accession date. Geographic
position, elevation, and photos of the plants and their habitat are recommended to record in
the database system. When the plants have been quarantined and ready to grow permanently
in the garden, the location of the plant in the garden must be record and the plant health andlabel condition are monitor and update in the database system.
3.3.2 Database System
Information of the registered plant specimens will be stored in the database system tobe used to trace, monitor, maintain and use of the plant specimens and suitable for analyzing
the collection statistics. Currently, the BG-BASE system is used by staff involved in themanagement of living plants of the BGO.
3.3.3 Plant Catalogue
Each botanical garden of the BGO requires a continuous review of the plant
information and publishing compiled plant lists at least every 5 years in order to update theinformation and to make stakeholders aware of the resources available in the BGO andfacilitate access and use of the collected specimens for conservation, research, and education.
3.4 Plant LabelAll accessioned plants must be attached with a permanent label and take care to beattached to the plant all the time. At least, there must be the accession number and plant
number, scientific name so that plants can be linked to plant information in the databases. Inaddition, other information such as Thai name, common name, family name, area code, zone,sources, may be provided as appropriate for helping in management of the collection andother specific purpose. There are four kind of label are used in the garden.
1) Label for greenhouse collection will be printed on waterproof laminate sticker, andstick on a thick plastic labels.
2) Label for outdoor collection will be engraved on brown acrylic sheet, painted withthe white color on the letters and installed on a tree or shrubs using coiled wire.
3) Temporary label used for an accession plant awaiting for a permanent label will bea white plastic label written clearly with pencil. Accession and plant number, scientific nameare required on this type of label. It must be replaced by a permanent label within a period of
not more than 3 months
3.5 Caring and Stock Inventory
Plants that are cultivated and registered to the garden collection should be provided asuitable planting site and being taken care of in good health. Each collection must be having amanager responsible for continuously monitoring and take caring of the plant health, plantinformation, and label condition. A full audit for the statuses of plants in the collection isplaned systematically. Greenhouses collections are required to be monitored and update thestatus at least twice a year. The outdoor collections will be followed up at least every 2 years.

93.6 Name Validation
Accessioned plants should have a valid scientific name especially when used as aspecimen in research or conservation. A plan must be made to inspect the scientific name foreach area and greenhouse at least every 2 years. When plants have flowers and fruits, thecollection manager must take the voucher specimens to a botanist to verify the scientificname and keep the specimens as references in QBG herbarium and update the name in thedatabase immediately.
3.7 Weed, Pest & Disease Management
Pest, disease and weed are managed under the integrated management approach andcompliant with relevant regulations. Pest and disease control and measures plans should bedevelop as well as a management plans and measures to prevent and eliminate invasive alienplants.
3.8 Move
The plant in a collection can be with the aim to increase the overall quality of the plantcollection, such as moving the plant specimens to more suitable planting location, arrangement tooptimize management. When moving, the new planting location and reason for moving must bereported and updated in the database immediately.
3.9 Deaccession
Plant accession which cannot be used for the objective of the garden will be evaluated anddeaccessioned. Plant accession assessed in the following criteria will be deaccessioned i.e. deadplant, does not support any goals of the organization, source of severe diseases and may threaten or
spread to other plants, poisonous or dangerous to visitors and cannot be handled. Deaccession plant
will be untracked and discarded to update more information. Sometimes plants may need to be
removed from the collection site, or disposed.
3.10 Access and Use
The plants in the public area can be visited during business hours. Access to private
collection for research and conservation must be authorized by the competent authority andunder the supervision of the plant collection manager. Plant specimens in the collection canbe used for conservation, research and educational purposes, not for commercial purposes.
Specimens can be transfer after the permission and material transfer agreement are signed byauthority and in accordance with the regulations on access and benefit sharing from
biological resources of the BGO.

10Part 4
Development of the Collection
The Botanical Garden Organization dedicated to continuously develop a living plantcollection management system. The living collection management committee of the BGO is
responsible for developing a standard for managing living plants, supervises the managementtask operation and improves the efficient living plant management system.
4.1 Review of the Policy
The living collection policy will be continuously reviewed, at least every 5 years, orwhen the organization changes its goals and strategies to ensure that the plant collection willbe always aligned and support the organization targets.
4.2 Review of the Plan
Strategy and Action plan for living collection management will be reviewed every year toallow improvement and revision of the operation to be more efficient, in accordance with thepolicy, and to meets the goals of the organization.
4.3 Development of the Operation Manual
Procedures and practices in the process of living collection management according to theguidelines of the policy will be documented to be a standard manual to enable the relevant staff toperform their duties in accordance with the established guidelines and used as a standard fortraining a new staff and to communicate operations with related departments.
4.4 Capacity Building
The organization will prepare sufficient areas and greenhouses, materials and equipment tosupport the collection operations and make a development plan to expand the infrastructure
capacity to support future operations. The staff take caring of each collection will be sufficiently
trained to develop knowledge and skills in caring of the plants they are responsible for tobecome more proficient.
4.5 Future Perspectives
In the next five year, particular important tasks to improve the efficiency of the living
collection management will be list as follow. Development of information technology to support
the system for improving the field monitoring, keep plant information up to date and rapidly
response to fix plant problems. Digital plant mapping will be developed to easily access, track anduse of the plant specimens for the purpose of the garden. It also serves as a backup system whenplant labels are dropped or damaged. A list of plants in all gardens under the organization will becompiled to realize the total plant asset of the whole organization.