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Sarah is a Senior Lecturer in Forest Ecology at the School of Forestry, University of Canterbury. Sarah teaches courses on forest biology, forest ecology, and environmental forestry in the Forestry Science degree programme. Her research interests are seed ecology and conservation, restoration ecology, and the spread and impacts of wilding conifers.Sarah will present to the Botanical Society her work on Pinus radiata x attenuata hybrids. Pinus radiata × attenuata is a hybrid taxon that has been trialled for forestry suitability in New Zealand. The taxon performs favourably compared to Pinus radiata at higher elevation sites due to its greater cold tolerance, and as such is now beginning to be planted by the forestry industry at higher elevation sites that are typically unsuitable for P. radiata afforestation. It has been assumed that the likelihood of invasive spread by P. radiata × attenuata from areas of afforestation is low. Sarah's research shows that seeds of Pinus radiata x attenuata hybrids are viable and present some spread risk.
Sarah's other research interests include the seed storage behaviour of New Zealand flora. Communities around New Zealand are embarking on seed banking projects as a back up to in-situ and ex-situ plant conservation work. The work done by Sarah and her team shows that about 80 percent of New Zealand’s woody plant species can be successfully preserved using conventional seed banking, in which seeds are dried and frozen for long-term storage. However, seed from some plants – particularly New Zealand’s tall forest trees, with large bird-dispersed seeds - can’t be successfully conserved in this way.
Venue: St Albans Community Centre, 1049 Colombo Street, Christchurch (parking available at 126 Caledonian Road, see https://www.sacc.org.nz/).
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1049 Colombo St, St Albans, Christchurch 8014, New Zealand, 1049 Colombo St, St Albans, Christchurch 8014, New Zealand, Christchurch
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