Guwahati
An informal network designed to promote knowledge and practices of ecological restoration of India’s natural ecosystems, released its first seed germination database on Wednesday (16 April 2025).
This free access database is a program from the Ecological Restoration Alliance – India (EA-I) that provides over 1,000 germination techniques for 465 native plant species. It intends to “make it easier for recovery practitioners, nursery managers and native plant enthusiasts” to grow native plants in nurseries.
“One of the basic and most practical steps in the ecological restoration process is to create a native plant nursery that requires a knowledge base for the germination protocol. This database is the first step towards that goal,” said Paul Blanchflower, director of Auroville Botanical Gardens.
Auroville Botanical Garden is one of nine institutional partners in the Era. Others include Ashoka Trust for Ecological and Environmental Research, the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the Wildlife Trust in India.
“Most people who set up native plant nurseries have learned seed ecology through trial and error. Now there is a lot of learning and information available, and databases like this can certainly make it easier for people who start new native plant nurseries, and even some older nurseries may now make it impossible for species they didn’t manage before the NCF,” Divya Mudappa is a senior scientist at NCF.
Ms. Mudappa and Mr. Blanchflower are the steering committees of ERA-II-11 members, including Anita Varghese, Aparna Watve, Pradip Krishen and Rita Banerji.
India’s Restoration Commitment
E-period said that India has committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land under the Bonn Challenge, a major global problem. The Bonn Challenge is a global initiative launched in 2011 to restore degraded and deforested land with an intention of restoring 350 million hectares by 2030.
“Native plants play an important role in ecological restoration projects. These plants have a complex relationship with mammals, birds, insects and fungi found in the region,” said Arjun Singh, Senior Project Manager at ERA-III.
“Beyond that, they have learned to deal with soil conditions that are prevalent in the region, and even once established, there is no need to support watering, fertilizers or any other human intervention. They are the best choice for natural ecosystems and landscapes that create climate spaces.”
Correct knowledge is important
According to ERA-I, the reintroduction of the system can help restore land where native plants exist sparsely and restore the ecosystem to balance.
“While plants produce thousands of seeds, the chances of a single seed becoming a healthy mature plant would be one in 100, as they struggle to find the right climatic conditions and ecological niches to prosper. This works well for established ecosystems, but when restoring degraded landscapes, each seed counts, and this is where reliable knowledge of the right conditions helps nurse the seeds to saplings,” a note by the ERA-I reads.
23 individuals from 11 institutions contribute to creating a seed germination database. They upload their germination experience to public platforms for people to learn and benefit.
Local plants in the IE-II database include Aegle Marmelos (Wooden apple), Bauhinia racemosa (Beedi Leaf Tree), canthium coromandelicum (Coromandel boxwood), daphniphyllum neilgherrense (Nilgiri daphne-Leaf), Elaeodendron glaucum (Ceylon Tea), ficus benghalensis (Banyan), Gmelina Arborea (White Kashmir teak), hope (Malabalitemu), ixora pavetta (Torchwood Tree), Justicia adhatoda (Malaba nut), Knema Attenuata (Wild nutmeg), Lawsonia Inermis (Henna), Madhuca Longifolia (mahua), Vachellia Nilotica (babool), Withania Somnifera (Ashwagandha), Ximenia Americana (Pig and Plum) and Ziphus Mauritiana (Indian Jujube).
publishing – April 15, 2025 05:21 pm ist
