New Southeast Asia Plant Phenology Network announced at 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress hosted in Singapore, the first time the Congress is held in Southeast Asia

- Formation of new network inspired by findings of new study by the Singapore Botanic Gardens on tropical leafing behaviour over a span of 90 years

- The Singapore Botanic Gardens embarks on project to digitise Singapore Herbarium’s complete collection of 800,000 plant specimens to facilitate worldwide knowledge sharing and biodiversity conservation

A new Southeast Asia Plant Phenology (SEAPP) Network, initiated by the Singapore Botanic Gardens, was announced today, at the 8^th Global Botanic Gardens Congress (GBGC) – the first time the Congress is being hosted in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The SEAPP Network aims to bring together botanic gardens from tropical Asia for long-term phenology data collection to understand the impact of environmental change on tropical plants. The formation of the network is inspired by the findings of a new study by the Singapore Botanic Gardens on tropical leafing behaviour over a span of 90 years, which showed the importance of long-term monitoring of plants in botanic gardens in studying the effects of climate change.

At the opening of the GBGC, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information & National Development Mr Tan Kiat How also announced that the Singapore Botanic Gardens will be embarking on a project to digitise about 800,000 preserved plant specimens in the Singapore Herbarium, enabling access for researchers globally. To date, this is the largest scale digitalisation project for the 149-year-old Herbarium. It will facilitate global knowledge sharing and collaboration that will further botanical science, including the description of new species, as well as plant conservation and various applied research.

8^th Global Botanic Gardens Congress

The GBGC is the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens. The 8^th edition of the Congress will run from 5 August to 10 August 2024 and is jointly organised by the Singapore Botanic Gardens and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). This is the first time the GBGC is being held in Southeast Asia, which is home to 80 botanic gardens and nearly a quarter of the world’s plant and animal species.

The 8^th GBGC will see to the attendance of about 900 delegates from over 200 botanical gardens and institutions across 73 countries. It is also held in conjunction with the Singapore Garden Festival, a premier international garden and flower show organised by the National Parks Board, which will run from 3 August to 11 August 2024.

Formation of a new Southeast Asia Plant Phenology (SEAPP) Network

The SEAPP Network is coordinated by the Singapore Botanic Gardens in collaboration with the Southeast Asia Botanic Gardens (SEABG) Network of the BGCI. It aims to bring botanic gardens and arboreta in Southeast Asia together for the coordinated monitoring and collection of long-term phenology data of selected tree species. These curated data will help researchers in the region better understand tropical plant phenology and the impacts of a changing climate.

Currently, 10 botanic gardens from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China and Singapore that have ongoing phenology monitoring programmes or are interested in starting these programmes have expressed interest in joining the network. The Singapore Botanic Gardens has invited more gardens in tropical Asia to join the network.

Botanic gardens and arboreta which are part of the SEAPP Network will conduct phenology monitoring with the use of a standardised methodology. This will allow the data to be combined and analysed to reveal deeper insights on the phenology of plants in the region. At the GBGC, botanic gardens under the new network will come together to better understand the existing phenology activities of each garden and discuss a standardised protocol for long-term monitoring activities and data collection at a workshop.

New research by the Singapore Botanic Gardens documenting the importance of botanic gardens in studying the effects of climate change

The Singapore Botanic Gardens initiated the formation of the SEAPP Network after an in-depth study on tropical leafing behaviour spanning 90 years. The study compared past and present records of the effects of climate change on trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and found that leafing (the process of forming leaves) occurs more frequently today than in the early 1900s.

Leafing in some plant species appeared to be triggered by drier weather, and other plant species, by wetter weather. In the early 1900s, Singapore already tended to exhibit slightly drier weather in February and July and wetter weather in December. In the present day, the study, conducted in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, found that the February dry period has become more pronounced and there is an additional rainier period in May. This means that there appears to be two drier and two rainier periods annually. These changes to the climate are likely to have resulted in the more frequent leafing of trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Like many botanic gardens and arboreta around the world, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has a wide variety of tree species and plant collections. By studying the phenology of these trees, we were able to identify some of the lesser-known impacts of climate change on plant species. There is thus high potential for tropical botanic gardens and arboreta to collaborate and enhance the understanding of the effects of climate change using data collected in these localities. This in turn inspired the Singapore Botanic Gardens to form the SEAPP Network for the coordinated monitoring and collection of such data in tropical Asia. The study also highlights the importance and value of long-term studies conducted by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Significance and Digitalisation of the Singapore Herbarium

A significant part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ research work is conducted in the Singapore Herbarium, which was established in 1875. The Singapore Botanic Gardens safeguards various preserved plant-related collections in the Singapore Herbarium. These collections comprise specimens of tropical plants in Southeast Asia, which are fundamental for the naming and classification of all plants on the planet, and contribute towards botanical discoveries and plant conservation. Researchers can use these specimens as references, to help formally name and describe unnamed species as new to science.

To facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, the Singapore Herbarium has embarked on its largest digitalisation effort to date. This involves digitising the complete collection of its 800,000 specimens which will allow the Herbarium to make available the high-resolution images and associated data of the specimens for access globally. When completed, this online database will be the largest digitised collection of specimens in Southeast Asia to date. This will be valuable for a wide range of biodiversity-related research to be conducted, including research on species which are already extinct or not yet formally described for science.

The Singapore Herbarium, together with four local and international partners, will be sharing about the digitalisation of herbarium and other biodiversity collections with other interested institutions at a workshop at the GBGC.

Completion of new book documenting the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ history

Researchers from the Singapore Botanic Gardens have documented the scientific journey and history of the Gardens in a new book, “The Botanists of the Singapore Botanic Gardens: The First 100 Years”. The book features the writings of 11 illustrious botanists who were involved in the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ development in the first century, since it was set up in 1859. This is the first publication that documents excerpts from the scientific writings of these botanists and honours their important contributions to the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Physical copies of the books will be available for sale at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and a digital copy will also be available on NParks’ and the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ websites.

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