Conservation Genomics Project

The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna is partnering with researchers from the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research and the Department of Political Science to produce detailed genetic assessments of endangered Austrian plant species. The project is supported by funding from the Environmental and Climate Research Hub (ECH). The goal is to generate findings that are directly useful to conservation managers and policymakers - informing national strategies and contributing to Austria's international reporting obligations.

The project addresses a significant gap in plant conservation: the assessment of genetic diversity. Biodiversity protection rests on three pillars: the diversity of ecosystems, species, and genes. While habitats can be mapped and populations counted, genetic diversity - the variation in DNA within a species - remains unmeasured for most threatened plants. A population may appear stable in numbers while quietly losing the genetic resilience it needs to survive in the long term.

In 2022, nearly 200 countries, including Austria, formally committed to protecting genetic diversity under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In practice, however, DNA-based data are still missing for the majority of endangered species. In Austria, where more than a third of plant species are threatened with extinction, this knowledge gap is particularly pressing.

The Botanical Garden contributes its living collections, infrastructure, and long-standing expertise in species protection to the project.