Collaborations
Green Legacy Hiroshima
This project is a partnership between UCC Arboretum and Tree Explorers, collaborating with the Green Legacy project based in Hiroshima, Japan1. In 1945, when an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, one of the few living things to survive were ancient trees, including the Ginkgo biloba. This tree species is naturally resilient and often planted in areas with heavy pollution.
The Green Legacy Hiroshima project aims to safeguard and distribute seeds and saplings from Hiroshima's A-bomb survivor trees worldwide, encouraging partners to become active ambassadors for Hiroshima's peace message and green legacy.
Ginkgo biloba seeds are collected in Hiroshima and sent to UCC, where they germinate at the School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (BEES). Some germinated seeds have been planted in the UCC Arboretum and will be planted in several locations around Cork City.
Currently, seeds and saplings from the A-bombed trees are growing in 40 countries as part of a long-term (1000-year) campaign, joining other efforts for a nuclear-free and more ecological planet1. The project now has 138 partners worldwide.
On October 18, 2022, Japan's Ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Norio Maruyama, visited UCC to mark an agreement between Japan's National Diet Library and UCC. During his visit, the Ambassador toured the internationally accredited UCC Arboretum. ITEN members Dr. Barbara Doyle Prestwich and Dr. Eoin Lettice showed him the collection, including a Katsura tree and some Ginkgo biloba trees native to Japan.
For more information on this project visit: Green Hiroshima Legacy
Japanese Ambassador visits UCC Arboretum
International Tree Root Microbiome Project
This project focuses on Pinus radiata as a model species, and will look at how microbiomes impact tree survival, disease resistance, and nutrient absorption. The collaborative project brings together international partners from Australia and the United States, creating a global approach to understanding forest ecosystems.
Programme Partners include Lincoln University; Victoria University of Wellington; Australian Plant Phenomics Facility; Hawkesbury Institute for the environment (at University of Western Sydney), Woodwell Climate Research Centre, Massachusetts; Wright State University, Ohio.
The research is structured around four key objectives: Environmental drivers,Host drivers,Characterising the soil environment and Altering the phenotype.
The Irish Tree Explorers Network (ITEN) contributed to the project by collecting leaf, root, and soil samples from Monterey Pine tree sites across Munster. The ITEN team members then analysed these samples in the lab.Their work included sampling and processing needles for DNA analysis,sampling and processing roots and soil for DNA extractions and assessing soil physicochemical properties.
Tree Root Microbiome aims to provide early warning signals of environmental changes and develop strategies for creating more resilient forests. By understanding the complex relationships between trees, microorganisms, and their environment, researchers hope to establish a model system to study interactions among other tree species roots, and the microbiome, with Pinus radiata serving as the model tree species.
For more information on this collaberation visit: Tree Root Micorbiome
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