Genomics
Botanical gardens play a vital role in global plant conservation, acting as living repositories of genetic diversity. With the rise of large-scale genomics initiatives, these collections have become essential for advancing our understanding of plant evolution, adaptation, and biodiversity. As genomic studies expand to encompass more taxonomic groups and species, the demand for accurately documented plant material has intensified. The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden (UBCBG) actively contributes to these efforts through its involvement in national and international research collaborations. UBCBG is a proud partner in the Canada BioGenome Project, which aims to sequence the genomes of Canada’s floristic biodiversity. The Garden has also participated in global initiatives such as OneKP (One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes), Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and the Global Genome Initiative for Gardens (GGI-Gardens).
By providing diverse, well-documented plant material—often with verified wild provenance—UBCBG helps fill critical gaps in genomic datasets and biobanks. These collections not only supply high-quality DNA samples but also support genome-based studies on native, rare, and endangered species, advancing both scientific discovery and biodiversity conservation worldwide.
Magnolia Phenology Study
Each year, UBC Botanical Garden tracks the blooming and leafing patterns of 31 magnolia trees to study how seasonal changes affect plant life. This long-term project provides valuable data on the impacts of weather and climate on flowering cycles in our living collection of Magnolias.
Each spring, the Magnolia Phenology Study at UBC Botanical Garden tracks the timing of seasonal changes in our magnolia trees — from the first swelling buds to the last blooms of summer. Since the early 2000s, Garden volunteers and staff have carefully recorded when individual magnolia trees flower and leaf out, visiting them twice a week in all kinds of weather. This long-term record helps us understand how plants respond to shifting seasonal patterns and a changing climate.
By observing 31 magnolia trees representing both deciduous and evergreen species, the study provides valuable insight into how temperature, rainfall, and other environmental factors influence plant life cycles.
The Magnolia Phenology Study is one of several long-term monitoring projects at UBC Botanical Garden that link careful observation with climate and biodiversity research — helping us see the subtle ways our living collections respond to the world around them.
Bryophytes of the UBC Botanical Garden
Bryophytes—mosses, liverworts, and hornworts—are key indicators of ecosystem health and environmental change. Monitoring their diversity provides critical data for understanding ecological dynamics and biodiversity over time.
At UBC Botanical Garden, multiple collecting trips have been conducted to update records since the last full bryophyte inventory in 2002. In 2013, Sean Montgomery deposited vouchered specimens in the UBC Herbarium and initiated DNA barcoding work in the Graham Lab (Dr. Sean Graham), integrating molecular tools with traditional taxonomy to strengthen the foundation for future biodiversity monitoring.
Today, the Garden continues the work of understanding bryophyte diversity with young bryologists who actively contribute to identifying taxa and deposit vouchers at the UBC Herbarium’s bryophyte collections ensuring that the Garden’s bryophyte flora remains well-documented and that new generations of researchers can build on a strong legacy of moss and liverwort study.
