Director: Graziano Rossi
Headquarters: Orto Botanico, Via S. Epifanio 14
Plant Ecology is the study of the relationships between plants, their physical environment, and other organisms. Species-specific ecological needs influence plant distribution at different scales and other important mechanisms, such as the ability to tolerate and respond to stress, competition, and evolution.
The study of Plant Ecology also allows us to understand the effects of global environmental changes, such as climate change, land-use changes, and pollution. This links Plant Ecology to Plant Conservation. Conservation Biology is a discipline that studies biodiversity with the aim of protecting species and the habitats they inhabit.
The Plant Germplasm Bank of the University of Pavia (located at the Botanical Garden) is also part of the Plant Ecology and Plant Conservation Laboratory. The purpose of this facility is the long-term ex situ conservation of threatened plant species to maintain high levels of plant biodiversity, both natural and agronomic, preserve the environment, promote sustainable development, and protect plant species of particular interest from genetic erosion and extinction.
Special attention is given to wild plants useful to humans (useful plants), including food and medicinal species of the spontaneous Italian flora, with particular reference to northern Italy, wild relatives of cultivated species (CWR - Crop Wild Relatives), important for the conservation of genetic diversity in the agri-environmental sector, as well as traditional local agricultural and horticultural cultivars.
In addition to its primary conservation mission, the Germplasm Bank also provides seed storage services for agricultural companies in specific cases, develops projects for the sustainable use of plant genetic resources, and provides seed samples for some target species involved in specific research and conservation projects. Since 2017, the Germplasm Bank has been part of the European Genebank Integrated System (AEGIS), a platform that connects all European seed banks in a single common system for the long-term preservation of samples belonging to Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA). In the same year it also joined the PlantA-Res Inventory (as the University of Pavia) and is registered in the FAO World Collections System (WIEWS).