Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and Federal University of Juiz de Fora sign a cooperation agreement to create a cactus collection

The Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (JBRJ) and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) signed, on April 11, a cooperation agreement for the execution of the project "Creation of a cactus and succulent collection and training of the Botanical Garden of Juiz de Fora team".

The agreement provides for the supply of plants and seedlings, which are currently in excessive numbers of duplicates in the collection of cacti and succulents of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, to the UFJF Botanical Garden. The transfer will make room so that new plants of rare, endemic or threatened species can be brought for cultivation and conservation at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Brazilian native and exotic plants will be used to create a new collection of cacti and succulents in Juiz de Fora.

Scheduled to last 12 months, the project will be carried out with funds from Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), a UK-based organization that promotes flora conservation and environmental education activities in botanic gardens in more than 100 countries.

The JBRJ's collection of cacti and succulents dates back to the first half of the 20th century. In recent years, the collection has had a significant increase in species and specimens. The Botanical Garden of Juiz de Fora, on the other hand, created a little more than 10 years ago, is starting to develop its living collections.

Seedlings and plants, mainly of Cactaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Asparagaceae, will be prepared and transferred to UFJF. The work will be guided by the team of researchers from the Curatorship of Living Collections and the Curatorship of the Cactus and Succulent Collection of the Botanical Garden. A team of professionals from the Juiz de Fora Botanical Garden will be trained by the curator of the Cactus and Succulent Collection of the Botanical Garden, Diego Gonzaga.

According to the Rio Botanical Garden's Curator of Living Collections, Marcus Nadruz, one of the missions of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden is to support other Brazilian botanical gardens.

With this project it will be possible to optimize and diversify the ex situ collection (conservation outside the place of origin) of cacti and succulents of the JBRJ and also contribute to the creation and improvement of the ex situ collection of the Botanical Garden of Juiz de Fora", says the researcher.