Conserving Threatened Leguminous Rain Forest Trees in the Middle Magdelena Valley of Colombia

Benjamin M. Torke

This project will build conservation capacity for up to 10 threatened species of leguminous trees by resolving the taxonomy of three species complexes that likely contain undescribed and highly threatened species, by compiling conservation relevant data for all species, and by building momentum for future conservation actions at six private reserves that protect critical fragments of lowland wet forest in the Middle Magdalena Valley.

The Middle Magdalena Valley (MMV) of Colombia harbors exceptional tree species richness and endemism. Most of the lowland forests in the region have been converted to pasture, relegating numerous threatened tree species to small, isolated fragments of forest. Our project leverages resources and expertise in tropical tree research and conservation at the New York Botanical Garden and at two Colombian institutions to build conservation capacity for threated leguminous trees in the MMV, with the long-term goal of implementing both in-situ and ex-situ actions to improve the conservation status of these species, seven of which are currently listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered.

This project is funded by the Franklinia Foundation.