Oman Botanic Garden

Oman Botanic Garden is a botanic garden in the Arabian Peninsula and will be open to the public in a few years, close to the capital city, Muscat, of the and middle eastern country of Oman.

Oman Botanic Garden is a governmental organization as part of the Diwan of Royal Court. The aim of the project is to ensure that people are inspired to conserve and cherish the biodiversity and botanical heritage of Oman for a sustainable world. The project will do this by displaying the entire flora of the country in naturalistic habitat-style plantings and exhibitions about plants and how they are used.

The 420ha site of the botanic garden is located within the Muscat capital area and was selected as for its ease of access, for its beauty, dramatic landscape and plant diversity, with 10% of Oman’s native flora already present.

Oman’s flora and vegetation

Oman is home to 1200 species of plant, of which 79 are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. About 22% of Oman’s plants are range-restricted or face threats such as over-grazing, inappropriate development, off-road driving and climate change. The level of endemism is such that parts of southern and central Oman are included in the Horn of Africa biodiversity hotspot.

Although the country is mostly arid, the seasonal rainforest of Dhofar, in the south of Oman, is lush during the summer monsoon or Khareef (July – September) and is home to most of the country’s endemic flora. The varied topography of Oman, with the Dhofar range of mountains in the south and Hajar mountains in the north also contribute to the level of plant diversity.

The Oman Botanic Garden botanist team collects plants as seeds, and cuttings through its regular field trips; over 250 expeditions have visited all corners of the country since 2006, each one collecting, monitoring and recording invaluable data about Oman’s plants and environment. Seeds are brought back to the garden, cleaned and stored until they are used by the plant propagation team.

The Oman Botanic Garden will form a key part of Oman’s response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, part of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

History of the project

2004

• Feasibility study in conjunction with Botanic Gardens Conservation International commences

2005

• Project Manager, BLL, appointed

2006

• Oman Botanic Garden established by Royal Decree
• Plant collection field trips start
• Plant propagation started using hired polytunnels
• First staff recruited

2007

• Masterplan for the project produced
• Architectural firm appointed to create the design,
• Consultation provided by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.

Jan 2008

• Construction of Oman Botanic garden nursery starts on site

July 2008

• Transportation of 51.000 plants from hired facilities to new nursery.

Dec 2008

• Official opening of the nursery by His Excellency Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court

May 2009

• Construction of the Orientation Centre, Field Studies Centre, Research Centre and Heritage Village (ongoing)

March 2010

• Planting of the first habitat, Northern Gravel Desert

Garden structures and facilities

Nursery (open)

The first part of the botanic garden built on site, this state-of-the-art facility includes a shade house (3000 m2), an outside standing area (3000 m2), 4 polytunnels (4000 m2), 3 glasshouses (2600 m2), a propagation shed, offices and meeting room.

The nursery now houses 94,000 living plants of 350 species and is the largest documented collection of Arabian plants in the world. The living collections, seedbank and herbarium hold about 70% of the total flora of the country.

Very few of Oman’s plants have been propagated or cultivated before, so the work of the nursery is greatly increasing the knowledge and understanding of the country’s flora.

Orientation Centre, Research Centre, Field Study Centre (under construction)

Currently under construction, this complex includes ticketing and exhibition areas for visitors, with cafes, plant shop and gift shop, laboratories, lecture theater, offices, library, herbarium, seed bank, classrooms, and accommodation for visiting students or researchers.

Heritage village (under construction)

The Heritage Village will display Oman’s ethnobotany, or plant-related crafts and traditions within a series of exciting, interactive workshops and displays for demonstrations of how Oman’s plants are used, from dye to cosmetics to medicine, to food and agriculture. The heritage village will be an engaging attraction for the whole family, with restaurant, café, classrooms, children’s play area, shops and amphitheatre. It will be surrounded by agricultural terraces and palm grove, complete with falaj irrigation system for visitors to explore.

Habitat displays (outdoor) – under construction

Oman’s flora will be displayed within a series of naturalistic habitats. The first of these, the Northern Gravel Desert, was planted in March 2010 with about native plants carefully positioned to reflect the natural habitat as closely as possible.

Other outdoor habitats designed that are yet to be constructed include wadi, sabkha, central fog desert and sand desert.

Habitat displays (indoor) - Northern and Southern Biomes – construction not started

The plants of Dhofar will be housed in three ‘biomes’, structures of rock and glass, which will cycle the three seasons between them, so at any time of year a visitor may experience the Khareef (or monsoon season) at the garden.

The plants of Jabal Akhdar (in the Northern Hajar Mountains) and Musandam (far north of Oman) will also be displayed within ‘biomes’, to ensure they have the controlled climate conditions they require.

Other exisiting facilities

Other facilities on site include a herbarium, seed bank and extensive electronic database that keeps track of the plants, where and when they were collected, environmental conditions in the natural environment, how they are grown as well as how much water or fertilizer they need. Each plant has its own complete record – a plant ‘passport’ which links it the records of its history within the database.

Staff

The project team is also under development, with 49 staff members so far. Training and recruitment is an on-going process to create a dedicated and experienced team to grow the botanic garden. Several of the team are recruits from the local village, enabling the involvement of the local community with the project and helping to ensure that the benefits and information about the project are shared - an important aspect of the project’s sustainability focus.

Sustainability

As a part of its main objective, Oman Botanic Garden is helping to create a more sustainable world, throughout its design, construction and operation. The project is applying for certification for some of the buildings through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), operated by the US Green Building Council. This places stringent criteria on energy efficiency, sourcing and use of materials, minimising the use of resources and communicating best practice. The project already collects steel, aluminum, paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and timber from the site for recycling through local companies, and P.E.T.

Education and communication

To engage with the public, Oman Botanic Garden produces and distributes a regular newsletter, both hardcopy and via email, to several thousand supporters. In addition, a temporary visitor centre is used for pre-booked visiting groups and school parties.

References

Patzelt A, Morris L, Al Rashdi I, Al Farsi K, 2010. Dionysia mira in Oman Botanic Garden. The Rock Garden, The Journal of the Scottish Rock Garden Club, 125: 47-49.

Al-Abbasi TM, Al-Farhan A, Al-Khulaidi AW, Hall M, Llewellyn OA, Miller AG, Patzelt A, 2010. Important Plant Areas in the Arabian Peninsula. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 67(1): 25-35.

Brinkmann K, Patzelt A. 2010. Rangeland Vegetation on Al Jabal Al Akhdar – a Key Resource of Oasis settlements. In: Buerkert, A. & Schlecht E. (eds.) Oases of Oman – Livelihood Systems at the Crossroads, p. 34-37. All Roya Press & Publishing House, Sultanate of Oman.

Patzelt A, 2010. Plant Communities, Endemism and Conservation – History and Heritage. In: Buerkert, A. & Schlecht E. (eds.) Oases of Oman – Livelihood Systems at the Crossroads, p. 30-33. All Roya Press & Publishing House, Sultanate of Oman.

Brinkmann K, Patzelt A, Dickhoefer U, Schlecht E, Buerkert A. 2009. Vegetation pattern and diversity along an altitudinal and a grazing gradient in the Jabal Al Akhdar mountain range of northern Oman. Journal of Arid Environment, 74: 1035-1045.

Patzelt A, Morris LM, Al Farsi K, Spalton A., 2009. The Oman Botanic Garden (2): Collections Policy, Nursery Construction, Expanded Plant Production and Initial Tree Translocation. Sibbaldia 7: 83-97

Tucker, C., Kneebone, S., Richardson, M. (2009) Gaining Accreditation for Sustainability - Oman Botanic Garden and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). BGjournal 6(2): 7-9

Kneebone, S., Mehdi, D. (2010) Oman Botanic Garden; A natural destination for responsible tourism. Destination:RT The e-guide to responsible tourism in destinations around the world. 30-33.

Patzelt A, Morris, L, Al Harthi, L, Al Rashdi, I, Spalton, A, 2008. The Oman Botanic Garden (1): The Vision, early plant collections and propagation. Sibbaldia 6: 41-77.

Pickering H, Patzelt A, 2008. Field Guide to the Wild Plants of Oman. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. 281 pages.

Gebauer J, Patzelt A, Hammer K, Buerkert A, 2007. First record of Grewia tenax (Forsk.) Fiori in northern Oman, a valuable fruit producing shrub. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54, 1153-1158.

Miller A G, Knees S, Patzelt A, 2007. A new species of Barleria (section Prionitis) from Oman. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 64 (1): 107-112.

Richardson, N., Dorrs, M. (2004) The Craft Heritage of Oman. London: Motivate Publishers

Miller, A. G., Morris, M. (1988) Plants of Dhofar. Muscat: Office for the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court.

See also

Tourism in Oman

Eco tourism

Plant conservation

External Links

Oman Botanic Garden Official website

BGCI

Ministry of Tourism