Format: ORAL

Marcela Serna1, lvaro Cogollo2,3

1 Tecnológico de Antioquia-Institución Universitaria, Medellín, Colombia 2 Jardín Botánico Joaquín Antonio Uribe, Medellín, Colombia 3 Corporación Salvamontes, Medellín, Colombia

Magnoliaceae is a family of trees and shrubs with approximately 350 species mainly distributed in Asia and America. Having a well-known taxonomy with 33 species distributed along the whole territory, many of them endangered, Magnoliaceae was chosen as a pilot group in Colombia to implement the National Strategy for Plant Conservation in 2001. Since then, several people and organizations have performed significant efforts to look for trees and populations, increase public awareness, and identify ecological requirements for their growth and establishment. After nearly 20 years of continuous work, several new species have been discovered and formally described, positioning Colombia as the country with the most Magnolia species (40) in South America. Magnolia species are characterized by a restricted geographical distribution with very small populations, even reduced to isolated trees highly affected by habitat fragmentation and overharvesting. Consequently, most species are currently considered a priority for conservation. Besides, 90% of the species are endemic to Colombia, highlighting the urgent need to keep working on public awareness and effective conservation programs in which conservation in situ by means of the constitution of reserves is a priority This presentation will show the conservation status of Colombian magnolias, the successful results achieved so far, and the conservation priorities and challenges that still need to be faced.