Identifying tree populations for conservation action through geospatial analyses

Rapid development of information and communication technologies has made it possible to easily collect georeferenced information on species and their environment, and to use it for analyzing biological diversity, its distribution and threats to it. Such analyses can importantly inform development of conservation strategies and priorities, especially across countries or species distribution ranges (Guarino et al. 2002). Data for spatial analyses on species or genetic diversity and its distribution are collected in specifically designed studies, obtained from existing records of species occurrence, or both. Observations may be complemented by species distribution modelling, where the potential occurrence of a species is predicted based on its documented geographic distribution and climate in those areas. Results on the distribution of diversity, documented or modelled, can then be compared, for example, with existing protected areas, rates of forest degradation, threats of environmental changes, or socio-economic indicators, to identify priority tree populations and tailor strategies for their conservation and sustainable use (Pautasso 2009). In this paper recent case studies on spatial biodiversity analyses across the tropics are presented, demonstrating how such analyses can help to identify most unique or most threatened populations of a tree species for conservation actions. Insights on initiating collaborative research on diversity and distributions of important Asian tree species are also discussed

Forest genetic resources conservation and management: Status in seven South and Southeast Asian countries

This compilation of the national status reports from the seven participating countries of the ITTO Project is thesecond joint documentation of national activities for the conservation and management of forest genetic resources in South and South-east Asian countries. The reports in this publication were provided by the National Focal Points of the ITTO project countries during the years 2007-2009, and they capture updates in the conservation and management activities and initiatives in the project countries since the inception workshop of the APFORGEN Programme in 2003. The implementation of the ITTO project is supported by FRIM, in collaboration with APAFRI and Bioversity International

Forest genetic resources conservation and management: National consultative workshops of seven South and Southeast Asian countries

The reports included in this volume come from seven national consultative workshops within the ITTO funded project on forest genetic resources, ”Strengthening National Capacity and Regional Collaboration for Sustainable Use of Forest Genetic Resources in Tropical Asia”. The project started in February 2006 and ended in 2009, and was carried out by seven participating countries: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. This volume results from a collaboration amongst FRIM, Bioversity International and APAFRI

Environmental impact assessment of the pangasius sector in the Mekong Delta

In the past seven years the export of white pangasius fillets grew fast. The culture method shifted to intensive production of striped catfish (Ca Tra) in deep ponds because this is more efficient than the pen and cage culture of Ca Basa. Today, striped catfish comprises more than 90 % of the culture. The increased production was achieved by producers investing in large ponds. The market chain is gearing towards vertical integration. Most farms keep fish at relatively high densities of 15 to 25 fish/m3 in ponds having a depth of up to 4m, and are advised to exchange daily 20 to 40% of the water. The sustainability of the sector is threatened due to the increased environmental pressure, and hampered by the growing cost of inputs and reduced farm-gate prices of the fish. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) intends to identify measures for preventing or mitigating the environmental impacts of catfish culture in the Mekong Delta. The EIA was a seven-step process during which we interacted twice with part of the main stakeholders. To build trust among the stakeholders from the sector, we conducted the scoping and goal setting with them

Phylogenomics using low-depth whole genome sequencing: a case study with the olive tribe

Species trees have traditionally been inferred from a few selected markers, and genome-wide investigations remain largely restricted to model organisms or small groups of species for which sampling of fresh material is available, leaving out most of the existing and historic species diversity. The genomes of an increasing number of species, including specimens extracted from natural history collections, are being sequenced at low depth. While these datasets are widely used to analyse organelle genomes, the nuclear fraction is generally ignored. Here we evaluate different reference-based methods to infer phylogenies of large taxonomic groups from such datasets. Using the example of the Oleeae tribe, a worldwide-distributed group, we build phylogenies based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained using two reference genomes (the olive and ash trees). The inferred phylogenies are overall congruent, yet present differences that might reflect the effect of the distance to the reference on the amount of missing data. To limit this issue, the genome complexity was reduced by using pairs of orthologous coding sequences as the reference, thus allowing combining SNPs obtained using two distinct references. Concatenated and coalescence trees based on these combined SNPs suggest events of incomplete lineage sorting and/or hybridization during the diversification of this large phylogenetic group. Our results show that genome-wide phylogenetic trees can be inferred from low-depth sequence datasets for eukaryote groups with complex genomes, and histories of reticulate evolution. This opens new avenues for large-scale phylogenomics and biogeographic analyses covering both the extant and historic diversity stored in museum collections

Gap-free monitoring of annual mangrove forest dynamics in Ca Mau province, Vietnamese Mekong delta, using the Landsat-7-8 archives and post-classification temporal optimization

Environmental Biolog

Forest genetic resources conservation and management: Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) Inception Workshop, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia, 15-18 July 2003

Conservation, improvement, and effective management of forest genetic resources (FGR) is basic to sustainable forest management but will require a holistic approach at various hierarchical levels (ecosystem, landscape, national and regional). While the concern of governments in managing their FGR has been increasing with the increasing introduction of relevant national policies and guidelines, there is a need for better collaboration at regional level despite the efforts already expanded by international and regional organizations. The FAO Panel of Experts on FGR has played a major role in providing recommendations at the global level and has stressed the need to strengthen national programmes and regionalcollaboration on FGR in different parts of the world. Several countries in the Asia Pacific region have taken steps to implement sustainable forest management in practice and there is a need to promote management of FGR within this process. Better management of forest genetic diversity will also help countries to fulfil their commitments as agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity and to maintain diversity for future use. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) have taken the initiative to develop a regional network programme to strengthen the work on conservation and sustainable use of FGR in the region. This regional programme, called the Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) has the support of fourteen countries in the region. The Inception workshop, organized with the technical cooperation of FAO has laid the foundation for initiating FGR networking in the region via APFORGEN. The participation of twelve country representatives in the inception workshop is an indication of support of national governments, which desire closer collaboration in FGR conservation and management

Sustaining tropical timber trees in production forests of Asia - ensuring their genetic viability

Sustainable timber production in approximately 400 million hectares of production forests in the tropics would be enhanced by incorporating genetic conservation measures in their management. This factsheet, based on a scientific review, explains why tropical Asian timber species are particularly vulnerable to logging and habitat fragmentation and what policymakers and forest managers can do to maintain productivity and resilience of timber trees in Asian production forests