Cataloguing and prioritizing crop wild relatives as a baseline for their conservation and utilization

The value of wild plant species related to crops (crop wild relatives, or CWR) as sources of traits for pest and disease resistance, tolerance of environmental conditions, yield enhancement, improved nutrition, and a range of other agronomic characteristics, has been recognized since the early 20th century. However, these species are inadequately conserved, which in turn is limiting their utilization potential. In this thesis, based on the published definition of a CWR, a systematic, practical and replicable method for creating a comprehensive CWR checklist and an approach to identifying priority taxa for conservation action are proposed. The process of evaluating the threat status of CWR to inform conservation planning is also elaborated. These methodologies are presented and discussed in the broader context of CWR conservation planning at national and regional scales, and illustrated with China and Europe as case studies. While the CWR checklist methodology results in a large number of included taxa, it provides a comprehensive foundation for conservation planning. The identification of priority taxa as those related to crops of high socio-economic importance, and of those, taxa of greatest utilization potential and/or known to be under threat of genetic erosion, provides a pragmatic means of directing limited conservation resources

Bottlenecks in the PGRFA use system::stakeholders’ perspectives

AbstractAn essential component of efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on crop production and food security is the production of new varieties of crops which can thrive in more extreme, changeable and uncertain environmental conditions. Humankind is therefore dependent on the continual availability of a wide pool of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) to sustain our food and economic security, yet despite the vast pool of resources that exists, we face significant hurdles in mobilizing them for effective and sustainable use. The Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty) has recognized the pivotal role of sustainable use of PGRFA in addressing global challenges—including climate change adaptation, food security and biodiversity loss—and the need to assist countries in designing measures to promote the sustainable use of PGRFA. A global survey was conducted by the Secretariat of the Treaty to gather the views and needs of PGRFA stakeholders, the results of which have allowed a clearer understanding of the ‘bottlenecks’ in the PGRFA use system and a deeper comprehension of the constraints and needs regarding the implementation of the sustainable use provisions of the Treaty. In particular, there is a critical need to address: (a) limitations regarding policy in support of sustainable use activities; (b) capacity building needs in all areas of the PGRFA sustainable use spectrum; and (c) access to plant genetic material and associated information.</jats:p

CWRML: representing crop wild relative conservation and use data in XML

Background Crop wild relatives are wild species that are closely related to crops. They are valuable as potential gene donors for crop improvement and may help to ensure food security for the future. However, they are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild and are inadequately conserved, both in situ and ex situ. Information about the conservation status and utilisation potential of crop wild relatives is diverse and dispersed, and no single agreed standard exists for representing such information; yet, this information is vital to ensure these species are effectively conserved and utilised. The European Community-funded project, European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum, determined the minimum information requirements for the conservation and utilisation of crop wild relatives and created the Crop Wild Relative Information System, incorporating an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema to aid data sharing and exchange. Results Crop Wild Relative Markup Language (CWRML) was developed to represent the data necessary for crop wild relative conservation and ensure that they can be effectively utilised for crop improvement. The schema partitions data into taxon-, site-, and population-specific elements, to allow for integration with other more general conservation biology schemata which may emerge as accepted standards in the future. These elements are composed of sub-elements, which are structured in order to facilitate the use of the schema in a variety of crop wild relative conservation and use contexts. Pre-existing standards for data representation in conservation biology were reviewed and incorporated into the schema as restrictions on element data contents, where appropriate. Conclusion CWRML provides a flexible data communication format for representing in situ and ex situ conservation status of individual taxa as well as their utilisation potential. The development of the schema highlights a number of instances where additional standards-development may be valuable, particularly with regard to the representation of population-specific data and utilisation potential. As crop wild relatives are intrinsically no different to other wild plant species there is potential for the inclusion of CWRML data elements in the emerging standards for representation of biodiversity data

Crop wild relatives in Natura 2000 Network

This document presents the results of analyses to ascertain the potential of the Natura 2000 network to conserve crop wild relatives (CWR). We obtained distribution data of European priority CWR from large international biodiversity databases and filtered the records to obtain a high quality georeferenced dataset. This dataset contains over 2.8 million records of 568 different priority crop wild relatives. To lay the foundation for the design of a network for the conservation of crop wild relatives in Europe, we analyzed the presence of priority taxa in the Natura 2000 network. We also consulted the Habitats Directive to identify priority crop wild relatives that are characteristic of the protected habitats under Annex I of the Directive, as well as those listed in Annexes II, IV and V. The results show great potential of the Natura 2000 network for the conservation of crop wild relatives, with 519 priority taxa within just 31% of its sites. In addition, 84 priority CWR taxa have been identified as characteristic species of 83 priority habitats of the Directive, and 17 of them are also listed in Annexes II and IV. These findings support the value of using the existing biodiversity conservation infrastructure in Europe for crop wild relative conservation in situ. With very little additional cost involved, the in situ conservation of European priority crop wild relatives could provide added value to the Natura 2000 network through their mportant contribution to the maintenance of food security

In situ plant genetic resources in Europe: crop wild relatives

This report describes the work of Farmer’s Pride project partners to increase knowledge about the occurrence of natural populations of crop wild relatives (CWR), as well as the existence of active in situ conservation actions. A primary objective of the Farmer’s Pride project is to establish a network for in situ conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources in Europe. To achieve this, we need to increase knowledge about the occurrence of natural populations of crop wild relatives (CWR), as well as the existence of active in situ conservation actions. To obtain an overall picture of the location of areas where CWR occur, a list of priority CWR for conservation action in Europe was elaborated considering the economic importance of the associated crops, the potential use of the CWR for crop improvement, and the threat status of the CWR. The resulting list of priority CWR contains 863 taxa – 485 classified at the species level and 378 at the infraspecific level

Extinction risk of Mesoamerican crop wild relatives

Ensuring food security is one of the world's most critical issues as agricultural systems are already being impacted by global change. Crop wild relatives (CWR)—wild plants related to crops—possess genetic variability that can help adapt agriculture to a changing environment and sustainably increase crop yields to meet the food security challenge. Here we report the results of an extinction risk assessment of 224 wild relatives of some of the world's most important crops (i.e. chilli pepper, maize, common bean, avocado, cotton, potato, squash, vanilla and husk tomato) in Mesoamerica—an area of global significance as a centre of crop origin, domestication and of high CWR diversity. We show that 35% of the selected CWR taxa are threatened with extinction according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List demonstrates that these valuable genetic resources are under high anthropogenic threat. The dominant threat processes are land use change for agriculture and farming, invasive and other problematic species (e.g. pests, genetically modified organisms) and use of biological resources, including overcollection and logging. The most significant drivers of extinction relate to smallholder agriculture—given its high incidence and ongoing shifts from traditional agriculture to modern practices (e.g. use of herbicides)—smallholder ranching and housing and urban development and introduced genetic material. There is an urgent need to increase knowledge and research around different aspects of CWR. Policies that support in situ and ex situ conservation of CWR and promote sustainable agriculture are pivotal to secure these resources for the benefit of current and future generations