Forest genetic monitoring: an overview of concepts and definitions.

Barbara Fussi,Marjana Westergren,Monika Konnert,Darius Kavaliauskas,Gregor Bozic,Hojka Kraigher,Domen Finzgar,Roland Baier,Paraskevi Alizoti,Filippos Aravanopoulos,Evangelia Avramidou

doi:10.1007/s10661-016-5489-7

Abstract

Safeguarding sustainability of forest ecosystems with their habitat variability and all their functions is of highest priority. Therefore, the long-term adaptability of forest ecosystems to a changing environment must be secured, e.g., through sustainable forest management. High adaptability is based on biological variation starting at the genetic level. Thus, the ultimate goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to halt the ongoing erosion of biological variation is of utmost importance for forest ecosystem functioning and sustainability. Monitoring of biological diversity over time is needed to detect changes that threaten these biological resources. Genetic variation, as an integral part of biological diversity, needs special attention, and its monitoring can ensure its effective conservation. We compare forest genetic monitoring to other biodiversity monitoring concepts. Forest genetic monitoring (FGM) enables early detection of potentially harmful changes of forest adaptability before these appear at higher biodiversity levels (e.g., species or ecosystem diversity) and can improve the sustainability of applied forest management practices and direct further research. Theoretical genetic monitoring concepts developed up to now need to be evaluated before being implemented on a national and international scale. This article provides an overview of FGM concepts and definitions, discusses their advantages and disadvantages, and provides a flow chart of the steps needed for the optimization and implementation of FGM. FGM is an important module of biodiversity monitoring, and we define an effective FGM scheme as consisting of an assessment of a forest population’s capacity to survive, reproduce, and persist under rapid environmental changes on a long-term scale.

Highlights

The worldwide trend of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, national, and local levels (Graudal et al 2014; Monastersky 2014) is a reality
The challenge seemed to be quite ambitious and hard to meet at the onset, so the succeeding Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) proposed not to halt but at least to reduce biodiversity loss in a decision stating: BParties commit themselves to a more effective and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention, to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth^ (SCBD 2006)
Forest genetic monitoring (FGM) can contribute to the dynamic conservation of genetic diversity over time, by evaluating how the evolutionary processes may affect the adaptive potential of forest tree populations in the case of a change of environmental conditions

Summary

Introduction

The worldwide trend of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, national, and local levels (Graudal et al 2014; Monastersky 2014) is a reality. FGM can contribute to the dynamic conservation of genetic diversity over time, by evaluating how the evolutionary processes may affect the adaptive potential of forest tree populations in the case of a change of environmental conditions. The objective of FGM (i.e., does a specific forest tree population maintain its adaptability to the changing environment in the long run?) may be fulfilled by developing a systematic way to answer questions such as the following: (i) Are the levels of genetic diversity maintained within critical limits? Increasing amounts of data on intraspecific genetic diversity for many tree species are being collected using isoenzyme or molecular markers Such assessments are needed for conservation, breeding, and use of forest tree species, as genetic polymorphism of adaptive traits is necessary for their survival, by providing the basis for genetic adaptation and selection of desired traits. Several concepts and monitoring approaches should be combined and evaluated in an integrated manner, but our attempt is to establish and implement a FGM system as a starting point

Def initions

Perspectives for the design of FGM and its implementation into practice