In situ Conservation Assessment of Forage and Fodder CWR in Spain Using Phytosociological Associations

Rubio Teso Rubio Teso,Iriondo Iriondo

doi:10.3390/su11215882

Abstract

Crop wild relatives (CWR) can be used to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on crops, but their genetic diversity conservation has not been properly addressed. We propose a new target unit for conservation (Asso-EcoU) based on the occurrence of phytosociological associations in different environments. This approach involves using ecogeographical information and distribution data of associations to identify an optimized set of locations for in situ genetic diversity conservation. Thirty-nine CWR species, grouped in 15 associations, generated 165 Asso-EcoUs. Using the Sites of Community Importance (SCI) of Natura 2000 in Spain, we performed three analyses: (1) gap analysis, (2) coverage of the network, and (3) complementarity analysis. Analyses were performed with both target conservation units, associations, or Asso-EcoUs. The SCI network includes 100% of the associations and 69% of the Asso-EcoUs. The coverage assessment showed that 8.8% of the network is enough to encompass all the networks’ target conservation units. Complementarity analysis showed that seven and 52 SCI areas are needed to contain at least one site of the 15 associations and the 114 Asso-EcoUs, respectively. These results highlight the value of Asso-EcoUs to potentially incorporate the genetic diversity component into conservation plans, while increasing the number of species covered.

Highlights

Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild species that are closely related to crop species to which they contribute genetic material [1]
We found that the use of phytosociological associations combined with ecogeographical information of the territory could be an efficient way to manage and conserve in situ various target forage and fodder CWR species at the same time, including a representative sample of their genetic differentiation of adaptive value among populations
Conservation goals should not be focused on the conservation of the target CWR species, but on the conservation of several populations per species containing a representative sample of their genetic diversity of adaptive value

Summary

Introduction

Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild species that are closely related to crop species to which they contribute genetic material [1]. According to Lidder & Sonnino [2], CWR have more genetic diversity than crops, which are known to have a narrow genetic base as a result of domestication and genetic breeding, especially in recent decades [3] This greater diversity and the environmental pressures to which they are subjected provide them with specific adaptive traits [4,5] that can be used to improve crop characteristics. Ex situ conservation of CWR in gene banks is the most straightforward approach already pursued by several countries [11] It needs to be complemented with the in situ conservation of natural populations, where genetic diversity is dynamically evolving in response to an environmental change

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Discussion

Conclusion