Conservation Of Crop Wild Relatives Research Articles

Botanic Gardens Complement Agricultural Gene Bank in Collecting and Conserving Plant Genetic Diversity.

Originating in Europe in the 16th century, botanic gardens are found in nearly every country in the world. Botanic gardens have had various roles during this time, including as physic gardens, as adaptation centers for commercial crops, as pleasure gardens, and more recently as conservation institutions. The role of botanic gardens in the conservation of Crop Wild Relatives is becoming increasingly important. At least 6000 taxa related to 68 crop genera are maintained by the world's botanic gardens with several gardens having specialist collections. The extent of infra-specific genetic diversity of these Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) being conserved is currently unknown, although based on existing evidence it is likely to be low. However, these PGRFA collections, through display and education, play a significant role in linking the public to important issues, including food security and the need to conserve crop diversity. Today there are some 2700 botanic gardens in existence, and they are visited by over 500 million people every year. The majority of these gardens are found in temperate regions. At least 30% of all known plant species are found in botanic garden collections, including 41% of threatened species. These ex situ collections are conserved in a variety of ways, including as seed bank collections. Around 350 botanic gardens together maintain seed collections of 57,000 taxa. These seed bank collections have a variety of uses, including for research and reintroduction.

A Crop Wild Relative Inventory for Mexico

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are valuable sources of variation for the genetic improvement of crops. Mexico is an important center of diversity of crops and CWR. However, this diversity is threatened by climate change, habitat degradation, increasing human population, among other factors. Given the large number of CWR, the creation of a CWR inventory is the starting point for the development of a national CWR conservation strategy. The process for the preparation of a national CWR inventory for Mexico consisted of (i) producing a list of national crop species, (ii) matching the crop genera with the list of national flora to produce a CWR checklist, and (iii) prioritizing the CWR checklist according to a series of selection criteria and using a ranking system. The selection criteria included the economic value of the related crop, the potential for crop improvement, food intake, threat status, geographical distribution, and crop use. Applying these criteria, 310 prioritized CWR taxa were selected (~2% of the national CWR diversity), integrating the national CWR inventory. They are mostly related to food crops of national but also global importance, such as maize (Zea mays L.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), squash (Cucurbita spp.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), and sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]. Approximately 31% of the taxa are endemic to Mexico. The inventory will help to develop in situ and ex situ conservation plans as part of a national CWR conservation strategy.

Development of national crop wild relative conservation strategies in European countries

To generate European-wide information to contribute to the improvement of national and regional crop wild relative (CWR) conservation planning and the development of effective CWR conservation strategies, a questionnaire was sent to the members of the Wild Species Conservation in Genetic Reserves Working Group of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) to collate information on progress in developing and implementing national CWR conservation strategies and action plans. Responses from 30 countries were analysed and literature sources were consulted to fill some information gaps. Results showed that 13 countries were in the preparation stage of their national strategies, i.e. having no drafts prepared yet, 14 in higher stages (from the first draft prepared to the published and approved ones), and three have not yet started the planning process. Twelve countries included all categories of species autochthony (i.e., native, archaeophyte and neophyte) in their priority CWR lists. Wild relatives of human and animal food crops were selected as the highest priorities by 23 and 22 countries, respectively. Relative level of threat was identified as the most important prioritization criterion by 23 countries. Italy reported the highest number of CWR in its national checklist (10,779 taxa) and priority list (1118 taxa), whereas Ireland reported the lowest number of CWR in its checklist (171 taxa) and Portugal reported the lowest number in its priority list (20 taxa). Regarding the percentages of prioritized CWR, the strictest approach was applied in Portugal—only 20 out of 2262 CWR taxa, or < 1%, were selected as priorities for conservation action, whereas in Spain 578 out of 929 CWR taxa, or about 62% were prioritized. Eleven countries have proposed the establishment of genetic reserves, from one per country (Israel) to an extended network (Germany and the Netherlands). Only the UK had a formally established genetic reserve. The highest number of priority CWR taxa that occur in existing protected areas was reported by Spain—472 species, or 82% of the national priority list, whereas the lowest number—14 species, or 70% of the national priority list—in Portugal. Israel reported the highest number of priority CWR taxa (319 or 98%) conserved in gene banks. Among the limitations in the development of national CWR strategies highlighted by countries, was the lack of an EU agency responsible for genetic resources. The development of CWR conservation strategies is mostly within the domains of agriculture (13 countries) and environment (12 countries), although both domains are involved in eight countries. The most successful results in the development and implementation of CWR conservations strategies are achieved in the countries where multiple stakeholders, including ministries, research institutions, NGOs, local communities, protected area authorities and national PGR committees are involved. Some discussion and conclusions regarding further developments are provided.

Setting conservation priorities for crop wild relatives in the Fertile Crescent

The aim of this paper is to contribute directly to the systematic, long-term conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) in the Fertile Crescent by setting conservation priorities to secure and improve CWR conservation in situ and ex situ as a means of underpinning global food security. We established the first priority list of CWR within the Fertile Crescent following several criteria comprising production value (m × p), projected production value (m × p), production area (ha), projected production area (ha), native status, energy supply (kcal/capita/day), protein supply (g/capita/day), fat supply (g/capita/day), occurrence status, gene pool, taxon group, and threat status. An inventory of 220 priority CWR was established for the Fertile Crescent region. We followed twelve prioritisation approaches and assessed 21,080 species. About 4% of the total species (835 species) were identified as CWR that have socio-economic value for the region. These 835 CWR species were prioritised to create the CWR priority list which consisted of 220 species (1% of the total species assessed). The majority of the CWR priority list (185 species) were related to cereal, vegetable, and industrial crops and 35 of them are related to fruits and trees. The CWR priority list includes crop wild relatives of the genera Aegilops (20 species), Lactuca (11 species), Avena (11 species), Carthamus (11 species), Allium (9 species), Thinopyrum (10 species), and Triticum (3 species). We present the first inventory of 220 priority CWR for the Fertile Crescent. The inventory helps to improve in situ and ex situ conservation and the genetic diversity of CWR. Both the inventory and the methodology applied in prioritisation can be used in setting national, regional, and global conservation strategies. The recommendations will help the Fertile Crescent meet its targets in conserving CWR diversity as well as making sure that CWR genetic resources are preserved to prevent and tackle global food insecurity.

Inventory and prioritization for the conservation of crop wild relatives in The Netherlands under climate change

Crop-related wild plant species are a rich source of genetic diversity and are potentially useful in plant breeding for the development of varieties with novel traits. However, many crop wild relatives are poorly represented in gene banks, while their continued survival in situ is by no means ensured. Here we introduced a methodology to inventory relevant taxa and to assess their threat levels for continued survival in situ, including the expected effects of climate change, and applied it to crop wild relatives in The Netherlands. A total number of 214 taxa of wild relatives of economically important agricultural and horticultural crops were identified, of which 53 are included in the Dutch red list of plant species. The group of 53 red list species was studied in more detail to prioritize species for conservation. Based on recent distribution data, the number of Dutch populations consisting of at least 50 individuals varied strongly among the red list species. The majority of these ‘large’ populations were found to be located in protected areas. Furthermore, niche modelling was used to study the expected effects of climate change on the future distribution of the red list species. These analyses predicted a reduced distribution area for the majority of species, although also positive effects of climate change were observed for several species. Similar patterns of change were observed when only protected areas were considered. Results of the study were used to prioritize the conservation of crop wild relatives in The Netherlands.

Palaeoecology and Gis Modeling Reveal Historic Grasslands as “Hotspots” of Biodiversity and Plant Genetic Resources

Traditionally managed meadows and pastures are increasingly abandoned or replaced with intensively cultivated arable fields in the UK and Europe. These habitats are important reservoirs of plants valued for their medicinal properties, cultural significance, and genetic diversity. Whether grassland biodiversity will persist without human management is currently unknown. Here, I combine palaeoecological data and modern vegetation surveys to determine the origin of species-rich grassland in Oxfordshire, England and long-term temporal and spatial changes in grassland biodiversity over time. I also examine whether forage crop wild relatives, a group of plant genetic resources, are dependent upon pastoral activities. In situ and ex situ conservation of crop wild relatives is increasingly important because they provide plant breeders with novel sources of genetic diversity to adapt crops to changing climate conditions. I demonstrate that species-rich grasslands only developed around 2000 years ago due to anthropogenic intervention and would revert to oscillating between open grassland and woodland without human management. Temporally and spatially, high levels of biodiversity are associated with the creation of species-rich grasslands. These areas are still hotspots of vegetation diversity today and wild relatives of forage grasses and legumes are closely linked to these areas. I argue that conservation activities should focus their attention on species-rich grasslands located in areas of long-term biodiversity, allowing other sites to revert, and that future research could focus on monitoring, characterizing, and collecting plant genetic resources from these sites.

Crop wild relative conservation: Wild yams are not that wild

Extension of land use has been the main way to increase agricultural production to date. Natural habitats have consequently decreased and became increasingly fragmented, putting high pressure on the wild relatives of main crops. In this study, we assessed the diversity of wild relatives and cultivated varieties of yam, Dioscorea rotundata, a tuber crop grown in West Africa. Using nuclear markers, we showed that 19% of the wild plants were in fact hybrids between wild and cultivated varieties. Using whole chloroplast sequences, our results suggest that hybridization may be even stronger, with 43% of the wild individuals presenting either chloroplast or nuclear introgression with the cultivated yams. Adaptation of agriculture to current new pathogen outbreaks and ongoing climatic changes will require mining the vast diversity found in crops wild relatives. However, our study suggests that wild yam diversity is already largely tainted by crop-to-wild gene flow. The need to focus on in-situ wild yam conservation is even more crucial, since today, ex-situ genebanks contain nearly no wild yam accessions. Data profileMicrosatellite allele scoring is available as an online appendix; NGS data (.bam file) are available as SRA bioproject PRJNA383673.

The Use of Crop Wild Relatives in Maize and Sunflower Breeding

Conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) has always been predicated on the promise of new and useful traits, and thus modern genetics and genomics tools must help fulfill the promise and continue to secure the conservation of these resources. However, the vast genetic potential present in CWR is often difficult to tap, as identification of superior alleles can be hampered by the effects of the environment on expression of these alleles and masked in different genetic backgrounds; transfer of superior alleles into breeding pools to create new crop varieties can be slow and expensive. Some crop species have been more amenable to introgression of traits from wild relatives than others. In some cases, these species may be less diverged from their wild ancestors, which become a good source of mono‐ to oligogenic traits, many of which are more qualitative in nature, and sometimes of quantitative traits. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an introgression success story, and many traits, including cytoplasmic male sterility, herbicide tolerance, drought and biotic stress resistance, and modified fatty acid profiles, have been introgressed into the cultivated gene pool from wild relatives without depression of oil yield and quality. Others, including maize (Zea mays L.), have shown little progress in widening the cultivated gene pool using exotic sources due to temporary yield depression, potential for loss of quality, and disturbance of current logistical habits. Here, we review the breeding history of sunflower and maize and explore variables that have limited the use of CWR in some species and allowed success in others. Surprisingly, in both sunflower and maize, biological limitations are similar and smaller than expected and appear to be surmountable with sufficient determination. Possible new technologies and policies to allow a deeper mining of these genetic resources in all crop species are discussed.

Wading Into the Gene Pool: Progress and Constraints Using Wild Species

Wading Into the Gene Pool: Progress and Constraints Using Wild Species

Towards the conservation of crop wild relative diversity in North Africa: checklist, prioritisation and inventory

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild species that are more or less genetically related to crops that can be used to introgress useful genes for improvement of productivity, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and quality of cultivated crops. They are important in crop improvement to achieve food security for an increasing population and to overcome the challenges caused by climate change and the new virulence of major diseases and pests. These genetic resources are increasingly threatened in their natural habitats through over-exploitation and land reclamation and degradation. Therefore, their efficient and effective conservation would be taxonomically and genetically valuable and will contribute to maintaining and promoting the sustainability of crop diversity, facilitating agricultural production and supporting the increasing demand for food, feed and natural resources. A checklist of 5780 Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) taxa from North Africa was obtained using the CWR Catalogue for Europe and the Mediterranean (PGR Forum). Of which consists 76% of the flora of North Africa. The checklist contains 5588 (~97%) native taxa and 192 introduced. Families with higher taxa richness are Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae. These three families constitute more than 33% of the total taxa included in the checklist. About 9% (502) CWR taxa identified as a priority for conservation in North Africa using four criteria, the economic value of the crop, the relatedness degree of wild relatives to their crop, threat status using IUCN red list assessment, and finally the centre of origin and/or diversity of the crop. Of these, 112 taxa were assigned high, 268 medium and 122 low priorities for effective conservation. Those assessed as threatened using IUCN Red list and national assessment represent approximately 2% (119 taxa) of the CWR in the region. However, 21 taxa are assessed as critically endangered (CR), 53 as endangered (EN), and 45 as vulnerable (VU). Wild relatives of some globally important crops are present, with those related to wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) among the highest priority crops for the North Africa region. Amongst CWR assessed as threatened, only 8 (6.7%) CWR are related to food crops, Avena agadiriana B.R. Baum. et G. Fedak (VU), A. atlantica B.R. Baum et G. Fedak (VU), A. murphyi Ladiz. (EN), Beta macrocarpa Guss. (EN), Olea europaea subsp. maroccana Guss. (VU), Rorippa hayanica Maire (VU) and Aegilops bicornis (Forssk.) Jaub. et Spach (VU). The wild relative of Safflower Carthamus glaucus M. Bieb is restricted to Egypt and Libya and assessed as rare in Egypt. The information available about the conservation and threat status of CWR in North Africa still lags behind, and more investigations are required.

Setting conservation priorities for Argentina's pseudocereal crop wild relatives

Although the considerable value of crop wild relatives (CWRs) as gene donors is well known, in many crop complexes they are subject to increasing threats from anthropogenic factors. The development of a prioritized inventory of CWR species is an essential step towards the conservation of this vital resource, so in this study, we developed a national inventory of pseudocereal CWR species in Argentina and established ex situ and in situ conservation priorities. The resulting prioritized inventory consisted of 16 species, almost all of which were underrepresented in national and global ex situ gene banks. Similarly, the extant reserve network was found to be insufficient for the preservation of pseudocereal CWRs, especially Chenopodium diversity. Three hotspot groups were identified in the Andean region: northern, central and southern. The northern group has the highest conservation priority because it harbours CWR species from the primary and secondary gene pools, but the central and southern groups are also important because they harbour endemic species that are poorly represented in the extant reserve network. Therefore, new priority areas for protection are necessary for their conservation. This study emphasizes that the conservation of pseudocereal CWRs in Argentina must be maximized using a complementary in situ and ex situ approach.

Climate change and national crop wild relative conservation planning.

Climate change is likely to be one of the most important factors affecting our future food security. To mitigate negative impacts, we will require our crops to be more genetically diverse. Such diversity is available in crop wild relatives (CWRs), the wild taxa relatively closely related to crops and from which diverse traits can be transferred to the crop. Conservation of such genetic resources resides within the nation where they are found; therefore, national-level conservation recommendations are fundamental to global food security. We investigate the potential impact of climate change on CWR richness in Norway. The consequences of a 1.5 and 3.0°C temperature rise were studied for the years 2030, 2050, 2070, 2080 and then compared to the present climate. The results indicate a pattern of shifting CWR richness from the south to the north, with increases in taxa turnover and in the numbers of threatened taxa. Recommendations for in situ and ex situ conservation actions over the short and long term for the priority CWRs in Norway are presented. The methods and recommendations developed here can be applied within other nations and at regional and global levels to improve the effectiveness of conservation actions and help ensure global food security.

A systematic conservation strategy for crop wild relatives in the Czech Republic

AbstractAimTo create a crop wild relative (CWR) conservation strategy for the Czech Republic: the first nationalCWRconservation strategy for Central and Eastern Europe.LocationCzech Republic.MethodsWe generated aCWRchecklist for the Czech Republic and then prioritized taxa, using widely adopted criteria modified with input from local experts, to create a nationalCWRinventory. For 204 priorityCWRspecies, we collated 206,760 presence records. We carried out spatial analyses to identify patterns in species richness, gaps in existing conservation actions, complementary conservation networks and collecting strategies to increase representativeness of gene bank accessions. We considered both specific and genetic conservation, using geographic and ecogeographic proxies for the latter.ResultsPassive in situ conservation ofCWRin the Czech Republic is comprehensive at present, with all but one priorityCWRspecies being contained in protected areas. Active in situCWRconservation could be focussed within 11 ca. 10‐km‐by‐10‐km grid cells containing 94% of priority species, or their overlapping protected areas. To augment the genetic coverage of the in situ conservation network, activeCWRconservation is encouraged within 11 supplementary areas. Meanwhile, there are huge gaps in ex situ collections, with no known conserved material for 134 of the 204 priority species. Furthermore, existing accessions are generally unrepresentative of genetic diversity.Main conclusionsIn the Czech Republic, active in situ conservation of priorityCWRshould be instigated within the 22 recommended grid cell areas or their 14 overlapping protected areas. For ex situ conservation, strategic and targeted collection of germplasm would markedly increase the value of gene bank collections. Diversity of priority CzechCWRis concentrated in South Moravia, making this a particularly importantCWRarea for the country and for Europe.

Conservation of crop wild relatives: a Sri Lankan experience in community participation

Sri Lanka is considered as a hotspot of biodiversity as most its forests are rich in different Crop Wild Relatives (CWR). CWR include wild relatives of crop ancestors and other species. In fact, they are a critical source of genes for resistance to diseases, pests and stresses such as droughts, floods and temperatures. However, most of the CWR are increasingly at a risk. This investigation focused on one important wild plant species- Kapuru Kurundu (Cinnomomum capparu-coronde Blume). And the main objective is to establish conservation policies while integrating community’s participation. The investigation has been carried out in the surrounding villages of Kanneliya forest reserve located in the Southern Province Sri Lanka. A series of case studies were conducted with the farmers of surrounding villages. The PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) tools were employed and informal discussions were also conducted. Observation visits were made to demarcate the existing plants. Results reveal that community is used to extract the plant, especially as an indigenous medicine directly for toothache, ointments, bronchitis, rheumatism, snake bites, breakages and fractures. In fact, bark oil contained eugenol and root oil was rich in camphor. Further, results disclose that certain illegal groups extract the plant and trade for commercial purposes. This warranted an urgent programme for conservation. Hence, in-situ and ex-situ conservations were started in Kanneliya forest reserve. Moreover, community conservation groups were strengthened in the surrounding villages to mitigate illegal removal, and conserve Kapuru Kurundu plant.

In situandex situdiversity analysis of priority crop wild relatives in Norway

AbstractAimTo contribute directly to Norway's national and international commitments to systematic, long‐term conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) by ensuring both thein situandex situprotection and availability of a broad range of CWR genetic diversity within the country.LocationNorway.MethodsWe created a priority list of CWR within Norway based upon four main criteria including economic value from national to global level of associated crops and inclusion in Annex 1 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Species presence data were gathered from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and used for predictive species distribution modelling in MaxEnt.capfitogensoftware was utilized to create an ecogeographic land characterization (ELC) map and to identify complementaryin situgenetic reserves andex situcollecting priorities which target the full range of ecogeographic diversity of taxa.ResultsAn inventory of 204 priority CWR within Norway was compiled. A grid cell complementary network of 19in situareas (~10 km2) conserved 201 priority CWR, and a separate analysis identified a protected area complementary network of 23 reserves that conserved 181 priority taxa. Forex situconservation, 177 taxa did not haveex situaccessions and of the 24 with accessions, 15 had the minimum of five populations conserved throughout their ecogeographic range.Main conclusionsWe present the first comprehensive national recommendations forin situandex situconservation of 204 priority CWR in Norway. Proposals target the conservation of the ecogeographic diversity of the priority CWR and hence their genetic diversity. Both the priority taxa and the methodology used are applicable at regional and global scales with the recommendations not only helping Norway to meet its international obligations for conservation of genetic diversity of CWR but also ensuring this genetic diversity is available for use in tackling global food security.

Stealing into the wild: conservation science, plant breeding and the makings of new seed enclosures

Faced with pressing climatic changes, scientific and industrial interests are vying to develop crops that can survive drought, floods and shifting pest regimes. Increasingly, they look for solutions in an unlikely place: the gene pools of wild plants. Crop wild relatives (CWR) – species closely related to crops, including their ancestors – offer breeders the allure of retracing the domestication bottleneck, infusing genomes of modern crops with ‘lost’ genetic variety. Yet wild relatives also confront threats from climate change, urbanization and expansion of industrial agri-food. Thus, CWR, seen as both salvational and threatened, have become an international conservation and food-security priority. It is my contention that, in their common project to harness wild-relative potential, conservation and breeding science are co-evolving to extend seed commodity relations into new spheres. I examine enclosures along two fronts: first within ‘systematic CWR conservation’, where ‘in situ’ approaches, typically regarded as empowering and sustainable alternatives to ‘ex situ’, instead may support a complementary system of value extraction; second, in breeding and biotechnology research, which produces new value for CWR while profoundly shaping upstream conservation priorities. An important finding is that although today’s ‘ex situ-centric’ complementarity favors dispossession, an ‘in situ-centric’ approach could foster democratic renewal of biocultural diversity.

Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in Scotland

The impact of climate change upon the agricultural industry is predicted to severely reduce crop yields, leading to a global state of food insecurity. This will be compounded by the necessity to feed almost two billion more people by 2050. Crop wild relatives (CWR), with a wider gene pool than domesticated crops, offer a means of mitigating this situation through the use of novel traits (e.g. stress tolerant or disease resistant traits) in crop improvement. The United Kingdom is one of the contracting parties to international policy such as the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is committed to securing these valuable resources. However, as in the majority of countries around the world, there are as yet no commitments to either in situ or ex situ conservation of CWR at UK or devolved level. This study (i) has produced an inventory of 120 priority CWR within Scotland, (ii) has identified potential sites suitable for their in situ conservation (most notably a site to the west of Glasgow close to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park) and (iii) has prioritised these CWR in terms of the urgency for ex situ collection and storage in gene banks. Finally, recommendations have been made as to how active, long-term conservation of these 120 priority CWR in Scotland could be established to secure this resource in situ whilst ensuring accessibility of genetically diverse material in UK gene banks for use by plant breeders in crop improvement.

Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in Wales

Humans require resilient, rapidly renewable and sustainable supplies of food and many other plant-derived supplies. However, the combined effects of climate change and population growth compromise the provision of these supplies particularly in respect to global food security. Crop wild relatives (CWR) contain higher genetic diversity than crops and harbour traits that can improve crop resilience and yield through plant breeding. However, in common with most countries, CWR are poorly conserved in England. There is currently no provision for long-term CWR conservation in situ, and comprehensive ex situ collection and storage of CWR is also lacking. However, there is a commitment to achieve their conservation in England’s Biodiversity Strategy and the UK has international commitments to do so as part of the Global Plant Conservation Strategy. Here, we identify a series of measures that could enhance the conservation of English CWR, thereby supporting the achievement of these national and international objectives. We provide an inventory of 148 priority English CWR, highlight hotspots of CWR diversity in sites including The Lizard Peninsula, the Dorset coast and Cambridgeshire and suggest appropriate sites for the establishment of a complementary network of genetic reserves. We also identify individual in situ and ex situ priorities for each English CWR. Based on these analyses, we make recommendations whose implementation could provide effective, long-term conservation of English CWR whilst facilitating their use in crop improvement.

Distribution of crop wild relatives of conservation priority in the UK landscape

Many crop species suffer from a lack of genetic diversity which reduces the ability of cultivars to withstand new pests or environmental stresses. The wild relatives of crop plants are an important source of genetic variation and can be used to introduce new traits into existing crops. Identification and conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR) is, therefore, an important step to safeguard future food security. Recent efforts have identified geographical hotspots of CWR diversity in several countries but, as yet, there have been no surveys to identify the habitats and landscape features within these areas that might be most suitable for conservation efforts. Here, we use a UK-wide vegetation survey covering a range of both habitats and landscape features (e.g. fields, hedgerows, waterways and roadsides) to identify the habitats and features with the highest proportion of CWR identified as priority taxa for conservation. Priority CWR were most abundant in grassland habitats, although this was most striking in CWR related to forage and fodder crops. CWR related to food crops were most common in cropped and weedy areas, fertile grassland and lowland woodland. Within habitats, CWR occurrence was significantly associated with linear features including hedgerows, roadsides, field boundaries and field margins. Our findings indicate that CWR of conservation interest are often associated with disturbed habitats and landscape features that are not considered as priorities under site-based conservation measures. We suggest that efforts to maintain linear features in hotspots of CWR diversity would be most effective at conserving the UK's CWR resource.

Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in England.

Humans require resilient, rapidly renewable and sustainable supplies of food and many other plant-derived supplies. However, the combined effects of climate change and population growth compromise the provision of these supplies particularly in respect to global food security. Crop wild relatives (CWR) contain higher genetic diversity than crops and harbour traits that can improve crop resilience and yield through plant breeding. However, in common with most countries, CWR are poorly conserved in England. There is currently no provision for long-term CWR conservation in situ, and comprehensive ex situ collection and storage of CWR is also lacking. However, there is a commitment to achieve their conservation in England’s Biodiversity Strategy and the UK has international commitments to do so as part of the Global Plant Conservation Strategy. Here, we identify a series of measures that could enhance the conservation of English CWR, thereby supporting the achievement of these national and international objectives. We provide an inventory of 148 priority English CWR, highlight hotspots of CWR diversity in sites including The Lizard Peninsula, the Dorset coast and Cambridgeshire and suggest appropriate sites for the establishment of a complementary network of genetic reserves. We also identify individual in situ and ex situ priorities for each English CWR. Based on these analyses, we make recommendations whose implementation could provide effective, long-term conservation of English CWR whilst facilitating their use in crop improvement.