Managing Global Genetic Resources Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies (1993) / Chapter Skim
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3. In Situ Conservation of Genetic Resources
3. In Situ Conservation of Genetic Resources
Pages 117-130
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From page 117... ...
THE IMPORTANCE OF IN SITU CONSERVATION In situ conservation is an important component of the conservation and management of genetic resources. It supplements the ex situ conservation efforts of local, national, and international collections and provides some important advantages.
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From page 118... ...
In situ conservation has been proposed for preserving wild species that are related to domesticated crops and perennials such as forest trees, tropical fruits, or species with short-lived seeds (FordLloyd and Jackson, 1986; Hoyt, 1988; International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, 1985a; Plucknett et al., 1987~. For those species, in situ conservation provides the relative stability of species diversity within a coadapted community (Franker and Soule, 1981~.
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From page 119... ...
Prescott-Allen, 1986~. Use of wild relatives in crop breeding has obvious economic significance and is growing (C.
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From page 120... ...
Genetic reserves have the following characteristics: · An explicit objective to maintain population variation. · An established protocol for providing information on and access to the protected resources by ex situ collections, breeders, researchers, and other germplasm users, including a procedure for the sustainable collection of reproductive material by authorized agencies and individuals.
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From page 121... ...
. THE STATUS OF IN SITU CONSERVATION OF WILD lYPES The need for in situ conservation of wild genetic resources has been widely acknowledged (Food and Agriculture Organization, 1989a; Hoyt, 1988; International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, 1985a; International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources et al., 1980; lain, 1975a,b; Noy-Meir et al., 1989; Office of Technology Assessment, 1987a; Oldfield, 1984~.
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From page 122... ...
has established 10 genetic reserves to maintain timber, fruit, nut, forage, and palm species and wild relatives of crops such as cassava and peanut (Giacometti and Goedert, 1989~. Germany is using its system of nature reserves as the basis of in situ conservation of the wild progenitors of apples and pears and other wild genetic resources (Schlosser, 1985~.
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From page 123... ...
In an effort to preserve the genetic resources of teosinte, the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Ma~z y Trigo (CIMMYT, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) in Mexico and others are using a combination of methods that include in situ monitoring of teosinte populations and preservation in reserves (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Ma~z y Trigo, 1986~.
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From page 124... ...
Lack of knowledge of the degree and distribution of interpopulation genetic variation in the wild relatives of crops is another obstacle (International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, 1985a; NoyMeir et al., 1989~. This information is needed for answering questions such as where in situ conservation areas should be established, how large should they be, and what ways should they be managed.
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From page 125... ...
Although they are expected to yield a wealth of information useful to the management of wild species in situ, the data are also likely to provide results relevant to the sampling of populations for ex situ conservation (see Chapter 4~. The Potential of Using Existing Protected Areas as Germplasm Banks The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1978)
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From page 126... ...
While acknowledging that many wild genetic resources species may be found in existing protected areas, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (1985a) has noted several deficiencies that could impair their utility for conserving genetic resources.
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From page 127... ...
In situ conservation of landraces has been proposed to preserve not only crop resources but also to perpetuate the adaptive evolutionary processes that produced them (Brush, 1977; Nabhan, 1985, 1989; National Research Council, 1978; Oldfield, 1984; Oldfield and Alcorn, 1987; Wilkes and Wilkes, 1972~. Traditional or peasant agricultural systems are frequently polycultures that include minor crops and other potentially useful plants (Alcorn, 1981; Oldfield, 1984; Oldfield and Alcorn, 1987; S
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From page 128... ...
The organization provides encouragement and assistance to Native American and other farmers in these areas to grow their traditional cultivars; it also conserves their traditional varieties and landraces in medium-term, ex situ collections (Nabhan, 1989~. In situ conservation of domesticated genetic resources is usually more difficult than that of wild genetic resources, and little is known about the factors that would favor it.
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From page 129... ...
When establishing reserves for crop genetic resources, consideration should be given to wild relatives of crops that are the subject of improvement programs. Attention should also be given to wild species for which there is information on both crossing ability with the crop and on potentially useful genetic traits.
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