Crop wild relatives (CWR) are stated to be one of the priority group for plant conservation in CBD. However, we do not have this topic on RG. Therefore I have some questions to ask:
a) Is the term more popular among conservation biologists than agriculturists?
b) For conservation biologists, how does the concept of CWR help conservation?
c) For crop scientists, is the topic CWR not significantly different from crop breeding and crop improvement? Do you find CWR helpful to agriculture and/or horticulture, how helpful and in what way? How important is the conservation biologists' efforts on CWR to you?
The term can fit under a number of topic areas. From a plant breeding perspective, the loss of biodiversity is a concern form these species because of the potential sources of diversity for breeding programs.
From a conservation biology perspective these same species are important for ecosystem function and restoration. Some areas have converted much of the pre-agricultural natural vegetation systems into farmland with the loss of most of the native areas. The fragmentation of these areas are leading to a loss of genetic diversity, and it is time this material is preserved.
Part c, I can only speak for myself, in that it is part of crop breeding and improvement and it should be part of any program.
Another option, albeit one that has not received a lot of consideration is the potential for wild species, crop relative or not, into domesticated species. This would entail wide screening of materials which would help with CWR preservation, however the resultant 'domesticated' crop would likely be only narrow representative of the species, so preservation would be still required.
In conclusion it would be a good topic to include. I personally feel that CWR is important on all of the levels that Sin Hoong Tan has mentioned. Each continent has important species for conservation, maybe a CWR topic section would facilitate this.
The term can fit under a number of topic areas. From a plant breeding perspective, the loss of biodiversity is a concern form these species because of the potential sources of diversity for breeding programs.
From a conservation biology perspective these same species are important for ecosystem function and restoration. Some areas have converted much of the pre-agricultural natural vegetation systems into farmland with the loss of most of the native areas. The fragmentation of these areas are leading to a loss of genetic diversity, and it is time this material is preserved.
Part c, I can only speak for myself, in that it is part of crop breeding and improvement and it should be part of any program.
Another option, albeit one that has not received a lot of consideration is the potential for wild species, crop relative or not, into domesticated species. This would entail wide screening of materials which would help with CWR preservation, however the resultant 'domesticated' crop would likely be only narrow representative of the species, so preservation would be still required.
In conclusion it would be a good topic to include. I personally feel that CWR is important on all of the levels that Sin Hoong Tan has mentioned. Each continent has important species for conservation, maybe a CWR topic section would facilitate this.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Agriculture