Crop wild relatives in Adygea: inventorying and conservation

Abstract

Background. Searching for new sources of valuable agronomic traits is becoming ever more urgent in the context of the development of modern crop cultivars. With this in view, crop wild relatives (CWR) are of special importance as carriers of resistance to unfavorable stressors. Evaluation of their status is an essential part of plant genetic resources (PGR) management with the aim of their further conservation.Materials and methods. Herbarium holdings (WIR, LE, MW, and MAY), our own plant explorations (2006, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2022), and published sources served as the materials for this study.Results. The study resulted in identifying 388 CWR species, belonging to 116 genera of 35 families, within the natural plant communities in Adygea. Those species were classified into groups (ranks) according to their breeding value: 125 species into the first group, 104 into the second, 42 into the third, 109 into the fourth, and 9 into the fifth. Ranking according to economic uses showed that forage (207 spp.), melliferous (158) and food species (141) prevailed, followed by medicinal (128), ornamental (86), green manure (86), industrial (48), and revegetation (26) species. The CWR flora included 43 endemic species of various levels, and 12 relict species.Conclusions. As a result of the study, 28 CWR species were prioritized as subject to conservation. Maps were made on the basis of herbarium data to show the localities of those species in Adygea. A combination of in situ and ex situ approaches was recommended for their effective conservation.

Keywords

• plant genetic resources
• russian caucasus
• vulnerable species
• in situ and ex situ conservation
• specially protected natural areas