Wild harvested plants (WHP) and crop wild relatives (CWR) have great socio-economic importance for humans because they are directly used or used in crop breeding. They are part of the segment of natural diversity that is collectively known as Plant Genetic Resources (PGR). Italy is presently developing its own conservation programs for PGR. In order to lay down a solid base for constructing in situ conservation strategies, lists with annotated uses for the CWR and WHP of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia were initially produced. There are, respectively, 9,890, 3,857 and 3,338 CWR/WHP taxa in each geographic subdivision. Most of them are collected in the wild for medicinal, ornamental or food use. In order to identify where to focus conservation efforts, the taxa included in the lists were then prioritised taking into account their importance for direct use and for breeding, native status and need of protection or monitoring. In the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia there are, respectively, 92, 77 and 42 taxa that deserve the highest attention in planning a PGR conservation strategy. On these taxa presently lacking information on abundance, location, distribution, and ecological conditions, census and current conservation actions should be immediately carried out. The reported information can be used in developing a conservation strategy at the national and regional level.
Towards an in situ conservation strategy for wild plants of socio-economic interest: an example from Italy
VENANZONI, Roberto;NEGRI, Valeria
In corso di stampa
Abstract
Wild harvested plants (WHP) and crop wild relatives (CWR) have great socio-economic importance for humans because they are directly used or used in crop breeding. They are part of the segment of natural diversity that is collectively known as Plant Genetic Resources (PGR). Italy is presently developing its own conservation programs for PGR. In order to lay down a solid base for constructing in situ conservation strategies, lists with annotated uses for the CWR and WHP of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia were initially produced. There are, respectively, 9,890, 3,857 and 3,338 CWR/WHP taxa in each geographic subdivision. Most of them are collected in the wild for medicinal, ornamental or food use. In order to identify where to focus conservation efforts, the taxa included in the lists were then prioritised taking into account their importance for direct use and for breeding, native status and need of protection or monitoring. In the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia there are, respectively, 92, 77 and 42 taxa that deserve the highest attention in planning a PGR conservation strategy. On these taxa presently lacking information on abundance, location, distribution, and ecological conditions, census and current conservation actions should be immediately carried out. The reported information can be used in developing a conservation strategy at the national and regional level.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
