An inventory of crop wild relatives and wild‐utilized plants in Canada

Abstract

In the face of global pressures of change and biodiversity loss, crop wild relatives (CWR) and wild‐utilized species (WUS) urgently require conservation attention. To advance conservation, we assembled a national inventory of CWR and WUS in Canada. To assess current ex situ conservation of these plant species, we gathered a virtual metacollection of accession data from botanical gardens and national genebanks. The inventory includes 779 CWR and WUS taxa (658 distinct species), with 263 (222 distinct species) that are related to food crops of national and global importance such as blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), apple (Malus domestica (Suckow) Borkh.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and saskatoon (Amelanchier spp.). Sixty‐one food crop relatives are prioritized for breeding potential, and sixteen due to conservation threats. Although most food crop CWR are represented in ex situ collections (91% of species), representation of within‐species diversity is low (median = 5% of Canadian ecogeographic types represented per species). Poor representation of within‐species diversity demands an integrative conservation strategy that emphasizes in situ protection, especially focusing on wild populations in Canada's southern ecoregions where diversity is concentrated. While genebank collections represent higher accession counts per species, botanical gardens include living collections of fruit crop relatives and other woody perennials that are well situated to raise broader awareness of CWR and WUS. To promote further conservation action, we present a web application that enables conservation planners and practitioners to identify local CWR and WUS and to identify within‐species ecogeographic types that are underrepresented in ex situ conservation systems.

Berries as a case study for crop wild relative conservation, use, and public engagement in Canada

“…As is observed for crop wild relatives and Canadian biodiversity more broadly (Currie, 1991;Kraus & Hebb, 2020;Ulrich et al, 2022;Warman et al, 2004), berry species diversity is geographically concentrated in southwestern Canada (Figure 1b) and to an even greater extent in southeastern Canada (Figure 1c). Including the taxonomically complex, relatively large genus Crataegus does not alter broad patterns in the geographic distribution of berry species diversity (Figure S1).…”

“…Recently, a species inventory for Canadian crop wild relatives was generated (Ulrich et al, 2022). Briefly, inventory construction began by searching four different sources for crop wild relatives that occur in Canada (Davidson, 1995;Kuhnlein & Turner, 2020;National Tree Seed Centre [NTSC], 2021; USDA-ARS, 2021).…”

“…While each is distinct in its mission and scope, all steward living collections of plants which are foundational to a variety of programs. A recent survey of 32 Canadian botanical gardens showed that seven respondents collectively held 14,782 accessions of crop wild relatives, with close to 4000 berries (Ulrich et al, 2022). Across all Canadian botanical gardens, the number of accessions held is likely much greater and warrants future efforts in data collection and management.…”

“…This table is adapted from (Ulrich et al . , 2022), with one sheet containing a description of all columns (Data dictionary) and another sheet containing the inventory (Dataset S2). Abbreviations used in the table include crop wild relatives (CWR), wild‐utilized plants (WUS), National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), and Plant Gene Resources (PGR).…”

Crop Wild Relatives: A Valuable Source of Tolerance to Various Abiotic Stresses

“…Notably, much effort has been undertaken across countries to generate prioritized inventories for crop wild relatives (annual and perennial plants). These aim at proper assessment and efficient conservation, both in situ (land protection) and ex situ (seed banks), of unexplored or underexploited wild genetic resources [ 9 , 178 , 179 , 180 , 181 ]. Breeding programs focusing on introgression of wild genetic material into cultivated crops will result in climate-resilient varieties with low-input requirements.…”