Prioritizing Plants around the Cross-Border Area of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia: Integrated Conservation Actions and Sustainable Exploitation Potential

Abstract

Plants know no political borders and some of them are restricted to small geographical territories of different countries in which they are endemic. In this study, we prioritized plants (PPs) of the cross-border area of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia that are already threatened or nearly so (PPA), those which occur exclusively on either side of borderline and/or nearby countries (PPB), or those which are uncommon and rare in this region (PPC) with the aim to document in-situ the species-specific risks-threats; offer ex-situ conservation for them as a back-up solution for future re-introductions and sustainable exploitation; and raise public awareness and alertness about the importance of local biodiversity. In the framework of the project Conse-pp, 20 botanical expeditions were performed in 75 selected areas to collect samples and suitable propagation material from 130 PPs (147 accession numbers), also recording all types of threats-identified in-situ for each of them. No ex-situ conservation was detected for 40 PPs worldwide while for another 12 PPs only limited attempts have been made to date. The fully documented PPs are currently maintained under ex- situ conservation and acclimatization in the Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia (BBGK). In total, 156 propagation trials (sexual or asexual) have been made for these PPs to develop species-specific propagation protocols. Consequently, the production of new plant stocks raised ex-situ was achieved (n = 3254 individuals; first-time ex-situ conservation for 40 taxa), and this has enabled the establishment of three awareness-raising sites with PPs: (i) 1000 plants of 70 PPs in the newly designed Kardia Botanical Park in Thermi (Greece); (ii) 850 plants of 104 PPs in the phytodiversity awareness spot in BBGK and 130 individual PPs in the Garden of Environmental Awareness; and (iii) 42 plants of 14 PP taxa delivered to the botanic garden of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. This project outlines the necessity of the development of common plant conservation strategies for threatened plants in cross-border areas of neighboring countries and presents an integrated approach allowing for sustainable development and future in-situ protection measures and actions in the studied cross-border area.

GIS-Facilitated Germination of Stored Seeds from Five Wild-Growing Populations of Campanula pelviformis Lam. and Fertilization Effects on Growth, Nutrients, Phenol Content and Antioxidant Potential

“…Furthermore, conservation efforts have been increased to date to achieve effective protection for local endemic NUPs, especially for those threatened with extinction [2]. Significant information on both the economic and biological value of threatened local endemic NUPs has been gathered through species-specific studies [2,[11][12][13], and basic research gaps related to their propagation and ex-situ cultivation protocols have been addressed during the last decade [2,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

“…However, this has also been often coupled by potential economic benefits associated with their sustainable utilization and concomitant exploitation [2,11,12]. The effectiveness of these two research directions can be facilitated by information on the environmental conditions associated with targeted NUPs reflecting their adaptation in natural habitats and their ecological preferences [2,[15][16][17][18][19][20][22][23][24][25][26]28]. Such data can be utilized to adjust or improve their propagation conditions, for example, through seed propagation [30], which is the most economical and efficient propagation method for many plant species [31].…”

Plant Conservation in the Midst of Energy Transition: Can Regional Governments Rise to the Challenge?

“…Furthermore, as shown above, species protection catalogs also differ between communities. However, plants recognize no political boundaries, and some are confined to specific geographic regions within different countries, making conservation management necessitate a comprehensive strategy [88].…”

“…The endemicity criterion is intrinsically linked to the concept of responsibility [85][86][87][88]; that is, if a species is confined to a specific geographic territory, it is the obligation of the respective governing authorities within that territory to establish a protection regime, as they are responsible for its monitoring and conservation. The smaller the territory, the higher the level of government responsibility for its protection, particularly when all the taxa are threatened and/or protected, as is the case in this study.…”

In vitro germination and micropropagation of the Balkan endemic Lilium chalcedonicum L., a potential ornamental lily

“…It is important to note that native species within the genus are subject to protective measures and local conservation initiatives (van de Kasteele, 1974;Krigas et al, 2022). In Greece, local populations of L. chalcedonicum such as those located in Parnitha National Park face significant pressures and threats (Aplada et al, 2007), while they can be found in other protected areas (Mertzanis et al, 2016).…”