Crop Wild Relatives in the UK Hannah Fielder, Julian Hosking and Nigel Maxted

Nordic/ECPGR Joint Workshop

Plant genetic resources for food security and ecosystem services Planning and implementing national and regional conservation strategies CWR CONSERVATION STRATEGIES 19-21 (22) September 2016, Vilnius, Lithuania

Standard model for development of a National CWR Strategy

Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima

Sugarbeet

Maxted et al., 2007

UK Priority CWR – Inventory

creation

UK Flora 4,793 taxa

CWR Inventory 223 taxa

Prioritisation

• England, Scotland, Wales and the UK

• Involvement of stakeholders

• Selection of criteria:

Native status

Economic value of crop

Gene pool/taxon group

Red list threat status

Conservation designation

Fielder et al., (2015)

CWR Checklist 2,109 taxa (44% flora)

UK Priority CWR – Inventories

Sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima Table 1 Summary of inventory of 223 priority CWR in UK (N = Native, A = Archaeophyte, Neo = Neophyte)

Family No. of genera No. of species No. of infra-specific

taxa Native status

Alliaceae 1 10 3 N; Neo

Amaranthaceae 3 13 1 N; A; Neo

Apiaceae 3 2 4 N

Asparagaceae 1 2 N; Neo

Asteraceae 2 5 N; A; Neo

Betulaceae 1 2 N; Neo

Brassicaceae 8 10 5 N; A; Neo

Ericaceae 1 6 N; Neo

Fabaceae 8 59 8 N; A; Neo

Fagaceae 1 1 Neo

Geraniaceae 1 3 N; A

Grossulariaceae 1 8 N; Neo

Juglandaceae 1 1 Neo

Linaceae 1 2 1 N

Moraceae 2 2 Neo

Poaceae 20 39 9 N; A; Neo

Rosaceae 6 27 N; Neo

Totals 61 192 31

Sea Carrot, Daucus carota subsp.

gummifer

Wild asparagus, Asparagus prostratus Least lettuce, Lactuca saligna

Fielder et al., 2015

Comparison of natural in situ CWR diversity with diversity sampled and conserved in situ or ex situ (Maxted et al., 2008; Ramírez-Villegas et al. 2010)

Exemplar: UK Priority CWR – Ecogeography and Gap analysis

Step 1: Circumscription of target taxon and target area

Step 2: Natural in situ diversity

2a - Taxonomic diversity assessment

2b - Genetic diversity assessment

2c - Ecogeographic diversity assessment

2d - Threat assessment

Step 3: Current conservation

3a - In situ techniques

3b - Ex situ techniques

Step 4: Setting priorities for future conservation action

4a - In situ conservation priorities

4b - Ex situ conservation priorities

Sea pea, Lathyrus japonicus

subsp. maritimus

UK Priority CWR –

In situ gap analysis

Where should we establish genetic

reserves for in situ conservation?

Site 3:

Ceredigion

11 (99) taxa

Site 1: Isle of

Purbeck

124 (0) taxa

Site 2:

Cambridgeshire

17 (104) taxa

CWR complementarity analysis for the UK

Hannah Fielder with

Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima

Fielder et al., 2015

Site 6: Lizard

Peninsular

14 (75) taxa

Hopkins & Maxted 2010

English Priority CWR

– In situ gap analysis

Site 2: The

Lizard

51 (13)

taxa

Site 1:

Purbeck

62 (0)

taxa

Site 3:

Cambridgeshire

54 (10) taxa

CWR complementarity analysis for England

Towards the first UK genetic reserve

for CWR on the Lizard, Cornwall

• Warm climate (most

southerly point in UK)

• Complex geology

• Range of soil types

• Microclimatic variation

• Varied land use pattern

• The Lizard already has

NNR, SSSI, SAC, etc.

Lizard Point, Cornwall

Why the Lizard?

Fielder et al., 2015

The Lizard NNR in Cornwall SW

England: survey of CWRs Spring

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016

• Allium schoenoprasum

• Allium ursinum

• Asparagus officinalis subsp. prostratus

• Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima

• Daucus carota subsp. gummifer

• Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. maritimus

• Trifolium occidentale

• Trifolium repens

O

Towards the first UK genetic reserve

for CWR on the Lizard, Cornwall

Management implications – Wild chives genetic diversity

• Inland and

coastal sites

• Routine

monitoring

• Cattle grazing

• Controlled

burning of

heath

Soapy Cove

Kynance Cliffs

Traboe Cross

Clahar Water

Wild chives, Allium

schoenoprasum

Towards the first UK genetic reserve

for CWR on the Lizard, Cornwall

Conservation management and monitoring of diverse CWR populations has been

formally incorporated into the management of the designated ‘protected areas’ (e.g.

SSSIs, SACs, NNRs, etc.), as well as informal protected locations

Genetic assessment of CWR on

the Lizard

Methodology

Sample collection sites in the south west of the UK

Genetic assessment of CWR on

the Lizard

How diverse is the Lizard?

Mean within population expected heterozygosity (HW) with standard error (S.E) for the Lizard Peninsula and southwest sites

Taxon Lizard Peninsula Southwest UK

HW S.E. (HW) HW S.E. (HW)

Allium schoenoprasum 0.191 0.008 0.165 0.022

Allium ursinum 0.086 0.005 0.128 0.020

Asparagus prostratus 0.323 0.008 N/A N/A

Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima 0.146 0.009 0.162 0.007

Daucus carota subsp. gummifer 0.101 0.002 0.098 0.006

Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. maritimus 0.086 0.006 0.115 0.022

Trifolium occidentale 0.063 0.005 0.061 0.011

Trifolium repens 0.134 0.007 0.132 0.007

• Results reflect life histories of taxa

• No significant difference between

Lizard and southwest sites Western clover, Trifolium occidentale

Genetic assessment of CWR on

the Lizard

Is the diversity different from elsewhere in the UK?

Asch01

Asch02 Asch03

Asch04

Asch05

Asch06

Asch07

Asch08

Co

ord

. 2 (

20

.93

% v

aria

tio

n)

Coord. 1 (32.39% variation)

Beta01

Beta02

Beta03

Beta04

Beta08

Beta05

Beta09

Beta06 Beta07

Beta11 Beta12

Beta13

Beta14 Co

ord

. 2 (

23

.74

% v

aria

tio

n)

Coord. 1 (30.89% variation)

PCoA

Wild chives

PCoA

Sea beet

Genetic assessment of CWR on

the Lizard

Is the diversity different from elsewhere in the UK?

T.rep01

T.rep02

T.rep03

T.rep04 T.rep05

T.rep06

T.rep07

T.rep08

T.rep09

T.rep10 T.rep11

T.rep12

T.rep13 T.rep14

Co

ord

. 2 (

16

.09

% v

aria

tio

n)

Coord. 1 (43.46% variation)

Genetic assessment outcome:

• As much genetic diversity on Lizard as in southwest

• Genetic diversity on the Lizard distinct from southwest

• Lizard is a suitable site for the first UK CWR genetic reserve

PCoA

White clover

Management implications – Wild chives

PCoA of all Lizard samples shows genetic distances between populations

Genetic assessment of CWR on

the Lizard

Co

ord

. 2 (

7.2

5%

var

iati

on

)

Coord. 1 (7.89% variation)

Asch01

Asch02

Asch03

Asch04

Asch05

Asch06

Asch07

Traboe Cross

Kynance

UK Priority CWR –

Ex situ gap analysis Where should we be sampling

further CWR populations for ex

situ conservation?

Gene bank review found 1,034 accessions for 146 of 223 priority CWR (a) Millennium Seed Bank, RBG Kew; (b) Warwick Genetic

Resources Unit and (c) the Genetic Resources Unit (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University in Wales

Only two CWR taxa had > 50 stored accessions (perennial rye grass Lolium perenne L. (338) and white clover Trifolium repens L. (65) Both are important UK forage species

Of the 77 taxa with no stored accessions, 53 are introduced taxa (archaeophytes and neophytes)

Plymouth pear P. cordata is the only taxon well represented in ex situ collections

Plymouth Pear Pyrus cordata

Fielder et al., 2015

Future UK based CWR

policy and research

• Formal recognition of genetic reserve status in the UK

• Establish a genetic reserve network across UK (Purbeck

next?)

• Ensure genetic diversity stored ex situ for CWR in genetic

reserves

• Model future climate change to inform and adjust CWR

management plans

• CWR diversity recognised as key ‘features of special interest’

within the selection and management criteria for

SSSIs/SACs/NNRs etc.

• CWR diversity incorporated as core elements of all EU co-

financed Rural Development Programmes and Agri-

environment schemes

• Lizard work acts as a model for subsequent sites

Wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum

Wild garlic, Allium ursinum

Publications

• Hopkins, J. & Maxted, N., (2010). Crop Wild Relatives: Plant genetic conservation for food security. Natural England, Peterborough.

• Fielder, H., Brotherton, P., Hosking, J., Hopkins, J.J., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. & Maxted, N., (2015). Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in England. PLOS ONE 10(6): e0130804. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130804

• Jarvis, S., Fielder, H., Brotherton, P., Hopkins, J.J., Maxted, N. & Smart, S., (2015). Distribution of crop wild relatives of conservation priority in the UK landscape. Biological Conservation, 191: 444–451.

• Fielder, H. Burrows, C. Woodman, J, Ford-Lloyd, B.V & Maxted, N., (2016). Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in Wales. New Journal of Botany, 5(3): 177-190. DOI: 10.1080/20423489.2015.1123965.

• Fielder, H., Smith, C., Ford-Lloyd, B. & Maxted, N., (2016) Enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in Scotland. Journal for Nature Conservation, 29, 51–61.