Management of information

Collection of baseline information

A CWR genetic reserve should be established based on an initial data set, which is used to determine the management objectives. The stages are:

1. To gather available background information and carry out a field survey to collect or confirm the information about the site, the target CWR population, the biotic and abiotic factors and the human component.
2. To document it as a description of the genetic reserve, which could be called ‘State of the Genetic Reserve’ report.

The report should refer to the characteristics of the genetic reserve itself, external factors which affect the genetic reserve and factors which may become significant in the future. It should explain how things are changing, as well as their current impacts. It is important that the description identifies uses and activities both within and near the area that may impair or adversely affect the genetic reserve’s values and resources. In addition to collecting site-related information, it is necessary to identify and understand the relevant government legislation affecting the planning of the site. Applicable legislation may exist at all tiers of government and it should be closely considered to ensure compliance. Beside nature conservation laws, many others may affect the genetic reserve, for example, legislation affecting water supply, cultural heritage, fishing, hunting, telecommunications, roads and electricity infrastructure.

To collect the information in a consistent and systematic way, data is often codified when it is entered in conservation databases. In this case, it is important to adopt standard codes wherever possible to facilitate data transfer between databases. Maxted et al. (2020) list some advantages of adopting standards in biodiversity information:

1. reduces any problem of text synonyms.
2. provides greater consistencies.
3. permits automatic checks for data integrity.
4. allows comparison of results and quicker data searching.

To consistently document key characteristics for in situ conservation of CWR, internationally agreed descriptor lists are needed. The secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) has recently published a globally agreed list of descriptors for in situ Crop Wild Relatives documentation. It builds upon the Core Descriptors for In situ Conservation of CWR v.1 published by Bioversity International on recent experiences conducted by (ITPGRFA) of FAO and its Global Information System (GLIS) and Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) (GCP/GLO/685/GER), as well as on international projects such as the Horizon 2020 Farmer’s Pride (http://www.farmerspride.eu/).

Registry of actions, decisions and biological data

Once the CWR genetic reserve is established and properly characterized and described, a great amount of data is generated through the conservation and management activities.

Document all actions and decisions that are taken daily to conserve the target populations. Furthermore, field population data collected afer monitoring should be analysed to identify the effectiveness of the management practices in place (Iriondo et al., 2008). The analysis is often restricted to time series, demographic estimates of population size, density, frequency and cover. Exceptionally, some kind of periodic genetic diversity monitoring can also take place.

Globally, there are only a few active, long-term in situ CWR conservation activities so field CWR population data management has yet to be formalized. While an effective data management system exists for handling and managing ex situ conservation facilities, such as GRIN-Global, there are no parallel conservation management systems currently available for in situ conservation of CWR. However the first steps are now being taken to develop it in the context of the Farmer’s Pride project (http://farmerspride.eu) and also the CGIAR Root, Tuber and Banana research programme (https://www.rtb.cgiar.org/). Both national authorities and global plant genetic resources databases must make the necessary adaptations to be able to properly host the data from CWR genetic reserves.

Data types

Here are some types of useful plant genetic diversity data for in situ conservation (Maxted et al., 2020):

• Historical, passport and ecogeographic data. Description of the taxonomic, geographical areas where the species is located, the population characteristics, the local biotic and abiotic factors and the institution where it is maintained.

• Characterization or observational data. Characters that are highly heritable, can be seen easily by eye and are expressed in all environments (e.g. flower colour; number of fruits per inflorescence). These are used to describe the diversity within the genetic resources themselves and they are measured or recorded directly from observation. They are descriptive and may assist in the maintenance and use of the genetic material. For example, a specimen may have white flower petals, multiple leaflets per leaf or be perennial.

• Preliminary evaluation or experimental data. Agronomic traits of interest for a particular crop that are susceptible to environmental differences. Such an evaluation is carried out in experimental fields located at different sites. A preliminary evaluation of a limited number of agronomic traits thought desirable by users of the particular crop may be achieved at the genetic reserve. It will essentially involve the collection of phenological data, including the timing of flowering and fruiting and vegetative stages.

• Management or curatorial data. Essential data that facilitate the maintenance of the population. They include information associated with the management interventions affecting the target population being conserved, and time-series data that help the conservationist identify trends in population size.