A road map for conservation, use, and public engagement around North America’s crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants

Authors: Khoury, Colin; Greene, Stephanie; MOREAU, TARA - University Of British Columbia; KRISHNAN, SARADA - Denver Botanic Gardens; MILLER, ALLISON - St Louis University

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/14/2019
Publication Date: 8/15/2019
Citation: Khoury, C.K., Greene, S.L., Moreau, T., Krishnan, S., Miller, A. 2019. A road map for conservation, use, and public engagement around North America’s crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants. Crop Science. 59:1–6. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0309.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0309

Interpretive Summary: Crop wild relatives - the wild cousins of agricultural plants - are valuable genetic resources used by plant breeders to increase yield, pest and disease resistance, nutritional profile, and other traits critical to the productivity, quality, and sustainability of agricultural crops. Wild utilized plants provide food, medicine, and a variety of other ecosystem and cultural services to people. North America harbors a rich native flora of that includes wild relatives of important food, fiber, industrial, feed and forage, medicinal, and ornamental crops, as well as a diversity of regionally significant wild utilized plant species. North American These crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants are under-represented in genebanks, botanical gardens, and other conservation repositories, and many of their populations are threatened in their natural habitats. These conservation gaps limit the portfolio of useful plant diversity available to present and future generations. Likewise, the myriad potential uses of North American crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants are under-explored, and public awareness of their value and threats is limited. Ambitious coordinated efforts among plant conservation, land management, agricultural science, and botanical education and outreach organizations are needed to take the major strides necessary to secure, enhance the use of, and raise awareness with regard the diversity of North American crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants. We outline five priorities for collaborative action: 1) understand and document North America’s crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants, 2) protect threatened species in their natural habitats, 3) collect and conserve the diversity of prioritized species, 4) make this diversity accessible and attractive for plant breeding, research, and education, and 5) raise public awareness of their value and the threats to their persistence.

Technical Abstract: Crop wild relatives - the wild cousins of agricultural plants - are valuable genetic resources used by plant breeders to increase yield, pest and disease resistance, nutritional profile, and other traits critical to the productivity, quality, and sustainability of agricultural crops. Wild utilized plants provide food, medicine, and a variety of other ecosystem and cultural services to people. North America harbors a rich native flora of that includes wild relatives of important food, fiber, industrial, feed and forage, medicinal, and ornamental crops, as well as a diversity of regionally significant wild utilized plant species. North American These crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants are under-represented in genebanks, botanical gardens, and other conservation repositories, and many of their populations are threatened in their natural habitats. These conservation gaps limit the portfolio of useful plant diversity available to present and future generations. Likewise, the myriad potential uses of North American crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants are under-explored, and public awareness of their value and threats is limited. Ambitious coordinated efforts among plant conservation, land management, agricultural science, and botanical education and outreach organizations are needed to take the major strides necessary to secure, enhance the use of, and raise awareness with regard the diversity of North American crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants. We outline five priorities for collaborative action: 1) understand and document North America’s crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants, 2) protect threatened species in their natural habitats, 3) collect and conserve the diversity of prioritized species, 4) make this diversity accessible and attractive for plant breeding, research, and education, and 5) raise public awareness of their value and the threats to their persistence.