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The need to understand the genetic diversity of plants has become a crucial part of conservation efforts, in part, because plants provide us with much of our food, construction materials, medicines and many other products. The authors of this book introduce essential theories and techniques needed to describe plant genetic diversity and explain how this data can be used to plan conservation strategies and implement sustainable exploitation of plant resources.
List of contents
Foreword; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Establishing the social, political and ethical context; 3. Plant taxonomy; 4. Plant population genetics; 5. Genetic diversity measurement; 6. Planning plant conservation; 7. Conservation strategies and techniques; 8. In situ conservation; 9. On-farm conservation; 10. Community-based conservation; 11. Germplasm collecting; 12. Seed gene bank conservation; 13. Whole plant, plantlet and DNA conservation; 14. Plant uses; 15. Germplasm evaluation; 16. Plant breeding; 17. Participatory plant breeding; 18. Conservation data management; Glossary; Acronyms and Abbreviations; References; Index.
About the author
Nigel Maxted is Professor of Plant Genetic Conservation in the School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK. He works on conservation planning and implementation, and has published over 350 scientific papers and book chapters and twenty-four books. He is Chair of the IUCN SSC Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group, UK Plant Genetic Resources Committee, and European Cooperative Programme for PGR In Situ Working Group. He is also the International Scientific Advisor for Bioversity International.Danny Hunter is Senior Scientist at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy. He works on conservation and sustainable use of crop and tree genetic resources and their role in linking sustainable agriculture, environment, health and nutrition. He has twenty-five years' experience working with partners and family farmers in over thirty countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South and South East Asia, Central Asia and the Pacific.Rodomiro Ortiz is Chair Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Alnarp, Sweden. He has written over 800 publications and was the leader of a multidisciplinary team working on a plantain and banana improvement project that CGIAR awarded the 1994 King Baudouin Award to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for. He was also Co-Principal Investigator for a SLU/ICARDA-led project that won the 2017 Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security.
Summary
This up-to-date and long-awaited text provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the conservation and utilisation of plant genetic diversity, with a focus on sustaining global food security. It is ideal for students and professionals in plant sciences, ecology, conservation, genetics, natural resource management and food security.
