Crop wild relatives inventory and conservation in the Primorsky Region of the Russian Federation

Background. The Primorsky Region is the most floristically diverse region of the Russian Federation and the Russian Far East because of the richness of the local endemic vegetation. Representatives of many species can be used as medicinal, food, forage and ornamental plants. In order to conserve plant genetic resources (PGR) of the Primorsky Region, specific composition of crop wild relatives (CWR) was inventoried. A complete CWR inventory is the fundamental basis for the development of in situ conservation as an integral part of a system of science-based rational use of the genetic diversity. A taxonomic analysis of the list has revealed the native/adventive species ratio. The species were ranked according to their economic value and the criterion of rarity and vulnerability. CWR representation in the reserves of the Primorsky Region was studied and recommendations concerning priority CWR species identification and in situ conservation issued.

Materials and methods. The study was based both on literature data and on the authors' collecting mission materials obtained by means of the route exploration method. CWR taxonomic analysis employed the common floristic method. Aspects of CWR conservation in the Primorsky Region were developed using a unified methodology for CWR in situ conservation in Russia.

Results and conclusions. The analysis has resulted in the identification of 442 vascular plants species from 120 genera and 37 families representing CWR in the Primorsky Region. CWR amount to about 16% of the entire flora of the region. Priority conservation has been recommended for 143 species. Most successfully CWR species can be conserved within the specially protected natural territories. CWR are represented in the following nature reserves of the Primorsky Region: Ussuriysky (151 species), Sikhote-Alinsky (143 spp.), Kedrovaya Pad (128 spp.), Lazovskoye (119 spp.), Dalnevostochny Morskoy (67 spp.) and Khanka (59 spp.). Adventive species amount to 42.5% among CWR of the Primorsky Region, that is, their fraction is smaller than the general figure for the regional flora. The smallest fraction of adventive species among CWR was detected in the Dalnevostochny Morskoy, Sikhote-Alinsky and Kedrovaya Pyad nature reserves (11.9%, 13.2% and 13.3%, respectively). The fraction of invasive species among CWR was found to be the largest (33.6%) in the Lazovsky Reserve. The average figures were recorded for the Khanka and Ussuriysky reserves (23.7% and 17.9%, respectively).

1. Bezdeleva T. A., Fedina L. A. Vascular plants (Sosudistyye rasteniya) // In : Flora, rastitel'nost' i mikobiota zapovednika «Ussuriyskiy» (Flora, vegetation and mycobiota of the Ussuriysky reserve). Vladivostok: Dal'nauka, 2006. pp. 79-134 [in Russian]

2. Chukhina I. G. (N. I. Vavilov Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia). 2008. Armeniaca mandshurica. In A. N. Afonin at al. (eds.). Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Economic Plants and their Diseases, Pests and Weeds [Online]. Available at: http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/related/Armeniacamandshurica / [in Russian] (Чухина И. Г.

3. Flora of the Primorsky Region: Textbook (Flora Primorskogo kraya: Uchebnoye posobiye) / O. V. Khrapko, M. V. Kasintseva, N. I. Denisov, V. A. Kalinkin et al. Ussuriysk : Publishing House of the Far East Federal University (the Ussuriisk branch), 2012, 140 p. [in Russian]

4. Gvozdetskiy N. A. Physical Geography of the USSR (Asian part) / Ed. N. A. Gvozdetsky. N. I. Mikhailov. Moscow : Publishing House of Geographical Literature, 1963, 572 р. [in Russian]

5. IUCN 2017. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-3. <http://www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 December 2017.

6. Kharkevich S. S. (Ed.). Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East / Ed. S. S. Kharkevich. Leningrad : Nauka, 1985 - 1996. Vol. 1-8. [in Russian]

7. Kozhevnikov A. E. Modern problems of conservation of rare and needing species of vascular plants in the Primorsky Region (Sovremennyye problemy sokhraneniya redkikh i nuzhdayushchikhsya v okhrane vidov sosudistykh rasteniy v Primorskom kraye) // “Nature without borders”: Materials of I International ecological forum. Part I. Vladivostok, June 7-9, 2006. Vladivostok : Publishing House of the Far East University, 2006, pp. 179-184 [in Russian]

8. Kozhevnikov A. E., Kozhevnikova Z. V. Taxonomic composition and features of the flora of the state nature reserves of the Primorye Region (Taksonomicheskiy sostav i osobennosti flory gosudarstvennykh prirodnykh zapovednikov Primorskogo kraya). // Komarovskiye chteniya (Komarov readings). Vladivostok : Dal'nauka, 2012, iss. 59, pp. 76-126 [in Russian]

9. Kozhevnikov A. E., Kozhevnikova Z. V. The taxonomic composition and features of the natural flora of Primorsky Region (Taksonomicheskiy sostav i osobennosti prirodnoy flory Primorskogo kraya) // Komarovskiye chteniya (Komarov readings). Vladivostok: Dal'nauka, 2014. vol. 62, рр. 7-62 [in Russian]

10. Kozhevnikov A. E., Probatova N. S. (Ed.). Flora of the Russian Far East: Additions and changes to the edition "Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East" / Eds. A. E Kozhevnikov, N. S Probatova. Vol. 1-8 (1985-1996). Vladivostok : Dal'nauka, 2006. 456 p. [in Russian]

11. Kurina A. B., Kornyukhin D. L., Chebukin P. A. Exploration and collecting of wild lactuca l. species, vegetable and cucurbit crop genetic resources in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Regions of the Russian Federation in 2017 // Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding, 2018 vol. 179, iss. 1, pp. 14-22. [in Russian]

12. Maxted N., Ford-Lloid B. V., Hawkes J. G. Complementary Conservation Strategies. In: Plant genetic conservation: the in situ approach / eds: N. Maxted, B. V. Ford-Lloid and J. G. Hawkes). London : Chapman and Hall, 1997б, pp. 20-55.

13. Mirkin B. M., Rosenberg G. S. Phytocenology. Principles and methods. (Fitotsenologiya. Printsipy i metody). Moscow : Nauka, 1978, 212 p. [in Russian]

14. Pimenova E. A. (ed.) Vegetation (Rastitel'nost'). Vascular plants (Sosudistyye rasteniya) // In : Rasteniya, griby i lishayniki Sikhote-Alinskogo zapovednika (Plants, fungi and lichens of the Sikhote-Alin Reserve). Vladivostok : Dal'nauka, 2016. pp. 26-35, 172-365 [in Russian]

15. Red Data Book of Primorye Territory: Plants. Rare and endangered species of plants and fungi / Biology and Soil Science FEB RAS. Vladivostok : AVK “Apel'sin”, 2008a, 688 p. [in Russian]

16. Red Data Book of Russia (plants and fungi) / The editorial board of Yu. P. Trutnev, etc.; Comp. R. V. Kamelin et al. Moscow : Association of scientific editions KMK, 2008b, 885 p. [in Russian]

17. Smekalova T. N., Chukhina I. G., Lunova N. N. Main aspects of plant conservation strategy of plant genetic resources in Russia // Proceedings of the First International Scientific-Practical Conference "Problems of botany of South Siberia and Mongolia". Barnaul, 2002. pp. 265-271 [in Russian]

18. Smekalova T. N., Chukhina I. G. The catalogue of VIR world collection. Issue 766. Crop wild relatives of Russia / Ed. N. I. Dzjubenko, St. Petersburg : VIR, 2005, 53 p. [in Russian]

19. Takhtadzhyan A. L. Floristic regions of the Earth (Floristicheskiye oblasti Zemli). Leningrad : Nauka, 1978, 248 p. [in Russian]

20. Talovina G. V., Aistova E. V. Inventarization and analyzis of the wild relatives of cultivated plants diversity of the Amur oblast // Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics and Breeding, 2017, vol. 178, iss. 2, pp. 16-24. [in Russian]

21. Voroshilov V. N. List of vascular plants of the Soviet Far East (Spisok sosudistykh rasteniy sovetskogo Dal'nego Vostoka) / Floristicheskiye issledovaniya v raznykh rayonakh SSSR // In: Floristic research in different regions of the USSR). Moscow : Nauka, 1985, pp. 139-200) [in Russian]

22. IAS "ProtectedAreas of the Russian Federation" (Site of the Information and Analytical System "Specially Protected Natural Territories of Russia"): oopt.aari.ru. Checked 31 May 2018 http://oopt.aari.ru/oopt/ [in Russian] http://oopt.aari.ru/oopt/.