Can Biospecimen Science Expedite the Ex Situ Conservation of Plants in Megadiverse Countries? A Focus on the Flora of Brazil

Abstract

Increasing the number of species conserved ex situ in Megadiverse countries is a major task exacerbated by many intricate factors including: biome complexity, wide range of biodiversity and an incomplete knowledge of life cycles, reproductive strategies, adaptations and species interactions. Although, establishing safe reserves is a crucial conservation measure their security and effective maintenance can be unfavourably compromised by climate change and the risks incurred by socioeconomic instability and changes in land use. Anthropogenic impacts, non-sustainable practices and habitat erosion have motivated current international efforts which focused on Brazil as host of ‘Rio+20’ the United Nation's twentieth anniversary conference on sustainable development. The revised targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) are responses to species decline and realizing Target 8, which concerns ex situ conservation, places the heaviest burdens on countries that are custodians of the highest levels of global biodiversity. At the scientific level, ex situ conservation of endemic species in genebanks is often hindered by a lack of information about molecular genetics and problematic (recalcitrant) storage behaviors that restrict the preservation of flora native to Megadiverse countries. The potential for applying the ‘Biospecimen Science’ paradigm in expediting conservation in biodiversity-rich biomes is considered using Brazil as an exemplar of a Megadiverse country. The impacts of process chains on the quality of preserved plant germplasm and using evidence-based research to improve conservation outcomes, risk and quality management systems are appraised. The Biospecimen Science approach is not intended to displace conventional conservation practices but rather, to enhance their effectiveness in terms of the scale and efficiency of their scientific and technical operations.

Keywords:

• biodiversity
• genetic resources
• germplasm
• preservation
• sustainability

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge the support of the International Foundation for Science (Sweden), The British Council (UK), Capes (Ministry of Education, Brazil) and CNPq (National Research Council, Brazil). The authors are most grateful to Dr Marcos Edel Martínez Montero, Bioplantas Centre, University of Ciego de Avila, Cuba, for his diligent review of their paper. The authors thank Dr Fotini Betsou (Integrated Biobank of Luxemburg for introducing them to the concept of Biospecimen Science. The authors greatly appreciate the encouragement of Dato’ Dr Marzalina Mansor (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia) and her kind consideration regarding the application of the Biospecimen Science paradigm for the conservation of biodiversity in Megadiverse countries. The authors gratefully acknowledge their ongoing collaborations with Dr Jayanthi Nadarajan, and previous collaborations with colleagues at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, and the Universities of the Witwatersrand and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Referee: Marcos Edel Martínez Montero, Head of Group, Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources, Bioplantas Centre (University of Ciego de Avila), Carretera a Morón km 10, CP 69450, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.