The aim of the article is to generalize the information presented in the FAO report ‘The State of World Forest Genetic Resources (FGR) and in the reports on the state of forest genetic resources in Ukraine and other countries.
Results and Discussion. To draw up the World Report, the information was provided by 86 countries which occupy 76% of the earth's surface and involve 85% of the total forest area. The countries’ reports cover 8,000 species of trees, palm trees and bamboo, among which about 2,400 are economically important; at that, information at the genetic level is only available for 500 to 600 species. The vast majority of important for environmental protection species (84%) are indigenous, in contrast to those economically important, 85% of which are introduced species. About 50 indigenous and non-native species of forest trees are used in the forestry of Ukraine. 26 of them are given as high-priority ones. They are used to produce wood, pulp, fuel, non-timber products, as well as to create protective plantations. The total number of species and subspecies in the world that are preserved in situ is almost 1,000, with about 500 of them – in Asia and almost 200 in both Europe and Africa. In Ukraine, there are about 30 of such species. In cases where in situ conservation is problematic, alternative methods are used, namely ex situ. The total number of species that are conserved ex situ is 1,800; at that, 1,025 of them grow in Africa, 401 – in Europe, 389 – in Asia, 372 – in Latin America and the Caribbean, 265 – in North America, 102 – in the Middle East and 57 species – in Oceania. In Ukraine, they make a stock of the seeds of more than 130 tree and shrub species, including decorative ones. Man-made forests are created with more than 20 species of trees annually. Non-native species of woody plants in the forestry of Ukraine make 39%. Methodological approaches to the study of genetic variability involve analysis of biometric, morphological and biochemical characteristics, as well as DNA markers. They analyze genetic variation as in field studies in provenance trail and progeny tests, so in laboratory studies.
Conclusions. The basic tasks for the forest genetic resources conservation is to develop and implement national in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for sustainable use of FGR, to strengthen the role which forests and protective stands play in the in situ FGR conservation, and to identify first-priority measures at the species level. FGR conservation strategies should contribute to both ecosystem restoration using appropriate genetic material and adaptation to climate change along with mitigating its impacts.
Conservation of forest genetic resources: Key stakeholders' attitudes in forestry and nature protection