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Do living ex situ collections capture the genetic variation of wild populations? A molecular analysis of two relict tree species, Zelkova abelica and Zelkova carpinifolia

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Abstract

Botanic gardens and arboreta, particularly in regions where iconic relict trees naturally occur, play a vital role in the conservation of these species. Maintaining well-managed living ex situ collections of rare and threatened relict tree species provides an immediate insurance policy for the future species conservation. The aim of this research was to investigate the origin, representativeness and genetic diversity of relict trees kept in botanic gardens and arboreta. We used as a model two ecologically and biogeographically distinct members of the prominent relict genus Zelkova (Ulmaceae), which survived the last glaciation in disjunct and isolated refugial regions: Z. carpinifolia in Transcaucasia and Z. abelicea endemic to Crete (Greece) in the Mediterranean. Our study revealed substantial differences in the genetic diversity and the origin of living ex situ collections of the two investigated taxa. The living ex situ collections of Z. carpinifolia have relatively high representativeness compared with the global genetic variability of natural stands identified in a previous study. In contrast, Z. abelicea, which possesses an extraordinarily high genetic variability in natural populations, is clearly underrepresented in botanic garden collections. Moreover, all Z. abelicea trees investigated in this study most probably originated from a single region, the Levka Ori in western Crete. Thus, the ex situ conservation of Z. abelicea requires major planning and coordination efforts, including the establishment of well-documented collections in botanic gardens in Greece and especially on Crete. New living ex situ collections should be created using plant material collected from all of the mountain regions where Z. abelicea still occurs. Our study highlights the need for re-evaluating the existing living ex situ collections of trees and the development of new strategies for future conservation efforts in botanic gardens and arboreta. The coordination of conservation efforts between gardens must be enhanced to prioritize actions for the most threatened relict tree species.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank B. Clément and S. Bollinger from the Botanical Garden of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland); E. Gerber and A. Fasel from the Natural History Museum Fribourg (Switzerland); M. Jafari (University of Teheran, Iran) and Y. Marbach, B. Egli and R. Keller (Switzerland) for their assistance during the manuscript preparation. We are indebted to the Franklinia Foundation for its generous support provided to undertake this study and to the City of Geneva, the Société Académique de Genève and the Prof. R. Spichiger (University of Geneva) for the funds they provided to buy a new automated sequencer. Special thanks go to D. Gibbs from Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), who coordinated the data and sample exchange, and to V. Ali-zade, E. Alirzayeva, E. Maharramova (Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences), H. Safarov (Hyrcanian National Park), M. Khutsishvili (National Botanic Garden of Georgia, Tbilisi) for the field work coordination and sampling in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The permission to collect Z. abelicea plant material was granted by the Ministry of the Environment, General Directorate of Forests, Department of Aesthetic Forests, National Parks and Wildlife Management, Athens, Greece (199076/1843). Many botanic gardens and arboreta around the world provided samples for the present survey—their contributions are gratefully acknowledged: Arboretum Kórnickie, Poland; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; Botanic Garden of the University of Poznan, Poland; Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, Australia; Botanische Gärten der Universität Bonn, Germany; Botanischer Garten der Universität Zürich, Switzerland; Botanischer Garten der Universität Bern, Switzerland; Botanischer Garten der Universität Freiburg, Switzerland; Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Switzerland; Parc Floraire, Switzerland; Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin Dahlem, Germany; Cambridge University Botanic Garden, United Kingdom; Chicago Botanic Garden, United States of America; Garten der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany; Jardí Botànic de Barcelona, Spain; Jardin Botanique de la Ville de Paris, Ecole du Breuil, France; Jardin Botanique de l’Université de Strasbourg, France; Jardins des Plantes et Arboretum de Chevreloup, France; Kutaisi Botanical Garden, Georgia; Morris Arboretum, United States of America; National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Ireland; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom; Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University Arboretum, Denmark; Stichting Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium; Syon Park, United Kingdom; The Dawes Arboretum, United States of America; The Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden, Wisley, United Kingdom; The Sir Harold Hillier Garden and Arboretum, United Kingdom; and Westonbirt Arboretum, United Kingdom.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Camille Christe, Gregor Kozlowski, David Frey, Laurence Fazan & Sébastien Bétrisey

  2. Unité de Phylogénie et Génétique moléculaires, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Chambésy, 1292, Chambésy, Geneva, Switzerland

    Camille Christe & Yamama Naciri

  3. Natural History Museum, Chemin du Musée 6, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Gregor Kozlowski & Sébastien Bétrisey

  4. Conservation Biogeography Group, Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 4, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    David Frey & Laurence Fazan

  5. Department of Biology, University of Crete, P.O. Box 2208, 71409, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Stergios Pirintsos

  6. Botanic Garden, University of Crete, Gallos Campus, 74100, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece

    Stergios Pirintsos

  7. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW, United Kingdom

    Joachim Gratzfeld

  8. Laboratoire de Systématique végétale et Biodiversité, University of Geneva, 1292, Chambésy, Geneva, Switzerland

    Yamama Naciri

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  1. Camille Christe
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  2. Gregor Kozlowski
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  3. David Frey
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  4. Laurence Fazan
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  5. Sébastien Bétrisey
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  6. Stergios Pirintsos
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  7. Joachim Gratzfeld
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  8. Yamama Naciri
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Correspondence to Yamama Naciri.

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Communicated by Neil Brummitt.

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Christe, C., Kozlowski, G., Frey, D. et al. Do living ex situ collections capture the genetic variation of wild populations? A molecular analysis of two relict tree species, Zelkova abelica and Zelkova carpinifolia . Biodivers Conserv 23, 2945–2959 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0756-9

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