Anna Palmé, NordGen's Senior Scientist on Nordic CWR.
 

NordGen coordinates a pan-Nordic project on crop wild relatives, CWR, wild plant species that are closely related to our cultivated crops. These wild plants have for hundreds of years developed traits, such as resistance to drought and pests, that may be valuable in plant breeding of crops better adapted to climate change. As part of the Nordic project, inventories of CWR in various parts of the Nordic region have been conducted. Earlier this year, two reports were published detailing inventory work carried out in Denmark (Husby, Stråsø, Mols, and Kattrup) and in Åland (Nåtö-Jungfruskär Nature Reserve). The reports collect information on the occurrence and status of prioritized CWR species in the specific areas. The publications also include recommendations for future management. 

“CWR are important for our future food security, and not many people are aware of their importance and presence in our Nordic nature. Since these wild plants have adapted to their local habitats, in situ-conservation is the best option. The inventory reports can be used to plan actions for the protection of crop wild relatives,” says Anna Palmé, NordGen's expert on CWR.

Wide diversity of CWR

In one of the reports, areas in Nåtö-Jungfruskär Nature Reserve in the autonomous region Åland in the Finnish archipelago, is studied. This nature reserve has a total size of 559 hectares that includes many habitat types and a species-rich flora and fauna. During the summer of 2023, 44 squares, each 100 square meters in size, were investigated. In total, 367 prioritized CWR populations were found during the inventory and 30 CWR species were registered. Seeds were also collected for conservation at NordGen. According to the report, the Nåtö Nature Reserve offers important habitats for the CWR priority taxa:

“No trampling or other threats were noticed towards CWR taxa during the inventory and the area is generally in very a good state. The site has a wide diversity of CWR and the population sizes are mostly large enough, only few of the species have small numbers of individuals. Therefore, the North-Eastern part of Nåtö-Jungfruskär reserve can be recommended for establishment as a CWR genetic reserve.”