Europe
- Overview
- Researchers at a meeting of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) in Armenia. Credit: E. Lipman
- Distribution map of beech (Fagus sylvaticus) created by the European Forest Genetic Resources Network (EUFORGEN). For more European forest species distribution maps click here
The European region includes the industrialized economies of western and northern Europe as well as countries with economies in transition of central, eastern and south-eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union.
The region is characterized by extraordinary geographic, biological and cultural diversity.
Find out more by biodiversity in the region by scrolling down or clicking on the links below.
A region of diversity
Europe hosts primary centres of diversity for a number of crops, including cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, industrial crops, oil crops, forages, medicinal and aromatic plants. Of these species, several are important crops commonly grown in other parts of the world. Europe is also a secondary centre of diversity for species brought there in classical times, such as citrus fruits, or in later periods, such as tomatoes.
These species have since developed distinct properties through the selection work of breeders and farmers. Europe is also home to a great diversity of 'potentially' useful plants, which could make a substantial contribution to agricultural diversification and provide people with a more varied diet, for example rocket, capers, water cress and licorice.
Threats to agricultural diversity
The main cause of genetic erosion in agriculture is the replacement of local varieties by high-yielding commercial ones. In many east European countries, for instance, collectivization and the establishment of large farms accelerated the replacement of traditional varieties.
The success of plant breeding in producing new varieties and the effects of legislation in restricting seed trade to certified varieties resulted in the almost total disappearance of landraces and old cultivars of most crops in western Europe. The concern about the continued maintenance of crop genetic diversity is, therefore, primarily a problem of modern agriculture. Urbanization, land drainage, large-scale irrigation and environmental degradation also contribute to the genetic erosion of both cultivated and wild species. Overgrazing has caused the impoverishment of native grasslands.
Managing forest diversity
The geographic region of Europe includes ecologically diverse, temperate, boreal and Mediterranean types of ecosystems. Many of the tree species found in Europe have a wide distribution range across national boundaries.
Even though the interdependence of countries in forest genetic resources may not be as explicit as in the area of plant genetic resources, European countries have similar concerns and share the influence of similar traditions in forest management. This provides a common basis for joint conservation efforts.
Besides transboundary atmospheric pollution and overall changes in the environment, principal reasons for the loss of forest genetic diversity include past intensive management and the effects of clearcutting, decreasing population sizes, artificial selection and uncontrolled movement of reproductive material.
A number of countries in Europe have identified and designated networks of stands with the specific purpose of gene conservation. Ex situ conservation measures complement this approach, and include establishing clonal archives and seed orchards of specific species, seed and pollen genebanks. The species conserved are generally those of economic importance for timber production or for reforestation. Seed storage in seed banks is commonly used in a few conifer species, and the possibilities of long-term storage are limited due to technological constraints.
A responsibility to the world
Europe has a large responsibility for plant genetic resources, both within the region and in respect to other parts of the world. European countries and institutions have the tradition and very often also advanced technologies needed for ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of plant genetic resources in agriculture and forestry. Genebanks in Europe maintain approximately one third of the world's ex situ crop germplasm collections.
Europe is also characterized by high or unique natural diversity for a number of economically important plant species including, in particular, forest trees.
A history of collaboration
A tradition of collaboration has always characterized the plant genetic resources community in Europe, with an open and free exchange of information, experience and genetic materials. Most European countries are conscious of the importance of policy, organizational and institutional frameworks for the management of genetic resources, even though these may not be formally established in all countries. European countries and the European Union also have a major influence on the global processes dealing with plant genetic resources in the Region and beyond.
Bioversity's Regional Office for Europe, based in Rome, provides the main point of reference for collaboration with the countries of the Region. The Regional Office hosts the international coordinating Secretariats for the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and the European Forest Genetic Resources Network (EUFORGEN).
