National programme for the conservation of forest genetic resources in France

法语. Le poster présente la stratégie française de conservation des Ressources Génétiques Forestières.

英语. Diversity of genetic resources is a key component of biodiversity and allows species' adaptation in changing environments. Forest genetic resources (FGR) is the heritable materials maintained within and among trees that are of actual or potential economic, environmental, scientific or societal value. Three levels of genetic diversity exist: interspecific, intraspecific among forest stands, and intraspecific among trees within stands. This diversity can be affected by human activities, and needs to be preserved for current and future needs. Since 1989, France has created a national programme for conserving forest tree genetic resources, steered by the National Commission of Forest Genetic Resources (CRGF). The CRGF involves central administration, research institutions, public and private forest managers, nature conservation NGOs, botanical gardens. It proposes the national programme's major guidelines and priorities to the Ministry in charge of Forests. The aim of this poster is to explain the French strategy to conserve FGR for different objectives: (i) the dynamic strategy in situ allowing adaptation to slow changings; (ii) the static strategy ex situ allowing stable conservation in time; (iii) the mixed strategy dynamic ex situ in some specific cases. Material and method: The CRGF has decided on a list of tree species deserving a national conservation program, depending on their economic or ecologic interest and/or threats influencing their genetic diversity. Each listed species gets a specific conservation's network coordinated by a program leader and a referent scientist. Priority is given to in situ conservation units (CU): dynamic in situ management of forest stands by natural regeneration in their area of origin. If not possible, ex situ collections of living material in fields or in laboratories replace CU. In some specific cases, species get mixed devices called "dynamic ex situ". Results: Since 1990, 101 CUs have been established and represent the diversity of nine species. For each CU, the owner of the forest, the manager and CRGF sign a management charter (Fady et al 2012), compliant with the requirements established at European scale (Koskela et al, 2013). Rules of the charter impose a core area containing a sufficient number of reproductive trees and adapted management to ensure natural regeneration of the targeted-species. A buffer zone surrounds the core area to avoid contaminations. Maintaining big enough populations is sometimes difficult because of sanitary crises, habitat destruction, etc. Thus, nine species get ex situ collections bringing together clones from trees identified in natural environments and representative of genetic diversity of the specie (Collin et al 2012). Each collection pools from 44 to 694 clones. An annual cutting-back and cuttings permit to conserve clones among years. Without sexual reproduction, ex situ collection are static regarding genetic diversity. To complete these two approaches, two species benefits of dynamic ex situ conservation in five places. It consists in conservatory plantings or seed orchards made with ex situ collection where sexual reproduction occurs and creates new genetic diversity. Conclusion and perspectives: Currently 15 species are included within the French conservation program of forest genetic resources. This effort can be analysed using the new indicators on forest genetic resources established by EUFORGEN for the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (FOREST EUROPE). A reflexion is in progress to extend the existing networks in a different way, aiming to include populations of interest for conservation from other species with limited extra resources: (i) to conciliate CU and protected areas networks based on the IUCN category IV; (ii) to establish a new type of conservation device, targeting specific populations of interest.