Appendix 4
FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES PRIORITIES (BY REGION, SPECIES AND OPERATION) (continue)

Note:

(1) General The Panel recognised that many of the priority ratings must be considered tentative. In many cases information is inadequate to allow of even a tentative rating to be made; these are indicated as - . Nevertheless the present attempt should be useful in relating the priorities of various operations to each other and in indicating the many gaps in knowledge which exist. Periodic revision of the priorities will be needed in the light of the better information which it is hoped will be forthcoming from foresters and tree breeders all over the world.

(2) Species importance The importance rating for a species is expected to remain constant over one to several decades, as compared with priority ratings for individual operations which may change within a few years. Allocation of importance rating is somewhat arbitrary, but approximates to:

(3) Operational priorities Three priority ratings are used. Though the distinctions between them are somewhat arbitrary, their approximate time-scale equivalents are:

(4) Relationship of operational priorities to species importance Individual species may have higher priority for a particular operation than for their importance rating only in the case of endangered species and only for the conservation operation.

Individual species may have lower priority for some operations than their importance rating. e.g. a species of importance rating 1 may be priority 3 for exploration and collection because these operations have been recently successfully accomplished e.g. Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in Central America.

Species of importance rating 1 normally merit priority 1 in at least one operation.

(5) (E) signifies endangered with extinction or severe depletion of the gene-pool.