Forest Genetic Resources Information No 21 includes notes and articles from a number of fields which we hope will be of interest to our readers. The lead article on “liquid pollination” in Pinus radiata, contributed by Sweet et al. should give room for plenty of thought and ideas for similar research elsewhere, including the temperate regions and the tropics. Following information published over the years on the operation and focus of a number of forest seed centres, the present issue of FGRI reports on institutional aspects and activities of already established and new forest seed centres in Australia, Kenya and Tanzania. Articles by Krishnapillay and Marzalina, and by Corbineau and Côme report on sampling size and recommended pre-treatment of seed of tropical tree species, while those of Kageyama and by Harwood et al. deal with in situ and ex situ conservation aspects of forest trees, respectively. Regionally, forest genetic resources activities in Asia Pacific are reported upon in a note on the FAO coordinated “FORTIP” project, based in the Philippines; information on a species of actual or potential importance in Latin America, Alnus acuminata, is also found in this issue of FGRI which, further, includes the by now standard, brief notes on meetings, publications of interest and miscellanea.
In addition to the above, two questions raised merit highlighting. One is the publication by FAO in the second half of 1993, of a report on the state of forest resources in the tropics. The Forest Resources Assessment 1990 study, reported a steep increase in the rate of tropical deforestation, which was estimated at 15.4 million hectares per year during the period 1980–1990. Although the past 10 years have evidenced a gratifying increase in the establishment of forest plantations and woodlots in the countries covered in the study, only 24 out of the 90 countries included reported the existence of national level information and records on areas planted and main species used. Even less information was available on plantation success and yields. Against this background, it is evident that very little attention indeed will have been paid to the quality of reproductive materials used and related documentation, thus not only jeopardizing plantation success but also the potential to use such plantations for future seed production and as the basis for tree improvement programmes. The increasing movement of un-documented seedlots and the introduction of hybridizing species and provenances will also threaten the genetic integrity of local genepools. Losing local populations, or losing their genetic identity through pollen contamination, will negatively influence future possibilities to capture specific alleles for conservation purposes, and will increase the amount of effort needed to breed for enhancement of such alleles for immediate use.
The second question which merits special mention, is the on-going FAO survey on the state of the world's plant genetic resources. This survey, undertaken at the recommendation of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources and the FAO Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources, is carried out through a questionnaire sent, in the case of forest species, to the Heads of Forest Services in FAO's 160 Member Countries. The covering letter to the questionnaire requested the Heads of Forest Services to coordinate a nation-wide reply to the questions on conservation, selection and breeding included in it; however, the attention of a great number of institutes and individuals was also drawn to the survey, requesting them to input to the study through the national focal point. To date, more than 80 replies from close to 70 countries, have been received to the forestry questionnaire sent out in March 1993. The assistance of all our readers in ensuring as complete as possible a response to the survey, is solicited.
Queries on, or inputs to, the above questionnaire; and brief articles or write-ups of global interest from our readers for consideration for future issues of FGRI, should be addressed to:
Chief, Forest Resources Development Branch
Forest Resources Division, FAO
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
I-00100 Rome (Italy).
Forest Genetic Resources Information no. 21. FAO, Rome (1993)
