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- Monitoring system and in situ conservation of endemic and threatened Beta patula Aiton populations in Madeira RegionPublication . Nóbrega, H.; Freitas, G.; Zavattieri, M. A.; Ragonezi, C.; Frese, L.; Carvalho, M. A. A. Pinheiro det Madeira Archipelago is a hotspot for crop wild relatives (CWR) of crop cultures. Some of these CWR are present in very specific environments, such as, in Ponta de Sa˜o Lourenc¸o or Desertas Islands. One such species is Beta patula Aiton, a Critically Endan gered species which belongs to the Gene Pool 1b of cultivated beets. A continuous effort has been devel oped for its ex situ conservation through the storage of accessions (ISOP2512 and ISOP1911) in the ISO Plexis GeneBank at the University of Madeira Simultaneously, a series of studies have been carried out to understand the species’ ecogeographic and ecological requirements, to validate populations’ boundaries and sizes, and to establish population dynamics. This study includes a complete floristic survey at the B. patula locations of, Desembar cadouro islet (DI) with 12 (DI1–DI12) sampling sites, and Cha˜o islet (CI) with 3 (CI1–CI3). Several Biodiversity indices were calculated for these loca tions. Plot DI3 exhibited the highest values for Corrected Evenness (E0 = 0.77 ± 0.07), Shannon– Weaver Diversity Index (H0 = 2.48 ± 0.12), and Hill’s Index (N2 = 4.47 ± 0.72), with a total sum of 306 individuals of B. patula. The demographic status of B. patula populations in DI and CI was determined yearly between 2014 and 2018. The results show an average population size of 16,906 and 2917 plants, respectively. These data will be used for the estab lishment of a protocol to monitor and manage a genetic reserve for B. patula and other CWR. By doing so, our work will contribute to the implemen tation of the European genetic reserve network.
- Propagation of nine endemic plant species from Madeira Island (Portugal)Publication . Henriques, Dina; Fontinha, Susana; Neves, Margarida Costa; Nóbrega, Humberto; Ferro, António; Carvalho, M. A. A. Pinheiro deEfficient propagation of endangered plant species is a critical factor in successful ecological restoration and conscientious habitat management. Hence, propagation trials of nine endemic plant species of Madeira (Anthyllis lemanniana Lowe, Armeria maderensis Lowe, Cedronella canariensis (L.) Webb & Berthel., Erica maderensis (Benth.) Bornm., Genista tenera (Jacq. ex Murray) Kuntze, Helichrysum melaleucum Rchb. ex Holl, Pericallis aurita (L'Her.) B. Nord., Sideritis candicans Aiton and Teline maderensis Webb & Berthel.) were carried out. Plant propagation requirements and their sexual and vegetative propagation methods were studied. Seed germination success varied between species. Germination rate exceeded 70% in six out of nine species, being lower than 30% in Pericallis aurita, while H. melaleucum seeds did not germinate. Vegetative propagation yielded lower success rates, with three species (Erica maderensis, Genista tenera and Teline maderensis) unable to establish roots, and three species (Helichrysum melaleucum, Pericallis aurita and Sideritis candicans) exceeding 60% of the rooting success. Establishment of the propagation requirements of these species could be regarded an important tool for supporting Madeira’s flora conservation programs.
- Assessing the diversity of sea beet (Beta vulgaris L. ssp. maritima) populationsPublication . Ascarini, F.; Nóbrega, H. G.M.; Leite, I. S.; Freitas, G.; Ragonezi, C.; Zavattieri, M. Amely; Carvalho, M. A. A. Pinheiro deBeta vulgaris L. subsp. maritima (L.) Arcang., sea beet, is a morphologically and genetically variable species, belonging to beet primary gene -pool. This crop wild relative is a valuable genetic resource for resistance improvement in beets and could play an important role in crop yield sustainability. Eleven Madeiran sea beet populations were characterized using morphological descriptors and genetic markers. Our goal was to evaluate these populations as a potential source of valuable genetic material. Morphological characterization showed a high quantitative variation among populations. Plant height and inflorescence height parameters had the highest influence in the separation of populations. Molecular analysis was performed with polymorphic SSRs to determine genetic variability between populations. Both PCA and PCoA revealed three clusters that separated the populations according to morphological and genetic traits, respectively. This study contributes to the knowledge of sea beet diversity in Madeira’s archipelago and to the perception that the islands' specific environmental conditions influence its genetic variability, making these populations a possible gene source for sugar beet breeding programs