The Ex Situ Conservation and Potential Usage of Crop Wild Relatives in Poland on the Example of Grasses

The Poaceae is the second most abundant family among crop wild relatives in Poland, representing 147 taxa. From these species, 135 are native taxa, and 11 are archeophytes. In addition, one taxon is now considered to be extinct. Among the 147 taxa, 8 are endemic species. Central Europe, including Poland, does not have many endemic species. Only a few dozen endemic species have been identified in this paper, mainly in the Carpathians and the adjacent uplands, e.g., the Polish Jura in southern Poland. The most numerous genera among the 32 present in the crop wild relatives (CWR) of Poaceae family are: The genus Festuca (33 species), Poa (19), and Bromus (11). In turn, ten genera are represented by only one species per genus. A good representative of groups of grasses occur in xerothermic grasslands, and other smaller groups can be found in forests, mountains, or dunes. CWR species from the Poaceae family have the potential for different uses in terms of the ecosystem services benefit. They can impart for humans, animals, and the environment, including fodder, edibles, biomass grasses (fuels and raw material), and amenity grasses, and are used for ecological purposes. In the central Polish gene bank in Radzików (NCPGR), all accessions are represented by approximately 30% of grasses germplasm, 10% of which are CWR grasses. In the case of CWR grasses, 56% are stored in the NCPGR gene bank, and approximately 80% in botanical gardens, but frequently in a single accessions. Together, crop gene banks and botanical gardens can maintain a large range of ex situ collections useful for the preservation, breeding, and research of crop wild relatives along with the necessary information for plant breeders.