Applied Plant Conservation

The Crop Trust is a non-profit international organization dedicated to conserving crop diversity and making it available for use globally, forever, for the benefit of everyone.

We work with donors and partners to lead global projects that protect crop diversity, conserve crop wild relatives and develop technology to make this diversity accessible worldwide.

We seek professionals with a passion for global food security and a strong drive to contribute to our mission of conserving crop diversity for future generations.

Type

Self-Paced

Fee

Free

Topics

Genebank management

View course

Overview

The Applied Plant Conservation Course is a free professional training designed for conservation professionals, land managers, and researchers working to safeguard rare and endangered plants. Developed by the Center for Plant Conservation and its network of experts, the course provides comprehensive training on the science and practice of plant conservation and stewardship, including seed banking, reintroductions, genetics, horticulture, and more. Through dynamic video lessons, practical tools, and real-world case studies, participants gain the skills needed to apply evidence-based approaches that ensure the survival of imperiled plant species.

Modules

Module I: Introduction to Rare Plant Conservation
Module II: Ensuring the Conservation of Rare Plant Genetic Diversity
Module III: Where Rare Plants Live: Now and In the Future
Module IV: Assessing Wild Plant Populations
Module V: Rare Plant Reintroductions
Module VI: Collecting Seeds for Conservation Collections in Long-term Seed Banks
Module VII: Conservation of Exceptional Species
Module VIII: Propagation and Horticulture of Rare Plants
Module IX: Tools and Partnerships

Host

Center for Plant Conservation

Center for Plant Conservation safeguards rare plants by advancing science-based conservation practices, connecting and empowering plant conservationists, and inspiring all to protect biodiversity for future generations.

Are you ready to learn?

Find out more

Related Courses

Plant Collection Policy Overview

This course provides an introduction to plant collection policy for botanic curators/collection managers/data managers, who are interested in an introduction to plant collection policy and how this might be implemented in botanic gardens. It looks at policy, purpose and how to develop a collection.

By the end of this module you will:

Understand the purpose of having a plant collection policy
Have an understanding of your plant collection
Have developed a strong processes for identifying you collection
Have practiced aspects of plant collections
Have a basic tool to create a plant policy framework to achieve accreditation

Introduction to Master Planning

This module is the second in the BGCI Botanic Garden Basics series and looks at how to develop a master plan for your site. This course is aimed to participants who are interested in setting up or developing a botanic garden.

By the end of this module you will:

Have an appreciation of what a master plan is
Recognise why a master plan is important
Recognise what the main components of a master plan are
Understand the process for developing a master plan
Recognise the importance of stakeholder consultation

Defining a Botanic Garden

This module is the first in the BGCI Botanic Garden Basics series and looks at how to define a botanic garden. This course is aimed to participants who are interested in setting up or developing a botanic garden.

By the end of this module you will:

Be able to define a botanic garden
Understand the history of botanic gardens
Understand why botanic gardens are important
Recognise the different key roles that a botanic garden plays
Understand what a vision and mission is and how to develop one for your organisation

Pre-breeding: Creating and Managing Variation

This course explains why parental selection is important and how it can be done effectively based on various types and sources of data and information. The issues associated with transferring traits from non-adapted germplasm sources are described. The module also illustrates how segregating populations are handled and how the desired traits are maintained in future generations of crossing and selection. Finally, the unit explains how genes of interest can be identified and tracked using a variety of methods and technologies.

You will learn about:

The importance of parental selection and the main methods based on genotypic and phenotypic information.
Recognizing the issues regarding the use of exotic germplasm for breeding.
The general principles of managing segregating populations generated from parental crossing according to the particular type of crop.

Pre-breeding Project Management

This module explains why it is necessary to plan ahead in a pre-breeding programme. It covers the range of issues that need to be considered before embarking on a pre-breeding programme, stressing the importance of adopting a participatory approach. The module also explains the importance of documenting outputs, assessing outcomes and using this information in future planning exercises.

You will learn about:

Planning a pre-breeding project by identifying the elements of the project plan as well as understanding the importance of a participatory approach
Identifying the management tasks for an efficient and effective project
Describing the process of monitoring and evaluation of a pre-breeding project

Introduction to Pre-breeding

This course explains and defines pre-breeding and its context, identifying the situations to which it is best applied and its possible limitations. The potential of prebreeding to make optimal use of the benefits represented by plant genetic resources is also outlined. The module introduces the criteria to define when pre-breeding is an advisable option, and introduces basic concepts of plant biology and genetics necessary to set up a successful pre-breeding programme.

You will learn about:

The potential of pre-breeding to make optimal use and benefits represented by plant genetic resources (PGR)
Defining pre-breeding context and examples of applications
Identifying the situations to which pre-breeding is best applied and its limitations
Genetic control of trait expression and plant reproductive biology
Application of basic biological knowledge to pre-breeding

Conserving and Using Crop Diversity

The Crop Trust online experience – Conserving & Using Crop Diversity – is an interactive website where you can explore how the crops we eat are conserved, studied and used to build a more secure food future.

This introduction to crop diversity conservation and use is colorful, easy to navigate, and full of stories, games and videos that bring science to life.

What You’ll Find

Ever wondered what the difference is between a landrace and an elite variety?
Or who a pre-breeder is, and why their work matters?
This site explains it all – in a simple, visual way, and the way you use it is entirely up to you.

Travel back in time to discover how seeds were first saved and used by breeders.
Play a game where you help farmer Hassan create a new wheat variety that can withstand heat waves.
Think you’re fluent in crop diversity? Then go ahead and test your knowledge.

What do Anna Backhaus, Chrispus Odouri, Shivali Sharma and Benjamin Kilian have in common? They are scientists working with farmers around the world to develop crops that can survive drought, heat and disease. They have one goal: to secure the future of food.

Discover how crop diversity connects us all – Conserving & Using Crop Diversity

Share your thoughts and experiences with us media@croptrust.org and on social media. Don’t forget to tag the Crop Trust!

This interactive online experience was launched with support by the Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (BOLD) project funded by the Government of Norway. The BOLD project aims to strengthen food and nutrition security by helping genebanks conserve and use crop diversity more effectively.

Genebank management relevant to pre-breeding

This course gives an overview of what it takes to establish and manage a genebank, providing an outline of genebank operations with particular respect to pre-breeding. The need for linking genebank operations with pre-breeding is emphasized and problems are addressed. The module also explains the methods used to prepare and accomplish collecting missions and describes the main issues related to the proper organization of a genebank. An overview of the processes of day-to-day management is provided.

You will learn about:

The purpose of genebanks and thir role in strengthening food security and sustainable agricultural production
The methods used to prepare and accomplish collecting missions
Linkages between genebank operations with pre-breeding
The main issues related to the proper organization of a genebank and the related process of day-to-day management

Organic Plant Breeding: Module 1

The LiveSeeding project offers a set of 5 training packages, organized in 25 Modules on organic breeding and organic seed production, including online and on-site sessions. These materials offer a comprehensive perspective on organic breeding knowledge, concepts, strategies, tools and opportunities, adapted to a diverse group of target trainees, from organic farmers to PhD students of different levels (high school, undergraduates and/or MSc students) and scientists, seed producers, organic breeders, and any others involved in the value chain of organic systems with interest in some (or all) of the main issues in organic breeding.

Link to website: https://liveseeding.eu/trainings-summer-school/

Link to repository on ECO-PB website: https://www.eco-pb.org/trainings.html