Why is it necessary to establish these areas? Are these not also covered by nature conservation?
In the case of genetic reserves, the focus lies on the safeguarding of plant genetic resources for breeding research and facilitating access to these resources. For this reason, the conservation status of the target species populations should be monitored and seeds collected. The seeds are stored in a gene bank and can be retrieved from it according to the internationally valid rules for research and development. In a genetic reserve, in situ conservation is systematically combined with ex situ conservation.
Genetic reserves are established primarily for wild plants for food and agriculture. This also includes endangered species that are not already in the focus of species protection, such as Helosciadium nodiflorum. Especially for occurrences of these species, the establishment of genetic reserves represents an added value.
A prerequisite for the conservation of genetic resources is the preservation of intra-specific diversity, i.e. the diversity of gene variants and genotypes that are relevant for the characteristic expressions within a species and for its adaptability to environmental conditions. Due to scarcity of resources, practical nature conservation focuses on the conservation of ecosystem and species diversity - but not on the intra-specific diversity.
