CROP DIVERSITY BASELINE: ASSESSING CHANGE IN PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES IN THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1019405
• Grant No.: 2019-67012-29733
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $164,980.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-07828
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2022
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A7201]- AFRI Post Doctoral Fellowships

Recipient Organization
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY
ONE NORTH GRAND
SAINT LOUIS,MO 631032006

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Crop genetic resources - seeds and other plant materials conserved in genebanks where they are accessed by plant breeders for crop improvement - are a foundation of agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability. These resources enhance the agriculture sector's capacity to respond to changing producer and market demands, and can increase sustainability by enabling producers to reduce their dependence on non-renewable inputs. Some the most important forms of these resources - traditional farmer varieties (landraces) and crop wild relatives (the wild cousins of domesticated crops) - continue to evolve in response to natural and human selection on farms and in wild habitats, and thus represent important founts of useful new traits for plant breeders. Unfortunately, the status of these diverse resources is not well understood despite decades of warnings that they may be disappearing. How much diversity has disappeared from farms and wild habitats over time? Scientists have struggled to answer this question more accurately than with very rough estimates, the most common being that 75 percent of crop diversity was lost over the past century. What are the genetic resources that are of most concern, and where do they occur? Here too the agricultural research community has not yet found clear answers. These persistent information gaps affect the ability for genebanks to assess how complete their collections are in comparison to the full extent of standing crop diversity in farmers' fields and from wild relative populations, to determine how significant their roles are in maintaining crop genetic variation now extinct in these fields and habitats, and to prioritize further collecting activities based on relative urgency.This postdoctoral research proposes to address these knowledge gaps by documenting historical change in the diversity of landraces and wild relatives of important crops such as corn and common beans, by way of case-study comparisons between current observed diversity in the centers of origin of these crops and historical baseline information compiled from USDA and international public genebank collections. Further, the research will establish a modern dataset for these crops that will enable monitoring of changes in their diversity from the present into to the future. Combined, the research, which centrally connects to the AFRI Farm Bill priority area on plant health and production and plant products, will generate important information for present and future genetic resource collecting, conservation, and use. The project includes leadership, training, and career development aspects in tools and methods, communications, teaching, project management, and grant writing; entails international collaboration; incorporates substantive evaluation plans; and involves mentorship from academic, governmental, nonprofit, industry, and international research institutions.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

0%

Applied

100%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
202	1410	1081	50%
202	1510	1081	50%

Knowledge Area
202 - Plant Genetic Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
1510 - Corn; 1410 - Beans (dry);

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;

Keywords

crop genetic resources

food security

germplasm conservation

plant production

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to address the critical knowledge gap concerning the degree of historical and projected future change in existing crop diversity in its geographic centers of origin, to inform crop genetic resource collecting and conservation strategies. This will be accomplished by documenting change over time in the in situ diversity of landraces and crop wild relatives of important crops such as corn and common bean in their primary regions of diversity, by way of case-study comparisons between current observed diversity in the centers of origin of these crops and historical baseline information compiled from USDA and CGIAR genebank collections. Further, the research will establish a modern baseline dataset for these crops that will enable robust monitoring of changes in their diversity from the present to future.The main research objectives include:Assess temporal change in the diversity of exemplar, important crops (e.g., corn and common beans and their wild relatives) in selected research sites located within their centers of origin, including identifying the key drivers of change as well as the implications of change.Determine the level of representation of existing in situ diversity in selected research sites within the NPGS and CGIAR public genebanks, identify diversity existing in these germplasm collections that no longer persists in situ in the research sites, and recognize novel in situ diversity in the research sites that is not currently represented in germplasm collections which may be considered as priority for further collecting. Establish a robust, repeatable methodology to monitor changes in the diversity of important crops and their wild relatives from the present to the future.Conducting a modern-day assessment of existing diversity for important crops and their wild relatives in their centers of origin, better understanding change in this diversity in these regions from the past to the present, and establishing a baseline methodology enabling better monitoring of changes in this diversity in the future, represent advances in knowledge and in data generation that are tremendously relevant to strategies for genetic resource collecting and conservation. The proposed research will generate critical information that the world's most important public genebanks, including the USDA ARS NPGS and the international collections of the CGIAR, can use to take action toward providing as diverse a genetic resource portfolio as possible to plant breeders. Through crop improvement, these resources can positively impact producers by offering resistance to pests and diseases, enhancing tolerance to abiotic stresses, and increasing yield. The resources ultimately positively impact consumers' access to a stable supply of affordable and nutritious food.The objectives of the research therefore centrally connect to the AFRI Farm Bill priority area on plant health and production and plant products, with additional positive impacts toward food safety, nutrition, and health; bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities. Research investment in public genebanks is timely, as renewed enthusiasm for international collaboration on collecting and transfer of crop genetic resources has been generated through the facilitated access agreements of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, under which the CGIAR collections operate, and which the United States recently ratified.

Project Methods
Efforts:Proposed activities to achieve the goals and objectives can be divided into two main components: a) past to present crop diversity research, and b) present to future research:Past-to-present crop diversity research:Compile and prioritize historical baseline resources on selected crops and their wild relatives from the NPGS and other U.S. institutions and the CGIAR. These resources will be integrated and synthesized via a broad review of genebank database passport data, field notebooks, photographs, and biological materials (herbarium specimens and germplasm accessions), looking for extensive documentation of historical collections of important agricultural crops such as corn and common beans and their wild relatives in their centers of diversity, from sites that can feasibly be revisited. Important information sources include the NPGS collections, NPGS GRIN Global database and associated Plant Introduction books, the USDA National Agricultural Library, the NPGS Plant Exploration Office, CGIAR genebanks, CGIAR databases databases and field notebooks, university databases and library collections, and herbaria and botanic gardens.Develop a methodology to measure past baselines to present observed diversity. The main components that will be developed are landscape-, community-, and farm- level observations (i.e. are research sites still in agriculture? what crops? what varieties?), and farmer interviews and community surveys to understand the reasons for and implications of change in crop diversity over time. The methodology will also consider field sampling of plant materials, phenotyping, and genotyping, in preparation for research likely to occur after the postdoctoral research is completed. Visit historical baseline collection sites and record current data. The comparative methodology will be tested by revisiting at least two historical case-study collecting sites, and will include the landscape-, community-, and farm- level observations, farmer interviews, community surveys. While opportunities to collect biological materials and to perform collaborative analyses in the target communities will be pursued, the postdoctoral project will focus on observational, interview, and survey data gathering due to the short timeframe and given that acquiring collecting permits and arranging access agreements, as well as performing phenotyping and genotyping, are likely to require more than two years to complete. Further projects will capitalize on the momentum built during this project to complete the collection, phenotyping, and genotyping of biological materials, using the methodology developed during the postdoctoral research, if sufficient comparable biological materials are found in the case-study sites. SLU and collaborating CGIAR center IRB processes, and agricultural community- and household-level approval, will be gained prior to initiating fieldwork. Analyze differences between past and present crop diversity. Case-study historical baseline data and current sampled observation, interview, and survey data will be compared to assess temporal changes in selected crop diversity in targeted research sites. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying diversity lost in situ but present in germplasm repositories, and on highlighting apparently novel diversity persisting in situ that is not represented in genebanks.Present-to-future crop diversity researchDevelop a methodology to measure present baseline to future diversity. The methodology will include robust quantitative and qualitative sampling methods, based on state-of-art experimental design and sampling strategies, phenotyping, and genotyping research. Components include landscape-, community-, and farm- level observations, farmer interviews and community surveys, field sampling of plant materials, and phenotypic and genotypic analyses. The methodology will aim to be comprehensive while also easily repeatable by future researchers. Documentation of processes in metadata will be emphasized.Record current baseline data to enable future measurements. The current baseline methodology will be performed in at least two sites identified as currently containing considerable species and varietal diversity, being interested in long-term collaborations with researchers, and located in a country that is Party to the International Treaty. Data will include the landscape-, community-, and farm- level observations, farmer interviews, and community surveys. While opportunities to collect biological materials will be pursued, the current data baseline will focus on observational, interview, and survey data gathering due to the short timeframe of the postdoctoral research project. Further projects will capitalize on the momentum built during this project to collect, phenotype, and genotype the biological materials and thus complete the present day baseline. SLU and collaborating CGIAR center IRB processes, and agricultural community- and household-level approval, will be gained prior to initiating fieldwork. Preserve for the long-term and make accessible baseline methodologies and data points. Present-to-future methodologies and the current data points will be fully annotated and stored in long-term scientific repositories where they will be accessible to future researchers. Evaluation:Every research component as well as the training and career development aspects of postdoctoral research have assigned milestones and timelines, outlined in a timeline and evaluation plan written and agreed with the Primary Mentor, Collaborating Mentors, and Collaborators. The plan outlines the major products that will be disseminated to communicate findings and project accomplishments, which include the project website and associated social media, scientific and public presentations, published research articles, and the publication of the baseline data, methods, standards, contingencies, and metadata within long- term, open-access repositories. Indicators of success of pertinent components, including feedback surveys to document efficacy, are also included. The timeline will be used by the PD and confirmed by the Primary Mentor and the Advisory Group that progress is satisfactory toward completion of the project.The PD will report directly to the project Advisory Group, which includes the Primary Mentor, Collaborating Mentors, Collaborators, and additional experts. The Primary Mentor will hold the responsibility for ensuring that the PD is meeting objectives. Collaborating Mentors will critically evaluate the project and provide technical support. The Collaborators and additional experts represent key individuals and organizations from nonprofits, international research, industry, international donors, and academia.

Progress 09/01/19 to 02/02/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The main target audiences for this reporting period are genetic resources conservation professionals, i.e., public genebank and other conservation repository organization curators, managers, administrators, collectors, and technicians. Particular emphasis is placed on national programs in the USA (USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System) and and international genebanks (CGIAR- namely the International Potato Center (headquartered in Peru), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (headquartered in Colombia with broad Latin America mandate), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (headquartered in Mexico). The second focal audience is academic and other research organizations, including students, who are involved in or interested in the preservation, management, and access to crop genetic resources, either in conservation repositories or in farmers' fields and natural habitats. The longer term and wider target audiences are farmers - including both those who manage traditional agricultural biodiversity in Latin America, as well as those in the USA and elsewhere who produce crops whose varieties were bred through the use of crop genetic resources - and consumers, i.e., the general public. Changes/Problems:Since initiation in the fall of 2019 and into early 2020, the project proceeded without major changes or problems. The project was able to complete the institutional IRB, fully engage the advisory board, begin compilation of the historical baseline data and outlining of the diversity comparison methodologies, identify target fieldwork regions and confirm a variety of local collaborators, and arrange for the first major fieldwork trip. The spread of COVID-19 began to impact the project in early March 2020, and within a few weeks the target regions and indeed entire countries were fully shut down to travel/fieldwork, and remain so. These constraints have obviously significantly negatively impacted fieldwork and thus the ability to perform a current assessment of the state of crop diversity in these regions, including the comparison of this diversity to historical records. Since March 2020, as recommended by and with full support of the project mentors and advisory board, the project adapted to COVID-19 challenges including by: a) collaborating with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the main overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible with available data and leveraging ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at the reframed approach to completing the original goals and objectives. Mentors and partners have been engaged continuously, with key partners in both target regions fully invested in accomplishing the project as possible. Thus far we have not been successful in finding additional funding for fieldwork local partners, despite four major proposals authored, but we will continue to look for opportunities. In redirecting toward greater investment in conducting analyses of the state of conservation of crop diversity with available data and based on leveraging ongoing projects, we have been extraordinarily productive with regard to outputs- publishing 26 scientific articles, including in Science, PNAS, New Phytologist, and Nature journals, as well as technical documents, blogs, posters, and presentations. Further, this redirection has opened the opportunity to focus on providing answers to project primary research questions through the largest and most ambitious literature review ever performed on the subject of change over time in crop diversity, the resulting product of which was specially requested by a top-tier plant sciences journal, and was published in 2021. In June 2021, we requested a one year (12 month) extension to complete major project fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives, to start at the original project end (August 31, 2021). Given advancements in vaccinations in the US and abroad, and projected subsequent re-opening of travel and training opportunities (and assuming these continue to expand), the extension will enable the PD to accomplish some of the fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives. Regarding foreign fieldwork travel (and associated materials and supplies), in both target regions, the primary fieldwork is ideally done in the June-July-August period (the primary cultivation season). The project thus plans to accomplish this fieldwork during those months of 2022, potentially with planning/scoping travel in earlier months. This timeframe also provides the maximum possibility that the target regions will have been reopened to visitors following COVID-19 related shutdowns, which continue at this time. Please note that given ongoing and severe COVID-19 related disruptions to the project activities, in the context of remaining funds under the no-cost extension, the extension should facilitate completion of some major planned fieldwork activities (i.e. target site confirmation, field visits, interviews/surveys of farmers) but will not enable full completion of originally planned fieldwork activities, which were planned over two years of fieldwork, the minimum necessary to establish relationships with communities to perform all field activities. Regarding domestic travel for in-person training/capacity building/outreach activities, we plan to initiate these in the first part of 2022, again to maximize the possibility that the educational (e.g. at Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanic Garden, University of Arizona, and Colorado State University) and outreach (conferences, etc.) opportunities are fully reopen and safe to participate in. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The main training and professional development provided by the PD to date has been teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as conservation practitioner peers, in geographic patterns of crop diversity, genetic resources conservation gap analysis, and other crop conservation topics. Activities have included both in depth training, e.g., a PhD student from Monash University in Australia on the use of ecogeographic tools to perform crop diversity conservation analyses for wild relatives of sorghum (resulting in a peer reviewed publication listed in the publication section) and NASA Develop program student collaborators on wild rice diversity (also resulting in a listed publication), as well as giving a number of presentations and seminars, both in person (pre-COVID-19) and virtually (post February 2020) (listed in the Products section). The PD also participated as an editor in the creation of a special issue in a high quality plant science journal on digital sequence information related to genetic resources, an important emerging topic in the crop diversity conservation field, and also served as a special editor for a journal article on spatial and temporal dimensions of crop diversity, published in PNAS. The articles in this collection are expected to contribute to enhancing the evidence base and general knowledge around these subjects for practitioners, academics, and policy communities. The main training and professional development provided to the PD to date has been increased capacity in both genetic/genomic and phenotypic/phenomic tools as well as in ethnobiological approaches. While originally planned as in person activities, due to COVID-19 these have occurred largely through virtual training and journal clubs, mainly provided by Saint Louis University, the Danforth Plant Science Center, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. In the fall of 2019, prior to COVID-19, the PD was also able to gain further capacity in plant conservation by attending two technical/academic conferences. During the summer of 2020, the PD was also able to take the opportunity to train in field surveying and collecting of crop genetic resources through participation in an exploration for a wild relative of potato occurring in southern Colorado. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project has worked to disseminate as widely as possible the main products thus far - research publications - to the main target audiences and to the general public. This has been done through publication as feasible in high quality journals providing open access to the research, through wide distribution of the articles via organizational channels, and through media efforts (i.e., press releases and media engagement) following article publications. A number of the publications have received substantial conventional as well as social media attention and are expected to be widely read and cited. Moreover, the majority of publications have involved diverse collaborations among many authors from different institutions, enabling direct impact for involved authors, and facilitating much wider dissemination through all of their organizational channels. The project also published a number of blogs in widely-read venues, as well as given presentations in a variety of technical conferences and academic fora, to communicate the results to the target audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The contribution of crop genetic resources to the productivity, sustainability, and adaptability of agriculture is well recognized. Traditional farmer varieties (landraces) and crop wild relatives represent important genetic resources which still occur in fields and wild habitats, with the richest diversity found in the regions of origin of crops, for instance in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia for potatoes, and in central Mexico for corn. Unfortunately, the degree to which these resources are conserved and available for plant breeding from genebanks is not well understood, despite decades of warnings that they may be disappearing from fields and from the wild. This information gap constrains the capacity of genebanks to prioritize their conservation efforts and potentially limits the long term availability of crop diversity for present and future generations. This postdoctoral research project proposes to fill critical knowledge gaps by assessing the comprehensiveness of conservation of crop diversity related to exemplar crops within genebanks, in comparison to diversity still extant in fields and in the wild. The project also aims to improve the methods used to understand how this diversity changes over time so as to better enable monitoring of diversity loss. The findings are intended to be of use to crop genetic resources professionals, academics and other researchers, and members of the public interested in the history and future of food and agriculture, while the long term impacts of the research, via enhanced conservation and availability of crop genetic resources, are intended to benefit farmers and consumers in the United States and around the world. Under this reporting period and up to this date (December 31, 2021), the project has been successful in establishing the major procedures and relationships needed to accomplish proposed fieldwork preparatory activities, including IRB protocols and engagement of the advisory board; compilation of historical crop diversity baseline data and outlining of sociological, phenotypic, and genotypic comparative methodologies; identification of target fieldwork regions and confirmation of various local collaborators; and design of fieldwork travel. The emergence of COVID-19 in the early months of 2020 prohibited the commencement of travels. Travel and fieldwork in the target regions continues to be prohibited at this time. The project has adapted to to COVID-19 constraints by a) engaging with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining progress on original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible through the use of available data and leveraging of ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork in terms of data and methods so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at contributing to the overriding goals and objectives under current constraints. Using available data and leveraging ongoing related projects, the project has significantly contributed to generating knowledge on the state of diversity and its representation in conservation repositories for crop genetic resources relevant to a wide range of crops, including beans, carrots, chile peppers, lettuce, mint, sorghum, wildrice, and zucchini and pumpkins. Publications have also identified genetic resource conservation priorities at the national level in the United States, generated an R code for conservation gap analysis, furthered the understanding of geographic origins of crop diversity, proposed improved methodologies for assessing representation of crop diversity in genebanks and in situ, outlined organizational collaborations key to success of crop diversity conservation in the United States, explored novel funding mechanisms for wildlands conservation pertinent to crop diversity, identified genetic resource and crop breeding needs for cover crops, furthered the discussion of use of digital sequence information related to crop genetic resources, and advocated for enhanced conservation of crop genetic resources as well as for wider biodiversity, including by supporting Indigenous and rural agricultural populations worldwide. These total 26 peer-reviewed journal articles, including in Science, PNAS, New Phytologist, and in Nature journals. Adaptation of the project to COVID-19 constraints has also enabled a much greater focus than originally envisioned on summarizing the state of knowledge in the field, through a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on change over time in crop diversity (i.e., "crop genetic erosion"), the resulting product of which was published in 2021. The project has written four proposals for further funding, primarily to support collaborators which may be able to accomplish portions of the outlined fieldwork even under some travel constraints. The project has also accomplished training and communication activities meant to enhance the capacity of students and the PD in relevant methodologies, and to make project topics and results widely known to genetic resources professionals, academics, and the general public.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Carver D, Sosa CC, Khoury CK, Achicanoy HA, Diaz MV, Sotelo S, Casta�eda-�lvarez NP, and Ram�rez-Villegas JR (2021) GapAnalysis: an R package to calculate conservation indicators using spatial information. Ecography 44: 1-10. doi: 10.1111/ecog.05430. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05430
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hoban S, Bruford M, Lopes-Fernandes M, Funk WC, Galbusera P, Griffith MP, Grueber CE, Heuertz M, Hunter ME, Hvilsom C, Kalamujic Stroil B, Kershaw F, Khoury CK, Laikre L, MacDonald AJ, Mergeay J, Meek M, Mittan C, Mukassabi TA, OBrien D, Ogden R, Palma da Silva C, Ramakrishnan U, Segelbacher G, Shaw RE, Sjogren-Gulve P, Velickovic N, and Vernesi C (2021) Global commitments to conserving genetic diversity are now necessary and feasible. Bioscience. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biab054. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab054
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Lebeda A, K?�stkov� E, Khoury CK, Carver, D, and Sosa CC (2020) Distribution and ecology of wild lettuces Lactuca serriola L. and Lactuca virosa L. in central Chile. Hacquetia 21(1): 173-186. doi: 10.2478/hacq-2021-0019. https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/hacquetia/article/view/9480
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK, Brush S, Costich DE, Curry HA, de Haan S, Engels J, Guarino L, Hoban S, Mercer KL, Miller A, Nabhan GP, Perales HR, Richards C, Riggins C, and Thormann I (2021) Crop genetic erosion: understanding and responding to loss of crop diversity. Tansley review. New Phytologist 233(1): 84-118. doi: 10.1111/nph.17733. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17733

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The main target audiences for this reporting period are genetic resources conservation professionals, i.e., public genebank and other conservation repository organization curators, managers, administrators, collectors, and technicians. Particular emphasis is placed on national programs in the USA (USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System) and and international genebanks (CGIAR- namely the International Potato Center (headquartered in Peru), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (headquartered in Colombia with broad Latin America mandate), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (headquartered in Mexico). The second focal audience is academic and other research organizations, including students, who are involved in or interested in the preservation, management, and access to crop genetic resources, either in conservation repositories or in farmers' fields and natural habitats. The longer term and wider target audiences are farmers - including both those who manage traditional agricultural biodiversity in Latin America, as well as those in the USA and elsewhere who produce crops whose varieties were bred through the use of crop genetic resources - and consumers, i.e., the general public. Changes/Problems:Since initiation in the fall of 2019 and into early 2020, the project proceeded without major changes or problems. The project was able to complete the institutional IRB, fully engage the advisory board, begin compilation of the historical baseline data and outlining of the diversity comparison methodologies, identify target fieldwork regions and confirm a variety of local collaborators, and arrange for the first major fieldwork trip. The spread of COVID-19 began to impact the project in early March 2020, and within a few weeks the target regions and indeed entire countries were fully shut down to travel/fieldwork, and remain so. These constraints have obviously significantly negatively impacted fieldwork and thus the ability to perform a current assessment of the state of crop diversity in these regions, including the comparison of this diversity to historical records. Since March 2020, as recommended by and with full support of the project mentors and advisory board, the project adapted to COVID-19 challenges including by: a) collaborating with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the main overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible with available data and leveraging ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at the reframed approach to completing the original goals and objectives. Mentors and partners have been engaged continuously, with key partners in both target regions fully invested in accomplishing the project as possible. Thus far we have not been successful in finding additional funding for fieldwork local partners, despite four major proposals authored in 2020, but we will continue to look for opportunities. In redirecting toward greater investment in conducting analyses of the state of conservation of crop diversity with available data and based on leveraging ongoing projects, we have been extraordinarily productive with regard to outputs- publishing 22 scientific articles, including in Science, PNAS, and Nature journals, as well as technical documents, blogs, posters, and presentations. Further, this redirection has opened the opportunity to focus on providing answers to project primary research questions through the largest and most ambitious literature review ever performed on the subject of change over time in crop diversity, the resulting product of which has been specially requested by a top-tier plant sciences journal, due to be published in 2021 (currently resubmitted after revisions). In June 2021, we requested a one year (12 month) extension to complete major project fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives, to start at the original project end (August 31, 2021). Given advancements in vaccinations in the US and abroad, and projected subsequent re-opening of travel and training opportunities (and assuming these continue to expand), the extension will enable the PD to accomplish some of the fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives. Regarding foreign fieldwork travel (and associated materials and supplies), in both target regions, the primary fieldwork is ideally done in the June-July-August period (the primary cultivation season). The project thus plans to accomplish this fieldwork during those months of 2022, potentially with planning/scoping travel in earlier months. This timeframe also provides the maximum possibility that the target regions will have been reopened to visitors following COVID-19 related shutdowns, which continue at this time. Please note that given ongoing and severe COVID-19 related disruptions to the project activities, in the context of remaining funds under the no-cost extension, the extension should facilitate completion of some major planned fieldwork activities (i.e. target site confirmation, field visits, interviews/surveys of farmers) but will not enable full completion of originally planned fieldwork activities, which were planned over two years of fieldwork, the minimum necessary to establish relationships with communities to perform all field activities. Regarding domestic travel for in-person training/capacity building/outreach activities, we plan to initiate these in the first part of 2022, again to maximize the possibility that the educational (e.g. at Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanic Garden, University of Arizona, and Colorado State University) and outreach (conferences, etc.) opportunities are fully reopen and safe to participate in. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The main training and professional development provided by the PD to date has been teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as conservation practitioner peers, in geographic patterns of crop diversity, genetic resources conservation gap analysis, and other crop conservation topics. Activities have included both in depth training, e.g., a PhD student from Monash University in Australia on the use of ecogeographic tools to perform crop diversity conservation analyses for wild relatives of sorghum (resulting in a peer reviewed publication listed in the publication section) and NASA Develop program student collaborators on wild rice diversity (also resulting in a listed publication), as well as giving a number of presentations and seminars, both in person (pre-COVID-19) and virtually (post February 2020) (listed in the Products section). The PD also participated as an editor in the creation of a forthcoming special issue in a high quality plant science journal on digital sequence information related to genetic resources, an important emerging topic in the crop diversity conservation field, and also served as a special editor for a journal article on spatial and temporal dimensions of crop diversity, published in PNAS. The articles in this collection are expected to contribute to enhancing the evidence base and general knowledge around these subjects for practitioners, academics, and policy communities. The main training and professional development provided to the PD to date has been increased capacity in both genetic/genomic and phenotypic/phenomic tools as well as in ethnobiological approaches. While originally planned as in person activities, due to COVID-19 these have occurred largely through virtual training and journal clubs, mainly provided by Saint Louis University, the Danforth Plant Science Center, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. In the fall of 2019, prior to COVID-19, the PD was also able to gain further capacity in plant conservation by attending two technical/academic conferences. During the summer of 2020, the PD was also able to take the opportunity to train in field surveying and collecting of crop genetic resources through participation in an exploration for a wild relative of potato occurring in southern Colorado. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project has worked to disseminate as widely as possible the main products thus far - research publications - to the main target audiences and to the general public. This has been done through publication as feasible in high quality journals providing open access to the research, through wide distribution of the articles via organizational channels, and through media efforts (i.e., press releases and media engagement) following article publications. A number of the publications have received substantial conventional as well as social media attention and are expected to be widely read and cited. Moreover, the majority of publications have involved diverse collaborations among many authors from different institutions, enabling direct impact for involved authors, and facilitating much wider dissemination through all of their organizational channels. The project also published a number of blogs in widely-read venues, as well as given presentations in a variety of technical conferences and academic fora, to communicate the results to the target audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project will continue to maximize its potential to meet the broader goals and objectives of generating evidence around the state of conservation of crop genetic resources, including identifying gaps in conservation, virtually due to continued COVID-19 work/travel constraints. Key components include completing the datasets on historical baseline crop diversity occurrences/observation information for target sites in Mexico and Peru, and publishing the major global review of literature on change in crop diversity over time. This review has been in process for most of 2020 and all of 2021 thus far, and includes as collaborators a wide range of experts in the field. It has garnered sufficient attention to have been requested as a special review article for a top-tier plant science journal (New Phytologist, Tansley Review), and is expected to provide the most comprehensive and ambitious effort ever performed to summarize the state of knowledge on change over time in crop diversity globally. The project will continue to use available data to generate and publish new knowledge on the state of conservation of crops and their wild relatives. The project will also look for avenues to communicate the findings to technical and public audiences. In June 2021, we requested a one year (12 month) extension to complete major project fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives, to start at the original project end (August 31, 2021). Given advancements in vaccinations in the US and abroad, and projected subsequent re-opening of travel and training opportunities (and assuming these continue to expand), the extension will enable the PD to accomplish some of the fieldwork and training/capacity building/outreach objectives. Regarding foreign fieldwork travel (and associated materials and supplies), in both target regions, the primary fieldwork is ideally done in the June-July-August period (the primary cultivation season). The project thus plans to accomplish this fieldwork during those months of 2022, potentially with planning/scoping travel in earlier months. This timeframe also provides the maximum possibility that the target regions will have been reopened to visitors following COVID-19 related shutdowns, which continue at this time. Please note that given ongoing and severe COVID-19 related disruptions to the project activities, in the context of remaining funds under the no-cost extension, the extension should facilitate completion of some major planned fieldwork activities (i.e. target site confirmation, field visits, interviews/surveys of farmers) but will not enable full completion of originally planned fieldwork activities, which were planned over two years of fieldwork, the minimum necessary to establish relationships with communities to perform all field activities. Regarding domestic travel for in-person training/capacity building/outreach activities, we plan to initiate these in the first part of 2022, again to maximize the possibility that the educational (e.g. at Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanic Garden, University of Arizona, and Colorado State University) and outreach (conferences, etc.) opportunities are fully reopen and safe to participate in.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The contribution of crop genetic resources to the productivity, sustainability, and adaptability of agriculture is well recognized. Traditional farmer varieties (landraces) and crop wild relatives represent important genetic resources which still occur in fields and wild habitats, with the richest diversity found in the regions of origin of crops, for instance in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia for potatoes, and in central Mexico for corn. Unfortunately, the degree to which these resources are conserved and available for plant breeding from genebanks is not well understood, despite decades of warnings that they may be disappearing from fields and from the wild. This information gap constrains the capacity of genebanks to prioritize their conservation efforts and potentially limits the long term availability of crop diversity for present and future generations. This postdoctoral research project proposes to fill critical knowledge gaps by assessing the comprehensiveness of conservation of crop diversity related to exemplar crops within genebanks, in comparison to diversity still extant in fields and in the wild. The project also aims to improve the methods used to understand how this diversity changes over time so as to better enable monitoring of diversity loss. The findings are intended to be of use to crop genetic resources professionals, academics and other researchers, and members of the public interested in the history and future of food and agriculture, while the long term impacts of the research, via enhanced conservation and availability of crop genetic resources, are intended to benefit farmers and consumers in the United States and around the world. Under this reporting period and up to this date (June 21, 2021), the project has been successful in establishing the major procedures and relationships needed to accomplish proposed fieldwork preparatory activities, including IRB protocols and engagement of the advisory board; compilation of historical crop diversity baseline data and outlining of sociological, phenotypic, and genotypic comparative methodologies; identification of target fieldwork regions and confirmation of various local collaborators; and design of fieldwork travel. The emergence of COVID-19 in the early months of 2020 prohibited the commencement of travels. Travel and fieldwork in the target regions continues to be prohibited at this time. The project has adapted to to COVID-19 constraints by a) engaging with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining progress on original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible through the use of available data and leveraging of ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork in terms of data and methods so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at contributing to the overriding goals and objectives under current constraints. Using available data and leveraging ongoing related projects, the project has significantly contributed to generating knowledge on the state of diversity and its representation in conservation repositories for crop genetic resources relevant to a wide range of crops, including beans, carrots, chile peppers, lettuce, mint, sorghum, wildrice, and zucchini and pumpkins. Publications have also identified genetic resource conservation priorities at the national level in the United States, furthered the understanding of geographic origins of crop diversity, proposed improved methodologies for assessing representation of crop diversity in genebanks and in situ, outlined organizational collaborations key to success of crop diversity conservation in the United States, explored novel funding mechanisms for wildlands conservation pertinent to crop diversity, identified genetic resource and crop breeding needs for cover crops, furthered the discussion of use of digital sequence information related to crop genetic resources, and advocated for enhanced conservation of crop genetic resources as well as for wider biodiversity, including by supporting Indigenous and rural agricultural populations worldwide. These total 22 peer-reviewed journal articles, including in Science, PNAS, and Nature journals. Adaptation of the project to COVID-19 constraints has also enabled a much greater focus than originally envisioned on summarizing the state of knowledge in the field, through a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on change over time in crop diversity (i.e., "crop genetic erosion"), the resulting product of which has been specially requested by a top-tier plant science journal, due to be published in 2021 (currently resubmitted after revisions). The project has written four proposals for further funding, primarily to support collaborators which may be able to accomplish portions of the outlined fieldwork even under some travel constraints. The project has also accomplished training and communication activities meant to enhance the capacity of students and the PD in relevant methodologies, and to make project topics and results widely known to genetic resources professionals, academics, and the general public.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK, Jarvis A, and Jones A (2020) Trade and its trade-offs in the food system. Nature Food 1: 665666. doi: 10.1038/s43016-020-00169-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00169-6
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Krishnan S, Greene SL, Khoury CK, Kuehny J, Miller AJ, Moreau T, Novy A (2020) People pollinating partnerships: harnessing collaborations between botanic gardens and agricultural research organizations on crop diversity. Acta Horticulturae 1298: 37-42. doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1298.7. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1298.7
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Carver D, Sosa CC, Khoury CK, Achicanoy HA, Diaz MV, Sotelo S, Casta�eda-�lvarez NP, and Ram�rez-Villegas JR (2021) GapAnalysis: an R package to calculate conservation indicators using spatial information. Ecography 44: 1-10. doi: 10.1111/ecog.05430. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05430
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hoban S, Bruford M, Lopes-Fernandes M, Funk WC, Galbusera P, Griffith MP, Grueber CE, Heuertz M, Hunter ME, Hvilsom C, Kalamujic Stroil B, Kershaw F, Khoury CK, Laikre L, MacDonald AJ, Mergeay J, Meek M, Mittan C, Mukassabi TA, OBrien D, Ogden R, Palma da Silva C, Ramakrishnan U, Segelbacher G, Shaw RE, Sjogren-Gulve P, Velickovic N, and Vernesi C (2021) Global commitments to conserving genetic diversity are now necessary and feasible. Bioscience. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biab054. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab054
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) Native North American Asimina, Carya, Castanea, Corylus, Diospyros, Juglans, Malus, Persea, Pistacia, and Prunus - preliminary conservation gap analysis results Botanic Gardens Conservation International US/US Botanic Garden Agrobiodiversity Project stakeholder meeting, 26 May 2021, Huntington, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) Global commitments to conserving genetic diversity are now necessary and feasible Missouri Botanic Garden/Saint Louis University, Next Generation Sequencing Journal Club, 30 April 2021, St. Louis, USA (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK and Sotelo S (2021) The fruits and vegetables that feed the world: baseline information to underpin strategies for their conservation and use International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, International Expert Meeting, Fruit and Vegetable Genetic Diversity: the status and challenges of conservation, exchange and use, 16 February 2021.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) Crop wild relatives of the United States require urgent conservation action Missouri Botanical Garden, Ethnobiology Journal Club, 29 January 2021. (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) If we are what we eat, then where are we from? Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, 28 January 2021. (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK, Sotelo S, and Amariles D (2020) The plants that feed the world: baseline information to underpin strategies for their conservation and use International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and Global Crop Diversity Trust meeting, 16 November 2020. (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) If we are what we eat, then where are we from? Saint Louis University, Department of Biology, Departmental Seminar, 16 April 2021, St. Louis, USA (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) The wonders of crops & their wild relatives Caf� Botanique: Creative Expressions of Crops & their Wild Relatives, Denver Botanical Garden, 14 April 2021, Denver, USA (virtual)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Khoury CK (2021) If we are what we eat, then where are we from? Colorado State University, ESS/SOCR 480A8: Global Agriculture and Environmental Change Seminar, 16 February 2021, Fort Collins, USA. (virtual)

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The main target audiences for this reporting period are genetic resources conservation professionals, i.e., public genebank and other conservation repository organization curators, managers, administrators, collectors, and technicians. Particular emphasis is placed on national programs in the USA (USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System) and and international genebanks (CGIAR- namely the International Potato Center (headquartered in Peru), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (headquartered in Colombia with broad Latin America mandate), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (headquartered in Mexico). The second focal audience is academic and other research organizations, including students, who are involved in or interested in the preservation, management, and access to crop genetic resources, either in conservation repositories or in farmers' fields and natural habitats. The longer term and wider target audiences are farmers - including both those who manage traditional agricultural biodiversity in Latin America, as well as those in the USA and elsewhere who produce crops whose varieties were bred through the use of crop genetic resources - and consumers, i.e., the general public. Changes/Problems:Since initiation in the fall of 2019 and into early 2020, the project proceeded without major changes or problems. The project was able to complete the institutional IRB, fully engage the advisory board, begin compilation of the historical baseline data and outlining of the diversity comparison methodologies, identify the target fieldwork regions and confirm local collaborators, and arrange for the first major fieldwork trip. The spread of COVID-19 began to impact the project in early March 2020, and within a few weeks the target regions and indeed entire countries were fully shut down to travel/fieldwork, and remain so. These constraints have obviously significantly negatively impacted fieldwork and thus the ability to perform a current assessment of the state of crop diversity in these regions, including the comparison of this diversity to historical records. Since March 2020, as recommended by and with full support of the project mentors and advisory board, the project adapted to COVID-19 challenges including by: a) collaborating with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the main overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible with available data and leveraging ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at the reframed approach to completing the original goals and objectives. Mentors and partners have been engaged continuously, with key partners in both target regions fully invested in accomplishing the project as possible. Thus far we have not been successful in finding additional funding for fieldwork local partners, despite four major proposals authored in 2020, but we will continue to look for opportunities. In redirecting toward greater investment in conducting analyses of the state of conservation of crop diversity with available data and based on leveraging ongoing projects, we have been extraordinarily productive in 2020 with regard to outputs- publishing 18 scientific articles, including in Science and PNAS. Further, this redirection has opened the opportunity to focus on providing answers to project primary research questions through the largest and most ambitious literature review ever performed on the subject of change over time in crop diversity, the resulting product of which has been specially requested by a top-tier plant sciences journal, due to be published in 2021. If COVID-19 constraints are resolved in the coming months, the project will re-initiate the in-person research, training, and professional development activities outlined in the project proposal, with the plan to complete the pertinent goals and objectives by end of the next reporting period. The project will also continue to seek alternative means by which to accomplish field data gathering, including looking for supplementary funding for fieldwork collaborators, who, being local to the target regions, may be able to contribute to accomplishing some of the fieldwork goals and objectives in the coming year even under partial travel constraints. Remote-sensing and social media (crowd-sourced) methodologies for data gathering will also be explored. If these constraints are also resolved internationally sufficiently to protect the health of Indigenous and traditional farming communities in the target regions of Mexico and Peru, and thus permit travel and research in these communities, then fieldwork activities by the PD will be re-initiated, with the aim to accomplish as many of the goals and activities as possible before the end of the next reporting period. Depending on the timeframe for resolution of COVID-19 risks, the project may seek an extension so as to complete the major activities originally proposed. If COVID-19 constraints are not significantly resolved within the remainder of the project time period, we believe that the reframed emphasis on answering the overall goals and objectives using available data will still result in a highly productive postdoctoral research project, as measured by research publications, outreach/ communications, and training and capacity building activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The main training and professional development provided by the PD under the timeframe of this progress report has been teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as conservation practitioner peers, in geographic patterns of crop diversity, genetic resources conservation gap analysis, and other crop conservation topics. Activities have included both in depth training, e.g., a PhD student from Monash University in Australia on the use of ecogeographic tools to perform crop diversity conservation analyses for wild relatives of sorghum (resulting in a peer reviewed publication listed in the publication section) and NASA Develop program student collaborators on wildrice diversity (also resulting in a listed publication), as well as giving a number of presentations and seminars, both in person (pre-COVID-19) and virtually (post February 2020) (listed in the Products section). The PD also participated as an editor in the creation of a forthcoming special issue in a highly regarded plant science journal on digital sequence information related to genetic resources, an important emerging topic in the crop diversity conservation field. The articles in this collection are expected to contribute to enhancing the evidence base and general knowledge around these subjects for practitioners, academics, and policy communities. The main training and professional development provided to the PD during the timeframe of this progress report has been increased capacity in both genetic/genomic and phenotypic/phenomic tools as well as in ethnobiological approaches. While originally planned as in person activities, due to COVID-19 these have occurred largely through virtual training and journal clubs, mainly provided by Saint Louis University, the Danforth Plant Science Center, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. In the fall of 2019, prior to COVID-19, the PD was also able to gain further capacity in plant conservation by attending two technical/academic conferences. During the summer of 2020, the PD was also able to take the opportunity to train in field surveying and collecting of crop genetic resources through participation in an exploration for a wild relative of potato occurring in southern Colorado. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project under the timeframe of this progress report worked to disseminate as widely as possible the main products thus far - research publications - to the main target audiences and to the general public. This has been done through publication as much as possible in high quality journals providing open access to the research, through wide distribution of the articles via organizational channels, and through media efforts (i.e., press releases and media engagement) following article publications. A number of the publications have received substantial conventional as well as social media attention and are expected to be widely read and cited. Moreover, the majority of publications have involved diverse collaborations among many authors from different institutions, enabling direct impact for involved authors, and facilitating much wider dissemination through all of their organizational channels. The project also published a number of blogs in widely-read venues, as well as given presentations in a variety of technical conferences and academic fora, to communicate the results to the target audiences. The project plans major media efforts around the forthcoming national analysis for crop wild relatives of the United States (soon to be published in PNAS). One of the major project products - the database and annotated bibliography of crop genetic erosion literature, including principal findings and documented reasons for change in diversity over time - will be published in a top-tier open access plant sciences journal in the coming project period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project will continue to maximize its potential to meet the broader goals and objectives of generating evidence around the state of conservation of crop genetic resources, including identifying gaps in conservation, virtually due to continued COVID-19 work/travel constraints. Key components will include completing the datasets on historical baseline crop diversity occurrences/observation information for target sites in Mexico and Peru, and publishing the major global review of literature on change in crop diversity over time. This review has been in process for most of 2020 and includes as collaborators the majority of experts in the field. It has garnered sufficient attention to have been requested as a special review article for a top-tier plant science journal (New Phytologist, Tansley Review), and is expected to provide the most comprehensive and ambitious effort ever performed to summarize the state of knowledge on change over time in crop diversity globally. The project will also complete the outlining of standardized, robust methodologies for measuring change in crop diversity over time, both in terms of the historical (past to current) comparison, as well as the future (present to future) analysis. Moreover, the project will continue to use available data to generate and publish new knowledge on the state of conservation of crops and their wild relatives. The project will also look for avenues to communicate the findings to technical and public audiences. Due to COVID-19-related travel constraints which affect the ability to perform fieldwork envisaged in the project proposal, the project will continue to seek alternative means by which to accomplish field data gathering, including looking for supplementary funding for fieldwork collaborators, who, being local to the target regions, may be able to contribute to accomplishing some of the fieldwork goals and objectives in the coming year even under partial travel constraints. Remote-sensing and social media (crowd-sourced) methodologies for data gathering will also be explored. If COVID-19 constraints in the USA are resolved in the coming months, the project will re-initiate the in-person research, training, and professional development activities outlined in the project proposal, with the plan to complete the pertinent goals and objectives by end of the next reporting period. If these constraints are also resolved internationally sufficiently to protect the health of Indigenous and traditional farming communities in the target regions of Mexico and Peru, and thus permit travel and research in these communities by the PD, then fieldwork activities will be re-initiated, with the aim to accomplish as many of the goals and activities as possible before the end of the next reporting period. Depending on the timeframe for resolution of COVID-19 risks, the project may seek an extension so as to complete the major activities originally proposed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The contribution of crop genetic resources to the productivity, sustainability, and adaptability of agriculture is well recognized. Traditional farmer varieties (landraces) and crop wild relatives represent important genetic resources which still occur in fields and wild habitats, with the richest diversity found in the regions of origin of crops, for instance in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia for potatoes. Unfortunately, the degree to which these resources are conserved and available for plant breeding from genebanks is not well understood, despite decades of warnings that they may be disappearing from fields and from the wild. This information gap constrains the capacity of genebanks to prioritize their conservation efforts and potentially limits the long term availability of crop diversity for present and future generations. This postdoctoral research project proposes to fill critical knowledge gaps by assessing the comprehensiveness of conservation of crop diversity related to exemplar crops within genebanks, in comparison to diversity still extant in fields and in the wild. The project also aims to improve the methods used to understand how this diversity changes over time so as to better enable monitoring of diversity loss. The findings are intended to be of use to crop genetic resources professionals, academics and other researchers, and members of the public interested in the history and future of food and agriculture, while the long term impacts of the research, via enhanced conservation and availability of crop genetic resources, are intended to benefit farmers and consumers in the United States and around the world. Under this reporting period, the project has been successful in establishing the major procedures and relationships needed to accomplish proposed fieldwork preparatory activities, including IRB protocols and engagement of the advisory board; compilation of historical crop diversity baseline data and outlining of sociological, phenotypic, and genotypic comparative methodologies; identification of target fieldwork regions and confirmation of local collaborators; and design of fieldwork travel. The emergence of COVID-19 in the early months of 2020 prohibited the commencement of travels. Travel and fieldwork in the target regions continues to be prohibited at this time. The project has adapted to to COVID-19 constraints by a) engaging with mentors, the advisory board, and project colleagues and partners virtually, maintaining progress on original activities as much as possible; b) agreeing with target fieldwork region collaborators to maintain frequent communication and look for opportunities to accomplish fieldwork as possible within constraints (generally by further enhancing collaboration with local partners, including by looking for additional funding for these partners); c) contributing to the overriding goals and objectives of the project as possible through the use of available data and leveraging of ongoing related projects; and d) preparing for fieldwork in terms of data and methods so that when COVID-19 constraints are lifted, fieldwork activities can recommence as soon as possible. The project has largely succeeded at contributing to the overriding goals and objectives under current constraints. Using available data and leveraging ongoing related projects, the project has significantly contributed to generating knowledge on the state of diversity and its representation in conservation repositories for crop genetic resources relevant to a wide range of crops, including beans, carrots, chile peppers, lettuce, mint, sorghum, wildrice, and zucchini and pumpkins. Publications have also identified genetic resource conservation priorities at the national level in the United States, furthered the understanding of geographic origins of crop diversity, proposed improved methodologies for assessing representation of crop diversity in genebanks, outlined organizational collaborations key to success of crop diversity conservation in the United States, explored novel funding mechanisms for wildlands conservation pertinent to crop diversity, identified genetic resource and crop breeding needs for cover crops, furthered the discussion of use of digital sequence information related to crop genetic resources, and advocated for enhanced conservation of crop genetic resources as well as wider biodiversity, including by supporting Indigenous and rural agricultural populations worldwide. These total 18 scientific articles, including in Science and PNAS. Adaptation of the project to COVID-19 constraints also enabled a much greater focus than originally envisioned on summarizing the state of knowledge in the field, through a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on change over time in crop diversity (i.e., "crop genetic erosion"), the resulting product of which has been specially requested by a top-tier plant science journal, due to be published in 2021. The project has written four proposals for further funding, primarily to support collaborators which may be able to accomplish portions of the outlined fieldwork even under some travel constraints. The project has also accomplished training and communication activities meant to enhance the capacity of students and the PD in relevant methodologies, and to make project topics and results widely known to genetic resources professionals, academics, and the general public.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK, Greene SL, Krishnan S, Miller AJ, Moreau T, Williams KL, Rodriguez-Bonilla L, Spurrier C, Zalapa J, and Nabhan GP (2020) Toward integrated conservation of North America⿿s crop wild relatives. Natural Areas Journal 40(1): 96-100. doi: 10.3375/043.040.0111.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK, Carver D, Kates HR, Achicanoy HA, van Zonneweld M, Thomas E, Heinitz C, Jarret R, Labate JA, Reitsma K, Nabhan GP, and Greene SL (2019) Distributions, conservation status, and abiotic stress tolerance potential of wild cucurbits (Cucurbita L.). Plants, People, Planet 2(3): 269-283. doi: 10.1002/ppp3.10085.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK, Carver D, Barchenger DW, Barboza G, van Zonneweld M, Jarret R, Bohs L, Kantar MB, Uchanski M, Mercer K, Nabhan GP, Bosland PW, and Greene SL (2019) Modeled distributions and conservation status of the wild relatives of chile peppers (Capsicum L). Diversity and Distributions 26(2): 209-225. doi: 10.1111/DDI.13008.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Greene SL, Carver D, Khoury CK, Irish BM, Olwell P, and Prescott L (2019) Seeds of Success: Collateral Benefits to Agricultural Crop Improvement, Research and Education. Crop Science 59(6): 2429-2442. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2019.06.0372.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Lebeda A, K?ístková E, Kitner M, Majeský ?, Doležalová I, Khoury CK, Widrlechner MP, Hu J, Carver, D, Achicanoy HA, and Sosa CC (2019) Research gaps and challenges in the conservation and use of North American wild lettuce germplasm. Crop Science 59(6): 2337-2356. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0350.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mezghani N, Khoury CK, Carver D, Achicanoy HA, Simon P, Martínez Flores F, and Spooner D (2019) Distributions and Conservation Status of Carrot Wild Relatives in Tunisia: A Case Study in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Crop Science 59(6): 2317-2328. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0333.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK, Greene SL, Krishnan S, Miller AJ, and Moreau T (2019) A Road Map for Conservation, Use, and Public Engagement around Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Utilized Plants of North America. Crop Science 59(6): 2302-2307. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2019.05.0309.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Volk GM, Khoury C, Greene S, and Byrne P (2020) ⿿Introduction to crop wild relatives⿝. In: Volk G and Byrne P, Eds, Crop Wild Relatives and their Use in Plant Breeding. Colorado State University Press. https://colostate.pressbooks.pub/cropwildrelatives/chapter/introduction-to-crop-wild-relatives/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Díaz S, Zafra-Calvo N, Obura D, Verburg P, Chaplin-Kramer R, DeClerck F, De Meester L, Dulloo E, Leadley P, Martín-López B, Purvis A, Shaw R, Visconti P, Bellon M, Broadgate W, Burgess N, Cariño J, Castañeda-Alvarez N, Cavender-Bares J, Fernández-Palacios JM, Garibaldi LA, Hill S, Isbell F, Krug C, Liu J, Mace GM, Maron M, McGowan P, Pereira H, Reyes-García V, Rondinini C, Shannon L, Shin YJ, Snelgrove P, Spehn E, Strassburg B, Subramanian S, Tewksbury J, Watson J, Zanne A, Bruford M, Colli L, Dornelas MA, Bascompte J, Dobrota S, Forest F, Hoban S, Johnson M, Jones S, Jordano P, Kassen R, Khoury C, Laikre L, Maxted N, Miloslavich P, Moersberg H, Moreno-Mateos D, Ogden R, Rocha J, Segelbacher G, Souffreau C, Svenning JC, Vázquez E. 2020. Synthesizing the scientific evidence to inform the development of the post-2020 Global Framework on Biodiversity. Earth Commission Meeting Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD/SBSTTA/24/inf/9. https://rid.unrn.edu.ar/handle/20.500.12049/5718
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Argumedo A, Khoury CK, Dempewolf H (2020) ⿿Indigenous Peoples Hold the Past and Future of Food in Their Hands⿝ Food Tank, 10 August 2020. https://foodtank.com/news/2020/08/indigenous-peoples-hold-the-past-and-future-of-food-in-their-hands/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK and von Wettberg E (2020) ⿿Access to crop digital information and the sharing of benefits derived from its use: background and perspectives⿝ New Phytologist Blog, 28 April 2020. https://www.newphytologist.org/blog/call-for-papers-crop-digital-information/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Phillips C, Rieseberg L, Warschefsky E, Mehrabi Z, Ondo I, Khoury CK, Ramankutty N, and Pironon S (2019) ⿿Environmental shifts of crops: A global niche comparison of domesticated plants and their wild relatives⿝. Plants People Planet Symposium 2019, 4-5 September 2019, Kew, UK. (poster)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Pironon S, Borrell J, Ondo I, Douglas R, Phillips C, Khoury CK, Kantar MB, Fumia N, Soto-Gomez M, Viruel J, Govaerts R, Forest F, and Antonelli A (2020) ⿿Toward unifying global hotspots of wild and domesticated plant diversity⿝. Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Science Seminar, 20 November 2020 (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK (2020) ⿿If we are what we eat, then where are we from?⿝. Colorado State University, Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Seminar, 27 October 2020, Fort Collins, USA (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK (2020) ⿿You are what you eat, so where are you from?⿝. Presentation to Colorado State University, General Crops course (Professor Meagan Schipanski), fall 2020, Fort Collins, USA (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Spurrier C and Khoury CK (2020) ⿿Crop Wild Relative Plants: The Nexus Between Ecology, Plant Breeding and Genetics⿝. The Plant Science Decadal Vision, 2020-2030 - Why Ecologists Should Care About It, Ecological Society of America, 2-7 August 2020, Salt Lake City, USA (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Carver D, Khoury CK, Greene SL, Krishnan S, and Miller A (2020) ⿿Distributions, conservation, and a road map for action on North American crop wild relatives⿝ 2020 North America Congress for Conservation Biology, 26-31 July 2020, Denver, Colorado (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK, Carver D, Greene SL, Williams KA, Schori M, León B, Wiersema JH, and Frances A (2020) "Conservation gap analysis and threat assessment for 600 native U.S. crop wild relatives. The data is in. Where do we go from here?" USDA ARS NPGS PGOC, 24-25 June 2020 (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Dotson D, Moreau T, Novy A, Khoury CK, Miller AL, Meyer A (2020) ⿿Future Food Security & Conservation: Public Garden Collaborations for Crop Wild Relatives and Crop Diversity⿝ American Public Gardens Association Webinar, 18 February 2020 (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK (2019) ⿿Conservation status of Cucurbitaceae crops in the USA (USDA National Plant Germplasm System)⿝ Expert consultation workshop: Global Conservation Strategy for crops in the Cucurbitaceae family, 11-13 December 2019, Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Krishnan S, Greene SL, Khoury CK, Kuehny J, Miller AJ, Moreau T, Novy A (2019) ⿿People pollinating partnerships: Harnessing collaborations between botanic gardens and agricultural research organizations on crop diversity⿝ First International Symposium on Botanical Gardens and Landscapes, 2-4 December 2019, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK, Sotelo S, Amariles D (2019) ⿿The plants that feed the world: baseline information to underpin strategies for their conservation and use⿝ Breathing New Life into the Global Crop Conservation Strategies: Providing an Evidence Base for the Global System of Ex Situ Conservation of Crop Diversity, 14 October 2019, Bonn, Germany (virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK (2019) ⿿You are what you eat, so where are you from?⿝. Presentation to Colorado State University, General Crops course (Professor Meagan Schipanski), 18 September 2019, Fort Collins, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK (2019) ⿿Developing meaningful indicators of the importance, interdependence with regard to genetic resources, and conservation status of socioeconomically valuable plants⿝ Plants, People, Planet Symposium, 4-5 September 2019, London, UK.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Khoury CK, Carver D, Greene SL, Williams KA, Schori M, León B, Wiersema JH (2019) ⿿Distributions and conservation status of crop wild relatives of the United States⿝ American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America Annual Meetings, 10-13 November 2019, San Antonio, USA.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Khoury CK, Carver D, Greene SL, Williams KA, Achicanoy HA, Schori M, León B, Wiersema JH, and Frances A (2020) Crop wild relatives of the United States require urgent conservation action. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2007029117.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Argumedo A, Song Y, Khoury CK, Hunter D, and Dempewolf H (2020) Support Indigenous food system biocultural diversity. Lancet Planetary Health.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Diaz S, Zafra-Calvo N, Purvis A, Verburg PH, Obura D, Leadley P, Chaplin-Kramer R, De Meester L, Dulloo E, Martín-López B, Shaw MR, Visconti P, Broadgate W, Bruford MW, Burgess ND, Cavender-Bares J, DeClerck F, Fernández-Palacios JM, Garibaldi LA, Hill SLL, Isbell F, Khoury CK, Krug CB, Liu J, Maron M, McGowan PJK, Pereira HM, Reyes-García V, Rocha J, Rondinini C, Shannon L, Shin Y-J, Snelgrove PVR, Spehn EM, Strassburg B, Subramanian SM, Tewksbury JJ, Watson JEM, Zanne AE (2020) Set ambitious goals for biodiversity and sustainability. Science 370(6515): 411-413. doi: 10.1126/science.abe1530. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe1530
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Tyack N, Dempewolf H, and Khoury CK (2020) The potential of payment for ecosystem services for crop wild relative conservation. Plants 9(10): 1305. doi:10.3390/plants9101305.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Myrans H, Diaz MV, Khoury CK, Carver D, Henry RJ, and Gleadow R (2020) Modelled distributions and conservation priorities of wild sorghums (Sorghum Moench). Diversity and Distributions 26(12): 1727-1740. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13166.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: O⿿Shea K, LaRoe J, Vorster A, Young N, Evangelista P, Mayer T, Carver D, Simmonson E, Martín V, Radomski P, Knopik J, Kern A, and Khoury CK (2020) Improved remote sensing methods to detect northern wildrice (Zizania palustris L.). Remote Sensing 12(18): 3023. doi: 10.3390/rs12183023.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Pironon S, Borrell J, Ondo I, Douglas R, Phillips C, Khoury CK, Kantar MB, Fumia N, Soto-Gomez M, Viruel J, Govaerts R, Forest F, and Antonelli A (2020) Toward unifying global hotspots of wild and domesticated biodiversity. Plants 9(9): 1128. doi: 10.3390/plants9091128.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Vining KJ, Hummer KE, Bassil NV, Lange BM, Khoury CK, and Carver D (2020) Crop wild relatives as a germplasm resource for cultivar improvement in mint (Mentha L.) Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 1217. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01217.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Runck B, Khoury CK, Ewing P, and Kantar MB (2020) The hidden land use cost of upscaling cover crops. Nature Communications Biology 3: 300. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-1022-1.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: von Wettberg E and Khoury CK (2020) Access to crop digital information and the sharing of benefits derived from its use: background and perspectives. Plants, People, Planet 2(3): 178-180. doi: 10.1002/ppp3.10105.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ramírez-Villegas J, Khoury CK, Achicanoy HA, Mendez AC, Diaz MV, Sosa CC, Debouck DG, Kehel Z, and Guarino L (2020) A gap analysis modeling framework to prioritize collecting for ex situ conservation of crop landraces. Diversity and Distributions 26(6): 730-742. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13046.