Four decades of collecting mission data online: an agricultural heritage of cultivated plants and their wild relatives Bioversity International, Via dei Tre Denari 472/a, Maccarese, Rome, Italy Hannes Gaisberger, Federico Mattei, Massimo Buonaiuto, Andrea De Pirro, Valentina Barbiero, Simone Mori, Silvia Lambiase, Imke Thormann, Tom Hazekamp, Luca Matteis, Elizabeth Arnaud

IBPGR/IPGRI supported germplasm collecting missions Since 1974, Bioversity International (incl. IBPGR/IPGRI) has supported 558 germplasm collecting missions yielding more than 226,000 samples and covering 3,833 species from 137 countries Samples were sent to 550 genebanks worldwide for safety duplication, conservation and potential distribution

IBPGR/IPGRI supported germplasm collections

Original observation data is essential Identify duplicates in collections and gaps in diversity – value for genebank curators and collecting actions Tracking original sample and country of origin in pedigrees – value for Breeders and benefit sharing for donor countries

Scanning of field notebooks and related documents Collectors recorded key sample information (passport data) and other observation data in field books and collecting forms

Search Mask for online pdf-repository A total of 59,700 scanned pages are saved as 3,120 pdf-files and stored in a searchable online repository aside the 26,000 other files scanned by CGIAR centers and partners http://www.central-repository.cgiar.org/

Original observation: a treasure for genebanks and breeders The collecting form contains the botanical classification along with localization details, environment, cultural practices, diseases and pest presence and symptoms and traditional uses Genus and Species Collecting Number Site Information: Admin boundaries, Latitude, Longitude and Elevation Collecting Source and Sample Status

Identification and quality-checking in databases Different publicly available genebank inventories are checked in order to track corresponding samples and complete missing passport data information

Integration of quality passport data Data extracted from field books and databases is integrated in a sample level database of collecting missions

Data extraction summary This collection is an invaluable history of plants that may have been lost from their fields and natural habitats, painstakingly recording information about more than 200,000 landrace and crop wild relative samples (CWR) all over the world

Improved passport data sets from genebank inventories SINGER GRIN EURISCO AfricaRice – 1,610 ARI (CYP) – 371 CIAT – 4,788 IPK (DEU) – 1,238 CIMMYT – 2,661 INIA (ESP) – 2,496 CIP – 2,808 RBG-Kew (GBR) – 508 ICARDA – 6,534 NAGREF (GRC) – 4,310 ICRISAT – 6,630 IGV (ITA) – 931 IITA – 1,892 CGN+SVP (NLD) – 1,084 ILRI – 3,590 AARI (TUR) – 1,375 IRRI – 3,463 Others – 2,963 AVRDC – 294 TOTAL 34,270 TOTAL 17,987 TOTAL 15,276 71,693 of the samples records (46% of total) are already linked to genebank accessions in 67 institutes worldwide

Quality of passport data 147,000 samples, collected in 52,900 different sites, are georeferenced (94% of total) Geoparsing of descriptive site information (BioGeomancer, GEOLocate) Identification and elimination of outliers with ArcGIS

Publishing the data and attached information Collecting Mission database interactive map Searchable PDF-Repository online with all scanned documents CGIAR-wide http://www.bioversityinternational.org/collecting_missions/collecting_missions.html

Future possibilities Capture and quality control of outstanding mission data to accession /sample level Extraction of environmental data (or extended passport descriptors) from the original mission reports and collecting forms Use information from sample-level database for projects and studies, i.e. GIS related outputs Further quality improvement of collection site data (check admin boundaries, Biogeomancer /Geolocate (to georeference and improve accuracy) Identify areas where further collection missions are necessary due to the fact that not enough samples have been collected in the past

Future possibilities Create potential distribution maps (based on current a/o future climate data) that can be used to identify need for protected areas, planning of collecting missions etc. Socio economic rasters can be included in order to conduct studies relating to crop variety a/o genetic biodiversity Agricultural sample information can be used to map livelihoods and the presence of autochthonous crops in markets Food security studies can be improved with data relating to the lack or presence in the area of crop wild relatives and sources of wild food