Accelerating the domestication of forest trees in a changing world.
In light of impending water and arable land shortages, population growth and climate change, it is more important than ever to examine how forest tree domestication can be accelerated to sustainably meet future demands for wood, biomass, paper, fuel and biomaterials. Because of long breeding cycles, tree domestication cannot be rapidly achieved through traditional genetic improvement methods alone. Integrating modern genetic and genomic techniques with conventional breeding will expedite tree domestication. Breeders will only embrace these technologies if they are cost-effective and readily accessible, and forest landowners will only adopt end-products that meet with regulatory approval and public acceptance. All parties involved must work together to achieve these objectives for the benefit of society.
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, Viterbo 01100, Italy. aharfouche@unitus.it
Antoine
A
Harfouche
Richard
R
Meilan
Matias
M
Kirst
Michele
M
Morgante
Wout
W
Boerjan
Maurizio
M
Sabatti
Giuseppe
G
Scarascia Mugnozza
D016468:Forestry; D018745:Genome, Plant; D006801:Humans; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013997:Time Factors; D014197:Trees / Q000235:genetics