The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, in order “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national level as a contribution to poverty
Horticultural plants include fruit, vegetable, ornamental, turf, medicinal, beverage, spice, and other economic species. Although these plants originally derive from wild populations and play a vital role in our daily life, their importance on protecting biodiversity has not been addressed. With tremendous driving force of their monetary value, farmers, gardeners, breeders, and researchers have domesticated, selected, and bred many new horticultural crops, which ultimately increase biological diversity in cultivated plant communities. Both morphological and molecular data from 90 accessions of cultivated Cephalotaxus and 48 accessions of cultivated Chamaecyparis thyoides demonstrated their wide range of morphological differences and more than 43% of genetic dissimilarity coefficients. In US alone, one new cultivar of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum was released to the nursery industry every year since the first plant was introduced from Wuhan Botanical Garden in 1983. Obviously, human activities rapidly accelerate evolutions. To preserve and reproduce new and rare taxa, regeneration of these plants is challenging. Rooting of Magnolia grandiflora stem cuttings, overcoming Cephalotaxus seed dormancy, experimenting Pinus strobus embryogenesis, and overwintering Stewartia cuttings should be applied for reproduction studies of unusual horticultural clones. For plants that could not be regenerated with today's propagation methods, their seeds, tissues, pollen, and embryos should be preserved as some USDA labs do for heirloom horticultural crops. In the future, with aid of advanced science and technology, we should be able to regenerate those plants from preserved materials and increase biological diversity.
). Such practices have made farmers more vulnerable to extreme weather events, pests, and market forces, which are linked to swings in commodity prices, thus negatively affecting farm incomes. Loss of agricultural biodiversity can pose risks not only to
conservation of local biodiversity. Although nonnative plants can extend nectar resources late in the season ( Salisbury et al., 2015 ), their exclusive use in pollinator gardens pose a threat to the dozens of native bee specialists that only reproduce on
were held, including The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ( United Nations, 1992 ). The CBD is an international legally binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; and the fair and
statistically wettest month of January ( Weatherhobo, 2012 ). Indonesia is mountainous with many volcanic peaks and temperatures vary with elevation. Because of a climate conducive to tropical plant growth, the country is rich in plant biodiversity. According to
Phlorizin is known for its role in reducing glucotoxicity and has a long history of use in diabetes research. In addition, its contribution to the pool of total phenolics adds to the overall health benefits attributed to fruit. Phlorizin is limited to Rosaceae family plants, of which apple comprises its current commercial source; however, limited information exists regarding its biodiversity among apple taxa. A subset of 22 taxa from a core collection of apple accessions representative of the global genetic diversity of apple was used to investigate the biodiversity of phlorizin present in apple shoots and in fruit relative to total phenolic content and free radical scavenging capacity. Fruit and shoots were harvested from the USDA Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, N.Y. Validation and quantification of phlorizin was conducted using a rigorous high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure. Total phenolics in fruit, assayed using a Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalents, ranged from 227 to 7181 mg·L-1
and were strongly related to 2,2' azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) antioxidant capacity for the core collection (r= 0.778). On a molar basis, phlorizin had lower antioxidant capacity than other major phenolic compounds present in apple fruit, but was more effective than ascorbic acid. Phlorizin yield in dormant apple shoots, expressed as percent weight, ranged from 0.9% to 5.5%. A rapid, 96 well micro-plate spectrophotometric assay was also developed to aid in the screening of multiple samples for selection of high phlorizin yielding apple taxa. Spectrophotometry overestimated phlorizin content as expected, but the calibration curve between HPLC and spectrophotometry was acceptable, r 2 = 0.88.
-being, including decreased biodiversity, interruption of agricultural practices, excessive government spending on eradication efforts ( Bertolino and Genovesi 2003 ; Mack et al. 2000 ; National Invasive Species Council 2005 ), and disease formation and spread
renewable resources (also known as ecosystem services) by more than 60% ( Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005 ). To believe there will always be sufficient oxygen, clean air and water, carbon sequestration, pollinators, and the biodiversity that produces