Wild fruit trees face extinction 野生果树面临绝迹

The wild ancestors of common domestic fruit trees are in danger of becoming extinct, scientists have warned.

科学家警告道，平常家养果树的野生品种处于绝迹的危险之中,传奇私服。



Kyrgyzstan's forests are home to the ancestors of domestic apples

Researchers have published a "red list" of threatened species that grow in the forests of Central Asia.

These disease-resistant and climate-tolerant（宽容的，容忍的） fruit trees could play a role in our future food security.

But in the last 50 years,寻找内心那一泓清泉, about 90% of the forests have been destroyed, according to conservation charity, Fauna & Flora International.

The Red List of Central Asia identifies 44 tree species in Kyrgyzstan（吉尔吉斯斯坦）,传奇私服,一个人的路程, Kazakhstan（哈萨克斯坦）, Uzbekistan（乌兹别克斯坦）, Turkmenistan（土库曼斯坦） and Tajikistan（塔吉克斯坦） as under threat from extinction.

It cites over-exploitation and human development as among the main threats to the region's forests, which are home to more than 300 wild fruit and nut species including apple, plum, cherry,传奇私服, apricot and walnut（胡桃）.

Antonia Eastwood, the lead author of the research, described the region as a "unique global hotspot of diversity".

"A lot of these species are only found in this area,传奇私服," she told BBC News. "It's very mountainous and dry, so many of these species have a great deal of tolerance to cold and drought.

"A lot of our domestic fruit supply comes from a very narrow genetic base,传奇私服," she continued. "Given the threats posed to food supplies by disease and the changing climate,传奇私服, we may need to go back to these species and include them in breeding programmes."



Communities in Central Asia are learning to use the forests sustainably

Farming fruit

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are thought to be the ancestral homes of familiar favourites such as Red Delicious and Golden Delicious.

The US Department of Agriculture has already sponsored expeditions to Kazakhstan,传奇私服, during which scientists have collected samples with the aim of expanding the genetic diversity of farm-grown apples.

This type of genetic foraging（觅食）, Dr Eastwood explained, allows domestic lines to be crossed with wild strains,传奇私服,The Blessed Dress, producing varieties more resistant to diseases such as apple scab（苹果黑星病）, a fungus（真菌，霉菌） that can devastate（毁坏） crops.

"But these countries lack the resources to conserve their valuable trees,传奇私服," added Dr Eastwood.

This year,传奇私服, as part of the the UK Darwin Initiative, Fauna & Flora International is working with scientists in Kyrgyzstan to carry out research on threatened trees and develop methods to harvest the fruit sustainably.

The organisation is training local scientists and involving communities in the planning and managing of their own forests.