Biotechnological approaches for the conservation of some forest tree species

We are inseparable from trees probably because we had an arboreal ancestry. Reposing under a tree is like being cuddled by a mother. As principal components of forests that form the green mantle over the earth or as individuals, trees play multiple roles in nature. They are the largest and the longest- lived organisms and offer an amazing diversity of form. Considering the productive, protective, ecological, conservational, educational and recreational roles of forests, the extent of research and developmental activities in forestry area are dismally low. In addition, increasing human population and anthropogenic pressures have caused irreversible damage to the natural habitats with the consequent reduction in the number of the tree species and wild populations growing in their natural ecosystems. The worldwide importance of forestry, summed to the lengthy generation cycles of tree species, makes unavoidable the development of new technologies that complement conventional tree breeding programs in order to obtain improved genotypes. In this regard, a new set of tools has become available in the past twenty years that combined with traditional plant breeding will allow people to generate products, the genetically improved varieties of the future. This set of tools, comes under the general title of 'Biotechnology'. Three specific biotechnological tools have been successfully used in several programs of plant conservation, namely, (1) tissue culture techniques for in vitro propagation, (2) the use of molecular marker to assess the degree of variability among population, and (3) techniques of long-term conservation such as encapsulation and cryopreservation. Plant tissue culture techniques are particularly relevant, becomes an alternative not only for large scale propagation of individuals that are threatened, reduce production costs and increase gains to the industry, but also to provide ecological advantages as in phytoremediation or in the establishment of artificial plantings in weed-infested site. The use of more efficient trees may reduce the soil areas required to produce the goods and services derived from tree plantations, thus reducing the use of natural ecosystems for sustainable and agricultural purposes. Trees like Pterocarpus marsupium, Balanites aegyptiaca, Tecomella undulata, species of Vitex, Salix tetrasperma , Bauhinia tomentosa and Albizia lebbeck are valuable sources of fuel, fodder, timber, medicine and other valuable products for sustaining life on earth. These trees are well adapted to the environment and constitute to the productivity. The objective of this study was the large scale propagation of above mentioned trees to obtain large number of plants that can be used for reintroduction and conservation purposes through biotechnological approaches.