DAUDZGADĪGO STIEBRZĀĻU ĢENĒTISKO RESURSU UZTURĒŠANA, NOVĒRTĒŠANA UN IZMANTOŠANA SELEKCIJAS DARBĀ.

Genetic resources are the wealth of the country and each country is responsible for their maintenance for future generations. Mismanagement of human activities have led to a rapid loss of biodiversity affected by afforestation, construction, intensive cultivation of monocultures requiring expansion of agricultural lands. Biodiversity monitoring program data suggest that natural grasslands occupied 0.7% or 47.581 ha of the country in 2013. During the period from 2000 to 2007, grassland specialists of the Research Institute of Agriculture, the Latvia University of Agriculture, together with colleagues from the Institute of Biology, the University of Latvia, in 14 expeditions collected 446 samples of wild-growing populations of 18 species of perennial grasses. The collected samples were gradually reproduced, evaluated, described and the most valuable material was deposited in the Latvian Gene Bank of Cultivated Plants or used for breeding work. 506 samples of wild-growing perennial grass populations were sown and evaluated during the period from 2000 to 2014. This article summarizes the results of the genetic resource's nursery established in 2012 where 33 populations from nature represented by 8 species of perennial grasses were sown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]