10.5061/DRYAD.KH1893223
Thomas, Evert
0000-0002-7838-6228
Bioversity International
Aguirre-Morales, Carolina Adriana
National University of Colombia
Carlos Ivan, Cardozo
National University of Colombia
Gutiérrez, Janeth
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
Alcázar Caicedo, Carolina
Bioversity International
Moscoso Higuita, Luis Gonzalo
SAS Cargo (Norway)
Luis Augusto, Becerra López-Lavalle
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
González, Mailyn Adriana
Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute
Data from: Genetic diversity of the rain tree (Albizia saman) in Colombian
seasonally dry tropical forest for informing conservation and restoration
interventions
Dryad
dataset
2019
Albizia saman
2020-12-18T00:00:00Z
2020-12-18T00:00:00Z
en
1662288 bytes
2
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Albizia saman is a multipurpose tree species of seasonally dry tropical
forests (SDTFs) of Mesoamerica and northern South America typically
cultivated in silvopastoral and other agroforestry systems around the
world, a trend that is bound to increase in light of multimillion hectare
commitments for forest and landscape restoration. The effective
conservation and sustainable use of A. saman requires detailed knowledge
of its genetic diversity across its native distribution range of which
surprisingly little is known to date. We assessed the genetic diversity
and structure of A.saman across twelve representative locations of SDTF in
Colombia, and how they may have been shaped by past climatic changes and
human influence. We found four different genetic groups which may be the
result of differentiation due to isolation of populations in pre-glacial
times. The current distribution and mixture of genetic groups across STDF
fragments we observed might be the result of range expansion of SDTFs
during the last glacial period followed by range contraction during the
Holocene and human-influenced movement of germplasm associated with cattle
ranching. Despite the fragmented state of the presumed natural A. saman
stands we sampled we did not find any signs of inbreeding, suggesting that
gene flow is not jeopardized in humanized landscapes. However, further
research is needed to assess potential deleterious effects of
fragmentation on progeny. Climate change is not expected to seriously
threaten the in situ persistence of A. saman populations and might present
opportunities for future range expansion. However, the sourcing of
germplasm for tree planting activities needs to be aligned with the
genetic affinity of reference populations across the distribution of
Colombian SDTFs. We identify priority source populations for in situ
conservation based on their high genetic diversity, lack or limited signs
of admixture and/or genetic uniqueness.