The Impact of N.I. Vavilov on the Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources in Scandinavia: A Review

In this review we examine Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov's relationship to Scandinavia and the impact he and his ideas have had on Scandinavia. We trace the historical connections from Vavilov back to 18th century scientists, such as Carl Von Linneaus (Sweden) and 19th century European scientists su...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2022-12, Vol.12 (1), p.143
Main Authors: Solberg, Svein Ø, Loskutov, Igor G, Breian, Line, Diederichsen, Axel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Agriculture
Botanists
center of origin
Conservation
crop evolution
Crops
Cultivars
Cultivated plants
diversity
Domestication
Flowers & plants
Gene banks
genebank
Genetic diversity
Genetic engineering
Genetic research
Genetic resources
Germplasm resources, Plant
Historia
History
Influence
Methods
Morphology
Mutation
Plant conservation
plant genetic resources
Plant resources
Review
Scientists
Seeds
Species diversity
Vavilov, N.I
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this review we examine Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov's relationship to Scandinavia and the impact he and his ideas have had on Scandinavia. We trace the historical connections from Vavilov back to 18th century scientists, such as Carl Von Linneaus (Sweden) and 19th century European scientists such as Alphonse de Candolle (Switzerland), Henry de Vilmorin (France), and William Bateson (England). Vavilov has influenced the conservation work in Scandinavia resulting amongst other in the establishment of the Nordic Gene Bank in 1979 and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault which started operating in 2008. Vavilov travelled to Scandinavia in 1921 and in 1931 to give lectures and exchange ideas, especially with the breeders at the Swedish Seed Association (Svalöf) in Scania, Sweden, but also at the Copenhagen University in Denmark. Vavilov did not recognize Scandinavia as part of a center of origin of cultivated plants. It was only after World War II, when P.M. Zhukovsky, a scholar of N.I Vavilov, developed the concept of mega-centers of diversity of cultivated plants, that Scandinavia became part of what he termed the . We list species domesticated in Scandinavia or Northern Europe, and we further discuss concepts related to crop evolution and highlight the great impact Vavilov has had by inspiring scientists across disciplines and over many decades.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants12010143